TPC Southwind just outside of Memphis, TN (one of the Chicago Golf Guy’s Top 10 cities to visit) at the FedEx St. Jude Classic one week before the US Open.  Lots of big namers out there tuning up prior to the second major of the year (minus Tiger and Phil).  We have a crusty veteran atop the leaderboard after day one: Jeff Maggert shoots 67 along with John Merrick.  Rory McIlroy bounces back after three missed cuts with a 68 on his first round.  Not to mention it was a 68 while hitting 9 greens and hitting 6 fairways.  The Chicago Golf Guy hits 9 greens and 6 fairways and I’d be hard pressed to break 80, but thats Rors for ya.  Local favorite John Daly also had a nice first day with a 68.  Ryder Cup Team captain Davis Love III is still playing great with a 68, along with two time US Open Champion Lee Janzen.

Because the PGA Tour partners with such a great cause I thought we should mention a few facts bout St. Jude:

– No family ever pays St. Jude for anything.
– On average, 7,800 active patients visit the hospital each year, most of whom are treated on an outpatient basis
– St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world.
– St. Jude has developed protocols that have helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20 percent when the hospital opened in 1962 to 80 percent today
– In 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4 percent. Today, the survival rate for this once deadly disease is 94 percent, thanks to research and treatment protocols developed at St. Jude.