(Memphis)-Dustin Johnson has committed to play in the $5.6 million FedEx St. Jude Classic, June 4-10, at TPC Southwind.
The powerful American star hasn’t played in a PGA TOUR event since mid-March after sustaining a back injury. He is scheduled to play The Memorial the week prior to the FESJC.
“This is a red-letter day for the FedEx St. Jude Classic,” said Tournament Director Phil Cannon. “We’ve had our fingers crossed that Dustin would return from his injury in time to play our event as a tune-up for the U.S. Open. DJ’s commitment gives us a super field with more than two weeks still to go before the commitment deadline. We still have some big guns sitting on the fence, too.”
Johnson, 27, has five victories on the PGA TOUR, including back-to-back wins at the AT&T Pebble beach Pro-Am, and two FedExCup playoff events (2010 BMW Championship, and 2011 Barclays Championship). Johnson, currently 17th in the Official World Golf Rankings, finished fourth in the FedExCup points race last season and already has three top-10 finishes this season.
Johnson is the latest addition to a strong field of golfers that include former U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell, Japanese superstar Ryo Ishikawa and defending champion Harrison Frazar. Also playing are former FESJC champions Justin Leonard, Jeff Maggert and Brian Gay; two-time U. S. Open champion Retief Goosen of South Africa; British Open and PGA Championship winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland; two-time major champion John Daly; highly-ranked Brandt Snedeker of Nashville; and Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson and Robert Karlsson, who finished second the past two years at TPC Southwind.
Celebrities playing in Wednesday’s Championship Pro-Am, June 6, are sportscasters Michael Strahan, Warren Sapp, Greg Anthony, Tim Brando and Joe Theismann; TV actors Rob Morrow, Dave Annable and Brian Baumgartner; new football coaches Justin Fuente of the University of Memphis and Hugh Freeze of Ole Miss; NBA legends Penny Hardaway of Memphis and Rick Barry; Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould and former Tennessee football player Carl Pickens.
