Hideki Matsuyama by 5 strokes
Ah, the FedEx St. Jude Championship in lovely Memphis, Tennessee. No other event quite smells of barbeque and birdies like this one.
We're three rounds in, and it's like watching an episode of Top Chef. Hideki Matsuyama is the one currently in the driving seat with a succulent score of -17. He's been grilling fairways and roasting greens better than anyone else, with a dash of 3rd place spice from the Olympic Men's Golf Competition. This is one golfer on a hot streak after yet another Top-3 performance. But we might not want to count our chickens before the birdies just yet.
Nick Dunlap, sitting comfortably in 2nd, is delivering quite a performance himself at -12. If anything, he's playing with the freedom of a man with nothing to lose, having missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship.
Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler follow closely behind, both sitting pretty under par. Standout Scheffler, ranking 1st on the tour and fresh from an Olympic win, is probably having 'Matsuyama-nightmares' with the way Hideki is playing. And Hovland, despite finishing a measly 30th at the last Olympics, seems to be professing a 'can do' attitude for a better finish here.
Let’s swing our focus to the shining stars from the last round. Hideki 'the terminator' Matsuyama rightly stole the first place with a round score of -6. Looking at the way he glides elegantly down the course gives me the same excited jitters as when I see fresh coffee percolating in the morning.
Jason Day and Jhonattan Vegas bring up the rear tied with a -5. Day, who had a decent 9th in the Olympic Men's Golf Competition, might wish he bought a one-way ticket to Memphis sooner; he's playing here like he just found an envelope of cash in his back pocket.
Taking all this into account, Matsuyama has the momentum and the form, pulling away from the pack in the FedEx St. Jude Championship like a Ferrari in a foot race. But remember, golf isn’t won on paper and Matsuyama isn’t crowned champion until that final putt drops.
Albert's Prediction: Hideki Matsuyama by 5 strokes