Well, that was some PGA Tour off season, huh? Yeah, not quite.
Finally, golf is back in our lives starting this week at the Safeway Open, the first event of the fall wraparound schedule. While it feels like we could all use a break from the game, there's still plenty of intriguing storylines to follow this week at Silverado Resort's North Course, site of the event since 2014.
First, there's Brendan Steele, who is looking to make history by winning the Safeway for a third straight season. Doing so would make him the first player to three-peat an event since Steve Stricker accomplished the feat in 2011 at the John Deere Classic. Since 1978, only four players have won an event three consecutive times, one of them being Tiger Woods, who did it in four different tournaments.
Then there's Phil Mickelson, coming off an embarrassing week in France he'd like to erase from his memory. He's likely physically and emotionally drained, but don't count out Lefty when he has something to prove, especially at a course he's finished T-3 and T-8 at in his last two appearances.
Another one to watch this week? Mark Mulder. Yes, the former MLB pitcher Mark Mulder, who is the latest former athlete from another sport to receive a sponsor's exemption into a professional golf event. Mulder, a three-peat winner of the American Century Championship, looks to impress the golf world in a similar fashion as Stephen Curry, Tony Romo and John Smoltz each have in the last year.
TV Schedule
Golf Channel will provide live coverage for all four rounds beginning at 5:30 p.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m. each day.
Leader board
Follow all the action from Napa on the Golf Digest PGA Tour leader board.
Tee Times (all times ET)
Tee No. 1
10:10 a.m. -- Nick Taylor, Chad Campbell, Alex Prugh
10:20 a.m. -- James Hahn, Michael Thompson, Sung Kang
10:30 a.m. -- Cameron Tringale, Pete Uihlein, J.T. Poston
10:40 a.m. -- Chris Stroud, Grayson Murray, Jonas Blixt
10:50 a.m. -- Scott Piercy, Mackenzie Hughes, Jim Herman
11 a.m. -- Cody Gribble, Danny Willett, Chez Reavie
11:10 a.m. -- John Senden, Sam Ryder, Tyler Duncan
11:20 a.m. -- Ricky Barnes, Sam Saunders, Roberto Castro
11:30 a.m. -- Ben Crane, Sean O'Hair, David Hearn
11:40 a.m. -- Jose De Jesus Rodriguez, Seth Reeves, Mark Anguiano
11:50 a.m. -- Martin Piller, Corey Conners, Chase Wright
12 p.m. -- Nate Lashley, Dylan Frittelli, Adam Long
2:50 p.m. -- J.B. Holmes, Nick Watney, Seamus Power
3 p.m. -- J.J. Henry, Jamie Lovemark, Anirban Lahiri
3:10 p.m. -- Fabian Gomez, Lucas Glover, Brandon Hagy
3:20 p.m. -- Jason Dufner, Wesley Bryan, Hudson Swafford
3:30 p.m. -- Phil Mickelson, Brendan Steele, Sangmoon Bae
3:40 p.m. -- Emiliano Grillo, Bill Haas, Robert Streb
3:50 p.m. -- Johnson Wagner, Luke List, Trey Mullinax
4 p.m. -- Shawn Stefani, J.J. Spaun, Tom Hoge
4:10 p.m. -- John Chin, Sebastian Munoz, Maverick McNealy
4:20 p.m. -- Carlos Ortiz, Sepp Straka, Mark Mulder
4:30 p.m. -- Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Wes Roach, Curtiz Luck
4:40 p.m. -- Brady Schnell, Hank Lebioda, Jeff Brehaut
Tee No. 10
10:10 a.m. -- Peter Malnati, Brandon Harkins, Josh Teater
10:20 a.m. -- Matt Jones, Martin Laird, Jonathan Byrd
10:30 a.m. -- Kevin Streelman, Richy Werenski, Robert Garrigus
10:40 a.m. -- Michael Kim, Andrew Landry, Jhonattan Vegas
10:50 a.m. -- Brandt Snedeker, Patrick Cantlay, Fred Couples
11 a.m. -- Patrick Rodgers, Beau Hossler, Joaquin Niemann
11:10 a.m. -- Chris Kirk, Ryan Blaum, Scott Langley
11:20 a.m. -- Brian Stuard, Hunter Mahan, John Huh
11:30 a.m. -- Whee Kim, Chad Collins, Sungjae Im
11:40 a.m. -- Sam Burns, Kramer Hickock, Tyler McCumber
11:50 a.m. -- Julian Etulain, Max Homa, Adam Svensson
12 p.m. -- Stephan Jaeger, Roger Sloan, Brett Drewitt
2:50 p.m. -- Ryan Moore, Bronson Burgoon, Andres Gonzales
3 p.m. -- Scott Brown, Jon Curran, Joel Dahmen
3:10 p.m. -- Kelly Kraft, Harold Varner III, Dominic Bozzelli
3:20 p.m. -- Ted Potter, Jr., Adam Hadwin, Russell Knox
3:30 p.m. -- Troy Merritt, Russell Henley, Chesson Hadley
3:40 p.m. -- Aaron Baddeley, Danny Lee, Ollie Schniederjans
3:50 p.m. -- Vaughn Taylor, Harris English, Tyrone Van Aswegen
4 p.m. -- Bud Cauley, Kevin Tway, Denny McCarthy
4:10 p.m. -- Ben Silverman, Jim Knous, Kyle Jones
4:20 p.m. -- Chris Thompson, Cameron Davis, Joey Garber
4:30 p.m. -- Roberto Diaz, Andres Albertson, Cameron Champ
4:40 p.m. -- Adam Schenk, Martin Trainer, Wyndham Clark
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