When the Memphis Open debuted at Colonial Country Club in 1958, it gave the city its first lasting place on the PGA Tour calendar. A place where Billy Maxwell won the inaugural edition, and over time it became a familiar annual stop for fans and a stage for stars including Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Lee Trevino.

The event may not have been an overnight major-championship spectacle, but it steadily grew into a tradition. One that’s in trouble. The FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis will no longer be part of the Tour’s elite “Championship Series,” and Scottie Scheffler is feeling the weight of the news.

“Yeah, I played—this was actually my second start on the PGA TOUR,” Scottie Scheffler said ahead of the St. Jude Championship when asked about his reaction to the event losing its premier status. “I played the Byron when I was in high school, and I got an exemption into this tournament as well. I’ve received two sponsor’s exemptions, and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities I’ve had from this tournament. I’ll be sad to see it go. We love coming back to Memphis, and I think the golf course is really good. Hopefully it will be part of it in some capacity. Yeah, if it’s not, I’ll definitely be sad to see it leave.”

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As we all know, the PGA Tour is transitioning into a two-tier system starting in 2028. The PGA Tour’s new 2028 model will split the schedule into an elite Championship Series and a Challenger Series. The Championship Series will include 23 to 24 events overall, including 15 regular-season tournaments, the majors, THE PLAYERS Championship, and a reworked postseason. Memphis is not among those 15 regular-season stops, so the FedEx St. Jude Championship will lose its top-tier status after 2027, putting decades of golf history at a crossroads.

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In 1970, the Memphis Open took on a purpose that extended well beyond golf. Entertainer Danny Thomas agreed to lend his name to the tournament on the condition that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which he founded, became its sole beneficiary.

The event became the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, tying the city’s PGA TOUR stop directly to a Memphis institution and turning a week of professional golf into a recurring fundraiser for children facing serious illnesses. Since that partnership began, the tournament has raised more than $86 million for St. Jude.

FedEx deepened that local connection in 1986, when the Memphis-based company became the tournament’s first corporate title sponsor. The resulting Federal Express St. Jude Classic was more than a branding exercise: FedEx founder Fred Smith insisted that St. Jude remain in the event’s name, preserving the hospital as the heart of the tournament. In its first three years, FedEx even linked the purse to its business, adding one dollar for every package shipped on the tournament Friday.

That blend of hometown company, hometown hospital, and PGA TOUR event is why the tournament means more to Memphis than a standard stop on the schedule. FedEx’s sponsorship has not been uninterrupted in title-name terms, but its relationship with the tournament and St. Jude has endured for nearly four decades, helping elevate the event from a regular Tour stop to a WGC event and then the FedExCup Playoffs opener.

The news dropped just as players arrived at TPC Southwind this week. For Scheffler, the news brought back memories of the tournament’s role in launching his PGA TOUR career.

Scottie Scheffler played the two events during his high school time in 2014. He performed exceptionally well in the Byron Nelson Championship for someone playing his first-ever PGA Tour event and finished tied for 22nd. He then missed the cut at the FedEx St. Jude Classic after rounds of 71 and 76. Then, he played this event the second time in 2018, when he finished tied for 43rd.

Although Scheffler’s early Memphis appearances at the FedEx St. Jude Classic included a missed cut in 2014 and a T43 finish in 2018, he has since built a strong record at TPC Southwind. The World No. 1 is making his seventh consecutive Memphis start in 2026 and has recorded three top-five finishes there since 2020, including fourth in 2024 and tied for third in 2025.

His consistent presence in Memphis since 2020 reflects the tournament’s established place on his schedule.

He has always said that he enjoys coming back to Memphis and playing at the event. Even during the 2024 press conference, he said that it’s “good to be back here in Memphis.”

He called the course a little easier than he would expect from a playoff venue and said the fans are welcoming, which makes the St. Jude Championship an event he would always like to come back to.

However, it might not be possible for Scottie Scheffler to come and play it regularly starting in 2028. He will likely be playing the top-tier events, while the St. Jude Championship will lose its premier status. The PGA Tour confirmed that the FedEx St. Jude Championship will be cut from the Championship Series.

The event was elevated in 2019 when the FedEx St. Jude Classic became a World Golf Championships event (WGC–FedEx St. Jude Invitational). It was then reconstituted in 2022 as the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Tournament and city officials, as well as FedEx, have publicly described the decision as disappointing. However, discussions are ongoing about keeping professional golf in Memphis in some form.

But for now, Scottie Scheffler is focused only on this week. The temperature is expected to rise to 100°F. When asked about preparations, the 30-year-old said that he would be drinking an plenty of water. However, he won’t drink too much to be waterlogged. Besides plain water, he would also consume electrolytes to ensure hydration.

As the St. Jude Championship faces an uncertain future beyond 2027, Scottie Scheffler’s appreciation for the tournament makes its potential departure from the elite schedule all the more meaningful.