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.

Brendan Steele
Steele at the 2015 Alstom Open de France
Personal information
Full nameBrendan Dean Steele
Born (1983-04-05) April 5, 1983 (age 41)
Idyllwild, California
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceIrvine, California
SpouseAnastassia
Career
CollegeUC Riverside
Turned professional2005
Current tour(s)LIV Golf
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Nationwide Tour
Canadian Tour
Professional wins11
Highest ranking35 (February 4, 2018)[1]
(as of November 24, 2024)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
Korn Ferry Tour1
LIV Golf1
Other6
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT27: 2017
PGA ChampionshipT9: 2022
U.S. OpenT13: 2017
The Open ChampionshipT47: 2018

Early years

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Born in Idyllwild, California,[2] Steele played high school golf at Hemet High school and college golf at the University of California, Riverside,[3] graduating in 2005.

Professional career

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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

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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

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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

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

Professional wins (11)

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PGA Tour wins (3)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 17, 2011 Valero Texas Open 69-72-68-71=280 −8 1 stroke   Kevin Chappell,   Charley Hoffman
2 Oct 16, 2016 Safeway Open 67-71-67-65=270 −18 1 stroke   Patton Kizzire
3 Oct 8, 2017 Safeway Open (2) 65-67-72-69=273 −15 2 strokes   Tony Finau

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii   Cameron Smith Lost to par on first extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

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Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other Nationwide Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Oct 31, 2010 Nationwide Tour Championship 66-71-65-73=275 −13 Playoff   Colt Knost

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2010 Nationwide Tour Championship   Colt Knost Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

LIV Golf League wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Apr 28, 2024 LIV Golf Adelaide 66-64-68=198 −18 1 stroke   Louis Oosthuizen

LIV Golf League playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2023 LIV Golf Tucson   Danny Lee,   Louis Oosthuizen,
  Carlos Ortiz
Lee won with birdie on second extra hole
Ortiz eliminated by par on first hole

Other wins (6)

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Results in major championships

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT T27 CUT
U.S. Open CUT T15 T13 63
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T47
PGA Championship T19 T58 T12 CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship T22 77 T9 CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship NT T67
  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

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 4 10 6
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 3
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
Totals 0 0 0 0 1 6 23 12
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2014 PGA – 2016 U.S. Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (once)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
The Players Championship CUT CUT CUT T26 CUT T57 T6 T79 CUT C T41 T13
  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

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Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Championship T48 T20
Match Play T30 T17
Invitational T48 T24 T60
Champions
  Did not play

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 05 2018 Ending 4 Feb 2018" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "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
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