FedEx St. Jude Championship First Round Leader Picks: American Duo To Set Memphis Alight On Opening Day

The best of the PGA Tour, apart from Rory McIlroy, are back this week for the first FedEx Cup Playoffs event of the season.

Taking place at TPC Southwind, the FedEx St. Jude Championship is the opening tournament of a big three week stretch, where 70-men will be reduced to 50 for the BMW Championship, then 30 for the season-ending Tour Championship in a fortnight's time.

Previously, the FedEx St. Jude Championship was held at a number of different courses but, since 2022, it has been staged at the Memphis location of TPC Southwind, a par 70 layout that measures around 7,200 yards.

As of writing, the course record is 61 and, last year, we saw several seven-under 63s being produced around its layout. However, after the first round, it was a six-under 64 from Chris Kirk that led the way.

In 2023, a 63 from Jordan Spieth meant he was the first round leader, while a 62 in 2022 from JJ Spaun and Si Woo Kim meant a share of first after Thursday's play.

Certainly, being a FedEx Cup Playoffs' event, there is pressure on several players to produce good starts, with the key stats to look for being approach play and putting metrics.

So, with that being said, who am I backing to lead after the first round?

FedEx St. Jude Championship First Round Leaders 2025

Prices via BetMGM (odds correct at time of publication)

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Sam Burns +3300 @ BetMGM

The American is, somewhat, coming under the radar this week in Memphis, with Burns enjoying another solid season despite not picking up a trophy.

Leading the US Open after the first round in June, Burns fired an opening round 67 at TPC Southwind last year, backing it up with a seven-under 67 on Friday. That shows he has course form, with a T5 finish telling me he likes this place.

As we saw at the US Open, Burns' putter was on fire throughout and, when he got his irons working at Oakmont Country Club, he was able to card some seriously low scoring.

Admittedly, his approach play has dwindled slightly since that Major, but having not played since the 3M Open at the end of July, I'm hoping a few weeks off will help sharpen up his game.

Burns is a great all-round player and, although the attention will be on his good friend, Scheffler, to lead the first round at odds of +900, I think Burns offers great value at +3300.

Jake Knapp +5000 @ BetMGM

I was stuck between whether to back Knapp or Kirk who, incidentally, led after the first round at this event last year.

Kirk is showing great form coming into this tournament, registering T14 and T5 finishes, but I've gone with Knapp due to the fact he has more of a knack of starting out of the traps slightly quicker.

So far, in 2025, he led the Cognizant Classic after the first round, carding a 59. Five months later, he then co-led the Genesis Scottish Open after 18 holes, with Knapp also firing a first round 64 at the 3M Open two weeks after.

Ranked 12th on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting, he is also 42nd in Greens in Regulation, two meaningful stats when it comes to playing well around this layout.

What I particularly like is that Knapp is third in Birdie Average and fifth in Total Birdies on the PGA Tour. To give context, Matsuyama won here last year leading the birdie total, so Knapp isn't afraid to go low if he has to.

He may have missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship last week, but needing a big performance to keep himself inside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings, I believe the American has what it takes to make it a hat-trick of first round leads in 2025.