Day: October 1, 2018

Monday qualifiers: Safeway OpenMonday qualifiers: Safeway Open

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018| 23:46

The PGA TOUR season begins this week, which means the first Monday qualifier of the season. Here’s a look at the four players who earned spots in the Safeway Open on Monday. AARON BADDELEY (65) Age: 37 Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona/Australia Alma mater: None PGA TOUR starts: 406 Cuts made: 251 Best PGA TOUR finish: Won, 2006 RBC Heritage; 2007 Waste Management Phoenix Open; 2011 Genesis Open; 2016 Barbasol Championship. Notes: The four-time TOUR winner has conditional status after finishing 132nd in last season’s FedExCup. He made the cut in 15 of 27 starts. His lone top-10 came at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, where he finished 10th. The former Presidents Cup participant led the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green last season. BRETT DREWITT (65) Age: 27 Country: Scottsdale, Arizona/Australia Alma mater: None PGA TOUR starts: 19 Cuts made: 9 Best PGA TOUR finish: T27, 2017 Barbasol Championship Notes: Drewitt finished 196th in the FedExCup in 2016-17, his lone season on the PGA TOUR. He shot a final-round 62 at the Barbasol Championship. Drewitt is a graduate of PGA TOUR China, finishing third on the Order of Merit in 2014 to earn his Web.com Tour card. This year, he finished 71st on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list with three top-10s, highlighted by a T3 at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay. ANDRES GONZALES (66) Age: 35 Hometown: Lakewood, Washington Alma mater: UNLV PGA TOUR starts: 125 Cuts made: 59 Best PGA TOUR finish: T3, 2014 OHL Classic at Mayakoba Notes: Gonzales has qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs once in five PGA TOUR seasons, finishing 115th in 2015. He also is a two-time winner on the Web.com Tour (2012 Soboba Golf Classic; 2014 Utah Championship). He finished 113th on this year’s Web.com Tour money list this year. MARK ANGUIANO (66) Age: 25 Hometown: Whittier, California Alma mater: Cal State Fullerton PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 0 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2016 U.S. Open Notes: Anguiano finished 10th on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit this year to earn an exemption into the final stage of this year’s Web.com Tour Q-School. He earned his first career victory at this year’s Windsor Classic. He also played on the Web.com Tour in 2017, finishing 98th on the money list. Anguiano was the 2014 Big West Conference Player of the Year at Cal State Fullerton. He played college golf for the Titans, who reinstated their golf program in 2009-10 after an absence of more than two decades. WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS MC. T.J. Vogel, 69-69 MC. Mickey DeMorat, 69-69 MC. Stewart Jolly, 70-71 MC. James Driscoll, 69-79 LAST SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualifiers: 95 Made cut: 28 Best finish: John Oda, T3 at Barracuda Championship Top-10s: 5 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax, T8 at Valspar; Julian Suri, T8 at Houston; Chase Seiffert, T9 at Travelers; John Oda, T3 at Barracuda) Top-25s: 7 Most times qualified: T.J. Vogel (8)

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Power Rankings: Fantasy golf advice for the Safeway OpenPower Rankings: Fantasy golf advice for the Safeway Open

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018| 23:10

As we reset following the 12th annual FedExCup Playoffs, we’re reminded of where it all begins – at the Safeway Open. For the sixth consecutive season, it serves as the launching pad. Forty-eight tournaments are scheduled for the 2018-19 PGA TOUR. Eight who competed at Silverado Resort and Spa’s North Course last year advanced to the TOUR Championship two weeks ago. Five represented the United States in last week’s Ryder Cup. For more on what the field of 144 faces at Silverado, how Brendan Steele has dominated and more, scroll beneath the ranking. Chris Kirk, Chez Reavie, Danny Willett, Sam Burns and 2014 champion Sangmoon Bae will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. Ever since the wraparound schedule was introduced in 2013-14, the season opener has benefited golfers fresh off earning their cards in the Web.com Tour Finals. Sure, there’s the emotional lift of securing one’s job, but when the focus returns to the task at hand, gone are the days of having to wait a month or so before reconnecting with the form that got them there. So, anticipate a final leaderboard that reflects this phenomenon. It doesn’t hurt that Silverado presents a proper test. At 7,166 yards, it’s short for the current generation of PGA TOUR talent, yet it’s a par 72 with four par 5s. Not surprisingly, distance off the tee has proven to have value over accuracy. However, like any other par 72 that has surrendered respective winning scores of 18-under and 15-under to Steele, who has been the model of consistency on the track, it’s vulnerable on approach before handsomely rewarding those who are in tune with their putter. Eight of the 12 who finished inside the top 10 in last year’s Safeway also finished inside the top 20 in proximity to the hole and/or strokes gained: putting. En route to both of his victories, Steele slotted inside the top 15 in strokes gained: approach-the-green, proximity, par-5 scoring and scrambling, while also excelling across the board in all other notable metrics. Silverado doesn’t make it easy, though. It limited last year’s field to a conversion percentage of just 85.73 percent from inside 10 feet, the second-lowest split of any course all season but in line with its historical stinginess. Meanwhile, while its scoring average of 71.757 was the four-year tournament high, strong winds in the finale inflated it disproportionate to the projection. A similarly breezy final round is possible this week, but daytime highs will be more seasonable than what last year’s heat wave generated. It’s unlikely to touch 80 degrees until Sunday. The threat for rain will have ended by the time the tournament – and the season – it poised to begin. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done, Twitter live fantasy show * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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Eric Reid undecided on protests, won’t drop grievance vs NFLEric Reid undecided on protests, won’t drop grievance vs NFL

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018| 21:40

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Eric Reid isn’t planning on giving up his fight against racial injustice in America or his battle with the NFL. He just doesn’t know if his protests against injustice will include kneeling for the national anthem . Reid, who signed a one-year contract last week with Carolina

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