Steele claims early PGA Tour victory
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2011 Valero Texas Open | Final Round | 18 Apr 2011
Playing in just his 12th PGA Tour career event, 27 year old Californian Brendan Steele has won the Valero Texas Open by a narrow one shot over fellow rookie Kevin Chappell and two time PGA Tour winner Charley Hoffman.
Steele lived up to his name on a the final day making a solid start in the blustery conditions at the TPC San Antonio then holding on with eleven successive pars as he and Chappell staged a titanic battle to secure their first PGA Tour title.
The first to blink was Chappell who missed the green with a sand iron at the par four 17th and could not get up and down, leaving Steele one ahead of Chappell and Hoffman with one to play.
Hoffman loomed as a threat when he reached the turn in 32 to be just one behind but a bogey at the par five 14th left him just a little too much to do. He birdied the 18th to move within one but when Steele salvaged his par from behind the final green he was the winner.
Steele almost blew his golden opportunity by pitching over the green at the last after laying up with his second. He had the option at the reachable par five to go for the green but with his only remaining threat finding the rough from the tee and laying up into the rough again he decided to play safe.
“It was a good yardage for the hybrid but with Kevin in the rough I did not want to be doing anything stupid and hitting it in the water, said Steele after his victory. “I then got a little juiced up with my 62 degree and hit it over the back but it worked out ok.”
Steele won the Nationwide Tour Championship late last year earning his way to the PGA Tour in the process. In his first eleven events this year he had missed six cuts for a best of 17th at Torrey Pines. After such a busy schedule the week off last week while the elite of the game were at Augusta National proved to be a blessing in disguise.
“I went home last week and re-grouped and talked to my coach,” said Steele in his post round interview. “I also talked with my caddie about things and we decided that maybe I had been getting too down on myself when I hit a bad shot and that my vision was getting too wide. My mindset this week was to stay away from the outcome and just let it rip and see what happens.”
“I didn’t expect to win this fast but thought I had the game to win. It is such an elusive thing as it only takes one guy to push you down the list.”
“I’m really tired and really shaky and it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I think I was calmer today than going into the final round of the Nationwide Tour Championship last year with a five shot lead as nobody wants to be known as the guy who blew a five shot lead. I felt calm today until the final hole when I knew it was mine to win and that was when I got a little shaky.”
Of the Australians four would tie for 23rd position. Adam Scott threatened to successfully defend for much of the opening three days but appeared to run out of steam on the final day with a round of 76. The heroics and emotions of last Sunday’s final round at Augusta were likely to catch up with him at some stage and after a solid start to his round he fell away over the closing nine holes.
“I felt good, the swing felt good but everything was coming out left of where I was seeing it come out,” said Scott. “I couldn’t figure out why until the back-9 I figured out I was aiming left and, you know, corrected it and it was a little better but I just couldn’t get anything happening. Every putt I hit looked good missed. It was just one of those days.”
Also in 23rd position were John Senden, Nathan Green and Geoff Ogilvy.
The PGA Tour will now move back east to South Carolina and the time honoured Heritage Classic at Hilton Head.
