FedEx St. Jude Classic 2012: Leaderboard Updates, Highlights and More

UPDATE: Sunday, June 10 at 7:50 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

In just his second event since a back injury kept him for the tour for almost three months, Dustin Johnson picked up a title. He fired a four-under par 66 to finish the tournament at nine-under par, which was one shot better than second place finisher John Merrick.  

Rory McIlroy surged to the lead with a 32 on the front, but struggled on the back. He still had a shot at the win, but his splashed his drive down in the water on 18 for a double bogey. 

Final Leaderboard

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Update: Saturday, June 9 at 6:21 p.m. ET by Jesse Reed

The leaderboard is tightly bunched heading into Sunday's final round, as there are currently 30 players within five strokes of the leaders. John Merrick, Nick O'Hern and old timer Davis Love III all shot rounds under par to lead the tournament at six-under par through three rounds.

On a day that saw most of the leaders shoot rounds under par, Rory McIlroy slid backwards. In fact, you might say he'd rather forget about his up-and-down performance that ultimately ended with a round of 72—two-over par at the par 70 TPC Southwind.

Robert Allenby and Dustin Johnson both shot three-under par on the day to get to within one shot of the leaders, while Roberto Castro and Fredrik Jacobson both posted rounds of four-under par to get to within three shots of the leaders.

Sunday is going to be a wild and crazy shootout. There will be no room for error for the leaders, as there will certainly be some low rounds posted tomorrow.

Round 3 Leaderboard

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Update: Friday, June 8 at 6:23 p.m. ET by Austin Green

After missing three straight cuts, Rory McIlroy has bounced back nicely at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

In his last competitive tune-up before next week's U.S. Open, McIlroy is currently sitting atop the leaderboard at seven under par.

The 23-year-old was brilliant in Friday's round two, sinking one eagle and five birdies on the day. Although he bogeyed consecutive holes on 12 and 13, he made up for it by birdieing three of his last four holes.

This is an encouraging performance for McIlroy, who clearly needed to get his head straight if he was going to have any shot at defending his 2011 U.S. Open title. He doesn't have to win this tournament, but as long as he continues to play well through the weekend, it should be a huge confident boost heading into San Francisco next week.

Other notables in contention are Thursday's best Jeff Maggert (-6) and John Merrick (-5), as well as Davis Love III (-4), Boo Weekley (-3) and John Daly (-3).

For the highlight of the round, check out Rory McIlroy's massive tee shot on 15.

Click here for the full FedEx St. Jude Classic leaderboard.

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Thursday, June 7th at 8:30 ET by Sam Quinn

Jeff Maggert and John Merrick are tied atop the leader board after both posted 4-under 66s in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Maggert got off to a great start, posting an eagle on the par-five third hole, but faltered on the back end of the front nine, bogeying holes five and eight. He made up for his transgressions when he reached the back nine, birdying 12, 14, 15 and 16 to storm back and take the lead.

Merrick started off even hotter than his co-leader, birdying three of the first four holes. He bogeyed the seventh, but birdied 12, 13 and 16, before bogeying his final hole.

Arjun Atwal, Jeff Overton, J.J. Henry and Seung-Yul Noh are all tied for third at 3-under.

Other notables in the hunt include Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, John Daly and Davis Love III tied for seventh at 2-under.

Defending champion Harrison Frazar had an absolutely abysmal opening round. He birdied two of his first three holes - the only bright spot of his day - but went on to bogey or double-bogey eight of the final 14 holes. Not a good start to the tournament for Frazar as he finished tied for dead last in154th place.

The crowd favorite, McIlroy, broke even on the front nine, and birdied 12 and 14 to head into the clubhouse at 2-under. McIlroy is looking to build some momentum heading into the U.S. Open on June 11, where he will be trying to defend his title. The back nine was a good sign for McIlroy and he should be able to capitalize on his late success going into tomorrow.

Here is a link to the complete standings after Round 1.

Round 1 Analysis

We saw some good days and some bad days at the opening round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Nobody blew away the field, which always makes the weekend more intriguing.

I have a feeling McIlroy will come out of the gate hot tomorrow, knowing that he needs to work out all the kinks before the U.S. Open next week. He seemed to put it together on his final nine holes of the day and could make a charge to the top of the leader board. 

It'll be interesting to see what Maggert and Merrick do tomorrow and through the weekend, as we seldom hear anything about the duo on the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour moves to the TPC Southwind in Tennessee this week, where players such as Rory McIlroy will try to build some confidence for the summer tournaments.

This is an excellent event to participate in because there is little pressure to succeed since most of the fans are focused on next week's U.S. Open in San Francisco. However, that doesn't mean that the action at the TPC Southwind won't be riveting.

Check back to this article daily for leaderboard updates, analysis, and video highlights from the 2012 FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Important Tee Times for Thursday's First Round, click here for the full list.

TV Information

Last-Minute Prediction

I predict that Rory McIlroy will win the Fed Ex St. Jude Classic and build some much-needed confidence for the U.S. Open, which will be a tournament that he will be under enormous pressure to succeed in.

McIlroy is too talented to not perform well in Tennessee this week. Expect an impressive four rounds of golf from the Irishman at TPC Southwind.