Frys.com Open 2014: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
Just weeks after the 2014 Ryder Cup came to a close, Sang-Moon Bae got the 2014-15 PGA Tour season with a huge win. Bae's victory marked just his second on the Tour and 14th overall professional win.
The South Korean's last win on the tour came back in 2013 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Following his third round performance on Saturday, Bae spoke about his play since that win, per Will Gray of NBC Sports:
"I couldn’t play well after the Byron," Bae said. "I don’t know, I felt like much improved … but just the results, the results weren’t good."
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After a crucial win in California, it appears Bae has finally found the results he was looking for again. Without notable names like Rory McIlroy and 2013-14 FedEx Cup winner Billy Horschel not in the running, but others such as Jimmy Walker and Hunter Mahan were looking to get off to a strong start.
Not only did Bae pull off his first victory since May 2013, he also did so on a completely new course at the Silverado Country Club in Napa Valley. A revamped layout made the course different, as Matt Kuchar spoke about, per Sean Martin of PGATour.com.
"It’s a brand new golf course," Kuchar said. "And with all the new faces, it definitely feels like a new year. ... It’s certainly a tight golf course. Its defense seems to be the slopes in the greens."
At the end of the tournament, it was Bae that hoisted the trophy after mastering the updated course. Here's a look at analysis from each day of the 2014 Frys.com Open.
| 1 | Sang-Moon Bae | 73 | -15 |
| 2 | Steven Bowditch | 67 | -13 |
| T3 | Bryce Molder | 68 | -12 |
| T3 | Hideki Matsuyama | 70 | -12 |
| T3 | Retief Goosen | 70 | -12 |
| T3 | Hunter Mahan | 70 | -12 |
| T3 | Martin Laird | 71 | -12 |
| T8 | Hudson Swafford | 67 | -11 |
| T8 | Robert Allenby | 70 | -11 |
| T8 | Jon Curran | 70 | -11 |
| T8 | Brooks Koepka | 72 | -11 |
Day 4
On the heels of another round below 70 on Saturday, Bae got off to a hot start in the final day of the tournament.
Parring the first four holes, Bae would birdie No. 5 and 9 to start the front nine at one-under and distance himself slightly more from the pack. One of the biggest shots for him came on the ninth hole, courtesy of PGATour.com.
PGA Tour also noted where Bae stood after the strong front-nine play:
Since his 2013 victory, Bae had not finished inside the top 10 in a tournament on the PGA Tour. That all changed on Sunday, but his round was far from perfect like his Thursday and Saturday performances.
A solid start for Bae would give way to struggles on the back nine. Despite having a comfortable lead, Bae sandwiched a birdie on No. 12 with two bogies on the 11th and 13th holes.
Stephanie Wei of Sports Illustrated noted the woes for Bae after an encouraging start to the round:
Meanwhile, it was Hunter Mahan making a charge up the leaderboard thanks to a rousing open to his round. After four birdies through the front nine, Mahan made a serious charge with his eagle on the 13th to close in on Bae.
Mahan's success wasn't sustained as he finished with a bogey on the 15th and would slide back down the board into a tie for third. Sunday was Bae's day to win and he did just enough after three convincing rounds to start the tournament.
Strong rounds by Andres Gonzales and Martin Laird simply weren't enough for the sustained success by Bae in the tournament. Sunday was not his strongest day, but it was still enough to take his first tour win since 2013.
Day 3
Another day, and another name at the top of the leaderboard. Such is life on the PGA Tour. Sang-Moon Bae has been phenomenal through three rounds in Napa Valley, following up his 66 and 69 with a 65 on Saturday to earn him sole possession of first place at 16-under par for the tournament.
Bae began his day in brilliant fashion, recording five consecutive birdies on the front nine. He did follow them up with a bogey on the par-three seventh, but still made the turn at four under on the day. He remained at that mark until the short par-four 17th when a fantastic tee shot found the green and led to his first eagle of the tournament.
Golf Central tweeted the result of the eventful hole:
One birdie on No. 18 later, and Bae gave himself a nice four-stroke cushion heading into the tournament's final round.
Giving chase is Zachary Blair, who notched his third consecutive sub-70 round to start the season. Although, it was a tale of two nines for Blair on Saturday, as he began with a blemish-free three-under 33 on the front nine, but two bogeys on the back side limited him to remain at three under for the round.
Here's Blair's great approach that yielded a birdie at the par-four 10th on Saturday:
It's a good start to the season for Blair considering his inexperience, via PGA Tour:
The field gets pretty crowded behind Blair, as Matt Kuchar, Brooks Koepka, Scott Langley and Martin Laird are tied for third at 11-under par. Kuchar certainly took advantage of Saturday's pristine conditions, firing a 66. Here's a look at his scorecard, via Golf Central:
Take a glance at how Kuchar recorded that eagle:
With four more players tied at 10 under and another three at nine under through 54 holes, the final day of the Frys.com Open is sure to bring about some edge-of-your-season action. Will Bae hang on to is lead, or will another contender rise to the occasion? We'll find out soon, as Sunday's dramatic conclusion is just around the corner.
Day 2
Martin Laird has been Mr. Consistent through two rounds om Napa Valley. The Scot followed up a blemish-free 67 on Thursday with another 67 on Friday. While he did record his first bogey of the tournament on Day 2, he made up for it with a total of six birdies on the round.
The difference from Thursday to Friday for Laird came off the tee. He wasn't nearly as accurate on the second day of action, but he made up for it with a red-hot flat stick. PGA Tour tweeted his numbers both off the tee and on the green:
Laird's birdie on the par-five 18th to finish off his round was good enough to keep him in the front of the pack; however, South Korea's Sang-Moon Bae is providing close chase at nine-under par.
Bae surged out in front with a blazing 66 on Day 1 of the tournament, and while he fared nicely on Friday, his 69 was only good enough to keep him in sole possession of second place. Still, he has been playing some very efficient golf, notching just one bogey through 36 holes.
American Scott Langley is in current possession of third place after following up his opening 70 with a brilliant 66 on Day 2. Langley was nowhere near as consistent as both Laird and Bae, notching three bogeys in Day 1, but he made up for those errors with five birdies on the day.
Friday began in similar fashion, as Langley took a bogey on the par-four third, but he was able to right the ship, keeping his scorecard blemish free while notching seven birdies the rest of the way. Here's a glance at what may have been his most impressive birdie on the day:
Langley has plenty of momentum entering the weekend, and according to a tweet from Sean Martin of PGATour.com, the new father has plenty to play for:
Rounding out the leaderboard are several notables. The always steady Hideki Matsuyama is in great position at seven under, while Americans Brooks Koepka and Hunter Mahan are in contention at six under; however, Golf Central tweeted a stat Mahan would have rather left off his scorecard:
Luckily, it wasn't all bad for Mahan on Friday. Take a look at a beautiful approach that resulted in a birdie on the par-four 17th hole:
Matt Kuchar and Stuart Appleby are just behind at five under, and Ryder Cup competitor Jimmy Walker is at three under after following up an opening 75 with a blistering 66.
Here's a look at Walker's impressive move up the leaderboard, via PGA Tour:
Unfortunately, Friday also signified the first cut of the new season. Even par just didn't get it done this week, and J.J. Henry's two consecutive rounds of 72 saw him finish just below the cut line. Despite playing under par in Round 1, Jason Bohn, Brad Fritsch and Justin Thomas couldn't keep their streaks going and missed the cut as well.
The weekend figures to bring plenty of compelling golf, as no one is running away with the season's first tournament through 36 holes. In fact, a total of 34 golfers are within six strokes of the lead. All it will take is one strong round by any of these players to tighten things up even more.
The 2014-15 season is off to a thrilling start.
Day 1
Several young faces and unfamiliar names were set to battle it out in Napa Valley, but a veteran took the spotlight.
Stuart Appleby got off to a solid opening round with two birdies on the front nine but had two bogies prior to the back nine. Those numbers leveled off as he closed with three birdies through holes 13 through 16 to finish at three-under 69.
His hot stretch actually started prior to the 13th, as the PGA Tour's account notes:
Maybe not one of the biggest names on the tour, Jarrod Lyle made waves with his play. Lyle notched a total of three birdies on the day but was undone by a bogey and closed the round with a double on hole 17.
The Australian finished on par for the day, which wasn't a bad return to the PGA Tour for the first time since 2012. Golf Central notes why the round was a special one for the resilient golfer:
Lyle was a feel-good story, but it was Andres Gonzales that propelled himself to the top of the pack.
The player who describes himself as "half man, half amazing" drove his way to an early lead and hung on late after leaving the course. Gonzales finished the day with a six-under 66 thanks to a nearly flawless round on Friday.
Shane Ryan of Grantland offered his take on Gonzales:
"Andres Gonzales playing well is so good for the Tour. Fun, personable guy with a colorful history. Hope he keeps it rolling.
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) October 9, 2014"
PGA Tour also points out an interesting look at one of Gonzales' wedges:
Sang-Moon Bae made a late surge to catch Gonzales at the top, but he was unable to surpass him. With both players tying for the lead, either could be a contender by the end of the weekend.
Other noteworthy players that finished near the top of the leaderboard include Mahan and Kuchar, who finished at two-under and one-under, respectively. Both remain in contention but fell a few strokes behind the leaders on Thursday.
It might not have been the strongest performance for Kuchar, but his birdie was still worth a highlight, per PGA Tour:
Moving forward, those players will no doubt make a charge toward the front. Thanks to their experience on this stage, Mahan, Kuchar or Appleby might be the players to watch throughout the weekend.
Three rounds remain in the Frys.com Open, so no player can feel comfortable after Thursday. Every golfer is looking to put their stamp on the opening tournament of the season, so the action is sure to heat up with some of the top golfers in the world in Napa Valley.
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