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The final leaderboard for the 2017 Safeway Open at the Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, California is in. Brendan Steele shot a solid 3-under 69 to win by two strokes over runner-up Tony Finau in the season opener. Steele has successfully defended his title from last year’s tournament. Below is the truncated top-10 leaderboard:
(1) Brendan Steele (-15)
(2) Tony Finau (-13)
(T3) Phil Mickelson (-12)
(T3) Chesson Hadley (-12)
(T5) Graham DeLaet (-11)
(T5) Tyler Duncan (-11)
(T7) Andrew Landry (-10)
(T7) Bud Cauley (-10)
(T9) Grayson Murray (-9)
(T9) Tyrone Van Aswegen (-9)
(T9) Brandon Harkins (-9)
(T9) Nick Taylor (-9)
Here are some statistics on the champion and other notables near the top of the leaderboard:
Winner: Brendan Steele (-12) – Steel’s win at the Safeway Open this week is his third win on Tour — his other two were at last year’s Safeway Open and at the Valero Texas Open in 2011.
We last saw Steele at the BMW Championship a few weeks ago, when he failed to advance on to the Tour Championship and get a shot at the FedEx Cup. He had missed several cuts (including at The Open and the PGA Championship) and had not performed particularly well in his previous 8 starts. It looks like he was able to find something between now and then; either that or he channeled the good memories from his win last year at the Safeway. His best finishes last season aside from the win at the Safeway include a T6 at the PLAYERS Championship and a T6 at the CareerBuilder Challenge. I would say he has certainly had better years. Previous finishes at the Safeway Open for Steele include a win in 2016 (tied the course record at -18), T17 in 2015 (Frys.com Open), T21 in 2014, and a missed cut in 2013. Could this win mean something for his consistency moving into the 17-18 season? Somehow I doubt it, but time will tell.
Final round: 5 birdies and 2 bogeys for a 3-under 69. Two strokes behind leader Tyler Duncan going into the final round, Steele capitalized on Duncan’s over-par performance, making several birdies. On the par-5 18th, he managed to get up and down from off the green to seal the deal. Scores in regulation: 65, 67, 72, 69 (273).
Tony Finau (-13) – 28-year-old Finau’s lone win on Tour came at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. Finau has been performing well in recent weeks; he made it to the Tour Championship where he finished T7, and he also finished T7 the previous week. He had many top-10 finishes in the 16-17 season, but nothing better than a T3 at the Valero Texas Open. Previous finishes at the Safeway Open for Finau include a T26 in 2016, T32 in 2015, and T12 in 2014. This guy has all the right ingredients to make a major mark on professional golf. I think there’s a fantastic chance of him securing a win some time this season.
Final round: 3 birdies, 1 eagle and a double for a 3-under 69. On the par-5 13th, he moved into a tie for the lead with Steele with a birdie, but then made double bogey on the next hole. He missed his 40-foot eagle putt on the 18th. Scores in regulation: 70, 65, 71, 69 (275).
Phil Mickelson (-12) – An honourable mention. Even though he never really had a chance at any point today, it’s always fun to see Phil near the top of the leaderboard.
Final round: 5 birdies and 3 bogeys for a 2-under 70. He really could have done without the bogeys. Scores in regulation: 69, 69, 68, 70 (276).
