It’s time for the sixth edition of the Frys.com Open, the second leg of the PGA Tour Fall Series, which starts this Thursday October 11 with a $5 million prize fund..
The beautiful CordeValle Golf Resort in San Martin, California will serve as the host for the third consecutive year. The par-71, 7,368 yard-long course opened in 1999 and was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. encompassing 260 of the resort’s 1,700 acres.
Players enjoy the hillside golf here, especially presented on the back nine not only for their challenge, but their wonderful view. Players will play the unusual uphill holes on the sixth, 13th, and 15th holes.
There are no trees to be worried about, and long players are rewarded off-the-tee. But they better bring their A-game with the wedges, missing the green or even the correct section of the green on this course can really soar the scores quickly.
The course features only three par-five holes, with the longest being the 605-yards-long 12th hole. Four par-three's grace the course with the seventh hole serving as the shortest hole and the only one below 200 yards at 163-yards-long.
One player that has conquered this course is defending champion, Bryce Molder, who is back to defend his title after the incredible six-hole playoff win over Briny Baird last year.
He will try to become the first player to win the young tournament for the second time, but he will face some stiff competition for the winner’s purse of the $5 million prize fund.
Besides Molder, all four previous Frys.com Open champions are in the field this week. This includes Rocco Mediate, the winner in 2010, the first time it was held at CordeValle.
The 132-player field presents 10 major champions that include 2012 Open champion Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. Els will be making his second appearance in the tournament after finishing fourth last year.
"The Big Easy" has been on a bounce-back year and this is another good opportunity for him to keep his momentum going. He also has the added incentive to play because he is sponsored by the German business software firm SAP.
SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner owns the resort and the majestic mansion that overlooks the 16th hole. He will have the boss cheering him up once he reaches that hole on the course.
Singh had been contending on every major tournament but fell out of contention late. His recent play shows three Top 10s in his last seven tournaments and that improved play can get The Big Fijian a much needed win this weekend.
In addition to Els and Singh, the former major champions in the field include Davis Love III, John Daly, Angel Cabrera, Mike Weir (winner here in 2007), Ben Curtis, Trevor Immelman, Todd Hamilton and Justin Leonard.
Another standout coming to the tournament this year will be up and coming, big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts. He is having a breakthrough year and is riding high after his great performance on the Ryder Cup.
Everyone remembers his Friday play where he single handedly beat Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker at the Ryder Cup. He had eight birdies, one eagle, and a bogey to carry his playing partner Lee Westwood who was playing sloppy all day.
Colsaerts has received a sponsor exemption to play this week. He is looking to earn a full card for 2013 and standing at No. 119 in the money list right now, a good performance at the Frys.com Open could be enough to help him get a card.
Another player to look for this week is Bud Cauley. He is on a roll as of late with three Top-Five finishes in recent months and this is a course where he can thrive and use that momentum to earn his first career win.
Swedish rookie Jonas Blixt has shown he can play this year with Top 10 finishes at the Byron Nelson and Wells Fargo. He comes from being the co-leader last weekend in Vegas after the second and third rounds before finishing third; he can carry that hot play coming into this weekend.
Luke Guthrie has shined all year long at the Web.com Tour where has two wins. He has hit the Top-20 on all three of his starts on the PGA including one Top-Five, with this field he can definitely breakthrough for his first PGA win.
Another notables on the field are to watch out for even though they are not at their best recently are Aaron Baddeley, Camilo Villegas and Gary Woodland who is finally healthy after overcoming a wrist injury suffered earlier in the year.
For a complete view of the player field you can click here.
Play starts tomorrow at 7:10 am (PST) from Tees No. 1 and 10, and the last tee time will be at 1:30 p.m. (PST). For a complete list of all the tee times you can click here.
Golf Channel and SIRIUS XM will provide the coverage of the tournament and their schedule will be from 1:00-7:00 p.m. EST starting tomorrow.