I just arrived back in Phoenix after spending a few days out in New York, watching everyone gear up for the Turning Stone Resort Championship, the first event on the PGA TOUR’s Fall Series. After next week’s President’s Cup, the Fall Series will head to Las Vegas for the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open , and then of course my favorite tournament of the year (yes I’m biased since I am the tournament director), the Frys.com Open, Oct. 21-25. Yes, if you do the math, that’s only THREE short weeks away!

We’ve been planning this tournament since it ended last year, but now is the time when things really heat up. We’ve already received a number of commitments to the tournament, and expect some other big names to commit before the Friday, Oct. 16 deadline.

A few of the big names on that list include former champion Mike Weir, last year’s champ Cameron Beckman, Rory Sabbatini, Mark Calcavecchia, Justin Leonard and David Duval. And because this tournament is played in Scottsdale we have a number of local pro’s who also will be on hand, like Tom Lehman, Kirk Triplett, Billy Mayfair, Ted Purdy, Arron Oberholser, Jeff Quinney and Chez Reavie.

Three of eight sponsor exemptions have already been handed out – one to Jeev Milkha Singh, the 47th-ranked golfer in the world, while the other two went to Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark, two exciting up-and-coming golfers who just recently turned professional after stellar collegiate seasons. I’m excited to see these two up close and you should be as well. More exemption announcements to come.

We have a lot of new things on tap this year that I think the fans will enjoy. A couple I can share with you now are the two new spectator venues that we are adding to the 16th hole to give it a little “Irish” flavor.

The O’Donoghue’s Irish Pub is an elevated hospitality tent with great views of the action that will be open to the general public. Here you can buy yourself a nice Guinness (other beer, soft drinks and pub fare also will be available for purchase) and catch the action as the players navigate the challenging 211-yard, par-3 16th (for those of you who have played Raptor you know what I’m talking about).

Also new this year is the VIP Paddy O’, an upgraded venue sponsored by Paddy O’ Furniture located next to O’Donoghue’s that offers complimentary food and drinks. If 16 is the place you think you are going to camp out at for awhile, the $75 ticket to the VIP Paddy O’ is definitely worth it.

Like I said we have some other new features and promotions that I will announce shortly. Check back here for more updates, and also make sure to find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/frysopengolf) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/frysopengolf).

In the meantime, I just wanted to check in and let you know how excited I am for the 2009 Frys.com Open to tee it up. I hope you feel the same way and I look forward to seeing you out there.

Sincerely,
Scott Reid
Frys.com Open Tournament Director

A nice story about Cameron Beckman in the San Antonio Express-News last week.  Cameron has come on strong as of late, with two top 10s in the last three weeks, as he gears up for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in early August.  Richard Oliver of the San Antonio Express News said:

“Cameron Beckman, after a short swoon that saw him miss three out of four cuts, posted his second-straight top-10 finish last week at the John Deere Classic. His tie for ninth earned him $103,200 and moved him to 96th on the PGA Tour money list at $620,036 overall.

Including his win at the Frys.com Open last fall, the San Antonio resident has nine top-25 finishes in his past 32 events. He’s off this week after narrowly missing qualifying for the British Open.”

Cameron finished T-36 last week at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee after posting back-to-back 67s on the weekend to finish at 5-under for the tournament.

We’ll continue to update Cam’s progress throughout the summer leading up to the Frys.com Open, where he will defend his title Oct. 21-25.

Here are a couple of things Cam shared with me that I wanted to pass along to all of you Frys.com Open fans…

On playing the final Sunday at AT&T National in second to last group, right in front of Tiger’s group:

“That was a surreal experience I’ll tell you.  The crowd of people following Tiger was unbelievable.  We actually had a good sized gallery following us as well, but it didn’t take me long to figure out they were just getting a head of the crowd to watch Tiger’s group from the front of the pack.  So Michael Allen and I are on the green and I’m setting up my putt.  All of a sudden I hear this huge roar from the crowd.   But it wasn’t just the crowd behind me following Tiger that was cheering, it was our gallery, right around the green!  This group of fans cheered so loud, so I turned around to see what happened.  You know what it was?  Tiger’s drive landed safely in the fairway.  That’s it.  But the crowd went absolutely nuts, not having any idea or worry that I was trying to putt.  I saw and felt the Tiger effect first hand that day, and I wasn’t even playing in his group.  Incredible atmosphere.”

On earning a spot in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational:
“To be honest, I just found out a couple of weeks ago that I was in the field.  I had no idea, and actually, had been planning on playing the Reno-Tahoe Open that weekend.  But I kept getting calls from the Bridgestone people asking for information.  I finally told them to quit calling because I wasn’t in the field and they informed me that I was.  I had no clue.  But apparently my win in the Frys.com Open earned me a spot because it was such a strong field.  So now it looks like I’ll be going to Ohio in August to compete in this World Golf Championships event.  I’m really looking forward to it, and definitely glad that someone finally got the word to me that I’m in the field.”

On the state of his game right now:
“My game is feeling pretty good right now.  I’m striking the ball well, and I’ve just got a really good feel out there right now.  I was going to take a couple of weeks off around the British Open, but now that I know that I’m in the Bridgestone field, and the fact that I’m playing well right now, I’m going to play in the U.S. Bank Championship next week and try to build on this momentum.”

Some good behind-the-scenes stuff from Cam that I wanted to pass along.  He’s a great friend of the Frys.com Open and we look forward to him defending his title in October.

Scott Reid

Frys.com Open Tournament Director

Frys.com Open defending champion Cameron Beckman took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about life on TOUR.

QUESTION:
What has been your most rewarding and disappointing moment in your career?

CAMERON BECKMAN:
Winning the Frys.com Open, I was at a low point in my career and I was thinking of doing something different!! But the win really invigorated me and I look forward to playing every day.

Have you always known that you wanted to play on the PGA TOUR growing up?

CAMERON:
No. When I was younger, I had NHL dreams but as I got older that seemed unrealistic and in high school, the golf bug got me. Not until college (Texas Lutheran University) when I quickly improved did I start thinking about the PGA TOUR dream.

Did you have a mentor when you were new to the TOUR?

CAMERON:
I have definitely had help along the way. Hal Sutton has really helped my career and we have spent a lot of time together at his golf course in Fredricksburg, Texas. I have also been greatly influenced by other friends on TOUR over time, like Bob Tway.  Briny Baird is my closest friend on tour.

When you have down time what do you like to do?

CAMERON:
When I am by myself on the road, I read a lot. I am currently reading the Vince Flynn series. When I am at home, I do as little as possible. I used to play a lot of golf when I was home, but now I play less and spend more time with my family. I also enjoy spending time with friends when I can.

What do you do during the “off-season”. Do you play in other non-PGA tournaments, just get away from the game, train, etc…?

CAMERON:
Off season is short, it’s really only 6 weeks. I do as little as possible, I play a little bit of golf but I spend more time working on my golf swing with my teacher. One of those weeks is usually spent back in Minnesota with family and friends. As far as training and staying in shape, right now I am doing Pilates 5 days a week.

Make the courses longer, put a cap on equipment or not change a thing? 

CAMERON:
The question is whether the spectators want to watch birdies or bogies, and I think it’s more fun for them to watch the birdies as opposed to struggling and getting bogey or worse. The 4 majors should be tougher and the others should be geared towards keeping the spectators engaged.

18 hole playoff or sudden death?

CAMERON:
Sudden death!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I may not have won the Frys.com Open otherwise!

Would you ever recommend a career as a pro athlete to your kids? Or your nephew?

CAMERON:
I am all for encouraging kids to do whatever they want to do. I consider myself lucky to be doing something that I love every day. So I would want that for them regardless if that means being a pro athlete or not.  I have many friends who are world cup and winter sports pro-athletes. There seems to be a misconception that it is all one big party and that life on the road is all 5-star hotels, amazing room service, massages and endless fun.

What is your take?

CAMERON:
Well…some of this is true…but it’s not a huge party.  If I go for a massage it’s because I need time to relax or need to keep my body loose. I love to travel and each city has something different to offer. Having been out there for 10 years, I am now familiar with restaurants and fun places to go. The drawbacks are being away from my family. The max amount of time I am away from my family is two weeks, whether I go home or they join me on the road.

Who is hilarious on tour?

CAMERON:
John Huston – the comedy never ends.

Who’s a great guy?

CAMERON:
Bob Tway….they don’t get any better!

Do you have any routines that you feel superstitious about following?

CAMERON:
Not so much superstitious, but I do get stretched by a trainer before each round and I play #1 balls on day 1, #2’s on day two etc.

What is your routine before you play?

CAMERON:
I get to the course two hours before my tee time, I eat first and then I get stretched. I putt, chip, hit balls, putt and then tee off.

Are you still doing what you love or is it a job now?

CAMERON:
Can’t wait to get up each day and either play or practice..but I do think of it as a business and a job.

Will you be in Minnesota for the 2009 PGA Championship?

CAMERON :
Naturally.

Cameron Beckman

Scott Congratulates Cam

I’ve been asked by Scott Reid to create a blog of my weekly doings on the PGA TOUR so here I go! Scott is the tournament director of the Fry’s.com Open tournament I won last fall. I must admit the word “blog” scares me to death! It brings back memories of going to school which for me was torture! I loved the social part but papers, tests, report cards and speeches just were not my thing! I will say, if doing some blogging rids me of the reoccurring dream I have about missing an entire semester of English and not being able to graduate from college I’ll do it!

As play begins this week at The Valero, the local newspaper published a nice story about his progress.

“Going out to win is always in my mind, big-time,” Beckman, 39, said Tuesday before a practice round at the Resort Course at La Cantera. “But I just want to play consistently and play well.”

He’s doing both this season, buoyed by a two-year exemption, thanks to a playoff triumph at last fall’s Frys.com Open, and little recurring ache from three bulging disks at the bottom of his back.

You can read the rest of the story here.

We’ll continue covering Cam’s summer exploits on The PGA TOUR as he prepares to defend his title at the 2009 Frys.com Open at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.

Playoff Hole Wins it for Beckman

Welcome to the new Frys.com Open blog!  Here at the Frys.com Open, hosted at beautiful Grayhawk Golf Club in sunny Scottsdale, we decided to join the rest of the digital media age and host our own blog, as well as launch our own Facebook Fan page (which is coming soon).  You’ll find insightful information from “inside the ropes” of our Fall Series event, be able to read posts from our defending champion Cameron Beckman, and we’ve lined up some other surprise “guest” bloggers from around the PGA TOUR. We’ll be posting those guest comments in the not too distant future.  I will also chime in every once in awhile with some updates about the upcoming 2009 Frys.com Open, as well as some thoughts on the PGA TOUR itself.

The good news is this blog is meant to be interactive. You’ll be able to weigh in with your thoughts on the TOUR in general and the Frys.com Open specifically. We’ll share some pictures from last year’s event, put up some fun video, and feed selected Twitter tweets from some of our TOUR buddies right into the blog itself. One of the great things about these new “social media” tools is they allow us to talk to each other about something we all love…PGA TOUR golf!

In my first blog attempt, I want to share with you a little bit about our defending champion Cameron Beckman.  Cam is participating in THE PLAYERS Championship this week at TPC Sawgrass, the second of five straight tournaments in which he’ll play as he looks to move up the board on the PGA TOUR’s 2009 money list (he currently ranks 108^th). At last week’s Quail Hollow Championship, Cam finished a very respectable T29 on a very tough golf course.

Scott Congratulates Cam

I was extremely excited to see Cam take the title in last year’s Frys.com Open, not only because I know him from our playing days together in college, but because this was a special victory for him.  Prior to our tournament, Cam was sitting at 175^th on the money list, and he had already paid his entry fee for Q-School in December.  But, with that two-hole playoff victory over Kevin Sutherland, Cam jumped to 86^th on the money list, secured his status for 2009, and said “no way” to Q-school.

Stories like Cam’s are really what the Fall Series is all about.  There are a lot of great pros like Cam playing in these Fall Series events who really need to play well, or win, in order to “keep their job” on the PGA TOUR.  If not, they have to go to that grind called Q-School and duke it out with other hungry golfers trying to get to TOUR status.  Sinking a putt with The Masters on the line is nerve wracking enough, but needing a putt to keep your job is REAL pressure!

I want to wish Cameron and all of the golfers this week at THE PLAYERS a lot of luck, and we look forward to hearing about Cameron’s experience on the Frys.com Open blog.

Thank you for supporting the Frys.com Open, a tournament we believe is the finest on the PGA TOUR’s Fall Series schedule.  Make sure to check back here often for more updates, or why not add the blog to your Facebook page, to your own blog or subscribe to it through an RSS feed to Google Reader. We don’t want you to miss out on any of the action.

Until next time,

Scott Reid

Frys.com Open Tournament Director