Brendan Steele wins California PGA event

The season-opening PGA event in California has been taken out by last year's winner, American Brendan Steele.

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Brendan Steele holds up the wine barrel trophy for winning the Safeway Open PGA title in California. (AAP)

Brendan Steele rallied to successfully defend his Safeway Open title, closing with a three-under 69 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory over Tony Finau in the season opener.

Phil Mickelson and Chesson Hadley finished three shots behind.

Two strokes behind surprising leader Tyler Duncan entering the day at Silverado Resort and Spa, Steele birdied the par-five 16th and 18th holes - holing a three-footer on 18.

The 34-year-old Steele finished at 14-under 273 for his third PGA Tour title. He also won the 2011 Valero Texas Open.

Finau, whose lone PGA Tour victory came in the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, moved into a tie for the lead with Steele at 14 under with a birdie on the par-four 13th. But he double-bogeyed the par-four 14th. After pars on 16 and 17, Finau had a 40-foot eagle putt on the 18th and settled for birdie and a 69.

Mickelson, who began the round four shots off the lead, birdied the 16th from 10 feet to move within one shot of Steele. But Mickelson, winless since the 2013 British Open, bogeyed the 17th before birdieing the 18th for a 70. It was Mickelson's 27th third-place finish in 27 PGA Tour seasons.

Hadley finished with a 73. He had a course-record 61 in the second round,

Duncan, a PGA Tour rookie who began the round with a one-stroke lead over Hadley, had five bogeys on the front nine and finished with a 75 to tie for fifth with Graham DeLaet at 11 under. DeLaet had a 72.

John Daly, the two-time major winner who won on his first PGA Tour Champions title in May, closed with a 79 to tie for 72nd at five over.

Matt Jones was the only Australian to make the cut, finishing in a tie for 43rd after a disappointing final round 77 left him 12 shots adrift of Steele.


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Source: AAP



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