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NAPA, Calif. -- Phil Mickelson rarely has sounded so excited to start a new PGA Tour season, even with the old season ending just three weeks ago.Then again, he doesnt have a lot of experience winning the Ryder Cup.Still gushing over the U.S. victory two weeks ago at Hazeltine, Mickelson gets one last chance to win something for himself at the Safeway Open. Its the first event in the 2016-17 season. Its also the last event of the year for the 46-year-old Mickelson.Im still on an emotional high, and even though Ive been running around this last week, my energy level is up and Im optimistic about having a good week, Mickelson said. I love the golf course and the feel. Its in California and Im excited to play.The excitement was tempered earlier in the week when Tiger Woods withdrew.Woods had said a month ago he planned to play at Silverado and officially entered the tournament on Friday. The tour decided to put Woods and Mickelson in the same group, along with defending champion Emiliano Grillo, for the opening two rounds.And then Woods said his game was vulnerable and not where it needed to be for him to return to the PGA Tour for the first time in 14 months. Mickelson and Woods had not played together since the opening round of the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. Woods was replaced in the group by Bill Haas.Mickelson said he has texted Woods a few times, though he understands the decision.We all want Tiger to come back, but we want him to come back when hes ready, Mickelson said. If he doesnt feel like hes ready, then he should wait. Well all wait in anticipation and were excited, but I understand theres a lot of pressure not just to come back but to perform when he does come back. So you want to make sure that your game is right because look at how much scrutiny hes going to be under.Mickelson playing is rare occurrence, too.This is the first time he has played a domestic PGA Tour event in the fall since the FedEx Cup began in 2007, which moved the Tour Championship from the last week in October to the end of September. Mickelson also was on the task force that chose not to award Ryder Cup points to this tournament or the others in the fall, arguing that it would give the bottom half of the tour a head start in the standings.Safeway is in its first year as the title sponsor, and Mickelsons management company runs the tournament.Mickelson is among only four of the top 25 in the world ranking at Silverado, joining Paul Casey, Matt Kuchar and Grillo. The star power Wednesday came in the pro-am, where Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry played with Harold Varner III, who also was raised in North Carolina. Curry was supposed to play with Woods.I wouldnt call it disappointment because obviously thats a huge opportunity just to begin with, Curry said. Well be happy to have him back whenever that time is. Its unfortunate that hes not here, but Ill be watching whatever tournament he does come back.Mickelson had one of his best years without winning. He finished No. 12 on the money list and went over $4 million for the first time since 2013, the year of his most recent victory at the British Open. He ended last year at No. 34 in the world and now is up to No. 15.He even challenged to win the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average until falling too far back over the last three tournaments of the season.But hes still lacking a victory.The Ryder Cup helped to feel that void, mainly because of how much Mickelson had invested in it. He was the catalyst for change when he publicly challenged the captaincy of Tom Watson in 2014, which led to the task force and significant changes to the U.S. model. Lefty backed it up on the golf course, going 2-1-1 for the week and finishing with a 10-birdie round that earned a half-point against Sergio Garcia.Mickelson raved about the performance of the entire U.S. team, and had to be reminded that he performed better than anyone on the final day.I played some of my best golf, too, because when you feel that kind of support and you play for a bigger purpose, it brings out some of your best golf, Mickelson said. I was certainly a beneficiary of it, as well.Now hes back on his own, though it was clear the Ryder Cup was enough to carry him into the offseason.Alfonzo McKinnie Warriors Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Andre Iguodala Warriors Jersey . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. https://www.warriorsrookiesshop.com/Jordan-Poole-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Kevon Looney Jersey . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Draymond Green Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win.The traditional bonanza of world title fights over the New Years holiday in Japan took a bit of a hit when bantamweight contender Takuma Inoue suffered a fractured right hand, forcing him to withdraw from his Dec. 30 fight against titleholder Marlon Tapales at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Ohashi Promotions announced.Inoue (8-0, 2 KOs), a 20-year-old prodigy from Japan, suffered the injury in a sparring session Friday night. He was supposed to challenge Tapales (29-2, 12 KOs), a southpaw from the Philippines, in the co-feature of the card headlined by his older brother, Naoya Inoue (11-0, 9 KOs). The older Inoue will defend his junior bantamweight world title for the fourth time when he faces former titleholder and countryman Kohei Kono (32-9-1, 13 KOs).Ohashi Promotions is hoping to line up a replacement opponent for Tapales to face.The card also features another world title bout when junior flyweight titlist Akira Yaegashi (24-5, 12 KOs) will defend his belt against for the second time against an opponent to be determined. On New Years Eve there are five more world title bouts in Japan spread across three cards.At Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, junior lightweight titleholder Jezreel Corrales (20-1, 8 KOs),, a southpaw from Panama, will face former titleholder Takashi Uchiyama (24-1-1, 20 KOs) in a rematch of Corrales big upset in a second-round knockout in April to win the belt.ddddddddddddIn the co-feature of that show, junior flyweight titleholder Ryoichi Taguchi (25-2-1, 11 KOs) will make his fifth defense when he meets Carlos Canizales (16-0, 13 KOs) of Venezuela. On a card at Gifu Memorial Hall in Gifu, former strawweight titleholders Kosei Tanaka (7-0, 4 KOs) and Mexicos Moises Fuentes (24-2-1, 13 KOs) will square off for junior flyweight title recently vacated by Donnie Nietes, who is moving up in weight.In Kyoto, there will be two other world title bouts. Junior featherweight titleholder Jonathan Guzman (22-0, 22 KOs), of the Dominican Republic, will make his first defense against Yukinori Oguni (18-1-1, 7 KOs). Guzman won the belt by 11th-round knockout of Shingo Wake on July 20 in Osaka, Japan. Also, flyweight titlist Kazuto Ioka (20-1, 12 KOs) will make his fourth defense when he faces interim titleholder and mandatory challenger Stamp Kiatniwat (15-0, 6 KOs) of Thailand. ' ' '