FedEx St. Jude Championship leaderboard, scores for Thursday

The 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first of the three-event FedEx Cup playoffs, finally arrived. The opening round played out with plenty of action at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler entered the first leg of the playoffs in a favorable position — having won four PGA Tour events, including two major titles — in his quest for a second consecutive FedEx Cup championship.

Another crucial storyline unfolded as we await to see which golfers will seize the opportunity to climb the FedEx Cup standings in the absence of Rory McIlroy. McIlroy, the Masters Champion and currently second in the FedEx Cup standings, has opted out of playing in the St. Jude Championship as he aims to reduce his workload this season.

Here is how things played out from the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs at the St. Jude Championship from Memphis after the first round.

FedEx St. Jude Championship leaderboard

• 1. Akshay Bhatia: -8 (F)
• 2. Tommy Fleetwood: -7 (F)
• T3. Harry Hall -6 (F)
• T3. Justin Rose: -6 (F)
• T3. Bud Cauley: -6 (F)
• 6. Si Woo Kim: -5 (F)
• T7. Maverick McNealy: -4 (F)
• T7. Ben Griffin: -4 (F)
• T7. Rickie Fowler -4 (F)
• T7. Russell Henley: -4 (F)
• T7. Collin Morikawa: -4 (F)
• — T12. Scottie Scheffler: -3 (F)

FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP: Updated tee times, leaderboard

Here comes Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood is still looking for his elusive first win on the PGA Tour after years of strong performances. Maybe it comes in Memphis. Fleetwood just moved to 5-under for his first round off consecutive birdies at No. 15 and No. 16. Fleetwood previously holed out from the bunker for birdie at No. 11 to begin his back nine surge up the leaderboard.

Scottie Scheffler is rolling again

The FedEx St. Jude Championship is one of the dwindling few tournaments left that Scottie Scheffler hasn’t won before. Perhaps that’s set to change this week. Scheffler is blazing through his first round at TPC Southwind, with bogey-free round of 4-under going after his fourth birdie of the day at No. 14.

Collin Morikawa has also moved into contention as he closes out his first round. He’s up to 5-under, three shots back of Bhatia, along with Si Woo Kim.

Andrew Novak, Bud Cauley make a move

Consecutive birdies at No. 15 and No. 16 have pushed Bud Cauley into the logjam at 6-under, two shots back of Akshay Bhatia for the first round lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Cauley has four birdies on the back nine and seven for the round with two holes to play.

Andrew Novak, meanwhile, is alone on the leaderboard at 5-under after a birdie at No. 11. Collin Morikawa also has a bogey-free round of 4-under going through 12 holes .

Scottie Scheffler off to fast start

Defending FedEx Cup champion and current points leader Scottie Scheffler is in the fourth-to-last group off the tee in today’s opening round, meaning he’ll know what he needs to shoot to be on the leaderboard at the end of the day.

He’s paired with Sepp Straka in the 1:45 ET twosome. After an opening par, Scheffler dropped his approach shot from 101 yards on the par-4 second hole to within 7 feet of the hole. He drained the putt for birdie to get him started in a positive direction.

Scheffler followed that up by nearly reaching the green in two on the par-5 No. 3. He chipped to 2 feet and tapped that in to get to 2-under.

Akshay Bhatia shoots sizzling 62 for clubhouse lead

Akshay Bhatia hasn’t yet won on the PGA Tour this season, but he’s at the top of the leaderboard in the opening event of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Bhatia, 23, came to Memphis in 45th place in the FedEx Cup standings but he’s poised to make a major jump after his brilliant opening round at TPC Southwind.

Bhatia capped a round of 8-under-par 62 with a marvelous eagle-birdie-birdie finish to set the bar high for the rest of the field. He had seven birdies and the eagle with only one bogey on his card as he concluded the round with a two-stroke lead. Harry Hall, who was paired with Bhatia for the round, shot a 6-under 64 to sit all alone in second place.

Bhatia’s 62 was one stroke off the course record.

Hole location on No. 3 moved mid-round

PGA Tour officials had to move the hole location slightly on the third hole at TPC Southwind after Germany’s Matti Schmid apparently damaged the cup with his approach shot on the 559-yard par 5.

Playing by himself as the first golfer of the day, Schmid went for the green in two and hit his shot 207 yards to within 5½ feet of the hole. He made the putt for eagle, but after he finished, the grounds crew had to come out and recut the hole. In the process, they moved the cup about one foot to the right to avoid the repaired area. There doesn’t appear to be any video of Schmid’s shot, so we may have to wait until his round is over to find out exactly what happened.

Check out Matti Schmid’s scorecard

Incidentally, Schmid had one of the wackiest starts to a round in recent memory. After his eagle on No. 3, he carded a birdie, double bogey and triple bogey — giving him different scores and results in relation to par on each of his first six holes.

Hole locations for Round 1

Here are the pin placements for the opening round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind. The competitors are going to have to be extremely precise with their approach shots.

What time is the FedEx St. Jude Championship?

The 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship will begin on Thursday, August 7, with the first round of play. The first tee time is 8:20 a.m. ET. The tournament concludes with the final round on Sunday, August 10.

How to watch 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship: TV channel, live streaming, schedule

The 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship, which marks the beginning of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs, will be televised nationally on the Golf Channel and NBC and also streaming live on ESPN+, Peacock, and Fubo.

Below is the complete broadcast schedule for all four rounds:

All times Eastern

Thursday, August 7 and Friday, August 8

• 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on ESPN+
• 2-6 p.m. on Golf Channel, Fubo

Saturday, August 9

• 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on ESPN+
• 1-3 p.m. on Golf Channel, Fubo
• 3-6 p.m. on NBC, Peacock

Sunday, August 10

• 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on ESPN+
• 12-2 p.m. on Golf Channel, Fubo
• 2-6 p.m. on NBC, Peacock

Watch the FedEx St. Jude Championship with Fubo

Tee times for FedEx St. Jude Championship

Round 1 – Thursday

All times ET

• 8:20 AM – Matti Schmid
• 8:30 AM – Min Woo Lee, J.T. Poston
• 8:40 AM – Jordan Spieth, Wyndham Clark
• 8:50 AM – Harry Hall, Akshay Bhatia
• 9:00 AM – Tom Hoge, Matt Fitzpatrick
• 9:10 AM – Taylor Pendrith, Denny McCarthy
• 9:20 AM – Brian Campbell, Thomas Detry
• 9:30 AM – Ryan Fox, Jacob Bridgeman
• 9:40 AM – Sam Stevens, Sungjae Im
• 9:55 AM – Sam Burns, Justin Rose
• 10:05 AM – Brian Harman, Hideki Matsuyama
• 10:15 AM – Cameron Young, Shane Lowry
• 10:25 AM – Keegan Bradley, Maverick McNealy
• 10:35 AM – Ben Griffin, Harris English
• 10:45 AM – Russell Henley, Justin Thomas
• 10:55 AM – Nico Echavarria, Patrick Rodgers
• 11:05 AM – Rickie Fowler, Davis Riley
• 11:15 AM – Erik van Rooyen, Cam Davis
• 11:30 AM – Jhonattan Vegas, Max Greyserman
• 11:40 AM – Joe Highsmith, Aaron Rai
• 11:50 AM – Kurt Kitayama, Bud Cauley
• 12:00 PM – Si Woo Kim, Jake Knapp
• 12:10 PM – Xander Schauffele, Aldrich Potgieter
• 12:20 PM – Michael Kim, Jason Day
• 12:30 PM – Daniel Berger, Ryan Gerard
• 12:40 PM – Viktor Hovland, Lucas Glover
• 12:50 PM – Chris Gotterup, Patrick Cantlay
• 1:05 PM – Nick Taylor, Collin Morikawa
• 1:15 PM – Ludvig Åberg, Robert MacIntyre
• 1:25 PM – Andrew Novak, Corey Conners
• 1:35 PM – J.J. Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood
• 1:45 PM – Scottie Scheffler, Sepp Straka
• 1:55 PM – Stephan Jaeger, Mackenzie Hughes
• 2:05 PM – Tony Finau, Chris Kirk
• 2:15 PM – Kevin Yu, Emiliano Grillo

FedEx Cup standings

Listed below are the top-10 finishers in the FedEx Cup standings. These are the golfers that have qualified for the St. Jude Championship this weekend. For a full list of standings, click here.

• Scottie Scheffler – 4,806 points
• Sepp Straka – 2,595 points
• Russell Henley – 2,391 points
• Justin Thomas – 2,280 points
• Ben Griffin – 2,275 points
• Harris English – 2,232 points
• J.J. Spaun – 2,144 points
• Tommy Fleetwood – 1,783 points
• Keegan Bradley – 1,749 points
• Maverick McNealy – 1,672 points

FedEx Cup odds: Favorites to win playoffs

Odds according to DraftKings as of Tuesday, August 5:

• Scottie Scheffler +240
• Rory McIlroy +600
• Xander Schauffele +1600
• Justin Thomas +1800
• Tommy Fleetwood +2000
• Ludvig Aberg +2000
• Collin Morikawa +2200
• Russell Henley +2200

FedEx St. Jude Championship purse, payout

The winner of the FedEx St. Jude Championship will get a significant boost in the FedEx Cup Playoff chase. In the second event, the BMW Championship, only 50 players from the previous tournament compete. In addition, the champion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship will receive a substantial 18% share of the $20 million purse.

What is the FedEx Cup Playoff format?

The FedEx Cup Playoffs are a series of three tournaments between Aug. 7 and Aug. 24, starting with the top 70 golfers for the first tournament and narrowing the field down to the top 30 for the final tournament.

The top 70 golfers compete in the St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, which concludes on Sunday, Aug. 10. From there, the field will be limited to the top 50 the following weekend for the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, between Aug. 14 and Aug. 17. Only the top 30 will be invited to the Tour Championship the following weekend at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, between Aug. 21 and Aug. 24.

Both the St. Jude and BMW Championship will have a total prize purse of $20 million with the winners each receiving $3.6 million. — Jon Hoefling