Brendan Steele opened up about how a mere phone call was all it took for him to switch from the PGA Tour to the lavish fairways of LIV Golf.
Joining the ranks in 2011, Steele only notched three victories on the PGA Tour before he was wooed over by the controversial LIV Golf last February, snagging a spot on Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC.
His name now sits among a growing roster of top-tier talent alongside Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Lee Westwood, and Dustin Johnson, who have pivoted to the opulent Saudi-backed league, despite golf traditionalists scoffing at its existence.
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Amid widespread criticism and purported loyalty to the PGA Tour, it seems Steele hardly required arm-twisting to move to LIV Golf. On the Fairway To Heaven podcast with Jerry Foltz and Su-Ann Heng, when pressed about his reasons for defecting, the HyFlyers ace revealed, “So if I was ever going to come, it was always going to be with Phil and with Cameron [Tringale] – because Cameron has been a close friend of mine for a long time too.”
“So we had been playing some golf together – the three of us – and Cameron had asked me, ‘would you ever come? ‘ And I’m like, ‘if I was going to, it would be with you guys, so if there was ever an opportunity, I’d love to know about it’.
“And Phil called and he just said, ‘look, I wanted to run something by you before I went any different direction, I wasn’t sure if you would be interested or whatever’. We just talked it out and I thought this is too good an opportunity to pass up as far as picking Phil’s brain, travelling the world, having a team you know, like everything that lined up was like this is a perfect opportunity, I can’t pass on it.
“And then there’s still nerves and things you know, because I don’t know what it’s like out there. I haven’t played a LIV event, I haven’t seen one so I get to Mayakoba last year and I’m pretty nervous, and I’m pretty worried about what it’s all going to be like and everything, and I got comfortable really fast.
Mickelson was one of the first players to make the move to LIV Golf in 2022 (
Getty Images)
“And everything was way better than I could have hoped for, more enjoyable and friendlier, and everybody that I saw was just so welcoming and there were a bunch of people – other than players that I already knew out there.
“So many familiar faces and it was really easy to settle in. The opportunity to pay with Phil is too good to pass on, and Cameron being one of my best friends it was an easy choice.”
Mickelson, a powerhouse when he’s on form, was among the first big names to jump ship from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. He made the switch in 2022, boasting an impressive record of 45 PGA Tour victories and six major titles.
This season has already seen Steele triumph under the LIV Golf insignia, edging out Louis Oosthuizen by just one shot to clinch victory at the LIV Golf Adelaide event this April.
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