Fry's Electronics Open preview: Scottsdale is Mickelson's kind of town

It might not have quite the same ring with Scottsdale instead of Chicago, but that needn’t stop Lefty sailing round Grayhawk golf club this week humming ‘My Kind of Town’. Trouble is, it could turn into a noisy chorus. Half the golfing world seems to have some association with this desert community and a few actually live here, as Mickelson once did.

So although this is a new tournament on a new course to the PGA Tour, there’s plenty of local form to consider. Quite a few others will be familiar with TPC Scottsdale a mile or two to the south where the FBR Open is held in February. Which is why most pundits have abandoned their search for a winner among the huddled masses on the Tour bubble and gone for top of the card quality with oodles of local knowledge.

Phil Mickelson is apparently doing a sponsor a favour, but he is anyway going to be uncommonly active during this end of season period. Phil plays well in these desert conditions and is very popular with the noisy crowds that Scottsdale has become renowned for. He is well rested after his splendid Presidents Cup. But given that he can be a bit Jekyll and Hyde with his performances, his price of just under 7 hardly excites.

Aaron Baddeley is the pick of a lot of people because he lives here, knows the course like the back of his hand, and won the FBR just down the road in February. He had a couple of excellent outings in the FedEx playoffs, including 2nd at the BMW. It’s a bit puzzling that his stats, apart from putting, are not very flattering, but I would be surprised if he didn’t play well here.

On the stats front no one makes a stronger case that one of Baddeley’s Scottsdale neighbours, Robert Garrigus, who on recent form is 4th for finding both fairways and greens and 15th for putting, which I expect to be the three key ingredients on this long but generous track. He placed 3rd last week and came 11th at the FBR.

I’m slightly less interested in other locals like Tim Clark, who is likely to find the distances a challenge and seems to be struggling with his irons, and Tom Lehman, whose game is in the pits at the moment.

Bubba Watson could be in with a strong shout if he can get his putter going. We all know he’s a bomber, but his iron work is in excellent shape too and he placed 8th down the road in February.

Dean Wilson missed the cut last week, but was 6th the week before and 8th at the FBR. He currently ranks top ten for putting and greens in regulation. While we’re down in the ‘Ws’, Charles Warren also missed the cut last week, but ranks 7th for distance and 3rd for finding greens. A slightly loose putter seems to be all that stands in the way of greatness. Oh, and he came 18th at TPC Scottsdale.

The stats also suggest Steve Flesch could prosper. Already a two-time winner this season, he leads the field for greens in regulation. Mathias Gronberg also figures highly in my stats and has two top tens from his last two outings.

And then of course there’s the ultimate nearly man Bo van Pelt, a great trading play with 18-8-11-5 in his last four outings. I just have to keep the faith!