Phil Mickelson, left, and Brendan Steele on Sunday after Steele’s victory.
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Brendan Steele, on the age of 41 and after 19 years as a professional, is aware of who he is.
He freely admits it, too.
“I’m pretty nervous all the time,” he mentioned. “I think that’s just my DNA.”
Has it been a hindrance? To the informal eye, not a lot. Nerves, they’ll inform you, are one of many surest indicators you care, and Steele’s carved out a great profession for himself. Three PGA Tour wins. A spot for the previous 12 months with LIV Golf, the place he performs for the HyFlyers workforce headed by Phil Mickelson — nevertheless it was Mickelson, Steele mentioned, from whom he’s sought counsel.
Sunday, Steele talked of offseason work with the six-time main winner in his yard. He talked wedge work. Short-game work. Course-management work.
Some mental-game work. Let’s begin there.
Last week, throughout LIV’s occasion in Australia, Steele opened with a six-under 66, adopted it up with a nine-birdie 64, and he led by one going into the ultimate spherical. A win could be his first on both the PGA Tour or LIV since October of 2016, on the then-named Safeway Open. A win would pay him $4 mill. Eyes could be on him. The stress ratcheted up.
Those nerves, too.
So earlier than the spherical, Steele mentioned Mickelson talked with him. The dialog began with questions. How was he feeling? What was he pondering? Steele thought if he might play “freely” like he had been, he’d have a shot.
Here, Mickelson had a thought.
“He’s like, that’s great. Let’s reframe it,” Steele mentioned. “Let’s make it: ‘When I play freely, I can play freely, I will play freely.’ Let’s reframe it into that. I was saying: ‘And then I think it’ll be good enough.’ He’s like, ‘No, it will be good enough, you will play freely. This is what you need to do.’ So that was what I was trying to do.”
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Did it work? Steele admits he was nonetheless nervous. He bogeyed the third. But then he birdied holes 5 by way of 9, adopted up a bogey on 11 with a birdie on 13, and on 18, after an anxious wedge to the inexperienced, Steele two-putted for a one-stroke win.
Anxious wedge? From Steele?
He was stunned too.
“Yeah, that was pretty wild,” Steele mentioned. “I used to be terrified over that wedge shot, to be trustworthy, as a result of it’s like — it’s a extremely powerful shot. I must get it over the tier however not go into the again bunker. I’ve bought 10,000 followers within the fairway sort of proper on high of me.
“Fortunately all the work that I’ve put in over the offseason with Phil in his backyard and all the help that he’s given me, it really paid off with that shot specifically.”
Afterward, Steele famous Mickelson 5 instances in his winner’s press convention. He mentioned he’s leaned on him. “If he’s going to give me advice, I’m going to take it,” he mentioned. He mentioned he was the rationale for his win.
Steele additionally shared what Mickelson informed him after the spherical, after a reporter seen that they had hugged.
“Yeah, he was just telling me how proud he is of me and how he knew this was coming and he thinks it’s going to set off a lot of really good things for me,” Steele mentioned.
“Just for him to have that belief in me is really great. He’s the reason that I’m here and the reason that I’m improving. To be honest, I’m 41 years old and I’m getting better, and it’s mostly because of him. It’s really great.”
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