Justin Rose of England is congratulated by Tiger Woods of the after their match on day three of the Turkish Airlines World Golf Final at the Antalya GC on October 11, 2012 in Antalya, Turkey.
(October 10, 2012 – Source: Warren Little/Getty Images Europe)
(PhatzRadio / Golf.com) —- On Sunday, Sweden’s Jonas Blixt, the 75th-ranked golfer in the world, clipped Jason Kokrak (205th) and Tim Petrovic (421st) to win the Frys.com Open by a shot.
But, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, he’ll have some stiffer competition defending his first Tour win.
As Ron Kroichick reports, all eight players who skipped the Frys.com in favor of playing the Turkish Airlines World Golf Finals last week will be required by the Tour to head to the Bay Area sometime in the next three years to make up for the event they skipped.
That means some high-profile names could battle Blixt as soon as next year, when the Frys becomes the opening event of the PGA Tour’s new calendar. Among them: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan — all players ranked in the top 20. This year, only two in the top 50 teed it up at CordeValle.
Woods alone is a big boost: According to the San Jose Mercury News, the Frys drew 75,000 fans in 2011, when Tiger played. This year, the tournament president said, the total numbers will not even match the 35,000 who came in 2010.
Next year’s incarnation will be played Oct. 7-13, one week after the Presidents Cup. No rest for the world’s best.
