The Frys.com Open will prospectively lead off a revamped PGA Tour schedule in 2013 when the Tour moves its season’s start from January to October.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, saying it was “time to get better,” announced Tuesday that the Tour’s policy board approved two significant components toward an overhaul — the repositioning of the tournament year to begin in the fall, and the developmental Nationwide Tour becoming the primary path to get a PGA Tour card.

It was another big step for the Frys.com Open not only becoming a full-fledged PGA Tour event, but one that would kick off the new season immediately following the Presidents Cup the week of Oct. 7-13, 2013, tentatively at owner John Fry’s ultra-private club in Morgan Hill, The Institute.

The Frys.com Open has the greatest potential of a large purse and is geared toward being a big event. But there is one remaining potential obstacle. Left unresolved at the policy board meeting was the question of whether to award full FedEx Cup point status for the fall events. Finchem said that it remains a possibility that the fall events will receive full status, but that the issue won’t be settled until the 16-member policy board next meets in late June.

Not awarding equal points to the tournaments running from January to August could be a problem. Golf World magazine, in a story for its digital edition Monday, obtained a letter from the Frys.com Open in which it expressed “concern about continuing our sponsorship” if the fall events are only given half the points.

Tournament president Duke Butler would not comment specifically on the letter sent by tournament chairperson Kathy Kolder to Finchem. Butler did say that all of the Fall Series events have lobbied to gain full FedEx point status and he believes it ultimately will be approved.

“I believe the PGA Tour policy board will acknowledge that the fall tournaments have earned equal respect with the other co-sponsored tournaments,” Butler said by phone.

By starting the official season in October — shortly after the FedEx Cup season ends — it allows the Tour to give more value to the tournaments now part of the Fall Series. If they are not treated like other tournaments, odds are they would not renew their sponsorship, which would eliminate some $25 million in prize money.

While very optimistic a resolution will be favorable, Butler stopped short of saying it was a foregone conclusion.

“It’s a very progressive day for the Frys tournament,” he said. “But we have to wait another three months before receiving the final outcome.”

The Frys.com will still be part of the Fall Series in 2012 and will be held at CordeValle Golf Resort in San Martin.

Starting the season in October also means that Q-school no longer can be an avenue to the PGA Tour. Instead, Q-school will award cards for only the Nationwide Tour.

Finchem offered only a skeleton of the plan. After the FedEx Cup regular season ends in August 2013, the tour will take the top 75 players from the Nationwide Tour money list, along with the players who finished No. 126 through 200 on the PGA Tour money list, and have them play three tournaments. The top 50 will receive PGA Tour cards for the following season.

The biggest problem for the board is blending two very different tours.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tiger Woods, shown here at CordeValle in October, gave the tournament a huge boost in visibility.

It’s not quite as headline-grabbing as luring Tiger Woods to the Bay Area, but the Frys.com Open stands one step closer to becoming the PGA Tour’s season-opening event in October 2013.

The tour’s policy board announced today it had approved a proposal to reshape next year’s schedule. At its essence, the new format calls for the 2014 season to officially begin the previous fall – with those tournaments, now known as the Fall Series, becoming full-fledged events.

That will add another layer of legitimacy to the Frys.com Open, held outside San Jose the past two years and scheduled this season for Oct. 11-14 at CordeValle. It doesn’t necessarily mean Woods will return, or other big-name players suddenly will flock to the South Bay, but it gives the event some fresh cachet.

“We consider it progress,” tournament director Jeffrey Sanchez said. “We look forward to possibly being the lead (event). We’re optimistic … and we think it would give players more incentive to come out and play.”

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, speaking in Orlando, said the tour hasn’t decided which event will serve as the season opener. But all indications point to the Frys.com Open, which gained national attention when Woods, trying to come back from knee and Achilles injuries, showed up last fall. He tied for 30th.

Tour officials, by starting future seasons in October rather than January, plan to begin awarding FedEx Cup points at the fall tournaments held after the Tour Championship. Left unresolved is whether those events, such as the Frys, will offer full FedEx Cup points.

“That’s still an open question and, for us, a really important question,” Sanchez said. “We want to be on that level, treated and respected like other tournaments on the schedule.”
Today’s move by the policy board also means the end of Qualifying School as a way for players to directly reach the PGA Tour; Q School now will offer a path only to the Nationwide Tour. A three-tournament September “playoff” series will be held (involving players from both tours), with 50 PGA Tour cards at stake.

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http://blog.sfgate.com/ongolf/2012/03/20/frys-com-open-one-step-closer-to-leadoff-role/

By Frys.com Open Staff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Frys.com Open Tournament Chairperson Kathy Kolder announced that 2012 Frys.com Open tickets prices will remain the same as 2011. General admission tickets for Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday are available at $35 per day; tickets for Saturday or Sunday are available at $45 per day. Weekly general admission badges, valid Wednesday through Sunday, are available for $125 each. Tickets are on sale now, and orders can be placed by calling the Tournament Office at 408-487-4653.

The Frys.com Open has awarded more than $4 million to charity in the event’s seven year history. The tournament’s main beneficiary is The American Institute of Mathematics, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based organization whose chief goal is to expand the frontiers of mathematical knowledge by funding focused research projects, conferences and the development of an on-line mathematics library. Additional proceeds are distributed to several beneficiaries, including The First Tee of San Jose, Northern California Golf Association Foundation, Lung Cancer Foundation, American Cancer Society, and the Special Olympics of Northern California.

The Frys.com Open is part of the PGA TOUR’s Fall Series and features a full-field (132 players), four-day tournament with a $5 million purse and a $900,000 payout to the winner. The tournament will be played Oct. 8-14, 2012 at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif., located just 25 minutes south of title sponsor Fry’s Electronics headquarters in San Jose, Calif.

For more information go to www.frysopengolf.com or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/frysopengolf.