The 2018-19 PGA Tour season kicks off this week at the Safeway Open. Here’s the key info for this week’s event in Napa.
Golf course: The North Course at Silverado Resort & Spa was opened in 1955 and designed by Ben Harmon and John Dawson. It was redesigned by Robert Trent Jones Jr. in 1967 and Johnny Miller in 2011. The course will play as a par 72 at 7,166 yards.
Purse: $6.4 million
TV and live streaming schedule (All times Eastern): Thursday-Sunday, 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Golf Channel (live stream)
Notable tee times: 10:50 a.m. Thursday, 3:30 p.m. Friday: Brandt Snedeker, Patrick Cantlay, Fred Couples; 11 a.m. Thursday, 3:40 p.m.: Patrick Rodgers, Beau Hossler, Joaquin Niemann; 3:30 p.m. Thursday, 10:50 a.m. Friday: Phil Mickelson, Brendan Steele, Sangmoon Bae; Click here for full tee times.
Defending champion: Last year, Brendan Steele defeated Tony Finau by two strokes to earn his third career PGA Tour win and successfully defend his title. While Steele became the first in tournament history to successfully defend, he joined Johnny Miller in the 1974 and 1975 Kaiser International as players to successfully defend a PGA Tour title at Silverado Resort & Spa.
Notables in the field: Patrick Cantlay, Fred Couples, Russell Knox, Anirban Lahiri, Hunter Mahan, Maverick McNealy, Phil Mickelson, Ryan Moore, Mark Mulder (a), Joaquin Niemann, Sam Saunders, Brandt Snedeker, Brendan Steele, Peter Uihlein, Danny Willett.
Key stats:
• Brendan Steele has won this tournament each of last two years
• Last to win same PGA Tour event three straight years: Steve Stricker at John Deere (2009-11)
• Phil Mickelson has recorded a top-10 each of previous two years in this tournament
• He has eight consecutive rounds under par in this tournament (26 under in that span)
• Joaquin Niemann had four top-10 finishes in 13 PGA Tour starts last season
• He hit 73 percent greens in regulation last season
• Brandt Snedeker won Wyndham Championship in last event of 2017-18 regular season
• Danny Willett is making his first PGA Tour start in non-major since The Players
• Cameron Champ had an average of 343.1 yards driving last season on Web.com Tour (117 measured drives)
• Mark Mulder, the two-time MLB All-Star, is playing on sponsor’s exemption this week
• All revenue from ticket sales this week go to fire relief efforts in Napa Valley area
(Stats and information provided by the Golf Channel editorial research unit)
