Reunited With Phil Mickelson, Brendan Steele Finds Stability in LIV Golf
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Brendan Steele first began playing practice rounds with Phil Mickelson in 2011. It was his rookie year on the PGA Tour and it was at the Players Championship. It only lasted nine holes, but Steele realized it was something that was going to benefit him.
Those practice rounds continued at numerous tournaments throughout the years—along with a fair bit of nerve-hardening gambling—as well as near their homes in Southern California.
And so perhaps it should be no surprise that Steele, 39, became one of the last players to join the LIV Golf League and in time for its first event Friday at the El Camaleon course at Mayakoba.
"I was playing with Phil at home all the time," Steele said. "And Phil had talked about it and talked about it, that this was going to be great. And I told him if there was ever a place for me to let me know.
"They were trying to sort out the teams and how it was going to move forward. I was just keeping my head down and then recently it just changed where I had an opportunity to come and join this team, and it's a perfect fit. So I’m really excited."
Steele is joining Mickelson’s Hy Flyers team that is part of the LIV Golf concept. Cameron Tringale, who Steele also counts as a close friend, and James Piot round out the team that is among 12 in the LIV Golf League.
While the 48 players compete for a $20 million individual purse, the teams are playing for $5 million. The top three individual scores count for the team each day.
While LIV Golf does not announce the length of signed contracts for players, it is safe to say that Steele is on board for more than this year with some sort of up-front monetary guarantee.
Then there are the perks that come with it, and for Steele it is being able to settle on a schedule.
Going back to his rookie year, Steele failed to make the FedEx Cup playoffs by finishing among the top 125 just once. Last year he finished 61st and his tie for ninth at the PGA Championship means a return trip this year.
"The schedule is super alluring to me," said Steele of the 14-event league schedule. "I've got a 5-year-old daughter. She hates when I leave and I hate to leave her and knowing when I am going to play means I don’t have to keep throwing curveballs at my wife.
"It’s been, 'if I play well here, I'm going to get into this,' and then 'what are we going to do about the summer?' because we'd need to sign our daughter up for summer school or activities. And I'd not be able to tell her. If you’re in The Open, you do this. Or you might have to take three weeks off there. So she’s been dealing with my schedule for 18 years as a pro and it basically became 'I don’t care where you’re playing as long as I know when you're going to be home.'"
As for the drawbacks? That was an easy one for Steele. His friendship with Keegan Bradley.
Brendan Steele and Keegan Bradley, pictured when they teamed up at the 2021 Zurich Classic, are now split between the rival tours.
Stephen Lew/USA TODAY Sports
"I had dinner with Keegan last week and it was kind of our last supper is what we're calling it," he said. "Because I do everything with him. So I'm bummed to leave him behind. And he's doing great out there (on the PGA Tour). There was no way he was coming and it was just a little bit of a fork in our friendship and our relationship. That’s definitely a bummer for me."
Another negative is inability to have easier access to the major championships by not playing on the PGA Tour. Steele is in the PGA Championship, but said he plans to try U.S. Open and British Open qualifying in order to try to get into those events.
Steele said his deal with LIV Golf did not completely come together until last week. Mickelson, who as captain of the Hy Flyers had the ability to pick his team, was more than willing to welcome a guy he knows. And Steele is happy to again try and gain that knowledge.
"He's won so much but he’s had heartbreak, too, right?" Steele said. "We all do in this sport. But Phil knows all about both and he's really helped me. Taught me a lot of lessons. And I’m looking forward to learning more from him."