Phil Mickelson was disappointed when failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs, but the 50-year-old did not spend his time off sulking – he dropped in grade to the Champions Tour and romped to a comfortable four-shot victory.
Mickelson Back on Main Circuit Hunting Birdies
This week, the enigmatic left-hander returns to the PGA Tour as the headline act in California for the Safeway Open, a low-key start to the new season, for which he is 18/1joint favourite to win.
Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm fought out the finish to the Tour Championship on Monday, but all the elite are skipping the Safeway, leaving the stage clear for the likes of Mickelson to revive their fortunes.
The San Diego-born swinger, who relishes teeing up in his home state, heads to the Napa Valley looking for his first PGA Tour success since the 2019 Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
‘Lefty’ has won 13 PGA Tour events in California and a runner-up finish in the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational last month showed he can still be a threat, so those 18/1 Safeway odds may tempt plenty of punters.
Si Woo Kim Looking to Build on Wyndham Near-Miss
The Wyndham Championship seemed at the mercy of Si Woo Kim last month when he led by two shots going into the final round. He had been playing textbook golf but a couple of poor drives destroyed his Sunday scorecard and he ended up tied for third place.
This week’s Safeway Open represents an excellent opportunity for the gifted Korean to build on that Wyndham near-miss and claim a third PGA Tour title. He won the Wyndham by five shots in 2016, then the Players Championship at Sawgrass by three shots the following year, so it has been a surprisingly long wait for Kim to complete his hat-trick.
Dustin Johnson won the FedEx Cup in fine style last week, having got his swing in mint condition working with coach Claude Harmon, who is also the instructor used by Kim. It could end up a wonderful fortnight for Harmon, with his star pupil banking $15m before Kim gets his career right back on track by winning the Safeway, for which he is also an 18/1 chance.
Steele Seems Solid wager in Bid for Safeway Treble
Course-form students will be focusing on Brendan Steele this week – the Californian loves performing in his home state and has won this tournament twice before. Given he arrives in decent form this week, there is no obvious reason why the amiable 37-year-old will not strongly contend for a Safeway hat-trick.
Steele, who lost a Sony Open playoff at the start of the year, finished fourth in the Honda Classic before the PGA Tour coronavirus suspension. Since returning, he has missed only one cut – in his first start back – and sixth place in the Travelers Championship was followed by 13th in the Memorial Tournament.
A share of 22nd in the US PGA was another solid effort from Steele and 20/1 seems a fair price for such a happy hunting ground this week.
*All odds correct at time of writing