Tiger Woods makes furious charge Saturday

Kevin Tway held off two proven PGA TOUR winners a year ago to notch his first career TOUR victory at the 2018 Safeway Open. In the process, he and his father, Bob Tway, became the eighth father-son duo to win on the PGA TOUR since 1900. FIELD NOTES: Phil Mickelson is making his 2019-20 PGA TOUR season debut and will play alongside former NBA MVP Stephen Curry in Wednesday’s pro-am. This will be the fourth consecutive year that Mickelson has played the Safeway Open (he also played it in 2007); he has two top-10s and a top-20 in the last three starts. … 2017 FedExCup champion Justin Thomas also will make his 2019-20 debut, as are veterans Adam Scott and Francesco Molinari … Two-time winner Brendan Steele (2016-17) is returning once again. Steele finished T53 last season … Kevin Tway returns to defend… Recent Cal-Berkeley graduate and PGA TOUR winner Collin Morikawa is making his season debut. Morikawa played the Safeway Open in 2016 while he was a college sophomore … Fred Couples, who also played the Safeway Open in 2018, is playing his first non-major on the TOUR schedule since the Genesis Open. He has nine top-25 results in 10 starts on PGA TOUR Champions this year… Former NFL quarterback and CBS football analyst Tony Romo will be playing on a sponsor exemption. This will be Romo’s fourth TOUR start (he also played the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship in 2018 and 2019 and the AT&T Byron Nelson in 2019). Romo also is scheduled to play the pro-am with Thomas … After making his professional debut at the Sanderson Farms Championship, 17-year-old Akshay Bhatia is teeing it up this week as well FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. COURSE: Silverado Resort & Spa (North), 7,166 yards, par 72. Despite wildfires that raged all around Silverado in 2017, the two golf courses were relatively unscathed. This is the fourth year the Safeway Open will be played at the North course at Silverado. STORYLINES: Phil Mickelson returns to action in the PGA TOUR for the first time since the BMW Championship. Mickelson, who turns 50 in 2020, is playing his fourth Safeway Open. He’s finished T3-8-T17 in his previous three starts, and shot an opening 65 a year ago. He’s also hoping to chase after a Presidents Cup captain’s pick. Mickelson has been on every U.S. national team since 1994 … Justin Thomas announced on Twitter in mid-September he had a melanoma scare on his leg after visiting the dermatologist. This is his first TOUR event since that scare, and he returns to the Safeway Open for the first time since 2016 when he finished T8 … Five of the 12 Safeway Opens have ended in a playoff … Seven golfers who are participating in the Presidents Cup (Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay, Scott, Marc Leishman, Abraham Ancer, and C.T. Pan) are in the field, the strongest in Safeway Open history. 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Cameron Beckman (2008 at Grayhawk GC), Kevin Sutherland (2008 at Grayhawk GC), Troy Matteson (2009 at Grayhawk GC), Rickie Fowler (2009 at Grayhawk GC), Jamie Lovemark (2009 at Grayhawk GC). Silverado record: 270, Brendan Steele (2016). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Mark Hensby (2nd round, 2007 at Grayhawk GC), Kevin Stadler (2nd round, 2008 at Grayhawk GC), Troy Matteson (2rd & 3rd rounds, 2009 at Grayhawk GC), Mike Weir (4th round, 2009 at Grayhawk GC), Chesson Hadley (2nd round, 2017 at Silverado). LAST TIME: Brandt Snedeker held the 54-hole lead but shot a 2-over 74 on Sunday – including making three straight bogeys after the turn in the final round – and ended up in a playoff with Ryan Moore and eventual winner Kevin Tway. Moore birdied three of his final four holes to get into the playoff. Tway birdied his final two holes to reach 14 under for the week. Tway and Moore made matching birdies on the 18th hole twice (Snedeker was eliminated after making a par on the first playoff hole) before the pair moved to the par-4 10th. Tway won after a birdie and would go on to finish 31st on the FedExCup. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. ET (Featured Groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-9 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR and Massage Envy have announced a four-year partnership designating Massage Envy as an Official Sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions along with being the Official Total Body Care Sponsor of the Player Performance Centers, the TOUR’s mobile training and wellness trailers. The agreement marks Massage Envy’s first major sports partnership and is the PGA TOUR’s first agreement with a brand in the massage and skin care services categories. The new relationship coincides with the introduction of Massage Envy’s new assisted stretching service called Total Body Stretch. Performed by a trained service provider, the company’s proprietary Streto Method is built around a sequence of 10, targeted stretches performed top down and designed to increase flexibility, mobility and performance.  An award-winning chiropractor, massage therapist and ergonomist developed the proprietary Streto Method for Massage Envy. Beginning in July, Total Body Stretch will be available to members and guests of the company’s more than 1,150 franchise locations across the country, including most cities that host PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions tournaments. “As the recognized leader in the massage and body care industry, Massage Envy is an ideal partner for the Player Performance Center unit that primarily focuses on therapeutic and injury-prevention services for our PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions members,� said Brian Oliver, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President of Sponsorship and Partnership. “We are excited to welcome Massage Envy to the TOUR as a sponsor and look forward to having its team collaborate with the Player Performance Centers’ highly skilled staff to integrate some of their services into the player program, including their new stretching program.� The PGA TOUR’s professional staff of the Player Performance Center will be certified in the Streto Method and beginning this week at the Travelers Championship, the Massage Envy logo will be prominently displayed on one of the two trailers that are available each week on both tours to support player performance and wellness with fitness training, physical therapy and chiropractic services. They are staffed with professional therapists and when fully deployed, are 16.5 feet wide, over 14 feet high and 60 feet long.  “We can’t think of better partners than this team of professional athletes and the PGA TOUR, especially as we launch Total Body Stretch,� said Joe Magnacca, Massage Envy CEO. “The PGA TOUR and its players have a deep appreciation for body care and how it can boost performance. Massage Envy is proud of making massage an integral part of so many people’s lives and now, we are bringing Total Body Stretch and our Streto Method not just to professional golfers, but to everyone as part of their wellness routine.� To activate the partnership, Massage Envy also has built relationships with the following 10 PGA TOUR members: • Jonas Blixt  • Patrick Cantlay • Bud Cauley • Tony Finau  • Smylie Kaufman  • Jamie Lovemark  • Patrick Rodgers • Brandt Snedeker • Henrik Stenson • Justin Thomas “It’s impossible to compete at this level if you aren’t taking care of your body, and assisted stretching is a big part of my training,� says Justin Thomas. “Being flexible and having a wide range of motion gives me an edge, especially against bigger guys who naturally get more power behind their swing, and it also helps me stay healthy over the course of the season.� “We’re excited about our new relationships with these tremendous athletes, who will help us tell the story of how proactive body care services, such as massage and assisted stretching, can boost performance and maintain the bodies of all athletes – from the professional to the weekend warrior – so they can do more of what they love to do,� said Derek Detenber, Massage Envy’s Senior Vice President of Marketing.

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