This week some of the biggest stars of the world of golf will be shining in the foothills west of the Santa Clara Valley, including the biggest–if most controversial–of them all: Tiger Woods.
Cordevalle Golf Club, which gets its name from a shortening of the Spanish phrase “el corazón del valle”, or “the heart of the valley”, overlooks the southern reaches of the Santa Clara Valley in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San José. The resort will host the Frys.com Open, a Fall Series event on the PGA Tour, for the second consecutive year. The tournament started life with a two-year run at the Grayhawk Golf Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona before moving to the South County resort in 2010. The Frys.com Open is the richest of the four Fall Series tournaments, carrying a total purse of $5 million, with a $900,000 first prize.
Like the other Fall Series events on the PGA tour, the Frys.com Open generally draws “second-tier” players: golfers near or below the magic number 125 on the PGA Tour money list, up-and-coming players looking to break in to the big time, and players who have slipped off the list and are looking to get back to full status on the tour; it is rare for players near the top of the rankings to play them. Fall Series events carry a bit less prestige than regular-season tournaments, but are important opportunities for players who need a boost in their careers.
Woods’ performance on the golf course has been spotty in the almost two years since the well-publicized problems in his personal life derailed his dominance of the world of professional golf. His appearance at the Frys.com Open after twelve weeks away from competition is seen as an affirmation of his return to form in the wake of a coaching change, and his recovery from recurring knee injuries and a long-standing Achilles tendon injury that was aggravated by a chancy shot from the pine straw at the 17th hole at Augusta National during the third round of The Masters Tournament in April of this year.
Woods’ appearance at the Frys.com Open, his first in a Fall Series event, is believed to have been precipitated by a request from Fred Couples, the captain of the U.S. team for the 2011 Presidents Cup, which will be contested at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in early November. Couples, a longtime friend of Tiger, selected Woods as one of his two captain’s picks for the U.S. squad in late August, well ahead of the usual timeline–a controversial pick in light of Woods’ spotty recent record and dearth of play over the last two years. While his presence on the Presidents Cup team is in no way contingent on his appearance, Couples is known to have urged Tiger to get in some competitive rounds before the team heads for Australia.
Rocco Mediate, the 2010 Frys.com Open champion who is best known for his playoff duel with Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, will be returning to Cordevalle to defend his title. Patrick Cantlay, the 19-year-old UCLA sophomore who wowed the golf world last summer with a T21 (Low Amateur) performance at this year’s U.S. Open, will also appear. Cantlay’s 3-under total score at the 2011 U.S. Open included a tournament-best 30 on the back nine of Congressional Country Club’s Blue Course in the second round; a week later he shot a course-record 60 at TPC River Highlands in the second round of the Traveler’s Championship.
Other well-known names who will be appearing in the event include South Africa’s Ernie Els, the 1995 and 1997 U.S. Open champion and 2002 Open Championship winner; Argentinean golfer Angel Cabrera, 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters champion; South African Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open Champion; and Trevor Immelman, another South African player and the 2008 Masters champion.
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