Print this page  |  Close Window

By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Comparisons are in the air this week. The annual FBR Open and the inaugural Fry's Electronics Open are played only a couple of miles from each other. They are like out-of-towners who have bought vacation homes in the sunshine.

Mike Weir hit 86.1 percent of the greens in the first two days. (WireImage)

The FBR Open is the neighbor whose return everyone anticipates. It is a carnival, and it is exhausting. By contrast, the Fry's Electronics Open at Greyhawk Golf Club is a far more intimate affair. Tickets are limited to less than 20,000, which is a pittance compared to its neighbor.

Golf fans -- and I emphasis the word "fans" -- can walk with their favorite players and enjoy unobstructed views of every shot without worry that someone might spill a beverage down their back. Because few courses on TOUR bring the gallery so close to the players, they may even pick up some of the banter between players and caddies.

If the FBR Open is the biggest party in golf, then the Fry's Electronics Open is fine dining in a nice restaurant with a good wine list and knowledgeable servers who know just when to stop by the table.

One of the things these two events have in common this year is that Phil Mickelson won't be around for the weekend and the other left-handed Masters champion will. Phil has close ties to Greyhawk; he has represented the club for years. But Phil is more FBR Open than he is Fry's Electronics Open.

This is not to suggest that Phil has ever joined the revelers in the grandstand on the 16th at the TPC Scottsdale. But he is their man more than any other. He is greeted with the loudest cheers.

He plays to them and seems to enjoy them in a way that few players do. Not only does he have collegiate ties to the area and lived in Scottsdale for a while after graduation, he has won the FBR Open twice. Those two victories solidified Phil as the unofficial host of the loudest golf tournament played each year.

On the other hand, the Fry's Electronics Open isn't likely to choose a hero. It tried to find one in Phil this week but too much rust from a month off and too many balls in the desert ended those hopes prematurely. Besides, the Fry's Electronics Open is more of an adult affair, and grown-ups aren't as prone to hero worship.

If we have learned anything from the FBR Open over the years, though, it is that not only does the tournament have personality, it chooses its winners based on that personality -- at least most years. Mark Calcavecchia, Chris DiMarco and Lefty all make sense as winners of the FBR Open.

So who makes sense this week at Greyhawk? Obviously, Ryan Moore has made himself the man to beat -- and a PGA TOUR victory by the bearded former U.S. Amateur champ is imminent.

But, I think there is another man in contention this week who fits all the criteria that seems to be required for victory here. He has a lot in common with the prince of the FBR Open but is in every way his own man.

Mike Weir is the other lefty with a Green Jacket. He is far more plodding than his counterpart, though. Nothing in the game has come easy to Mike. He gradually worked his way up through the ranks of the mini-tours to the top of the game. Mike is the antithesis of a swashbuckler.

He is a clinical tactician with a deadly putting stroke. He showed his countrymen and the world that once again last month at The Presidents Cup when he took down Tiger Woods in Singles. He may have shown himself that, as well. Golfers sometimes need to be reminded who they are and what they are capable of accomplishing.

This Grayhawk layout isn't a bombers paradise like its TPC neighbor. It doesn't have a man-made amphitheater of a par 3 with its own tee shirts. It is a golf course where a combination of length and accuracy matter.

In many ways, the Raptor is a thinking man's golf course, and in direct contrast to its neighbor, it is quiet -- almost too quiet. If you look at the men who are contending through 36 holes, they are a group of gentlemen who do most of their talking with their clubs.

The personality of the tournament and the personality of the players who have risen to the top this week seem to match each other. If Las Vegas is the place where dreams come true -- just ask George McNeill -- and the FBR Open is reserved for those who revel in the spotlight, the Fry's Electronics Open might just be the quiet man's event.

And none of the quiet men in contention can match the credentials of Mike Weir.