Power Rankings: Frys.com Open

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Oct. 20, 2009
By Ryan Smithson, PGATOUR.COM

The birdiefest known as the Fall Series continues this week in Scottsdale, home to dozens of PGA TOUR regulars, most of whom live within a 10-mile radius of Grayhawk Golf Club. The two-course facility is a mere 15 years old, mirroring the brand-new, never-lived-in feel of everything else in this region northeast of downtown Phoenix.

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The PGA TOUR has only visited Grayhawk Golf Club twice. The tournament is held at the 7,125-yard Raptor Course, and although the Slope for amateurs is an intimidating 143, the pros tear it up even though there are only two par 5s. Cameron Beckman won a playoff with Kevin Sutherland after going 18 under in regulation.

Because the par is 70, the big hitters' normal advantage in the desert is neutralized. Unlike TPC Scottsdale -- where bombers like J.B. Holmes and Kenny Perry have dominated in recent years, the list of players who have done well at Grayhawk reads like a who's-who of PGA TOUR plinkers. Mike Weir averaged a benign 282 yards off the tee last year, but he racked up 18 birdies and tied for fourth. Paul Goydos collected 20 birdies in tying for seventh last year.

Still, the bombers can do well here because the fairways are fairly wide. J.J. Henry, Pat Perez and Steve Allen all finished in the top 10 here last year after averaging over 300 yards a poke.

Power Rankings: Frys.com Open
Rank Player   Comment
Mike
WEIR
Weir has fired 72-hole scores of 266 -- 14 under -- in each of the first two years of this event. His 266 was good enough to win in 2007, and he played well two weeks ago at The Presidents Cup. It will be a major surprise if he doesn't finish in the top 10.
Charley
HOFFMAN
All four of his top-10s have come west of the Mississippi, including last week, when he was sixth. Hoffman is one of the best short-iron players on TOUR, which explains his dominance on the par-4s this year (he's 18th in par-4 birdie-or-better performance).
Pat
PEREZ
We saw it last week: When in doubt, go with guys who know the course, and Perez, an Arizona State alum, knows it well. He tied for seventh last year, and more importantly, he has been idle for five weeks, so he should be raring to go.
Tim
CLARK
The South African is another player who lives in the Scottsdale area, and he has easily made the cut at Grayhawk in each of the last two years. Everyone keeps mentioning how Clark still hasn't won on TOUR, but this grinder won't have to listen it for much longer.
Justin
LEONARD
Leonard skipped this event last year, but he theatened to win it in 2007 until a final-round 71 sent him to a tie for sixth. Leonard is one of the best on TOUR in par-4 performance -- he's one of only eight players averaging under par on them in 2009.
Paul
GOYDOS
Goydos has not played well recently -- he has broken 70 just once in his last nine rounds -- but he always seems to find the key that enables him to fix whatever's wrong. He shot 62 in the second round here last year and tied for seventh.
Ryan
MOORE
Moore has evolved into one of the most consistent performers on TOUR since mid season, and he tied for sixth at Grayhawk in 2007. He comes into this week as one of the hottest players on TOUR after opening with rounds of 67-63 last week.
Tom
PERNICE
Pernice may be 50, but his October includes a win in his first Champions Tour start and a tie for seventh last week at TPC Summerlin. He can still make a lot of birdies -- he shot 26 under this spring at The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.
Fred
COUPLES
Couples still racks up a lot of birdies as he nears his 50th birthday -- he is 10th on TOUR in birdie or better conversion percentage. Freddie hasn't played since the Deutsche Bank Championship, but he is conditioned to playing well after long layoffs.
Rickie
FOWLER
Watch out for this kid in a couple of years. Heck, we might not even have to wait that long for him to win. He showed us last week what he can do: He hits it 300 yards and reasonably straight, he's an excellent putter and he makes birdies in bunches
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