Why hasn’t a Canadian won the RBC Canadian Open? It’s complicated.

HONOLULU, Hawaii - There was a new addition to Waialae Country Club on the eve of the Sony Open in Hawaii - a row of white out-of-bounds stakes between the 18th and 10th holes inside the property. PGA TOUR Officials took the eleventh-hour step - and sent a text blast to all competitors at around 7 p.m. local time - after seeing a bunch of players cutting the corner off the tee on the par-5 dogleg left 18th by hitting into the 10th fairway. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Featured Groups roundtable They were then able to just wedge the ball up and over some palm trees to set up relatively easy eagle looks due to the fact there are none of the usual grandstands during the COVID-19 spectator-free event. "The funny story was I [was] playing my Pro-Am yesterday and Justin Leonard who is a really good buddy just happened to be on that green we were playing. He goes, “Hey, do you think about going down No. 10?”," Billy Horschel said Thursday after an opening round 5-under 65 had him just three shots back of the morning wave lead. "In years past that never even crossed my mind. I’m like, “No.” Then he said, “Well a lot of guys are. They are having like flip wedges into the green.” So, I was like, “Well, maybe I’ll have to look at it when I get on the tee.” But somewhere around 7 p.m. last night, we got a text saying that there was an internal OB now on No. 18, which is smart. I think the hole should be played the way it was designed and not take advantage of whatever you want to take advantage of." Brendan Steele, who hooked his second shot on the 72nd hole from the fairway a year ago on his way to falling into a playoff he would lose to Cameron Smith, was happy to see the move. He was particularly happy the stakes run out some 50 yards from the green meaning they're really only in play off the tee and his wild shot from a year ago would not have been as severely punished. "The only thing was a little troublesome about it was we didn’t know where they were going to be," Steele said after shooting an impressive 5-under 65 of his own as he looks for redemption. "I was hoping that they would do the right thing and only put them where guys would try to go in between the trees down 10 fairway and not where if you over-hook one trying to get it going left that it would actually go out of play... they did a good job. "I wouldn’t have been out-of-bounds (last year). But if you know it’s out-of-bounds, you probably don’t hit it over there, either." Defending champion Smith - after an opening 67 - couldn't resist a little tongue in cheek humor having remembered Steele's shot last year that ended up getting significant free relief because of the grandstands. "I think it’s a great idea. Too many guys hitting it down there, anyway," he smirked in fun. "It would be a significant advantage to hit it down 10. I hit the best possible drive today and I had 9-iron in. If I had hit it down 10, I would have had gap wedge in, like 20- or 30-yards' difference." The new penalty area stung at least one player in the opening round with Rory Sabbatini hooking his tee ball left into the death zone before having to re-tee and battle his way to a bogey.

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THE OVERVIEW NAPA, Calif. — This week’s Safeway Open not only is the 2017-18 season opener, it’s the start of the eight-tournament fall stretch that sets the tone for the rest of the season. Consider last year’s winner at Silverado, Brendan Steele. After taking the first-week lead in the FedExCup standings, he maintained a top-10 spot for the first 23 weeks of last season and never fell below 16th in points, the position he was in entering the FedExCup Playoffs (he eventually finished 33rd). His win helped set him up to play in all the majors and the three World Golf Championships in 2017. “It set up my whole year,â€� said Steele, who made the cut in his next 12 events after winning at Silverado. “I was able to play all four majors and three WGCs this calendar year, one way or another because of that win. “That’s seven events that you’d have to work hard to get into; it totally changes your year. You get to play all the big-boy events. And in effect, it gives you a three-year exemption on TOUR, because I’m exempt until the end of 2019. And I got a little bit of wine; it’s definitely a fun place to win. It’s nice for me, being from California, too.â€� Now consider what happened at last year’s CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur, with Justin Thomas shooting 23 under par to edge Hideki Matsuyama by three shots. Although no one knew it then, the victory touched off a five-win season for Thomas — a season in which he would win the PGA Championship for his first major, and be voted the PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Matsuyama wouldn’t have a bad year, either, winning three times. What’s more, of the top five finishers at the CIMB (Thomas, Matsuyama, Derek Fathauer, Anirban Lahiri and Marc Leishman), four wound up playing in last week’s Presidents Cup at Liberty National. That’s where Matsuyama, incidentally, flipped the switch on Thomas, beating him 3 and 1 in a wildly entertaining singles match that saw the winner make (or was conceded) eight birdies and an eagle. Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes, who won The RSM Classic to start the 2016-17 season, came within a whisker of making the International Team. Emiliano Grillo, who won the Safeway to open the 2015-16 season, did make the International Team. Kevin Kisner, who won The RSM Classic that fall, was a rookie on the U.S. Team, where he won 3 points with partner Phil Mickelson, went 2-0-2 overall, and generally looked like he was having the time of his life. Want to know who’s going to be playing in golf’s most exclusive late-season events? Look at who’s playing well in the PGA TOUR’s early-season events. Of the top six players in the fall the last three seasons, 17 of 18 ended the regular season in the FedExCup top 30, setting up a deep Playoffs run. Now consider Pat Perez. A year ago, he was coming off a shoulder injury, his career in flux at age 41. His sponsor dropped him. He had 15 events in which to earn enough money to keep his TOUR card via a major-medical exemption. Then, just three events in, he won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Lo and behold, Perez played his way all the way to the TOUR Championship at East Lake, meaning he will get into the majors and the World Golf Championships in 2017-18. “I didn’t even know if I was going to even have a job this time last year,â€� Perez said. “Coming back, I was only going to have 15 starts; who knew how I was going to do? The whole thing, how it’s all gone for me this year, has been unbelievable.â€� Simply put, keep an eye on who wins these fall tournaments over the next eight weeks. From the Napa Valley to Asia, Las Vegas to Georgia, and Mississippi to Mexico, they’re going places. THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER Eleven of his 42 career wins have come in his native California. Time to make it an even dozen. Making his return to the PGA TOUR after a mandatory two-year military commitment in Korea. Won here in 2014. Celebrated amateur player at Stanford making his pro debut after going unbeaten at the recent Walker Cup. THE FLYOVER A closer look at one of the PGA TOUR’s easiest closing holes, the 575-yard par-5 18th at Silverado’s North Course. Last year, the stroke average was 4.734, ranking it as the eighth easiest 18th hole on TOUR (and the second easiest at Silverado behind the par-5 fifth). It’s one of two par-5s in Silverado’s closing three-hole stretch, allowing players to make big moves later. THE LANDING ZONE The eighth hole at Silverado is the shortest par 4 on the course, at a scorecard length of 360 yards. In two of the four rounds last year, it played to under 335 yards. With a slight dogleg left, players are unable to drive the green; Jon Rahm had the longest drive last year at 301 yards in the third round. While it may be short, the hole is actually one of the tougher ones on the course, ranking fifth toughest with a stroke average of 4.021. Check out the scattershot chart of all tee shots struck last year at the eighth. WEATHER CHECK Rain hampered the playing schedule last year, but this week there should be no issues. According to meteorologist Willis Young, no rain is expected at Silverado. The dry atmosphere and light winds will lead to chilly mornings, but the afternoon temperatures could reach 90. For the latest weather news from Napa, California, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK If there’s a negative of being here, it’s my wife’s not here with me. Seems like it’s one of those destinations you want to have family, specifically your spouse with you. But that’s OK. I’m here to work, so what a cool place. ODDS AND ENDS 1. PRESIDENT CUPPERS. Captain’s picks Phil Mickelson (U.S.) and Emiliano Grillo (International) are the only two players in the field who played last week at Liberty National. Mickelson went 2-0-1 while Grillo went 0-2-0. Grillo won the Safeway in 2015, while Mickelson is making his third start in this event; he tied for seventh a year ago. 2. WEB.COM TOUR GRADS. Nearly a third of the field consists of players from last week’s Web.com Tour Finals, including Sam Saunders, who shot a 59 last week at Atlantic Beach on his way to tie for second. 3. ROOKIES. Several members of the 2017-18 rookie class are also in the field, including California natives Brandon Harkins and Beau Hossler.

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This is where it all began last season for two-time defending CIMB Classic champion Justin Thomas. The FedExCup victory after five wins in 25 starts, including the PGA Championship. The 3-1-1 record at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National. The Player of the Year honors. It all began at TPC Kuala Lumpur, a 7,005-yard, par-72 track five miles from the city that hosts Southeast Asia’s only PGA TOUR event with full FedExCup points. The 72-hole stroke-play tournament features a 78-player field, with no cut, made up of players from three sanctioning bodies: the PGA TOUR, the Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Association of Malaysia. Five of the top 15 in last season’s FedExCup standings will make their first start of the new season: Thomas, Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey and Pat Perez. Six other players also finished in the top 30 of the FedExCup. Others in the field include Presidents Cup International Team members Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Jhonattan Vegas and Anirban Lahiri. Here are the featured groups. Kuala Lumpur is 12 hours ahead. All tee times are Eastern Time. Hideki Matsuyama, Pat Perez, Branden Grace: Matsuyama, a three-time TOUR winner last season who beat Thomas in a well-played singles match at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National, is the headliner of this group. Perez also won last season, parlaying his victory at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba into the best campaign of his career, a season in which he finally played his way into the TOUR Championship and finished a career-high 15th in the FedExCup. Grace went 1-2-2 for the Internationals at the recent Presidents Cup. Tee times: Wednesday 9:50 p.m. (ET) off first tee; Thursday 8:40 p.m. off 10th tee Si Woo Kim, Davis Love III, Paul Casey: This threesome features the very young (Kim, 22), the relatively old (Love, 53), and a player who improbably seems to be hitting his stride at age 40 (Casey). Kim is the most recent winner of THE PLAYERS Championship and showed admirable spunk during his recent Presidents Cup singles loss to Daniel Berger. Two-time PLAYERS champ Love is still trying to break Sam Snead’s record for oldest TOUR winner. And the ever-steady Casey had a chance to win the FedExCup before fading at the end to finish 11th. Tee times: Wednesday 9:40 p.m. off first tee; Thursday 8:30 p.m. off 10th tee Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Gavin Green: Glamour group features reigning FedExCup champion and Player of the Year Thomas, who also happens to have won this tournament two years running, along with newly minted PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and surprise TOUR Championship winner Schauffele, plus Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Green. After racking up five victories and 14 top-25 finishes in 25 starts last season, what will Thomas do for an encore? Tee times: Wednesday 8:40 p.m. off 10th tee; Thursday 9:40 p.m. off first tee Brendan Steele, Jhonattan Vegas, Charl Schwartzel: Steele won the PGA TOUR’s season-opener, successfully defending his Safeway Open title just hours before a massive wildfire swept through the area and forced an evacuation of the tournament host, Silverado Resort and Spa. Venezuela’s Vegas is coming off an impressive singles victory over Jordan Spieth at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National, where South Africa’s Schwartzel notched his own singles victory over Matt Kuchar to salvage some respect for the beaten International Team. Tee times: Wednesday 8:50 p.m. off 10th tee; Thursday 9:50 p.m. off first tee

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