Frys.com Open Tournament Dir Ian Knight said "phones have been ringing off the hooks" since Tiger Woods officially committed to play in the October PGA Tour event. Knight: "Tickets have been selling like crazy. A lot of tickets have moved fast and our volunteer program is completely sold-out. Our corporate sales are very close to sold-out." The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami said we "wouldn't be talking about" the Frys.com Open, a Fall Series event staged outside San Jose, if Woods wasn't playing. Kawakami continued, "When Tiger arrives, obviously it will be a big deal. ... If he should win this tournament, that'll be a big deal and a big deal for the tournament" ("Chronicle Live," Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 8/30). Woods said he decided to play in the Frys.com Open because he wanted to "play another event." Woods: "I've taken enough time off and it's something I told the commissioner at the outset of the year, I was going to play an event that I normally haven't played in the past and the Frys fit. So it worked out great" ("Morning Drive," Golf Channel, 8/31).
DEAL IN THE WORKS? SI’s Alan Shipnuck said, “A missing piece in this is he’s been negotiating with the Frys Company for over a year for an endorsement deal and when he announced he was going to play, he mentioned the CEO by name. … When do you ever see that in a commitment? So this could be just part of a larger negotiation and when it comes to his schedule, Tiger has always been very selfish. To think he is doing this to help the Tour, help the tournament, there may be darker forces at work” (“19th Hole,” Golf Channel, 8/31).
