USA TODAY International Edition
Berger eats up Memphis, goes for 3-peat
Daniel Berger has a unique recipe for his success in the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
Obviously, he loves TPC Southwind, a mouth-watering par-70 track that fits his eye and style of play. The cool vibe of Memphis adds spice to the week. Tournament organizers put on a top-flight show, too. A huge amount of confidence builds up as soon as he drives on to the property.
Then there is the food.
“I try and eat barbecue as much as I can,” Berger said in a phone interview from Shelter Harbor Golf Club in Rhode Island, where he spent the past two weeks working on his game before heading to Tennessee. “And then there is a local Mexican spot, and I’m not going to tell you what it is because then everyone will start showing up there. I eat there like four nights. It’s killer Mexican food.”
All together and Berger, 25, has devoured the tournament the only two times he’s played. In winning his first PGA Tour title in 2016, Berger held off Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Brooks Koepka by three shots. Last year, the 2015 PGA Tour rookie of the year won his other Tour title with a finalround 66 to beat Charl Schwartzel and Whee Kim by one.
This week he goes for the rare threepeat. The last player to accomplish the feat was Stricker, who won the John Deere Classic from 2009 to 2011.
Berger just feels right at home when he heads to the tournament, which isn’t surprising because his success there was born from his days learning the game.
“I love the course. It reminds me of the place I grew up at, the Dye Preserve in South Florida,” Berger said. “I’m familiar with that type of grass, the Bermuda grass; the temperatures get hot there, too. I just have a sense of calm when I get out there. I can’t predict what will happen this year, but I will be prepared.”
There is no better place for Berger to set sail this year than TPC Southwind. One of the rising young stars in the game hasn’t been his best this year. Berger doesn’t have a top-10 finish in 11 starts this season and has fallen from No. 28 in the official world rankings at the start of the year to No. 41. Berger hasn’t been terrible inside the ropes — he has five top-20s and missed just one cut — but he said he’s been a “little bit on and off.”
A caddie change didn’t work out; Berger parted ways with Grant Berry, his caddie for three years, at the end of 2017. Three months later, he reunited with Berry and “he’s been really great for me.”
“It was a difficult decision to change caddies, but at the time it was the right decision,” Berger said. “I didn’t play that bad, I played all right, but I felt my game was much better than what the scores were saying.
“I was turning what felt like a topthree finish into a 12th or 15th. So I made the change back to my old caddie, and I’m glad I did.”
Another change could help him, too. This is the time of the year that Berger starts playing his best golf. This was true in 2016 and 2017, and he’s confident he can make it happen again.
“I’m really close,” he said. “I feel like I’m playing well, but the scores just haven’t translated. But that’s just golf. I know the game’s close, so I just have to continue to do the things I’ve been doing. I just have to put the pedal to the metal now. I’ve played well enough to contend but I just haven’t finished it off.
“I haven’t played the way I expected to play. But I’ll be in a good place to change that.”