The third round FedEx St. Jude Championship stopped at 2:59 pm. But it was not the weather that played spoilsport this time, unlike Friday. Rather, it was something much deeper, more symbolic. It was a tribute to Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, who passed away at the age of 80 in June. And the moment was unlike any other you have seen. “You get goosebumps just thinking about the concept,” tournament executive director Joe Tomek said before the tournament. And the execution? Flawless. The FedEx Plane flyover, followed by a moment of complete silence, brought the tribute full circle.
The playoff’s flyover tribute wasn’t just for the fans—it was a moment that touched the players, too. As the course fell completely silent, a Boeing 777 swept low overhead, bearing the initials “FWS” for Fred W. Smith on its underside.
This moment, although brief, kept a special place in the hearts of PGA Tour pros like Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, and many more. Justin Rose, who ended T2 on the leaderboard with a total score of 13-under, reminded everyone the place of Smith in the golfing sphere, “Obviously everyone around the world benefits from the amazing work that they’ve done here.” In the post-round interview, Rose also shared his experience of the tribute to the legend who built a tournament with nothing but sheer determination. “To see the jet flying around, the pilot having some fun with it, obviously Fred’s initials and logo on the bottom of the plane, yeah, it was special.” Rose offered his condolences to Smith’s family.
Sitting at T6 currently after Round 3 with a total score of 9-under, Rickie Fowler also had a great day. When the interviewer asked Fowler about the flyover, he didn’t shy away from throwing full support to the initiative. “It’s special. We wouldn’t be here this week and playing here and with the FedExCup and everything that FedEx is a part of the PGA TOUR. That’s all because of Fred initially. It’s pretty special, come full circle,” Fowler replied. Although painful, Fowler acknowledged the need to continue his legacy of the PGA Tour and the playoffs without his presence. “We wouldn’t be here and playing today without him,” the 36-year-old declared.
However, it wasn’t just these players that supported the tribute to Smith. The American pro golfer, JJ Spaun, tied at T4 alongside A Novak, shared how “awesome” the moment was for him and the entire stadium. “To honor Fred in that flyover was really awesome, and seeing his initials on the belly of the plane was really cool. We took off our hats and paid our respects to what he created and what he’s done with this tournament as well.”
The moment was not just a tribute to Fred Smith; it was a revolution, loudly taking place at the St. Jude Championship. Although common in sports like football, for golf, it was a rare, rather unusual tribute. Where prize purses and rivalries take the center stage, this standout tribute marked a moment of reflection. And the impact showed clearly even on the course itself, with an epic showdown of talent and power.
Fred Smith’s role in the PGA Tour
Fred Smith, the visionary founder of FedEx, was not a golfer himself. However, his impact on the PGA Tour and the FedEx St. Jude Championship was profound. Though he never played in the pro-ams or handed out trophies personally, Smith valued the sport’s ethics. He also admired its global reach and charitable mission. Fred Smith’s choice of Memphis as FedEx’s headquarters made it a global logistics hub and sparked his lasting philanthropy there. As USGA president Fred Perpall said, “Fred was not a golf guy in the sense of playing the game, but he was what we would call a ‘golf guy,’ in terms of valuing the values of the game. He was drawn to the PGA Tour because of the ethics the players show, because professional golf is global — and because there is such a powerful charitable element to what the PGA Tour does.”
Smith’s leadership extended beyond business strategy into fostering a community spirit. Perpall reflected on Smith’s understanding of connection and care: “Tom Hanks is on that island, stranded, completely alone, except for that volleyball… But there’s a community of FedEx employees trying to get him home. FedEx has hundreds of thousands of employees. Fred understood that sense of community. You’d see it in how he ran FedEx. In all the charitable things he did in Memphis and all over the world. But that’s golf, too — right? Golf gives you that sense of community. Fred got that.”
Even after his death, Fred Smith’s legacy lives on, driving golf and Memphis forward with lasting impact. The world will forever remember this legend.
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