The homestretch for the 2026 PGA Tour season begins today with the St. Jude Championship, the first of three playoff tournaments as the world's 70 best golfers (69 after Daniel Berger withdrew) play for the FedEx Cup.
The exclusive field features a pairing for the ages: 2024 Tour champion and four-time consecutive Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler, and three-time Tour champion and two-time reigning Masters winner Rory McIlroy. It's the first time the sport's two best players have played alongside each other since the 2025 Tour Championship (Scheffler finished the better of the two, though Tommy Fleetwood took home the trophy).
While stars like Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Åberg will play for the big prize, those farther down the FedEx Cup standings are out to solidify their place in the second leg of the playoffs. Only the top 50 will play in the BMW Challenge, meaning Jordan Spieth, Sungjae Im and superstar rookie Jackson Koivun will need to make a run atop the leaderboard to keep their seasons going.
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St Jude Championship leaderboard
Keep up with the latest scores on the official PGA Tour leaderboard.
St Jude Championship schedule, how to watch
Round 1: Thursday, Aug. 13
- First tee: 8:10 a.m. ET
- TV coverage: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. ET
- TV channel: ESPN (9-11 a.m.) | Golf Channel (2-6 p.m.)
- Streaming: ESPN app | Sling | Fubo (free trial, ESPN only)
Round 1 of the 2026 St. Jude Championship will broadcast nationally on ESPN from 9-11 a.m. before Golf Channel takes over at 2 p.m. Featured group and hole streaming from PGA Tour Live is available on the ESPN app (with a subscription to the Select plan) starting at 7:45 a.m.
St Jude Championship tee times
All times Eastern.
- 8:10 a.m.: Jackson Koivun
- 8:20 a.m.: Sam Stevens, Pierceson Coody
- 8:30 a.m.: Harris English, Maverick McNealy
- 8:40 a.m.: Alex Noren, Eric Cole
- 8:50 a.m.: Nico Ecchavarria, Ryo Hisatsune
- 9 a.m.: Michael Thorbjornsen, Sepp Straka
- 9:10 a.m.: Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth
- 9:20 a.m.: Tom Kim, Ludvig Åberg
- 9:30 a.m.: Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler
- 9:45 a.m.: Gary Woodland, Alex Smalley
- 9:55 a.m.: J.T. Poston, Robert MacIntyre
- 10:05 a.m.: Kristoffer Reitan, Ryan Gerard
- 10:15 a.m.: Kurt Kitayama, Nicolai Højgaard
- 10:25 a.m.: Russell Henley, Rickie Fowler
- 10:35 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Si Woo Kim
- 10:45 a.m.: Viktor Hovland, Hideki Matsuyama
- 10:55 a.m.: Brian Harman, Jordan Smith
- 11:05 a.m.: Ricky Castillo, Matti Schmid
- 11:20 a.m.: Harry Hall, Corey Conners
- 11:30 a.m.: Shane Lowry, Max Homa
- 11:40 a.m.: Sungjae Im, Sudarshan Yellamaraju
- 11:50 a.m.: Matt McCarty, Keith Mitchell
- Noon: Sahith Theegala, Patrick Cantlay
- 12:10 p.m.: Ben Griffin, Jake Knapp
- 12:20 p.m.: Chris Gotterup, Min Woo Lee
- 12:30 p.m.: Michael Brennan, Justin Rose
- 12:40 p.m.: Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick
- 12:55 p.m.: Alex Fitzpatrick, J.J. Spaun
- 1:05 p.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Jacob Bridgeman
- 1:15 p.m.: Bud Cauley, Aaron Rai
- 1:25 p.m.: Ryan Fox, Adam Scott
- 1:35 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns
- 1:45 p.m.: Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa
- 1:55 p.m.: Nick Taylor, Michael Kim
- 2:05 p.m.: Aldrich Potgieter, Patrick Rodgers
St Jude Championship weather: Day 1 Thursday
AccuWeather predicts a high of 99 degrees with partly sunny skies in the forecast today in Memphis, Tennessee. Winds are expected to blow out of the southwest at 9 mph. There is a 5% chance of rain.
St Jude Championship payout, prize money
The total purse for the 2026 St. Jude Championship is $20 million, with the winner receiving $3.6 million.
FedEx Cup standings
The top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings after the St. Jude Championship will advance to next week's BMW Championship. Here's a look at the playoff bubble entering Round 1.
- 45. Eric Cole (865 points)
- 46. Alex Noren (859)
- 47. Michael Brennan (857)
- 48. Matt McCarty (838)
- 49. Keith Mitchell (811)
- 50. Maverick McNealy (806)
- 51. Harris English (779)
- 52. Max Homa (767)
- 53. Sungjae Im (764)
- 54. Jordan Spieth (762)
- 55. Sam Stevens (741)
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: St Jude Championship leaderboard, Round 1 tee times, PGA Tour updates