Frys.com Open Recap: It's Baaack!

When we last saw the PGA Tour, the price of a gallon of milk cost about $3. Today, the cost of a gallon of milk costs about $3.

Yes, the PGA Tour is back, already, for the 2014-15 season. With the tire tracks from all the throwing-under-the-bus at the Ryder Cup still fresh, the Frys.com Open commenced on Thursday.

As Yogi Berra famously said, "A one-week break is not a break." Actually, Yogi never said that. Matt Kuchar said that this week in Napa, Calif., where Commissioner Tim Finchem was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first Pro V1, signifying the end of the golf offseason.

Offseason? We spend more time lamenting our failed fantasy drafts. We spend more time watching Ben Crane complete a round. Gosh, Jim Furyk wouldn't even have had time to finish second again.

As for Kuchar, of course, it was his call to play after competing in the Ryder Cup. It's not like he, and a few other Cuppers in the field, need help paying the mortgage.

But that's now part of our draft strategy - figuring out who will play when. In this, the Tour's second wrap-around season, golfers are still feeling their way through planning their schedules. Last year, Jimmy Walker got out of the starting blocks like Usain Bolt, winning the Frys and two more events by February, not crossing his season's finish line until the Tour Championship and then the Ryder Cup. U.S. teammate Hunter Mahan didn't play in the Frys last year, but he was in the field this year, finishing in a five-way tie for third behind virtual wire-to-wire winner Sang-Moon Bae and runner-up Steven Bowditch.

Beginning seven years ago as part of the Fall Series, the tournament was more like the SmallFrys.com Open. But now bigger names enter the first of seven fall events (including two in Asia and one in Mexico) before the Tour breaks until the new year.

Besides U.S. Ryder Cuppers Kuchar, Mahan and Walker, and Europe's Lee Westwood, seven major champions were at the North Course at Silverado Country Club. So were more than 30 of the 50 Web.com grads, but that was to be expected. Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, was a Webber; he tied for last among those who cashed. And Andy Miller, son of Johnny Miller, received a sponsor's exemption. Miller won twice at Silverado North back in the '70s; it's now his home track, and, along with his son, helped redesign the course in 2011. Miller, 35, missed the cut.

Heck, Walker is even entered in next week's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, along with Bae, defending champion and fellow Ryder Cupper Webb Simpson, and newly crowned FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel.

MONDAY TAKEAWAY

Sang-Moon Bae

Bae has already won more money in one tournament than he won all last season, when he barely eked into the playoffs. This was his second PGA Tour win, but after capturing the 2013 Byron Nelson, Bae didn't have so much as have another top-10 until Sunday. No matter, this gets him back into the Masters and likely some other big events - his real goal is the President's Cup in his home country of South Korea in the fall - so he immediately becomes a more valuable fantasy commodity.

Steven Bowditch

Bowditch appeared headed back to the Web.com Tour when he came out of nowhere to win the Valero Texas Open in March, not only securing his card for two years but getting into three playoff events. Now, with a second-place showing in Napa, maybe that victory doesn't look like such a fluke. And just like that, Bowditch, too, takes on greater fantasy presence.

Hunter Mahan

You'd have thought after four playoff events and then the Ryder Cup, Mahan wouldn't have had much in the tank. But until a poor chip - hmmm, where have we heard that before? - on 15 on Sunday, he was in the mix. Last season, Mahan didn't have a top-5 until winning The Barclays. So to recap: Mahan played well before the Ryder Cup and after the Ryder Cup, but not in the Ryder Cup. O captain's pick! My captain's pick!

Hudson Swafford

The Georgia Bulldog was a highly touted rookie who never materialized last season, needing to use the Web.com Tour to keep his playing privileges. Swafford tied for eighth at Silverado, already matching his number of top-10s from 2013-14. So maybe he's ready to take the next step. Our next clue for Swafford comes at the Shriners.

Lee Westwood

It was surprising to see Westwood at the Frys, fresh off the Ryder Cup and last season not making his U.S. debut until the Farmers in late January. But he's worth watching to see whether he ups his PGA Tour commitments. Westwood finished tied for 12th on Sunday.

Derek Fathauer

The Web.com Tour Championship winner is back on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2009, and made an impressive return, tying Westwood and others for 12th. Cemented at the top of the reshuffle for finishing first in the Web.com Finals, the 28-year-old Fathauer will get plenty of chances to show he belongs.

Jarrod Lyle

There was no better story coming out of Napa than Lyle playing his first PGA Tour event since a recurrence of leukemia about 18 months ago. The Australian was a Monday four-spotter to get into the main draw, then shot par or better every round to tie for 31st. Lyle has accepted a sponsor's exemption for the Shriners, too. He earned $33,300 on Sunday, meaning he needs about another quarter of a million over 19 events to fulfill the terms of his major medical extension. Certainly doable.

Adam Hadwin

The regular-season Web.com Tour leading money winner arrives amid high expectations, probably more so than his former Louisville Cardinals teammate Fathauer. Hadwin made the cut, but closed with a 75 to tie for 53rd. Final-round scoring is often a good barometer for how a player will fare.

Brandt Snedeker

After such an off season, Snedeker wanted to get a jump on putting it in the rear-view mirror. It didn't happen. Snedeker tied for 57th. In 2013-14, he had but three top-10s, so this incredibly gifted golfer is a yellow flag until he gives an indication he's again ready to wave the green.

Jimmy Walker

Walker was always a fast starter, even before last season. He just started even faster in 2013-14, with his first PGA Tour victory coming in the Frys, followed quickly by wins at the Sony in January and Pebble in February. At Silverado, he limped home in 63rd place. While Walker continued to add top-10s to his ledger after Pebble, he never truly contended again. There's little chance he can come close to last season's proficiency. It's only a question of how far he falls from it. After the playoffs, the Ryder Cup, the Frys and the upcoming Shriners, he likely needs a long break soon to avoid some burnout. If he heads to the Asia events, as he did last year, watch out.

Vijay Singh

Singh, 52 in February, played 25 events last season and admirably qualified for two playoff events. But it was largely on the strength of the $540,000 and 300 points he corralled for finishing second at last year's Frys. He did virtually nothing thereafter. This year at the Frys? A missed cut.