Northern California wine country is the sight of this week’s stop on the PGA Tour when the gang heads to Napa for the Safeway Open. This event had been the season-opener in previous years, but its new spot in the rotation brings arguably the strongest field ever. Five of the top-20 in the OWGR are scheduled to peg it up at Silverado Resort and Spa this week with No. 6 Justin Thomas the highest ranked and the betting favorite at top offshore sportsbooks. After struggling through the end of last season, Phil Mickelson will make his season debut this week and he’s spotted further down the odds board. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds.
Odds to Win Safeway Open at BookMaker.eu
Justin Thomas +660
Patrick Cantlay +1000
Adam Scott +1400
Hideki Matsuyama +1600
Bryson DeChambeau +2200
Sungjae Im +2200
Francesco Molinari +2500
Byeong Hun An +3000
Brandt Snedeker +3000
Collin Morikawa +3300
Ryan Moore +3300
Kevin Na +3500
Marc Leishman +4000
Chez Reavie +4000
Corey Conners +4500
Emiliano Grillo +4500
Lucas Glover +5000
Abraham Ancer +5000
Phil Mickelson +5000
Scott Piercy +5000
Sebastian Munoz +5000
Troy Merritt +5000
Kevin Streelman +5500
Dylan Frittelli +5500
Charles Howell III +5500
Bronson Burgoon +6000
Bud Cauley +6600
Harold Varner III +6600
Harris English +6600
Kevin Tway +6600
Nate Lashley +7000
Cameron Champ +7000
Cameron Tringale +8000
Daniel Berger +8000
Lanto Griffin +8000
Joel Dahmen +8000
Adam Hadwin +8000
Tom Hoge +8000
Si Woo Kim +9000
Vaughn Taylor +9000
Brendan Steele +9000
Martin Laird +9000
Luke List +10000
Jim Furyk +10000
Kyle Stanley +10000
Carlos Ortiz +10000
Charley Hoffman +10000
C.T. Pan +10000
Grayson Murray +10000
Adam Schenk +10000
Robby Shelton +10000
Odds Analysis
Patrick Cantlay +1000
Cantlay is among the favorites to prevail and with decent odds he at least deserves a look. We last saw him with a T21 at the Tour Championship, but he ended last season in style with a win at the Memorial, solo second at the BMW Championship and no worse than a T21 in seven of his last eight starts. Made his debut at Silverado last year with a T17 and could’ve been further up the leaderboard if not for third-round 73. His accuracy off the tee has been suspect, but Silverado is forgiving.
Francesco Molinari +2500
Based strictly on his game Molinari should be a contender. But this is a weird event for him to be playing. He makes the trip from England after competing in the BMW PGA Championship last week with little time to rest and his game was more erratic last season than the one before. He was T14 at Wentworth, but his inconsistency tee-to-green is something that makes me say no on placing a wager.
Phil Mickelson +5000
His fall after winning the Pebble Beach Pro Am was epic, but Lefty’s had time to work things out. He’s at a point in his career where plays in events he enjoys. And he certainly likes spending time in wine country. Will that help or hinder his game? Who knows, but he’s been good at Silverado with three straight top-20s that included a T3 in 2017. Phil likes the poa annua greens and he should be able to get there with little trouble, helping his cause. And the price is right.
Brandt Snedeker +3000
Another poa stud is Snedeker, who is looking to get back in the driver’s seat after fading into a T45 at the Sanderson Farms Championship last week. And redemption at Silverado is on his checklist. He led last year’s event after 54 holes, but three straight bogeys after the turn dropped him into a three-way tie and he was eliminated on the first playoff hole. That’s motivation this time around.
Troy Merritt +5000
There are some big name players in the field, which is great for tournament organizers and fans. But are they really motivated to win like they would be at a major? Hard to say, but the fall events are open to anyone and a guy like Merritt has plenty of value. He closed the PGA season with a T12 at the Northern Trust to move on in the FedExCup playoffs. He went 3 for 3 on the Euro circuit leading up to the Safeway Open and has a T4 and T15 in his two starts at Silverado.
Course: Silverado Resort and Spa – 7,166 yards, Par 72
The North Course at Silverado will host the Safeway Open for the sixth consecutive year. The layout isn’t particularly long at less than 7,200 yards, and it isn’t overly difficult. There really is no style that fits Silverado better than others. Some players will try and hit the snot out of the ball to gain an advantage on approach. Others will club down to navigate around the tree-line fairways and stay out of the rough. Getting off line from the tee box isn’t a major problem with the tall grass not as thick or long as it is on other courses. Kevin Tway carded a 14-under to win last year’s edition in a playoff, the worst score since the event moved to Silverado. We can expect to see some low rounds and low scores with the weather cooperating.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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