The day started right when Brian birdied the second and moved into solo 4th place. Then the wheels came off the tracks.
Over the next eight holes, a very uncharacteristic run of three bogies and three double bogies dropped him into a tie for 50th. The PGA TOUR is one tough crowd, and when you fall down, you get trampled. As usual, though, Brian never quit, and he scored two birdies on the closing holes. His final round 77 put him -1 for the tournament and T-41.
We talked last night, but not today -- his cell phone service doesn't work outside the U.S. -- and TourCast didn't operate for this tournament, so I have no way of knowing what happened. I do know that it was a day with conditions such that, if you weren't on your game, things could definitely go south in a hurry. The TV announcers commented on the increased wind, and the cameras zoomed in on the boats rocking amid the rough seas and whitecaps just offshore. Nevertheless, he still lost ground to the field.
Personally, I view the round as "just one of those things," nothing more than a professional athlete's bad day. The round was a statistical outlier, a throwaway. Learn from it, yes. But do not be overly concerned. It happens to the best players in the game from time to time: No one is immune.
Next up: The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida...
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