SAN MARTIN — A day after tying the CordeValle course record with a 9-under par 62, Jimmy Walker delivered another virtuoso performance.
The American shot a 5-under 66 for a 267 total in winning the Frys.com Open by two strokes over a resurgent Vijay Singh on Sunday. It was Walker’s first-ever PGA Tour win in his 188th start, a career spanning eight full years on Tour.
“It feels great, and I wouldn’t take anything back that I’ve ever done to get here,” said Walker, who earned 500 FedEx Cup points, an invite to The Masters and $900,000 for the victory. “It’s cool (receiving the Masters invite). I’ve watched Augusta since I was a kid. It’s another dream come true.”
Walker, 34, started the day three shots behind leader Brooks Koepka, who faded down the stretch and finished in a tie for third at 14-under. Koepka, the leader after the second and third rounds, upped his advantage Sunday to four shots after draining a 45-foot birdie on the sixth hole.
However, bogeys at No. 9 and 11 gave Walker an opening he would charge through. Walker took the lead for good with a birdie on the 15th hole. However, it was some key putts Walker made on the front nine that gave him a mental boost for the rest of his round.
“I had some gut checks on (holes) five and six, and that really propelled me the rest of the day,” Walker said.
Koepka, 23, hopes this week sets him up for wins in the future.
“There are certain parts of the game I have to work on,” he said. “The five-footers (putts) under pressure, I think I missed all of them left. I don’t know if it was anything to do with the stroke, but I have to work on that. A couple of iron shots (went errant), and that’s not trusting my golf swing under pressure.”
By winning the Frys.com Open — the first tournament of the Tour’s newly configured 2013-14 wraparound season — Walker earned a three-year Tour exemption. That’s probably the biggest perk that comes with this win, because when a player doesn’t have to worry about keeping his Tour card, it gives him peace of mind.
“When you don’t win, you start from ground zero. You start from the bottom and have to go get it,” he said. “I don’t think my window is closing. It just opened up a bit today.”
TURNING BACK THE CLOCK
Singh, 50, who had missed the cut in six of his last 11 tournaments, seems less distracted and looking to return to the form that made him a former world No. 1 and three-time major champion.
For those who have been under a rock since January, Singh has been embroiled in a legal battle with the PGA Tour after he was quoted in a January Sports Illustrated article that he had used deer-antler spray, which contains IGF-1.
The chemical was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), after which the Tour models its anti-doping policy. Singh was suspended for 90 days, but he appealed.
WADA later took IGF-1 off its banned substance list, and the Tour dropped its case against Singh, who later filed suit for defamation. The suit is still pending, and no doubt the ongoing legal battle has proved to be a distraction for Singh, who made his Champions Tour (50 and over) debut three weeks ago.
Frys.com Open Leaderboard
Par 71: Yards — 7,379
Jimmy Walker 70-69-62-66 — 267
Vijay Singh 69-67-65-68 — 269
Kevin Na 75-67-64-64 — 270
Scott Brown 68-67-71-64 — 270
Hideki Matsuyama 70-66-68-66 —270
Brooks Koepka 67-64-67-72 — 270
Brian Harman 65-74-67-65 — 271
George McNeil 68-70-62-71 — 271
Billy Hurley III 69-66-69-68 — 272
Will MacKenzie 69-70-64-69 — 272
Max Homa 69-68-66-69 — 272
