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Safeway Open: Top five sleeper picks

By Mike Randleman

BOISE, ID - SEPTEMBER 14: Peter Uihlein hits his on the ninth hole during the first round of the Web.com Tour Albertson's Boise Open at Hillcrest Country Club on September 14, 2017 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID - SEPTEMBER 14: Peter Uihlein hits his on the ninth hole during the first round of the Web.com Tour Albertson's Boise Open at Hillcrest Country Club on September 14, 2017 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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Safeway Open
RENO, NV – AUGUST 06: Kyle Reifers plays his shot from the ninth tee during the final round of the Barracuda Championship at Montreux Country Club on August 6, 2017 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

There’s no bones about it: Things did not go according to plan for Kyle Reifers at the Web.com Tour Finals. Four missed cuts in a row will land Reifers primarily the Web.com Tour for 2017-18 after three seasons on the PGA Tour. The 33-year-old Ohioan did finish 154th in the FedEx Cup last season, so he’ll have partial PGA Tour status. This week is as good a week as ever for Reifers to right his wrongs and rise up the status rankings.

Few have benefitted as much as Reifers from the Safeway Open moving to Silverado in 2014. He’s made the top 40 each year and was just three off the lead in 2015: T39 in 2014, T6 in 2015 and T35 in 2016.

Nine of those 12 rounds are at par or better, highlighted by a seven-under 65 on Saturday in 2015.

The winning score is usually in the mid-teens under par so a fair amount of birdies are needed to win. At 7,171 yards and a par 72, Silverado is not overly long for a short hitter like Reifers (149th on the PGA Tour in driving distance). He should be able to have plenty of wedges into greens, which plays into his hand approaching Silverado’s sloped greens. Reifers was 23rd in approaches from 50-75 yards 20th from 75-100 and 51st from 50-125.

Not long before his slump in the Web finals, Reifers did make a modest push for his PGA Tour card late in the summer with a pair of T18 finishes at the Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship.

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