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Frys.com Open guide

A view of the 18th at CordeValle Golf Club
Image: A view of the 18th at CordeValle Golf Club

Preview and stats for this week's opening event on the 2013/14 PGA Tour season - the Frys.com Open.

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A preview and stats for this week's opening event on the 2013/2014 PGA Tour season - the Frys.com Open

The new 2013/2014 PGA Tour season tees off on America's west coast where the Frys.com Open is being staged at CordeValle for a fourth straight year. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr and opened in 1999, CordeValle is located approximately 25 miles south of San Jose in northern California and 50 miles north-east of the famed Monterey Peninsula. Laid out close to the foot hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the course makes use of the surrounding gently rolling terrain, although there is very little in the way of water hazards. The course was given a facelift ahead of staging a Tour event for the first time in 2010. PLAYERS with GOOD to REASONABLE FORM at CORDEVALLE Full Tour History Player: '10 / '11 / '12 Briny Baird: MC / 2 / -
Bud Cauley: - / 3 / 55
Tim Clark: 6 / - / -
David Hearn: - / 7 / MC
Billy Horschel: - / 7 / 29
Spencer Levin: 55 / 7 / -
Will MacKenzie: 6 / 15 / -
Rocco Mediate: Won / 67 / 41
Bryce Molder: MC / Won / 11
Alex Prugh: 2 / MC / -
John Rollins: - / 6 / 35
Brendan Steele: - / 7 / MC
Josh Teater: 33 / 7 / MC PLAYERS with POOR to MEDIOCRE FORM at CORDEVALLE Full Tour History (No Top-40 Finishes from two or more starts) Player: '10 / '11 / '12 Stephen Ames: MC / MC / 64
Stuart Appleby: 58 / - / MC
Ricky Barnes: 44 / 42 / MC
Cameron Beckman: MC / MC / 64
Angel Cabrera: - / 50 / 63
Daniel Chopra: MC / - / MC
James Driscoll: MC / MC* / MC
Kevin Kisner: - / MC / MC
Troy Matteson: MC / 42 / MC
Andres Romero: 44 / - / MC
Rory Sabbatini: MC / MC / MC
Heath Slocum: - / 42 / 47
Daniel Summerhays: - / MC / MC
Cameron Tringale: MC / MC* / - MC* = Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut TOP-25 Finishers at CORDEVALLE in 2012 (Not Already Listed Above) Jonas Blixt: (Won)
Jason Kokrak: (T-2nd)
Vijay Singh: (T-4th)
Jimmy Walker: (T-4th)
Jeff Overton: (8th)
Russell Knox: (T-9th)
Gary Woodland: (T-9th)
Charles Howell: (T-11th)
Patrick Reed: (T-11th)
Steven Bowditch: (T-16th)
Danny Lee: (T-16th)
Jeff Maggert: (T-16th)
Chez Reavie: (T-16th)
Ben Curtis: (T-22nd)
Jhonattan Vegas: (T-22nd) LOWEST 10 STROKE AVERAGES at CORDEVALLE (Full Tour History) Average (Rounds) 68.50: Will MacKenzie (8)
68.50: John Rollins (8)
68.63: Billy Horschel (8)
68.83: Briny Baird (6)
68.83: Jimmy Walker (6)
68.88: Bud Cauley (8)
68.90: Bryce Molder (10)
69.22: Chris Stroud (9)
69.33: David Hearn (6)
69.33: Rocco Mediate (12) Min. No. of Rounds = 6 PGA TOUR form in CALIFORNIA Most Top-25 Finishes (Since Jan 1st 2011) 10: Jimmy Walker
8: Bryce Molder
6: Aaron Baddeley
5: Robert Garrigus
5: Charles Howell
5: Freddie Jacobson
5: Spencer Levin
5: Kevin Na
5: Pat Perez
5: Vijay Singh
5: Cameron Tringale LOWEST ROUNDS at CORDEVALLE 62: Jim Renner (2011)
62: Will MacKenzie (2011)
62: Nick O'Hern (2012)
62: John Mallinger (2012)
62: Jimmy Walker (2012)
63: Scott Dunlap (2012)
63: Patrick Reed (2012)
64: 13 times CordeValle: Par 71; 7,368 yards Winning Totals: 2012: 268 (Jonas Blixt)
2011: 267 (Bryce Molder)
2010: 269 (Rocco Mediate) Conclusion With this event now a season-opener rather than part of the last-chance saloon, there's no longer the prospect of a player scrambling for his card suddenly coming good. And that means I'm inclined to stick with the players who are in form and have an extra touch of class. The Internationals may have lost the Presidents Cup but they left Muirfield Village with their heads held high after winning the singles 7.5-4.5 to narrow the US victory margin to just three points. One of the Sunday singles winners was Marc Leishman, who took victory on the last by holing a 12 footer from the fringe to beat world number eight Matt Kuchar. Leishman, a former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, has had some fine moments this year (4th at Augusta, eighth at Sawgrass, 12th at US PGA) and made it through three legs of the play-offs. The rolling California terrain might be up his street given that he played well on the undulations of Augusta and also finished runner-up in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in 2010. Back him at 35/1. Japan's Hideki Matsuyama produced some great golf at Muirfield Village and franked his reputation as a player who could have a huge future. In 2013 he's finished 10th in the US Open, sixth in the Open Championship and has notched three victories on his native Japan Tour, the most recent coming just two starts ago. Now a full-time member of the PGA Tour, his last four starts at this level have all produced top 20s (US Open, Canadian Open, PGA Championship and Wyndham Championship) so a win would come as no surprise. As for the rest, this could be a good chance for Canada's David Hearn to post his first win. He was seventh on this course two years ago and this season he went within a whisker of winning the John Deere Classic, eventually losing out in a three-way play-off. That was an event where the vast majority of the big names were absent so this is a good chance for Hearn to cash in. Like Leishman, he made it through to the penultimate stage of the FedEx play-offs to it's been a fine season. Take the 66/1. Best bets 2pts e.w. Marc Leishman at 35/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5)
2pts e.w. Hideki Matsuyama at 25/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5)
1pt e.w. David Hearn at 66/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5)