Brendan Steele has opened this 2013-14 PGA Tour season with a bit of a rocky start. After missing the cut two weeks ago in the Frys.com Open in San Martin, he tied for 57th last week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

The Idyllwild native was 4-under-par in Las Vegas, posting a 67-67-74-72 — 280, earning 12 FedExCup points in the process. His one eagle on the par-5 13th hole on Friday was more than offset by three doubles and one triple spread around his four rounds.

If Steele were to play in about 25 tournaments this season, he would need to earn an average of about 15 FedExCup points in each in order to total 370 points, which is around what is needed each year to finish in the top 125 and earn playing privileges for the following season.

Steele is entered this week in the $7 million CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the winner’s share is more than $1.2 million.