While you slept, U.S. nearly got swept … again

With four wins this season, including a Tour Championship victory that helped him clinch the FedEx Cup, Patrick Cantlay was voted PGA Tour player of the year.

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NAPA, Calif. – After a lengthy off-season – hey, it was 48 hours for some players! — the 2017-18 PGA TOUR season started Thursday at the Safeway Open. Here’s a roundup of the key developments at Silverado: LEADERS BRENDAN STEELE (7 under) – In 11 of his last 13 rounds at Silverado, Steele has shot scores under par. He’s 42 under in that stretch, with a win last year and two other top-25s. On Thursday, he shot a 65 and did not miss a single green in regulation. He admitted that when he comes to a course he’s comfortable at, such as this week or at TPC Scottsdale or TPC San Antonio – two other courses he generally plays well at — his expectation level is higher. “When you get there, you get a little bounce in your step because you feel like it’s going to be a good week,â€� Steele said after Thursday’s round that included one eagle and five birdies. “… For some reason, I’ve just always had a good understanding of this course.â€� TYLER DUNCAN (7 under) – Duncan’s caddie is veteran Mike Mollet, who knows a thing or two about Silverado. Silverado was once the home course of Mollet’s high school when he played there as a freshman and sophomore many years ago. Duncan, a Web.com Tour grad, had not seen this course before this week, so he leaned on his caddie for some insight. “Yeah, he’s still got a little bit of knowledge,â€� Duncan said. “We did a lot of good work in the practice rounds and he remembered some things. So I think we have a pretty good idea what’s going on up there.â€� TOM HOGE (7 under) – In Monday’s final round of the Web.com Tour Championship, Hoge made seven birdies in his final 12 holes to finish T-12. It was just enough to gain his TOUR card for this season; of the top 50 grads, he ranked 47th. “Probably one swing away from not even being here,â€� Hoge said. On Thursday, he capitalized on the opportunity while riding the momentum of his hot finish. In fact, he made seven birdies on his last 13 holes, eerily similar to Monday. “I knew I was playing well, swinging well,â€� Hoge said. “Nice to get out there today and get off to a good start.â€� OBSERVATIONS PHIL OFF THE TEE. Phil Mickelson hit just 2 of 14 fairways – only one player, Carl Pettersson, had less accuracy off the tee Thursday — yet he managed to shoot a 3-under 69. Mickelson said he got a little jumpy on his tee shots, a little quick from the top, and that impacted his rhythm. “It got my body out in front and so my timing was off and I missed most of them to the left.â€� After his round, he was anxious to get some range work in to correct the problem. If he gets his driver straightened out, he could be a factor on Sunday. “You’re not going to hit a lot of fairways here because the fairways are pinched in so much that the numbers are going to be skewed for the entire field,â€� he said. “But I’ve got to drive it better than I did.â€� ZACH’S FIRST LOOK. Six weeks ago at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Zach Johnson played a course (Glen Oaks) he had never seen before and needed 38 putts in his first round. “I felt clueless,â€� he said. This week, he’s playing Silverado for the first time and shot a 4-under 68 with 30 putts while hitting 16 of 18 greens in regulation. “This one, I feel much more acquainted with,â€� Johnson said. “I feel like if I’m on, I can do some good work here.â€� BIG-HITTING TRIO. One of the most intriguing groups to watch in the first two rounds is this trio of big hitters – former PGA TOUR driving distance leader John Daly, former Long Drive champion Jamie Sadlowski and current Texas A&M senior Cameron Champ, who led the U.S. Open in driving distance halfway through this year’s tournament at Erin Hills. Their driving distance averages on Thursday: Sadlowski, 315.4 yards; Champ 304 yards; Daly 280.2 yards. “Jamie obviously hits it farther than both of us,â€� Champ said, “so I’m not even gonna try (to stay with him).â€� None of the three broke par. GOTTA PLAY NAPA. Emiliano Grillo played in last week’s Presidents Cup for the International Team, and he’s scheduled to play in at least the first two events in Asian in the next two weeks. It’s a heavy schedule, but the 2015 Safeway Open winner wasn’t about to skip Silverado. So he’s here this week and opened with a 5-under 67. “It was a tough decision,â€� Grillo said. “It was either going to play four, five in a row or skip Napa. I was like, ‘You know what, I’m still young, I’m 25, so I’m going to go and do the five in a row and try and do my best here.â€� GLOVER’S GOAL. Making the Ryder Cup team a few years ago wasn’t a realistic aspiration for Lucas Glover, who had fallen to 634th in the world in early January of 2015. But he entered this week ranked 92nd and coming off his best season in six years. It’s now a goal. “Never made one,â€� Glover said after his 5-under 67. “I want to make one. That goal wasn’t in the mirror a couple years back the way I was playing, but the year I had last year, I gained some confidence. So I think if I improve a little bit in certain areas, I can give it a run.â€� NOTABLES SANGMOON BAE – In his first TOUR appearance after his mandatory two-year military service in his native Korea, he shot a 1-over 73 that include a birdie on his opening hole. (Click here for more on Bae) MAVERICK McNEALY – In his first round as a pro golfer, the former world amateur No. 1 from Stanford shot a 4-under 68, finishing with birdies on three of his last four holes. XINJUN ZHANG – The Web.com grad from China was 5 under through 14 holes, but suffered a double bogey and a bogey on consecutive holes. He ended with a birdie to shoot 3 under. SEAMUS POWER – The last player among the Web.com Tour’s 50 graduates who had to sweat out his position on Monday, Power shot a 2-under 70, with three birdies on his final five holes. QUOTABLES “Outside the ropes, everything’s bigger; there’s more people. But inside the ropes, it’s still golf.â€� – Tyler Duncan, making his first PGA TOUR start as a member “I think there’s something to the start of the season with everybody being back to zero, it’s kind of a fresh start – which, whether you played good or bad last year, it’s kind of nice.â€� – Defending champion Brendan Steele “I grew up on greens way worse than this at times. So yeah, nothing like a little afternoon poa to get you going.â€� — California native Jamie Lovemark, discussing the poa annua greens after his 5-under 67 CALL OF THE DAY SUPERLATIVES Low round: 7-under 65s by Brendan Steele, Tom Hoge and Tyler Duncan Longest drive: Martin Laird, 385 yards at hole No. 5 Longest putt: Emiliano Grillo, 46 feet, 6 inches at hole No. 16 Toughest hole: The 203-yard second hole, which played to a stroke average of 3.264. SHOT OF THE DAY

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