FedEx St. Jude Championship 2025 First-Round Leader Tips: Trio to back from 60/1 to 90/1

• 60/161.00 Brian Harman has been going low lately

• 66/167.00 Chris Kirk is in strong form and was R1 leader last year

• 90/191.00 Patrick Rodgers can build on last week's turnaround

Weather forecast for Thursday

It's going to be a hot one. Temperatures start at around 75 and then peak in the mid-90s in the afternoon.

Winds are light throughout the day so conditions are good for scoring. 

As for what's required to set the pace, a 62 was needed in 2020, 2021 and 2022 while in the last two years Jordan Spieth took the sole lead with 63 in 2023 and Chris Kirk's 64 was enough to secure FRL honours in 2024.

With just 69 players going to post, a draw bias seems negated somewhat but note that morning starters have dominated this market in the last five years.

Dave Tindall's St Jude FRL Bet 1: Brian Harman @ 60/161.00

After bouncing back to form with his annual top 10 in the Travelers Championship, 2023 Open hero Brian Harman had more fun on the links.

He started out 69-65 in both the Scottish Open and Open Championship and left the UK with a 10th place at Royal Portrush in the bag.

As usual, he's being underrated again here and 60/161.00 (1/4, 5 Places) looks an appealing R1 price especially as he has course form too.

The left-hander has a third and a sixth to his name and has sprinkled three 66s on the par 70 over the last three editions.

Harman, who has finished day one inside the top 10 in two of his last three outings, tees off at 9.05am. 

Dave Tindall's St Jude FRL Bet 2: Chris Kirk @ 66/167.00

Chris Kirk has some of the best recent form figures in the field having racked up four top 15s on his last five starts on American soil.

That run includes a playoff loss at the Rocket Classic and fifth at last weekend's Wyndham Championship.

Fast starts have been part of the deal too. Kirk opened with a 65 in the Rocket Classic and a 64 in the 3M Open, sitting seventh after 18 holes in both.

Notably, he was first-round leader at this week's venue last year and also second after day one in 2018.

This is a good course for him given that his record on other par 70s with Bermuda greens shows a win at the Honda Classic, second at the Sony Open as well as last week's top five at the Wyndham.

Take the 66/167.00 on the 1.05pm starter.

Dave Tindall's St Jude FRL Bet 3: Patrick Rodgers @ 90/191.00

The final bet is a bit of a punt on a player who suddenly sparked to life last week after a spell in the doldrums.

Patrick Rodgers had missed six straight cuts and didn't seem to be going anywhere at the Wyndham Championship after shooting even par in round one but he sailed through the cut thanks to a Friday 63 and closed with a 65 to make the top 15.

If something has clicked, the former RSM Classic runner-up (played on a Bermuda par 70) could thrive again here.

Rodgers ranked 2nd for SG: Approach, a key stat here, at Sedgefield last week and has played some nice rounds at Southwind in the last couple of years: a 66 on day three in 2023 and a closing 67 last year.

He tees off at 9.55am.

*You can follow me on Twitter @DaveTindallgolf

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