The FedEx St. Jude Championship tournament management wants to attract a more diverse audience to the Memphis PGA Tour eventGetty Images
According to Jason Munz of Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, FedEx St. Jude Championship tournament officials have “spent the better part of the past year making a concerted effort to broaden the appeal of the event” and attract “a more diverse audience” to the Memphis PGA Tour event. The goal is to “become more inclusive and better reflect the city” that has hosted the PGA Tour every year since 1958. Joe Tomek, CEO of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, “led the outreach effort.” He worked with DCA, a communications consulting firm based in downtown Memphis, and “got in front of elected officials, community leaders and prominent voices.” Tomek said the event, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, “has room for everyone,” whether fans “want to show up on the course in loafers or sneakers, a polo shirt or T-shirt, a baseball cap or a mask.” Munz noted that one of the “most tangible implementations of Tomek’s initiative at TPC Southwind will be the 14th hole.” Tournament organizers have surrounded the 239-yard par-3’s green, dubbed “The Bluff at 14,” with structures for fans and spectators and improved nearby amenities. There are “giveaways planned each day of the tournament” and a “two-hour meet-and-greet with select members of the Memphis Tigers basketball team.” The idea is “twofold: to create an environment for participants that serves as an incentive for the final push” and “to create a more welcoming atmosphere for the average spectator” (Commercial Appeal from Memphis, 8/7).
