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Brendan Steele has maintained his small-town charm in the big-time spotlight of the PGA Tour.
Brendan Steele has maintained his small-town charm in the big-time spotlight of the PGA Tour.
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The term “man of the people” is often used and frequently vague. For a visual, follow Southland native and PGA Tour pro Brendan Steele for a few hours, whether on the course or off.

The avid L.A. Kings fan has befriended NHL players across the continent with his engaging personality, and junior golfers who caddied in Steele’s pro-am group at August’s Barracuda Championship gushed about the time he spent with them.

If good things happen to good people, Steele, 32, is starting to see positive results on his fifth year on Tour. In January, the Idyllwild native finished tied for second at the Humana Challenge in La Quinta, and he finished tied for 11th at the Honda Classic in March. Through mid-August, Steele had four top-10 and nine top-25 finishes in the 20 events he entered.

“It was nice to see that and see the progression of my game,” Steele said about his good play at the beginning of the year.

While growing up, Steele would practice so late on his family’s backyard putting green that his parents bought lights. With no high school in Idyllwild, Steele and his parents made the 45-minute daily commute down the San Jacinto Mountains so he could attend classes and play golf at Hemet Valley High.

“I don’t know how they made that drive every day,” Steele’s teammate, Mike Cussota, recalled. “It just goes to show how committed they were.”

For Steele’s father, Kent, it was simply part of the parenting process. 

“Looking back on it, it wasn’t really a pain,” he said of the commute. “It was something that we enjoyed, and it was over way too soon.”

Cussota was Hemet’s top golfer when Steele arrived as a freshman, and he opted to pair with Steele in team competitions. The strong friendship they developed continues to this day. 

“He was the one that always calmed me down when we played together,” Cussota said of their high school practices and matches.

Today, Steele’s Southland matches are occasionally against NHL players at his home course of Shady Canyon.

“It’s not high stakes,” Steele said. “We usually play for lunch afterwards.”

Steele enjoys his time on and off the course with hockey players such as the Ducks’ Shane O’Brien and Scottie Upshall of the Florida Panthers. Raised a Kings fan by his parents, Steele’s fascination with hockey is evident as he gets to as many games as possible. With his PGA Tour schedule leaving him about 22 weeks a year at home in Orange County, Steele has an NHL schedule handy to compare with the PGA Tour events on his schedule.

“I would say (it’s) obsessive,” said his wife, Anastassia, an arts and literature lover from San Mateo whom Steele met in 2006 while a student at UC Riverside. “It’s a never-ending season at our house because, even when there’s not hockey on, he’s following who gets traded. He loves it.”

Steele, a self-proclaimed small town guy, is used to walking around town and having people say hello. So the couple that got married in 2007 in Riverside found a quaint and artsy home with an ocean view in Laguna Beach this summer and plan to make the move from Irvine this fall. 

“We walked by the town greeter one day and he said, ‘Hi guys, how are you doing?’” Anastassia said of the casual recognition that also extends to Laguna Beach coffee shops and restaurants. “He recognized us, and Brendan was like, ‘See, we’re locals now!’ Brendan really enjoyed that.”

Despite his laid-back exterior, Steele has adopted a more aggressive attitude toward practice this year that incorporates purpose and consequence. 

“Before, I would just hit a lot of balls, practice for a long amount of time, but the quality wouldn’t be there and I wouldn’t be as engaged,” Steele said. “So we’re working really hard on that right now.”

Part of that new drive comes from Maderas Golf Academy’s Chris Mayson, a friend who used to play on mini tours with Steele. The two spend a majority of the time working on Steele’s putting and practice philosophy, but Steele also is seeing improvements this year is his driving distance, which at 303.4 yards in mid-August had him ranked 15th on the PGA Tour, in addition to his birdie average of 4.06, which put him in the 11th spot.

Steele, a lanky 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, also attributes his added distance and better ball striking to workouts with trainer Brad Davison in Irvine. 

“He’s able to make me strong in a way that’s functional for golf,” Steele said.

Taking advantage of the perks of being a professional athlete who travels a lot, Brendan and Anastassia stayed an extra three days in Paris in July after Steele finished tied for sixth at the French Open. The couple experienced the romantic city via boat and other means of transportation, and the visit also included stops at the Louvre and Notre Dame. As big Mumford & Sons fans, it was a pleasant surprise when the couple discovered, with little notice, that the group was playing at a small Paris venue during their visit.

“We decided that when in Paris,” Anastassia said, “you just have fun.”