Brendan Steele admits that his 2021-22 season with the PGA Tour in 2022 was a good one. It wasn’t a great season but it was a good one for Idyllwild native, California.
You want to win every year. You want to reach the Tour Championship every year. Steele said that he didn’t complete either of these events, so he didn’t get to do all that he wanted. He also considers The American Express tournament in La Quinta his hometown event. “But that being said I played a lot if really good golf.”
Steele hopes to improve his 2022 season by adding consistency to an already strong year.
Steele recalled last season’s “Second at Zozo”, which saw back-to-back very good finishes at Memorial and the PGA. These were two top 10s at major events. So I felt really happy about those. It was, in general, a solid year and one I can build upon.
Steele, 39, is a three-time winner of the PGA Tour. He would like to build on his success at The American Express last year, a tournament he played every year since 2011. He has been a top-10 finisher in the desert twice, including a tie in 2015. Steele seems to be able to climb the leaderboard at The American Express even though he isn’t in contention for many years. Steele, who attended high school in Hemet, and played college golf at UC Riverside is like a friend.
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“I drove around to play matches (as a junior golfer). I played desert junior golf,” Steele recalled. It was a lot of fun, Steele said. It was a common practice to carry your own bag and bring your own water. Looking back, it is hard to believe how we managed it. As a child, I didn’t mind it because I loved the game at the time and wanted to be outside. That was a lot of what I did. As a child, I went to the tournament a few times. It is a truly special place. It is something that I look forward to every day and it is a place that I circle on my calendar for sure.”
Brendan Steele (Aaron Doster – USA TODAY Sports).
Playing where there is no way to play
All of those early days were part of a larger story in which Steele built a successful professional career while growing up without a local golf course.
Steele stated, “Growing-up in Idyllwild there wasn’t a golf course, but I played mostly soccer and baseball when I was younger.” “Then, at the age of 13, I decided that I wanted to learn golf. This is a bit late for PGA Tour players. My dad was like, “How are we going to do that?” He would take me to different places. He also put in a net and some putting green in our back yard. He dug a bunker, put some sand from the hardware shop in there, and I would hit the balls against the house into the net. Then, he would chip to the green and putt.
Steele’s unusual beginnings launched his career, which has seen him earn more than $20,000,000 in earnings and win three times on tour. He also won twice in Napa at the Fortinet Championship in 2016. Steele says that he has not been away from the PGA Tour since then, but that the best part of the tour is the ability to handle the highs and the lows.
Steele stated that there are many stretches in which you don’t perform well for three to six months, or even longer. Then you feel like you will never get out of it. There are times when you feel like your on top of the world and that you will be a great player every week. That is a lot of great fun. It doesn’t happen as often as you would hope.
Steele said, “It is mostly about trying to keep true to my style of play but also trying to improve.” It is difficult to find the right balance.
Steele is hopeful that he is in a better mode right now as he plays his favorite events while on tour.
Steele stated, “I like to get off to an early start on the West Coast, play a lot, but it is easier to travel to and get back after the events so I can recharge and get to the next one.” “So I will work hard this year to get a win, get into the Masters and make it to the Tour Championship.
