2017 John Deere Classic, Round 2: Leaderboard, tee times, TV schedule

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NAPA, Calif. – During the award ceremony Sunday night after his second consecutive Safeway Open win, Brendan Steele saw celebrity chef Thomas Keller, who owns the award-winning The French Laundry. On Friday night, Steele had dined at the restaurant, which is 10 miles from the Silverado course. A year ago, Steele also dined at The French Laundry on Friday night. “The problem two years ago was I didn’t have dinner there on Friday night,â€� Steele said, referencing the last time he didn’t win at Silverado despite leading after 54 holes. “The last two years I had dinner there on Friday night and we got two wins out of it, so that’s definitely a tradition that’s not going to end.â€� Indeed, Steele would love nothing more than to continue filling up on whatever Silverado is willing to serve him. On Sunday, it was challenging scoring conditions, with Steele leaning on his knowledge and experience to shoot a 3-under 69 – one of just seven rounds in the 60s – to rally from a two-stroke deficit to start the day. He finished at 15 under, two strokes ahead of Tony Finau, who suffered a double bogey at the 14th hole that ultimately cost him a chance to force a playoff. After playing the front nine bogey free for the third straight day, Steele grabbed the lead for good, and then bounced back from a couple of bogeys by birdieing the par-5 16th and 18th holes. With short-game coach Chris Mason on his bag this week, Steele made the right adjustments with his club selection. “You can’t just figure out your shot a minute before you play it while somebody else is hitting because it changes by the time that comes up,â€� Steele said about the wind conditions. “So you have to have a sense as you’re getting into it whether you’ve got the right club or not. … Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Today it did.â€� Now Steele hopes to make the necessary adjustments that he hopes will pay off in, oh, about 10 months. After winning the Safeway Open a year ago, Steele maintained a solid position in the FedExCup standings for the entire regular season. He was 16th entering the Playoffs but failed to reach the TOUR Championship, eventually finishing 33rd in points. In retrospect, he blamed it on a focus shift. Instead of trying to win tournaments, he was simply trying to make cuts and gain points. “I really felt like at the end of the season through the summer, I definitely limited myself to what I was trying to achieve,â€� Steele explained. “I just wanted to make the TOUR Championship so bad, I was just trying to scratch and claw for every point I could … I wasn’t trying to win. I wasn’t trying to play my best. I was just trying to get whatever points I could – and I played right to that level where you could just barely miss. “I’m definitely going to try to not do that this year and just really move forward and try to win as many tournaments as I can and get myself into contention in majors and do all the things that everybody wants to do out here.â€� As for his dining plans for the Friday night of the 2018 Safeway Open? Well, The French Laundry is notoriously difficult to get a reservation, but Steele figures Keller might be able to set aside a table for the now two-time defending champ. “I hope so,â€� Steele said. “I hope I didn’t do anything to get myself kicked out.â€� OBSERVATIONS POSITIVES FOR FINAU. Tony Finau was at 14 under when he headed to the 14th hole, but any chance of winning seemed to evaporate when his drive finished under a tree, forcing him to punch out. It was indicative of his troubles off the tee – he hit just 6 of 14 fairways on Sunday – but the runner-up finish is his best result since winning the Puerto Rico Open 17 months ago. “Honestly I was happy with the way I hung in there,â€� Finau said. “I didn’t feel great over the ball. I didn’t hit a lot of quality shots off the tee coming in like I needed to.â€� TOUGH DAY FOR DUNCAN. Rookie Tyler Duncan, the leader after 36 and 54 holes, finished with a 3-over 75 after a rough start in which he bogeyed the first three holes. Duncan birdied the ninth hole to move to 11 under but could not manage a back-nine charge. He eventually finished tied for fifth. LEAVES FOR PHIL. On his second hole Sunday, Phil Mickelson backed away from his putt several times as leaves blew on the green near his ball. Afterward, Mickelson – who shot a 2-under 70 to finish tied for third at 12 under – was unclear about his options. “It’s blowing so that once you move (the leaves), they’re going to come back,â€� Mickelson said. “I don’t understand the rule that happened to somebody a couple weeks ago where a moving leaf hit a moving ball and you’re supposed to replay it. I don’t understand that. So now I’m wondering if I hit it and it hits a leaf, do I have to replay it? How does that all play out? I was not familiar with that rule and on that green, I kept thinking about it. It was a very awkward situation.” NOTABLES CHESSON HADLEY – Shared honors for most birdies this week with Mickelson, each one making 23 as they shared third place. Ten of those came when Hadley shot a course-record 61 in the second round. Hadley finished with a 73 on Sunday. GRAHAM DELAET – Shot an even-par 72 to finish tied for fifth. Sixteen of his 18 rounds at Silverado have been par or better. ANDREW LANDRY – His tie for seventh is his best result in 20 career PGA TOUR starts. He posted two eagles this week, including one on Sunday en route to his third consecutive round of 3-under 69. BRANDON HARKINS – The PGA TOUR rookie had the low round of the day, a 4-under 68 that included birdies in his last two holes. That moved him into a tie for ninth. QUOTABLES “It’s absolute carnage out there. … You couldn’t get it close. It was not possible to get the ball close to the hole unless there was some luck involved. The greens were chewed up. It was carnage. Carnage is the word for this afternoon.â€� – Chesson Hadley, discussing the challenging conditions Sunday “Being a West Coast guy, the greens are really good for me. I feel comfortable. I usually hole a lot of putts here.â€� – Brendan Steele, discussing his affinity for Silverado  SUPERLATIVES Low round: 4-under 68 by Brandon Hawkins. Longest drive: Kevin Tway, 411 yards at hole No. 18. Luke List had drives of 393 yards (at 13) and 390 yards (at 9). Longest putt: Andrew Landry, 39 feet, 7 inches at hole No. 18. Toughest hole: The 438-yard third hole, which played to a stroke average of 4.587. CALL OF THE DAY SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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Farmers Insurance®, one of the nation’s largest insurer groups providing customers a wide variety of home, life, specialty, commercial and auto insurance products and services, officially announced today a multi-year sponsorship deal with two APGA Tour players, Willie Mack III and Kamaiu Johnson. The APGA Tour is scheduled to resume on June 22 after events were postponed in March due to the coronavirus. The revised 2020 APGA tournament schedule is available online by visiting apgatour.org. “As an organization that celebrates diversity and inclusion, we were proud to be able to host the first ever APGA Tour event during a PGA TOUR stop at the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open® and help the APGA Tour further its mission of inclusivity in the game of golf,” said Jeff Dailey, CEO of Farmers Insurance. “We’re happy to continue our support of the APGA Tour by sponsoring two of their exciting players, Willie and Kamaiu, hopefully enabling them to focus on doing what they do best—competing.” The APGA Tour was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization with the mission to bring greater diversity to the game of golf. The APGA hosts and operates professional golf tournaments, player development programs, mentoring programs and has helped introduce the game of golf to inner city young people. “This is another breakthrough for the APGA Tour. One of the biggest obstacles to make it to the PGA TOUR has been finances and these sponsorship arrangements will be a game changer for two very talented players,” said Ken Bentley, CEO of the APGA. “With the APGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open® and now the sponsorship arrangements with Willie and Kamaiu, Farmers Insurance has demonstrated leadership and vision in the effort to bring greater diversity to the game of golf.” In January of 2020, the AGPA Tour worked with Farmers Insurance to host its first-ever tournament in conjunction with a PGA TOUR event at the Farmers Insurance Open, an annual PGA TOUR stop at Torrey Pines Golf Course. The 27-hole APGA Tour tournament was held on Torrey Pines North Course during Saturday’s third round of the Farmers Insurance Open, played simultaneously on the South Course. Farmers Insurance is committed as the title sponsor of the PGA TOUR event in La Jolla, CA through 2026. “I’m excited to represent a great organization like Farmers Insurance,” said Willie Mack. “The financial support and most of all the belief they have given me will go a long way to helping me achieve my goal of reaching the PGA TOUR.” “I am beyond excited about the opportunity Farmers Insurance and the APGA Tour are offering me,” said Kamaiu Johnson. “The APGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open was a great way to kick off the 2020 season. My goal next year is to go back on Torrey Pines but playing on the South Course. The arrangement with Farmers will go a long way to helping that happen.” These new sponsorship arrangements add to the seasoned relationship Farmers has with PGA TOUR player Rickie Fowler. Fowler, a brand ambassador for the national insurer group since 2012, engages in Farmers community and marketing initiatives, including charitable activities during the Farmers Insurance Open to benefit local San Diego community and first responder non-profits. Visit Farmers.com/Golf for more information about the insurer group’s commitment to the game.

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