Frys.com Open 2014: Tee Times, Dates, TV Schedule and Prize Money
Mere weeks removed from the FedEx Cup playoffs and the Ryder Cup, the 2014-15 PGA Tour season is already getting underway Thursday at the Frys.com Open.
While world No. 1 Rory McIlroy seeks Race to Dubai glory across the pond and many of golf's big names are resting up, the stateside season opener will loom large for lesser-known players.
Don't think this event is important? Look no further than reigning champion Jimmy Walker. By no means a household name before last year began, Walker claimed his first tour victory in Napa and rattled off two more wins in what amounted to a breakout campaign.
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Walker just competed for Team USA in the Ryder Cup. Golf is almost exclusively about momentum, confidence and mental toughness at this high of a level. The late-blooming American saw everything come together at Silverado Country Club, and he hasn't really looked back.
So be sure to tune in for the Frys.com Open to see Walker try to defend his title against a rather strong field and potential breakout candidates. You never know where the next star can come from.
Note: Statistics, information and video are courtesy of PGATour.com unless otherwise indicated.
When: Thursday, October 9 through Sunday, October 12
Where: Silverado Country Club (North Course) in Napa, California
Tee Times: For a complete list of tee times for the first two rounds, visit PGATOUR.com.
Purse: $6,000,000; Winner's Share: $1,080,000
FedEx Cup Points: 500
| Thursday, October 9 | 5-8 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Friday, October 10 | 5-8 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Saturday, October 11 | 5-8 p.m. | Golf Channel |
| Sunday, October 12 | 5-8 p.m. | Golf Channel |
Analyzing Marquee Groups
Jimmy Walker, Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan
Three Ryder Cup teammates will comprise the trio that most galleries ought to be following. As mentioned before, Walker kicked off his meteoric rise with a triumph here in 2013, so he has to be among the top contenders.
Although Walker didn't win from early February on, he proved his game could hold up under immense pressure, logging three top 10s in the four majors, along with a tie for sixth at the Players Championship.
Grant Boone of CBS Sports praised Walker's ascent to stardom ahead of this year's action:
But in terms of consistency, year in and year out, you'll have a hard time finding someone steadier than Kuchar.
The end of the 2013-14 season wasn't what he wanted; Kuchar lost a lot of opportunities to win more than once last year and is still among the best players not to have won a major. Mike McAllister of PGATour.com highlights how great Kuchar has been as a constant fixture on the leaderboard:
As for Mahan, he went from a prominent major contender in the previous season to a mostly disappointing 2013-14. That is, until he stormed to victory at The Barclays, the opening leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Mahan is a supreme ball-striker who is among the game's best when his putter is behaving. Iron play was a problem for Mahan, as he ranked third in total driving and yet was 128th in proximity to the hole. Sharpening up that aspect of his game will be key in his future success.
Coming off a Ryder Cup loss, it will certainly be interesting to see how Walker, Kuchar and Mahan all respond.
Tim Clark, Hideki Matsuyama and Harris English
Clark came on strong late in the prior season, finishing tied fifth at the John Deere Classic before picking up a win at the RBC Canadian Open in dramatic, comeback fashion to clip Jim Furyk.
Having finished in the top three in three out of the four Grand Slam events in his career, there is no doubting Clark can contend despite his slight frame and lackluster length off the tee. He could be a dark horse this week.
Reasons to feature Matsuyama are because he is just 22 years old, has already played on a Presidents Cup team and won the Memorial Tournament, hosted by none other than Jack Nicklaus.
Oh, and the Japanese prodigy also finished tied third at the 2013 Frys.com Open, so he has some previous form to draw on and an evident eye for the Silverado Country Club's layout.
As one of the exclusive, 29 entrants into the Tour Championship, Matsuyama was just 156th in strokes gained putting. When he gets that part of his game corrected, he ought to be a significant force for years to come.
A poor finish to last season will have English on the prowl to make something happen in Napa, based on this stat from PGATour.com's Sean Martin:
Because Dustin Johnson had already qualified for the FedEx Cup finale but elected not to play, it left English on the outside looking in again, as he missed four of his last six cuts.
English has already won twice on tour. That is more than the widely perceived, next great hope of American golf in Rickie Fowler.
Chesson Hadley, Brandt Snedeker and Charles Howell III
Winning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors speaks to how Hadley persevered through a roller-coaster year.
Hadley went on separate, consecutive missed-cut streaks of four, five and six tournaments, yet still found a way to post a top 10 at the Deutsche Bank Championship and place 12th at the BMW Championship. That type of resolve should serve him well in his second year as a pro.
There's no question 2013-14 was a down season for Snedeker, whose prolific putting wasn't up to snuff in addition to his game from tee to green, where he ranked just 73rd in strokes gained.
Some of the blame, in Snedeker's own words, was that he felt like he'd peaked and needed a new perspective. That led to a switch from Todd Anderson to Butch Harmon as his new swing coach, which he weighed in on in early July when the move was official, via GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard:
"I feel like I've been with one of the top two or three teachers in the world the last eight years and now I feel I am transitioning to one of the top teachers of all time. Now my main goal is to win major championships and over the past year my game has plateaued and I want to make sure I give myself the best chance to win a major going forward.
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It's such a fine line on the PGA Tour between greatness and mediocrity relative to the rest.
Having last played in the Deutsche Bank Championship where he missed the cut, Snedeker gets a chance to test his revamped swing out. He will be one of the most talented players in the field in a bid to get this season off on the right track.
Five top 10s in his first seven tournaments last season allowed Howell to cruise for the rest of the calendar year, albeit without as many top results thereafter.
Howell has always been a solid though unspectacular player. The Augusta, Georgia, native ought to have incentive to emulate last year's beginning as a means of qualifying for the Masters in April. He has played his local major just once since 2009.
Even this early in the game, there is plenty on the line for all the pros teeing it up at the Frys.com Open. Rising early in the reset FedEx Cup points standings can do wonders for an individual's season and career. Walker is a testament to that, and why it's worth watching this less heralded PGA Tour stop.
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