Way Off Mark

MAMARONECK, N.Y. — The reigning PGA champion checked in, stored his clubs in the bag room, walked through the clubhouse at Winged Foot and took a deep breath.

“It’s just . . . it’s nice to be back,” Mark Brooks said.

For sure, Brooks has been away for a while. Since his surprising playoff victory over Kenny Perry last year in the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Kentucky, Brooks’ presence on the PGA Tour has been sort of a rumor.

It’s not as though he hasn’t played; it’s that he hasn’t done much. In 23 tournaments, Brooks has missed nine cuts and has one top-10 finish--at the Players Championship in March.

Since May, Brooks has played 10 tournaments and won less than $21,000. Here is how he got ready for defending his PGA title in his last six events: missed cut, missed cut, missed cut, tie for 40th, tie for 55th, missed cut.

Brooks thinks he knows what has happened.

“A little exhaustion,” he said. “I don’t think my expectations really changed that much. But you’d certainly like to play better than I have played. I’ve spent a lot of time the last three or four months really working on it, and sometimes progress comes slow.

“But it’s gotten a lot better. And I think it’s starting to come into perspective. It’s just one of those deals.”

Brooks, 36, from Fort Worth, is a seven-time winner on the tour, and three wins came last year when he won a career-high $1.4 million and finished No. 3 on the money list.

His victory at Valhalla was typical Brooks. He ground it out. Brooks birdied the 72nd hole after Perry had driven into the rough and bogeyed it.

Then in the playoff, Perry drove into the rough again on No. 18 while Brooks drove into the middle of the fairway. Perry struggled to get out of the rough, and Brooks smacked a 229-yard three-wood onto the green and two-putted for a birdie to win it.

His victory was worth a PGA Championship record $430,000. But it also seemed to have cost Brooks something, basically because Valhalla was not considered one of the elite courses on which to hold a major title.

“Honestly, I don’t know how my victory is perceived,” Brooks said. “I think that’s an honest answer. You know, some people maybe criticized Valhalla . . . the players, media. Any time you go someplace new, you know, it’s going to end up with some bit of controversy.

“The tournament has a long history. There’s probably more great players that haven’t won it than have. So that’s basically true with every major.

“I’m not really worried about respect from other people. I mean, I know what I did and I’m proud of it. And you know, winning last year, I’m sure it has had an effect on my play. I don’t think it’s really uncommon, what happens to players the year after they win their first major. I think I probably fit right into that same category.”

There are some examples that Brooks is right. Corey Pavin has not played very well since winning the 1995 US. Open. Steve Elkington won the 1995 PGA at Riviera and went winless in 1996.

But John Daly won the 1991 PGA and won again in 1992. Lee Janzen won the 1993 U.S. Open and won four more times in the next two years. Ernie Els followed up his 1994 U.S. Open victory with at least one victory every year since.

No matter how he has performed on the course, Brooks still has cashed $208,571 in checks this year. In his 14-year pro career, Brooks has almost $5 million in tour earnings. That’s not counting the endorsement money he made when he switched from Hogan to Callaway this year.

When he isn’t playing, Brooks is busy designing golf courses and raising money for his charitable foundation in Fort Worth. What he isn’t doing is altering his somewhat contentious personality.

For instance, when Brooks was asked whether the setup at Winged Foot will eliminate players who don’t drive the ball straight, he answered with his own question.

“So you’re saying there’s a lot of guys that don’t drive the ball good?” Brooks said.

So there. For the next four days, there probably will be a few things to occupy Brooks’ mind besides defending his major title.

Will he get overlooked? Does he care? Is he getting respect? Will he make the Ryder Cup team?

With only the PGA to go in the points race, Brooks is No. 13 on the list; only the top 10 make it automatically. If Brooks doesn’t crack the top 10, it’s doubtful Tom Kite would use a captain’s pick on someone whose play has been as mediocre as Brooks’ this year.

“Well, it’s on my mind,” he said. “But, you know, I just haven’t . . . contended enough. Obviously it would be a great honor to be on the team. And if I don’t make it, then it’s not going to be the end of the world. All I can do is go out there this week and try to hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and see what happens. I’m not obsessed with it.”

For a grinder, that’s probably the only way to look at it. For the reigning PGA champion, it’s probably not the type of situation you would like to be in.