Steele shot a 3-under 67 on Friday, getting to 5 under for the week and putting himself a shot clear of
This is Steele’s ninth time playing the
“My first few years here I couldn't quite figure it out,” Steele said. “I thought maybe it wasn't a good course for me. ... 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.”
The cut was 3 over, and most of the biggest names in the field aren’t sticking around for the weekend. Among them:
“You can rack up some big numbers pretty quick,” Koepka said.
Steele had a chance to take an even bigger lead into the weekend.
The famed
Thing was, the 16th and 18th got him. A bogey on the par-4 16th was the first miscue, and then his approach sailed over the green at the finishing hole to lead to another dropped shot. Still, the three-time winner on tour — the last of those coming when he went back-to-back at the Safeway Open in 2018 — left more than satisfied.
“I think a course like this always suits me a little bit better,” Steele said. “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. ... That gives me some confidence, and I definitely feel like harder is usually better for me.”
Steele missed a chance for a victory in January in
“I think it's definitely mental,” Woodland said. “I probably focus a little bit more. You've got to hit shots out here. You've got to work the golf ball both ways. You've got to ride the wind. I love playing in the wind. But this golf course is as demanding as we see, so you've got to be ready from the get-go.”
Woodland was tied for fifth at 3 under with
Donald got into the mix as well, looking for his first win in the
Donald had the best round of the day at 66, tied with a pair of South Korean players — Byeong Hun An and
“It's probably been a little bit of a lean stretch,” Donald said. “But yeah, I feel like I've been making progress in the last four months with my swing and feeling more comfortable on the golf course.”
His second shot went into the water, ending up in a muddy spot just at the edge of some long grass. Johnson elected to play his third from there, trying to knock the ball skyward toward the green — but only managing to bury it further into the mud. Johnson had to retreat about 125 yards back up the fairway, played another approach and two-putted from 45 feet for a triple-bogey 7.
Just like that, he went from tied for sixth and one shot back to tied for 23rd and four shots off the lead. He finished with a 75, going to 2 over for the week.
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