Five things we learned from the Frys.com Open

Let’s be honest, we’re all incredibly busy. Nobody has time to sit down and watch four rounds of golf coverage — unless, of course, you watch TV for a living, and if that’s the case, please email us your number. So in an effort to condense the tournament coverage for you into a few quick hits, here are five things we learned from the Frys.com Open.

Jonas Blixt has a future on the PGA Tour — It’s impossible to predict how a golfer will play following their first win on the PGA Tour, but I’d be willing to bet this won’t be the last time we hear from Jonas Blixt. The 28-year-old from Sweden, who actually had aspirations of playing hockey professionally growing up, captured the most important win of his career to-date on Sunday at the Frys.com Open thanks to another stellar putting performance. He finished the week first in the field in strokes gained putting (2.468) and putts per round (26.3).

I know what you’re probably saying: Anyone can get hot for four days and win on the PGA Tour. That may be true, but look at the body of work Blixt put together this year. He finished the season with 5 top-10 finishes — two of them happened to be third-place finishes — in just 19 starts. That means he finished inside the top-10 more than 25 percent of the time.

Impressive, right? Not only that, he’s currently first on tour in strokes gained putting and eagles (per hole) … and putting from 5-10 feet. That last stat is critical if you want to win on tour.

Blixt could come back to earth next year and the putter could go ice-cold, but given the direction his game is currently trending, there’s a good chance he’s going to use the win as a springboard for bigger and better things.

Frys.com Open produces another watered-down field — Frys.com Open officials can’t wait for next season to get here. One year after Tiger Woods bolstered the quality of the field, the event didn’t have a single player from the OWGR top 20. Not only that, only two from the top 50 showed up to CordeValle — a stat that would lead you to believe something needs to change.

Well change is coming, after the tour decided to make the Frys.com the kick off tournament for the 2013-14 season. Tournament president Butler told the San Francisco Chronicle that Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and the rest of the tour’s big guns will play the event at least once over the next three years.

Will the new spot on the schedule entice players to the Wine Country? That remains to be seen. But for at least the next three years, the tournament can boast having some of the top names in the game.

Top 125 the talk of the tour — This is the time of year where thoughts go from FedExCup point to the PGA Tour money list, as players fight to get inside the top 125 and secure their card before the final event of the season. At the moment, Billy Mayfair is the last man in at No. 125, after he finished T-61 to drop two spots. Jason Kokrak made the biggest jump thanks to his T-2 that same him go from No. 167 to No. 117. Rod Pampling also made an important move from No. 126 to No. 124.

Vijay Singh’s still hanging around — Vijay Singh — he finished T-4 at the Frys.com Open — still hasn’t received the memo about letting off the gas pedal as you near the big 5-0. Just four months away from being eligible for the Champions Tour, Singh has four top-10 finishes in his last eight events and is currently 49th on the 2012 money list. Not bad for a guy who should be gearing up for three round per week and smaller purses. If he keeps this up, Singh could hang around the PGA Tour until he’s 70.

News and notes — Patrick Reed, who Monday qualified for six PGA Tour events this year, made the most of his sponsor’s exemption by posting a T-11 finish, his best of the season. … Rookie Jason Kokrak also posted his best finish of the season with a T-2. … Ryder Cupper Nicolas Colsaerts finished T-35. … Patrick Cantlay finished a disappointing T-47 after opening with 4-under 67.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo! Sports