Steele’s ‘basic 63’ has him in front

Associated Press

NAPA, CALIF.

Brendan Steele had an ideal start to the new PGA Tour season at the Frys.com Open with a round that featured nine birdies, no stress and a simple explanation.

“As weird as it is to say, it was kind of a basic 63,” he said.

It gave him a one-shot lead over Jhonattan Vegas among early starters in ideal scoring conditions at Silverado, which has such subtle movement in the greens that the course doesn’t always yield low scores even when players have a short iron into the putting surface.

Of the early starters, 21 players were at 68 or better.

That included Rory McIlroy, who is between two seasons. The world’s No. 3 player had numerous birdie chances and didn’t convert nearly as many as he would have liked. What pleased McIlroy was the quality of his game from tee-to-green, far crisper than it was at the Tour Championship three weeks ago.

“Definitely a step in the right direction today,” McIlroy said.

Vegas, who won as a rookie in 2011 at the Humana Challenge, lost his card this year and failed to get it back at the Web.com Tour Finals two weeks ago. He is relying on his limited status as a past champion and sponsor exemptions, so it was important to make the most out of his exemption this week.

Harold Varner III, who joins Tiger Woods as the only players of black heritage on the PGA Tour this year, made a strong rookie debut with a 65. The group at 66 included Justin Thomas, with Justin Rose among those at 67.

Steele posted a target early with a 29 on the back nine, including five straight birdies before making the turn. At one point, he rolled in putts of 25 feet, 20 feet and 18. That prompted this observation from Steve Wheatcroft.