Last few Masters spots on the line at Match Play

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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Leaderboard: McIlroy

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