Harrison

Frazar

Little known Chris Starkjohn is no longer playing, so Frazar will take his place. Frazar has made three straight cuts and has a top-10, top-25 and top-30 finish to show for it. He’s a sleeper pick, but we don’t expect him to perform well at Medinah. However, it is a very long course and he hits the ball a ton off the tee, which works in his favor.

He hasn’t played since he withdrew at Memphis last month and the list of problems his family has encountered is long. His wife, Allison, was carrying twins, but one died in the womb at 12 weeks. The other (a son) is now nine days old, but there were serious complications at birth. His wife’s grandmother died recently, his 3-year-old son had intestinal surgery and his 7-year-old son broke his arm. Everything is back to normal with his family life now, so he’s back on tour in search of his first win.

Since breaking through for his first PGA TOUR victory at the St. Jude in June, he’s failed to record a top 25 in eight starts, but he got over on TPC Summerlin today with an eagle and six birdies. His eagle at the par-5 16th hole was set up by a 320-yard that split the fairway; he’d pour in a five-footer for the 3. His most notable birdie conversions dropped in from 21'5" and 19'11" at the sixth and 17th holes, respectively. Frazar was the fourth to post a 65 today.

We relayed Frazar’s WD midday on Wednesday. Miceli’s report first aired in the evening. He added that Frazar “may not be able to play for two weeks until THE PLAYERS.” The PGA TOUR’s signature event will be contested on May 10-13.

Frazar’s round included an eagle, four birdies and three bogeys. His eagle came at the par-5 ninth when he dropped a 10'5" eagle putt after a 274 yard approach shot. He split eight (of 14) fairways and landed 13 GIR, while putting to an impressive 1.615 average.

He ended an 0-for-4 slide with a T60 at last week’s Valero Texas Open. While he started the year with a pair of top fives, the best news is that he’s fully exempt through next year for breakthrough victory at the 2011 St. Jude Classic. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s a valuable fantasy investment. NOTE: Garrett Willis also withdrew as an alternate.

This is quite an achievement given two factors. First, he has rested a sore hip the last two weeks. Second, he hadn’t broken 70 in his first 28 rounds of TPC Sawgrass where he’s missed six of 10 cuts and never posted a top 30. Today he split 13 (of 14) fairways and hit 16 greens to set the table for five birdies. Among the set were conversions from 13 feet and 15 feet, respectively, at the fifth and 12th holes. He’s three strokes adrift of the clubhouse lead.

Even if he’s able to play through his hip injury, his track record alone at TPC Sawgrass behooves gamers to lay off. In 10 appearances, he’s missed six cuts and hasn’t cracked the top 30.

His 7-over 73-78=151 total fell two shots shy of the cut line. As can be the case for rookies at Augusta National, the greens can be a little tricky to figure out and Frazar suffered through a trio of three putts in the first two round. Frazar will take next week off rather than head to Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage.

Frazar scattered three birdies in his first six holes, but at the par-4 ninth hole he posted his first bogey of the day. He rebounded with a birdie to open his back nine, however he proceeded to give the stroke back at the par-4 11th. Frazar then went on a run of five consecutive birdies, plus he birdied the par-5 closing hole to finish off his low round.