Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak discusses the third round of play for the Safeway Open from Silverado Resort and Spa – North Course.
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak discusses the third round of play for the Safeway Open from Silverado Resort and Spa – North Course.
Here are matchups, placing and first-round leader bets for the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.
The 2020 Safeway Open serves as somewhat of an interlude between last week’s Tour Championship and next week’s U.S. Open. Many of the world’s top golfers are taking this week off amid the hectic PGA Tour schedule, leaving us something closer to an alternate field at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California.
Below, we’ll look for the best value bets in the Safeway Open betting odds and lines with tournament matchups, placings and first-round leader picks and best bets.
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 1:18 p.m. ET.
Lowry, the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year, is oddly a slight underdog against Redman. Both had their 2019-20 PGA Tour season end with a missed cut at The Northern Trust, but Lowry has the much better resume. He makes his debut at this venue while Redman missed the cut in his first appearance last year.
Kim and Mickelson continue to swap in-and-out of the top spot for the outright tournament betting favorite. Mickelson recently won in his debut on the PGA Tour Champions, while Kim tied for 13th at the PGA Championship and for third at the Wyndham Championship before being eliminated from the FedExCup Playoffs with a T-39 finish at The Northern Trust.
Looking to place a legal, online bet on the 2020 Safeway Open? Get some action on it in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet Now!
Hubbard is the top golfer in attendance by the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings at No. 23. He made it to the BMW Championship before being eliminated from the FEC Playoffs with a T-51 result. He has 14 career rounds played at this venue with an average of 0.43 strokes gained per round, according to Data Golf.
This pool is led by Sergio Garcia (+300) and Lowry (+350), but the two major champions may not be fully devoted to this week’s tournament while preparing for next week’s US Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York. Ventura, a star on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, is a good bet to break through in a weaker field on the PGA Tour this week.
Varner finished seventh at the Wyndham Championship after opening with a 62. He broke 70 in all four rounds, but he still slipped down the leaderboard in a much stronger field than what’s in Napa this week. He’s +2500 to win the event and make it his first PGA Tour victory, but he’s a much better play at the higher odds to get off to another strong start.
Holmes is playing for the first time since withdrawing from the Workday Charity Open in what was his first event since the PGA Tour returned to play. The five-time PGA Tour winner has surprised after long layoffs in the past.
Get some action on the 2020 Safeway Open by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow @EstenMcLaren on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-related id=778065150,778065132,778065105]
Check out the fantasy golf power rankings for the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.
The 2020 Safeway Open follows Dustin Johnson’s 2019-20 FedEx Cup victory and precedes next week’s U.S. Open. The bridge tournament welcomes a relatively weak 156-man field to Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings for the top 30 golfers for the 2020 Safeway Open.
Jordan Spieth walks up the fairway of the 18th hole during the final round of the 2020 PGA Championship. (Photo: Kelvin Kuo – USA TODAY Sports)
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 4:50 p.m. ET.
A two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 looking to break through on the PGA Tour in a weak field. A strong putter but struggles around the greens and on approach.
Tied for third in a comparable field at the 3M Open ahead of the PGA Championship. Finished sixth here in 2016.
Missed two cuts and hasn’t finished better than T-27 in four events since a breakout T-3 at the Travelers Championship. Averaging 0.55 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee per round through 12 events in 2020, according to Data Golf.
Was tied for second in a weak field at the Barracuda Championship before being forced to withdraw due to a positive COVID-19 test. He missed the cut in his four previous events and the ensuing Wyndham Championship, but he did tie for 19th at the Charles Schwab Challenge in the return to golf.
Missed the cut in this event last year following a fourth-place finish in 2018. Tied for 10th in an incredibly strong field at the Memorial Tournament after winning the Korn Ferry Tour’s Korn Ferry Challenge in June.
Lucas Glover reacts after missing his putt on the eighth hole during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. (Photo: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
Came out of the midseason pause with four straight top-25 finishes before a T-38 at the Memorial and four straight missed cuts after that. Has 18 career rounds played at Silverado Resort with an average of 0.47 strokes gained per round.
Missed out on the FedEx Cup Playoffs with a T-37 finish at the Wyndham Championship. Had five top 10s in strong-field events on the European Tour in 2019 and can certainly compete in this event.
Tied for 15th at the Wyndham Championship ahead of a missed cut at the Northern Trust to end his 2019-20 season. Has 16 rounds played at this venue with an average of 0.77 strokes gained per round.
Had his 2019-20 season end with a T-65 at the BMW Championship and is one of the few to make it that far in the FedEx Cup Playoffs to be playing this week. Finished T-56 last year.
Returned to play with a T-10 at the Charles Schwab Challenge but had just one other top-20 finish before his season ended with a missed cut at the Northern Trust. Making his debut at Silverado Resort.
Looking to place a bet on the 2020 Safeway Open? Get some action on it at BetMGM. Bet Now!
Tied for seventh last year with 1.91 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round. Tied for 10th at the Memorial and 12th at the 3M Open before finishing his season with three straight missed cuts.
Twenty career rounds played at this venue with an average of 0.32 strokes gained per round. Averaging 0.67 SG: Putting in 2020.
Finished T-17 last year on the heels of a runner-up showing in 2018. Has a top finish of T-3 at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2020.
Missed the cut in his only appearance at this event to date but has made the cut in 10 of 15 events in 2020, topped by a T-6 finish in a much stronger field at the American Express.
Had a surprising T-6 finish in the difficult conditions of the Memorial but didn’t finish better than T-23 in the following three events. Missed the cut last year due largely to a particularly poor putting performance.
J.B. Holmes hits from the fifth hole tee box during the first round of the Genesis Invitational. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)
Finished ninth in 2018 in his lone appearance at this event. Had three top-20 finishes in his first five events of 2020 but has played just once since play resumed after the midseason pause.
Tied for 29th at the Northern Trust but was still eliminated from the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Has missed the cut in four of 14 events in 2020, but the former major champ should show well against this competition.
Very strong tee-to-green game and needs only to be adequate with the putter.
Debuted at this event with a missed cut last year while gaining 1.04 strokes per round off-the-tee but losing 1.03 strokes putting. Tied for third in a quality field at the Wyndham.
One of the few past major champions in the field. Tied for sixth in the strong field of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
Joel Dahmen hits his tee shot on the 16th hole during the first round of the BMW Championship. (Photo: Brian Spurlock – USA TODAY Sports)
Gained 1.98 strokes per round from tee-to-green and 1.45 around-the-green last year but missed the cut with 2.05 strokes lost putting per round. Tied for 10th in the PGA Championship.
The best player in the field by the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings at No. 23. Advanced to the BMW Championship before falling short of the Tour Championship.
Tied for 33rd here each of the last two years following a 13th-place finish in 2017. Shared a T-6 with Lowry at the no-cut WGC event.
Has averaged 1.47 strokes gained per round over 24 career rounds at this venue. Won back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
Averaged 1.19 SG: Off-the-Tee and 1.54 SG: Tee-to-Green last year while finishing T-17. Finished 14th the year prior and hasn’t missed a cut in his five appearances.
Kevin Streelman watches his tee shot on the eighth hole during the first round of the Northern Trust. (Photo: Mark Konezny – USA TODAY Sports)
Has made the cut in seven straight events but hasn’t cracked the top 30 since a runner-up at the Travelers Championship and a T-7 at the Workday Charity Open. Will have better success against the weaker competition.
The winner of this event in 2015, Grillo missed the cut for the first time last year. He tied for third at the 3M Open and for ninth at the Barracuda Championship with both against a comparable strength of field.
Lefty debuted on the PGA Tour Champions with a wire-to-wire victory after his 2019-20 PGA Tour season was cut short. Has averaged 1.60 strokes gained per round over 14 rounds at Silverado Resort. He’s the co-betting favorite in his return to the PGA Tour.
The former Masters champ is averaging 1.68 SG: Tee-to-Green but losing 0.69 strokes putting per round in 2020. A neutral performance makes him the class of this field in his debut.
Followed up a T-13 at the PGA Championship with a T-3 at the Wyndham Championship before being eliminated from the FEC Playoffs at The Northern Trust. Opened as this week’s betting favorite before Mickelson was bet down over night.
Get some action on the 2020 Safeway Open by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow @EstenMcLaren on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
British Open champ Shane Lowry said goodbye to his wife and daughter 6 weeks ago and is playing the Safeway Open ahead of next week’s major.
NAPA, Calif. – Shane Lowry’s tour of the United States continues this week in wine country, though the reigning British Open champion isn’t imbibing.
“I do like a glass of wine, but I don’t drink the week of tournaments, so I’m taking it easy; I’m relaxing,” he said. “We are going for a nice meal tonight, we’re going to French Laundry, which is supposed to be very special, so I’m looking forward to that. I’ll leave the drinking to (caddie) Bo. Bo will look after the wine for me this week.”
Lowry squeezed into the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 123, but missed the cut at the Northern Trust and spent the last two weeks taking a buddy trip to Newport, Rhode Island, and practicing at his U.S. base in Florida for the upcoming U.S. Open.
He arrived here on Sunday and the Irishman was greeted by temperatures reaching 114 degrees. In addition to caddie Brian ‘Bo’ Martin, Lowry is traveling with a childhood friend, who doubles as his physical therapist and keeps Lowry company after his wife and young daughter returned to Ireland six and a half weeks ago.
Safeway Open: Odds, best bets
“It’s not been easy at times. I miss them an awful lot and to be honest, probably if it wasn’t for the U.S. Open next week, I probably wouldn’t have lasted the full stint over here because it’s just been incredibly hard,” he said. “Especially when your daughter’s growing up and she’s only three and a half, but it is what it is. It’s not like I’m going to war or anything, I’m just going to play golf, so I just have to get on with it.”
Lowry, who didn’t play the week before winning the British Open last year in Northern Ireland, joked he’ll probably never play ahead of that major again, but he didn’t want to go into next week’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot in New York having gone three weeks without competing. While some players may have been turned off by having to go from the West Coast to the East Coast for the re-scheduled national championship, Lowry took a different view.
“I’m close, I’m in America. My family are in Ireland, so I couldn’t go back to Ireland because of the quarantine — there was no point — so, yeah, I just decided to play here,” he said. “I would be down in Florida this week just playing golf every day and practicing and probably with my mind too much on the U.S. Open, so it’s nice to get to an event.”
It also gives him a chance to test drive a slew of new equipment under the gun. Lowry arrived at yesterday’s practice round with six different drivers and whittled it down to one and also said he’ll be putting a fresh set of irons in play in hopes that the new grooves will spin more, “which might be helpful at Winged Foot trying to stop the ball on some of those greens,” he said. “For me, this is the only week that matters right now. Then when I get to Winged Foot next Monday I’ll start to think about that, but obviously this week, first and foremost, I want to do well.”
[jwplayer 7NBaZ2A0-9JtFt04J]
