Steele extends lead at Texas Open

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April 23, 2016

Brendan Steele carded a two-under-par 70 to take a three-shot lead before the Valero Texas Open was suspended due to darkness.

Steele, who is on 10-under, is followed by the trio of Stuart Appleby, Scott Langley and Charley Hoffman as they are on seven-under.

A plethora of golfers are in a tie for fifth on six-under, including Patrick Reed and South Korea’s Sung Kang, who surged up 32 spots on the leaderboard after firing a five-under-par 67.

Meanwhile, defending champion Jimmy Walker missed the cut after recording a disappointing five-over-par 77.

Steele only got through 13 holes on Thursday and went on to register an eight-under-par 64. He then began his second round with a hat-trick of birdies from the second to fourth before faltering with a bogey at the fifth. He atoned for his mistake with a 29-foot birdie putt at the eighth, but stumbled once again with his second bogey of the round at the ninth.

The 33-year-old had a much more turbulent back nine as he made two birdies and a double bogey at the par-four 15th.

Appleby also carded a 70, but his round started in disastrous circumstances as he missed a number of simple putts to register a triple bogey at the par-four 10th. He continued to struggle for consistency on the front nine as he went on to make three birdies and two bogeys.

The Australian shifted his game to a whole new level on the back nine though, as he made four birdies to keep himself three strokes behind Steele.

Langley, who fired a four-under-par 68, was in brilliant form with the putter on the front nine as he made a 16-foot birdie putt at the third, which was followed up with an 18-foot birdie putt at the fourth.

Langley continued his good run of form with a 32-foot chip-in eagle at the par-five 14th before recording a bogey at the next hole. He did manage to finish on a bright note though, as he made his third birdie of the round at the 17th.

Hoffman began his round of 71 with a bogey at the first, but he found his groove after and proceeded to make a trio of birdies, which included a 30-foot putt at the 13th. The 39-year-old had a much tougher time on his back nine as he made three bogeys, but he did manage to make an eagle at the par-five second.

Meanwhile, Walker failed in his bid to retain his title as he made two birdies, three bogeys and two double bogeys during his round of 77.