Golf

St Jude Classic offers last chance for some players to qualify for next week’s US Open

Pádraig Harrington embarks on a hectic period in which he plays six of the next eight weeks

Padraig Harrington is to play in St Jude Classic in Memphis, Tennessee
Padraig Harrington is to play in St Jude Classic in Memphis, Tennessee
Thu Jun 06 2013 - 01:17

The FedEx St Jude Classic represents the last chance for players to qualify for next week’s US Open, but Scott Stallings yesterday secured his place at Merion without hitting a ball.

Stallings has replaced England’s Roger Chapman in the field for the year’s second Major championship after the 2012 US Senior Open champion was forced to withdraw with a shoulder injury.

Stallings, who was fourth in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village on Sunday, had been the first alternate from sectional qualifying in Memphis after shooting rounds of 70 and 69 at Colonial Country Club on Monday.

The top 60 in the world rankings on Sunday evening qualify for the US Open, although American Kyle Stanley is the only player currently inside the top 60 who is not already exempt.

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Stanley’s third place at the Memorial moved him from 90th to 59th in the standings, but he is not playing in Memphis and will face an anxious wait to see if he is overtaken.

Austria's Bernd Wiesberger (61st) is trying to qualify for his US Open debut and is the defending champion at this week's Lyoness Open on the European Tour.

Highest ranked
World number 67 Jimmy Walker and number 68 Charles Howell are the highest-ranked players at the FedEx St Jude Classic who are not already exempt for Merion.

A total of nine Major champions are in the field, including Phil Mickelson, Pádraig Harrington and Trevor Immelman, while defending champion Dustin Johnson will be hoping to shake off a lingering back injury at TPC Southwind.

Harrington is the only Irish player competing in Memphis, after a two-week break at home in Dublin. It is the three-time Major winner’s latest stint stateside which forms part of a hectic period in which he plays six of the next eight weeks. His outing in the St Jude Classic is followed by next week’s US Open and the following week’s Travelers Championship, then a week off that leads into a run in Europe that takes in the Irish Open, a week’s break, and then the Scottish Open and the British Open.

American Billy Horschel made his PGA Tour debut in the event in 2009 and has promised to continue supporting the event for as long as possible.

“They were great to offer me a sponsor’s exemption, so I feel like I have to pay them back,” said Horschel, who was missed just one cut all season and saw a run of four straight top-10 finishes culminate in his maiden victory in New Orleans in April.

“This is a great tournament, on a great golf course and the tournament does such a great job for St Jude (Children’s Research Hospital). It’s a tournament I’ll play for years.”