If this is the last time the Frys.com Open is going to be played at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin — the tournament will switch to the Silverado Resort’s North Course in Napa next year with an option to return to the South Valley area in 2015 and 2016 — then it’s been an incredible four-year journey.
Since the tournament — which starts Thursday — moved to CordeValle in 2010, the Frys.com Open has grown in stature, and nowhere is that more apparent than in this year’s event.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, the Frys.com Open carries full FedExCup points, with the winner receiving an invitation to The Masters.
Since the PGA Tour reconfigured its schedule to begin its season in October, the Frys.com Open has become the unofficial opening event on the 2014 Tour schedule. Just like in years’ past, the total purse of the tournament is $5 million, with $900,000 going to the winner.
“I think with the new setup of the PGA Tour, the Frys.com (Open) is going to grow as a tournament,” said defending champion Jonas Blixt, who drained a 4-foot par putt on the final hole of last year’s event to clinch his first Tour victory. “I think with getting into The Masters if you win and all the FedEx Cup points, it’s really improved this tournament.”
But probably not as much as tournament officials would have liked. There isn’t a single player ranked in the top 25 of the World Golf Rankings; Hideki Matsuyama, a 21-year-old from Japan, is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 30.
However, there are definitely some recognizable names in the tournament, including Retief Goosen, Stewart Cink, Geoff Ogilvy, Vijay Singh, Ryo Ishikawa and Angel Cabrera.
Even though the event lacks one of the Tour’s big-name players, the field is deep and talented.
“It’s probably the strongest field the Frys has ever had,” said Don DeLorenzo, the golf pro at Gilroy and Gavilan Golf Course, and one of the more prominent local golf figures in the South Valley. “Golf pros and fans are looking forward to this week, that’s for sure.”
DeLorenzo also runs the First Tee of Silicon Valley, and he said over 300 kids from the organization along with kids from the Northern California Golf Association Youth on Course program will get treated to a clinic put on by Peter Jacobsen on Wednesday.
DeLorenzo will have one of the best seats — err, views — at CordeValle on Sunday, as he will be an honorary observer in one of the final 12 groups. DeLorenzo estimates there are about eight to 10 people inside the ropes within each group, including players, caddies, rules officials and scorekeepers.
“It’s going to be pretty special to be that up close to the competition,” said DeLorenzo, who played at San Jose State and competed against the likes of Fred Couples, Mark O’Meara and Tom Lehman.
A par-71, 7,360 yard course designed by Robert Trent Jones II, CordeValle is one of the more spectacular golf courses on the West Coast, if not the entire country.
“It’s such a beautiful spot for watching a golf tournament, and a great opportunity for the public to see it,” DeLorenzo said.
Note: The South Valley Newspaper Group — consisting of the Gilroy Dispatch, the Morgan Hill Times and the Hollister Free Lance — will be providing daily coverage of the Frys.com Open, including recaps, highlights, features and columns.
We’ll have a story on the fun around the 17th hole and a profile on the charismatic Rocco Mediate, just to name a few. Of course, we’ll have a daily photo gallery of the sights and sounds of the tournament you can check out on our South Valley Newspapers Instagram account.
For wall-to-wall coverage of the tournament, check out gilroydispatch.com, morganhilltimes.com and sanbenitocountytoday.com.
