Photo credit: Golf.com
By Jeremy Harness
NAPA–The one word that can describe Brendan Steele throughout the years is consistent. And he was just that this week, and that got him back-to-back titles.
Steele birdied two of the last three holes, including the par-5 18th, to withstand the charge of runner-up Tony Finau to take home the Safeway Open crown for the second straight year, the first time anyone has accomplished that feat.
He finished with an overall score of 15-under, but in the early going, it appeared that the margin would be even wider than the two shots that he won by on Sunday. He played a bogey-free front nine that saw him make three birdies.
However, he ran into some trouble on the back nine, as he dropped shots on both the 12th and 14th holes to go back down to 13-under. He righted the ship quickly, however, with two more birdies to offset that and take home the trophy.
“This place is so great for me,” Steele said. “I feel so comfortable here, and it’s been a great run. This will definitely set up my season and hopefully springboard me into another really good year.
“That was probably about as good a round of golf as I’ve ever played.”
Finau started the day at 10-under but moved up the leaderboard quickly, as he eagled the par-5 fifth hole and followed that up with a birdie at the ninth.
He got a huge break at the 12th, as his approach shot ended up plugged in the greenside bunker, leaving him with a minimal chance to make par. However, his sand shot ended up hitting another ball – which is legal – and left him with only a two-foot par putt, which he made.
“The funny thing is, I forgot he hit,” Finau said of the player whose ball the sand shot hit. “I was so focused on what I needed to do and how hard my shot was. I hit a perfect shot, but it was still going to be 20-30 feet past (the hole).
“It was a bonus to hit his ball, and I used the rules to my advantage, I guess, not knowing.”
He seemed to carry that momentum to the next hole, as he made birdie there. That surge was thwarted, though, as he made a damaging double bogey at the 14th.
He could not make up any ground until he birdied the 18th, and he finished two shots behind the lead.
Finishing one shot behind him was Phil Mickelson, who shot a two-under 70, picking up major steam on the back nine with four birdies against only one bogey after an underwhelming front nine.
Tyler Duncan entered Sunday with the lead, but the high winds that kicked up during the final round wreaked havoc on his game. He bogeyed his first three holes of the day, and when it seemed like he righted the ship a bit with a birdie at the fifth, he dropped two more shots at the seventh and eighth before a birdie at the ninth.
He offset a bogey with a birdie on the back nine, but by that point, the damage had already been done, as he finished at 11-under and tied for fifth.
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