🏌🏻2024 In Numbers

Good morning! Round 2 of the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship is in progress - you can watch all the action live on Golf Channel and Peacock.

For all tournament updates and the latest news, check out our Youtube channel.

Fun Fact: Xander Schauffele's 1-putt at 5 during Round 1 of the St. Jude Championship runs his active streak of holes without a 3-putt to 250.

⛳ This day in history: Today’s date is a popular one in PGA Championship history. On this date, six were won by: 1970, Dave Stockton at Southern Hills; 1976, Stockton at Congressional; 1992, Nick Price at Bellerive; 1998, Vijay Singh at Sahalee; 2009, YE Yang at Hazeltine, and 2015, Jason Day at Whistling Straits.

ALBATROSS
Caddie Helps Kirk Lead St. Jude Championship

Chris Kirk carded an opening-round 64 in Memphis highlighted by a hole-in-one at the par-3 14th hole, to move in front at TPC Southwind. Kirk's caddie Michael Cromie designed a new putter for his boss and it has worked out perfectly in the first round.

Kirk ranked sixth in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining over two shots on the field on the greens. He made more than 100 feet worth of putts, highlighted by long birdies on the third, sixth and 12th holes from outside 17 feet.

In addition to reading the greens and working AimPoint, Cromie surprised the six-time PGA TOUR winner with a new flatstick for the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs that he had designed with the help of Cody Hale, the TOUR’s Odyssey rep. It’s a long stretch to make it to Atlanta, but Kirk and Cromie have the moxie to get there.

📌Matsuyama On A Roll: Hideki Matsuyama has finished inside the top 20 in his last three trips to TPC Southwind, including a runner-up effort in 2021 and he lies T-2 after Round 1.

The Japanese star was eighth in the FedEx Cup entering the week, so his status for Denver was never in question. Now it’s all about positioning for the Tour Championship.

🚀 Stars In Contention: Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele both hit 4-under to tie for the fifth spot after the opening round. Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark and Jordan Spieth are all on 2-under and placed T-18.

Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris and Tom Kim, among others, are in danger of falling outside the Top 50 as things stand.

Click here to check out the leaderboard.

Watch this Story on YouTube

TWEET
Worth Mentioning

EAGLE
Why Is Matsuyama Playing Without Caddie and Coach?

Hideki Matsuyama, his caddie Shota Hayafuji and coach Mikihito Kuromiya were all victims of a robbery in London last week. Matsuyama had his wallet stolen and both Hayafuji and Kuromiya were robbed of their passports.

As a result of the theft, Matsuyama's caddie and coach were forced to return to Japan in order to have their passports and visas reissued. To add insult to what is already a traumatic situation, the very earliest they will be able to make it out to the United States of America is just before the Tour Championship in two weeks' time.

Instead of Hayafuji at his side, the 32-year-old has Taiga Tabuchi at his side for the Playoffs, the caddie who recently worked with PGA Tour and DP World Tour pro, Ryo Hisatsune.

🚨 Matsuyama On A Mission: Matsuyama, the winner of The Genesis Invitational at The Riviera Country Club earlier this season, made seven birdies and two bogeys in the opening round at TPC Southwind. He came into this week at No 8 in the FedEx Cup and showed no ill effects from breaking in a new caddie, Tabuchi.

He bounced back quickly from a bogey at the par-5 third with a birdie on the par-3 fourth and added two more on the seventh and ninth before making the turn with a 2-under 33. After a birdie on 12, Matsuyama rattled off three straight circles on Nos 14-16.

His momentum was halted a bit thanks to a bogey on 17, but still, an opening 5-under effort under the circumstances is impressive.

Watch this Story on YouTube

LOCKER ROOM
What else is making news

LPGA Tour: Two-time Major Champion Minjee Lee carded a 5-under 67 for a one-shot lead in the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open before play was stopped for the day.

Golf Course: Former president Donald Trump's Scottish golf course is scheduled to be the most expensive in the UK as it charges up to £1,000 ($1,282) for a round.

PGA Tour: The 2025 PGA Tour schedule will feature very few year-over-year changes - the regular season will include the four major championships, The Players, eight signature events, 18 full-field events and five additional tournaments.

LIV Golf: Joaquin Niemann is potentially just three rounds of golf away from earning $22 million on top of the near $140,000,000 or so he may well have already banked in the past six years - check out the details.

BIRDIE
2024 Recap: The Season In Numbers

The FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship marks the beginning of the season-ending dash of the 2024-25 season. Let us take a look at some of the numbers that define the season.

📍Firstly, who has won the most LPGA Tour events in a season this century? Nelly Korda has enjoyed a stunning 2024, but she's still five events short of the single-season record set by Annika Sorenstam in 2002.

The legendary Swede also registered ten wins in 2005, eight in 2001 and 2004 six in 2003.

📍On the DP World Tour in 2024, eight nations have recorded multiple winners: England (3), Italy (2), Japan (3), Scotland (2), South Africa (5), Spain (2), Sweden (2) and the USA (4).

📍To the end of June, Nelly Korda averaged almost $344,000 per LPGA Tour event. For context, that sum would place her 78th on the 2023 LPGA Tour money list.

📍Justin Rose first attempted to qualify for The Open at the age of 14 at Scottscraig GC. Some 29 years later, he earned an Open spot at Burnham and Berrow en route to a second-place finish at Royal Troon.

📍There were 50 years between Bernhard Langer's first and last DP World Tour events (1974-2024).

📍Before Luke Clanton achieved the feat this year, it had been 66 years since an amateur recorded back-to-back top-tens on the PGA Tour.

📍Hayden Springer became the 13th player to shoot a 59 on the PGA Tour at the 2024 John Deere Classic.

Read the full article.

DRIVING RANGE
How Legs and Hips Work In the Backswing

In today's video, we talk about how the legs and hips move from the top of the backswing through the downswing to the finish.

Advertise in Golf Reporter.