How many records did Brooks set, anyway? I know he set a new 36-hole record (128) and a new record lead for the event (7 strokes, the next closest being 5 strokes back in the Dark Ages).
And what players are seven strokes back? Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott, who have both struggled with their games of late, are the closest big names. Dustin Johnson is eight back and Justin Rose is nine back. It's not until we go ten back (-2) that we find a larger number of "the usual suspects."
I at least understand Tiger missing the cut. I know that, after I've been through a very stressful period, it's when things finally look up and I can relax that I usually get sick. After all the physical problems Tiger has had, capped by the breakthrough at Augusta last month, I'm not surprised that he finally got sick.
As for the rest of the field, I can't help but wonder if this isn't an unexpected side-effect of the new Tour schedule. This is the first year players have had to deal with five majors (and at least as many other big events) in a four-month period. And after that, they'll have the FedExCup to deal with. Players simply haven't figured out how much to play in order to be ready for the Big Five without wearing themselves out.
Reps or rest? It's a puzzle that will probably stump the pros for a while yet. But I think that's the most likely explanation for what we're seeing this week, and I don't know how long it's going to take for them to figure it out. In the meantime, this season might offer some opportunities for those pros who would normally only dream of a major.
Unless Brooks has anything to say about it, that is, He's a greedy fellow!
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