WEBVTT - Why We're (Cautiously) Optimistic About the PGA Tour's Designated Events 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.520 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. 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:06.960 And when I find my ball in a bride egg 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.039 Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida Egg, Frida Egg, frid Egg, 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:12.720 brigg Frida Egg, bride egg Lie, I'm about ready to 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:13.400 run off the the. 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:37.640 Welcome to the Frida Egg Podcast. I'm Garrett Morrison, and 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:42.160 today we are talking about designated events on the PGA Tour, 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:46.520 formerly known as elevated events. Frankly, elevated makes more sense 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:49.239 in terms of nomenclature, but we're talking about the new 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:52.960 series events of events on the PGA Tour that you know, 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:56.920 it's kind of concentrating the schedule around certain big tournaments 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:58.920 that all the top players are going to be at. 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:01.720 It's a major chain on tour that's really going to 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:04.600 come into focus next season, but we're kind of rolling 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:07.679 into it this season. And the occasion for this, of course, 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:11.320 is that the Waste Management Phoenix opened. The first full 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.759 field designated event of twenty twenty three is happening right 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.040 now this week. Here to talk about all of the 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:23.000 interesting issues around this with me is Andy Johnson. Andy, 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:23.440 How's it going. 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:27.720 It's going great, Garrett. I'm super excited about this. You know, 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:30.360 as this came to fruition, I think there are some 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:33.160 qualms about how it was rolled out this year, and 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:36.319 you know, it goes back to kind of the response 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:39.240 to live that the tour had last year, right, But 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:43.039 I think the exciting thing about it is the is 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:45.840 what's happening where we know when the best players are 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:50.280 all going to be together, and then the future of it, 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:54.320 what it looks like next year. Obviously it sounds like 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:57.560 it's a pretty clean slate and next year is going 0:01:57.640 --> 0:02:00.760 to look a lot different than this year's elevated events look. 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:04.360 So this year's elevated events, just to list them off 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:08.320 for you, are the Century Tournament of Champions, which happened 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:13.360 obviously early January at Kapalua. It didn't really feel like 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:15.880 a full elevated event because it was kind of its 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:19.519 normal self, right. It was the winners and some more 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.959 you know, players from the past season. Rory McElroy wasn't there. 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:27.160 The Tournament of Mostly Champions. It's the identity of that 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:29.239 event is a little bit up in the air right now. 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.920 But it wasn't full field, right, It was just Kapalalua. 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.320 The Phoenix Open this year is going to be a 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:37.280 little different. That's the first kind of real designated event. 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:41.160 Then we have another one next week at the Genesis 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:44.960 Invitational Riviera, then another one two weeks after that, the 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:49.880 Arnold Palmer Invitational bay Hill. Players and the Majors are 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.840 of course designated events. But the other ones that are 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:56.359 not the players or the Majors would be the Dell 0:02:56.480 --> 0:03:00.280 Technology's Match Play Rip after this year, by the way way, 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:05.600 the RBC Heritage at Harbortown, the Wells Fargo Championship, the 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:10.560 Memorial Tournament, Jack's Tournament, the Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands. 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:12.960 One of my favorite kind of little PGA Tour events 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:15.520 that the little tournament that could. That's going to be 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:16.959 a designated. 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:18.880 Event this year, just a little tournament that could. Given 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:24.600 Bubba's comments about potential appearance fees, the table appearance fees, 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:27.079 don't I don't know if we can we can label 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.800 the Travelers as that. It seems like the crooked PGA 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:30.720 Tour events. 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:34.600 Is big insurance open. Uh yeah, well, I I like 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:37.760 the Travelers Championship. I lived in Connecticut for a few 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:40.040 years and went to a couple way back in the day. 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:42.760 I think that's an outstanding venue. But yeah, it's no 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:46.560 mystery why it would occasionally just get Roy McElroy, you know, 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:49.640 showing up at the at the Travelers. There was maybe 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:52.520 a little bit of money involved. Then the other designated 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:55.920 events that I haven't mentioned yet are the FedEx Cup 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:59.000 playoff events at the end of the season in August, 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:03.200 so that's the Desert schedule. Majors too, Yeah, I mentioned 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:06.920 that earlier. The Majors and the players those are yeah, 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:10.000 I mean, those are pre designated, like the PGA Tour 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.360 didn't have to give it give it stamp of approval 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.919 to those events in order for them to feel really elevated. 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:18.920 But the rest of these events that I mentioned, these 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.720 kind of normal PGA Tour events, some of which were 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.960 bigger before and some of which didn't have that big 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:30.720 status now have bigger purses, And that's basically what it 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:33.760 is this year. Bigger purses and a guarantee that the 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:36.000 top players are going to show up to them. 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:40.839 Yeah, I mean, I think, as you alluded to, the 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:45.600 Kapalua event was not really like it's not what indicative 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:48.560 of what a designated event is going to be and 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:51.640 I think this week with the Waste Management, we're going 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:55.200 to get our first look. It's it's pretty incredible place 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.520 to have it roll out, obviously with the super Bowl 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:01.039 in town this week, but I think there's a lot 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.159 of questions about about what, you know, the future of 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:05.880 these are going to look like and how different it 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:09.120 will be from this week's elevated event at Waste Management 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:15.080 that had a full field, had Monday qualifiers, had sponsor exemptions, 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:19.040 and had you know, effectively a you know, top one 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:23.039 twenty five plus extras. Feel so like, is that going 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:26.000 to be the criteria going forward? And then you know, 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:28.440 the most important, you know, one of the I don't 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:31.119 think the most important question, but one big, really big 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:36.240 question I have, what is Kapalua next year? Are they 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:40.680 effectively like being held hostage to be a designated event 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:43.479 because and you know, does it. 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:46.040 Because of the concept of the tournament? Right, because because 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:48.719 they have to have the winners there for it to 0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:49.920 be the tournament that it. 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:53.040 Is exactly in the expansion of it's the top thirty 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:55.960 now in the FedEx Cup is a is a going 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:58.520 forward rule, right, So anybody that makes it to East 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:01.880 Lake is there so this If it's not, it's another 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:06.400 event that is kind of required, you know, by by 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:09.560 the PGA Tour, but not maybe not required. If it's 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:12.080 not required, how many guys are showing up if they 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:14.400 have to play all these other events? Like I think, 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:17.239 if it's not required, you run the risk of any 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:22.000 European that it has Ryder Cup fantasies is not going 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:24.600 to show up. You know, they will go to Dubai instead, 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:27.760 you know, So, like do you want to lose John 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.679 Ram who's obviously fallen in love with the event, who's 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.680 shown up played extremely well the last two years at 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:37.240 this event, like you know, and obviously so that that 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:40.960 is a big conversation. Is that event going to expand out? 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:44.120 Is it going to be bigger? Are these elevated events 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.279 going to have different fuel sizes or are they going 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:48.280 to be standardized? 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:52.040 Yeah, I mean those are all really legitimate questions about 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:56.520 the designated events, as you've been indicating. You know, it 0:06:56.560 --> 0:07:00.760 gets so complicated once you start thinking about actually executing 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:04.840 this idea and all that. All the stakeholders who are involved, 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:07.800 the players, the sponsors, you know, they're all going to 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:10.800 have their own opinions about what this should look like, 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:15.120 their own feelings about whether the old way was better 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:17.520 than this new way, and so we'll get into all 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:19.520 of that. But I think that you and I might 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:23.360 agree that the Waste Management Phoenix Open is a really 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:27.120 good event to designate, Like this feels like a one 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:31.640 that should be designated maybe every year. Maybe it doesn't 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.520 even need it every year, but this is a fantastic event. 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:40.880 Has turned into an event that really kind of penetrates 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:44.640 the general public consciousness in a way that most PGA 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:46.920 Tour events don't. And a lot of that has to 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.720 do with the crowds there and all the content that 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.560 you get out of that the sixteenth hole scene. But 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:55.680 also I think that this is a legit PGA Tour 0:07:55.760 --> 0:08:01.280 golf course. TPC Scottsdale is a well designed course. It's 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:04.520 not you know, it's not Riviera. It's it's not maybe 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:10.200 it's not Kapalua, you know. The architecture is esthetically just fine, 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:13.200 But strategically, I feel like this is a pretty good 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.000 golf course, especially on the back nine. Would you agree 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:16.240 with that? 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:19.640 Yeah, I think the front nine is quite forgetable, and 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:25.680 I think but the back nine really culminates and the 0:08:25.720 --> 0:08:28.760 close of it is what you kind of want. And obviously, 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.520 I think something that has to be talked about is 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:35.439 the eighteenth hole. What it was ten years ago, even 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:38.640 compared to what it is today. You know, it was 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:42.920 a very difficult closing hole. And what technico you know, 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:46.839 just the advancement of having one hundred guys on tour 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:49.920 that hit the ball over three hundred yards versus you know, 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:54.040 ten years ago there was maybe fifteen like that has 0:08:54.160 --> 0:09:00.000 really changed the dynamic of the clothes. But fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:03.319 we see this at a variety of courses. I you know, honestly, 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:08.480 I think that the clothes at at PGA West is 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:11.160 really good. I like, I have always been fascinated with 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:14.760 the clothes at PGA West and it's simple. Yeah, So 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:18.680 that that is the same recipe in a way PGA West, 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:22.960 TPC Sawgrass has a similar recipe with a late, scorable 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:27.640 par five, a shortish, shortish par three, and then a 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:32.559 you know, a tough part four. Now TPC Scottsdale throws 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.440 in a drivable par four into that mix, so you 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:39.240 have you know, you know, what was once eighteen, you know, 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:43.760 is not what it was because of just distance. Sheer 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:45.760 like how far these guys are hitting it. But it 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:49.679 once was a tough part four, But the recipe of 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.480 two three really three really scorable holes coming down the 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:59.000 stretch makes just theater. And I think sixteen obviously doesn't 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:03.080 have the the trouble that PGA West or Scott or 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:06.439 Sagress has around it, but it has the atmosphere. 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:09.000 Yeah, it has a stadium. It doesn't need to be 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:12.640 architecturally interesting. I kind of wish it were. But at 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.520 the same time, because it's such a simple hole, it 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:20.160 kind of allows the stadium atmosphere to be the star there. 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:24.480 But fortunately the holes around it, fifteen seventeen I think 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:28.320 are really well designed tournament golf holes. On fifteen, you 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:32.800 have players laying up on that hole a little, you know, 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:35.160 a little less than half of the time. Right it's 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:39.240 an island green par five. Not everybody's going for that, 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.800 especially if they don't drive it well. And so you know, 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:45.040 that's a fun hole to kind of watch and see 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:48.120 how the players approach it strategically. And then of course seventeen, 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.480 the driveable par four. You know, it's not just unique 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:54.240 because it's drivable. It's not just exciting for that reason. 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.440 I think the reason that it's that it's fun to 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:01.040 watch is that it combines a really wide way and 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:05.000 a huge green with a lot of trouble right water 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:08.320 all around, and so there's this huge range of outcomes. 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:10.520 You know, you can be in a lot of different 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:13.640 places on that hole because it's wide, because there's a 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:16.400 lot of short grass, because the green is huge, you 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:18.240 can be in a lot of different places. You can 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:20.240 have a tricky chip from short grass, you can have 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:22.880 a huge long putt, or you can be in the 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:26.080 water off the tee, And just that range of potential 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:28.880 outcomes is really what I'm looking for in a short part. 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:32.240 For Yeah, I agree, especially when they get the pin. 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:34.680 Everybody thinks, oh, the pins over on the left side 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:36.719 by the water are super cool. When the pins are 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.440 over right on the right side of the green and 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:42.040 they and because that right side of the green, what 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:46.480 it does is it really penalizes the bailout, and that 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:48.800 I think is a is a general little bit of 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.960 misconception is the cool pins, like if somebody's setting up 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:53.480 the course that oh, we got to push it up 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:56.959 against the water, that'll be really neat, But really, what 0:11:57.080 --> 0:11:59.880 when the pin's over on the right, it eliminates. It 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:04.320 doesn't eliminate, but it it dissuades the bailout, which it 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:06.640 you know, when the pins on the left, that bailout's 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:08.560 very friendly because you have a lot of green to 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:10.680 work with. But when the pin's either back or on 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.680 the right side, that becomes a much more difficult shot. 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:17.160 And you know, your percentages of the chance of making 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:21.120 birdie from the bailout position gets much much smaller. And 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:23.880 I think we've seen some really cool like one of 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.760 the things that happens on that hole in particular is 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:29.360 we see the ball on the ground a lot. You know, 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:33.839 if you think about last year, Sahithagala is in, I 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:35.880 think it was tied for the lead and he hit 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:38.480 what looked like a great shot and it just got 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:41.600 a bad bounce, it rolled down into the water. Ricky 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:44.320 Fowler a few years ago hit it right through the 0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:47.760 green over the back what looked like a great shot 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.439 and it got a hard bounce, you know, and everybody's, oh, 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.719 did he take too much club. It's like, well, if 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:54.920 he doesn't get that chasing bounce, if he give us 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:57.040 a soft bounce that you know, we're talking about an 0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:00.760 iconic shot in his career. So I think that is 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:03.960 one of the magical things about seventeen. And you know, 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:05.880 I think it goes a little bit under the radar. 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:09.360 You know, it's become it's risen in popularity. But one 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.920 of the great things is is the penalty for bailout 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:16.520 with those right pins in the backpin, but also the 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:19.000 magic of the ball on the ground and that little 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:22.280 bunker is placed perfectly where you know, you need to 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:25.640 just barely carry that bunker in order run it up 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:27.640 on the green, and you know, if you carry it 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.520 too far you run the risk of running through. And 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:34.160 thank god the PGA Tour hasn't put a grand stand 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:35.679 behind the green yet, you. 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:36.640 Know, because. 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:41.320 That would really ruin the brilliant One other thing I 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:44.040 wanted to talk about with the course, and what I 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:47.040 like about the golf course as a whole, is that 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:52.120 it rewards distance a great in great degree. It is 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:56.480 very advantageous to be long, but it's also almost equally, 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:00.160 if not more, advantageous, to be accurate. You know, you 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:04.040 look at the variety of winners of this at this place. 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.400 You have Kevin Staler, not a long guy. You know, 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:10.600 you have Phil pretty you know, long hitter, but you 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.920 know can be crooked but the desert. But then you 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:17.559 have Hideki twice. You have Web Simpson who won and 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:21.160 lost in a playoff to Hideki, who's a very short, 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.480 straight hitter. Hideki, I would say when he's playing well 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.800 is a is a longer player, but very precise. Brooks 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:31.000 Kepka's won it twice. Brooks Keopka. One of the things 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.560 that's gone wrong with brooks Kepka in this kind of 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.400 demise is he isn't as accurate as he was off 0:14:36.400 --> 0:14:40.240 the tee. He was kind of reached this unicorn status 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.680 of a player because of the distance combined with the 0:14:43.800 --> 0:14:47.920 relative accuracy of that distance. You know, it's always important 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:50.840 to when you're talking about like people will look at oh, 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:54.200 this guy hits it really far and he's not straight 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:59.680 based off his accuracy percentage, But that accuracy percentage needs 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:03.080 to be considered with the distance that they're hitting it right, 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:05.760 So it's not in apples. A two to eighty hitter 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.160 who's sixty percent in the fairway is not in apples 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:12.360 to apples as a three hundred hitter who's sixty percent 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.520 in the fairway, that three hundred hitter who's who's sixty 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:18.360 percent is far far more accurate, because the further you 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:20.920 hit it, the less accurate you become. 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:24.120 And this was the real secret of Beef Bryson. Right 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.320 Bryson for what the height of his BFY era, Yeah, 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:30.840 I'm talking about not now, but at the you know, 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:34.920 at his US Open winning height, he was combining distance 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:40.240 with accuracy in basically an unprecedented combination, except if you're 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:44.400 talking about maybe brooks Kepka in twenty eighteen, twenty seventeen 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:47.480 at brooks Kepka's height, and so that that is an 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:48.160 underrated thing. 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.880 And that's the thing that makes DJ and Rory such 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:55.600 impressive drivers over the totality of their career. You know, 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:59.760 they hit it extraordinarily long distances, but they're very, very 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.160 accurate for their length. That's what makes these unicorns of 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:05.800 driving the golf ball. But the cool thing about this 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.680 venue is you get such a wide range of winners 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:12.320 because that accuracy is really important. So a shorter hitter 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:15.360 like we saw chees Reeve in a long playoff with 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:19.440 Gary Woodland, you get that contrast of playing style. Obviously 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:23.720 Woodland very long rev short Web Simpson in a playoff 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:27.120 with Tony Fenw you get that long short right, it's 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:29.640 uh and that and that, I think is what makes 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:33.600 this venue extra, you know cool like on the periphery. 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:37.720 It doesn't have like that glitzy stuff the like the Bunkers, 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:40.760 the aesthetic. The Front nine is about as forgettable as 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:44.720 you can get on the PGA Tour, but it does 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:50.080 it provides a wide variety of play, which which I 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:53.600 think is you know, the biggest recipe for success on 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:57.600 the PGA Tour is venues that don't just emphasize a 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:01.800 singular skill and you know, almost pre require a singular 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:03.600 skill like a Tory Pines. 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:06.520 And I think part of the reason for that at 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:10.440 Waste Management is that you have room to play off 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:13.360 the tee, but you have a lot of tricky tea 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:16.439 shots where you have to decide, Okay, am I going 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.439 to hit it three twenty five here? If I'm a 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:20.560 PGA too or player, right, that's the reality that they're 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:21.960 dealing with. Now, am I going to hit it three 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:25.080 fifty or should I throttle back a little bit hit 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:28.080 at two eighty. There are options like that on a 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:30.520 lot of the holes, and there's usually quite a bit 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:34.119 of risk in going with the long option. There's water 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.440 or there's desert, right, and so there's there's a real 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.760 calculation to be done off the tee, and as a result, 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:44.480 sometimes big long hitters who don't quite have it under 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:48.640 control get punished at the Phoenix Open, whereas accurate hitters 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:52.360 kind of are able to position themselves well and they 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:52.800 do well. 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:55.840 I think one of the things is that the in 0:17:56.040 --> 0:18:00.200 Joseph Lamanna, who obviously is on this podcast fairly regularly, 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:06.320 he wrote in his newsletter about Tory, is that the 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:09.760 the really wide miss at Scottsdale is penalized heavily with 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:10.640 the desert. 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:13.280 Absolutely yes, and water in a lot of cases. 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:16.880 The smaller miss, you know, missing the fairway five yards 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:21.840 is not heavily penalized, right, So the big miss is 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:25.320 what is what really gets you at at Scottsdale, and 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:30.400 obviously those that's what big hitters do, right, But there 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:33.520 is a huge advantage. There are bunkers that big hitters 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.080 can carry. So it's if that big hitter has the 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:38.960 driver going, they have a huge advantage, which is the 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:39.639 way it should be. 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:43.880 M hmm. Absolutely. So, you know, in a lot of ways, 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:47.840 the Phoenix Open represents what a designated event should be. Right. 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:52.080 There's a good golf course here with real strategic options, 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:55.600 and that allows many different types of players to thrive, 0:18:56.040 --> 0:18:59.520 and so you get interesting competition year after year. You 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:03.200 have a rate local culture, you have a committed sponsor, 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:07.480 and you just have a unique product. Right, this is 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:10.320 what a designated event should look like. This is a 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:14.320 true elevated PGA Tour event. And you know, I think 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:18.159 that that's part of what is exciting about the Designated 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:19.879 Event series. If we want to get into some of 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:23.119 the positives here, what does this new program bring to 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:27.119 the PGA Tour. I think it, you know, identifies what 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:31.040 those special events are and it confirms that in the 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:33.040 eyes of the fans, in the eyes of the tour, 0:19:33.160 --> 0:19:35.439 in the eyes of the players, so that we really 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:38.399 know this is a week to get excited. This is 0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:40.879 a week to see the best players face off against 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:44.200 each other at a good venue, in a good atmosphere. 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:46.440 And that's why I'm so pumped up about this event. 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:48.040 I mean, it's not just because the Super Bowls in 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:51.040 town that that adds a little something to it. You know, 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:54.920 I'm genuinely excited about the Phoenix Open in a way 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:57.920 that I haven't been before for this event. Now, I'm 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:01.000 usually pretty excited about it, but not to this degree. 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:04.720 And I think that that's one big, big positive for 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:06.879 designated events. Would you agree with that? 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:11.879 Yeah? I think that the biggest positive for designated event 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:16.720 centers around expectations with the fans. All Right, we know, 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:21.399 unless you follow the tour with a very very fine 0:20:21.960 --> 0:20:26.760 tooth comb, you aren't going to know weekend week out, 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:31.400 like who exactly is at the event. With these designated tags, 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:36.359 it emphasizes two fans that these are the events that 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:38.800 you have to watch these, These are the ones that 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:43.399 you can plan for that on hey, on on Thursday, 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:47.919 you're making plans for the weekend. You know, hey, I 0:20:48.040 --> 0:20:50.440 kind of want to watch this event. Right. It's like 0:20:50.760 --> 0:20:54.440 when you when your favorite team the schedule comes out, right, 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:57.040 you know, if you're a sports fan, if you're a 0:20:57.080 --> 0:21:00.960 golf fan, when the schedule comes out, you can circle, hey, 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:03.359 these are the events that I want to plan my 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:07.560 weekends around if I'm interested in watching live golf on TV. 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:11.560 And I think that's really important versus the old kind 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:14.800 of like you knew certain events were big, but like 0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:17.720 you know, the regular the run of the mill PGA 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:20.840 Tour event not really knowing who's going to be there 0:21:20.880 --> 0:21:23.439 when you turn the TV on. So I think the 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:28.120 biggest thing is that it gives the tour a it. 0:21:28.119 --> 0:21:32.920 It gives fans a real expectation. They understand when they 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:35.760 turn on the TV that all the big players are 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:38.080 going to be there. And for the most part, the 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:41.639 only times that that was the case in the last 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:46.200 twenty five years or whatever it may be, when really, 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:50.399 since you know, the tour expanded added events and players 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:53.920 started to contract their schedule, which started with Tiger, it 0:21:54.280 --> 0:21:58.159 created this wide golf of there are way more events 0:21:58.160 --> 0:22:02.359 than players are playing way less. So since that occurrence, 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:04.520 you know, when guys used to play thirty when big 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:06.919 players used to play thirty events a year and there 0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:09.920 were thirty five forty events, you knew big guys were 0:22:09.920 --> 0:22:12.600 in every field. But now it's like, big guys play 0:22:12.680 --> 0:22:16.920 twenty events, twenty five events and there's forty five events. 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:20.280 You know, that gap got bigger. So that's the biggest 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:23.560 thing is that as fans, you know what to expect 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:27.800 with designated events, the best players all at the same spot. 0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:31.919 And that's really big because it creates you know, and 0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:36.320