When Darrell Smith began planning the inaugural World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, he wanted to bring a Memphis flavor to TPC Southwind during tournament week.

And not much says local food like barbecue.

Thus, The Pit was born.

Central BBQ, Germantown Commissary, Hog Wild BBQ and The Rendezvous will offer spectators a foursome of barbecue options as they watch the world’s top golfers July 24-28.

“The player field is going to be unbelievable, but we wanted to make sure the fan experience – the on-site experience – lives up to the quality of competition inside the ropes,” said Smith, the tournament’s executive director.

“We came up with The Pit as a great way to offer some of Memphis’ food and beverages.”

The Pit, located near former grain silos between the par-3 eighth green and ninth tee box, will serve the best of each restaurant, whether it’s pulled pork, ribs or chicken. Golfers from Dustin Johnson to Bubba Watson will be surrounded by an authentically Memphis event.

Changing from a PGA Tour stop to the World Golf Championships event allowed Smith and his staff to do things they hadn’t done in the past – like The Pit and 901Boulevard, where a variety of local food trucks will park for fans to enjoy.

“Everything that we have done in preparation for the WGC is we want it to be a reflection of Memphis,” Smith said. “We want Memphis to be showcased on property. We want this to be Memphis’ World Golf Championship. We want to celebrate those great things. We want to tie a strong connection to our hometown.”

Hog Wild owner Ernie Mellor created the BBQ nacho, a concept which became famous in 1998 at a Memphis Redbirds game. He sees The Pit as a "win-win" for him and the three other restaurants.

“This is a huge event,” Mellor said of the WGC. “I’m the Memphis Restaurant Association president, and it makes me proud to show off one of our food staples – and that’s barbecue, whether it’s pulled shoulder, chicken or brisket.”

Rather than choose between the large variety of barbecue eateries in the city, Smith picked restaurants that catered at the tournament before it achieved WGC status.

Mellor catered parts of the event for the last 10 years to help raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Central BBQ worked the annual Pro-Am Tournament on Wednesdays before the FedEx-St. Jude Classic for 20 years. There is no Pro-Am in the days leading up to the Invitational this year.

“We’re excited about it,” Germantown Commissary owner Walker Taylor said. “We’ve been out there for 20 years. We’ve fed 1,000 people for free at the Pro-Am. They came to us with this, and we can’t wait to get out there.”

Memphis’ food and style will be on display during the tournament. But Smith also wants to honor the city’s past while forging ahead.

“This is Memphis’ World Golf Championship debut, this is six decades in the making,” Smith said of the PGA Tour stop that began in 1958. “We have a history of professional golf here. We want to celebrate the past and move forward into a very exciting future.”