Calkins: Why Fred Smith saved the Memphis golf tournament. (Hint: It wasn't about the golf.)

Geoff Calkins On Demand: Just Posted

Calkins: Why Fred Smith saved the Memphis golf tournament. (Hint: It wasn’t about the golf.)

Updated: August 04, 2025 8:09 PM CT

“This will be the first FedEx St. Jude Championship since the death of Fred Smith. Why did Smith embrace the tournament the way he did? It wasn’t about the golf.”

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Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.

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