Speaker 1: It is about that skill set. It's about the hands,
Speaker 1: it's about the putting, it's about the imagination. It's you know,
Speaker 1: we're going to see a wide variety of shots come Sunday,
Speaker 1: the last nine holes, it's going to be it's going
Speaker 1: to be an incredible display of of artistry. Put another
Speaker 1: log on the fire nobody hears given time. Hello, does
Speaker 1: Allie ship knuckle? Welcome back to another fire Drill podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm with Michael Bamberger Matt Janella. Behind us is the
Speaker 1: eighteenth hole of the Old Course. Is ninety five pm
Speaker 1: on Friday. They are still playing golf. We're gonna try
Speaker 1: to keep her voice stops so we don't interview us.
Speaker 1: One's putting stroke on the eighteenth hole. There's a lot
Speaker 1: going on here. Um, guys, one hell of a dig
Speaker 1: off we got. We got to start with Tiger because
Speaker 1: he was as great as camp Smith played and Rory
Speaker 1: and Victor Hovland and Dustin Johnson, I mean, big game
Speaker 1: hunters on the leaderboard. But this is the day that
Speaker 1: was all about Tiger. So, Michael, what were your thoughts
Speaker 1: about Matt floor Right here I met Matt. Matt, what
Speaker 1: do you think? No, we're not we're not starting with Tiger.
Speaker 1: Where we are starting with is the first tea announcement
Speaker 1: that Michael so boldly predicted would be to the first
Speaker 1: tea Mark Calcavecchia, Guys, I woke up this morning specifically
Speaker 1: to play this audio and trickle this into this podcast.
Speaker 1: Jake played the tape. This is game number one, and
Speaker 1: that's why we're starting with Mark Kucaebecia. Do you understand
Speaker 1: they that's yes, you missed the whole. It's only mistake
Speaker 1: I've ever made my life. Yeah, I mean that's epic.
Speaker 1: Like they started at six thirty five, here we are
Speaker 1: fifteen hours later, they were still playing golf. It's an
Speaker 1: incredible testament to the will to get this thing in
Speaker 1: off of one off the first two only, which you
Speaker 1: have to do. I mean, you can have a guys,
Speaker 1: finish on number nine out there that would just be wrong.
Speaker 1: But it's the old courses, unique with all the holes
Speaker 1: that cross each other and the loop like it just
Speaker 1: leads to slow play. But all right, we thank you
Speaker 1: for that, Matt. We appreciate your efforts. He gave up
Speaker 1: your sleep for the listeners. Man, if you woke up
Speaker 1: to Mark huckebec yet, what do you think missus Sheila
Speaker 1: Walker did, because she's only down the street here one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty yards. If that well, I feel I
Speaker 1: feel like we're gonna get to Sheila Walker, because I
Speaker 1: did end up talking to the great Sheila Walker, the
Speaker 1: great great granddaughter of old Tom Morris, as she was
Speaker 1: peering out her window as Tiger was finishing up. So
Speaker 1: we will get to her because that happened. I was
Speaker 1: able to reconnect with Sheila as she's looking out her
Speaker 1: window as she's overlooking the Eighteenth Green after Tiger Woods finished,
Speaker 1: which was a big part of the story I'm writing,
Speaker 1: which I'll file and published Sunday morning, about all these
Speaker 1: connection points that are happening for me this week. But
Speaker 1: now I feel like we can actually talk about Tiger.
Speaker 1: And by the way, before we talk about Tiger, I
Speaker 1: feel like we should hear the fact that Tiger was
Speaker 1: announced to the first tea earlier today, and that to
Speaker 1: me is worth listening to. This is Tiger Woods, the
Speaker 1: Tiger Woods. That's awesome. You gotta love it. I do
Speaker 1: want to note, in the context of Sheila Walker, that
Speaker 1: Matt said he would actually leave his wife for Stila Walker,
Speaker 1: considering she's like eighty years old. It's a bold statement.
Speaker 1: And we all love Katie, but um, that's the affection
Speaker 1: we have for Sheila. But unless also the accent, the accent,
Speaker 1: but also the apartment on the eighteenth hold. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's it's tempting for us all. Now let's move on, Michael,
Speaker 1: Tiger access to the first team. Can't you get us
Speaker 1: off the course? Yeah? Well did you? I read this
Speaker 1: week that some family had sixteen times on the old
Speaker 1: course in perpetuity. They were granted that as as some swap.
Speaker 1: And in nineteen ninety two the RNA sixteen times every
Speaker 1: single day foursomes on the old course. The RNA bottom
Speaker 1: out for like a quarter million dollars or pounds just
Speaker 1: to get those times back. I don't I don't know
Speaker 1: the whole story, but I want to know it now.
Speaker 1: For like the sixth time, let's talk about Tiger Woods. Michael,
Speaker 1: we were, we were out there right by the eighteenth green.
Speaker 1: Matt was the eye in the sky from his perch
Speaker 1: heir at the Russi's Hotel. It was a big moment.
Speaker 1: It was a little melancholy, it was emotional. The floor
Speaker 1: is yours. You know, I didn't appreciate until today. I
Speaker 1: just actually kind of never focused on it that he
Speaker 1: played in the nineteen ninety five British Open as an amateur,
Speaker 1: and then later that summer, let me see, I had
Speaker 1: my timing right, he won the US Amateur on Really,
Speaker 1: you know, people like to say, oh, I've played links
Speaker 1: scurses in the United States, there are very very few.
Speaker 1: There's no true links scorses. But I would say the
Speaker 1: closest thing I've ever seen to a links scores nine
Speaker 1: States be Fisher's Island, which not many people have gotten
Speaker 1: to say, a Newport Country Club back when Tiger won there.
Speaker 1: And when I think about it, this like continuum, which
Speaker 1: kind of a word of the week, like old Tom
Speaker 1: Wurrise is a phrase of the week for you. But
Speaker 1: this continuum of Tiger really beginning his links Land golf
Speaker 1: here and then winning at Newport against Buddy Marucci in
Speaker 1: the US Amateur, and then carrying on and on and on,
Speaker 1: and to think that this is could be the end
Speaker 1: of the line, likely will be the end of the
Speaker 1: line of his British Open on the old course where
Speaker 1: he so proudly says it's my favorite course in the world.
Speaker 1: It's my favorite. I don't know if he says it's
Speaker 1: my favorite, my favorite course in the world. I think
Speaker 1: you'd have to be emotionally dead not to be not
Speaker 1: to be moved by that. And the fact, you know,
Speaker 1: he's a jocular person when he says, you know, well,
Speaker 1: I've got a locker at the old course, but like
Speaker 1: he meant it, it's a big deal. He's got a
Speaker 1: locker in the in the RNA Clubhouse, and you can
Speaker 1: tell that it means something to him. And I think,
Speaker 1: you know, I think it has been forties. He's finding
Speaker 1: out that this game, like Trevino is saying the other day,
Speaker 1: has made his life possible. And to say that it
Speaker 1: is really to say that the people who support this game,
Speaker 1: like the three of us, and like you know, the
Speaker 1: few hundred people are show out here at ten o'clock
Speaker 1: at night, they've made Tiger's life possible. I've gone on
Speaker 1: too long here, but there's a lot going on here
Speaker 1: in every level. Well, and you know, Tiger, who we
Speaker 1: all know, grew up on these very scruffy public courses,
Speaker 1: these military courses. The fortress that is the RNA Clubhouse.
Speaker 1: It's the ultimate inter sanctum more than anywhere else in
Speaker 1: the golfing world. And you know, he's talked very publicly
Speaker 1: about he wasn't welcome a lot of places because the
Speaker 1: color of his skin. And now he has a freaking locker,
Speaker 1: and you that's something that you can't buy, and it's
Speaker 1: it's pretty cool. I know I've said this several times already.
Speaker 1: But the flip side to that, Alan, it's his public
Speaker 1: golf course. And I think we're all, whether you really
Speaker 1: think about it or not, I think we can't help
Speaker 1: but be drawn to the fact. You know, we're all
Speaker 1: we all have public golf in our background, especially these days, Matt.
Speaker 1: But yeah, you can't overlook the fact that's a municipal
Speaker 1: golf course. Yeah, Matt, You've been a part of Tiger's
Speaker 1: professional life in a lot of ways. As the photoed
Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated, I think your your professional lives are very intertwined.
Speaker 1: What did you feel watching Tiger come up eighteen? No,
Speaker 1: it was a complete circle of my life. I mean
Speaker 1: it's a complete circle of certainly my professional life. And
Speaker 1: you know I was saying to you guys my first
Speaker 1: week at Sports Illustrated in nineteen ninety six, as the
Speaker 1: photo eder was Tiger's first week as a pro in
Speaker 1: Milwaukee Open, and obviously, I you know, so for me
Speaker 1: to sort of start there and then be here to
Speaker 1: watch him walking, you know, hit that opening T shot,
Speaker 1: walk down the fairway, and then to watch him hit
Speaker 1: that eighteenth T shot and walk up this fairway and
Speaker 1: over the bridge and down the middle and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: to acknowledge the crowd tip his cap. This was you know,
Speaker 1: the the one little glitch in the whole system was
Speaker 1: that he missed that birdie putment. This was am We're
Speaker 1: just being shushed, I think by the marshals because someone's
Speaker 1: putting out on eighteen. So I mean, I think it
Speaker 1: was the y'alls down, Okay, okay, we're going. But no,
Speaker 1: I mean I think it was definitely, you know, to
Speaker 1: answer your questions, is emotional. Definitely was emotional. It's not
Speaker 1: to say that I cried or that I you know,
Speaker 1: I'm not even sure that I got twos. But I
Speaker 1: just think that this was this was a ceremonial moment
Speaker 1: in the in the career of somebody who again eighty
Speaker 1: two and fifteen, this is this is something we're never
Speaker 1: going to ever see again. This is I think I
Speaker 1: always made a point of cherishing the idea that we
Speaker 1: were seeing greatness as it relates to what happened on
Speaker 1: the golf course. There's also a little bit of sadness
Speaker 1: to me that we're saying goodbye to a guy at
Speaker 1: forty six. We mentioned this yesterday. There's definitely a sadness
Speaker 1: to the idea that I'm not sure that this is
Speaker 1: the last time he's at Saint Andrews and the last
Speaker 1: time that he says goodbye to this crowd, because as
Speaker 1: several people have pointed out to us as we're walking
Speaker 1: around town, Jack Nicholas is still saying goodbye. Like Jack
Speaker 1: Nicholas said goodbye, he said goodbye again. He just got
Speaker 1: the Keys day United said said goodbye again. We're going
Speaker 1: to see Tiger Woods at Saint Andrew's. More, this was
Speaker 1: the last time he teed it up with the idea
Speaker 1: that he could potentially win the golf turn. That to
Speaker 1: me is what's sad at the age of forty six,
Speaker 1: like he is so broken by his own doing in
Speaker 1: so many ways, in so many levels. That's to me
Speaker 1: is what's ultimately sad about this that this was you know,
Speaker 1: and again eighty two fifteen, even missing years a worth
Speaker 1: of time as a competitor because of his own doing.
Speaker 1: Ben Hogan threw himself in front of his wife to
Speaker 1: avoid an oncoming bust, Like that's not what Tiger has done.
Speaker 1: So there was sadness, there was you know, there was emotion,
Speaker 1: but it's it's different. It's just different. It's I'm still processing,
Speaker 1: to be honest with you, well, to Michael's point, I'm
Speaker 1: slightly dead inside. But um, and I've never had great
Speaker 1: chemistry interpersonally with Tiger. You know, you can be so
Speaker 1: remote and when he was he was a golfed I
Speaker 1: just playing enter and we were SI we weren't on
Speaker 1: the team, and he kind of let us know that.
Speaker 1: And so I don't feel an emotional connection to him,
Speaker 1: even though I've loved writing about him and doubt he's
Speaker 1: made our writing lives way more exciting and interesting. But
Speaker 1: as I watched him coming up eighteen, I really felt it,
Speaker 1: like in my chest. It was it was a moment
Speaker 1: and um, the panorama of these glorious buildings and the
Speaker 1: just the these grandstands that go all the way to
Speaker 1: the sky, and I could hear a bagpiper out there
Speaker 1: on North Street and the shrieking gulls, and it was
Speaker 1: just very evocative. You know, Sheila Walker, Matt's crush hanging
Speaker 1: out of her window. Um, the tweety old gents on
Speaker 1: the on the balcony the RNA building. It was like
Speaker 1: all of Saint Andrew's came here to show Tiger off
Speaker 1: and to say a proper goodbye. And it was meaningful.
Speaker 1: He's he's given so much to the game and the
Speaker 1: game has taken so much from him, uh in certain ways.
Speaker 1: And um, I thought it was a special as happy
Speaker 1: out here. I was here for Jack Kubye um and um,
Speaker 1: you know that that was more celebratory. You know, he
Speaker 1: was hale and hardy and well into advanced age. And
Speaker 1: it was like it was the right time. As you
Speaker 1: guys said, it's too soon for Tiger, and we all
Speaker 1: feel that, but um, it was a moment, and I
Speaker 1: think we're all lucky to be here. And and I
Speaker 1: thought Tiger handled it with a great class. And the
Speaker 1: golfing gods never disappoint you know. Roy McElroy's walking down
Speaker 1: the first fairway. He's kind of the heir apparent to
Speaker 1: be the the voice of the game and the conscious
Speaker 1: of the game in a way that's maybe Tiger never
Speaker 1: was but um and for you know, I think that
Speaker 1: was what kind of broke something loose inside of Tiger
Speaker 1: was on Roy tipped his cap. That was cool, and
Speaker 1: right behind him was JT and Bones and they were
Speaker 1: making eye contact and it was there was a lot
Speaker 1: going on there, and it was it was special to
Speaker 1: be here, so special. I think, why don't we let
Speaker 1: the listeners actually hear what it was like to hear
Speaker 1: Tiger Woods come up the eighteenth fairway and all the
Speaker 1: way to the green. Jake rolled the tape. Shout out
Speaker 1: to Jake Wildowney, our ace producer back in the lab. Um,
Speaker 1: now we can we can move on from Tiger and
Speaker 1: we have one hell of a leaderboard here. You know,
Speaker 1: Cam Smith there was I was doing the math my head.
Speaker 1: Can you actually shoot fifty nine? I mean, if he
Speaker 1: birdied in you it maybe do something crazy on eighteen.
Speaker 1: But he played a phenomenal round to kind of take
Speaker 1: this tournament by the throat. But Rory went out really
Speaker 1: late today and he gave a great chase. Victor Hoblin's
Speaker 1: right there. Dustin Johnson kind of set the pace early.
Speaker 1: Let everyone know that this golf course was here for
Speaker 1: the taking. We should note that there was a lot
Speaker 1: of moisture overnight into the morning, and so the course
Speaker 1: definitely played slower and softer, and still it's still it's
Speaker 1: still a very firm and test, but it took a
Speaker 1: little fire and the wind never came today really, so
Speaker 1: it was it was the ideal scoring conditions. But what
Speaker 1: do you think of the way this leaderboard of shaping
Speaker 1: up hanging at the weekend? Michael, You know, it's interesting
Speaker 1: to hear your phrase to take it by the throat,
Speaker 1: because I don't have that feeling at all. I feel
Speaker 1: like a double bogey. Even though we haven't seen the blowups,
Speaker 1: we know they're coming only because they always do come
Speaker 1: in open championships. So you know, it's astounding that the
Speaker 1: guy's thirteen hundred through two rounds, but I think he's
Speaker 1: won double bow get from bringing a lot of people
Speaker 1: in and I think we'll have a crazily interesting weekend.
Speaker 1: And just one notice, as we're standing here, you know,
Speaker 1: in the in the in the dusk, like you can
Speaker 1: see how green this golf course got just with really
Speaker 1: another with just a little bit of rain. But at
Speaker 1: The point I'm trying to make is this golf course
Speaker 1: lives like very few places do, and like Augusta National
Speaker 1: is spectacular. We all live being in Augusta National, but
Speaker 1: august National so manufactured. Here's like it was brown yesterday,
Speaker 1: today it's green because we got a little bit of
Speaker 1: overnight rain. It's wild. Yeah, Matt, Matt, what do you
Speaker 1: think the way this weekend is shaping up? No, I
Speaker 1: mean this is all we could have ever asked for.
Speaker 1: Like I said, when the game I sort of tweeted
Speaker 1: that out earlier, is the week is like when the
Speaker 1: game really needed this kind of cleansing, this kind of
Speaker 1: soulful massage. You know. I was like, you can count
Speaker 1: on the old course and with the leaderboard, we've we've
Speaker 1: now you know, sort of said goodbye to Tiger. This
Speaker 1: clears the decks for for this battle. And it's it's
Speaker 1: there's this not a lot of people are gonna talk about,
Speaker 1: but there's there's kind of this battle for the for
Speaker 1: the soul of the game at stake. Like there's there's
Speaker 1: guys that are on the board that are live guys,
Speaker 1: and there as guys that are on the board that
Speaker 1: are very strictly you know, PGA Tour guys, and I mean,
Speaker 1: there's just seems to be so much more at stake.
Speaker 1: There's like, there's this one hundred and fiftieth playing of
Speaker 1: the Open Championship, and and I just I'm I just
Speaker 1: as a fan, as someone who loves to observe, you know,
Speaker 1: major moments. Certainly this is one of the most major
Speaker 1: majors that I've ever witnessed because of all that's going
Speaker 1: on here, I cannot wait to see how this unfolds.
Speaker 1: I disagree that people aren't going to talk about it
Speaker 1: because if you get Rory and Dustin on Sunday Live
Speaker 1: versus PGA Tour, I mean, really, these show horses reached
Speaker 1: circuit and no one dislikes Dustin. I don't think, Um
Speaker 1: I could say something snarky that might get a suit,
Speaker 1: I won't. Um. You know, Dustin's is a people's choice,
Speaker 1: but they're people will take sides, and of course Rory
Speaker 1: having you know, the quasi British background, and of course
Speaker 1: um being an Open champion like he will be the
Speaker 1: people's choice, but there will be a whole spiky element.
Speaker 1: You know. Greg Norman's gonna have a bunch of tweets
Speaker 1: in his draft folder waiting to see and Taylor couches
Speaker 1: on the board too. Um, we all shout out to
Speaker 1: Scottie Scheffler, who there is a great lineage between the
Speaker 1: Masters and the Old Course, a lot of repeat champions.
Speaker 1: And of course we all know that Bobby Jones took
Speaker 1: the design principles and the strategic values of the old
Speaker 1: Course and put him on a park land setting. And
Speaker 1: that was the genius of Augusta National. But um, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's it's definitely um oh, leaf blowers all right. Leaf
Speaker 1: Blower crisis is over one thing that Michael pointed out
Speaker 1: in our in our press room, bulls with Dustin. He's
Speaker 1: won on Oakmont, which is probably the ultimate US Open venue,
Speaker 1: He's won on Augusta National. If we were to win
Speaker 1: an Open on the Old Course, there's always been a
Speaker 1: sense that as much as Dustin has done, he's a
Speaker 1: slight underachiever. But if he gets this one, I mean
Speaker 1: that those are the crown jewels of golf, really and
Speaker 1: it would be also you could say a PJA Championship Valhalla,
Speaker 1: but that's it. Otherwise he's got them all, and um,
Speaker 1: that's a joke. People end up. But yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: so there is it. I don't think Dustin is consumed
Speaker 1: by golf history per se, but he's very prideful. Like
Speaker 1: I mean, he told me one time he really wanted
Speaker 1: to win the freaking fed X Cup because it bother him.
Speaker 1: He's always second or third, and of course you want
Speaker 1: the money, but he's like, yeah, of course he wants
Speaker 1: some money. But it was also like there was an
Speaker 1: element there like I'm tired. I know I'm better than
Speaker 1: these guys and somehow they're finishing ahead of me, and
Speaker 1: that like bothered him. So I think there's a little
Speaker 1: more heat in there than that we would think. But
Speaker 1: what are the other potential storylines on the board that
Speaker 1: that gets you excited? Michael Well, I mean we you know, well,
Speaker 1: when you get beyond you got cam Smith one of
Speaker 1: the players, You've got Rory and of course Dustin Johnson
Speaker 1: representing their two tours. But just a quick side note
Speaker 1: on that. I don't think ordinary golf fans are going
Speaker 1: to see it as this live PGA Tour divide. I
Speaker 1: think one hundred and fifty year history of this thing,
Speaker 1: the thirtieth time being at the Old Course, I think
Speaker 1: that really carries the day, and I think people will
Speaker 1: just be so happy it's been such a harsh time
Speaker 1: in this world and just be able to sit back
Speaker 1: and spend the weekend watching, you know. And we've all
Speaker 1: had this experience being at home. You wake up early
Speaker 1: in the morning and there's the golf. They always say, oh,
Speaker 1: you're going to watch the golf. There's the golf on TV,
Speaker 1: and just let the whole thing unfold as it has
Speaker 1: here for for well literally centuries. I think that the
Speaker 1: I think they'll live PGA Tour Divide is not going
Speaker 1: to be a factor for the ordinary golf, and I
Speaker 1: don't think it'll be a factor for me either. I
Speaker 1: think I'm just really eager to see the shots and
Speaker 1: see how the course holds up to you in the
Speaker 1: modern game. I agree with that, but it is it
Speaker 1: is a funny sideline. Um some other names you mentioned,
Speaker 1: Adam Scott with a very sporty sixty five to get
Speaker 1: himself wild. I mean, he's been so quiet, but you know,
Speaker 1: I mean his stated goal is always to win the
Speaker 1: career Grand Slam. Like he that's the standard he set
Speaker 1: for himself and he's he's only a quarter of the
Speaker 1: way there. So um Patrick can't lay with a beautiful
Speaker 1: round to get himself in it. I mean Matt Fitzpatrick
Speaker 1: six under today and to get to surge up to
Speaker 1: a tie for twelfth. I mean, these are these are
Speaker 1: a lot of ballers. And it's so funny when you
Speaker 1: talk about the old course, like, oh, there's so many
Speaker 1: lucky bounces, it's so quirky, it's blind, it's the rub
Speaker 1: of the green, and yet it's the best freaking players
Speaker 1: on the leaderboard time after time. It's not luck. They
Speaker 1: deal the bad bounce better than the other guys. Maybe
Speaker 1: mentally they're stronger, but you can't have this many great
Speaker 1: players at the top and say there's any element other
Speaker 1: than just pure skill, imagination and shot making. Um, Matt,
Speaker 1: what do you think? Yeah? I mean that this this
Speaker 1: sort started saying this golf course will continue to identify
Speaker 1: like a champion in a way that is about that
Speaker 1: skill set. It's about the hands, it's about the putting,
Speaker 1: it's about the imagination. It's you know, we're going to
Speaker 1: see a wide variety of shots come Sunday. The last
Speaker 1: nine holes, it's going to be it's going to be
Speaker 1: an incredible display of of of artistry, so he thigala
Speaker 1: that we just that I keep bringing up, but like
Speaker 1: he's having so much fun. Like think about Jordan's Spieth
Speaker 1: in his prime or Rory McElroy in their prime, or
Speaker 1: Tiger Woods in their prime. The reason why they were
Speaker 1: in their primus because they were having fun playing the
Speaker 1: game of golf. And I think the person that goes
Speaker 1: out like Cam Smith, he's just an Like he's just
Speaker 1: an incredible putter. He's making putts from all over the place.
Speaker 1: He's a good ball striker. Obviously you don't when the
Speaker 1: players without doing that he's got, He's got all of it.
Speaker 1: So he's gonna be really hard to beat. Like you know,
Speaker 1: uh DJ's got a lot of raw ability, but like
Speaker 1: Cam seems to be so willing to make big puts
Speaker 1: or long puts and not even be surprised by it
Speaker 1: like he is, and you know, he he's just rolling
Speaker 1: the ball on the hole. So I as much as
Speaker 1: I would love to think that there's going to be
Speaker 1: this big bunch up and things are gonna happen, I
Speaker 1: just think Camp Smiths can be hard to be but
Speaker 1: it's it's just because it looks like he's having so
Speaker 1: much fun playing the game of golf right now, and
Speaker 1: that's always really here. If you've got that talent and
Speaker 1: that punning stroke and you're having fun, good luck. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: and I mean maybe the best chipper in the game
Speaker 1: right now through his hands are just so phenomenal. The hands,
Speaker 1: And you know one thing in these conditions especially, there's
Speaker 1: three part fours in the back nine they're drivable ten, twelve,
Speaker 1: and eighteen. And then you've got the mother of all
Speaker 1: part fives with the hell bunker and all that, and
Speaker 1: then you've got the road hole, which can has broken
Speaker 1: a lot of hearts. Like, the combination of attack and
Speaker 1: defend is just so spectacle on this whole golf course,
Speaker 1: but especially the back nine, and especially the back nine
Speaker 1: on Sunday, Like, I just think the old course dishes
Speaker 1: it out in a way that's really cool and unique. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I just think we're going to see a wide variety
Speaker 1: of pin placements this weekend that are going to force
Speaker 1: all of what we're talking about, the hands and the
Speaker 1: imagination and the defense or these the strategy is still
Speaker 1: to come. We're at halftime. I was just looking for
Speaker 1: the pin on one. Yesterday was insane. Today it was
Speaker 1: more insane today for the first time really all week.
Speaker 1: I'm a little embarrassed to say, but I really walked
Speaker 1: the entire course and really looked at every pin. It
Speaker 1: was crazy where they had and they're still shooting super low.
Speaker 1: There's really nowhere for them to go. Like August National
Speaker 1: US opens, they moved towards Sunday. They were on Sunday
Speaker 1: on Thursday and they upped it from there. I don't
Speaker 1: know where they can go from here. I mean they're
Speaker 1: gonna put in the valley the sin here. I don't
Speaker 1: know what they can do, but they are trying every
Speaker 1: every every trick in the book. You know, if they
Speaker 1: reduced drivers to thirty eight inches, they might have a chance,
Speaker 1: but that's not going to happen. What was Tiger was
Speaker 1: Tiger say spicy? I think he's talking about the pin
Speaker 1: on twelve, And I mean there's there's lots talk about
Speaker 1: the pins, but I think that's cool. I mean there's
Speaker 1: so the humps and undulations and the bowls like that
Speaker 1: makes it so much more interesting when either you can
Speaker 1: you can use them to advantage or mediaco shot gets repelled,
Speaker 1: like that's what this place is all about. So you know,
Speaker 1: put them wherever you want, RNA, because that's what we need.
Speaker 1: If you guys are gonna drive a four hundred yard
Speaker 1: it's on these fast fairways. You need something to make
Speaker 1: it spicy again. Can you imagine a rider cup at
Speaker 1: It's one of the funnest things ever. Can imagine? Yes,
Speaker 1: different national How many different nationalities? We have? One, two, three, four, five,
Speaker 1: six seven? Is that six different nationalities on that board
Speaker 1: right now? Five? Yeah? I mean that's neat and it's
Speaker 1: the most international of all the championships. It makes sense.
Speaker 1: So um anyway, it was it was a hell of
Speaker 1: a day of golf and um any any final thoughts
Speaker 1: for yours? Hamilton Hall? How would you like to go
Speaker 1: to the University of Saint Andrews And here's your dorm room?
Speaker 1: It's Hamilton Hall we're looking at right here. You know.
Speaker 1: Now they're condo it's worth millions and millions of dollars.
Speaker 1: But it wasn't that long ago. It was just a
Speaker 1: dorm How well does that? I got a chance to
Speaker 1: go out that you'll see the video last later this week.
Speaker 1: But I got a chance to go to that roof.
Speaker 1: I thought the Russis roof was insane. Which it is,
Speaker 1: and the jigger in is to go from the jiggerin
Speaker 1: to the Russis rooftop bar to the deck at Hamilton
Speaker 1: Hall was like this incredible sort of stare step of
Speaker 1: views and perspectives on this golf course. And some people
Speaker 1: I know who bought a flat there, thinking that they
Speaker 1: were going to have an incredible vantage point for the
Speaker 1: Open Championship, realized very quickly that actually the grandstand block
Speaker 1: their view. So the party they had actually ended up
Speaker 1: being on the being on the rooftop. But that was
Speaker 1: that's this is uh, this is the good stuff. And
Speaker 1: then I got to then I got to watch Cameron
Speaker 1: Young tee off today while having at the RNA clubhouse
Speaker 1: behind me. It turned around and there goes Cameron Young
Speaker 1: as he sets off on his shot sixty nine today,
Speaker 1: I think, and uh, one hell of around. Obviously, by
Speaker 1: the way, considering Cameron Young, what we're having said his name,
Speaker 1: So I mean this this again. And then I went
Speaker 1: out to the fourteenth hole and had that person walking
Speaker 1: along the golf course and I mean, this is I
Speaker 1: just I'm so in love with all of this, all
Speaker 1: of what's happening here and this week and this weather
Speaker 1: and now here how many how many people are this
Speaker 1: army of you know, volunteers. You know, it's essentially superintendents
Speaker 1: and agronums from all over the world. In theory are
Speaker 1: got yellow buckets and they're roaming the fairway of one
Speaker 1: and eighteen filling divots. You know, it's it's happening right now.
Speaker 1: I goes like I said, Scottie Shuffler and his wife
Speaker 1: thanked this group on seventeen, a couple of days ago. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Carmen leads to two good scores and that's why he's
Speaker 1: up on the leaderboard. Has nothing to do with his play.
Speaker 1: It's just strictly karma. But no, is this this is
Speaker 1: some sort of like love letter to the game of golf. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you can ask Matt question, because Matt, is this your
Speaker 1: first open in Saint Andrew's no fifth. It's coming through
Speaker 1: to me as new and fresh to you, and I
Speaker 1: don't I kind of curious as to why that would be.
Speaker 1: I know, this path into old Tom has opened your
Speaker 1: eyes in new ways. Because the question I was going
Speaker 1: to get at is like it's such a democratic experience
Speaker 1: being here, because like I mean, you have people, you know,
Speaker 1: Mike Arco or Jerry Tardy, the long time editor Golf Digest,
Speaker 1: or just wander around. But then just you know, regular
Speaker 1: punters and pensioners and kids. I think they've given out
Speaker 1: twenty thousand tickets to kids. You don't see this at
Speaker 1: any American tournament, Like I don't know. It's just such
Speaker 1: completely different atmosphere. And you know, people have often asked
Speaker 1: over the years, you know, why is the Open Championship boys,
Speaker 1: the British Open your favorite tournament. And I think we
Speaker 1: all have a sense of why that would be the case.
Speaker 1: It's just it's truly open, not just for the players,
Speaker 1: but but for the fans too, all walks of life.
Speaker 1: It's you know, it's not expensive, it's not a hard
Speaker 1: ticket to get particularly and uh it's open. Yeah. And
Speaker 1: even just observing how the marshals like again, I walked
Speaker 1: down the eighteenth fairway coming home from the Jigger in
Speaker 1: the middle of the night, and the security guard that
Speaker 1: came out and greeted us in the middle of the
Speaker 1: fairway ended up taking our picture in the middle fairway.
Speaker 1: It wasn't to like, get us the hell out of here.
Speaker 1: And if you watch the players crossing the footpath between
Speaker 1: one and eighteen when they're when they're walking down one
Speaker 1: or coming up eighteen. It's not this like overzealous, like
Speaker 1: power hungry group of people saying stand back, you can't
Speaker 1: go holding ropes. It's just literally like, hey, let them
Speaker 1: all go. It's it's, it's it's it's such a relaxed, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, sort of sensible attitude, like they're golfers, not gods.
Speaker 1: What's the big deal. Just let them through and you
Speaker 1: stay out of their way. But we don't have to.
Speaker 1: It's not the queen coming through. It's not the queen
Speaker 1: coming Like we we overcook so much about everything relating
Speaker 1: to professional golf in America, and this just like everybody
Speaker 1: puts their guard down. And that's true of not only
Speaker 1: the players, not only of the volunteers, and not only
Speaker 1: of the security, but also of the spectators themselves. It's
Speaker 1: a very it's just a very peaceful experience. It's very warm.
Speaker 1: It's it's it's uh, I I don't know, yeah, I
Speaker 1: don't know why this is other than it's maybe it's
Speaker 1: one hundred and fiftieth. Maybe it's because we are here together,
Speaker 1: you know, working together. Maybe it's because of the freedom
Speaker 1: we have to do what we want to do and
Speaker 1: how we want to do it. It's it's all the
Speaker 1: people I'm bumping into, all the connections I'm making time.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm trying to put that in words,
Speaker 1: which is the story I'm writing, but I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think it's very chilling that you referred to coming
Speaker 1: from the jigger in home and then your neighbor down
Speaker 1: the street it is her home, and she said so
Speaker 1: elegantly the other night it's my home. The home of
Speaker 1: the home of golf. Is I was chatting with the
Speaker 1: woman who lives in the home of the home of
Speaker 1: golf this afternoon, getting a reflection. It's so cool, I mean,
Speaker 1: to your point. One thing that happened overnight which is
Speaker 1: so cool is the Links Road runs down the right
Speaker 1: side of the eighteenth Ferry and there's a big barrier
Speaker 1: that separates the tournament grounds from just the town of
Speaker 1: Saint Andrews. And yesterday there's a big twel fence and
Speaker 1: they had you know, green mesh, so you couldn't see
Speaker 1: through the fence to block it off. Because you didn't
Speaker 1: buy a ticket, you can't watch the tournament. But people
Speaker 1: were standing up on the base of the fence peering
Speaker 1: over and they're holding their phones over and instead of
Speaker 1: bringing in a hundred you know, goons to shoot them away,
Speaker 1: the r and as like, you know what, let's just
Speaker 1: take all of the green mesh out. And so now
Speaker 1: even if you don't have a ticket, you can stand
Speaker 1: right on the road and you can watch the first
Speaker 1: hole on the eighteenth hole with as good of you
Speaker 1: as anybody. Yeah, they did over. They did an overnight
Speaker 1: because I took a picture yesterday. People they're standing on
Speaker 1: those red and white barriers peering over the fence like
Speaker 1: doing chit ups to see over. Probably not save um.
Speaker 1: And there's a lot of ways that ARNA could have
Speaker 1: handled it. The best possible way is take down the
Speaker 1: mesh and let everybody enjoy it. So like an extra
Speaker 1: five or ten thousand people stood on that road today,
Speaker 1: got to watch Tiger come up eighteen and sharing that
Speaker 1: moment forever. And Okay, the RNA didn't get their thirty
Speaker 1: pounds for the ticket, but they just said, you know what,
Speaker 1: this is cool, this is inclusive, this is this is
Speaker 1: bringing the tournament closer to the town, And like, how
Speaker 1: great is that? Because would the USJA make that decision No,
Speaker 1: they would bring in a bunch of Pinkerton's and like
Speaker 1: sweep the road probably with like fire hoses and German shepherds,
Speaker 1: and you know, it would just like Bull Connor and
Speaker 1: we stand on there at the top of the road
Speaker 1: like checking credentials, and instead they just like, yeah, you're
Speaker 1: welcome here, come watch the golf. Like how great is that.
Speaker 1: The other thing that I think a lot of people
Speaker 1: get confused is like the RNA clubhouse is full of
Speaker 1: a bunch of members they actually have nothing to do
Speaker 1: with the golf. The RNA runs the Open Championship. The
Speaker 1: RNA membership is like this whole separate membership of a
Speaker 1: bunch of people who just drinking Jenna talks, who who
Speaker 1: like occasionally get together and play golf. Terms that the
Speaker 1: Links Trust actually manages the golf Like there's this big
Speaker 1: sort of kind of miss perception that the the you know,
Speaker 1: the RNA and the membership runs all that's relating to
Speaker 1: the golf course. But in reality, the Links Trust actually
Speaker 1: manages this land, so it's kind of that that's I
Speaker 1: think that's also part of it is there's this is
Speaker 1: the land again that belongs to the people, that's managed
Speaker 1: by the Links Trust and not by the you know,
Speaker 1: there's a group running the tournament. There's a group of
Speaker 1: people gathering there that are part of a member RNA membership,
Speaker 1: and then there's all these clubs that line this road
Speaker 1: that I mean, it's it's there's I think there's layers
Speaker 1: and layers to all of that too, that everybody there's
Speaker 1: not like one specific group of people like we're in control,
Speaker 1: this is ours, we're sharing it with you. It's us.
Speaker 1: It's like the people of Scotland sharing it with us.
Speaker 1: And that's the sense I get. Yeah, I mean the
Speaker 1: RNA make the rules for actually an entire world except
Speaker 1: for the United States. Uh So it's yeah, they're global stuff.
Speaker 1: All right. Well, oh go ahead, Matt. You know no,
Speaker 1: I just want to thank I want to thank Russick's
Speaker 1: Hotel because obviously we are sitting here in this incredible
Speaker 1: perch as though we're like a couple old guys in
Speaker 1: the Muppets overlooking the action. We're three and not two.
Speaker 1: But I mean, it's it's really it's really special to
Speaker 1: be able to do what we're doing right now. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Link Soul for everything that they produce and their soulful
Speaker 1: approach to the game is something that I certainly appreciate.
Speaker 1: We all appreciate and their support for everything that we do.
Speaker 1: Seed Golf, you know, an Irish based golf ball company
Speaker 1: that is just new to the fire Pro Collective that
Speaker 1: we're very appreciative of. We have you know, par Points,
Speaker 1: you know Brandon Kevin. These guys are you know, created
Speaker 1: that app that we so much support, certainly as it
Speaker 1: relates for me to family Golf for going out and
Speaker 1: playing a short course, playing a couple of short holes
Speaker 1: with your kids. Download the app, go make part now.
Speaker 1: And the list goes on and on. But I just
Speaker 1: want to make sure we we thank them for all
Speaker 1: their support. Thanks all of you for listening. We do
Speaker 1: appreciate this is why we're here. We're not just on holiday.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's all about the golf fans. That's that's
Speaker 1: why the fire Pro Collective exists. So in all sincerity,
Speaker 1: we appreciate you listening and reading and watching. So we
Speaker 1: will do this again tomorrow at the end of the
Speaker 1: third round. Its exciting now, like it's feel like we've
Speaker 1: been here a long time. But things are accelerating. Things
Speaker 1: are escalating, and this term is gonna get sorted out
Speaker 1: to a large degree tomorrow. I can't which see who
Speaker 1: the protagonists are and how it all goes down. So um,
Speaker 1: thanks again for listening. And um it's ear. I don't know, Um,
Speaker 1: that's my phone, My bad. Um all right, this is
Speaker 1: Allen ship nuck, that's imagine Ella. That's Michael Bomberger. We're out. Bye,
Speaker 1: put another log on the fire? Are we here? Is
Speaker 1: get the Time