PGA Tour 2013 – 2014 Gets Underway at Frys.com Open

admin October 9, 2013 Comments Off on PGA Tour 2013 – 2014 Gets Underway at Frys.com Open
PGA Tour 2013 – 2014 Gets Underway at Frys.com Open

 

A look at the 2012 Frys.com Open
A week after his third-place finish to at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Sweden’s Jonas Blixt posted a
final-round, 3-under 68 to overcome a two-stroke deficit Sunday and claim his first PGA TOUR title. With the win,
Blixt became the third rookie to win on TOUR last year, joining John Huh (OHL Classic at Mayakoba) and Ted
Potter, Jr. (The Greenbrier Classic). He also became the eighth Swedish player to win on TOUR, joining Jesper
Parnevik, Carl Pettersson, Gabriel Hjertstedt, Daniel Chopra, Henrik Stenson, Mathias Gronberg and Richard S.
Johnson. Blixt became the second consecutive player to make the Frys.com Open his first PGA TOUR title,
joining 2012 champion Bryce Molder. He also went the entire week without a 3-putt, extending the PGA TOUR’s
longest active streak without a 3-putt to 243 holes, dating to the third round of The Barclays.

More on Jonas Blixt and the Frys.com Open
In 2013, Blixt wasted little time finding the winner’s circle for a second time. At The Greenbrier Classic, just nine
months after his win at CordeValle GC, Blixt fired a third-consecutive, 3-under 67 in the final round to win by two
strokes over three others. Four starts later, he finished fourth at the PGA Championship for his first top-10 finish in
his second major championship start. On the season, Blixt finished 52nd
in the final FedExCup standings.

Frys.com Open and the FedExCup
The TOUR embarks this week at the Frys.com Open on its new wraparound schedule that bridges two years with
45 events over 43 weeks. The 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season kicks off with the Frys.com Open and includes two
more domestic and three international tournaments, with all fall events awarding FedExCup points for the first
time. The schedule then resumes in January with the traditional swing through Hawaii before moving to the West
Coast. The FedExCup Playoffs once again features four events and concludes in September of 2014 with the
TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and the crowning of the FedExCup champion.

A look at the field
 Nine winners of PGA TOUR events in 2013: Brian Gay (Humana Challenge), John Merrick (Northern
Trust Open), Scott Brown (Puerto Rico Open), Billy Horschel (Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Derek
Ernst (Wells Fargo Championship), Seung-Yul-Noh (HP Byron Nelson Championship), Jonas Blixt (The
Greenbrier Classic), Gary Woodland (Reno-Tahoe Open) and Patrick Reed (Wyndham Championship).
 21-year-old Hideki Matsuyama, who played for the International Team last week at The Presidents Cup,
makes his PGA TOUR member debut at the Frys.com Open. Matsuyama turned professional in 2013 and
finished inside the top 10 at both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship en route to earning his PGA TOUR card via the non-member FedExCup points list. In addition to Matsuyama, U.S. Assistant Captain Davis Love III and International Team members Angel Cabrera and Marc Leishman will also play the Frys.com Open.
 Sponsor exemptions include former University of California All-America Max Homa and former University
of Alabama All-America Justin Thomas. Both players make their PGA TOUR professional debuts. Brooks
Koepka, a former Florida State All-America who plays on the European Tour, will make his third
professional PGA TOUR start.
 Several players on Major Medical Extensions return to the PGA TOUR at the Frys.com Open, including
two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen. Goosen, who has battled back problems the last few years,
has not played on TOUR since the 2013 PLAYERS Championship. Others making comebacks in the
Frys.com Open field include Sacramento native Spencer Levin (left thumb) and Paul Goydos (left wrist).

 All six former Frys.com Open champions are in the field: Jonas Blixt (2012), Bryce Molder (2011), Rocco
Mediate (2010), Troy Matteson (2009), Cameron Beckman (2008) and Mike Weir (2007).

 Graduates of the Web.com Tour that will make their season debut include the Web.com Tour Regular
Season money-leader Michael Putnam and Web.com Tour Finals money-leader John Peterson.

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