Since the announcement that the FedEx St. Jude Championship will lose its premier status on the PGA Tour after 2027, there has been plenty of chatter throughout the golf world about what can be done to convince the tour to reconsider the decision.
But while TPC Southwind continues to provide a stage for some of the best golfers in the world, fans have had to deal with another challenge of their own: the Memphis heat. With temperatures reaching the 90s — and the heat index up to 110 — throughout the week, anyone who has been at the course to watch the tournament has experienced just how demanding an August afternoon can be.
Even so, the event has averaged 70,000 to 90,000 in attendance. John Forehand, a fan who consistently travels to Memphis from
Arkansas with friends Zac Pearson and Matt Austin, believes people will still come even if it's not a playoff event, but suggested the tournament should be moved.
"As far as coming to it if it’s not a championship, I think we would still want to go, but not if it was in the middle of August," Forehand said. "If they moved it up to maybe March and it was just a little better weather, it could be a lot of fun. Of course we’ll tough out the heat for now because it's such a big event."
The notion of shifting it up to March would ultimately return it to a regular-season PGA event, and would also be the earliest it has ever been held. Losing not only its playoff status, but becoming a second-tier event — based on the new system the PGA Tour is implementing in 2028 — very well could mean that attendance would go down substantially, which also would affect the fundraising connection with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
When it comes to the fan experience itself, the trio doesn't think there's much to fix.
"I've only been here twice but it's really, really well run," Austin said. "There's so much stuff for fans to do and the free food and drinks are a plus. The parking is efficient, you're in and out, the logistics of it all are where they need to be."
Pearson said the tournament doesn't necessarily need to remain a championship event to survive, as long as Memphis receives a meaningful PGA Tour placement.
“We don't really know what the whole challenger versus championship (tier) is going to be, but there's definitely ways to make it special," Pearson said. "If it turns into something like the Charles Schwab, then it'll still be a big event.”
The Charles Schwab Challenge, held in the spring, is a longstanding regular-season event held in Fort Worth, Texas, that is one of five invitation-only tournaments held during the regular season. Scottie Scheffler — who won the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Aug. 16 — and Russell Henley played in this year's challenge, which Henley won.
Despite the three fans' suggestions, they recognized that some of the biggest factors surrounding the FedEx St. Jude Championship may be out of the event's control. The weather is difficult to overcome, and with the course already offering shaded seating, hydration stations and other cooling measures, changing the PGA Tour's decision could prove to be an uphill battle.
"It’s tough just because of when these events have to happen. Just at the end of the season, like they’ve got to get the points total," Forehand said. "I really, I just, I think this is the heat. I don’t really know of anything that they could do.”
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Three fans' suggestions on what FedEx St. Jude Championship can do to keep it elite
