Brendan Steele posted a 1-under-par 71-73-75-68 — 287 at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament last week. In a double-free performance, he combined 19 birdies with 18 bogeys. His drives averaged 284 yards while finding 67.8 percent of the fairways, while he hit 53 percent of the greens in regulation.
On the brighter side, he actually gained strokes against the field with his putter — more than a stroke per round.
The Idyllwild native attempted to qualify for next week’s U.S. Open Championship, a major PGA Tour event, in a 36-hole competition this past Monday. However, his first round was a disappointing 73 in the face of many competitors’ 68s and 69s, and he withdrew from the qualifying.