WEBVTT - 2026 U.S. Open Preview with Jaime Diaz 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.480 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:04.880 When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:06.360 And when I find my ball in a. 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:09.440 Brid egg Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg Frida, egg, 0:00:09.520 --> 0:00:11.960 Frida egg, Brian egg Frida egg bride egg Lie. 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:38.239 I'm about ready to run off the golf course. Welcome 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.559 back to another edition of the Friday Golf Podcast. I 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:45.800 am your host, Andy Johnson, and today I am thrilled 0:00:45.960 --> 0:00:49.639 to be joined by the great him Diaz Uh, one 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:53.120 of the great golf writers and sports writers of our time. 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:57.360 Always a pleasure to be joined by Hi May to 0:00:57.400 --> 0:01:01.520 break down a big event like the six US Open 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:06.360 at Shinnakok Hills. This will be the fifth time that 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:10.160 Shinnakok has hosted the US Open in the modern era, 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:16.600 the sixth time overall in recent US Opens since I've 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.000 been alive, so the last forty years. This is forty 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:22.840 years after Ray Floyd in nineteen eighty six to one 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:27.840 at one under a sensational tournament, so many people in 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:32.280 the mix. Ninety five you saw Corey Pavin win at 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:36.400 Shinnikok Hills at even par. Two thousand and four, Ratief 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:43.160 Goosen won at four under and kind of a thrilling victory. There, 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:47.600 great tournament and then, of course most recently twenty eighteen, 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:54.360 Brooks Koepka survived a crazy day, a crazy week, shot 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.920 one over par. So this has been a test that 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:00.880 has been able to stand up to the monern game. 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:03.520 I think that's a huge storyline for the week is 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:07.280 can I stay up and stand up to the monern game? 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:11.280 And what type of setup does the USGA deploy as 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:15.519 Shinnecock can get a bit crispy and can be a 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.919 little bit unpredictable. We have really dove into the golf 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.639 course on a lot of channels. Check out our website, 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:26.320 Thefrida egg dot com. We already have a ton of 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:31.840 articles up about Shineakak Hills. Also check out our YouTube page. 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:35.639 We have our Allgrasses Local series on the turf operation. 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:39.320 We have the architecture of Shinnacock Hills. We were joined 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:43.359 by the great Wayne Morrison, a William Flynn historian, as 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:46.560 well as Bill Corr and Garrett and I break down 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:50.000 the golf course on the golf on the golf course. 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.720 That's a great video. The architecture of Shinnakok Hills and 0:02:55.280 --> 0:03:00.040 also we have Ry McElroy talking about Shinnecock Hills and 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.160 I think what really makes it a tough test for 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:07.120 players like of his ilk. So check out our website, 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:12.480 check out the YouTube page for a ton of preview content. 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:17.680 Before we get to high ideas, let's talk about our 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:22.200 partners here. Max Fly has been a leader in golf 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.840 equipment for over one hundred years. In nineteen eighty six, 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.880 Max Fly was killing it. That might have been the 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:33.880 HT era of Max fly Ball, known for their innovation 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:38.840 and excellence. PGA Tour player Ben Griffin and LPGA player 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:42.360 Lexi Thompson both joined Team Max Fly in twenty twenty 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:46.240 four and currently play the Max Fly Tour X, and 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:48.880 twenty twenty five, the team expanded further with the addition 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:54.360 of renowned golf instructor Sean Foley. 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I am joined by the great High Mayds, 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:54.919 long time writer at SI Golf Channel contributor now writer 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:59.239 at large at Golf Digest. I May has seen many 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:02.560 of the ratest golf championships. It's always a pleasure to 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:06.520 be joined by him. Hi, May What do you think 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:11.120 about Shitnacok Kills? Obviously in your illustrious career you've covered 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:15.440 it many times. What is your favorite tournament that they've 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:16.640 had at Shinnacock. 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:20.040 Well, it might be a little bit romanticism on my part, 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:23.479 but the first one was eighty six, and I've just 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:25.839 come off the first matters i'd been to at eighty six, 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:28.479 and you know, arguably that was the best Masters and 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:31.200 arguably eighty six was the best Open, at least for me, 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:34.120 that I've seen for many reasons, and one of them 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.719 was Shinnecock itself. There was a lot of skepticism going 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:40.760 into that tournament about the site. It was really sort 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.120 of this kind of fever dream by Frank Hannigan, who 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.560 ran the USGA in the eighties and was a great 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.599 thinker of the game, did a lot for golf architecture 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:53.000 as far as bringing awareness about the great architects. He 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:58.000 did the first really long and you know, very very 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:03.800 informative and thought provoking feature on an architect. It was 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:07.119 on aw tilling Hast, and nobody knew who the tilling 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:08.840 Hast was. I shouldn't say nobody, I mean a lot 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.719 of historians did, but the general public did not even 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:15.760 really put architects first when they thought of the golf courses. 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:17.680 They just thought of the tournaments that had been held there. 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:20.880 But it just opened up the world for people learning 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:24.520 about Ross and Mackenzie and everybody else. The Golden Age. 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:27.680 Nobody talked about the Golden Age. Suddenly you're talking about, oh, 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:29.719 the best golf course in the best land was, And 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:31.680 you guys at friday E know it better than anyone. 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:35.120 You know, how golf exploded because of you know, the 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:38.320 great architects building great golf courses back in the twenties 0:06:38.360 --> 0:06:41.359 and even before that, of course Shinnecock. So you know 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:44.560 what Flynn did in the thirties was, you know something. 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:48.520 It turned out to be classic, and I honestly think 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:52.520 it's my favorite US Open site. I mean, I won't 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:54.960 go on and on, but go ahead, you know, let's 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:56.240 talk a little more about Shinnecock. 0:06:57.240 --> 0:07:02.280 Yeah, I'd love to get some stories from the eighty six. 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:05.760 So this is your first US Open you covered. 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.599 Then I covered. Yeah, I'd actually become the sixty six 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:12.000 US Open. That was just because I lived in San Francisco, 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:13.600 but it was the first one I covered. I went 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:16.520 to eighty five at Oakland Hills, but I was really just, 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:19.520 you know, very much a bench player. But it was 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:24.000 still a great experience. But the US Open, say that again, 0:07:24.320 --> 0:07:28.880 t C US Open, TC CHIP, the US Open and 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:31.640 Andy North grinding it out and sebb that was his 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:33.400 best US Open ever, I believe. 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:39.200 With eighty six. I mean, I guess, like I think 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:43.240 about the way I cover golf, though as I go out, 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:46.400 I go out watch. But in that US Open, similar 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:50.360 to the Masters, I mean, it was anybody's game. You know, 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:55.040 it's ten ten players at one point within you know, 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:59.160 I think ten players held the lead on Sunday. 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:02.440 I would just eat. You may have this. I always 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:08.200 referred back to it Sal Johnson's old print kind of 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:12.640 a comprehensive statistical summary of all the US opens up 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.840 I think through ninety six. But he said at four 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:18.480 o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday, nine guys were tied 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.000 for the lead. And I do remember that in sitting 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:23.320 in the in the in the lunch room I was 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:26.800 sitting with I mean, I was total, you know, very 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:33.079 much deferential just to kind of a rookie with Dan Jenkins, 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:39.040 Mike Lupica, Dave Anderson, Herbert Warrenwin. I'm just sitting at 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:41.600 this table and you know, kind of listening and but 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:43.520 I'm looking at the leaderboard, going well, I'm gonna go 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:45.520 out there. Uh. And it was hard to leave that 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:48.320 table just because it was just so much lore being 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:53.000 flung around and wise cracks and just really skilled, incredible 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:57.240 uh you know, golf minds, and uh, you know, I left, 0:08:57.320 --> 0:09:00.520 but and I followed Floyd and and and were on 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:01.079 the way in. 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:08.360 What was what was Ray floyd reputation with the media. 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:13.559 With the media, well, he was one of those guys 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:18.280 that put out a very gruff exterior and was skeptical 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:21.439 of talking to the media and would kind of repel 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.440 people just with his just with his mood and his 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.840 or at least his the mood that he affected when 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:31.440 the media came around that I saw. You know, so 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.199 he's a little intimidating. But if you could kind of 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:37.440 cut through and just keep asking a decent question that 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.800 that showed that you might have an idea of what, 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:45.320 you know, what professional golf's about, he would be very 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:48.440 I wouldn't say engaging, but he'd be very thoughtful and 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:50.520 and smart about the game. And you know, I ended 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:53.360 up doing a book with with Raymond. The elements of 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:56.280 scoring was about the short game mostly, but you know, 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.079 just in general, his course management and the way he 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:01.400 thought his way around to go off course and just 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:04.360 the inside kind of mental part of the game. Of course, 0:10:04.360 --> 0:10:07.679 he had some you know, some technical stuff he did 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:09.240 with his golf swing, but it was very much a 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:13.160 homemade golf swing. He was a great athlete. He got 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.960 drafted by the Cleveland Indians as a pitcher, and so 0:10:17.480 --> 0:10:20.880 he really knew sports and he really knew golf, and 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:24.199 he knew the competitive side of it wonderfully. I mean, 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:27.600 like he he mentored Freddie Couples and and and just 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:30.680 took him up a level just in terms of, you know, 0:10:30.960 --> 0:10:35.040 Usier's power intelligently and you know, lecturer, don't, don't make 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:37.560 big mistakes and all these things that you know, they're 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:40.480 subtle and they're nuanced. But Raymond could coach it and 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:43.760 he could talk it. So, you know, not to say 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:46.760 he was expansive that week, but on Sunday he was 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.560 quite eloquent. I thought about, you know, the way he 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.360 the way he not conquered, but the way he handled 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:57.280 Shinnecock and what Shinnecock demanded of a player. It was 0:10:57.320 --> 0:10:59.800 really an artistic golf course, and he was an artistic golfer. 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:04.320 Yeah, watching the telecast a couple of weeks ago, they 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:10.120 made o they I can't remember which broadcaster was like 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:15.120 we I talked to Maria ray Floyd's wife, and you know, 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:17.520 Floyd hadn't had a lot of success in the US Opens, 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:21.520 and she said that this week was the most conservative 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:25.400 approach he's ever ever taken to golf course at Shittacock. 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.720 And you think about where modern golf strategy has gotten 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:34.440 and you know, basically the gospel is to play you know, 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:37.600 I don't want to get too far out over, but 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:43.319 ultra conservative is the way to play. You avoid hazards, 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:46.840 you avoid bunkers. You and if you you know, aim 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:49.320 at middles of greens all day, you're going to roll 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:51.120 in a couple of putts and you're going to miss 0:11:51.160 --> 0:11:54.040 a couple close and that's how you get to you know, 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:57.040 four under part. But it's interesting to hear, you know, 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:02.120 he had success when he plays ultra conservative, and I think, 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:06.800 like it's fascinating, Like there's this lore about so many 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:11.280 players in the sport, and you know there's obviously a 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:15.120 ton of you know, love of Ben Crenshaw, Ray Floyd 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:19.240 one one leg away from from the Grand Slam. I 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:24.160 feel like he is one player that is consistently underrated 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.120 or underappreciated of that era. 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:30.400 Yeah, and part of it was because he wasn't real 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.880 expansive and told his story a lot, and you know, 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.719 it wasn't that engaging with the press. He could have 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:38.880 he could have controlled the narrative a little bit more, 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.200 but inside the game he was I would say revered 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:47.160 as extremely good mentally, especially down the stretch. You know, 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.320 we did see him lose the Masters in ninety and 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:51.400 that was a killer when he lost to Faldo. He 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:55.680 didn't usually make those kind of mistakes. So you know, 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:59.840 what he did at Shinnecock was an interesting week because 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:01.760 the week before he had led the third round at 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:06.319 Westchester and shot seventy seven on Sunday and you may 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:09.120 know the story when they were driving from Westchester to 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:13.280 Shinnecock he and Maria. Maria was very challenging and she 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:15.839 was the one who turned Raymond's career around because in 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:20.000 the sixties he was this really talented, long hitting, powerful 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:24.360 player who just kind of screwed around too much, going 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:27.760 to the racetrack and you know, late nights and bachelor 0:13:27.800 --> 0:13:30.040 and you know, living the life but not getting the 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:32.320 most out of his golf. And when he met Maria 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:34.280 and they got married, it just changed him and he 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:36.920 would always talk about that as the turning point of 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:39.599 his career. And so she said, you know, Raymond, we 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:42.640 got to talk about what happened on Sunday here. You know, 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:44.640 you just didn't handle it, I mean, what was wrong. 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.600 And Floyd didn't want to talk about it. And you know, 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:49.280 he said, you know, leave me alone right now. And 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:51.640 they're in the car anyway, they end up pulling over 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.559 on the Long Island Turnpike and having this screaming match. 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:59.320 And Maria was a very strong woman and really smart 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:02.840 and very accompli business woman before she met Raymond, and Raymond, 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.600 you know, was really strong personality. But that's you know, 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:08.079 he deferred to her in many ways, and she won 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:11.000 the argument because they did talk about it. And you know, 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:13.280 I guess he got his mind right at Shinnacock, whether 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:15.800 it was conservative play or just you know, just being 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:19.120 really focused. And I may screw this up, but you know, 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:23.600 he used to talk about Raymond having the look, which 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:25.960 was this glazed look he would get on Sundays when 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:27.840 he would close out tournaments, because he won the PGA, 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:29.960 I think by you know, he'd led by eight or 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:32.280 something coming down the stretch at Southern Hills and just 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:35.880 dominated the whole tournament and shot record score. So when 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:37.440 he got it going, you know, he would just get 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:40.560 in this wonderful zone. And she said, you know, I've 0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:44.760 seen him. I've seen him win without the look, or 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:48.800 I've seen him how did she put it, I've seen 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:51.720 him win occasionally without the look, but I've never seen 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:54.400 him lose with the look. And he had the look 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.040 at Shinnacock and it was you know she was she 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:00.520 was playing with with with Payne Stewart. And later when 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.000 Payne finally won some opens and one of his majors, 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:04.680 he said, you know, I kind of got an education 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:08.840 from Raymond Floyd. He just had this aura that you know, 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:11.600 I kind of shrunk in its presence because it was 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:16.560 really a powerful mental focus that just kind of emanated 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:20.840 out of him and the players felt it. So you 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:24.200 know that that's what Raymond I think had the And 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:27.000 he had all kinds of shots. Incredible wedge player, incredible 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:30.560 wet chipper of the ball, and could could move the 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:32.320 ball around. He was a good ball striker when he 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:33.960 when he got it going. He was not always a 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:36.760 great ball striker. That was his challenge was finding you know, 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.760 the right swing. Thought, let's say on Tuesday afternoon or something. 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:43.760 Yeah, it seemed he got it really going. Watching that, 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:48.200 you know, you're describing him his relationship with the press, 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:53.320 you know, kind of his his I would say, Aura, 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:58.120 you know, I don't want to use Pj's generations terms here. 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.960 Right that was before they don't know that one. 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:06.400 But he kind of revives, uh be a little bit 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:10.120 like the way he's been described in articles I've read 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:13.960 and you by you here of Brooks Kopka. 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.200 I was just gonna say Brooks Brooks could get in 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:21.280 the zone, especially at majors obviously, and you know, Raymond 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:25.520 early in his career could be very distracted, you know. Uh, 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:28.800 he hung around with some guys al Bessa Link and 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:33.800 Doug Sanders and Bob Rosberg and Rossi in particular, loved 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.200 to play the horses, and he was sort of known 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:38.640 for like if he was four over on you know, 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.640 Friday morning, after seven holes, he'd walk off and and 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:45.480 he'd go to the track and sometimes he take Raymond 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.000 with him, and and Raymond knew he was you know, 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:50.280 he didn't really know it. He lived in San Francisco 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.520 in those days, by the way, you know. And yeah, 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:54.760 he owned the club, right, He owned part of a 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:59.120 strip club, a topless club in on Broadway there. Uh 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:01.160 so he was the man. He was the boulevard deer, 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:04.239 you know. But he did not He was a hell 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:06.119 of a gambler, one of those guys who you know, 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:09.720 very tough to beat on it Tuesday or Wednesday practice round. 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:15.160 But he just didn't have the sustained focus, so when 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:17.199 he did get it, it would just open up a 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:19.639 whole world of how good he could really be. And 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:21.879 I forgot your original question, and if I'm not answering 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:22.840 it sent me straight. 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:25.280 It was just about Brooks. 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:29.200 But yeah, I know Brooks. The only reason I brought 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:30.879 that up was a good Brooks. You know, he would 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:33.280 He's frankly said, you know, it's hard now. Maybe he's 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:35.520 different since he's come back from living appreciates maybe with 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.160 the tour really is every every week, but he would 0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:40.040 talk about, you know, week to week, I don't really 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:42.120 get up for the tournaments, but when the majors come, 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.400 I'm at my best. And you did see his mean, 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:49.520 his demeanor and his facial expression get hardened during those majors, 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.600 and he was really a you know, he won five. 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.000 It's just incredible you think back, I mean, Brooks is 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:57.320 not really a force at the moment, but you just 0:17:57.359 --> 0:17:59.000 can and he's not that old. You can't ignore he's 0:17:59.040 --> 0:17:59.880 won five majors. 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:05.440 Yeah, I think I had We obviously did our five 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:08.879 things here for this pod, but he has. He's he 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:12.479 made mine. I think, like whether he contends or not 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:18.000 this year, you know, I think the the win at 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:22.439 Shinnikok Hills is about as good of a US Open, 0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:26.520 you know, achievement as you can get. And when I 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:30.040 think about all of Brooks as majors, the Shinnacock Hills 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:33.480 Open is the one that I think of as quintessential Brooks, 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:37.920 where you know, he played the golf course smart, he 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:43.199 hit lots of driving irons, he he in where what 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:45.399 I think about the most is like there are a 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:50.840 lot of excellent approach shots and excellent you know, just 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.280 excellent play out of the back eye to close out 0:18:53.320 --> 0:18:56.639 the US Open in twenty eighteen. But I think about 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:58.520 the up and down for bogey. 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:01.160 On eleven eleven yeah, eleven, say yeah. 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:03.560 And then the up and down from he was about 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:08.280 fifty yards short of fourteen green it was humming down 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:11.080 wind a front pin, and the up and down there 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:15.879 as these two just like that's Brooks Kopka in a 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:19.919 nutshell at a major championship. And obviously you know it 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:25.640 doesn't you know, distance Shinnacock's I think this is important everywhere. 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:29.320 I don't think distance is like a prerequisite at Shinnacock. 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:31.840 And when I look at like, what's the big difference 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:35.720 between brooks Kepka today and you know seven years ago 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:38.760 or eight years ago when when they played at Shanaicagas, 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:41.919 he's not overwhelmingly powerful anymore because of the way the 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:45.480 tour has just gotten faster, and he's you know, you 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:49.520 lose a superpower. You you aren't going to be you know, 0:19:49.640 --> 0:19:53.199 the you know, the same dominant force that he was. 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:57.040 And I do I think like the way he it 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:00.840 will always go under the radar. And talked about the 0:20:00.920 --> 0:20:04.240 way he understood how to attack a golf course and 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:07.840 understand how to attack a golf course. You know, they talked, 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:11.320 he talked after O Kill about O Kill about this 0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:14.560 at the US Open at la how he he really like, 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:16.920 if you want to understand a golf course, you stand 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:19.160 on the back of the green and you look back 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:21.399 and I know which way where I want to be 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:25.119 approaching the green from from for different pins. And he 0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:29.360 really you know, I think like because of his persona 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:32.879 and his personality, he will never get the credit for 0:20:33.000 --> 0:20:34.840 the golf brain that he had. 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:37.120 You know, one thing, go ahead, scuse me. 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:41.760 And Shinnakock was that moment you know of of like 0:20:42.000 --> 0:20:44.000 you know, this is this is a place that is 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:46.520 the peak place to win a US Open. 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:49.480 Well, I think one thing that validated him in my mind, 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.199 besides the wins and the way he played, that was just, 0:20:52.359 --> 0:20:55.960 you know, very very much a parent just visually was 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:59.840 helping Doak at uh at Memorial Park, and Doak you know, 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:03.199 he's not always the easiest collaborator by his own you 0:21:03.200 --> 0:21:05.639 know admission. I don't mean personality wise. I mean he 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:09.520 just has his his ideas and and they're great ones usually. 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:12.800 But he said, Brooks really gave him a nice perspective 0:21:12.960 --> 0:21:17.760 about what tour players, you know, find difficult in green surrounds, 0:21:18.200 --> 0:21:21.040 and that golf course has very few bunkers, and it's 0:21:21.080 --> 0:21:23.080 it's amazing how well out of golf course as a 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:26.520 municipal or a public course holds up. And it's because 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:34.000 of the way that the greens challenge, especially you know, 0:21:34.520 --> 0:21:38.719 shots around the green. And so you know, Brooks added 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:40.679 that to it. And I think of that shot, the 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:44.320 up and down at eleven eleven's probably the most diable, 0:21:44.840 --> 0:21:48.919 diabolical part three at Shinnecock and maybe anywhere. I know. 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:51.119 He actually chipped it in the bunker from over the 0:21:51.160 --> 0:21:52.920 green and then he got up and down. He made 0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:55.800 about a fifteen foot or so. It wasn't stellar short 0:21:55.840 --> 0:21:58.199 game play, but it was. It was that toughness and 0:21:58.280 --> 0:22:00.920 rising to the moment and not make in the big mistake. 0:22:01.000 --> 0:22:03.560 And he he made bogey there and I think DJ 0:22:03.680 --> 0:22:05.600 three putted and made bogey and that looked like a 0:22:05.640 --> 0:22:08.959 big flip and ended up being nothing and he and 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:11.320 he may have won the open on that hole. But anyway, 0:22:11.720 --> 0:22:14.640 the big thing about Brooks is he is a very 0:22:15.160 --> 0:22:18.160 smart course manager and he's pretty well rounded. I'm talking 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:20.320 about now, Pete Brooks. He had a good short game, 0:22:20.440 --> 0:22:22.760 he was a good putter, he was a good he 0:22:22.840 --> 0:22:25.639 was a good iron player. I think actually the driver, 0:22:25.800 --> 0:22:28.400 I mean, because he hit kind of a cut and 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:30.680 his his swing is not optimal as far as the 0:22:30.720 --> 0:22:33.480 angle of attack for distance. It's kind of steep, and 0:22:33.520 --> 0:22:35.480 he spun it a lot, but he was you know, 0:22:35.520 --> 0:22:36.800 he got it in the fairway and he was just 0:22:36.840 --> 0:22:38.480 such a brute that he could get it out there 0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:41.360 pretty far. But it's not a swing for maximized distance. 0:22:41.600 --> 0:22:43.320 I mean, you almost never see him turning over with 0:22:43.359 --> 0:22:45.760 a draw, so you know he was giving up distance 0:22:45.800 --> 0:22:48.840 even then. But he was so powerful and the game's 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:51.440 changed obviously, and I think more than anything when I 0:22:51.480 --> 0:22:54.200 watch him now, it's the putter if he puts well 0:22:54.280 --> 0:22:57.080 and gets that back because I didn't he play well yesterday? 0:22:57.280 --> 0:23:02.359 Yeah yeah, who knows back. Yeah, I wouldn't count him out. Uh, 0:23:02.440 --> 0:23:05.240 he's due for something. I think. I gotta believe his 0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:08.679 mindset is so much different and appreciative and grateful that 0:23:08.720 --> 0:23:12.239 he's back, and you know, probably with a very good 0:23:12.240 --> 0:23:13.160 attitude at the moment. 0:23:13.800 --> 0:23:19.000 Yeah. Yeah, I think I wouldn't be surprised if if 0:23:19.040 --> 0:23:20.959 he's back in the mix. I think it would be 0:23:20.960 --> 0:23:23.520 one of the one of the better stories you could have. 0:23:24.720 --> 0:23:29.679 Just I think when like Floyd, when Brooks is in 0:23:29.760 --> 0:23:32.600 the mix, it's it's got he gets that, he gets 0:23:32.640 --> 0:23:35.560 that look and he gets going and and it's like 0:23:36.560 --> 0:23:39.879 it's a hard player to have in the mix, uh, 0:23:40.400 --> 0:23:43.680 on the leader board just because of the his closing 0:23:43.720 --> 0:23:47.720 ability and and pedigree at majors and at a golf 0:23:47.760 --> 0:23:52.240 course where like you know, Shittacock, I was telling some 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:55.480 people this the other day, is like I believe and 0:23:56.160 --> 0:24:00.879 I know you want to talk about Shittacock Hills. I 0:24:00.920 --> 0:24:06.560 believe Shittacock is extremely like what I love about Shitnacock 0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:10.640 is it allows you to go you can make birdie's 0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:15.320 every hole, I think every hole out there. You look 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:17.880 at it and it's like, if I execute, I can 0:24:17.960 --> 0:24:20.679 make a birdie here. There's no hole that is like 0:24:21.400 --> 0:24:27.520 overwhelmingly difficult. But what is overwhelmingly difficult about Shittacock is 0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:32.080 stringing together a series of great holes. And I think, 0:24:32.119 --> 0:24:35.280 like what I love about the golf course is that 0:24:35.400 --> 0:24:37.560 you can go out and you could play a great 0:24:37.600 --> 0:24:39.920 round at Shitakock. And we saw that last time the 0:24:40.000 --> 0:24:43.240 US Open was here with rounds from like Tommy Fleetwood, 0:24:43.280 --> 0:24:45.680 Tony f Now played a great round, Daniel Berger played 0:24:45.680 --> 0:24:48.520 a great round. You can go out and you can 0:24:48.640 --> 0:24:52.280 really achieve a great round. But what's tricky about Shittacock 0:24:52.440 --> 0:24:54.359 is doing it multiple days in a row. 0:24:56.240 --> 0:25:00.639 Well, yeah, I mean it's unrelenting in that regard. You 0:25:00.800 --> 0:25:05.359 have to hit it solid and really conceive your iron 0:25:05.400 --> 0:25:08.000 shots correctly to hold the greens. The targets are so 0:25:08.040 --> 0:25:11.200 small on the greens themselves. To me, it's a second 0:25:11.240 --> 0:25:14.960 shot golf course. And you know, it's interesting they they've 0:25:15.040 --> 0:25:18.320 allowed the fairways to be wider this year. John Bodenhemmerh 0:25:18.400 --> 0:25:20.560 was just talking about that, and you know, I think 0:25:20.560 --> 0:25:23.320 they want they want to see the artistry from the 0:25:23.320 --> 0:25:26.679 fairway with the irons and let that be the determiner 0:25:26.680 --> 0:25:29.800 of who's the best player. And I think that's actually 0:25:29.800 --> 0:25:31.960 the most beautiful kind of golf because then you see, 0:25:32.320 --> 0:25:35.520 you know, it's it's a physical challenge, great athletic of 0:25:35.760 --> 0:25:38.720 I think act to hit a really solid compressed iron 0:25:38.720 --> 0:25:42.800 shot that's well shaped and you know, is the right 0:25:43.040 --> 0:25:46.520 is the right trajectory and all those things that go 0:25:46.560 --> 0:25:48.560 into a really great iron shot and do a great 0:25:48.680 --> 0:25:52.480 green complex and see that over and over somebody do that. 0:25:52.960 --> 0:25:55.719 I think that's what the most memorable rounds are about 0:25:56.440 --> 0:25:59.200 that I've seen anyway. And nobody does that right now 0:25:59.200 --> 0:26:02.400 better than Shuffler. Uh. But you know Jack Jack didn't 0:26:02.440 --> 0:26:04.439 go pin hunting a lot, but man, he hit a 0:26:04.480 --> 0:26:07.439 million greens and he always hit the right shot. Uh, 0:26:07.960 --> 0:26:11.919 so you know he I remember talking Arnold Palmer wants 0:26:11.960 --> 0:26:13.960 saying that the best part of Jacks games is middle 0:26:13.960 --> 0:26:18.080 iron game. He goes, he's just relentless with that doesn't 0:26:18.080 --> 0:26:21.320 miss greens, hits the right shot, can hold the greens 0:26:22.200 --> 0:26:25.479 when they get really really firm. In majors, and and 0:26:25.520 --> 0:26:28.639 that's what Shennikock's gonna demand. You cannot you can't be 0:26:28.760 --> 0:26:31.960 you know, kind of slapping iron shots around. And we 0:26:32.000 --> 0:26:34.359 do see that with some players, you know, when the 0:26:34.359 --> 0:26:37.960 greens are a little softer, they can contend Shehnnacock and 0:26:38.000 --> 0:26:41.320 the opening general is about that. But Shennacock especially, uh 0:26:41.840 --> 0:26:45.000 will separate those guys out. You've got to be a 0:26:45.119 --> 0:26:50.199 really you know that that that that flusher that you 0:26:50.200 --> 0:26:53.040 you know, sound, all that stuff that's really beautiful about 0:26:53.080 --> 0:26:55.440 the game, especially on the practice team when you when 0:26:55.480 --> 0:27:02.000 you see guys just you know, just hitting these artistic, beautiful, 0:27:02.320 --> 0:27:05.080 solid iron shots. That's what Shinnakock asked for. 0:27:06.800 --> 0:27:10.000 So you've seen a lot of a lot of the 0:27:10.359 --> 0:27:14.879 great Championship golf courses you've attended, so may it covered 0:27:14.880 --> 0:27:18.320 so many of the US Opens. Do you believe Shannakok 0:27:18.600 --> 0:27:21.400 Where do you think it stacks up in the great 0:27:21.520 --> 0:27:22.480 US Open venues? 0:27:23.320 --> 0:27:24.920 Well? To me, it's the best one. And you know 0:27:24.960 --> 0:27:27.120 what I've been hearing that, you know Bodenhammer was talking 0:27:27.160 --> 0:27:29.040 about yesterday. You know they've been surveying the players the 0:27:29.080 --> 0:27:32.000 last five or six years about you know, what they 0:27:32.119 --> 0:27:35.160 like to see at the US Open. And and what's 0:27:35.160 --> 0:27:37.959 important about the US Open, And one of the big 0:27:38.200 --> 0:27:43.320 reactions is it matters where you win, and winning at 0:27:43.320 --> 0:27:46.439 Shinnacock they feel defined you as a really good player. 0:27:47.400 --> 0:27:50.800 And so in many ways, for many players, Shinnecock's their 0:27:50.840 --> 0:27:53.800 favorite US Open site. And I'm not saying that because 0:27:53.800 --> 0:27:56.800 the players say that. I love it for its aesthetics, 0:27:56.840 --> 0:27:59.119 for the you know, it's on the best land, probably 0:27:59.119 --> 0:28:02.680 the best golf land America is on Long Island. It's 0:28:02.680 --> 0:28:05.719 the closest to the links, and the wind is blowing 0:28:06.320 --> 0:28:09.800 and in the summer it's not overly humid, and it's 0:28:09.920 --> 0:28:12.760 just and the colors of the grass are so beautiful, 0:28:12.760 --> 0:28:16.719 and the variations it just the most natural, you know, 0:28:17.359 --> 0:28:21.800 well designed golf courses too, without being overly elaborate, you know, 0:28:21.840 --> 0:28:25.960 the simplicity of them. It's just a great golf experience. 0:28:26.000 --> 0:28:28.720 To watch golf out there, and then to watch the 0:28:28.760 --> 0:28:32.199 players handle it and really go into their bag with 0:28:32.320 --> 0:28:36.520 everything they got with skill and imagination. You just feel 0:28:36.600 --> 0:28:39.080 like you're watching the very highest level of golf, and 0:28:39.120 --> 0:28:40.520 Shinnecock brings it out. 0:28:40.600 --> 0:28:40.800 You know. 0:28:40.880 --> 0:28:43.840 I know a lot of courses used to but since 0:28:44.440 --> 0:28:46.280 this is you know, getting on a harangue. You know, 0:28:46.680 --> 0:28:49.040 since the ball has started going so far, at least 0:28:49.280 --> 0:28:51.520 being hit so far, don't want to blame the ball 0:28:51.560 --> 0:28:55.080 too much. You know, it's just changed the challenge. And 0:28:55.120 --> 0:28:59.080 it's to me, it's slightly cheap in the challenge and 0:28:59.560 --> 0:29:02.640 shinnik because it's not about length as much as just 0:29:02.760 --> 0:29:08.720 precise contact and beautifully conceived iron shots that that hasn't 0:29:08.720 --> 0:29:12.320 been lost because of the power. You'll be some wedges 0:29:12.360 --> 0:29:14.240 coming in, but you know, they still got to be 0:29:14.360 --> 0:29:18.200 perfectly hit to get close. And so that's what I 0:29:18.240 --> 0:29:20.680 love about Shinnacock. And I love the clubhouse, and I 0:29:20.680 --> 0:29:24.840 love the history of it, and in general, you feel 0:29:24.880 --> 0:29:26.840 like you're at a home of golf. I mean, Pinehers 0:29:26.920 --> 0:29:28.920 is the American home of golf, and and you know 0:29:29.000 --> 0:29:31.560 say it feels like Saint Andrew's. It feels like you're 0:29:31.600 --> 0:29:34.600 at a historic place, especially that clubhouse and the mood 0:29:34.600 --> 0:29:37.000 that sense at the top of the hill like that, 0:29:37.000 --> 0:29:39.840 that's that's the best set clubhouse in America, I think. 0:29:40.840 --> 0:29:44.480 Yeah, I mean founding five Club two, which is you know, 0:29:44.560 --> 0:29:49.200 obviously one of the founders of the usgau. There's something 0:29:49.280 --> 0:29:54.040 to that. But I think, you know, an interesting aspect 0:29:54.080 --> 0:29:57.080 is like what can you learn from Shinnacock in terms 0:29:57.120 --> 0:30:00.200 of the spotter technology? I you know, frankly, I think 0:30:00.200 --> 0:30:04.440 the rollbacks kind of a mess right now. Well obviously, yeah, 0:30:04.520 --> 0:30:09.040 you know, but the the what can we learn about 0:30:09.080 --> 0:30:14.080 like what makes players uncomfortable because Shittacock's one of the 0:30:14.080 --> 0:30:19.800 places that makes modern the modern golfer uncomfortable, and like, sadly, 0:30:21.280 --> 0:30:23.960 from what I can tell is like the vast majority 0:30:24.000 --> 0:30:27.800 of what Shittacock does to players is it's natural just 0:30:28.040 --> 0:30:33.360 sheer natural advantages to other golf courses, which is the 0:30:33.520 --> 0:30:40.760 ever present wind, the elevation changes, and the firm turf 0:30:40.880 --> 0:30:44.560 that is that is a byproduct of having sandy soil. 0:30:44.600 --> 0:30:48.920 Like those three things together, so wind, elevation, and firm turf. 0:30:49.320 --> 0:30:52.080 You know, Plus they're repelling edges, you know, the greens 0:30:52.120 --> 0:30:55.960 that repel away the ball if you miss your target 0:30:56.160 --> 0:31:00.320 or you miss strike your shot. So you know, the 0:31:00.320 --> 0:31:02.480 the best way to describe this is like when the 0:31:02.520 --> 0:31:05.760 greens are pretty soft, if I catch the ball a 0:31:06.080 --> 0:31:08.680 fraction on the toe and say I hit I'm playing 0:31:08.680 --> 0:31:11.560 to hit a two yard fade into a green that 0:31:11.760 --> 0:31:13.600 I know is going to stop if I hit catching 0:31:13.600 --> 0:31:15.920 it fraction on the toe and it turns over a 0:31:16.040 --> 0:31:19.040 yard or two. At most golf courses, that's not a 0:31:19.040 --> 0:31:22.400 big deal. You know, at Shinnacock Hills, that could lead 0:31:22.440 --> 0:31:25.960 to your ball just rolling thirty yards away. Sure, because 0:31:25.960 --> 0:31:27.720 of the firmness of the turf, and if you're not 0:31:27.840 --> 0:31:30.920 hitting the shape. Plus you know, like what the way 0:31:31.280 --> 0:31:34.280 a draw could be accentuated with the wind, or way 0:31:34.320 --> 0:31:37.080 of fade could be accentuated with the wind, all these 0:31:37.120 --> 0:31:41.520 things that the margin for error at Shinnacock Hills is 0:31:41.600 --> 0:31:44.560 shrunk more so than any other American course, and I 0:31:44.600 --> 0:31:48.040 would say more so than any other course maybe in 0:31:48.080 --> 0:31:48.640 the world. 0:31:49.600 --> 0:31:52.200 Wow, yeah, well you could make I think you made 0:31:52.200 --> 0:31:55.360 a good argument, and that's very possibly true that it 0:31:55.480 --> 0:31:58.520 is the greatest. I think it's very much in the 0:31:58.520 --> 0:32:05.160 top three or four of the greatest tests for championship golf. Now, 0:32:05.240 --> 0:32:07.360 if you get it that way for everyday play or 0:32:07.760 --> 0:32:10.120 even every week play on PGA Tour, it might be 0:32:10.160 --> 0:32:12.800 a little much. I mean, it's a fine line. You 0:32:12.840 --> 0:32:14.640 can go over the line. They've gone over the line 0:32:14.640 --> 0:32:17.520 at Shinnacock, at least by their own admission. They're they're 0:32:17.520 --> 0:32:20.640 they're rolling, They're they're they're they're they're sort of backing 0:32:20.680 --> 0:32:23.400 off on going to the edge so much in terms 0:32:23.440 --> 0:32:25.640 of the whole I don't know about the whole positions, 0:32:25.640 --> 0:32:28.920 but certainly the front for the firmness and the fairway 0:32:28.960 --> 0:32:31.600 with and the rough they want Shinnacock to be quote 0:32:31.680 --> 0:32:34.880 unquote Shinnacock. But it's still championship golf, and you've got 0:32:34.920 --> 0:32:38.200 to ratchet it up. I think you're absolutely right. It's 0:32:38.240 --> 0:32:42.040 the natural environment at Shinnecock. That's the greatest challenge. But 0:32:42.080 --> 0:32:44.360 then when you start tweaking the setup, you know you 0:32:44.400 --> 0:32:47.680 can make it even better as far as really really 0:32:47.760 --> 0:32:50.400 testing these guys in a way that brings out inspired 0:32:50.480 --> 0:32:53.040 championship play. But you can also go over the line 0:32:53.080 --> 0:32:56.280 and and make it, you know, sort of random, and 0:32:56.320 --> 0:32:58.280 you don't want to do that either. So I think 0:32:58.320 --> 0:33:01.680 the setup now at all these majors, it's one of 0:33:01.720 --> 0:33:04.160 the greatest challenges in the game to get it right. 0:33:04.600 --> 0:33:07.360 For example, I thought it iron i mink. I thought 0:33:07.360 --> 0:33:11.280 they actually went too far and it wasn't terrible, it 0:33:11.320 --> 0:33:14.360 was interesting, but it got to the point where nobody 0:33:14.360 --> 0:33:17.360 could really hit it close because of the whole positions 0:33:17.400 --> 0:33:20.480 and because of the firmness, and yeah, they were hitting 0:33:20.480 --> 0:33:22.080 wedges a lot of the time because the course wasn't 0:33:22.080 --> 0:33:24.320 that long, but it still ended up with everybody having 0:33:24.360 --> 0:33:27.520 twenty footers for birdies or thirty footers, and you know, 0:33:27.560 --> 0:33:31.000 it was that's why the leaderboard got so bunched and 0:33:31.040 --> 0:33:34.120 it was so hard to separate. Having said that, Aaron 0:33:34.200 --> 0:33:36.720 Raye he played the best coming in and really was 0:33:36.720 --> 0:33:39.920 a definitive victory. But I'm just saying up to that point, 0:33:40.080 --> 0:33:42.760 it was really like, wow, how do you how do 0:33:42.800 --> 0:33:46.400 you show your superiority in this on this kind of setup? 0:33:46.800 --> 0:33:49.400 And you know, the PGA not to pick on them 0:33:50.000 --> 0:33:52.440 in the past, they've been the ones that were kind 0:33:52.440 --> 0:33:55.640 of us open light and might have been considered too 0:33:56.440 --> 0:33:59.520 acquiescent to the players. I thought they wanted to get 0:33:59.560 --> 0:34:01.920 away from that around me because it looked like earlily 0:34:01.920 --> 0:34:03.360 the week it was going to be wet, number one 0:34:03.360 --> 0:34:05.560 and number two. The golf course wasn't that long. It's like, man, 0:34:05.560 --> 0:34:09.200 we could have a you know, seventeen under deal here. 0:34:09.320 --> 0:34:11.880 Who knows. And so, you know, Carrie Hay has always 0:34:11.880 --> 0:34:14.600 been pretty conservative. He went he went kind of aggressively 0:34:15.640 --> 0:34:20.040 I only bring that up because that threat is president 0:34:20.120 --> 0:34:22.000 every major. Now, if you want to take it to 0:34:22.040 --> 0:34:24.439 the edge, it's harder to take it to the edge 0:34:24.440 --> 0:34:26.640 now because the edge is sharper than it's ever been 0:34:27.120 --> 0:34:29.759 because of the distance the ball is going. And and 0:34:29.800 --> 0:34:32.600 if it you know, if you allow with but you don't, 0:34:32.960 --> 0:34:36.800 you don't have enough severity on the green complexes. It's wedges, wedges, wedges, 0:34:36.800 --> 0:34:39.160 and Berti puts, Berty puts, Berty puts. You know that. 0:34:39.400 --> 0:34:41.439 So you then if you tied it up too much, 0:34:41.800 --> 0:34:44.400 and you put too much rough I say too much 0:34:44.480 --> 0:34:46.400 in the sense that it just becomes so narrow that 0:34:46.400 --> 0:34:49.759 everybody's having to hit irons or just getting punished from 0:34:49.760 --> 0:34:52.080 the rough in a way that they can't recover. Then 0:34:52.120 --> 0:34:54.919 you have kind of like Marian in twenty thirteen, which 0:34:54.960 --> 0:34:56.680 I'm not saying it was terrible, but it was over 0:34:56.719 --> 0:35:01.319 the edge. I thought. So that is a challenge that 0:35:01.320 --> 0:35:03.400 that's why I favor a rollback that would take that 0:35:03.440 --> 0:35:09.520 would open up you know, the parameters for the setup, guys. 0:35:08.920 --> 0:35:11.520 Yeah, I you know, I think they you know, last 0:35:11.600 --> 0:35:15.520 year even was a you know, an interesting setup like 0:35:15.560 --> 0:35:18.719 the rough at Oakbant, you know, a foot off the 0:35:18.760 --> 0:35:21.279 fairway and and this happened at Ironomic two. I think 0:35:21.360 --> 0:35:25.040 this is something that my colleague Joseph Lamannia hits on 0:35:25.160 --> 0:35:28.200 all the time. Is the idea of like where narrow 0:35:28.239 --> 0:35:32.600 misses are penalized more than wide miss because you you 0:35:32.680 --> 0:35:34.760 hit it into the gallery, you get into the trample 0:35:34.840 --> 0:35:38.480 down rough. And I don't know what the answer to 0:35:38.560 --> 0:35:41.319 that is on on a golf course like ironom inc or. 0:35:41.560 --> 0:35:44.719 Let me interject, I you know, graduated rough has been 0:35:45.520 --> 0:35:46.640 you know, villainized. 0:35:47.520 --> 0:35:48.400 I don't get why. 0:35:48.719 --> 0:35:50.480 I think it's you know, it's it's I think it's 0:35:50.520 --> 0:35:54.920 a very honest, try to be equitable, and uh I 0:35:54.920 --> 0:35:58.919 think it works in general. Uh yeah, you know, Marco 0:35:59.000 --> 0:36:01.600 Mirro was a great player. He won two majors, but 0:36:01.640 --> 0:36:03.839 he didn't have a great US Open. Raguos. It would 0:36:03.840 --> 0:36:07.759 just drive me nuts to because before they had intermediate rough, 0:36:07.760 --> 0:36:09.680 it would just be high rough, right off the edge 0:36:09.680 --> 0:36:12.560 almost and you know I missed if everybody a yard, 0:36:12.600 --> 0:36:14.759 I might as well miss it by twenty yards. I 0:36:14.840 --> 0:36:18.920 was dead. So that was part of the challenge of 0:36:18.920 --> 0:36:20.760 the US Opening. Why you had to be so straight. 0:36:21.760 --> 0:36:23.600 It was more of a premium on driving accuracy in 0:36:23.640 --> 0:36:27.399 the past than there is now. Even so it's still 0:36:27.480 --> 0:36:29.520 kind of a distortion I think of the overall test, 0:36:29.560 --> 0:36:30.720 that's all. 0:36:30.920 --> 0:36:34.560 Yeah, you know what, I what I I think that 0:36:35.400 --> 0:36:37.799 one of the things that Shinnakak can do is it 0:36:37.880 --> 0:36:40.879 does provide a little bit more of equitable I think 0:36:40.920 --> 0:36:45.200 there's enough space where the crowd, the fans aren't like 0:36:45.360 --> 0:36:49.640 on top of the golf as much. And one of 0:36:49.680 --> 0:36:52.480 the things it has is it has the wider fairways. 0:36:52.800 --> 0:36:56.440 Then there's like a little bit of rough, which sounds 0:36:56.480 --> 0:37:01.080 like it's going to be pretty tough. It's it's unpredictable, 0:37:01.080 --> 0:37:03.759 and obviously the name of the game at Shinnacock, because 0:37:03.800 --> 0:37:06.920 of the greens and the firmness and the repelling nature 0:37:06.920 --> 0:37:10.400 of them and the severity of them. The name of 0:37:10.440 --> 0:37:13.879 the game is having control of your golf ball, and 0:37:13.880 --> 0:37:16.560 that's you have to play from the fairway to do that. 0:37:19.320 --> 0:37:21.520 And then they have the fescue, so it's like you 0:37:21.680 --> 0:37:24.439 kind of get a natural graduate or rough here. 0:37:24.920 --> 0:37:27.279 Yeah, but I think you know, forty eight yards that's 0:37:27.280 --> 0:37:30.560 the average apparently of the fairway with that's a lot. 0:37:31.000 --> 0:37:32.759 So if you do hit in the rough, I think 0:37:33.000 --> 0:37:35.320 fair enough you should be punished, and you got to 0:37:35.320 --> 0:37:37.840 punish the modern player more than used to punish the 0:37:37.840 --> 0:37:40.480 older player, I mean the previous player, because he's hitting 0:37:40.520 --> 0:37:44.400 a shorter club in and the rough has to mean something. 0:37:44.840 --> 0:37:48.360 So I think as far as equitable, Shinnakock is going 0:37:48.440 --> 0:37:49.440 to be an equitable test. 0:37:50.320 --> 0:37:53.440 Uh, you know, like everybody's going to run to the 0:37:53.480 --> 0:37:59.239 forty eight yard number. Those fairways play so much narrower 0:37:59.280 --> 0:38:02.800 than forty eight yards just so fast. Yeah, and they're fast, 0:38:02.920 --> 0:38:06.920 and then they go on diagonals all the time, so 0:38:07.480 --> 0:38:10.440 you're you have to pick I think what the you know, 0:38:10.480 --> 0:38:14.520 it's one of the brilliant aspects of Shinnakok is the diagonal, 0:38:14.640 --> 0:38:15.960 you know, And this is one of the things that 0:38:16.040 --> 0:38:18.359 Flynn a lot of Flynn. You know, if you look 0:38:18.400 --> 0:38:22.359 at the third hole, that's that's in the same that 0:38:22.480 --> 0:38:26.040 hole is the same hole as Ceb McDonald laid out 0:38:26.160 --> 0:38:28.840 in the you know, I think it was nineteen sixteen 0:38:28.920 --> 0:38:33.600 nineteen seventeen version of Shinnakok. What Flynn did was it 0:38:33.640 --> 0:38:36.120 took he took the t box that was right of 0:38:36.200 --> 0:38:39.680 two green, and it set it straight and moved it 0:38:39.719 --> 0:38:43.320 to the left, and he moved it left we'll say 0:38:43.360 --> 0:38:46.360 forty fifty yards. And what that did is it puts 0:38:46.400 --> 0:38:50.919 that hole on a diagonal, so you're teeing off like this. 0:38:51.480 --> 0:38:54.600 And what it does is it makes you pick line. 0:38:54.680 --> 0:38:56.800 You have to pick line and distance. 0:38:57.160 --> 0:38:59.880 Okay, you also got to pick shape, yes, you know, 0:39:00.040 --> 0:39:02.719 and that's I think it's really hard to work the 0:39:02.719 --> 0:39:05.279 ball with the modern driver and the modern golf ball. 0:39:05.320 --> 0:39:07.239 But you know, I just to go back to a 0:39:07.280 --> 0:39:10.640 random very quickly. I watched Rory some of the right 0:39:10.680 --> 0:39:13.479 to left sloping fairways. He was still hitting a draw. 0:39:13.600 --> 0:39:15.440 I was kind of shocked because he does have a 0:39:15.440 --> 0:39:17.960 fade in his in his back obviously, and you know, 0:39:18.000 --> 0:39:19.480 he needed to fade it against the hills so he 0:39:19.520 --> 0:39:22.400 could keep it in the fairway. So, you know, I 0:39:22.440 --> 0:39:24.480 don't know if he's just getting stubborn and going, you know, gosh, 0:39:25.239 --> 0:39:26.839 this draw. When I hit it straight, I can hold 0:39:26.840 --> 0:39:30.360 any fairway because it's so straight, so controlled when he's on, 0:39:30.800 --> 0:39:33.440 But he wasn't quite on the point being you know, 0:39:33.560 --> 0:39:37.160 the percentage is if you can hit shape it so 0:39:37.239 --> 0:39:40.640 it lands into the hills, uh, and not with the hill. 0:39:42.239 --> 0:39:44.480 And that's another you know, especially the back nine at 0:39:44.440 --> 0:39:47.320 Shinnecock has a lot more undulation, and so the driving 0:39:47.360 --> 0:39:52.359 becomes more artistic too. I think you know that's another way. Now, 0:39:52.440 --> 0:39:54.160 you got to pick a golf course that has that. 0:39:54.280 --> 0:39:55.680 Not every golf course has that, of course. 0:40:04.920 --> 0:40:07.600 All right, let's take a quick break and talk about 0:40:07.640 --> 0:40:11.640 our partner, T Mobile, the official five G network partner 0:40:11.880 --> 0:40:15.720 of the USGA and its national championships, including this week's 0:40:15.800 --> 0:40:19.840 US Open. In addition to bringing advanced network solutions to 0:40:19.880 --> 0:40:24.320 support enhanced video review and communications capabilities for the USGA 0:40:24.440 --> 0:40:27.719 rules officials when it matters, most T mobile members have 0:40:27.840 --> 0:40:32.480 access to exclusive benefits and experiences on site at Shinnecock Hills, 0:40:32.960 --> 0:40:36.799 America's best network is now powering the USGA. To learn 0:40:36.840 --> 0:40:40.239 more about how T mobile supports the USGA inside the 0:40:40.320 --> 0:40:44.560 ropes and provides exclusive benefits to its members outside, visit 0:40:44.920 --> 0:40:52.160 tashmobile dot com slash USGA. That's tashmobile dot com slash USGA. 0:40:52.560 --> 0:40:56.240 Thanks to T Mobile. Let's get back to him DS. 0:41:05.239 --> 0:41:07.440 You brought up Rory I we'll get back to the 0:41:07.440 --> 0:41:09.879 golf course. I think it'll be probably a through line 0:41:09.920 --> 0:41:13.000 through this whole conversation. One of the things that I'm 0:41:13.160 --> 0:41:17.960 kind of why watching is obvious as is Rory. I think, 0:41:18.080 --> 0:41:21.680 you know, one of the interesting next things to talk 0:41:21.719 --> 0:41:24.239 about with Rory is like can he win all the 0:41:24.280 --> 0:41:28.440 majors twice? He obviously has two PGAs he has two masters. 0:41:29.280 --> 0:41:32.040 We did a little video with him talking about Shinnakak Hills, 0:41:32.080 --> 0:41:36.400 but he talked about the idea of winning a hard 0:41:36.800 --> 0:41:40.200 US Open, like a real hard, like one that goes 0:41:40.280 --> 0:41:43.600 down in the story books of like that was. That 0:41:43.760 --> 0:41:46.680 was a tough week, and he's talked about how that's 0:41:46.840 --> 0:41:50.000 the thing that gutted him the most about Pinehurst was 0:41:50.040 --> 0:41:52.239 like the idea of like, you know, that was the 0:41:52.560 --> 0:41:54.920 kind of US Open that I want to win. He 0:41:54.960 --> 0:41:57.640 obviously won Congressional. It was soft, It was a long 0:41:57.719 --> 0:42:01.399 time ago. But what I think is is fascinating about 0:42:01.440 --> 0:42:04.719 his career is that if you you know, if we 0:42:04.800 --> 0:42:08.680 had this discussion seven years ago, we would say, or 0:42:09.000 --> 0:42:11.960 even you know, ten years ago, Shinnecock is not a 0:42:12.040 --> 0:42:16.040 Rory golf course. He needs a soft golf course. And 0:42:16.280 --> 0:42:20.840 in this this this act of his career, I believe 0:42:21.000 --> 0:42:25.240 that soft golf courses are actually not Rory courses anymore. 0:42:25.360 --> 0:42:29.360 I think the firm, you know, fast golf course is 0:42:29.400 --> 0:42:33.479 the golf course with that activates his brain and gives him, 0:42:33.560 --> 0:42:36.759 at this point in his career, a big advantage over 0:42:36.800 --> 0:42:39.040 the field because of the way he can now think 0:42:39.120 --> 0:42:42.120 his way around a golf course, the work he's done 0:42:42.200 --> 0:42:46.000 with his wedge game, and just his general you know, 0:42:46.239 --> 0:42:49.600 experience level comes comes to the top. And we've seen 0:42:49.640 --> 0:42:53.160 him play. You know, to me, the harder the setup, 0:42:53.800 --> 0:42:55.240 the better it is for Rory. 0:42:56.000 --> 0:42:57.680 Well, I don't know if I go that far, Andy 0:42:58.400 --> 0:43:01.239 not to say I think he has dramatically improved those 0:43:01.320 --> 0:43:04.400 more subtle and nuanced areas of the game, the wedge play, 0:43:04.680 --> 0:43:08.040 flighting him lower, spinning him better. He changed his golf ball. 0:43:08.080 --> 0:43:10.799 That helped too. It's a spinner. It's a spinning your ball. 0:43:10.880 --> 0:43:14.239 I think it's made him value the control aspect of 0:43:14.280 --> 0:43:16.440 the game a little bit more, and he knows it's 0:43:16.440 --> 0:43:18.879 cost him in the past. He knows he could look 0:43:18.920 --> 0:43:21.440 at the you know, at the statistics and the analysis 0:43:21.440 --> 0:43:24.120 of that and know that he was an inconsistent wedge player. 0:43:25.280 --> 0:43:26.840 You know, we talked about Greg Norman a little bit 0:43:26.880 --> 0:43:30.719 earlier off camera, and you know Rory suffered from you know, 0:43:30.800 --> 0:43:33.160 flighting his wedges high and hitting a lot of pulls 0:43:33.239 --> 0:43:35.880 long and not having the distance control. I mean Tiger 0:43:35.920 --> 0:43:38.560 suffered from that for about you know, seven months when 0:43:38.560 --> 0:43:40.800 he turned pro and made it a strength, and Rory 0:43:40.880 --> 0:43:43.879 has eventually made it I would say a strength now. 0:43:44.320 --> 0:43:47.560 So yes, any golf course is not beyond him any longer. 0:43:48.840 --> 0:43:50.319 That was a real thing that he won on wet 0:43:50.360 --> 0:43:52.799 golf courses before he even admitted it. He didn't love 0:43:53.000 --> 0:43:56.080 firm and fast. I'm not. I don't think it's necessarily 0:43:56.080 --> 0:43:59.640 his fort now at the exclusion of I mean, a 0:43:59.640 --> 0:44:03.280 soft golf course with Rory carrying at three twenty is man. 0:44:03.440 --> 0:44:05.120 I mean, that's a that's a golf course that he 0:44:05.160 --> 0:44:09.560 should dominate. But he also has the other gear, the 0:44:09.600 --> 0:44:13.319 gear that, as you say, sort of brings historical achievements 0:44:13.320 --> 0:44:16.880 and historical performances and and how we really judge is 0:44:16.920 --> 0:44:19.520 this guy a really complete or close to a complete golfer? 0:44:20.120 --> 0:44:22.360 And Shinnecock would do that and he knew it, and 0:44:22.400 --> 0:44:25.080 he knew it at Pinehurst. And but he's gotten better 0:44:25.120 --> 0:44:26.960 in the US Open. I mean, you know seconds so 0:44:27.000 --> 0:44:29.399 many times now, and you know a bunch of top 0:44:29.440 --> 0:44:33.399 tens this this this decade, and you know he's he's 0:44:33.480 --> 0:44:36.359 better on the harder golf courses than he ever used 0:44:36.360 --> 0:44:39.600 to be. And Augusta too, Augusta Furman fast was something 0:44:39.600 --> 0:44:41.880 that he didn't handle that well, and now he does. 0:44:42.080 --> 0:44:45.000 Last two I would say, we're firm and fast assers. 0:44:45.040 --> 0:44:47.919 They Yeah, yeah, he's a better player. He's a better 0:44:47.920 --> 0:44:50.120 player now he's got some scar tissue. And you know 0:44:50.160 --> 0:44:52.840 that freedom when you watch those those old films of 0:44:52.920 --> 0:44:55.920 him at at Congressional or at key Oil. I mean, 0:44:55.960 --> 0:45:00.160 it's so flowing and incredibly free and powerful, and he 0:45:00.200 --> 0:45:03.080 wasn't even built like he is now. But that was 0:45:03.640 --> 0:45:05.600 sort of the age of innocence in a way, and 0:45:05.640 --> 0:45:07.120 as hard as you get older when you know what 0:45:07.160 --> 0:45:09.920 can go wrong. And he's had some tough ones, and 0:45:10.000 --> 0:45:12.359 I think that the way he's recovered from those, it's 0:45:12.400 --> 0:45:14.440 really one of the inspiring things in the modern game 0:45:14.520 --> 0:45:17.359 right now is to watch Wrory have this chapter where 0:45:17.360 --> 0:45:20.000 he overcame the pain of what he went through and 0:45:20.040 --> 0:45:21.080 it didn't beat him. 0:45:22.120 --> 0:45:25.640 Yeah. Yeah, I think obviously he's going to be I 0:45:25.640 --> 0:45:29.480 would say probably story B. Story. I think the golf 0:45:29.560 --> 0:45:33.200 course is probably story A. This week, Story b's the 0:45:33.719 --> 0:45:40.279 Scotty Scheffler obviously going for the career Grand Slam, and 0:45:40.520 --> 0:45:42.920 that's going to be the talk of the talk of 0:45:42.920 --> 0:45:45.120 the week. I think it's going to be Scotty Scheffler 0:45:45.239 --> 0:45:48.560 the career Grand Slam. And how is he in a 0:45:48.680 --> 0:45:49.560 slump right now? 0:45:51.719 --> 0:45:55.319 Well, I don't think he's in the slump. You know. 0:45:55.520 --> 0:45:58.480 It's funny Tiger used to get occasionally, like in two 0:45:58.480 --> 0:46:02.000 thousand and three, four oh, Tiger's in a slump. And man, 0:46:02.040 --> 0:46:05.080 he didn't like hearing that. He really rebelled against that word. 0:46:06.000 --> 0:46:09.000 But relative to his previous performance, he wasn't a slump. 0:46:09.040 --> 0:46:11.839 And to some extent or Scott he's in a bit 0:46:11.920 --> 0:46:15.759 of a slump, I think slightly with the irons which 0:46:15.800 --> 0:46:18.600 have been so supreme, and I think he's one hundred 0:46:18.600 --> 0:46:21.759 and thirty fifth in proximity this year. You know that's 0:46:21.760 --> 0:46:24.160 a small sample, just to take it for half a year, 0:46:24.680 --> 0:46:27.279 but still it's it's dramatic when you consider he's led 0:46:27.360 --> 0:46:31.080 proximity I think the last three years. So you know, 0:46:31.200 --> 0:46:36.160 he's or at least strokes gained approach, I should say. 0:46:36.719 --> 0:46:38.759 I mean, he is the supreme iron player. That's his 0:46:38.880 --> 0:46:41.120 greatest of all the strengths that he has, that's his 0:46:41.200 --> 0:46:44.360 greatest strength and he'll need it the most at Shinnecock 0:46:44.920 --> 0:46:47.120 And so I'm thinking, Okay, let's see if he can 0:46:47.120 --> 0:46:48.759 pull like a Nicholas where he goes away for a 0:46:48.800 --> 0:46:50.960 week and he figures it out and he comes to 0:46:51.000 --> 0:46:55.520 the Major just prepared and you know, and having a 0:46:55.560 --> 0:46:58.720 clear mind about whatever struggle he has had, he's figured 0:46:58.760 --> 0:47:03.239 it out, and then it'll be an incredible week for him. Uh, 0:47:03.520 --> 0:47:05.360 but that's a big ask. We don't know if that 0:47:05.400 --> 0:47:08.279 can happen. At the moment. He could still win even 0:47:08.280 --> 0:47:09.960 with his B game, because he's that good throughout the 0:47:10.200 --> 0:47:13.000 throughout the bag. Uh, it's gonna be a lot of pressure, 0:47:13.080 --> 0:47:16.360 a lot of expectation. You know. I know how iron 0:47:16.520 --> 0:47:20.240 clad he is mentally, but I don't think he loves 0:47:20.920 --> 0:47:23.880 all the demands of the public position that he has. 0:47:24.280 --> 0:47:27.080 And he handles it, but it's I won't say it's grudging, 0:47:27.480 --> 0:47:30.520 but it's sort of in a way that he wants 0:47:30.560 --> 0:47:32.880 to compartmentalize it and put it to the side. He 0:47:32.880 --> 0:47:35.839 knows he doesn't want to really want to live it. Uh, 0:47:36.040 --> 0:47:37.920 golf has got to be separate for him. When that 0:47:37.960 --> 0:47:40.480 comes to that stuff, that's a distraction and it'll be 0:47:40.560 --> 0:47:44.359 harder not to get distracted next week. I think if 0:47:44.360 --> 0:47:47.000 he wins, it'll be his greatest win, not just because 0:47:47.000 --> 0:47:49.680 it achieved the Grand Slam, but because of everything that 0:47:50.000 --> 0:47:52.279 you know, has been laid upon him, as far as 0:47:52.320 --> 0:47:54.239 the burden of sort of carrying the game right now 0:47:54.719 --> 0:47:57.359 and not being at his best by a little bit 0:47:57.400 --> 0:48:00.520 of a margin anyway this year, and to recover right 0:48:00.600 --> 0:48:03.040 in time for this moment would be really, I think, 0:48:03.160 --> 0:48:04.839 really an exceptional moment for him. 0:48:06.120 --> 0:48:09.080 He hit the nail on the head. Obviously, the iron 0:48:09.120 --> 0:48:13.719 play hasn't been where it's at. I do think, you know, 0:48:14.160 --> 0:48:16.319 I think we take for granted and maybe this is 0:48:16.360 --> 0:48:19.279 the first time we've really like kind of seen it. 0:48:19.400 --> 0:48:21.600 Just because of the dominance and how long he's been 0:48:21.600 --> 0:48:24.000 put up on the stage of the number one player 0:48:24.000 --> 0:48:27.560 in the world. I mean, it's exhausting. You get you're 0:48:27.560 --> 0:48:31.880 gonna get requested to talk every single every single time. 0:48:32.360 --> 0:48:36.240 And I think what's different about Scotty than You're Rory, 0:48:36.520 --> 0:48:39.600 than your Tiger, like other players that have been in 0:48:39.680 --> 0:48:44.600 this position, is that the way Scotty ascended to number 0:48:44.640 --> 0:48:49.760 one was he was not the young phenom that from 0:48:50.040 --> 0:48:54.560 age eighteen, you know, nineteen, Like if he's at a tournament, 0:48:54.640 --> 0:48:57.400 people want to talk to him, and it just it 0:48:57.440 --> 0:49:01.080 becomes part of his life. He ascended to this stature 0:49:01.280 --> 0:49:04.560 at age twenty five twenty six, where he lived life 0:49:05.719 --> 0:49:09.200 out of the limelight and now he then he got 0:49:09.200 --> 0:49:12.000 thrust into like, no, you you need to be you 0:49:12.080 --> 0:49:14.839 were you were going to get asked questions. You are 0:49:14.880 --> 0:49:18.720 going to be you know, requested every single time after 0:49:18.800 --> 0:49:22.279 he had grown accustomed to a different life, right, which 0:49:22.320 --> 0:49:24.680 I think is hard. It is an adjustment period and 0:49:24.719 --> 0:49:27.799 it's something like you know, like yeah, like it's hard 0:49:27.880 --> 0:49:31.239 that Rory and and Tiger and you could go down 0:49:31.280 --> 0:49:34.279 the list of of you know, Jack and Arnie had 0:49:34.320 --> 0:49:36.680 to deal with this all the time, every time they 0:49:36.719 --> 0:49:39.799 showed up anywhere, all the time. But it became that 0:49:39.960 --> 0:49:43.200 for them it was just like part of life. And 0:49:43.320 --> 0:49:47.759 for Scotty, he you know, he he played on the 0:49:47.760 --> 0:49:50.120 corn Ferry Tour. None of those guys played on the 0:49:50.120 --> 0:49:53.279 corn Fairy Tour where you just play golf and yeah, 0:49:53.719 --> 0:49:56.839 nobody's around, nobody's asking you anything, you know, and then 0:49:56.880 --> 0:49:59.080 he plays on the tour and he you know, he 0:49:59.160 --> 0:50:01.279 it's like, oh this he's in the mix a lot. 0:50:01.280 --> 0:50:03.520 But he can't get it done, you know, like that's 0:50:03.600 --> 0:50:07.239 not like a life that people you know, where they 0:50:07.680 --> 0:50:10.080 people are dying to write that story all the time, 0:50:10.200 --> 0:50:16.279 you know, and now it's he's just always there. I 0:50:16.320 --> 0:50:22.160 think what if Scotty, as you said, figures it out, 0:50:22.440 --> 0:50:25.759 this could play out a lot like port Rush. This 0:50:25.800 --> 0:50:28.000 is a golf course that, like when you look at 0:50:28.000 --> 0:50:32.080 it on paper, if Scotty Scheffler is got his a game, 0:50:32.320 --> 0:50:36.440 it is going to be exceptionally hard for anybody to 0:50:36.640 --> 0:50:40.480 stay near him because of the demand that the golf 0:50:40.480 --> 0:50:43.640 course presents it. I think port Rush is as good 0:50:43.640 --> 0:50:47.080 of a links golf course as we have in the world. 0:50:47.239 --> 0:50:50.640 And I said this last year and port Rush is 0:50:50.680 --> 0:50:53.279 as good as it gets. And I think Shittacock and 0:50:53.360 --> 0:50:56.160 port Rush are right at the top for me of 0:50:56.760 --> 0:51:00.239 just golf course tests for the modern game. And the 0:51:00.280 --> 0:51:04.680 way Scotty just dismantled the field in Northern Ireland. If 0:51:04.800 --> 0:51:09.400 if if Scotty has the iron play and it's up 0:51:09.440 --> 0:51:12.480 to snuff and he's putting well, I think that's one 0:51:12.480 --> 0:51:14.839 of the things that has been kind of illuminating this year. 0:51:14.880 --> 0:51:17.399 Also is the putter seems to have regressed a little 0:51:17.440 --> 0:51:19.680 bit which is natural. I mean, you know, that's the 0:51:19.719 --> 0:51:23.719 way golf works and statistics work. Like he had a 0:51:23.760 --> 0:51:26.640 great couple of year run and maybe he's regressed a 0:51:26.680 --> 0:51:31.600 little bit with the putter, but if you if he 0:51:31.680 --> 0:51:33.640 get if he comes in with his a game, it 0:51:33.680 --> 0:51:34.880 could be a blowout. 0:51:35.480 --> 0:51:38.360 Well what's cool is I think the greatest golf courses 0:51:39.000 --> 0:51:43.200 allow the greatest players to separate it by the largest margin. 0:51:43.880 --> 0:51:47.439 Uh And you know, because they test something that most 0:51:47.440 --> 0:51:51.040 players don't quite have, but the greatest do have, and 0:51:51.080 --> 0:51:54.480 it's the advantage becomes more pronounced and then suddenly you 0:51:54.520 --> 0:51:57.520 see these you know, these runaways would like Tiger at 0:51:57.280 --> 0:52:01.080 that at Pebble to some extent. I remember when Jack 0:52:01.120 --> 0:52:04.480 in seventy two at Pebble was really windy and he 0:52:04.600 --> 0:52:07.480 and he separated. And you know, Jack wasn't always known 0:52:07.480 --> 0:52:09.000 as a great win player early in his career, but 0:52:09.040 --> 0:52:11.040 he became one. But as far as you know, all 0:52:11.040 --> 0:52:13.719 these things we're talking about with Scotty, I think you 0:52:13.800 --> 0:52:16.400 make some great points about his early career not really 0:52:16.440 --> 0:52:20.040 being one in which he was engulfed by media and 0:52:20.800 --> 0:52:22.640 not you know, kind of growing up with it. Now 0:52:22.960 --> 0:52:26.040 there's a flip side of that which is you become. 0:52:26.760 --> 0:52:30.759 I think, you know, Rory is an amiable person. I 0:52:30.760 --> 0:52:34.960 think he enjoyed most media growing up. It was mostly favorable. 0:52:35.000 --> 0:52:36.719 He was kind of the you know, kind of a 0:52:36.719 --> 0:52:40.640 fair haired, very likable kid. For Tiger, it was a 0:52:40.680 --> 0:52:43.080 burden right from the start, and he got it before 0:52:43.120 --> 0:52:45.359 anybody got it, so he knew how to handle it. 0:52:45.920 --> 0:52:49.440 But he handled it in a way that was I 0:52:49.480 --> 0:52:52.200 would say, almost cynical. You know. It's like, man, just 0:52:52.280 --> 0:52:56.399 avoid anything that's gonna, you know, be blown up into 0:52:56.400 --> 0:52:59.520 anything else. And he got very good at not saying 0:52:59.640 --> 0:53:03.359 very much. I think Scotty is, you know, he's an 0:53:03.360 --> 0:53:06.200 intelligent guy. Tiger is too. He kind of outsmarted the 0:53:06.239 --> 0:53:10.360 media for a long time. But I think Scotty likes having, 0:53:10.719 --> 0:53:17.120 you know, conversations in normal life. He's engaging, he's pretty funny. 0:53:18.120 --> 0:53:21.120 But he also knows from watching and studying number one 0:53:21.160 --> 0:53:24.360 players over these last decades especially, that demand on the 0:53:24.440 --> 0:53:26.759 number one players just getting greater and it's getting to 0:53:26.800 --> 0:53:29.400 be more of a distraction and a harder thing to 0:53:29.440 --> 0:53:32.040 stay up there than ever. And I think he studied 0:53:32.040 --> 0:53:33.560 it in a way is going, okay, how do I 0:53:33.600 --> 0:53:36.680 survive up here? How do I do it best, And 0:53:36.760 --> 0:53:39.839 to some extent, he's got to suppress his normal personality 0:53:40.000 --> 0:53:42.719 and not really engage every question and try to, you know, 0:53:42.800 --> 0:53:45.560 get through it with you know, a decent, you know, 0:53:46.000 --> 0:53:49.759 kind of honest answer that's not too in depth. And 0:53:50.120 --> 0:53:52.400 so I think he struggles when a question that he 0:53:52.480 --> 0:53:54.400 knows is going to lead him into an area that 0:53:54.440 --> 0:53:57.160 would open up a lot of interesting kind of writing 0:53:57.200 --> 0:53:59.959 about about it, whether it was the Putter or whatever 0:54:00.200 --> 0:54:03.680 it happens to be, he puts the brakes on it, 0:54:04.080 --> 0:54:07.799 and so it makes him look like he's not enjoying it, 0:54:08.320 --> 0:54:10.800 and I'm not, you know, I kind of said that earlier, 0:54:10.800 --> 0:54:13.319 that doesn't really enjoy I think he doesn't enjoy the 0:54:13.360 --> 0:54:17.400 obligation of it when it can encroach on his concentration 0:54:17.560 --> 0:54:19.440 on the game. And I think one of the things 0:54:19.480 --> 0:54:22.120 that Scotty does best of all is just get into 0:54:22.160 --> 0:54:25.960 a really ironclad mindset for four days. And that's something 0:54:26.000 --> 0:54:28.520 that he's matured into, and he did it at Port Rush, 0:54:28.560 --> 0:54:31.359 and he even talked about that after Port Rush was like, man, 0:54:31.440 --> 0:54:33.960 I was intense on every shot. And I did a 0:54:34.000 --> 0:54:36.080 story on him last month in which he kind of 0:54:36.120 --> 0:54:38.040 learned that from Tiger. He played with Tiger when Tiger 0:54:38.080 --> 0:54:40.680 made ten on the twelfth hole at Augusta and then 0:54:40.719 --> 0:54:44.040 birdied the last five, five on the last six, and 0:54:44.320 --> 0:54:46.200 he'd already gotten the impression. It was the first time 0:54:46.200 --> 0:54:48.400 he played with Tiger, and he said, man, it was 0:54:48.440 --> 0:54:51.719 the other world intensity for every golf shot. And that's 0:54:51.760 --> 0:54:54.799 such a you know, how do you even measure that? 0:54:55.080 --> 0:54:57.160 But he felt it. And maybe it was partly because 0:54:57.320 --> 0:55:00.279 of who Tiger was, but also because of but he 0:55:00.320 --> 0:55:02.880 was just seeing in that moment in terms of the 0:55:02.920 --> 0:55:05.239 intensity that it took to be that good. And I 0:55:05.239 --> 0:55:09.120 think he's tried to replicate that intensity and and doing 0:55:09.160 --> 0:55:12.279 interviews and stuff. It's fine, it can be interesting if 0:55:12.320 --> 0:55:16.000 you're an off day, but during the tournament, it's going 0:55:16.080 --> 0:55:19.160 to be something that he wants to, you know, as 0:55:19.160 --> 0:55:22.040 I say, compartmentalize, put aside and not carry into the round. 0:55:22.520 --> 0:55:24.480 And I think, you know, we'll see that. I think 0:55:24.520 --> 0:55:27.400 we'll see that that Scotty next week, a very focused 0:55:27.400 --> 0:55:29.480 Scotty in spite of the New York media asking all 0:55:29.520 --> 0:55:32.200 kinds of stuff about the Grand Slam. I think he'll 0:55:32.280 --> 0:55:33.479 keep him at arm's length. 0:55:36.040 --> 0:55:40.239 Your point about the every shot intensity is an underrated 0:55:41.600 --> 0:55:45.280 one about you know, golf and the challenge of golf 0:55:45.719 --> 0:55:49.640 is you know, I don't think many people would look 0:55:49.640 --> 0:55:55.680 at it, but like the it's so hard to keep 0:55:55.719 --> 0:56:01.680 that level of urgency over seven two holes. I feel 0:56:01.680 --> 0:56:03.960 like you get it at the start and then there's 0:56:04.000 --> 0:56:07.200 a lull in rounds and then there's like you're you're 0:56:07.239 --> 0:56:11.440 trying to close that around and that's that is, you know, 0:56:12.080 --> 0:56:15.560 the difference between I think like at any level, even 0:56:15.640 --> 0:56:19.600 like a club level, all the way to separate up 0:56:19.600 --> 0:56:22.879 in the game is the people that can that can 0:56:23.040 --> 0:56:25.560 just and this is you know, you think about Brooks 0:56:25.800 --> 0:56:30.680 in his heyday of major championship years was like unrelenting 0:56:31.520 --> 0:56:34.640 when to give away a shot, like just does not 0:56:35.120 --> 0:56:38.839 give away shots. And that's the thing that Scotty does 0:56:38.880 --> 0:56:42.440 so well, especially with that other worldly short game he has, 0:56:42.719 --> 0:56:45.719 you know, and when the putter behaves it. You know, 0:56:45.800 --> 0:56:48.239 I think there is something about Scotty where he just 0:56:48.280 --> 0:56:53.480 seems to make a ton of fifteen footers in big moments. 0:56:53.560 --> 0:56:56.600 You know, like in a way sometimes I think I 0:56:57.480 --> 0:56:59.560 when I watch him, I'm more sure he's going to 0:56:59.640 --> 0:57:02.480 make a fifteen footer then he's going to make a 0:57:02.560 --> 0:57:06.120 six footer, you know, and I think, you know, he 0:57:06.320 --> 0:57:10.839 just he just there obviously that all the talent that 0:57:10.880 --> 0:57:13.920 goes into it, you know, it is one thing, but 0:57:13.960 --> 0:57:16.080 there is a mindset thing. And the in the in 0:57:16.120 --> 0:57:21.919 the Port Rush major was it, you know where only 0:57:22.000 --> 0:57:25.280 two majors removed from it, but it feels so far 0:57:25.360 --> 0:57:28.560 by the way the calendar works, but you know, three 0:57:28.680 --> 0:57:31.640 majors go is like, I mean this guy can like, 0:57:31.640 --> 0:57:32.880 how are we ever going to beat him? 0:57:33.360 --> 0:57:36.200 Yeah? Well, that effort to do that, it's exhausting. 0:57:36.920 --> 0:57:37.040 Uh. 0:57:37.280 --> 0:57:39.000 And and one of the things I thought last year, 0:57:39.000 --> 0:57:42.600 I mean, Scotty played so well. He didn't get enough rest, 0:57:42.880 --> 0:57:46.440 I thought, And you know, and I think that that 0:57:46.560 --> 0:57:49.520 intensity shot after shot at or shot so hard to 0:57:49.560 --> 0:57:54.080 summon if you're not fully you know, fully rested physically 0:57:54.120 --> 0:57:56.960 and and your mind has been you know, kind of 0:57:57.160 --> 0:58:02.080 allowed to relax. Uh. And it's as the pressure grows, 0:58:02.080 --> 0:58:05.520 I you're number one, the long longer, it gets harder 0:58:05.760 --> 0:58:08.280 to make that effort over and over because it takes more. 0:58:08.680 --> 0:58:11.600 I remember his Tiger when he won I guess when 0:58:11.600 --> 0:58:16.600 he won the what the last one of the Tiger 0:58:16.640 --> 0:58:20.200 Slam in two thousand and one, he said on eighteen, 0:58:20.240 --> 0:58:22.920 he goes he finally realized, hey, there's no more shots. 0:58:23.400 --> 0:58:25.280 Every shot was the same. In other words, you know, 0:58:25.360 --> 0:58:27.840 for seventy two holes, and then I'm out of shots. 0:58:27.880 --> 0:58:30.720 I'm done, you know, But I gave every one of them. 0:58:30.840 --> 0:58:32.600 I think it was implied I gave everyone the same 0:58:32.640 --> 0:58:35.800 amount of effort and that, as you're saying, I mean, 0:58:36.200 --> 0:58:39.200 it's not really a human things. It's a robotic almost 0:58:39.280 --> 0:58:42.720 you know, cyborg type thing. Not very few can do it. 0:58:43.360 --> 0:58:45.479 And it's a separator at the highest level, no question, 0:58:45.520 --> 0:58:47.680 it's a separator, I guess said. Even just playing with 0:58:47.720 --> 0:58:49.720 your friends, some guys have better than others. And they 0:58:49.760 --> 0:58:53.360 don't have lapses, they don't have lulls. They're able to focus. 0:58:53.360 --> 0:58:56.800 I mean even in our tab writing. I see guys 0:58:56.800 --> 0:58:58.640 in the press room. They're so good at just sitting 0:58:58.680 --> 0:59:01.480 down and finishing and getting up and walking around like 0:59:01.480 --> 0:59:05.040 an idiot, you know, just I'm distractable to procrastinating all 0:59:05.080 --> 0:59:08.520 these things. Yeah, well I'm not proud of it, believe me. 0:59:09.360 --> 0:59:12.200 But you know, to have that ability to really just 0:59:12.280 --> 0:59:15.800 focus is it's it's an athletic gift and it's a 0:59:15.840 --> 0:59:22.720 life gift. Uh. And anyway, I think you're onto something that. 0:59:23.080 --> 0:59:26.920 On the other hand, you know, I think one of 0:59:26.960 --> 0:59:29.400 the reasons it's hard to stay on top of the 0:59:29.440 --> 0:59:32.520 game is because it's hard to say, sustain that over years. 0:59:32.800 --> 0:59:35.240 And Scotty's been up there a while, and he looks like, 0:59:36.200 --> 0:59:39.000 what's what's really cool is I think he's able. He's 0:59:39.000 --> 0:59:42.000 gonna be able to stay long a long time, which 0:59:42.120 --> 0:59:45.400 very few have done, because I think he's got a 0:59:45.440 --> 0:59:49.160 good handle on on the on the burden of it 0:59:49.440 --> 0:59:53.320 and what it takes, and and uh, you know, he 0:59:53.400 --> 0:59:56.120 can pull away and say, you know, I got to 0:59:56.160 --> 0:59:58.480 go back and live a regular life so I can 0:59:58.520 --> 1:00:01.040 be ready to play again. You Nicholas used to just 1:00:01.520 --> 1:00:05.640 he disappear after August September and not not really even 1:00:05.680 --> 1:00:08.520 practiced that much until the last couple of weeks of December, 1:00:08.800 --> 1:00:12.360 and be ready and fresh when the season started. And 1:00:12.400 --> 1:00:15.040 he said that that kept me going. My longevity was 1:00:15.200 --> 1:00:19.240 in large part thanks to that. And the way that 1:00:19.320 --> 1:00:22.440 season is getting compressed and there's just so many majors quickly. 1:00:22.520 --> 1:00:24.439 Now I know there's going to be more time off, 1:00:24.480 --> 1:00:27.720 but it seems like the mental the mental strains getting 1:00:27.760 --> 1:00:28.640 a little higher again. 1:00:29.800 --> 1:00:32.880 I the the comment about you know he played too 1:00:32.960 --> 1:00:36.760 much last year. You know, one of the aspects of 1:00:36.760 --> 1:00:38.880 Scotty just with how good he is is he's in 1:00:39.400 --> 1:00:43.560 contention every week, and when you're in contention, it takes four. 1:00:43.440 --> 1:00:45.000 Hours more tiring, there's no doubt. 1:00:45.200 --> 1:00:48.280 Yeah, then when you finish T twenty four and you 1:00:48.320 --> 1:00:51.080 know you never really are in it. I think what 1:00:52.160 --> 1:00:58.040 one really big picture story this doesn't pertain to the US. 1:00:58.160 --> 1:01:02.040 Open about that is like, I think that we're going 1:01:02.120 --> 1:01:07.160 to see players, the very best players continue to throttle down. 1:01:08.480 --> 1:01:10.800 They're the amount of events they play because the way 1:01:10.840 --> 1:01:13.680 the schedules set up with the majors, and we're starting 1:01:13.680 --> 1:01:18.840 to see it where we see, you know, between these majors, 1:01:18.840 --> 1:01:22.440 there's a month between all these majors, and we're lucky 1:01:22.560 --> 1:01:26.040 to see a player once, you know, if it's a Rory, 1:01:26.240 --> 1:01:28.760 a Scottie, and obviously with liv you know you have 1:01:28.920 --> 1:01:31.919 rom somewhere else. But you know, we haven't seen Cam 1:01:32.000 --> 1:01:34.560 Young play. You know, Cam Young played Memorial. It's like 1:01:35.000 --> 1:01:38.439 that you see these players and they they they are 1:01:39.000 --> 1:01:44.720 they're shrinking their schedule down in major season and I 1:01:44.720 --> 1:01:47.000 don't you know, like I think that's only going to 1:01:47.080 --> 1:01:50.280 continue it's like it feels like it's like the precipice 1:01:50.320 --> 1:01:54.439 of the practice round thing, where like some guys start 1:01:54.480 --> 1:01:57.920 to limit their play before a tournament to get the rest, 1:01:58.200 --> 1:02:00.840 to say my body's fresh, and then all of a sudden, 1:02:00.960 --> 1:02:01.800 everybody did it. 1:02:02.120 --> 1:02:06.240 Yeah. Well, I think there's a moment people are trying 1:02:06.240 --> 1:02:08.640 to optimize everything now, you know, whether it's you know, 1:02:08.720 --> 1:02:12.480 clubhead speed or spin raiates, and you can optimize your 1:02:13.440 --> 1:02:17.880 readiness to play. And you know, in the older days, 1:02:17.920 --> 1:02:19.480 you know, everybody had to play. They had to make money, 1:02:19.520 --> 1:02:21.240 and they played a lot of times with their ce 1:02:21.400 --> 1:02:23.360 game and got through it and kept going and played 1:02:23.360 --> 1:02:26.360 thirty tournaments a year, and that was part of being 1:02:26.400 --> 1:02:29.000 a pro. And now there's so much money that you 1:02:29.000 --> 1:02:31.600 don't have to play every week. Number one, I think 1:02:31.840 --> 1:02:34.760 live creating all that disruption and for a moment that 1:02:34.920 --> 1:02:38.800 the tour being in chaos elevated the majors, and I 1:02:38.840 --> 1:02:42.240 think that that has endured as a lasting kind of 1:02:42.520 --> 1:02:46.240 value on the majors, that it's actually increased and as 1:02:46.280 --> 1:02:48.840 a result, the tour has to be careful now that 1:02:49.280 --> 1:02:54.480 they don't become too subordinate to the majors, and that's 1:02:54.520 --> 1:02:58.120 a challenge, because really, if you're talking about being a 1:02:58.160 --> 1:03:02.840 tour player, now, who's going to be demanding the most commanding, 1:03:02.880 --> 1:03:05.480 the most endorsements and the most recognition and branding and 1:03:05.520 --> 1:03:10.000 all that stuff. You win majors and more so than ever. 1:03:10.800 --> 1:03:17.400 And as a result, you know, the the the week 1:03:17.440 --> 1:03:23.240 to week has been to some extent diminished, and that's 1:03:23.240 --> 1:03:25.720 a dangerous trend. I don't want that to happen. I 1:03:25.760 --> 1:03:31.640 want the tour to be premier, you know, spectacle every week, 1:03:32.000 --> 1:03:34.240 just like the NFL is. You know, that's one of 1:03:34.320 --> 1:03:37.640 the great strengths of the NFL is those Sundays all 1:03:37.680 --> 1:03:40.600 matter and you wait a week for him, and but 1:03:40.920 --> 1:03:43.120 that that caravan the tour has. You don't want to 1:03:43.160 --> 1:03:47.000 start looking monotonous in any way, not important, and the 1:03:47.040 --> 1:03:49.880 majors can do that. Jack gets blamed for that, like 1:03:49.920 --> 1:03:52.480 you made the Major so important, but the tour was 1:03:52.520 --> 1:03:54.960 still players had to play, they had to play to 1:03:54.960 --> 1:03:57.080 make money, and the tour was still a week to 1:03:57.160 --> 1:04:00.840 week really important deal. And that is right now to 1:04:00.840 --> 1:04:03.120 some extent. I'm not saying it's going away. I'm just 1:04:03.160 --> 1:04:06.960 saying there's a shift. And to your point, you know, 1:04:07.640 --> 1:04:10.520 now with the major's being so compressed. People really want 1:04:10.560 --> 1:04:12.840 to be ready for those four and in the tournaments 1:04:12.880 --> 1:04:16.040 around it are are getting to be you know, kind 1:04:16.040 --> 1:04:20.200 of a sense of man, you're waning. Do you really 1:04:20.280 --> 1:04:22.360 do you really want to play and get tired and 1:04:22.360 --> 1:04:25.640 not be optimal for that major. I don't know if 1:04:25.640 --> 1:04:27.760 it's an exact science and they really know what's optimal 1:04:27.880 --> 1:04:30.640 or not. Golf so random. Sometimes the tire player comes 1:04:30.640 --> 1:04:32.880 in and shoots the lights out and somebody thinks they 1:04:33.000 --> 1:04:35.520 got it right loses it on Thursday morning. You just 1:04:35.560 --> 1:04:37.880 don't know in golf that'll always be there. But there 1:04:37.920 --> 1:04:40.240 is a pattern now where guys are going, No, this 1:04:40.360 --> 1:04:42.959 is how you get ready, and it's not always playing 1:04:43.000 --> 1:04:45.680 a lot. 1:04:46.040 --> 1:04:48.240 Another player that was at the top of the game 1:04:48.400 --> 1:04:50.439 that I wanted to talk about who hasn't been playing 1:04:50.480 --> 1:04:55.840 a lot is John Rahm. We saw, you know, we 1:04:55.880 --> 1:04:59.880 saw him. I think like in a way, this live 1:05:00.360 --> 1:05:03.400 the Lift thing's been rough for him in a way 1:05:03.480 --> 1:05:06.200 I don't think he anticipated obviously. I think it was 1:05:06.400 --> 1:05:11.560 really clear that he thought when he went that everything 1:05:11.640 --> 1:05:14.000 was going to come together and he was gonna like 1:05:14.080 --> 1:05:20.000 effectively get a payday and then bring everything together and 1:05:20.120 --> 1:05:23.920 in it's I think it's gone. It's been a nightmare 1:05:24.080 --> 1:05:28.080 for him the last couple of years. I think the 1:05:28.080 --> 1:05:32.080 the added burden of coming to majors and and having 1:05:32.080 --> 1:05:34.480 to deal with the are you going to be the 1:05:34.520 --> 1:05:37.560 player you were before you left or Live has been 1:05:37.680 --> 1:05:41.640 bad in a way. I think this uh this year 1:05:41.840 --> 1:05:45.680 with the you know, the piff pulling the plug on 1:05:45.800 --> 1:05:50.640 Live in terms of funding, I think he's actually in 1:05:50.680 --> 1:05:54.040 a great situation now in the sense of like he 1:05:54.120 --> 1:05:56.760 has some closure, this is this is going to be 1:05:56.880 --> 1:06:01.800 over soon for me, And I think it sets him up, 1:06:02.200 --> 1:06:06.200 you know, I'm I think it sets him up to 1:06:06.760 --> 1:06:10.440 be a obviously with his talent, a real threat. But 1:06:10.560 --> 1:06:14.240 I think it's going to lead to a comeback of 1:06:14.320 --> 1:06:20.120 sorts of John Rahm as the you know, elite major. Okay, 1:06:20.280 --> 1:06:23.160 if it's not, if it's not Rory or Scottie, John 1:06:23.240 --> 1:06:26.040 Rahm is, like, you know, is right there with him 1:06:26.320 --> 1:06:29.400 as a major player, and we haven't had that for 1:06:29.440 --> 1:06:31.680 a couple of years in terms of where he's been. 1:06:31.760 --> 1:06:33.880 But I think we've seen some signs of it this year. 1:06:34.560 --> 1:06:37.280 He played great at the PGA. I thought he and 1:06:37.320 --> 1:06:40.560 that was impressive. Man, he was driving it so aggressively 1:06:40.640 --> 1:06:45.040 and so consistently. I mean it was really that was 1:06:45.080 --> 1:06:48.400 a weapon, man, and you start realizing this guy, this 1:06:48.480 --> 1:06:51.240 guy's got a lot of a lot of firepower, a 1:06:51.280 --> 1:06:56.320 lot of tools, and he's a great player. However, you know, 1:06:56.440 --> 1:07:00.920 he made a decision that had real consequences, and you know, 1:07:01.640 --> 1:07:05.520 I hope he overcomes, you know, the toll that took. 1:07:06.320 --> 1:07:10.520 But part of me feels like, man, you made a 1:07:10.560 --> 1:07:14.240 big mistake and you should have seen that coming. I 1:07:14.240 --> 1:07:16.200 feel like it's almost like, you know, it sounds so 1:07:16.240 --> 1:07:18.600 crazy going into a ran. You know, it's like, didn't 1:07:18.640 --> 1:07:20.640 you see that coming? They're gonna close the straight to 1:07:20.680 --> 1:07:22.840 core moves. Then you see that coming, You're not gonna 1:07:22.880 --> 1:07:25.120 be able to play with the best players and you're 1:07:25.120 --> 1:07:27.880 gonna lose your edge. And also you did something that 1:07:27.960 --> 1:07:32.600 was really dangerously harmful to the tour. A tour survived, 1:07:32.680 --> 1:07:35.480 but man, it was touch and go there because the 1:07:35.600 --> 1:07:38.000 other guys could have followed at that moment and that 1:07:38.120 --> 1:07:41.000 could have been a breaking point. And you know, that's 1:07:41.000 --> 1:07:45.800 a hard thing to forget. And you know, look, I 1:07:46.160 --> 1:07:47.840 root for his talent, I root for him having a 1:07:47.840 --> 1:07:52.200 good career, but I also say, what's happened to him 1:07:52.800 --> 1:07:55.840 was predictable. He should have seen it coming and shouldn't 1:07:55.840 --> 1:07:58.880 have done it as a result. Now I'm sounding judgmental there, 1:07:58.880 --> 1:08:02.400 but and that's not hindsight. I mean I felt it 1:08:02.440 --> 1:08:04.800 at the time. I felt like, this is a mistake. Man, 1:08:04.840 --> 1:08:07.440 You're too good a player. You talk about playing for history. 1:08:07.440 --> 1:08:09.840 How is this playing for history? Now he's back to 1:08:09.880 --> 1:08:12.800 plane for history. He had a cessation there that he'll 1:08:12.800 --> 1:08:14.960 never get back. That's a gap in his life, a 1:08:15.200 --> 1:08:16.040 gap in his career. 1:08:16.520 --> 1:08:17.559 And he comes out. 1:08:17.600 --> 1:08:19.360 If he comes out with the right attitude, he can 1:08:19.439 --> 1:08:22.840 regain what he had. But those are lost years. 1:08:23.560 --> 1:08:26.080 Yeah, I think, you know, when when we look back 1:08:26.160 --> 1:08:28.880 and we'll see where where he gets to in terms 1:08:28.920 --> 1:08:32.760 of majors, Like you know, he's somebody that you know, 1:08:32.840 --> 1:08:35.960 you wouldn't be surprised to see four or five majors 1:08:36.040 --> 1:08:38.160 next to his name when he's all of a sudden done, 1:08:38.360 --> 1:08:42.719 of course, but a piece of his legacy will always 1:08:42.720 --> 1:08:47.559 be him in that Letterman that lived Letterman jacket and 1:08:47.600 --> 1:08:47.960 that was a. 1:08:47.880 --> 1:08:51.200 Bad campaign, bad campaign and there, yeah. 1:08:51.080 --> 1:08:53.920 Yeah, and that's always going to follow him everywhere. But 1:08:54.040 --> 1:08:57.280 I do think we're probably on the I would say 1:08:57.280 --> 1:09:00.000 the backside of the. 1:09:00.560 --> 1:09:03.479 I'll just interjact really quickly. I think he's handled it 1:09:03.680 --> 1:09:07.479 very well. Recently he wasn't handling it too well, but 1:09:07.560 --> 1:09:10.800 he's handled it very well as far as like, hey, 1:09:11.560 --> 1:09:15.240 you know, there was there's a certain humilities, just a 1:09:15.320 --> 1:09:18.120 nice kind of restraint to the way that he answered 1:09:18.200 --> 1:09:24.080 questions at the PGA, an evenness, an equanimity, you know, 1:09:24.280 --> 1:09:26.360 just kind of a wisdom to like, Okay, I went 1:09:26.360 --> 1:09:28.720 through this, I made a mistake. I want to pick 1:09:28.760 --> 1:09:32.120 up my life in my career and without being angry 1:09:32.120 --> 1:09:35.080 about it or arrogant about it or defiant about it. 1:09:35.800 --> 1:09:38.720 I think that was not just good to hear. I 1:09:38.720 --> 1:09:40.799 think it was good for him. 1:09:41.640 --> 1:09:44.400 So, you know, obviously we saw ron burst on the scene. 1:09:44.479 --> 1:09:48.320 He was one of the great college players. Something that 1:09:48.479 --> 1:09:54.000 I'm very excited about this this week is two young 1:09:54.040 --> 1:09:59.840 players just announced Jackson Coyven's turning pro after the US Open. 1:10:00.280 --> 1:10:04.439 Seeing Jackson Coven and Miles Russell, who who qualified out 1:10:04.439 --> 1:10:08.160 of out of Florida, who's still in high school, I 1:10:08.200 --> 1:10:10.280 think these are two the you know, I think we've 1:10:10.280 --> 1:10:13.400 been void of we have been void of a great 1:10:13.520 --> 1:10:17.519 young American star in a while. Uh, and these two 1:10:17.880 --> 1:10:22.000 are our people that I think have the you know, 1:10:22.160 --> 1:10:28.040 the the personalities, the games to potentially fill that. Obviously, 1:10:28.120 --> 1:10:33.160 Coyven's been a absolute dominant force in college. He's won 1:10:33.240 --> 1:10:36.240 the SEC Championship three years in a row. Number one 1:10:36.280 --> 1:10:40.240 ranked amateur. He basically earned his card through the PGA 1:10:40.320 --> 1:10:44.519 Tour You Points system a year ago. He is, he is, 1:10:44.880 --> 1:10:47.960 He's done basically everything at the amateur level. He has 1:10:47.960 --> 1:10:50.680 won the USAM he has won Nancy A Championship, but 1:10:51.200 --> 1:10:54.479 he has been a a absolute force on the amateur 1:10:54.520 --> 1:10:59.040 circuit and I'm I'm fascinated to see him begin to 1:10:59.439 --> 1:11:02.320 kind of take the next step to the highest threshold 1:11:02.439 --> 1:11:07.720 of pro golf. And I'm fascinated to watch. I think 1:11:07.760 --> 1:11:10.280 that is a kind of a fun thing to follow 1:11:10.920 --> 1:11:13.439 early next week and we'll see where he gets to. 1:11:14.280 --> 1:11:16.960 Yeah, well, I think two things have happened and are 1:11:17.000 --> 1:11:21.400 true right now. These young players are getting better, faster, 1:11:21.640 --> 1:11:24.320 and getting at a higher level than they've ever gotten. 1:11:25.120 --> 1:11:29.120 But there's so many of them that it's harder to separate. Yeah, 1:11:29.200 --> 1:11:31.040 and we don't know who's going to emerge out of this. 1:11:31.120 --> 1:11:34.639 Miles Russell looks like he's just a prodigy, incredible talent, 1:11:35.280 --> 1:11:38.200 just you know, looks like he's Togan hitting the ball. 1:11:38.400 --> 1:11:42.519 Every swing looks the same. I don't know, I'm amazed 1:11:42.560 --> 1:11:45.880 at how proficient these guys are young. But the irony 1:11:45.920 --> 1:11:50.439 isn't It doesn't predict stardom necessarily because there's so many 1:11:50.439 --> 1:11:52.280 guys to beat and there's so many other elements to 1:11:52.320 --> 1:11:54.840 be in a good touring professional. I mean, do you 1:11:54.960 --> 1:11:58.920 like the life? Can you handle the disappointment? You know, 1:11:59.120 --> 1:12:02.960 all the all the things between the ears that happened 1:12:03.000 --> 1:12:05.559 that we can't see, the invisible things. But as far 1:12:05.640 --> 1:12:09.360 as the visible things, wow, they're just also good. 1:12:11.400 --> 1:12:11.560 You know. 1:12:11.680 --> 1:12:13.800 Brings me back to equipment and things. Not the blame 1:12:13.800 --> 1:12:16.240 equipment for how good they are, but it's like you 1:12:16.240 --> 1:12:18.320 see these kids who have been hitting the ball and 1:12:18.360 --> 1:12:20.160 on a track man since they were nine years old, 1:12:20.160 --> 1:12:22.840 and they perfected it almost and it's like, man, the 1:12:22.880 --> 1:12:26.160 game is almost too easy for these guys, and golf 1:12:26.200 --> 1:12:27.960 will never be too easy, but they just give that 1:12:28.080 --> 1:12:32.160 illusion of it. But then all the other intangibles come 1:12:32.160 --> 1:12:34.559 in and you don't know who's going to emerge. I mean, Tiger, 1:12:34.920 --> 1:12:36.880 you know, I watched Charlie Woods swing and I and 1:12:36.920 --> 1:12:40.320 I and I thought, God, he's actually his swing. Not 1:12:40.400 --> 1:12:43.040 that I came the best judged necessarily at all, but 1:12:44.080 --> 1:12:46.920 it's kind of better than Tiger's was looking, at least 1:12:47.000 --> 1:12:50.519 when he was fourteen. But Tiger had something else and 1:12:50.600 --> 1:12:52.519 I don't even know how you even define it to 1:12:52.560 --> 1:12:54.720 this day, but it was an intensity and it was 1:12:55.120 --> 1:12:59.519 a focus that was on other you know, off the charts. 1:12:59.560 --> 1:13:04.000 So who's going to have that and whether it's you know, Covid, 1:13:04.240 --> 1:13:06.320 I haven't watched him play. You're a good student of 1:13:06.320 --> 1:13:08.679 these young guys, and I should watch more college golf 1:13:08.680 --> 1:13:13.000 because really you're you're watching an incredible level. But again, 1:13:13.240 --> 1:13:14.880 it's sort I sort of feel like, let's wait and 1:13:14.920 --> 1:13:18.400 see because it's just too early. But yeah, maybe somebody 1:13:18.439 --> 1:13:21.599 emerges and listen. I honestly think one of these young 1:13:21.640 --> 1:13:25.320 guys could like win a tournament, like we've seen that before, 1:13:25.439 --> 1:13:28.120 amateurs winning tournaments. Fill One one when I think he 1:13:28.200 --> 1:13:32.160 was twenty, and Scott Ford Plank and others have won. 1:13:32.280 --> 1:13:34.639 But there's it seems like there's four or five who 1:13:34.680 --> 1:13:36.920 could actually get into the arena and not be odd 1:13:36.960 --> 1:13:39.080 by it because they've been playing competitive golf so long 1:13:39.120 --> 1:13:41.639 and such a high level and probably play at home 1:13:41.960 --> 1:13:44.519 at some of these clubs that have a million tour 1:13:44.560 --> 1:13:47.360 pros around. I mean, I think one of Scotty's great, you know, 1:13:47.600 --> 1:13:51.639 sort of developmental advantages was he was around a bunch 1:13:51.720 --> 1:13:53.320 of pros when he was like seven years old at 1:13:53.400 --> 1:13:56.320 Royal Oaks and just picking up stuff that you wouldn't 1:13:56.320 --> 1:13:58.360 normally pick up until you got on the tour in 1:13:58.400 --> 1:14:03.120 the old days. And and they're so precocious, but again, 1:14:03.920 --> 1:14:06.320 we don't know. There's still a mystery to what it 1:14:06.360 --> 1:14:08.960 really takes to be great, and things have to break 1:14:09.040 --> 1:14:12.639 right sometimes and the prodigies sometimes come through and sometimes 1:14:12.720 --> 1:14:16.680 they disappear completely. So but I think the odds are 1:14:16.760 --> 1:14:19.920 that we'll see younger and younger winners going forward here 1:14:19.920 --> 1:14:21.920 because they're just better at a younger age. 1:14:22.560 --> 1:14:25.519 Yeah, it's I feel like we've had a run of 1:14:26.160 --> 1:14:28.800 players where it's like, oh, like they play, they come 1:14:28.880 --> 1:14:31.240 up and they play really well, but then they they 1:14:31.280 --> 1:14:33.639 actually make the leap to the full time tour pro 1:14:34.160 --> 1:14:36.559 and they regressed in a way like we saw this 1:14:36.600 --> 1:14:40.280 with Luke Clanton. You obviously have like everybody's kind of 1:14:40.280 --> 1:14:43.599 waiting for Michael Thorpe Jornsen to have to kind of 1:14:44.040 --> 1:14:47.360 get out and win everybody after the year Johnny Keefer 1:14:47.400 --> 1:14:49.840 had on the Court Ferry tour was Johnny, you got 1:14:49.840 --> 1:14:52.800 to watch out for this guy, Johnny Keefer. And the 1:14:52.880 --> 1:14:55.760 reality is are is it's it's hard. There are so 1:14:55.960 --> 1:14:59.719 many good players. It is hard to separate. And that's why, 1:14:59.800 --> 1:15:02.320 you know, like, what's one of the things that's been 1:15:03.000 --> 1:15:07.439 a I think like a revelatory And you know, you 1:15:07.520 --> 1:15:10.439 go back to the twenty twenty one you Ryder Cup 1:15:10.439 --> 1:15:12.320 at Whistling straight. Do you think the US is going 1:15:12.360 --> 1:15:15.160 to dominate forever? Look at all this young talent in 1:15:15.200 --> 1:15:18.080 a way that Europeans have more young talent. 1:15:18.600 --> 1:15:22.520 Yeah, you know, maybe their developmental period, their their developmental 1:15:23.120 --> 1:15:26.960 programs is is more healthy and better in some ways, 1:15:26.960 --> 1:15:29.599 it's not quite as intensive. They're not on the AJJ 1:15:29.840 --> 1:15:32.960 tour as much in the same way, but they eventually 1:15:33.040 --> 1:15:36.080 all come to America and that's the place where you 1:15:36.120 --> 1:15:40.360 really prove it. So, you know, I was going to 1:15:40.439 --> 1:15:43.920 say something about some of the young guys. Oh, you know, 1:15:44.360 --> 1:15:48.559 I wonder if the unorthodox guy, I mean Michael, I'm 1:15:48.600 --> 1:15:54.720 going to pronounce his name wrong, or Thorpe Jordtson. I mean, man, 1:15:54.760 --> 1:15:57.760 he's impressive looking. And then I look at Scott gotter Up, 1:15:58.080 --> 1:16:01.400 Chris Gottrup, Excuse me, I mean, I mean he you know, 1:16:01.800 --> 1:16:04.559 he's an athlete number one. But that is an unorthodox swing. 1:16:04.960 --> 1:16:07.320 That's a really personal golf swing with a lot of 1:16:07.400 --> 1:16:10.479 actually different kind of shots that he hits too. He 1:16:10.840 --> 1:16:12.519 can do all kinds of things with the golf ball, 1:16:12.720 --> 1:16:15.320 and part of it is because he's not really programmed 1:16:15.360 --> 1:16:20.000 technically in this perfect way. And so sometimes you wonder, man, 1:16:20.520 --> 1:16:25.519 maybe something's lost when everybody looks so uniform, and in 1:16:25.560 --> 1:16:28.479 Europe you see a little bit more variation. I think. 1:16:29.320 --> 1:16:33.040 Although they're in golf camps just like Americans are and 1:16:33.760 --> 1:16:35.840 the national teams and everything, they're teaching a lot of 1:16:35.920 --> 1:16:39.439 uniform things, but individuality is something that sometimes is the 1:16:39.479 --> 1:16:42.519 thing that ends up being the separator. Are you true 1:16:42.520 --> 1:16:45.320 to yourself? Are you not trying to be something else 1:16:45.880 --> 1:16:48.760 but just what you are and only know yourself so 1:16:48.840 --> 1:16:51.160 well that you know yourself better than the guys who 1:16:51.800 --> 1:16:54.639 have actually tried to fit into a mold, so to speak. 1:16:54.880 --> 1:16:58.439 And that's a very general statement. I think Abubba Watson, 1:16:58.840 --> 1:17:00.760 like the most talented player I ever saw in some 1:17:00.840 --> 1:17:05.599 ways didn't have it. Uh, in the intangibles didn't have it. 1:17:06.400 --> 1:17:09.439 I mean you think about like the mental makeup of 1:17:09.520 --> 1:17:11.320 Bubba would not be what. 1:17:11.240 --> 1:17:14.320 You never and it never would be. It never would 1:17:14.439 --> 1:17:15.000 what you said. 1:17:15.280 --> 1:17:18.800 The physical attributes. I mean it's still you know, this 1:17:18.920 --> 1:17:21.920 is is he's I think he's forty eight now. 1:17:22.320 --> 1:17:24.160 He could still do it if he wanted, if he 1:17:24.240 --> 1:17:25.880 had it the head for it, he could still do it. 1:17:26.360 --> 1:17:28.920 He's that talented. But you know, it's there's it just 1:17:28.960 --> 1:17:30.800 teaches us. There's a lot more than that. There's a 1:17:30.840 --> 1:17:33.760 lot more than not just talent, but just physical you know, 1:17:33.800 --> 1:17:36.240 creativity and all those things that we talk about. You 1:17:36.479 --> 1:17:38.680 still got to have it between the ears when you're 1:17:38.680 --> 1:17:41.000 walking from one shot to the next shot, and god, 1:17:41.320 --> 1:17:43.880 that is no one's figured it out completely. You know, 1:17:43.920 --> 1:17:48.479 you got you know, uh, sports psychologists are taking more 1:17:48.479 --> 1:17:55.439 of a prominent role again with Gosha here. Now, I've 1:17:55.479 --> 1:17:57.960 been talking too long in my minds. 1:17:57.800 --> 1:18:01.559 U Julie, Julia, and. 1:18:01.080 --> 1:18:02.760 I was trying to think of the players. She's you know, 1:18:02.800 --> 1:18:07.040 we know Wyndham Clark. Wyndam Clark's amazing physical talent, amazing 1:18:07.040 --> 1:18:11.240 physical so strong, so graceful, athletic as hell, and yet 1:18:11.360 --> 1:18:13.720 you know he's had to battle his his internal life, 1:18:14.160 --> 1:18:18.599 his internal game. And as that improves, I still feel 1:18:18.600 --> 1:18:22.000 like that's the next frontier, that's where everybody will really 1:18:22.080 --> 1:18:26.080 start to optimize, because that's still there's more unknowns about 1:18:26.080 --> 1:18:26.960 that than anything else. 1:18:27.920 --> 1:18:33.000 Yeah. I wrote down a bunch of names here. Obviously 1:18:33.080 --> 1:18:37.840 this is always a major discourse item best players without 1:18:37.840 --> 1:18:40.360 a major, and I feel like we've we've stacked up 1:18:40.560 --> 1:18:43.920 that nobody I don't think on this list stands out 1:18:43.960 --> 1:18:47.840 as like wow, like look at this. You know, there's 1:18:47.880 --> 1:18:51.479 no Lee Westward, there's no Phil Mickelson at you know, 1:18:51.560 --> 1:18:54.400 age thirty two on this list, but it's you know, 1:18:54.400 --> 1:18:57.840 you got Russell, Henley, cam Young, Tommy Fleetwood, Chris got 1:18:57.880 --> 1:19:01.000 her up, Ludwig are the names kind of wrote down 1:19:01.360 --> 1:19:04.719 as like right now, the best players without without a major? 1:19:05.960 --> 1:19:10.599 Who of those would you be most most interested in 1:19:10.800 --> 1:19:13.280 this week? Potentially breaking through this week? 1:19:13.640 --> 1:19:15.000 You know, Victor Hoblin's another name. 1:19:15.720 --> 1:19:18.360 Yeah, I had I had him on PJ. PJ was 1:19:18.360 --> 1:19:20.559 shaming me with Victor Holin, which well, you. 1:19:20.560 --> 1:19:23.720 Know Victor, Victor, he's an explorer, you know, and he's 1:19:23.720 --> 1:19:26.760 taken a couple of wrong turns, but I still have 1:19:26.880 --> 1:19:31.559 faith he he'll no, no, no, I I didn't mean. 1:19:31.640 --> 1:19:34.280 I just thought of him because you know, his his 1:19:34.360 --> 1:19:37.680 great golf has been tremendous. You know, Oberg is kind 1:19:37.720 --> 1:19:40.960 of the most intriguing because it just looks so natural 1:19:40.960 --> 1:19:45.160 and easy for him, and he's so gifted physically, his size, 1:19:45.280 --> 1:19:48.719 his effortlessness. You know, it looks like he's good at everything. 1:19:48.720 --> 1:19:51.240 It turns out statistically he's not the greatest around and 1:19:51.320 --> 1:19:55.480 on the greens, but those things can be improved. Uh, 1:19:55.960 --> 1:19:57.920 you know, I think he'll have a breakout. I think 1:19:57.920 --> 1:20:00.920 that the Players was a scarring moment and that you know, 1:20:01.640 --> 1:20:03.479 it may be lingering, who knows, but in the end 1:20:03.520 --> 1:20:06.599 it's going to be a good lesson that he'll I think, 1:20:07.040 --> 1:20:09.040 grow from. But you know, you hate to see the 1:20:09.080 --> 1:20:12.320 delay from it, but that's golf. Nobody gets out unscarred. 1:20:14.000 --> 1:20:18.160 I think size and power is still the advantage we 1:20:18.280 --> 1:20:20.759 used to talk about. You know, hey, the optimal size 1:20:20.760 --> 1:20:23.160 for a golfer should be like five ten, you know, 1:20:23.240 --> 1:20:26.479 one sixty one seventy because once you get really long limbs, 1:20:26.479 --> 1:20:28.600 you got all these angles and all these variables and 1:20:28.640 --> 1:20:32.559 it's harder to repeat, you know. I think that that's 1:20:32.640 --> 1:20:38.120 been debunks probably. And also we're seeing really tall guys 1:20:38.120 --> 1:20:40.759 be great putters, and that was true all through history. 1:20:40.800 --> 1:20:45.120 Actually a few guys, who knows why, So I think. 1:20:45.000 --> 1:20:47.960 It's about how they see the line maybe, yeah, or just. 1:20:47.920 --> 1:20:50.920 The pendulum action of standing that tall who knows, I 1:20:50.920 --> 1:20:54.439 don't know. George Archer was maybe the greatest, and a 1:20:54.479 --> 1:20:57.240 few other guys who were that. Tom Siekman was a 1:20:57.240 --> 1:20:59.519 great putter and the best part of his game. He's 1:20:59.560 --> 1:21:03.800 a big guy, six five sixty six. Anyway, Uh, I 1:21:04.479 --> 1:21:09.160 just think that now, I see I lost my train again. Sorry. 1:21:10.200 --> 1:21:15.280 Well with Ludwig, yeah, yeah, no, I think is to 1:21:15.320 --> 1:21:19.360 me he's shown the most the most potential and h 1:21:19.400 --> 1:21:21.120 he's been through a couple of wars now, so maybe 1:21:21.200 --> 1:21:23.400 next time he gets in one he'll be more ready 1:21:23.400 --> 1:21:24.880 for it. So I guess I pick him. 1:21:25.360 --> 1:21:27.840 That's I. You know, I think there's a you know, 1:21:27.880 --> 1:21:32.040 an online discourses, as we learn with the with the 1:21:32.200 --> 1:21:37.879 NBA Playoffs is just a treacherous place where where players 1:21:37.880 --> 1:21:40.640 could go from the love to to hate it in 1:21:40.840 --> 1:21:43.400 three days. With the with the New York fans going 1:21:43.439 --> 1:21:49.080 at him. But the but the I would say, the 1:21:49.080 --> 1:21:52.960 the thing about Ludwig, which I am. You know, people 1:21:53.640 --> 1:21:57.240 are now like, oh, he can't get it done, you know, 1:21:57.439 --> 1:22:01.400 and it's you know, what the game is to get 1:22:01.439 --> 1:22:05.080 yourself in the mix so you can get it done 1:22:05.240 --> 1:22:09.240 on Sunday. And I think like, of this list, why 1:22:09.560 --> 1:22:14.240 you buy Ludwig, I would say cam Young, I would put. 1:22:15.160 --> 1:22:19.320 Absolute, he showed so much. Yeah, you know that Sunday thing. 1:22:19.560 --> 1:22:22.120 It's still the greatest challenge in the game, you know, 1:22:22.439 --> 1:22:25.120 it is to close it out. That's such a hard 1:22:25.160 --> 1:22:25.880 thing now. 1:22:25.920 --> 1:22:28.640 I used to think it was you can't close it 1:22:28.640 --> 1:22:29.559 out if you're not there. 1:22:29.760 --> 1:22:31.519 Well, no, true, but a lot of guys get there 1:22:31.560 --> 1:22:35.439 in fade, you know, kind of repeatedly and makes you 1:22:35.479 --> 1:22:38.519 think sometimes it's innate, and maybe to some extent it is. 1:22:38.800 --> 1:22:40.519 But I also think it can be a learned behavior 1:22:40.560 --> 1:22:43.960 to handle it. And you know, Watson was a guy 1:22:44.000 --> 1:22:47.760 who you know, threw a couple away pretty pretty traumatically, 1:22:47.920 --> 1:22:51.719 Tom Watson and then became an incredible closer. Even Jack 1:22:52.040 --> 1:22:55.720 threw a couple away early, you know, So can you 1:22:55.800 --> 1:22:59.200 learn from it? I guess that's that's the separator. Can 1:22:59.200 --> 1:23:00.880 I think I think you have to. 1:23:00.960 --> 1:23:03.800 It gets easier every time, even if you go through 1:23:03.800 --> 1:23:04.200 the pain. 1:23:04.720 --> 1:23:06.680 Well, it can get harder too, if you do it 1:23:06.680 --> 1:23:10.360 too much. You know, it's a delicate balance. It's a 1:23:10.400 --> 1:23:13.040 tight rope. There's a lot at stake when a guy 1:23:13.040 --> 1:23:15.800 gets into contention. I think that's one reason unconsciously he's 1:23:15.840 --> 1:23:18.960 talking sports psychologists about this. Some guys don't want to 1:23:19.000 --> 1:23:23.360 be number one. It's too much to always have your 1:23:23.439 --> 1:23:27.040 game being judged and on the brink of a really 1:23:27.080 --> 1:23:30.519 disappointing result. It hurts more when you're on top, and 1:23:30.560 --> 1:23:32.559 it hurts when you're in the middle of the pack 1:23:33.040 --> 1:23:36.559 living a decent, you know, kind of consistent life as 1:23:36.640 --> 1:23:38.200 long as you're not losing your card in that sort 1:23:38.240 --> 1:23:40.720 of thing. And some guys settle into that. I don't 1:23:40.760 --> 1:23:42.160 know if that's going to happen more, and if that 1:23:42.160 --> 1:23:44.360 it's actually a real thing, But it was theorizable a 1:23:44.360 --> 1:23:48.240 lot it used to be. And I think it's easier 1:23:48.280 --> 1:23:50.759 now to make a great living without being a big winner. 1:23:51.479 --> 1:23:54.360 I think you might see guys pulling back from that 1:23:54.600 --> 1:23:57.839 cauldron because it is a painful one. I mean, Rory've 1:23:57.880 --> 1:24:00.400 been through hell, and I think that's why he pulled 1:24:00.400 --> 1:24:02.120 for him so hard to get out of it because 1:24:02.680 --> 1:24:06.080 you knew, man, he's overcoming a lot now, and it 1:24:06.160 --> 1:24:09.439 was really pretty heroic to win that first Masters. Really was. 1:24:10.040 --> 1:24:12.559 He had every reason to be you know, kind of 1:24:12.960 --> 1:24:15.200 permanently disabled, and he wasn't. 1:24:16.000 --> 1:24:20.160 Yeah. Yeah, it's I mean, the burden. It's one of 1:24:20.160 --> 1:24:22.960 the best parts about a major. You know, you have 1:24:23.080 --> 1:24:27.000 this week, you have weeks of speculation and talking like 1:24:27.080 --> 1:24:29.920 this podcast about who might get it done. Then you 1:24:29.960 --> 1:24:33.040 have the days setting up, and then it gets to Sunday, 1:24:33.240 --> 1:24:36.200 and it gets to that point on Sunday where players 1:24:36.280 --> 1:24:38.439 go or they fade. I think it's one of the 1:24:38.439 --> 1:24:41.679 things that resonated with me the most about Aaron Rye 1:24:42.080 --> 1:24:44.000 was you had this, he did not a lot of 1:24:45.360 --> 1:24:49.360 spectacular players on the leader board, and Aaron Raie goes 1:24:49.400 --> 1:24:52.840 and he just beats the crap out of everybody. 1:24:52.400 --> 1:24:54.519 And takes it. You know, he just shot coming in 1:24:54.600 --> 1:24:54.840 did not. 1:24:54.960 --> 1:24:57.639 Yeah, he just took the major. He just took it 1:24:57.760 --> 1:25:00.479 in like no matter what, like people are going to 1:25:00.560 --> 1:25:02.639 go back in time and like, I don't expect this 1:25:02.680 --> 1:25:05.559 to be a flurry of Aaron Rye wins in there, 1:25:05.600 --> 1:25:07.719 and you know, twenty years from now, with the context 1:25:07.840 --> 1:25:10.400 ripped away, people will be like Aaron Rye one won 1:25:10.479 --> 1:25:15.400 the PGA. Aaron Raie took that championship away from the 1:25:15.439 --> 1:25:16.759 best players in the world. 1:25:16.920 --> 1:25:19.920 He did the thing that everybody dreams of doing at 1:25:19.920 --> 1:25:22.639 the biggest moment. He played his best golf. I mean 1:25:22.720 --> 1:25:27.559 literally his best golf. That is so rare for anybody. 1:25:27.720 --> 1:25:31.400 So he's going to have that forever, and you know, 1:25:31.600 --> 1:25:34.120 he might get studied. He's maybe a model because I 1:25:34.200 --> 1:25:37.280 know how meticulous he is, and you know, and also 1:25:37.320 --> 1:25:40.040 the humility he carries himself with. All those things are 1:25:40.080 --> 1:25:41.759 things that are going to go. Hey, there's a lesson 1:25:41.800 --> 1:25:44.000 with that guy. That was not an accident. He did 1:25:44.080 --> 1:25:47.000 it and he's paid his dues and when the moment came, 1:25:47.040 --> 1:25:49.559 he was ready. Why let's find out why. 1:25:52.160 --> 1:25:54.840 Yeah, I mean I think that you make a lot 1:25:54.840 --> 1:25:58.400 of money if you can figure out why. I think 1:25:58.400 --> 1:26:01.400 you can make a lot of money across Yeah, recreation, 1:26:01.960 --> 1:26:04.200 you're thinking about making you're thinking about making money. 1:26:04.280 --> 1:26:06.720 You're not going about it the right way. That's the thing. 1:26:06.800 --> 1:26:08.000 You know, you got to have your mind in the 1:26:08.080 --> 1:26:10.559 right Are you playing for the right reasons? You know, 1:26:10.720 --> 1:26:14.479 that's that's another sports psychologist question, what are the why 1:26:14.479 --> 1:26:16.720 do you? Why do you play? And if it's for 1:26:16.800 --> 1:26:18.760 the money, you're probably not going to be as great 1:26:18.800 --> 1:26:19.439 as you could have been. 1:26:20.479 --> 1:26:23.479 We're going to close this out with a with with 1:26:23.600 --> 1:26:28.720 a topic that could be this whole old podcast. You know, 1:26:28.960 --> 1:26:33.960 I think there the USGA obviously is pushing the roll back, 1:26:34.720 --> 1:26:39.000 the RNA obviously very behind it, the idea of you know, 1:26:39.080 --> 1:26:41.920 I wouldn't call it a rollback, We're just honestly trying 1:26:41.920 --> 1:26:46.000 to set stand still, stand still. I think there was 1:26:46.040 --> 1:26:50.479 a terrible snag that was hit recently when it came 1:26:50.520 --> 1:26:52.760 out that Cameron Young, who hit a three hundred and 1:26:52.760 --> 1:26:57.040 eighty yard you know, t shot on the eighteenth hole 1:26:57.360 --> 1:27:01.040 at the Players this year, it came out that Cameron 1:27:01.080 --> 1:27:04.320 Young's ball is conforming under the rollback, and I think 1:27:04.320 --> 1:27:07.120 it hit a little bit of a snag and I'm 1:27:07.280 --> 1:27:09.800 very you know, I think this is something that you 1:27:10.520 --> 1:27:13.880 wanted to talk about as well. It could be just 1:27:14.000 --> 1:27:19.559 a fascinating week in terms of like what is the 1:27:19.640 --> 1:27:21.519 USGA going to say about rollback? 1:27:22.960 --> 1:27:28.240 Yeah, I think unfortunately the process has been corrupted, not 1:27:28.880 --> 1:27:33.080 in an unlawful way, but for what was intended, which was, 1:27:33.600 --> 1:27:36.040 let's bring everybody in, let's have a consensus about what 1:27:36.040 --> 1:27:39.480 we should do. Let's make sure every quote unquote stakeholder 1:27:39.520 --> 1:27:41.919 gets a voice, and so then when there's a decision, 1:27:42.200 --> 1:27:45.439 there will be consensus, there will be an agreement that 1:27:45.560 --> 1:27:47.760 we all got a fair shot and this was the 1:27:47.760 --> 1:27:51.800 best decision. And instead what you have is more more fragmentation. 1:27:53.240 --> 1:27:57.120 And to me, the key moment was when the USGA 1:27:57.920 --> 1:28:01.400 got off their original proposal of bifer king of two 1:28:01.439 --> 1:28:05.400 sets of rules basically and uh, you know, the model 1:28:05.400 --> 1:28:09.719 local rule being enforced at the elite events, and gave 1:28:09.800 --> 1:28:12.479 in to the idea that we can never get off, 1:28:12.880 --> 1:28:15.800 you know, the unified rule and everybody playing by the 1:28:15.800 --> 1:28:20.080 same equipment rules and everything the same. And that allowed 1:28:21.040 --> 1:28:25.800 the opponents of a rollback to basically mitigate what the 1:28:25.920 --> 1:28:30.240 USGA couldn't could ask because you once you start taking 1:28:30.240 --> 1:28:33.640 distance away from the recreational player, you're you're you know, 1:28:33.680 --> 1:28:36.679 you're stepping on the third rail. That's poison. You can't 1:28:36.720 --> 1:28:39.920 do that, and they're doing it now in very small increments, 1:28:39.960 --> 1:28:42.760 and there's still all these pushback because everybody wants to 1:28:42.760 --> 1:28:45.800 get longer. But I would just say the threshold has 1:28:45.800 --> 1:28:48.799 been met at the elite level. Getting longer is becoming 1:28:48.840 --> 1:28:52.200 now counterproductive. And you can judge any way you want. 1:28:53.000 --> 1:28:55.160 The game will survive. This is a matter of taste. 1:28:55.160 --> 1:28:56.800 What kind of game do you want to see? I 1:28:56.840 --> 1:28:58.760 want to see the skill game. I want to see 1:28:58.760 --> 1:29:00.640 the game where everybody hits all kind of shots with 1:29:00.680 --> 1:29:01.320 different clubs. 1:29:02.040 --> 1:29:02.160 Uh. 1:29:02.320 --> 1:29:05.559 That game is leaving us because the shots coming into 1:29:05.560 --> 1:29:08.479 the greens are so short now in general, and the 1:29:08.479 --> 1:29:11.599 clubs being hit are lofted. And that doesn't mean it's 1:29:11.640 --> 1:29:13.840 a bad game. It just means that there's a part 1:29:13.880 --> 1:29:15.680 of the game that we're not seeing that actually was 1:29:15.720 --> 1:29:18.040 the most challenging part of the game. And I'm not 1:29:18.240 --> 1:29:19.760 on a soapbox now, so I don't mean to be. 1:29:19.840 --> 1:29:23.280 I just want to say that, you know, I would 1:29:23.320 --> 1:29:25.320 say that if the USGA could, and I don't know 1:29:25.360 --> 1:29:27.360 if they can, because what we don't know at this 1:29:27.479 --> 1:29:30.559 moment who's going to follow it anyway. The tour has 1:29:30.600 --> 1:29:32.200 not bought in yet, the pH of America has not 1:29:32.240 --> 1:29:35.040 bought in yet. The manufacturer certainly have not bought in yet. 1:29:36.360 --> 1:29:38.880 You know, we got we got a major gridlock here, 1:29:39.080 --> 1:29:43.160 and there is the reality that there is nothing legally 1:29:43.200 --> 1:29:46.680 compelling anyone from following what the USGA and the RNA decide. 1:29:46.760 --> 1:29:50.120 That's always been, you know, this just kind of gentlemen's 1:29:50.120 --> 1:29:53.639 agreement that, you know, we should follow those guys because 1:29:54.000 --> 1:29:56.400 they know best. And now people are saying, no, they 1:29:56.400 --> 1:29:59.120 don't know best, and we're not. We think it's unfair 1:29:59.240 --> 1:30:01.320 and we don't want to Well, they're threatening to say 1:30:01.400 --> 1:30:03.200 we are not going to follow it. If that happens, 1:30:03.320 --> 1:30:05.640 what happens to the game. As far as you know, 1:30:05.720 --> 1:30:08.720 there's anarchy, there's there's chaos. So I think there's a 1:30:08.720 --> 1:30:11.599 lot riding on all this, and I think cooler heads 1:30:11.640 --> 1:30:14.760 will prevail, wiser heads will prevail eventually. But it's been 1:30:14.800 --> 1:30:19.760 a very long and unnecessary detour. I just wish if 1:30:20.000 --> 1:30:22.240 the USJA could be a little autocratic and go, we 1:30:22.320 --> 1:30:24.439 decree this, this is what it's going to be. Like 1:30:24.479 --> 1:30:26.320 the NFL would do, like the NBA would do, like 1:30:26.360 --> 1:30:29.599 the MLB would do, Like every major sport does they 1:30:29.600 --> 1:30:33.320 set their own rules and the players follow them. Golf, 1:30:33.479 --> 1:30:35.840 because of all kinds of variables, does not do that. 1:30:36.160 --> 1:30:38.120 And I think it's been to the detriment. We've reached 1:30:38.160 --> 1:30:41.200 a point where it's now become to a head and 1:30:41.240 --> 1:30:43.479 we you know, are at a crossroads. And I hope, 1:30:43.960 --> 1:30:48.640 I hope something at this open gets clarified a little bit, 1:30:48.640 --> 1:30:51.240 because I think right now it's very murky what's going forward. 1:30:52.640 --> 1:30:56.600 Yeah, yeah, it's I you know, I think it's obviously 1:30:56.880 --> 1:31:00.120 so easy to go play you know, Monday more and 1:31:00.160 --> 1:31:04.120 in quarterback. But if you look at the decision making, 1:31:04.840 --> 1:31:08.800 and this was always you know, by not putting a 1:31:08.880 --> 1:31:12.599 firm line and an aggressive line in the sand, you 1:31:12.680 --> 1:31:16.320 remove all your negotiation power which was bound to happen. 1:31:17.200 --> 1:31:20.120 And is any really quick. It turns out that behind 1:31:20.120 --> 1:31:23.080 the scenes they understand now the USJA and the r 1:31:23.120 --> 1:31:26.360 any kind of understand we don't have as much leverage 1:31:26.360 --> 1:31:27.439 as people thought we had. 1:31:28.320 --> 1:31:31.519 You know, I think there is leverage, though the masters 1:31:31.520 --> 1:31:32.840 are behind them. It used to. 1:31:32.840 --> 1:31:35.280 Be basically I hate the USA, but I gotta do 1:31:35.280 --> 1:31:37.519 what they say. You know, even guys who were opponents 1:31:37.520 --> 1:31:39.679 of it, now it's like, hey, I don't like the USA, 1:31:39.800 --> 1:31:42.880 I'm not going to do it. Wow, you know that's 1:31:42.880 --> 1:31:43.439 a big lead. 1:31:44.479 --> 1:31:48.600 It's uh so, you know, this is this is anecdotal, 1:31:48.640 --> 1:31:51.320 it's you know, it's wild, it's you know, I played. 1:31:51.439 --> 1:31:55.360 I'm on a recreational golf journey here where I'm I'm 1:31:55.400 --> 1:31:57.720 at banded dudes playing thirty six sols a day with 1:31:57.800 --> 1:32:03.520 Hickory Clubs. Oh cool, Now abandon from the regular teas. 1:32:03.920 --> 1:32:09.080 I can overwhelm bandon with abandoned dude's courses with power where. 1:32:09.000 --> 1:32:11.719 You can overwhelm them. Wow, I'll. 1:32:13.920 --> 1:32:16.719 I'll hit regis in all day long from the regular piece. 1:32:16.800 --> 1:32:19.200 And that's the modern game. You're just playing the modern game. 1:32:19.320 --> 1:32:23.560 Sorry, I'm playing Hickory Clubs coming down the stretch. And 1:32:23.720 --> 1:32:26.519 I was playing a match yesterday afternoon, coming down the stretch. 1:32:27.080 --> 1:32:31.880 I had a par five. I hit a five iron 1:32:32.000 --> 1:32:34.320 into the green for my third shot. It was into 1:32:34.320 --> 1:32:37.800 the wind. I was abandoned traills on the seventeenth, Oh, 1:32:37.880 --> 1:32:39.920 I had a three iron. On eighteen, I hit a 1:32:39.960 --> 1:32:45.040 three iron into the green. Like that is different. It's 1:32:45.160 --> 1:32:51.080 just insane to me that people. The best thing in 1:32:51.120 --> 1:32:55.320 sports is a wide range of outcomes, like anything could happen. 1:32:56.360 --> 1:33:01.439 That is what is exciting about sports is the range 1:33:01.439 --> 1:33:07.320 of outcomes. The shorter the club in, the less outcomes 1:33:07.560 --> 1:33:09.160 are are feasible. 1:33:09.479 --> 1:33:12.720 I guess, or at least the process. The process is 1:33:12.800 --> 1:33:16.240 less variable, there's no question you can still have incredibly incredible, 1:33:16.600 --> 1:33:19.719 incredible finishing. Let me just say real quick, the best 1:33:20.080 --> 1:33:25.000 advertisement to me for a rollback was Matt Fitzpatrick's four 1:33:25.040 --> 1:33:28.439 iron into eighteen at Hilton Head into the wind and 1:33:28.520 --> 1:33:32.040 a big hard into a crosswind with a four iron 1:33:32.560 --> 1:33:35.519 that he flushed with a draw against that wind. It 1:33:35.600 --> 1:33:39.519 was a classic golf shot. You don't see that shot 1:33:39.600 --> 1:33:42.519 anymore except on par fives. To see it on a 1:33:42.560 --> 1:33:45.519 par four, to me, brought that tournament alive. It just 1:33:45.720 --> 1:33:49.040 raised not just the drama, it raised the admiration for 1:33:49.080 --> 1:33:51.840 how good they are, and some of that is being lost. 1:33:52.200 --> 1:33:52.439 I mean. 1:33:52.439 --> 1:33:54.400 So that's what I would say if I if I 1:33:54.439 --> 1:33:57.760 was running a campaign for a rollback, I'd run a 1:33:57.880 --> 1:34:00.639 video of that shot and try to, you know, put 1:34:00.640 --> 1:34:04.000 people in that moment and what it meant. And you know, 1:34:04.080 --> 1:34:05.960 we don't want to lose that in golf. In my opinion. 1:34:06.720 --> 1:34:10.479 You see it with the with this week. You're gonna 1:34:10.479 --> 1:34:14.000 see the paving shot over and over and over again, 1:34:14.200 --> 1:34:19.280 his forward on eighteen and that just does not happen. 1:34:19.720 --> 1:34:21.920 But you know, neither one is those who's gonna happen. 1:34:22.400 --> 1:34:25.080 You know, if there is a rollback. Even if there's 1:34:25.120 --> 1:34:28.439 one that's the best case scenario, we're gonna be talking 1:34:28.439 --> 1:34:33.400 about six and seven irons, not four irons and four woods. Yeah, 1:34:33.680 --> 1:34:37.080 but that's okay. That that still to me will improve 1:34:38.000 --> 1:34:42.280 the game at the highest level. Only everybody else play 1:34:42.320 --> 1:34:45.160 with everything you got kidded, as far as you can 1:34:46.240 --> 1:34:50.559 play not conforming equipment, I'm okay with it. You know, honestly, 1:34:50.600 --> 1:34:53.160 the game is hard. But when you're that good and 1:34:53.200 --> 1:34:55.519 you want to see the best separate themselves from the 1:34:55.560 --> 1:34:58.639 rest of the best, I think the game needs an adjustment. 1:35:00.040 --> 1:35:02.800 I completely agree. I think I don't think you know, 1:35:04.720 --> 1:35:08.000 the best are still going to be the best. And 1:35:08.000 --> 1:35:11.880 and I think there's like I get, I completely understand 1:35:11.960 --> 1:35:15.559 if I'm a tour player. Why like tour players can't 1:35:15.600 --> 1:35:18.479 you can't go to them. You're you're literally threatening their 1:35:18.600 --> 1:35:22.759 their jobs here, they're alway to change the game. Different 1:35:22.880 --> 1:35:26.840 players might rise. I think the best are always going 1:35:26.880 --> 1:35:27.599 to be the best. 1:35:27.760 --> 1:35:30.040 Like, look at all these changes that are been andy 1:35:30.120 --> 1:35:33.720 all through, I mean from Hickory to steal from you know, 1:35:33.760 --> 1:35:36.320 the little ball to the big ball, you know, the 1:35:36.920 --> 1:35:39.920 British ball of the one point one point six I 1:35:39.920 --> 1:35:43.040 mean that was a huge change, and everybody made it. 1:35:43.080 --> 1:35:45.920 You know, Nicholas just talking about going over to play 1:35:45.920 --> 1:35:50.280 in the Open and on Tuesday start playing a little 1:35:50.280 --> 1:35:53.479 ball and you know, after about eight holes he was Okay, 1:35:53.840 --> 1:35:56.960 I got it. I mean, it's not that big a change. 1:35:57.600 --> 1:36:00.879 These guys act like it's such science. It's never been scienced. 1:36:01.160 --> 1:36:04.240 I know, there's all kinds of you know, everything is 1:36:04.240 --> 1:36:08.920 for analytics, everything track man, there's all kinds of actual 1:36:08.960 --> 1:36:11.519 science being applied to the game. But hitting a golf 1:36:11.560 --> 1:36:16.600 ball perfectly every time is not attainable. So there's variables 1:36:16.600 --> 1:36:20.679 and everything. And if the equipment changes, players will adapt. 1:36:20.800 --> 1:36:25.599 They'll adapt imperfectly, like they would adapt, not just adapt, 1:36:25.640 --> 1:36:27.880 but as they would continue on imperfectly with what they have. 1:36:28.439 --> 1:36:32.000 It's just an imperfect game. So equipment changes should not 1:36:32.040 --> 1:36:35.439 be looked at as you know, apocalyptic, like I just 1:36:35.479 --> 1:36:36.800 think that's propaganda. 1:36:38.000 --> 1:36:42.360 There's a lot of propaganda out there. But it'll be 1:36:42.840 --> 1:36:46.040 that'll be a Wednesday, I believe, maybe. I think it's 1:36:46.160 --> 1:36:50.880 usually Wednesday when the USGA talks. Hi may last question here, 1:36:51.640 --> 1:36:53.960 who's your winner this week? I know you're having to 1:36:53.960 --> 1:36:57.320 pick early. Who would you be your pick? On Friday, 1:36:57.640 --> 1:36:59.120 the week before the US I'm. 1:36:59.040 --> 1:37:02.360 Always biased wards, you know, history and the great and 1:37:02.400 --> 1:37:04.240 the great player, and I want to see Scotty win 1:37:04.560 --> 1:37:06.799 the Grand Slam. So I'm gonna I'm gonna pick Scotty 1:37:06.920 --> 1:37:09.760 on the basis of thinking he's right now this moment, 1:37:09.760 --> 1:37:11.680 he's getting it together. And I'm not saying he's that 1:37:11.760 --> 1:37:15.040 far off. It's a small he's gonna tweak it positively, 1:37:15.400 --> 1:37:19.680 and he's gonna bring that ultra intensity and and he's 1:37:19.680 --> 1:37:22.120 always up there and he's and he's gonna get it 1:37:22.160 --> 1:37:24.559 done on Sunday like he did at the Olympics, like 1:37:24.560 --> 1:37:26.160 he did at Port Rush. He's gonna be in that 1:37:26.240 --> 1:37:29.599 zone again. So that's my that's my wish, but it's 1:37:29.640 --> 1:37:30.439 also my prediction. 1:37:31.360 --> 1:37:33.920 I'm uh, I'm gonna go. I'd be remiss to not 1:37:34.000 --> 1:37:36.080 get him. You know, it could be me just trying 1:37:36.080 --> 1:37:39.679 to crowbarrow this name into the podcast, but I'm gonna 1:37:39.720 --> 1:37:43.680 go with uh. You know, maybe I you know, we 1:37:43.800 --> 1:37:48.640 keep he's becoming an ageless wonder, but we keep. You know, 1:37:50.200 --> 1:37:53.640 this could be the last year of really great chances 1:37:53.760 --> 1:37:57.280 of succeeding. I think this sets up very well for him, 1:37:57.439 --> 1:38:00.840 this type of type of golf. Uh, I'm I'm gonna 1:38:00.880 --> 1:38:01.920 go with Justin Rose. 1:38:02.479 --> 1:38:05.960 Okay, Well, he is a very complete player. He's yeah, 1:38:06.600 --> 1:38:08.800 you know, Sunday is the problem. I'm not saying he's 1:38:08.840 --> 1:38:11.799 not capable, but Sunday afternoon. Yeah, as you get older, 1:38:12.000 --> 1:38:15.000 it's just harder to summon your very best at the 1:38:15.080 --> 1:38:15.519 very end. 1:38:16.360 --> 1:38:21.720 It's interesting to be this year. This year's Masters had 1:38:21.760 --> 1:38:22.679 to hurt a lot. 1:38:22.720 --> 1:38:25.840 Yes, Yes, he played great though again with just the 1:38:25.920 --> 1:38:26.799 last six holes. 1:38:27.160 --> 1:38:27.880 Yeah. 1:38:28.000 --> 1:38:31.479 And I'm not saying that's permanent. I mean, look at Phil, 1:38:31.640 --> 1:38:35.320 Phil did it at Kia. Incredible. It can be done. Uh, 1:38:35.840 --> 1:38:37.559 So that's not a bad pick. I mean I'm gonna 1:38:37.560 --> 1:38:39.000 say it be a very popular win. 1:38:39.479 --> 1:38:42.439 It would be it would be you know, it's this 1:38:42.600 --> 1:38:46.639 in Brokedale and uh, you know, another another trip around 1:38:46.680 --> 1:38:49.640 the sun, and and it's like you don't know, you 1:38:49.680 --> 1:38:51.960 don't know when it's when it's going to really go. 1:38:52.160 --> 1:38:54.799 But it feels like this is this is a great 1:38:54.800 --> 1:38:57.559 opportunity for him given the elements. I think there is 1:38:57.640 --> 1:39:01.760 like an aspect of Shinnakok that rewards words really high 1:39:01.840 --> 1:39:07.840 Q high IQ golf, and I think Justin Rose has 1:39:07.880 --> 1:39:11.560 played so much golf through the years, you think about 1:39:11.680 --> 1:39:14.280 you know, he's you know, I think like one thing 1:39:14.320 --> 1:39:18.640 that Gil told me candidly is you know, is like 1:39:18.680 --> 1:39:22.040 when the Olympics came around, Justin Rose was all over 1:39:22.160 --> 1:39:25.759 him about getting information about how to play the Olympic 1:39:25.880 --> 1:39:29.320 golf course at Rio. Like he is a someone who prepares, 1:39:29.520 --> 1:39:31.800 He's someone who understands the game of the highest level, 1:39:31.880 --> 1:39:35.679 understands himself maybe better than any player in the field. 1:39:36.320 --> 1:39:39.400 And I think this is a golf course that those 1:39:39.439 --> 1:39:41.840 types of traits rise to the top. 1:39:42.200 --> 1:39:46.280 So you want to Marion similar, similar, Testy. 1:39:47.360 --> 1:39:50.360 Hi may look forward to seeing you next week, look 1:39:50.400 --> 1:39:55.120 forward to reading your work at Golf Digest, and always 1:39:55.280 --> 1:39:57.280 a great pleasure to have you on this podcast. 1:39:57.320 --> 1:39:59.360 A pleasure to be with you. Andy, Thanks for having me. 1:40:10.240 --> 1:40:13.720 All right, Big thanks for listening to another edition of 1:40:14.000 --> 1:40:17.360 the Friday Golf Podcast. Big thanks to him for joining 1:40:17.560 --> 1:40:22.880 m PJ for managing to produce this episode while while 1:40:22.880 --> 1:40:28.160 the city is in absolute Knicks frenzy. Maybe maybe Nick, 1:40:28.560 --> 1:40:30.280 by the time you're listening to this, they are the 1:40:30.400 --> 1:40:35.519 NBA champions. We'll see what happens here in game five. 1:40:36.280 --> 1:40:40.799 We'll be back after the US Open to break everything 1:40:40.880 --> 1:40:44.559 down with Trevor Immulman. All right, we'll talk to you soon.