WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational: Brooks Koepka has home in Memphis

Before Brooks Koepka was the world’s top-ranked golfer and a four-time major winner, he showed up in Memphis as a 24-year-old trying to find his way on the PGA Tour.

Koepka missed the cut in his previous start and had only one career top-10 finish on the PGA Tour at the time.

Then, Memphis jumpstarted his rise.

Koepka began and ended his debut appearance in the FedEx St. Jude Classic with rounds of 67 in 2014 and finished tied for 19th, which was his best result in three months.

A week later, he tied for fourth at the U.S. Open and earned his PGA Tour card for the 2014-15 season.

“I love this place,” Koepka said Wednesday as he returned to Southwind for the sixth straight year. “This place has always been good to me.”

And Koepka has always been good to this place.

His days of scooting around the course in relative anonymity are over. Koepka will be one of the most-followed players when he tees off Thursday at 12:59 p.m. with Rory McIlroy and Jason Day.

But Koepka has been a faithful participant in the Memphis event, even as he’s become an international star.

On Wednesday, he served as an advocate for the tournament’s elevated standing as a World Golf Championships summer invitational.

 “The golf course is in probably the best shape I’ve seen it the last four years,” he said.

Koepka played a practice round on Wednesday and noticed the course felt a bit softer than in previous years.

As the event transitions to Memphis from the widely-respected Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, some players have been slow to embrace the venue and calendar changes.

Koepka is all for it.

“I mean, this golf course is just as good, I think,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it. I think you see a lot of guys have played (in Memphis) over the last five years.”

‘Brutal’ logistics after British Open

Bryson DeChambeau called the logistics of getting to Memphis from the British Open “brutal” on Monday and said, “Hopefully, they’ll change it eventually.”

A long-term place on the Tour calendar for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational has not been announced yet.

But count Koepka among the group of players unfazed by the event’s slot on this year’s calendar.

“I mean, obviously there’s always a few guys who take off every WGC, so you’re going to have that no matter what,” Koepka said. “But I think it’s in a great spot. It’s in a great spot in the schedule, especially right after kind of major season to have something come up.”

Koepka brought a chef to Memphis with him and won’t be partaking from the city’s robust selection of barbecue.

Even without the city’s culinary staples, Koepka is an advocate for Memphis.

It’s a distant memory now. But as he makes his way around TPC Southwind this week, he can reflect on a tie for 19th here five years ago that helped key his rise to the top of the sport.

Then, he was a grinder playing in a run of the mill event.

Now, he’s the world’s No. 1-ranked player back in Memphis for a tournament viewed as one of the world’s top events.

“I feel like I play it really well,” Koepka said. “I enjoy the golf course, I enjoy Memphis. It’s a fun place to come back year after year, so I’ve enjoyed it.”