PGA shines in Napa with Frys.com Open

Johnny Miller and the Silverado Resort in Napa were the perfect hosts for the recent PGA Tour and the Frys.com Open.

Crowds were up over last year, when the event was played at CordeValle in San Martin, despite the fact that the tournaments early draw card, Rory McIlroy had to withdraw before the tourney began.

The fantastic fall weather was warm for the players and to a person, they enjoyed Silverado’s North Course, praising its smooth and quick greens.

Miller turned out to be a prognosticator, as he said at the start of the week that the winning score would be between 12 and 16 under, and when the final putt fell, Sang-Moon Bae claimed a two-shot victory with rounds of 66, 69, 65 and 73, respectively, for a 15-under-par total.

It was the first time since the early 1980s that the PGA Tour has visited Silverado, and Miller is optimistic that he will again host the event their next year, when McIlroy has indicated he will play alongside Tiger Woods.

One of the most inspirational stories of the week was Jarrod Lyle.

Lyle, from Melbourne Australia, made his first cut since returning to the tour after beating cancer for the second time and finished in a tie for 31st place with rounds of 72, 70, 71 and 70, respectively, highlighted by a short wedge shot on his last hole that stopped a mere 2 feet from the hole.

With the win, his second on the tour, Bae gets an invitation to the Tournament of Champions event in Hawaii in January, a spot in next year’s Masters, Player’s Championship and PGA Championship.