Brendan Steele

Last updated

Brendan Steele
Open de France 2015 20.jpg
Steele at the 2015 Alstom Open de France
Personal information
Full nameBrendan Dean Steele
Born (1983-04-05) April 5, 1983 (age 42)
Idyllwild, California
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Irvine, California
SpouseAnastassia
Career
College UC Riverside
Turned professional2005
Current tour(s) LIV Golf
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Nationwide Tour
Canadian Tour
Professional wins11
Highest ranking 35 (February 4, 2018) [1]
(as of July 6, 2025)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
Korn Ferry Tour1
LIV Golf1
Other6
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T27: 2017
PGA Championship T9: 2022
U.S. Open T13: 2017
The Open Championship T47: 2018

Brendan Dean Steele (born April 5, 1983) is an American professional golfer. He played predominantly on the PGA Tour, where he had three tournament victories, prior to joining LIV Golf in 2023.

Contents

Early life and amateur career

In 1983, Steele was born in Idyllwild, California. [2] He played high school golf at Hemet High school. Steele attended the University of California, Riverside, where he played on the golf team, [3] graduating in 2005.

Professional career

Steele turned professional in 2005 and played on the Golden State Tour in California, winning four times. [2] He played on the Canadian Tour in 2006 and 2007, where his best finish was second at the 2006 Telus Edmonton Open. [2] Steele began playing on the Nationwide Tour in 2008, [2] and won the final event of the season in 2010, the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island. This win moved him from thirtieth to sixth on the money list and earned him a PGA Tour card for the 2011 season. [4]

PGA Tour

On April 17, 2011, the week after the Masters, Steele notched his first PGA Tour win at the Valero Texas Open at San Antonio. He holed a seven-foot (2.1 m) par-saving putt at the final hole to finish a stroke ahead of runners-up Kevin Chappell and Charley Hoffman. [5] Steele was the third tour rookie to win in 2011, after Jhonattan Vegas (Bob Hope Classic) and Charl Schwartzel (Masters). In addition to a $1.1 million payday and a tour card until the end of 2013, Steele's victory earned invites to The Players Championship, Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship, and the next year's Masters; the win moved from 115th to 19th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Over five years later on October 16, 2016, Steele won the Safeway Open in Napa, California, the first event of 2017 season. His winning score of 270 (−18) tied the tournament record for lowest score relative to par; he was one stroke ahead of runner-up Patton Kizzire for his second tour win.

Steele successfully defended his Safeway Open title on October 8, 2017. He started the final round two strokes back, but posted 69 (–3) in breezy conditions to win at 273 (−15), two strokes ahead of runner-up Tony Finau. With his third tour victory, Steele became the first with multiple wins at the event. [6] Later that night, wildfires damaged the Silverado resort. [7] [8]

LIV Golf

Steele played nine tournaments on the 2022–23 PGA Tour [2] before joining LIV Golf in February 2023, as a member of Phil Mickelson's HyFlyers GC team. [9]

Personal life

Steele is the nephew of Anthony Geary, the actor who played Luke Spencer on General Hospital . [10]

Professional wins (11)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1Apr 17, 2011 Valero Texas Open 69-72-68-71=280−81 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Chappell, Flag of the United States.svg Charley Hoffman
2Oct 16, 2016 Safeway Open 67-71-67-65=270−181 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Patton Kizzire
3Oct 8, 2017 Safeway Open (2)65-67-72-69=273−152 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tony Finau

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cameron Smith Lost to par on first extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other Nationwide Tour (0)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Oct 31, 2010 Nationwide Tour Championship 66-71-65-73=275−13Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Colt Knost

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2010 Nationwide Tour Championship Flag of the United States.svg Colt Knost Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

LIV Golf League wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Apr 28, 2024 LIV Golf Adelaide 66-64-68=198−181 stroke Flag of South Africa.svg Louis Oosthuizen

LIV Golf League playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 2023 LIV Golf Tucson Flag of New Zealand.svg Danny Lee, Flag of South Africa.svg Louis Oosthuizen,
Flag of Mexico.svg Carlos Ortiz
Lee won with birdie on second extra hole
Ortiz eliminated by par on first hole

Other wins (6)

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament20112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament CUTT27CUT
U.S. Open CUTT15T1363
The Open Championship CUTCUTCUTT47
PGA Championship T19T58T12CUTCUTCUT
Tournament20192020202120222023
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship T2277T9CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship NTT67
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 00000031
PGA Championship 000014106
U.S. Open 00000253
The Open Championship 00000052
Totals0000162312

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022
The Players Championship CUTCUTCUTT26CUTT57T6T79CUTCT41T13
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament20112012201320142015201620172018
Championship T48T20
Match Play T30T17
Invitational T48T24T60
Champions
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied

See also

References

  1. "Week 05 2018 Ending 4 Feb 2018" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Brendan Steele – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  3. 2004–05 UC Riverside Men's & Women's Golf Media Guide
  4. "Brendan Steele earns PGA Tour card". ESPN. Associated Press. October 31, 2010.
  5. "Brendan Steele earns first PGA Tour win". ESPN. Associated Press. April 17, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  6. "Brendan Steele wins Safeway Open by 2 to repeat as champ". ESPN. Associated Press. October 9, 2017.
  7. Kroichick, Ron (October 9, 2017). "Napa fire forces PGA Tour officials, players to flee Silverado after golf tourney". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  8. Howard, Chelsea (October 9, 2017). "PGA Tour officials evacuate Silverado after Napa fires". Sporting News. (Omnisport). Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  9. Schwarb, John (February 20, 2023). "Brendan Steele Leaves PGA Tour to Join Phil Mickelson's LIV Golf Team". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  10. Q&A: Brendan Steele Archived January 16, 2014, at the Wayback Machine