There are plenty of reasons for watching the FedEx St. Jude Classic, which opened Thursday in Memphis. It’s a prelude to next week’s U.S. Open, which is why some key players are entered. Among them are Daniel Berger

I am guilty of writing primarily about professional men’s golf, so let me take this time to highlight the Ladies Professional Golf Association, specifically the talent competing in this week’s U.S. Women’s Open.

When the manufacturer of the world’s top golf balls produce new products, people listen.

THE SPIDER’S WEBB: Even though he double-bogeyed the final hole and shot a one-over par 73, the four-shot victory by Webb Simpson (Titleist Pro V1) was a tour de force. He had such a comfortable lead going into the final with a seven-stroke lead, that he could afford to make a mistake at the end. The fact that he kept the ball in play for the most part was paramount.

The organizers of the Players Championship deserve credit for creating the idea of super group pairings for the first 36 holes of the tournaments.

There is an old saying in golf: you drive for show and put for dough.

You have to give credit to the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club for modernizing the game with some progressive rule changes, making if far less complicated for players of all ages and abilities, and let’s hope the collective bodies put to rest any suggestion of rolling the ball back.

The big winner in the 2018 Masters, at least from a golf ball manufacturer standpoint, is Titleist.