Fry's Electronics Open: Hot state, hot field  PGATOUR.com Contributor SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The field for the Fry's Electronics Open this week is good. Actually, the field every week is good. I guess I should say that the field here for the inaugural Fry's Electronics Open may be better than some expected.  Phil Mickelson has not played since The Presidents Cup. (Halleran/GettyImages) Obviously, Phil Mickelson making a rare fall appearance will raise the profile of any tournament. Butch Harmon said on XM Satellite Radio last week that Phil hadn't touched a club since The Presidents Cup. Of course, those words prompted one war horse of a veteran to say, "It's not like he is going to forget how to play in a month." There are some other major champions, Ryder Cuppers and members of The Presidents Cup here, as well, though. Stewart Cink is back in action for the first time since his impressive performance at Royal Montreal. Plus, he had a couple of good finishes to close out the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Mark Calcavecchia is playing again this week, too. He took a couple of weeks off after THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, but he came back last week and played well. Calcaveccia is one of those guys who tends to play a lot of tournaments. This week will be his 26th start on TOUR this year. Considering that the next two events are in Florida, where Calc lives, there is a pretty good chance he will push closer to playing 30 events this year. Another man who is no stranger to playing a lot of tournaments is Jerry Kelly. Jerry played last week in the HSBC World Match Play in England. He made a premature exit, though, so he decided to make the trip to Scottsdale. It is not quite cold enough for Jerry in Wisconsin yet. After all, there is some plant life still thriving up there now. Jerry likes it when the lakes freeze over, and you have to plug in your car so that it won't freeze to death. So he has some time to kill. Long-knocking Bubba Watson probably summed it up best last week when someone asked him why he didn't want to take some time off. He said, "I get home, and after a couple of days, I don't know what to do with myself." He, too, is playing this week. He made the comment that his year has been a success but he still hasn't won on the PGA TOUR and that would cap off an excellent year. The fact of the matter is that most PGA TOUR players get home after two or three weeks on the road and try to relax for the week. Inevitably, though, after a couple of days, they slip out to the club to hit a few putts. Then they run into a buddy who asks if they want to play a few holes in the morning. During that round, they find something in their swing that needs a little bit of tweaking. So they go to the driving range just to hit a couple of balls. Next thing you know, they are caught up in the midst of a full-on practice session.  Mark Calcavecchia might play 30 events this year. (Greenwood/GettyImages) I am not saying that this is exactly how it happens, but golfers tend to migrate to the golf course. We can't help it -- we feel comfortable there. The outside world doesn't interrupt perfect 6-irons lofted into the air from the back of the driving range. Obviously, Phil, Calc, Stewart and Jerry don't need to be here this week. Their jobs are far more than safe. But they are here because it is what they do. It is where they feel the most comfortable. Golfers need the golf course. Just ask David Duval. You can -- he is here this week. He said earlier that he wasn't going to play anymore this year. But then there was that 69 on Friday at the Viking Classic a couple of weeks ago that enabled him to make the cut. Not bad after a nine-month hiatus. He said at the time that he was going to go home and work on his game and come back firing next year. (The TOUR has granted him a special exemption based on the fact that he was home caring for his wife during a particularly difficult pregnancy.) But he's back out this week. So, the field this week at Grayhawk is good. Of course, Phil is the headliner. He is more than a little popular here in Arizona. Watch out for Mike Weir and some of these others who are trying to close the year out in style, though. |
