Leaderboard: First round of 2019 U.S. Open

The first time Brendan Steele ever saw Linkin Park perform, he found himself standing on the side of the stage with a friend who knew the band’s bass player, Dave Farrell. There were about 12,000 of the band’s biggest fans sitting in the stands at Jones Beach that August night. But the vibe backstage at the iconic outdoor amphitheater on the shores of Long Island was decidedly low-key. “It’s funny because it’s a lot like being out here (on TOUR),â€� Steele says. “The families are back there and they’ve just got a little food and there’s nothing like crazy going on.   “But you think it’s going to be mind-blowing. But everybody’s just kind of hanging out and having a good time.â€� The mind-blowing part came a little later when Farrell walked off the stage to grab another guitar. Instead of handing the one he’d been using to his bass tech, though, he gave it to his new-found friend. All Steele – whose says his musical abilities stop at air guitar — could think about was the crowd, those faithful Linkin Park fans who, truth be told, probably didn’t even know he was standing there. “I thought that I was going to ruin the entire show, like, I was going to drop it or something,â€� Steele recalls. “So, that was my first time hanging out with Dave. Pretty good memory.â€� Farrell still remembers what he calls Steele’s “deer in headlightsâ€� look when he put the strap over the PGA TOUR veteran’s shoulder. “He’s holding this magical thing that he doesn’t want to ruin,â€� Farrell told PGA TOUR Entertainment last year. “And for me, I was like, that’s really funny, that’s kinda how I feel at times.â€� Not when he’s performing, of course. Farrell’s been making music since he was a kid. But he loves golf and has been fortunate to play in big-time pro-ams like the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, making his most recent appearance just last week. And Farrell would be the first to tell you he was out of his comfort zone the first time he teed it up in front of a gallery. “It took me probably a good three to four hours on the first day before I was like, all right, this is not gonna change,â€� Farrell recalls. “There’s gonna be people here, we just need to go ahead and try and hit some kind of a golf shot. “Pretend we know what we’re doing, see if that works. Which, it did.â€� After the concert, Steele drove back to New Jersey where he was playing in what is now known as THE NORTHERN TRUST, the first event in the FedExCup Playoffs. Farrell came out to Ridgewood Country Club the next day and followed Steele for several holes. Turns out, the two men live about 20 minutes from each other in southern California. They talked about playing golf together the next time both were in town at the same time, and a friendship was born. “And now, three and a half years later, or whatever it is, he’s one of my closest friends,â€� Steele says. Farrell was a soccer player as a kid but came to like golf as he got older, his dad and his father-in-law leading him to the sport. And it was a perfect fit. Since his job is playing concerts at night, Farrell has lots of time during the day for a quick 18. Farrell also has broadened Steele’s horizons. He had his buddy doing hot yoga the last time Steele was home as well as “some sort of weird swimming stuff. “He’s taken me surfing a couple of times and I don’t surf at all,â€� Steele says. “He’s a really active guy. He likes being outside a lot. “So, I think golf is just an extension of that. It’s one of those things where you’re always trying to get better and you’re never happy with it. …  So it’s that unattainable life-long challenge that I think he enjoys about it.â€� Farrell is a good golfer, too. Steele estimates that Farrell plays to a 4 handicap, and he gives him six strokes a side. Two other buddies frequently round out the foursome. “If he plays good he’ll shoot 73, 74, something like that, and then he’s going to beat me,â€� Steele says. “And if he plays bad, and he shoots 82 or 83, I can beat him.â€� Farrell sees things a little differently. His respect for Steele – who successfully defended his title at the Safeway Open last week — is immense. “I think it’s really common for people, even people who play a significant amount of golf, I think it’s pretty common for them to not realize the degree of excellence that the PGA (TOUR) guys are at,â€� Farrell says. “And not just the guys who are top-10 in the world, but the guys who are 150th in the world rankings, 200th in the world rankings. “The level of golf that they play is so different than like your average club champion at a nice country club or the best guy in your group, the scratch or the plus one who’s a great golfer. We play Brendan, in just fun games around here and stuff like that, we’ve make him play to a plus six, and he still mostly annihilates me. “So there is a different level, a different gear that those guys have for sure.â€� Steele says Farrell has had a significant impact on his game — and nowhere was that more evident than the statistical research he did on the pro’s putting last year. Ferrell, who went to UCLA and is something of a math geek, discovered his friend needed to improve in the 8- to 16-foot range. “I thought he was a little crazy when he brought out this book and said, I’ve got something to show you but it’s going to be a little weird,â€� Steele recalls. Farrell wasn’t talking technique or fundamentals, though. His friend was intrigued – even though Steele admits it was “pretty funny that you have a rock star that’s taking the time to chart all your puttsâ€� —  and he took Farrell’s numbers to his coach, Chris Mason, who designed some putting drills. “The numbers all made sense,â€� Steele said. “He had data from like, OK, when you finish top 10, here’s what your numbers are. When you finish top 5, here’s what your numbers are, when you miss the cut, here’s where your numbers are. Here’s where the numbers are of the guys on TOUR who are winning tournaments. “He said, when you finish top 10, you’re at 30 percent or a little above 30 percent. When you’re missing the cut, you’re at, like, 15-20 percent from that one range. So, he’s like, if everything else is equal then this is the only thing that’s determining where you’re finishing.â€� The hard work paid off at the 2016 Safeway Open when Steele ranked first in putting from 10-15 feet and won his second PGA TOUR event, his first title since 2011. And Steele again ranked first in that category last week in Napa when he won for the second straight time at Silverado. Farrell says some of his friends started needling him once they realized what he was doing. Help me with my putting, they pleaded. But Farrell knew better than to talk technique. “I’m not a guru or anything in golf and I’d never want to present myself as anything like that,â€� Farrell says. “I think he’s an awesome dude and a great friend of mine. I want to see him do well. “And I love talking about it with him and as ridiculous as some of this might be, we have a good time just crunching through some of the stuff and and dialoguing about it.â€� Although Farrell is a numbers guy, Steele will be the first to tell you the bassist has also made an impact on his game in a less measurable ways. “He’s a great guy. He’s really smart. He’s really kind,â€� Steele says. “He’s helped me a ton with not only with kind of the stat side of my golf game and stuff but just like the mental side of it and dealing with failure, which we get a lot out here. “So it’s really nice to have somebody to lean on like that who understands what you’re going through. It’s a totally different job but there are a lot of similarities so we’ve been able to bond over it.â€� Just don’t expect Steele to pick up that guitar any time soon.

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How the field qualified for the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club as of 6/25/2021. Check here for updates. Winner – PGA/U.S. Open Championship Jason Day Bryson DeChambeau Phil Mickelson Jimmy Walker Gary Woodland Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship Rickie Fowler Si Woo Kim Webb Simpson Winner – The Masters Hideki Matsuyama Patrick Reed Danny Willett Winner – World Golf Championship Event Kevin Kisner Bubba Watson Winners of the Arnold Palmer, Memorial, Genesis (Last 3 Years) Jason Dufner Max Homa Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Ryan Armour Keegan Bradley Cameron Champ Austin Cook Joel Dahmen Tyler Duncan Dylan Frittelli Brice Garnett Brian Gay Lanto Griffin Garrick Higgo J.B. Holmes Charles Howell III Sungjae Im Matt Jones Sung Kang Michael Kim Patton Kizzire Russell Knox Satoshi Kodaira Jason Kokrak Martin Laird Andrew Landry Nate Lashley K.H. Lee Adam Long Troy Merritt Sebastián Muñoz Joaquin Niemann Pat Perez Scott Piercy Ted Potter, Jr. Andrew Putnam Chez Reavie Brandt Snedeker Robert Streb Nick Taylor Michael Thompson Brendon Todd Martin Trainer Kevin Tway Richy Werenski Matthew Wolff Career Money Exemption K.J. Choi Luke Donald Hunter Mahan Bo Van Pelt Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Camilo Villegas Will Zalatoris Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Austin Eckroat Willie Mack III Davis Thompson PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Jeff Roth Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Mackenzie Hughes Byeong Hun An Mark Hubbard Danny Lee Tom Hoge Alex Noren Adam Hadwin Harry Higgs Robby Shelton Maverick McNealy Doc Redman Denny McCarthy Henrik Norlander Charley Hoffman Sepp Straka Harold Varner III Cameron Tringale Cam Davis Vaughn Taylor Patrick Rodgers Brian Stuard Emiliano Grillo Scott Harrington Matthew NeSmith Sam Ryder Adam Schenk Scott Brown Beau Hossler Lucas Glover Luke List Scott Stallings Rory Sabbatini Tom Lewis Bo Hoag Top 125 (Prior Season Nonmember) Will Gordon Erik van Rooyen Major Medical Extension Chris Kirk James Hahn Kevin Chappell Kevin Stadler William McGirt Sean O’Hair Jonas Blixt Harrison Frazar 2018-19 Top 125 FEC/2019 Top Finishers Korn Ferry Tour (reordered) Peter Malnati Doug Ghim Tyler McCumber Brandon Hagy Kyle Stanley Chase Seiffert Anirban Lahiri Vincent Whaley Cameron Percy Michael Gligic Kramer Hickok Rafael Campos Hank Lebioda Bronson Burgoon Joseph Bramlett Roger Sloan Kris Ventura Chesson Hadley David Hearn Rob Oppenheim J.J. Spaun Rafa Cabrera Bello Grayson Murray D.J. Trahan Ryan Brehm Sebastian Cappelen Nelson Ledesma Fabián Gómez Mark Anderson Rhein Gibson Nick Watney Ben Taylor Aaron Baddeley Chris Baker Michael Gellerman Matt Every Jim Knous

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Steven Bowditch has never liked making excuses. And to be fair, the scans and tests he’d had weren’t providing any. And so even when deep down he knew something was wrong with his body as his game was deserting him the former Valero Texas Open and AT&T Byron Nelson champion just figured he could work his way out of it. As an old school Australian he’d half scold himself … toughen up princess. Work harder. Find it in the dirt. Play through it. He did keep playing and the result was missing 25 of 27 cuts in 2016-17 and then missing the weekend in all eight tournaments he played in 2017-18. But the lower back pain, sciatic pain, numbness in the legs, tingling in his toes and then a loss of control in his right side just couldn’t be in his head. Finally, after two years of the battle with his body, Bowditch took a new test. A moving x-ray. Hallelujah. Well in a way. You see the good news was there finally was a result that made sense. Pars Defect and Spondylolysis. The bad news … time for spinal fusion of the L5 and S1. Just like Tiger Woods. “There was a sigh of relief, I guess. To know what was going on with my body and to know there was a reason my game left me … it wasn’t just a complete mental breakdown,â€� Bowditch says from his Dallas home. The 35-year-old underwent the surgery late last year and is now in the midst of recovery. After near two months laying predominantly in bed, he’s now hitting maybe 20-30 balls every few days at about 60 or 70 percent. Just a few 9-irons or wedges and the occasional putt. Related: Power Rankings | Monday Qualifiers | Diaz: ‘Just a normal problem’ | Expert Picks The former International Presidents Cup team member says the toughest part is actually having to have the limits. “I miss the grind to be honest. I miss the practice and the grind to get better,â€� he says. But he knows not to push things too hard. He continues rehab four times a week and at this stage he hopes to be making a comeback in his home country late in the year. He will attempt to procure some sponsors invites and play in late November and through December. Bowditch lost his PGA TOUR card before the injury revelation and as such doesn’t fit under a medical exemption. As a result he will hit the 2020 Web.com Tour season from where he is hoping to find his way back to the TOUR. “It might sound silly but coming back via the Web is even better in my eyes,â€� Bowditch – who also boast two Web.com Tour title – says. “It’s where my PGA TOUR career began and the best avenue to climbing my way back.â€� “It really is going back to the start with my golf. As much as I want to be on TOUR the Web should be a great spot to recalibrate my game and get my swing in order. There are also so many mental barriers that I’ll need to pass coming back off an injury.â€� Seeing 80-time PGA TOUR winner Woods make a successful return from the surgery is also a bonus for Bowditch. “His swing has changed a fair bit post-surgery so seeing that is a good thing in my eyes – knowing that it won’t be the same, but that it can be done,â€� he says “I guess for all athletes in any sport coming off an injury … whether it’s an ankle, a knee or whatever it is … you might be having doubts your speed and power is still going to be there under the gun … It is all part of the process I am going through now.â€� While recovery is never easy Bowditch has found a serious silver lining in his time out of the game … the ability to be at the coalface of fatherhood. Bowditch and his wife Amanda have a young daughter Kelly Anne and the now two-year-old has given him plenty of happiness amongst the recuperation process. “Even when I was stuck in bed for six to eight weeks and only up and about for an hour or so each day … just to see her daily growth, her mannerisms change … it was a neat experience,â€� Bowditch beams. “Most people with families know how tough it can be when you’re working nine to five, particularly if you have travel. It always takes a team effort, and I’m lucky to have a great team around me, but you want to be around for the little things. The talking and the first walking and that kind of stuff. It has definitely worked out great to be around to watch her grow.   “If this was ever going to happen, I’m lucky that it happened at this time, in this way, so I can be part of these years.â€�

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