WELCOME RETURN FOR GOMEZ
St. Jude defending champ is fond of TPC Southwind
There’s an inherent comfort that comes with being the defending champion of the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
For last year’s winner, Fabian Gomez, it started in the parking lot Tuesday.
“You have the preference parking with your name,” he said through an interpreter. “That means a lot, you know?”
A 4-under-par 66 in the final round gave Gomez his first PGA Tour victory — and ensured that he would have a reserved parking spot waiting for him this week when he arrived at TPC Southwind. The 37-year-old Argentine is returning to a PGA Tour event as a champion for the first time and says his game is as strong as it was a year ago.
“I’ve been playing well (with) the driver, which on this course is really, really important. I putted well. Irons are in good shape also,” Gomez said. “I think that I’m in a similar situation like last year, with a little more experience.”
The situation might be similar in some ways, but much has changed for Gomez in the last year. He won a second PGA Tour event, the Sony Open in Hawaii, in January. He now has more flexibility in his schedule, opportunities to play more prestigious tournaments and majors — including next week’s U.S. Open. He will qualify for the event if he moves into the top 60 in the world golf rankings by the end of the weekend. He ranks No. 68.
Gomez is also on track to represent Argentina at the Olympic Games this summer, though he is careful not to get ahead of himself.
“It will be an honor for me, but I know that I have many really important tournaments on the PGA Tour before the Olympics and I want to play well,” he said. “I don’t want to be focusing on the Olympics (right now).”
Gomez moved up 89 spots in the FedExCup standings with his victory at TPC Southwind last season, a win he capped with a 30-foot putt on the final hole.
He feels comfortable in Memphis and says positive memories are everywhere.
During his practice round Tuesday morning, for example, he remembered how he played each hole the previous year and which clubs worked well in which situations. When he stood at the 18th tee, he envisioned the drive he hit in the final round.
“Also, the weather,” Gomez said. “I know that for everybody it’s so hot. But in Argentina … it’s really, really hot. This weather for (me) is like springtime. I enjoy playing in this weather.”
Weather has in some ways shaped Gomez’s career to this point.
Unlike his countrymen on the PGA Tour, Gomez did not play on the European Tour before making it to this level. He chose to work his way up through the Nationwide Tour and the now-defunct Tour de las Americas, which feature warmer climates. He made his PGA Tour debut in 2011.
“I came from the tougher way but with the better weather,” he said. “I knew from the beginning that the weather (in Europe) was not for me.”
So this week Gomez will enjoy the Memphis heat. He feels comfortable on the course.
He even shares the city’s affinity for barbecue, albeit of a different variety.
When Gomez and other Argentine players find themselves at the same PGA Tour event, they barbecue regularly. He says they had three barbecues during the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, last week and likely will have several more in Memphis this week.
Gomez prefers beef ribs and skewer steaks, but don’t expect them to be drenched in barbecue sauce.
“It’s more like an Argentine style,” he said with a smile.