WEBVTT - Predicting Breakout Players for 2025 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.480 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:04.920 When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:05.880 And when I find my. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:08.720 Ball in a brid egg Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:12.040 Egg Friday, fridagg Frida Egg Bride egg Lie. 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:14.080 I'm about ready to run off of the up course. 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:41.240 Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Golf Podcast. 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:44.320 I am your host, Andy Johnson, and today I am 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.239 joined by Joseph Lavanya. We are going to be diving in. 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:50.720 This is an annual tradition on this pod. I think 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:52.479 I think we did it last year. I know we 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:54.840 did it at least two years ago, but I try 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.400 and do this every year. We are going to dive 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:00.400 in and uh and come up with a couple players 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:04.200 we think might break out in twenty twenty five. So 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:07.080 we've gotten to the end of this year, all all 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:10.319 the results are in, all the statistics are in, and 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:13.360 we're gearing up for twenty twenty five on the PGA Tour, 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:16.800 and I guess we could do all tours. I don't 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:20.600 know if you have any, Joseph, that any live breakout candidates. 0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:22.920 I think maybe the Thomas Peters moved to the four 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:26.720 races might finally unlock that potential we've been we've been 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:29.679 dying to see since since the Ryder Cup years. But 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:35.400 we came each came up with five breakout players and 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:37.800 we will kind of run through them. There are varying 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:41.360 degrees of players. Joseph, how are you. 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:44.360 I'm doing great. I'm looking forward to this. I don't 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:46.399 remember for sure if we did this last year, but 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:49.080 I have a feeling that might not have aged as 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:50.920 well as probably would have liked to based on the 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.360 performance of the camerons this year. So I'm hoping we 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:54.600 do better in twenty twenty five. 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:57.840 Listen, we don't go We don't look back in anger, 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:01.240 as the Great Oasis Wants once said, we do not 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:06.560 look back and think about all of our past transgressions. 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.200 This is strictly an outward approach. You know, you can't 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:14.919 allow the past to, you know, influence what you're how 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:18.760 you're predicting the future. And I've I've got my a 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:22.760 couple of things that I always monitor. I always monitor birdies. 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:26.919 I'm a huge believer in birdies. I believe you can 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:29.440 coach away bogies. You can't teach birdies. 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:31.399 So and there's something to do that by the way 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:34.200 you're smiling, But I think that's legit, not just. 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:35.720 I'm dead serious. 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:39.440 This is like I, you know, you always watched I 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:43.320 as a as a as a career Midham as a 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:48.480 I always joke with my Midiam buddies we are great 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:52.960 at making like fifteen pars and how the other four 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:54.799 holes shake out really determined. 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:56.799 If there's a good day or a bad day. Why 0:02:56.800 --> 0:03:01.200 do you play nineteen holes or three or fourteen fourteen parts? 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:03.120 You know? 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:07.160 The keg is safe pars, you know, and uh, and 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:11.560 when you play with the very talented college kids, you 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.639 you see a different gear sometimes where you're like, well, 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:19.280 I can't make eight birdies pretty on a pretty fairly 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:22.040 consistent basis. I can't come out and make eight birdies 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:24.120 a lot. And it's like, well, if you could just 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.480 figure out how to coach away those bogies that you 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.720 know that that's that's the easy stuff. It's hard to 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:35.080 make make the birdies though, as you know. Anyways, let's 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:38.720 get into it, Joseph, who's first on your list? 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:41.400 I went with five different golfers from kind of five 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.000 different levels in stages of their careers. So I don't 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:46.600 know I have one that I can start with. I 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.480 think the only opening comments I had Andy is when 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:51.160 I was putting this together, a couple of things that 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:53.040 I think you have to keep in mind. And I'm 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:57.640 curious if your philosophy with this is the same. Age 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.120 is massive, right, if you're giving me a thirty year 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:03.360 old golfer that you think is gonna break out, like, 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:06.520 I need to understand what you think is going to change. 0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:10.080 Like not to say that you can't get better at 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:13.360 that age, but generally there's a natural progression when you're younger. 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:16.679 So could I could I say thirty year old, thirty 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:21.200 year old Justin Thomas switches to broom putter, breaks out, 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:25.160 becomes an average putter, and that could be how they break. 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.320 Out if there's a catalyst, Yeah, right, I mean Victor 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:30.560 Hovelin's kind of an example where he was still young, 0:04:30.640 --> 0:04:33.560 but in twenty twenty three he fixed the chipping a 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:35.240 little bit, but really what he credits with a lot 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:38.880 of his improved performance was the course management, and that 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.880 had a significant impact on his en course performance. So 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:44.279 if there's some kind of catalyst like that, I'm here 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:47.839 for it. But generally, I think players if we're talking 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.039 about breakout candidate, it's got to be somebody who's in 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:52.560 a little bit more of a ripe age breakout. 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:54.000 Let's just quick. 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:56.839 I think like if we were going to break deem 0:04:56.960 --> 0:05:01.320 some breakout candidates from last year and a couple buckets, 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:04.760 I think like the clear top of the top of 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:06.720 the game breakout was Xanderschoffle. 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:07.799 Yeah, no doubt. 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:14.839 Who would you throw into the kind of next bucket. 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:15.880 You're putting me on the spot? I would I'd probably need. 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:20.040 To Sahe Thigala would be a great example of going 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:23.320 from kind of a top forty player to a top 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:24.120 twenty player. 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:29.640 You could almost put Tyrol Tirol's been a really good player. 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:31.560 He kind of took things to a little bit of 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:32.720 a different level this year. 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:34.560 I completely agree. 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:37.760 Aaron Raye would be a great example, great a breakout 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:42.080 player where went from you know, probably like a top 0:05:42.600 --> 0:05:45.279 one hundred ish player to top thirty player. 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:47.880 I would also say I would say Davis Thompson is 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:48.640 a good example. 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.560 Davis Thompson took a pretty. 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.080 Big jump and one on the PJA Tour. I would 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:56.080 I would describe him as an example. Yeah, those would 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:57.320 be a couple of them that come to mind off 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:57.920 the top of my head. 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:01.479 Steven Jaeger would be another one. And yeah, I think 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:04.960 that essentially, And that was kind of like it was 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:07.960 more of like an eighteen months ascension. I think like 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:10.560 there are always tea leaves that you can start to 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:14.640 like pick out on how how players and like someone 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:18.640 like Nick Dunlap, I don't think that really counts as 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:22.640 a breakout. He's just really freaking good and started playing 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:27.600 professional golf, right, I have him on my breakout list, 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:30.520 But well, I think he could break out from last year. 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:31.960 Yeah, okay, okay. 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.120 But like you can't count him last year as a 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:40.560 breakout player because he he just is really good and 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:43.920 played professional golf, right, Does that make sense? 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:46.360 I kind of get what you're going for. But I 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:50.279 think he took his profile to another level. I understand 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.080 he had maybe it didn't have the opportunity to do 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:54.360 that before. I still think he had a mini breakout 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:56.280 last year. But if we want to talk about him 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:58.120 for a second, age was a. 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:01.360 Huge part of let's start the start, we're starting with 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:06.440 Nick Dunlap. I completely agree with where you're going with this. 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:08.040 Where I think you're going with this. 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:11.760 Yeah, I wasn't planning to start with him, but age 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:13.640 is a huge part of this We're here, and the 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.080 other part I think that will be a through line 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:19.200 is speed, and I just am not as likely to 0:07:19.240 --> 0:07:22.240 deem somebody a breakout candidate if they're consistently giving up 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:26.720 distance to the field. Nick Dunlap is a He has 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.840 plenty of speed, and he is an elite iron player, 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:32.120 which are some of the things that translate at the 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.360 highest level. Like a couple of the notes I had 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:37.040 on Dunlap. First off, he hasn't even turned twenty one yet, 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:40.080 so in terms of the development he could go through 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.000 over the next couple of years, and he could develop 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.320 for three years and he'll still be on the young 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.560 end of the spectrum. He gained strokes in a lot 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:50.320 of big events, and that's something that I think is 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:53.400 a pretty strong signal. I have noted that he was 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:56.320 ninth in the field with his approach play at Memorial, 0:07:56.720 --> 0:08:00.640 which is about as strong as fields get. If in 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.679 the field on his approach at the Saint Jude again 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:06.600 top fifty players on the PGA Tour, most of the 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:09.600 best players in the world. When a golfer is that young, 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.840 has that kind of speed and is gaining strokes on 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.520 approach against the best players in the world. There's a 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:17.640 pretty strong signal in there that he's a real talent. 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:20.920 I think the other thing when you highlight those two 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:25.480 courses and how they might differ from your run in 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:29.720 the mill PGA Tour course, he's doing that on courses 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:33.720 like Saint Jude is notorious for mid irons. It is 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:37.800 a mid iron golf course. Memorial is one of the 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.720 toughest tee to green tests and there are a lot 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:43.800 of mid irons in that test. So when you think 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:46.480 about like a Nick Dunlap, to me, like a Nick 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:52.559 Dunlap breakout, is he's going ascending into the top twenty 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:57.720 maybe in the world. And also with that is major 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:01.480 championship golf, and I think those two golf courses that 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:05.360 that mid iron test is a big part of major 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:09.200 championship golf where you are going to have longer approaches, 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.240 and the difference between leading the field and strokes gained 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:17.800 approach on a driver wedge course is way different than 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:21.280 leading the field or being at the top and being 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.520 in the top tier of an elite field at a 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:28.280 golf course that demands mid and long irons like that 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:30.960 is that is a whole different skill and that's where 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:34.720 real great iron players. And this is where like I 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:38.880 struggle a lot with like the strokes gained metric in 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:43.400 just an aggregate, is that there are so few golf 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:46.880 courses that are very demanding still because of how far 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:48.160 the t shot goes. 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:52.400 And and how different strengths of fields are. You can't 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:55.040 just lump the multi. Gaining strokes at the Rocket Mortgage 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:58.960 now is completely different from gaining strokes at Memorial Andy 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:01.600 time to So, yeah, there's something that we talked about 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.040 at the outset of this. Nick done that missed the 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.440 cut by one, I believe at the Masters this year 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:12.120 gained significant strokes with his approach play right one of 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:14.480 the most demanding long iron tests. He also had three 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:18.400 double bogies that week over two days and missed the 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:20.400 cut on the number by I think it was by one. 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:23.800 That's the kind of thing, as you're saying, you can 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.559 coach away like he's gonna get more familiar with places 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:28.600 and learn how to get some of those double bogies 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:32.160 out of his range. He's showing that he's making a 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:35.000 bunch of birdies at Augusta. His first time out there, 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:39.080 like and he's twenty, I have very high expectations for 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:40.880 what nick down Map can do over the next twelve 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:42.000 to twenty four months. 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:44.920 I think this gets talked about a little bit, but 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:47.720 I and I'd love to see like a statistical breakdown 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:52.360 at some point. But what is the advantage you gain 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:56.960 as in a second year as a tour professional for 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:02.120 not going through like going through these golf courses for 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.360 a second time seeing a golf course, not being the 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:07.920 first time you play at Memorial, not being the first 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:11.360 time you play at Riviera, which, like we now look 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:14.680 at the last really like twenty years of Riviera. It's 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:18.160 got a skew to be one of the oldest average 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.760 age winner stops on tour, right, So like what are. 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:22.760 You gaining every year? 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:26.840 Like to me, the things that you would like think 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:32.840 statistically you would improve at is on the greens, putting, 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:37.760 like understanding where putts break, Understanding the nuances of whole 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:40.600 locations because a lot of times whole locations are the same. 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:46.920 I think like double bogie avoidance probably goes up because 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.800 you understand places that you can't miss more, or bogie 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:56.160 avoidance maybe would go up. I think like also probably 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:58.840 and I don't know, like you would know this more 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:04.160 strokes gamed around the green and strokes gained. Approach would 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:10.240 missing understanding where to miss around greens impact your up 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:13.400 It would actually impact your around the green play, right. 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:17.760 Yeah, more than the approach play. I mean, because it 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:20.120 treats all twenty yard chips the same, so if you're 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:22.240 short sighted, it gives it the same expected value to 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:26.120 your question there that that could be a good analysis 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:27.480 to look at over the next couple of weeks. I 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:30.080 think the putting you wouldn't see as much as you 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:34.160 might into it because putting tends to be very noisy, 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:36.160 and even if you know where an eight and a 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:40.120 half footer is breaking versus the year before, actually realizing 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:43.920 that gain isn't going to be that reliable. I could 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:46.400 be wrong, but that's my intuition. I think you'd see 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:50.839 it a lot in both approach and around the green, 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:54.000 especially with grass type. I think that's the biggest thing 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:56.760 that I hear from a lot of young golfers is understanding, 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.200 like what kind of chip shots should I be playing 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:02.400 around the greens dependent on the grass type, and understanding 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.680 the settings of their wedges. I remember talking to the 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:07.280 guy who had just gotten on to tour a couple 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:09.160 of years ago, and I was asking him about grass 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:12.199 types and he was like, it's all chipping for him. 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:17.000 Yeah, absolutely, so techniques technique, Yeah, you have to you 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:20.079 have to approach bermuda. I mean, if you have a 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.720 really good chipping kit technique, it works on all grasses. 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:27.960 But understand developing that technique, understanding how balls are going 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:31.520 to react. It's first bounces, Like it's even like if 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:34.640 you're someone who grew up playing golf in California or 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:41.000 the Northern Hemisphere, when you play on bermuda, you know, 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:44.520 like when you're chipping, you don't realize that you need 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:47.080 to look at like the grain of where you're going 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:50.839 to land the ball, because if you're landing it into 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:53.080 the grain, it might check up a little bit more. 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:55.360 If you're landing a down grain, you might not get 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:58.520 that check that you're expecting. And these are the differences 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:01.320 between hitting it to three feet and hitting it to six, 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.520 which makes a huge difference on your your up and 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:08.040 down percentage. So I completely agree with with the chipping 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:12.760 familiariz familiarizing yourself to grass types like we we see 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:15.720 it every year, like there are there are special West 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:18.960 Coast putting specialists. When you know you go through the 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:21.560 West Coast and you put on the POA, like there 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:25.320 are absolutely players that put better on that. I remember 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.880 for years brand Seneteker, who was a great putter, but 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:32.120 like his West Coast putting stats were incredible, and a 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.960 lot of it was that the ways stroked and hit putts. 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:37.520 He hit him with a little bit more authority. And 0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:40.160 when you get in the afternoons on some POA that 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:43.280 can get ropie. Sometimes Poe's as good as it gets. 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:45.200 I want to be clear, Like some of the best 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:49.360 putting surfaces in the world are poeana. But you know, 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:52.280 like DJ always putted really well on the West Coast, 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.720 which is like surprising given he's from South Carolina. But 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:58.600 then you've got guys like Sam Burns who have won 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:00.800 almost all of his events. 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:01.120 That he's won. 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:04.560 I've been on Bermuda right, I was looking a player 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.920 on my list, and I doubt he'll be on your list. 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:11.840 Is Joe high Smith not on my list? Uh so 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:14.320 he's a young player. Last year he was a rookie, 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:20.800 and I think last year being a rookie was extraordinarily hard. 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:27.640 You did not know when you were playing. You with 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:31.600 the with the reef jiggering of the tour, you had 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:36.960 more veterans and high priority players playing more regular events 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:39.960 than ever, you know, like they were almost mandatory. So 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:42.680 what we saw was less and less player less and 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:43.960 less starts for rookies. 0:15:44.320 --> 0:15:44.720 It was an. 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:49.800 Extremely difficult year and I think like he had he 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:52.320 had some good moments. He had he was in contention, 0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.680 had some bad Sundays, but then he came into the fall. 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:57.920 He was well outside the one twenty five. I think 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:01.040 it was around one sixty four, and he worked his 0:16:01.120 --> 0:16:03.840 way up into one ten and in the fall he finished. 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:08.360 It's a diverse set of golf courses. He played six events, 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:10.840 five of them he finished in the top sixteen. He 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:13.000 was a factor on Sunday at a lot of them. 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.240 Huge college player at Pepperdine, one of the best in 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:20.560 college golf just a couple of years ago, and he 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:24.160 was six in birdie average as a rookie. So again 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:27.880 looking at that birdie average, gets to go around these 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:31.680 golf courses for a second time, guaranteed starts, he knows 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:34.760 where he's playing. I think this is a huge It 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.080 could be a year where he goes from. I think 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:39.120 he's like around one to ten in the FedEx Cup 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:41.800 this year. He could be a top seventy player next year. 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:44.600 I like this call. Mean he played way better in 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:47.760 the fall than he did, way better towards the beginning 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:50.640 of the year. It'd be interesting to hear what his 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.520 perspective is on that his putting was pretty bad all year, 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:56.240 which is kind of a positive sign. And if the 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:59.360 ball striking is good right Like the ball striking he 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:02.040 gained on his approach a lot of weeks, so he's 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:03.400 an interesting name to keep an eye on. Has a 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:05.919 little bit of distance off the ted, decent ball speed, 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.000 so we'll see. I don't I don't mind that call 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:13.320 at all. Young twenty four, Yeah, twenty four? Yeah, can 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:14.200 I give you a young name. 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:15.879 Yeah. 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:19.040 I'm pretty excited to see what Tom mckibbon's got. Tom 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:22.200 McKibben is twenty one, he's about to turn twenty two. 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:25.760 Northern Ireland, Hollywood. I don't know if he'll be the 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:28.000 best player to ever come out of Hollywood, but we'll see. 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:31.920 He think he's the Pavon of this year. I would 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:33.880 have been a breakout player last year. 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.160 Matthew Pavaughan is what thirty one like, that's I think 0:17:37.200 --> 0:17:39.280 we got to keep that in mind. Like Tom McKibben 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:43.080 hasn't turned twenty two yet. He was a very steady 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:46.320 performer on the DP World Tour this year. He played 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:48.480 in twenty five events on the DP World Tour, not 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:53.400 counting majors, had nine top tens, missed just four cuts. 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:57.119 He gained Sorry, he made cuts in both majors that 0:17:57.160 --> 0:17:59.800 he played this year, the US Open and the Open Championship. 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.000 He was on the wrong side of the split at Troon, 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:06.000 which was a huge waves split and he still made 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:08.680 the cut. Not even twenty two yet, has a lot 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:13.159 of speed, really good iron player. The iron play kind 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:14.760 of dropped off towards the end of the year, but 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:19.800 I think there's some flashes in here. He shows some 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.200 signs of being somebody that could develop for the next 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:24.600 two years and we'll see how his game translates at 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:29.000 strong fields. I mean again, the two made cuts and majors, 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:31.600 like even at Pinehurst game strokes both off the tee 0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:35.720 and approach that was his major championship debut. I think 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.360 there's something to keep an eye on here, just. 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:45.040 From insiders I've spoken to game might be better suited 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:51.040 for America. Hits it high, might not have that much 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:52.320 trajectory control. 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:54.600 And when you know. 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:57.720 PGA Tour golf courses are kind of about hitting it 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:00.960 far and high. You know that is that is a 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:06.840 general uh uh strategy type of golf that that lends 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:11.840 itself well in America. So yeah, I think, like I 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:15.439 think my hesitation always with young Europeans is going to 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:19.480 be the I mean, this is a big change, So 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:21.040 it's a hard thing. 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:23.640 You're you're moving away, You're. 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:29.080 You're far away, and you're like the outsider on a 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:32.399 tour that's predominantly full of Americans who have played golf 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:35.800 together for a very long time and have known each 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:37.959 other for a really long time. So I think that 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:41.160 is one of the underlying And like, let's be clear, 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:44.679 he probably knows Rory McElroy the best of anybody, of 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:48.359 anyone being from Hollywood. I don't know if that's actually true, 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:52.480 but probably some reasonable they aren't ever going to be 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:56.160 playing the same tournaments, like they're going to play maybe 0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:59.480 four or five of the same tournaments, like they'll play 0:19:59.480 --> 0:20:03.280 in Palm Beach together. But like he is not going 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:05.920 to be you know, teeing it up at at the 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:09.439 you know, at this on the same schedule. So I 0:20:09.480 --> 0:20:13.159 think that that is that is always my concern with 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:17.359 young Europeans, is just assimilating to the American game. 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:20.320 Yeah, that's a concern. And then I'd say some some 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:22.080 of the weaknesses in the iron play. I mean, the 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:23.760 beginning of the year was really good and then it 0:20:23.840 --> 0:20:25.880 dropped off, and in previous years it hasn't been great. 0:20:25.880 --> 0:20:27.800 So that's gonna be a huge thing to keep an 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:29.680 eye on. He's going to have the speed, but can 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:32.000 he hit his irons well enough to take it to 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:34.680 the next level. We'll see. Do you have another name? Yeah? 0:20:34.760 --> 0:20:38.119 I got another name here I'm gonna and this was 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:41.359 I think one that you could kind of say broke 0:20:41.400 --> 0:20:44.080 out this year. I think I I expect him to 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:46.760 take another leap here this year and become one of 0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:51.920 the best players in the world. That is Akshay, Batilla, Akshay. 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.199 If you boil down what happened this year, why he 0:20:56.280 --> 0:21:01.879 became all sudden prevalent on basically every leader you know, 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:05.280 like all sorts of leader boards. It was simple. He 0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:08.960 switched to the broom putter, and turned his biggest weakness 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:12.639 into a strength. So he picked up over a or 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:17.320 just about a shot on the greens from last year. 0:21:17.520 --> 0:21:21.960 He went from negative a half shot to plus point 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:26.600 three four five, so zero point eight five gain in 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:30.760 almost a full shot per round better on the greens 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:33.359 than the year before because of the broom. But if 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:37.399 you look at his numbers, he actually he actually regressed 0:21:37.600 --> 0:21:41.840 off the tee, which was surprising, Like you know, when 0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:45.200 you look at it, he regressed basically off the tea 0:21:45.359 --> 0:21:47.880 and approach. And I have a theory that he spent 0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:50.320