There appears to be a growing obsession with weight on the PGA Tour, or at least among the golf scribes who cover it.
It was brought to light a couple of weeks ago when Mark Calcavechia announced his retirement and was given a journalistic good riddance for having perpetuated the stereotype of the overweight golfer.
Numerous fans objected to the characterization of Calc as... um, a schlub... and the protestations were passionate, but there are clearly many who feel that portly golfers are bad for the game's image. Perhaps it's the emergence of ultra-lean, ultra-fit players like Rickie Fowler and Camilo Villegas, but the fact is: excess poundage is no longer going unnoticed on the fairways and greens of championship courses.
Brendon de Jonge is a native of Zimbabwe, with icy blue eyes and an affable manner. He's had two top ten finishes this season, including last month's Quail Hollow Championship when he fired a closing 66, and yesterday he carded a bogey-free 7-under-par 65. Pretty extraordinary stuff ... but in his post round interview he was hit with this:
Q. Most important thing. What time did you get up this morning, and how long have you been here? How many meals have you gotten to eat today? Me and you, we're not scared of food.
I don't know who the interviewer was but I sense he's probably a guy who longs to be able to dress like Rickie Fowler but can find his size on the PUMA racks. Mr. de Jonge answered the question graciously but I can only imagine he was a bit... taken aback. I doubt he expected to have his weight remarked upon in this interview after his career low round.
Then there was the "Quote of the Day" and the questions that provoked it. Vijay Singh, asked if he ate a lot on a day when there were two suspensions of play totalling six hours: "I don't eat that much. I need to keep my figure, you know."
Enough said. I must make a quick stop at McDonalds before the final round starts.
Photo: Doug Benc/Getty Images North America
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