DUBLIN, Ohio — Brendan Steele got a serious butt whoopin’ from good friend Phil Mickelson last week.
Now Steele is stomping the grounds Jack Nicklaus built.
And he isn’t the only one.
Steele shot a 5-under-par 67 Friday to move to 12 under through 36 holes and shares the lead in The Memorial with former champion Matt Kuchar (66). One stroke back was Emiliano Grillo (66) and Gary Woodland (65), as players took advantage of perfect conditions at Muirfield Village — receptive greens a tad on the softer side, mild winds and just enough heat to make the ball fly for miles.
Four players, including first-round leader Dustin Johnson, are three back at 9 under. Three players are at 8 under. Ten players are at 7 under, including Phil Mickelson (69), world No. 1 Jason Day (71) and world No. 3 Rory McIlroy (66). World No. 2 Jordan Spieth shot 68 to get to 6 under.
The cut was a tournament record-low 2 under.
"The conditions are still there for the taking," said Kuchar, the 2011 champ who has signed for scores in the 60s in 10 of his last 11 rounds. "Again, very benign conditions. It's as easy as this place I remember ever seeing it, even though the greens are still fast. You can get in the wrong spot, but you don't have to worry too much about the wind. The ball's going, great temperatures. It's fun to be out there playing and making some birdies around this place."
Steele wasn’t having any fun last week when he said Mickelson "just drummed me around for a couple days." In matches in San Diego, Mickelson won 2 and 1 and then 5 and 4.
"The second day, he shot 10 under, and I just felt like my game was very inferior to his," Steele said. "I felt like I needed to work really hard."
He made a call to coach Rick Smith and went to work when he got to Muirfield Village. Steele’s main problem was with his short irons, which he was pulling because he was too steep into the ball.
"And (Smith) fixed me in, like, five seconds,” Steele said. "I mean, he went, 'Oh, yeah, you need a little bit more width on the way back and on the way through.' I said, 'Oh, is that it?' He goes, 'Yeah, that's it.' "
Steele has made 14 birdies and holed out on the 18th using a 7-iron for eagle in the first round. Steele has one win on the PGA Tour — the 2011 Valero Texas Open — but Mickelson said there are more to come.
"The guy is one of the longest, straightest drivers out here on tour, and he's really become a solid putter," said Mickelson, who agreed that the proper term for his beat-down of Steele was drummed. "So when his iron play is on — and oftentimes it is — he will score like he's scoring this week.
"... And now it looks like he's firing on all cylinders."
Day, the only player this season with three Tour titles, said he had just one of those days but was happy to salvage a 71.
"If I didn't have my short game, it would have been close to 80. It was bad," Day said. "It is what it is. ... I'm actually quite pleased with it because, even though I'm sitting five back right now, then I can just hopefully slowly build on that over the weekend because there's a lot of golf to be played."
McIlroy, who won his first tournament of the year in the Irish Open two weeks ago, said his 66 could have been a lot lower.
"It sort of fizzled out at the end. I thought it had the potential to be something quite special after 11 holes, and then I missed something where you just can't miss it on 12," McIlroy said. "Then I made one birdie on the way in. But I felt like after 11 that it could have been at least a 64 or 63.
"I don't think you can ever be too disappointed with a 66, but at the same time, it had the potential to be a little bit better. This is the sort of round I needed going into tomorrow."
Spieth was outside the cut line after six holes into his round but rebounded with six birdies coming in to get back into the tournament. His putter has been his best friend this week, and heading into a weekend forecast that is calling for scattered thunderstorms, he will change his tactics.
"For me, normally I'd play aggressive on the weekend to try to make a move. I think I need to play more conservative," he said. "I hit the ball into some wrong spots early in the round without giving myself any chance at even making a long putt for birdie. So if I pick more conservative targets and really put committed swings like I did the second half of the round, I’ll be fine. Again, my putter, I feel great over the ball with my putter right now. I just need to have more chances."
Follow Steve DiMeglio on Twitter @Steve_DiMeglio.
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