Brendan Steele wasn’t quite as sharp after darkness stopped him in round one, but he was good enough to take a three-stroke lead midway through the Valero Texas Open.
Steele, from Idyllwild in the Southern California mountains and UC Riverside, finished off a bogey-free 8-under-par 63 with five straight birdies early Friday and then shot 70 in the second round on the AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio.
“You always want to keep playing when things are going good,” said Steele, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2011 Texas Open. “It was warm (on Thursday) and the ball was going a long way.
“It was a little colder when we came back this morning and it was a little tougher but I got going a little later. This is a good course for me, even though it’s a little softer, but it plays into my game. I knew I could shoot a good score.”
Charley Hoffman of Poway eagled the second hole with a 71-foot bunker shot but made three bogeys on his back nine in a 71 that left him three shots back in a tie for second with Scott Langley, who pitched in from 32 feet for an eagle at No. 14 while shooting 68, and Stuart Appleby of Australia, who overcame a triple-bogey 7 on his first hole to post a 70.
Ricky Barnes of Stockton, the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion, carded a 70 and was another stroke back in a tie for fifth with Jon Curran (68), Mark Wilson (69), Sung Kang (67) of South Korea, Ryan Palmer (70), Patrick Reed (73) and Peter Malnati (71).
Luke Donald of England recorded a 70 and was five shots behind in a tie for 12th with Brandt Snedeker, who had a 69, and Spencer Levin of Elk Grove, who came in at 70.
Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, who tied for fourth last week in his pro debut in the RBC Heritage, shot 74-73–147 to miss the cut, as did Phil Mickelson at 77-71–148 and defending champion Jimmy Walker at 75-77–152.
