St. Jude Classic goes to Lee Westwood

Photography by BMC



The PGA TOUR’s 53rd annual St. Jude Classic Presented by Smith & Nephew was played in Memphis June 7-13.  This year, Smith & Nephew, a global medical technology corporation, signed on as presenting sponsor for the tournament. Playing in the longest playoff since 1961, the world’s No. 3 golfer Lee Westwood sank a birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat out Robert Karlsson of Sweden and win the St. Jude Classic. While Westwood took home the trophy, the real winners were the tournament’s beneficiary, the kids of St. Jude.

The week’s events included the Championship Pro-Am featuring such celebrity players as Javy Lopez, Andy Buckley, Houston Nutt, Phil Donahue and Tony Thomas, son of hospital founder Danny Thomas. In addition, players visited with St. Jude patients and their families during a special Golf-A-Round event hosted by the St. Jude Women’s Club at the hospital. The PGA TOUR Wives Association also hosted its annual picnic at Target House for St. Jude families.

The tournament was founded in 1958 as the Memphis Open by seven local businessmen with an initial purse of $20,000. Since 1970, when St. Jude was named as the event’s sole charity, the tournament has raised more than $23.3 million for the hospital.