Did #SB2K16 Break Those Guys?

Despite rumors that the USGA continues to watch video of DJ’s balls, the rest of us have moved on from the second major of the season.

The Quicken Loans National takes place this week and it seems the tournament has put the #SB2K16 band back together for the first and second rounds.  Well, at least three of the four members.

https://twitter.com/JustinThomas34/status/745289667134820352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Seeing that hashtag again had me reminiscing back to a better time.  Sure, we were all still reeling a bit from Spieth’s Master collapse, but opening Snapchat on a daily basis and see those twenty-somethings having the time of their lives as twenty-somethings should do provided a welcome distraction.

But then it dawned on me, has this crew been as bad as I think they’ve been ever since their Snapchat adventures in the Bahamas?

To be fair, Spieth did win the Dean and DeLuca Invitational, shooting 17-under for the tournament.  But he also missed the cut at THE PLAYERS Championship, which was the first tournament he played in after spring break (a trend all too familiar with this group).  Jordan also followed up his win at Colonial with a 57th place finish at Memorial and a nine-over par, 37th finish at the U.S. Open.

Compare that to the ten tournaments he played prior to spring break where his worst finish was 21st, had eight top 20 finishes, and missed only one cut.

All that being said, I think his other three party pals would love to have had his level of success post-SB2K16.

The @RickieFowler #SB2K16 Snapchat w/ Spieth, Smylie & Thomas is greatest athlete/social media usage, ever. #OKstate pic.twitter.com/7JW91RgY7L

— Andrew Carter (@LetItFlyAndrew) April 22, 2016

Let’s move on to Justin Thomas.  Since the break he’s missed two cuts out of the four tournaments he’s played in.  The first, Wells Fargo, was his first tourney after the vacation, and the Memorial, where he shot a pair of 77s.   Prior to the Bahamas trip, Justin missed just two cuts in fourteen tournaments, as well as four top twenty finishes.

Hope that our trip to Myrtle is half the fun that Spieth, Rickie, JT, & Smylie having on #SB2K16 @danmalach @jmalach pic.twitter.com/xYuBXuvCZ3

— Brad Malach (@bmalach) April 22, 2016

Next up is our pal, Smylie. Since SB2K16, Smylie has been…how can I put this lightly…a complete disaster.

Four missed cuts in five tournaments.  And while you might be saying to yourself, Kaufman was never going to be anything more than “just another guy” on the PGA TOUR, take a look at his “pre-break” numbers.

He won Shriner’s back in October and had five, top twenty finishes.  And like Justin, he only missed two cuts in fifteen tournaments before the party started.

Not good, Smylie.  Not good.

And then there was one.  It’s time to address the elephant in the room.  Or should I say, the Cowboy in the room.

Rickie Fowler seemed ready to truly breakthrough early this year.  He finished in the top ten in six of the eleven tournaments he played in before the bro-trip to the Caribbean.  He did miss two cuts during that same stretch, but I don’t think anyone saw what was about to come post-vacay.

He’s the only one who didn’t miss the cut at his first tournament back, finishing in twentieth place in New Orleans.  And he also finished tied for fourth at Wells-Fargo the following week.  Since then, the wheels have seemingly fallen off, missing the cut now in three tournaments in a row.

To be fair, for all four of our guys, it’s a small sample size, and hopefully they all right their collective ships as the summer progresses.  And I also didn’t review the on-course performances of a Patrick Reed or Rory McIlroy post-Masters.  But those guys weren’t everywhere on social media shirtless, shoe-less, and drunk for a week.

And before you fire on me for being an old, jealous curmudgeon that just hates kids having fun.  I like these guys.  Hell, a lot of us have likely been these guys (minus all the cash).  It wasn’t long ago that I was teeing off on a Sunday with booze still on my breath.  The difference is I suck at golf whether I’m hungover or stone-cold sober.

It seems these guys may still be suffering from a bit of a hangover themselves.

Cover Photo via Instagram