Kraft’s tee shot strikes bird in mid-air

NAPA, Calif. — Brandt Snedeker birdied the final two holes for a 7-under 65 and a three-stroke lead over Phil Mickelson and two others Friday in the PGA TOUR’s season-opening Safeway Open. Playing alongside Hall of Famer Fred Couples, Snedeker had eight birdies and a bogey on the North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa. The leader won the Wyndham Championship in August, opening with a 59 en route to his ninth PGA TOUR title. “I played really solid golf all the way around,” Snedeker said. “I only played two bad shots all day. My speed has been great for two days. These green can get away from you if you’re not paying attention.” Snedeker had a 12-under 132 total. Mickelson followed his opening 65 with a 69 to join Michael Thompson (65) and Ryan Moore (67) at 10 under. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” Mickelson said. “It’s certainly turning from pessimistic because I didn’t think that I was going to be here on the weekend and the next thing you know I’m up on top of the leaderboard.” A week after going 0-2 in United States’ Ryder Cup loss to Europe in France, the 48-year-old Mickelson bogeyed three of his first eight holes, and rallied with four birdies on his second nine. “I shot 4 under to kind of salvage the round,” Mickelson. “I’m surprised. I’m hitting a lot of good shots. I didn’t expect that. What I am doing well is putting, like I can putt.” Moore won the last of his five PGA TOUR titles in 2016. “I feel like the seasons I’ve played really well I’ve kind of come out with a good start here,” Moore said. “I need a good start. I need something to kind of solidify my schedule for next year or else you’re just kind of floating around in between.” Thompson’s lone PGA TOUR victory came in the 2013 Honda Classic. First-round leader Sepp Straka followed his opening 63 with a 72 to drop into a tie for fifth at 9 under with Kevin Tway (67) and Sungjae Im (69). “I really didn’t hit the ball very well today,” Straka said. “Yesterday I wasn’t flawless. I kept the ball in the right spots. I didn’t do that today. I short-sided myself a lot.” Ricky Barnes matched the course record with a 61 to get to 8 under. The 49-year-old Couples matched Snedeker with a 65 to reach 7 under. Playing on a sponsor exemption, he plans to make the tournament his last PGA TOUR event other than the Masters. Mark Mulder, the former major league pitcher playing in his first PGA TOUR event, missed the cut with round of 75 and 74.  

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FACEBOOK WATCH: Morning Featured Groups | Afternoon Featured Holes Hideki Matsuyama, Graeme McDowell, Bill Haas and Jonas Blixt will be showcased on our Featured Groups coverage from the Wyndham Championship Saturday on Facebook Watch.  Coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. ET and goes to 6 p.m. ET. Matsuyama and McDowell go off at 9:15 a.m. ET. Haas and Blixt at 9:42 a.m. ET. All four players have something to play for in the FedExCup race. McDowell (145th projected FedExCup), Haas (153rd) and Blixt (180th) are attempting to make the Playoffs while Matsuyama (90th) is trying to improve his Playoffs position. At 1 p.m. ET, we will transition to the Featured Holes portion of the broadcast. We will start with coverage of the par-4 first hole and par-4 13th hole. Once play has completed at the first Hole, we will pick up coverage at the Par-3 16th hole.

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One guy is from the heart of Texas, the other the Basque country of northern Spain. But my, how they clicked. Ryan Palmer and Jon Rahm, each having found himself without a partner heading into the 2019 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, high-fived, hugged and ate Skittles on the way to a three-stroke victory over Tommy Fleetwood/Sergio Garcia. “It never felt odd to me,� Palmer said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday, when told that they’d been described in one news account as a Felix-and-Oscar odd couple. There are all sorts of origin stories for the teams at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Some share a last name (brothers Brooks/Chase Koepka, T22 last year). Others have the same first name (Alex Prugh/Alex Cejka, T13 last year). They share a sponsor, agent, nationality (India’s Shubhankar Sharma/Anirban Lahiri, T22 last year), or all of the above. Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, who lost in a playoff in 2017, the first year the Zurich Classic was a team event, are friends from Aiken, South Carolina. Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt, who beat them, teamed up because Smith’s caddie was living with Blixt in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. (Then-23-year-old Smith even later moved to the area himself.) South Georgia hunting buddies Patton Kizzire, who is 6 feet, 5 inches, and Brian Harman, who measures just 5 feet 7 inches, really do look like an odd couple. And while they missed the cut at the Zurich last year, they won the unofficial 2018 QBE Shootout in Naples, Florida. Then there’s Palmer (the Texan) and Rahm (the Spaniard currently ranked world No. 2), who were set to defend their title this year until the coronavirus pandemic had other plans. With Rahm’s caddie, Adam Hayes, giving them Skittles for birdies at TPC Louisiana, they made nine best-ball birdies for a third-round 64, Rahm accounting for eight of them. Palmer, who helped them avert disaster when both hit into the water on 17, then made several clutch putts in the final round as they brought it home with an alternate-shot 69. They slipped on the customary white winners’ belts with 6-inch rhodium-plated buckle designed by Malcolm DeMille and featuring New Orleans symbols like musical notes, the fleur-de-lis, and gators. That this even had a chance to happen was a quirk of fate, God’s wink, kismet, and maybe some good old New Orleans juju. Palmer’s usual Zurich partner, Jordan Spieth, had decided to take the week off, and Rahm’s partner, Wesley Bryan, was inactive due to shoulder surgery. “When Wesley told me he was having shoulder surgery a few months before the event, I was in no-man’s land,� Rahm said last year. “I’m really happy I said yes (to Palmer).� Said Palmer on Tuesday, “It was an easy text and he jumped right on it.� Easy because their caddies, Hayes and Palmer’s friend and bag man James Edmondson, are friends. Easy because Rahm had played in Palmer’s charity event, and they’d gotten to know each other. And, yes, easy because Rahm was already one of the best players in the world. Their age difference? Not a big deal. “I spent two years playing with Jordan,� Palmer said, “I’m real good friends with him and he’s the same age as Jon. I thought, ‘What a great opportunity to partner up with a great player.’ � Palmer misses being in New Orleans this week. He misses the food, and hanging out with his friends there, including Sean Payton, head coach of the Saints. They’re pro-am partners, and Payton has brought Palmer into the team’s NFL Draft room to peer behind the curtain. As for New Orleans, he added, he and Rahm have kept in touch, two solid ball-strikers who fade the ball off the tee and play the occasional practice round together. So, no, they’re not as odd a couple as you might think, but there was one odd part. It happened long after they won, and, needing to eat before getting on planes to fly to their respective homes, the Zurich Classic’s newest power couple walked into a Popeyes for some fried chicken. Said Palmer, laughing at the memory, “We were still wearing those belts.�

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