Safeway Open Preview: Unleash the Rookies

Silverado CC (North), CA

Thursday October 13th - Sunday October 16th, 2016

by David Barwise

Photo: Patch

The beginning of a new season. Sadly no Tiger this time around, but a host of future superstars fresh from the Web.com Tour are looking to challenge the old guard in their rookie debuts.

The Course

This will be the third time this event will take place at Silverado (and the first time as the “Safeway Open”). The course itself has been described as “straightforward” and is fairly open. Essentially, at just over 7200 yards, it’s a bog-standard PGA Tour course tinkered with by Johnny Miller.

The Field

The Safeway Open looks to be an unpredictable mix which boasts in-form stars (Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey), bright young stars (Smylie Kaufman and Bryson DeChambeau), and future stars (38 graduates from the Web.com Tour). The fact that Tiger Woods withdrew earlier this week after seeing the way that his game paled in comparison to the others in the field can only inspire optimism for this young batch of rookies. Wesley Bryan, the money leader for the Web.com Tour, and world number one amateur Maverick McNealy will also be in attendance.

Last Year

Emiliano Grillo won on his Tour debut as he caught Kevin Na on the final day to take him to a playoff where he trimuphed after two holes. Grillo’s regulation -15 equalled Sangmoon Bae’s winning score the previous year – the first year this event was hosted at Silverado. While Grillo will be back to defend his title, Sangmoon Bae will be absent due to his mandatory two-year military service.

Spotlight

The smart money will be on Casey who has three top-5s in a row, with Ryder Cup teammates Mickelson and Matt Kuchar also looking to capitalise on their great form. Grillo is looking to be the first player to defend his title in this event. Every rookie in the field will be looking to play well and maybe cause an upset – it happened last year... so why not this time?

Prediction

I’m expecting Casey to win, with Grillo to contend (not Na, sadly) and Jon Rahm to crack the top-10 in pursuit of a stellar (full) debut season.

Ryder Cup - Day 1 Player Ratings

by David Barwise

Team USA

photo: mirror.co.uk

Jordan Spieth – 6

The same Spieth we’ve seen all season – not quite his best but still solid and holing more than his fair share of putts. Complemented his partner well, too.

Patrick Reed – 8

Almost made the Open champion and the Olympic Gold medallist look average. A real clutch player and seemed to really feed off the crowd. Holed the putt to win the first point of the day. Expect him to be a key part of the plan on the weekend.

Phil  Mickelson – 6

Bailed out in the foursomes by Rickie, but hit some stellar approaches. Rested in the afternoon and may struggle to get into the side on Saturday.

Rickie Fowler – 7

Looked really strong today. This could be a huge Ryder Cup for him. Led the comeback against McIlroy/Sullivan who played well in the morning.

Zach Johnson – 5

A few errant shots but never let the Europeans get away. Wasn’t expected to play too well this week but held his own.

Jimmy Walker – 6

Went behind pretty early on but never let his head go down. Holed the putt to take them ahead of Garcia/Kaymer.

Dustin Johnson – 7

Highest ranked golfer in the Ryder Cup and was fantastic in the morning. Maybe let his foot off the accelerator after that, but his prowess on the greens will prove invaluable for the Americans this week.

Matt Kuchar – 6

Fairly consistent, but seemed to play a cameo role in both of his matches. May need to improve for Sunday’s singles matches.

JB Holmes – 4

Just didn’t have it today. It’s been an excellent season for him, but it didn’t translate in today’s performance.

Ryan Moore - 5

Rallied to put the fight to the Spaniards, but it proved too little too late.

Brandt Snedeker – 8

Holed everything. If he continues like he played today, he’ll prove to be a real handful. Expect Davis Love III to find a place for him in the foursomes games tomorrow.

Brooks Koepka – 7

In his Ryder Cup debut he found himself against two major winners; he outclassed them both. It would have been all too easy to get anxious or giddy, especially when seeing the comeback from the European team, but this was a really mature performance.

Team Europe

photo: en.as.com

Henrik Stenson – 8

Decent all day. Hit plenty of greens in the morning and holed a lot of putts in the afternoon. Huge pressure to get a result after the disappointing European foursomes results and he nailed it.

Justin Rose – 6

Against top-form opposition all day, but probably could have done a lot better with the putter.

Rory McIlroy – 5

The McIlroy/Sullivan partnership started off as a masterstroke, but the FedExCup champ’s implosion around the seven hole onwards allowed the Californians to come back into it. Redeemed himself by dramatically clinching the win in the fourballs. Big players hit big shots.

Andy Sullivan – 6

The “rookie” never looked out of his depth and dug McIlroy out of a few holes. A costly mistake on 17 set the blues back, but otherwise a good debut.

Sergio Garcia – 6

Put Kaymer in a few sticky situations. Made as many pressure putts as he missed. Seemed much more comfortable in the afternoon. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s partnered with Rafa in the foursomes tomorrow.

Martin Kaymer – 5

Can’t really fault him too much, but it never really happened for him today. Sergio landed him in a lot of bother in the morning and he looked tired in the afternoon.

Lee Westwood – 3

Never looked comfortable. Didn’t get the best out of his partner. Still has plenty to give, but this duo going out together seems maybe to be a mistake.

Thomas Pieters – 7

Secret weapon for the Europeans. Paired with veteran Westwood for his calming influence (he did look a little terrified) but the former world-number-one’s putting clipped his wings. Carried McIlroy for much of the afternoon. A good captain’s pick.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello – 7

Hit the straight-ball and got the most out of his partner, which is exactly what was needed. The latest in a line of great Spanish Ryder Cup players. Hopefully we’ll be seeing a lot more of him.

Danny Willett – 5

Given that he was probably under more pressure than any other player due to the reaction to his brother’s comments, he was fairly steady. But steady is often not good enough in these things.