Man of Steele | In Pursuit EP.5

Brendan Steele fights to keep his place on the team after a difficult start to the season. After years on the PGA Tour, finally playing with a team has revitalized his love for the game, but now that opportunity is in jeopardy.

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Um, where are we going? Brendan is everybody’s best friend. Steely’s the best. Steely play his air guitar. Cut that out. Race it. He’s a great dad. Like, if I was a kid, I’d want to be Steelely’s kid. People gravitate towards him. You can be a bit of a maniac on the course and it tell you the same thing. Yeah, the year has been really poor. Brendan Steel of the High Flyers is in 50th place overall, which is trouble. I’ve been stressed all year cuz I’m not getting any points and I want to be on this team next year. Well, remember a feature of the Live Golf League is relegation. If you finished in 49th or below out of our 54man field, you’re out. I need to prove that I’m still a good part of this team. This could be vital for him. Not good. This is the path forward if this works. But I didn’t know if it would. Could this be the end of the road for Brendan Steel? [Music] Hi, Brendan. Hi. How are you doing? Good. How are you? Good. Growing up in Idle Wild was really awesome. My dad was the town lawyer and my mom was a secretary and uh we just did everything outdoors. Now having a daughter and thinking about the things that I was doing at her age, like I was being completely ridiculous. My dad would come home from work every day and whatever the season was, we would we would get right into a sport. Usually it was baseball or soccer after after school. My half brother grew up in Orange County. He’s 14 years older than me and was a great golfer. Um, and I just always idolized him and wanted to do whatever he was doing. So, I came down and saw him uh win the Newport Beach Country Club Championship and thought, “This is the coolest thing ever. I got to do this.” So, after that, the rest is kind of history. Okay. So, right down here is where I learned how to play the game of golf mountain style. So, this used to be our bunker, and I used to hit shots up here. There were some different kind of bushes and things that I would aim at or try to hit over or try to hit under. Um, obviously bladed a few off the house when I was learning. Fortunately, there’s no windows like really in play here. So, that was good. Um, so hit all the chips and stuff in here up into this little uh artificial green which uh is very firm and very difficult to hold. So, you have to have good touch. And that’s what’s left of the net that would sit right here. So, I would hit off the mat into the net and just try to get whatever feedback I could, like just basically try to get a solid strike and figure out if I was hitting it fat or thin or whatever because obviously couldn’t see the flight. The only time I could see the flight is going back this direction and I would rifle balls back this way. This one didn’t overhang quite as far. So, you could sneak it through here and left of that other oak tree back there and kind of hit him down towards the other house. So then I could see the ball fly. Usually just wedges and like shorter shots. I didn’t hit drivers and long stuff that way. But there’s a house down there, but I would try to make sure I didn’t get it all the way down to the house. I don’t think I ever hit them, but you never know. In high school, I I would take the bus down to Hemet uh in the morning, and then usually my mom would come and pick me up, drive me to the golf course, drop me off, go back to work, and then my dad would come down and pick me up and drive me back. Look at that. still got it dialed in the nearest course of probably 35 minutes or so. So, it was like really crazy now thinking about it. You know, all these things that parents do when you’re a kid, they seem normal and then when you’re a parent, you’re like, “Oh, wow. That was that was really wild.” I mean, in those days, I just loved the game and I just I wanted to make the high school team. That was I thought that was really cool. And I had a big progression between sophomore and junior year. And then at that point, I wanted to play in college somewhere. Um, and uh, I was lucky enough to get an offer to go to UC Riverside, which is not a huge golf school, but we had a good team. We had a lot of fun and uh, I got to play, I think, 52 tournaments in college there. So, it really got me ready to turn pro. When I first met Brendan, we were in college, so he told me he wanted to be like a professional golfer, and I’m like, “Oh, yeah, okay, cool.” Didn’t really think anything of it. I I was just thankful like he was getting a college degree. I’m like, “Okay, yeah.” She was always supportive, but I don’t think she really understood what it meant or really thought that I would ever get anywhere with it. That’s exactly what you would want. You wouldn’t want somebody with you because they thought you were just going to be successful. And you wouldn’t want somebody with you that’s like, “Hey, get get real, man. You don’t need to be out there like, go get a job.” She was very successful in in her job at the time as well. So, it was like she allowed me to be able to play because she was making money. So, that allowed us to get through some of the leaner times. It was a lot of fun. I mean, we we were young when he started out there and you get a group of friends and you kind of grow with them. You have to flip it to righty. Yeah. Okay. Boy, I’m I’m whackad do right now. It’s It’s I’m having the exact opposite experience. Well, you were striping on the on the house. You were striping on the range. So, it’s weird. You know, Phil’s always been my mentor. He’s a kind of I met him my first year on tour and he really took me under his wing and that was that was really special and really cool here. I’ll pop those other two on after he went over to live. You know, I I had talked to him about it right after that and was hoping there would be a place for me. Um but didn’t hear from him for a while. Ended up playing with him and Cameron after Cameron was already on the team and Camel kind of asked me like, “Hey, would you ever come over?” And I was like, well, if I if I did, it would obviously be with because of you guys. Like, I want to come play with you guys. You’re two of my best friends. So, you know, that was kind of a natural fit. And then, uh, when I heard from Phil, it was like, yeah, this is this is the right thing for me. Well, that was better. That’s the only good shot I’ve hit. So, those are good numbers. Yeah, they’re fine. 75 2100. My goodness. What do you mean fine? Yeah, it’s fine. I mean, I was I was a lot faster earlier, so dude, it’s freezing out here. I remember Brendan saying like, “Okay, like how do you feel about going to live?” I am not a golf fan. I’m a Brendan Steel fan. Whether you are on the PJ tour, whether you’re on the Live Tour, whether you want to be in the circus, I will always support you no matter what. He was just like, “Yeah, but are you ready for the change?” And I’m like, “You know what? We’ve lived this life for so long. Like, bring it on. It’s been such a change in so many positive ways.” What a pot. Steely put steely. One down. Come on, D. I really wasn’t happy with what I was doing at the time on tour. You know, I felt like at the time I was like, I’m being a bad dad cuz I’m gone. I’m being a bad golfer cuz I’m playing terrible. So, like, I’m just kind of losing at everything. It really was a breath of fresh air for me to be in the team environment and playing 14 weeks and the opportunity to come play with one of the best players ever was way too much to pass up. Phil has always been there for me. I’ve learned so much from him. The idea of hanging out with him traveling around the world playing golf was like, you know, a 10 out of 10 opportunity. Uh, two years ago in Jedha, he and I went out into the Red Sea and were floating around out there. And I looked over at him and I said, “You know, if you would have told me when I was I playing mini tours that I’d be floating in the Red Sea with Phil Mickelson playing in a new league on his team, I would have said there is absolutely no way that this would be possible.” So, it’s amazing. Life is uh is full of twists and turns. Really strange. Championship Sunday here in Adelaide and Brendan Steel is closing in on victory. What a mighty performance we’ve seen out of him. Brendan Steel, congratulations. What a performance in the cauldron of pressure here. Brendan Steel wins for the first time in his lifer. Surely the sign of great things to come for him. [Music] How would you describe your season up till this point? Beyond frustrating. This has been the most frustrated I’ve been in my career. There it seems like something goes wrong every week. Whether it’s a bad start like in Adelaide or whether it’s Hong Kong. Oh boy. Oh dear. So it’s like just not all lining up. Relegation definitely. I mean it worries me for sure. I need to prove that I’m I’m still a good part of this team. So, I need to finish as high as possible. Um, kind of driving me crazy right now. The Live Golf League has landed in the rarified air of Mexico City, 7,700 ft above sea level. I thought I was wondering if you can get to 400. Yeah, I got 400. Yeah, that’s very sexy. Thanks. I I love club to golf Chipultipac. It’s uh an incredible old style fun course to play. And the challenge is the altitude and getting distance control with your irons. That’s the challenge that everybody has to to face and deal with. And it’s really tight. I mean, it is really tight. But fortunately, I’m driving it like a stallion now. I decided to find a new way to win. I’m just going to hit it down the middle of every fairway. Why didn’t you guys tell me this? It’s way easier from here. We’ll go nine holes. We’ll play two through nine and then we’ll play number one. In the future, next time we do threeon two, push has to go to the team with two. I read thoroughly the book. And there’s nowhere in Phil’s book of rules that say that. We were having the regular game and then we’re having a secondary game with I don’t think we did say that. I thought we just Let’s just let it go. Let’s just let it go. You just got start fresh. We’re in Mexico City. Let’s I’m looking forward to the two closest will be partners. Look at that. Like a pro. So me and this this two this one you triple me and camo. The D re team. It’s on. You hear that D too? We’re on today. They feel it. They sense it. [Music] So, Mexico um first hole of the practice round kind of stumble getting out of a bunker and catch myself but kind of jam my back and I go, “Ow, that doesn’t feel good, but think I’m okay.” And I go and I hit maybe five or six more shots and then my back just fully locks up. photo. And I’ve had this happen before and it is a disaster. Like I’m not going to be able to play this week kind of thing. I’ve got uh Dr. Andrew Adams that’s been traveling with me a bunch this year that he wasn’t supposed to be there that week. He flew overnight through Houston so he could be there in the morning to work on me. Doesn’t feel good to me. Honestly, worked a miracle to get me to to play cuz I I literally like couldn’t walk. We’re underway here in Mexico City. Brendan Steel playing through a back injury, but in desperate need of some points. He currently sits 50th in the overall standings, firmly in the drop zone. Oh, it’s a rip roaring start for the Ripper GC skipper. Dshambo and Smith level. Here’s Brendan Steel for Park and it won’t go. Really misjudged some putts out here today, David. It’s been a struggle today. And that went in as well. Marco Neman number one as it stands individually. Marco Neman has produced pure magnificence in Mexico City. Steely comes home tied for 22nd and earns less than one point. It’s a start, but not enough to move him out of the drop zone. Man, golf is such a grind for me right now. It is just ridiculous. But fought hard. Um, hitting it really great. Back’s feeling good. So, take the positives where you can get it. Past that, everything’s really brutal. We’ve jetted from Mexico City to Inchon in the Republic of Korea. [Music] The struggles continue for Brendan Steel. He’s clearly lost all confidence in his putter. Tough so hard. Oh god, that was just a complete lack of commitment. Another disappointing weekend for Brendan Steel. He finishes in 38th and outside of the points, leaving plenty of work to be done as we enter the second half of the season. If you’re putting that bad, if you’re missing from a foot, two feet, three feet all the time, you can’t compete. I reached out to Sam Han, who’s the CEO of uh Lab Golf, and he said, “I’m I’m actually coming to San Diego tomorrow. Do you want to meet um and I’ll bring some stuff?” And I was like, “Absolutely.” So, we met at Phil’s house and he brought like 25 putters. every day for that month, I would go out and putt for 3 or 4 hours, like just trying to figure it out cuz I was like, “This is the path forward if this works. Um, but I didn’t know if it would.” [Music] DC was the first event since uh really Singapore that I felt like I had some good hope for for a good event. I was here in 2015. Uh the only time I’ve been here was actually my first tournament with Christian on the back 10 years ago. So he’s put up with me for a very long time. So we’re trying a new style this week. Been a few styles this year. We’re going to a broomstick style, a sweeper if you will, and uh we’re going to see if that has any magic in it. Yeah, big difference. This is Championship Sunday at Live Golf, Virginia. Brendan Steel currently in 29th place and out of the points. This could be vital for him as he tries to pull clear of the relegation zone, perhaps for good. Golf’s been everything to me for a long time now. Being a kid with a weird grip from a small town in the mountains and and just trying to like figure out how to get the ball in the hole. Golf is so hard. There’s so many times that are so bad and and it’s all the work that you’ve done to get out of those bad times to get to the the good place that’s important. [Music] Dead center. D. Count him out. What a huge moment. The putter remains on fire. Well done. What a story unfolding here in Virginia. He’s playing beautifully. That is quite brilliant. Beautifully pitched. Absolute perfection there. What a turnaround for the man of steel. Eight birdies on the day and he finishes in 15th. And in better news, he collects enough points to jump out of the dreaded relegation zone. Now, the question remains, can he maintain this form and keep himself out of the drop zone the rest of the season? That round was really important. That’s the only time that I’ve walked off the course and been like, “Huh, okay, that was all right.” Like, you didn’t you didn’t totally screw it up here. That’s kind of changed everything around for me, you know? I I understand my place in the game. Like I I’m not a big star. I’m not a big name. I’ve had a nice career. I’ve done way more than I would have ever thought that I could have. Um but I still feel like I can I can do it. Like I still feel like I can win tournaments. I can play really well. I can help this team. So I want to be able to to have a chance to do that. Everybody talks about legacy and you know, things like that. And and I save that for the guys like Phil. People don’t remember what they ate for lunch yesterday. So why are they going to remember, you know, that the events that I’ve won are places that I’ve played well? They’re important to me, but they don’t need to be important to anybody else. To kind of look back these 20 years to kind of see that golfer I met in college to the point we are now where he’s on the live tour, he’s had wins on the PJ tour, he’s had a live tour win. I’m very proud of him and all that he’s accomplished and for himself and for our family. There’s a lot of different things, a lot of these moments where you kind of sit back and go like, “Oh, wow. I can’t believe I’m doing this right now.” One of them was when I first played Augusta, I went with Phil. I qualified for the Masters 2012 and we did a scouting trip there and I’ve never seen the course, you know, in person. At this point, Phil’s won three times. And I’m walking around out there and I just can’t believe that I’ve gone from hitting balls into my net in Idle Wild to playing Augusta with Phil trying to get ready for the Masters. It’s like totally insane. Like I should have never been there in the first place. Like I said before, I I mean I met him, we had nothing. Like we were two like young college kids who like were starting out in life and lived in a tiny apartment and we built this life together. I hope that he looks back and realizes that his hard work, the good, the bad shots, the heartache, but the wins and the trophies like all contributed to it. And I hope he’s proud of it cuz I am. [Music] You’re not going to Are you kidding me? To be able to give back to to the Dallas community and and be here with all the kids and see their excitement is is really awesome. It shows what this golf course can do. It can bite you up. There’s a lot of big numbers out here. There’s also birdies.