Frys.com Open preview

The PGA Tour's "Fall Series" continues this week with the Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, California. Bryce Molder is the defending champion.

Bryce Molder defends Frys.com Open (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Lowdown: The PGA Tour's "Fall Series" continues this week with the Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, California. Bryce Molder is the defending champion.

In last year's Frys.com Open, Bryce Molder came through a six-hole playoff against Briny Baird to take the title. It was the 17th playoff of the 2011 PGA Tour season.

This event began life in 2007 when Canada's Mike Weir finished a shot clear of Mark Hensby. Cameron Beckman, Troy Matteson, Rocco Mediate and Bryce Molder have been champions since then.

There's a good field in this tournament with strong international representation. Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts will tee it up as he bids to secure his PGA Tour card for 2013.

The CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, California is a Robert Trent Jones Jnr layout and the designer feels it to be one of his best creations. It's a pleasantly undulating track set through an attractive valley. There's an elevation change of some 150 feet out on the course so club selection is often challenging. It's the third year the layout has been used to host this event.

Venue: CordeValle Golf Club, San Martin, California Date: October 11-14 Course stats: par 72, 7,368 yards Purse: $5,000,000 Winner: $900,000 Defending Champion: Bryce Molder (-17)

TV Coverage: Thursday 11 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 9pm Friday 12 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 10pm Saturday 13 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 9pm Sunday 14 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 9pm

Player Watch:

Jonas Blixt - The Swede contended last week in the JT Shriners and finished the week in third. He's an excellent putter and that should serve him well on CordeValle's large and fast putting surfaces.

Vijay Singh - The veteran Fijian may never have played before at CordeValle, but he's been one of the PGA Tour's most consistent performers in recent months. He's made 10 straight cuts and has three top-10 finishes in that time.

Ernie Els - The Open champion is the only player in the field who made it to the Tour Championship. He was tied fourth in this event last season.

Key hole: 17th. A driveable par 4 with teeing options from 295 to 325 yards, the green will be receptive to a good drive but it must carry all the way to the surface over the water. There's a chance of an eagle here if a player is chasing coming down the stretch.

Skills required: Greens in regulation. The putting surfaces are large and receptive so the GIR stats should be pretty high. That also means putting will be important, particularly from distance.

Where next? European Tour - Portugal Masters preview

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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