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.Fake Vans Free Shiping . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Fake Vans Slip-on . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. http://www.fakevans.com/ . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Wholesale Fake Vans . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. Fake Vans Outlet . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said.SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Fernando Alonso has promised to stick to his day job after a reliability issue presented an opportunity for him to test his camerawork during second practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix.A data anomaly relating to the ERS water pressure on Alonsos McLaren-Honda forced him to pull over at the side of the track midway through Fridays afternoon practice session. Seemingly stuck on the outside of the circuit, Alonso bided his time by watching cars and kicking stones before a cameraman offered him his seat behind the FOM TV camera at the exit of the Senna Esses.The footage caught by Alonso left a lot to be desired.I need to get up to technology and improve my skills, Alonso said. The [camera] joystick now seems very, very sensitive, so they told me on the headset that they will broadcast when [Sergio] Perez was coming so I tried to find Perez and I found this guy on the asphalt, but not Perez!Unfortunately another problem in the practice but I tried to have a good sense of humour and to try not to rrepeat the same thing tomorrow.ddddddddddddlonso confirmed the issue occurred on a practice engine and should not result in a grid penalty if it proves terminal.The team saw an anomaly in the telemetry and told me to stop and now we have to analyse what happened. But it was already planned to change the Power Unit for tomorrow, this was our Friday engine, so well put the race engine in tomorrow and there shouldnt be any issue. It will be the same we used in Austin.With his race engine installed, Alonso is hoping he can return his McLaren-Honda to a points finish this weekend.Tomorrow we need to do a good qualifying. Overtaking here is quite difficult, it is quite a short track and tomorrow qualifying is quite important for us. We saw today it seems to be a little more competitive than recent races so we were 10th and 11th and there is a real chance of Q3 tomorrow and we have to take it. ' ' '