PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- With apologies to Jason Day's blistering start or the uncommonly benign course conditions, the story of this week's Players Championship so far just might be the continuation of the joggers and high-tops fad, a trend that's had social media rankled over ankles.
Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler are among those to buck tradition and show a little leg, their inseam numbers even less than the back-nine 29 that McIlroy posted Friday morning.
Well, here's a dirty little secret: The pants aren't so much a fashion statement as a curtain. Their main purpose is for the apparel companies to show off those gleaming new kicks.
Here's another dirty little secret: Not every pro golfer has "the look" needed to pull this off.
In the post-Tiger Woods era, the golf marketing industry would like us to believe that each of the game's elite players is composed solely of chiseled biceps, rippled abs and 2 percent body fat -- unattainable goals in a game in which the greatest appeal for the masses is the ability to compete just like the pros.
Fear not, weekend warriors. A simple check of the leaderboard reveals that not every player is a joggers and high-tops kind of guy.
"I'm out on that," said Colt Knost, who posted a course-record-tying 9-under 63 in the second round. "[Some fellow players] asked me yesterday, 'How much to wear those for four days?' It would have to be a big number."
"No, that's not my cup of tea," agreed Boo Weekley, who opened with scores of 66-69. "Who am I, the fashion police? I don't care. I wear camo half the time. They might not like that. So it don't matter to me."
More paunchy than flat-bellied, the physical appearance of Knost and Weekley might not scare 15-handicappers at the local muni, let alone some of the world's best golfers. And yet, here they are, climbing the leaderboard at the PGA Tour's flagship event.
Neither of their journeys around TPC Sawgrass should be misconstrued as golf's version of a Bartolo Colon home run trot, but their mere presence flies in the face of new theories that believe golfers must look like strongside linebackers in order to hang with their peers.
That's not to say these guys don't care about their bodies, work out in the gym or try to stay in shape.
They just take what we'd call a more conservative approach to fitness.
"I have a little program that I do; I just don't quite go at it as hard as some guys," Knost explained. "I'm just not on commercials like Rory and all those guys."
"I maybe ride a bike for an hour or jog for 40 minutes, then I'll get done and do some stretching or some of that yoga garbage," Weekley said. "These guys, it's like wow. They just got done shooting 74 or 75, and you go by the trailer and they're running on that treadmill. Well, good for you."
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Weekley isn't exactly obsessed over his physical appearance.
Until recently, he fashioned a bushy, gray beard that made him look like Santa Claus' younger brother from down South. He only got rid of it when it became a leisure-time liability.
"I shaved it off right before New Orleans," he recalled. "I was down there at the beach fishing, throwing my catch net. And the first time, it snatched a bunch of my hairs out. And I said, 'Gosh darn, that kind of hurt.' So I said, 'I'll try it again and make sure I don't put my chin down there on it.' And I made it up and threw it again and it snatched a bunch more out. And I said, 'This is done with this.' So I just walked back in from the pier, back in my condo, and I just took the clippers out and just shaved it all off."
That story might not have much to do with his fitness regimen, but it does speak to Weekley's identity as an old-school player, the kind who would have felt more at home in a bygone era.
"I should have played in the era with Lee Trevino and that bunch," he insisted. "When they got done, there ain't no practicing. They just went straight to the bar."
Added Knost: "I'm a guy who enjoys the good life, I guess. I enjoy having a good time; I enjoy partying a little bit. That's just how I am, how I've always been. I don't see that changing anytime soon."
We might be firmly entrenched in the fitness generation, but it's nice to see that there's a place in golf's highest level for these types of guys -- and a place on the leaderboard, too.
Most amateur golfers can't aspire to look like McIlroy or Fowler -- and some wouldn't want to, if that meant going the jogger and high-top route -- but they can see a little of themselves in Knost and Weekley, in physical appearance and in fun-loving attitude.
And hey, the best part? We never had to see their ankles.