Brendan Steele had a strong start in the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades last week. His three-under-par opening round 69 on Thursday had him tied for seventh place by the end of the day.

He opened his second round Friday with an eagle on the 503-yard, par-5 1st hole, but then things went in reverse for him.

He eventually posted 69-74-74-78 — 295, 18 strokes behind the leaders. Still his 69th-place earned $13,200.

For the tournament, Steele hit only about half the fairways and half of the greens in regulation. After outstanding putting during his opening round, his putter appeared to go cold and he finished with a negative “strokes gained putting” stat.

This was Steele’s fifth tournament in as many weeks, and he has reported feeling tired when he has played that many consecutive tournaments in the past. This week he will rest as the PGA Tour goes to Mexico.

After the tour returns to the U.S., he’ll return to the tournament trail in preparation for the Masters at Augusta National in April — the first of the four major tournaments of the year. Steele qualified for the Masters when he won the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio last year.