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THE HONDA CLASSIC

February 28, 2020

Brendan Steele

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Q. On 15, the other side of the Bear Trap, the beginning of it, let's go to the monitor right in front of you. What did you see from the tee there because what we saw on the back end of that was crazy.
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, I mean, obviously it looked like a really good shot. It landed a little right of the hole and kicked left, and it looked like it was moving pretty slow. It was moving a little faster than I thought.

Q. This is the first time you're seeing this?
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, it's pretty wild.

Q. How does that not go in?
BRENDAN STEELE: Well, I thought it actually went in the other side because of where it ended up, so that's pretty funny. That's wild stuff.

Q. When something like that happens, is that a great shot that was unlucky?
BRENDAN STEELE: I mean, I guess. But it looked like it was moving a little quicker than I thought it was. I was more than happy to tap in and go to 16.

Q. So overall as far as your round goes, this is a very difficult golf course, and today was a bit of a challenging day, cool temperatures in the morning, swirling winds. How pleased are you with where you are standing through 36 holes?
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, I'm really happy. My game is really solid all the way through the bag. I felt this good at Sony and it paid off, and I'm feeling that way again. I'm looking forward to the grind this weekend. I know it's going to be really hard around here. There's really no easy shots, so you've got to be ready.

Q. The choice to go for it in two on the finishing hole, would you prefer to take that one back, or because it was Friday and the position you were in after your tee shot, were you okay with the decision you made there?
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, I'm totally okay with it. It's a shot that I know that I have. It's a shot that I work on at my home club at Shady Canyon on No. 18 when I'm kind of in between clubs, when I can't get an iron there, and yesterday I laid up from about 219 and this was 262. It just depends on the club and the situation, and because it's Friday and so much can happen, I wanted to give it a shot.

Q. How would you assess day 2 here where you shoot 3-under 67?
BRENDAN STEELE: Really happy with how I played. The golf course is very difficult. The greens are as fast as I've ever seen them, so that adds another element of kind of guesswork. The rough is lower than normal, but you get a lot of flier lies, so you can't take any shots off out here.

Q. Everyone talks about the challenges mentally and physically that this course demands of you. How do you deal with it and continue to try to do that on the weekend?
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, I mean, it's hard to do it for four days, that's for sure. You're going to be worn out. There's really no easy shots out there, no easy holes. Everything is stressful. You try to take breaks in between shots wherever you can and just save a little bit of mental and physical energy.

Q. One shot that you did make look easy was at 15. What did you see from the tee?
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, it was a great number. It was just kind of as hard as I could hit an 8-iron, and it looked like it had a chance to go in, and it actually went in the other side of the hole than I thought it did and really spun out there wildly. It was a good shot. I wish it would have gone in, but I was happy to tap in and move on.

Q. What's the biggest thing you'll do heading into Saturday?
BRENDAN STEELE: I think I just really want to get as much rest as I can. Didn't sleep very well the last two nights. I was worried how I was going to come out today and if I had enough energy to kind of finish off the rounds, but I feel pretty good right now, so I'm hoping it doesn't catch up with me.

Q. What was the yardage on 15?
BRENDAN STEELE: 15, 178 is what we had.

Q. How many hole-in-ones have you had in competition?
BRENDAN STEELE: Two in competition, one on the PGA TOUR. One in Q-school.

Q. Just comments on the round, 3-under 67 today?
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, obviously really happy with how I played. I didn't really make many mistakes. The greens, I think, kind of shocked me today, how fast they were. They've been really quick all week, but they shocked me with how fast they were. Even like when you hit a good shot to 30 feet, it's really tough to two-putt. You end up kind of creeping away three or four feet a lot. So that adds another layer of stress to this whole difficult course.

Q. I'm sure the shot that we talked about for the week is 15. Take us through that.
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, so it was a really good number. Hit it just exactly how I wanted to, and it looked like it was going to land pretty good and be pretty close, but it took a nice little left bounce and gave itself a look. Pretty vicious lip-out from what I saw.

Q. Sony you had your swing coach on the bag, right?
BRENDAN STEELE: Uh-huh.

Q. When did you guys start working together, and what was the process of getting your game back in shape?
BRENDAN STEELE: I've been working with Chris Mason and Rick Smith. Rick since 2012, and Chris I probably started in 2014. We started working on putting and chipping, and then he's caddied for me five times now. He got a win his first time on my bag, and then we almost won Sony, so he's got a pretty good record going.

For me, I spent the off-season trying to get a lot of things together, and I was feeling good about my game in the fall, but mentally was kind of like had some scars with how I'd been playing and was just worried about how to play golf. I was making sure that shots didn't go certain places. You'd aim 15 feet right of the hole and make sure it doesn't go left. If you hit it 30 feet, it doesn't look like that bad a shot, but you can't ever really make a birdie. So I just tried to adjust that mentally starting at Sony, and it seemed to work right away.

Q. Going into the weekend at a course that's a birdie-fest and there's lots of birdies and you have to kind of make birdies to keep up, or a course like this where you can make pars and still be right up there?
BRENDAN STEELE: I think a course like this always suits me a little bit better. I feel like I can make birdies on this course maybe more than other guys can, and I don't necessarily feel that way a lot of weeks. If we're playing Palm Desert, I don't feel like I can make way more than anybody else. Out here I feel like I can go around and make five or six if I'm sharp. That gives me some confidence, and I definitely feel like harder is usually better for me.

Q. Does this course have the feel of a major?
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, the style of play and probably the difficulty is the closest thing to a major that we see. This whole Florida Swing is really tough. Bay Hill is tough, THE PLAYERS is tough, Valspar is one of the toughest courses we play all year, too. You know when you get down here, you're not going to see many scoring opportunities, and you really have to grind out as many pars as you can.

Q. You've had lots of experience playing the Honda Classic. Can you just put into words how difficult it is to be leading the way outright the way you are after two rounds and how much you appreciate that?
BRENDAN STEELE: Yeah, I mean, it's awesome. This place has been really good to me. My first few years here I couldn't quite figure it out, and I thought maybe it wasn't a good course for me, but being a California guy, just had to figure out the grass a little bit and some of the strategy. I don't feel like it's a course you can just jump out your first time and have it nailed. You have to see it in all the different winds and conditions that you have.

For me, it's something that I really look forward to, and I've had it circled on my schedule for quite a while, and I'm always excited to get here.

Q. What was your yardage on 18 and what did you end up hitting?
BRENDAN STEELE: We had 262 hole, and I hit 3-wood. It's kind of in between 3-wood and 2-iron, and that's a shot that I work on at home on 18 at my home course.

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