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PGA: Safeway Open course breakdown and key stats

By George Zainoun

NAPA, CA - OCTOBER 07: The group of Bill Haas, Aaron Baddeley of Australia and Sam Ryder walk down the first fairway during the final round of the Safeway Open at the North Course of the Silverado Resort and Spa on October 7, 2018 in Napa, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
NAPA, CA - OCTOBER 07: The group of Bill Haas, Aaron Baddeley of Australia and Sam Ryder walk down the first fairway during the final round of the Safeway Open at the North Course of the Silverado Resort and Spa on October 7, 2018 in Napa, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /
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NAPA, CA – OCTOBER 07: J. T. Poston plays his shot from the 13th tee during the final round of the Safeway Open at the North Course of the Silverado Resort and Spa on October 7, 2018 in Napa, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
NAPA, CA – OCTOBER 07: J. T. Poston plays his shot from the 13th tee during the final round of the Safeway Open at the North Course of the Silverado Resort and Spa on October 7, 2018 in Napa, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

PGA: Safeway Open course breakdown and key stats

Coming out to a total of 7,203 yards, Silverado will play to a par of 72. We will also be getting four Par 5s that should be taken advantage of in the range of 538-557 yards. One might think these might be relatively easy given the length, but once again many overpowered shots may leave blocked views. Off the tee and lay up strategies are important particularly on hole 5 which features a unique double dogleg. These Par 5s have yielded an average of 34% of birdies from the fields in the past.

The majority of the par 4 holes at the north course are going to be primarily 400-450 yards, so with average driving distances in the 280’s we are going to see approach shots in from all variety of yardages that will range from 100-175. This will be the most important scenario to consider- Strokes Gained Approach is always important, but this week especially it will require these players to avoid errant shots as many collection areas will leave them with difficult sloping pitch shots in hopes to save par or better.

This brings us to our next point which is scrambling. We are looking at a historical average of 60% scrambling from the field, almost 5% higher than the tour average. This shows us that we must weigh this in as well this week. Creative short game players with a high ability to get it up and down will have positive outcomes this week (Think Brandt Snedeker for example).

Historic Cut lines have ranged from Even to -3 at the Safeway, we must also remember to consider the 65 player cut rule, do not be surprised to see a cut at -4, weather permitting of course. It was here when we were introduced to SungJae Im last season and the wind was extremely wild and blustery. Napa’s forecast does not call for anything out of the ordinary with temperatures as perfect as you’d expect, 70’s and 80’s with sunny skies. We will see winds pick up to 13-15 mph in the weekend, but that should not be an issue. What is noticeable is that the have had exceptionally hot weather in the last few days reaching 100 degrees. This, in turn, might firm up the course a bit more than usual making the fairways and greens slightly harder to hit.

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