Speaker 1: It see Son of a Butch podcast comes to you
Speaker 1: every Wednesday. I want to thank everyone for listening. Listen.
Speaker 1: We've had some really cool guests on. We're going to
Speaker 1: continue to have more cool guests on. So if you
Speaker 1: haven't gone back and listen to past episodes, there is
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff, a lot of stuff that will
Speaker 1: help your game, and a lot of stuff maybe you
Speaker 1: didn't know about some pretty cool people that we've had
Speaker 1: a chance to have on the pod. And this week
Speaker 1: is just like the other weeks. Another good guest, Chowman
Speaker 1: that the commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour UM.
Speaker 1: I think one of the fallouts between all the stuff
Speaker 1: going on in professional golf right now, with the drama
Speaker 1: between the PGA Tour and Live UM, the DP World Tour,
Speaker 1: the European Tour UM, they've had to change things and
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour is definitely now. I think the Asian
Speaker 1: Tour is going to be on the rise. I think
Speaker 1: you're gonna to see more players. UM look at Asia
Speaker 1: as as a legit option. They've got their international series
Speaker 1: which are kind of their version of elevated events. But um,
Speaker 1: you know, Cho talks a lot about Tom Kim is
Speaker 1: a product of the Asian Tour, and I think we're
Speaker 1: going to see more players come out of that um,
Speaker 1: out of that tour. So I was really excited to
Speaker 1: get a chance to talk to Cho. But before we
Speaker 1: get to that interview, let's take short break to thank
Speaker 1: our partner for wellness. You guys have heard me talk
Speaker 1: about it. I'm a big fan of their coffee, big
Speaker 1: fan of the good stuff. I put it in my
Speaker 1: coffee on a regular basis. The thing I like about it,
Speaker 1: no sugars, no artificial sweeteners. It's gotten me off dairy. Um.
Speaker 1: I've quit putting sweeteners sugars in just the good stuff.
Speaker 1: But I also put the good stuff, put a scoop
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Speaker 1: in smoothies and take it on the road with me.
Speaker 1: And the other thing that I've been using are their
Speaker 1: energy bites. UM. I keep them with me on the
Speaker 1: golf course. UM. A lot of times when I'm out
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Speaker 1: sit and eat. So these energy bites, a little coffee hit,
Speaker 1: a little bit of energy. UM. All the good stuff,
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Speaker 1: All right, so let's get straight to the interview with
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour CEO and commissioner. Show men. Thank all right,
Speaker 1: um Joe, if someone had told you man, I've said,
Speaker 1: there's a bunch of players as well. The golf landscape,
Speaker 1: the tour landscape has really really changed. I know, the
Speaker 1: Asian Tour has always been a huge part of the
Speaker 1: professional game in How excited are you about the things
Speaker 1: that are happening on the Asian Tour and what is
Speaker 1: kind of the runway and the future that that you
Speaker 1: think that you are Guys as a tour can provide
Speaker 1: to golfers around the world. Well, I mean, first and foremost,
Speaker 1: we're just delighted to be in this position. I mean,
Speaker 1: two years ago, we couldn't play golf because in Asia
Speaker 1: the borders were shut. Um, there was no telling when
Speaker 1: they were going to open again. So to be in
Speaker 1: this position, having restarted our tour in November of last
Speaker 1: year with nineteen months of no golf is remarkable. I mean,
Speaker 1: we restarted the tour in November of last year, and um,
Speaker 1: up until now, we've played nineteen events. We're going to
Speaker 1: finish the year on twenty one events, and um, it's
Speaker 1: a great position to be in without knowing where we
Speaker 1: were going to be, um eighteen months ago. So really
Speaker 1: really happy and probative where we are right now. You know,
Speaker 1: the global pandemic that everybody went through, I don't think
Speaker 1: people realized that a lot of it was dependent on
Speaker 1: where you were living. Obviously we were living in the US.
Speaker 1: The PGA Tour was one of the first professional sports
Speaker 1: organization globally that started back up. But in Asia, I
Speaker 1: mean a lot of uh, what was happening in in
Speaker 1: Asia and people's daily lives were just really really decimated
Speaker 1: by the pandemic. And I think you know, I lived
Speaker 1: in Florida through the pandemic, and you almost didn't think
Speaker 1: there was um a global pandemic going on because we
Speaker 1: stayed open. We were working. But in Asia, I mean
Speaker 1: for a tour like the Asian Tour, which services so
Speaker 1: many players around the world, Um, it must have been very,
Speaker 1: very different. How did you all manage the fact that
Speaker 1: you had, effectively for almost two years close the door.
Speaker 1: I mean it was tough. It was really tough for
Speaker 1: our members who didn't know when they were going to
Speaker 1: tee it up. And let's not forget golfers their profession.
Speaker 1: They didn't have a job for two years. Um. And
Speaker 1: the word you use right, they're decimated is probably the
Speaker 1: best word to describe it. I mean, we traveled to
Speaker 1: eighteen different countries on the Asian Tour, and without being
Speaker 1: able to access those countries through air travel, there was
Speaker 1: no way we were going to be able to run tournaments.
Speaker 1: So I mean, even today you have Hong Kong and
Speaker 1: China still without borders fully open. We still can't operate
Speaker 1: in those two markets, and we're lucky to be doing
Speaker 1: so in Thailand, in Taiwan, um in the countries that
Speaker 1: we've we've been able to play in. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean it's it's it was tough, but we're out of
Speaker 1: it now and flying. The Asian Tour were started in
Speaker 1: nineteen was the first full season in the time between
Speaker 1: when the Asian Tour started versus today in two Um,
Speaker 1: what role do you think the Asian Tour has played
Speaker 1: on the global stage of professional golf? I mean, obviously,
Speaker 1: the PGA Tour is has been the holy grail of
Speaker 1: professional golf. Every golfer around the world over the last
Speaker 1: twenty five years, that is not from the United States.
Speaker 1: I mean, everybody in the US wants to play in America,
Speaker 1: so that was always the goal. But for outside of America,
Speaker 1: the goal was to try and find a pathway. And
Speaker 1: I've I've heard you in interview say your job is
Speaker 1: the Asian Tours to provide a pathway to further the
Speaker 1: careers of golfers in Asia and and around the world.
Speaker 1: But where and how did you all get to where
Speaker 1: you are today, to where you are now. One of
Speaker 1: the six tours that are part of that international um
Speaker 1: professional golf, you know, federations around the world, the PGA Tour,
Speaker 1: the DP World Tour, all the different tours, what what
Speaker 1: how did you guys get there? Well, I think go
Speaker 1: One of the main misconceptions about the Asian Tour is
Speaker 1: that it's just the Asia players, and that's not correct.
Speaker 1: I mean, we operate in the Asian region, that's our
Speaker 1: bread and butter. But anyone who wants to come to
Speaker 1: qualifying school, anyone who qualifies from any different any nationality,
Speaker 1: can come and play the Asian Tour. And we've seen
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour as a pathway to the European Tour
Speaker 1: in the past, all the way up to the PGA Tour,
Speaker 1: and I mean it's it's I mean quite easy to
Speaker 1: look back on the names that have come through the
Speaker 1: Asian Tour. I mean if you look at Cameron Smith
Speaker 1: and he came through the Asian Tour very recently, I'd
Speaker 1: say within the last ten years, where um he went
Speaker 1: to corn Ferry Qualifying School, didn't make it through, came
Speaker 1: to Asian to a qualifying school because that was the
Speaker 1: next available qualifying school on the calendar. Played a stellar
Speaker 1: year in Asia, got into the cimb Classic, which was
Speaker 1: co sanctioned with the PGA Tour, at the time and
Speaker 1: then worked his way through by coming top five and
Speaker 1: top tendeth and then he got his PGA to a
Speaker 1: card and he's number two in the world today. So
Speaker 1: I mean that's a perfect example of a guy coming
Speaker 1: through the Asian Tour, spending a bit of time they're
Speaker 1: honing their craft and then getting a good break by
Speaker 1: playing well and moving their way up. Yeah. I think
Speaker 1: you know, the list is long and distinguished of the
Speaker 1: players that have come through UM the former European Tour
Speaker 1: which is now the Deep World Tour, Sergio Adam Scott,
Speaker 1: you know, Trevor Immelman, Justin Rose. I mean, those type
Speaker 1: of players. But I think people forget sometimes that when
Speaker 1: they arrive. I guy like Cam Smith, who's the current
Speaker 1: Players Champion, the current Open Champion, and like you said,
Speaker 1: the number two ranked player in the world. You forget
Speaker 1: that coming from Australia, the pathway wasn't always if you
Speaker 1: were outside the US. UM. Yes, a lot of players
Speaker 1: came through the European system. The Ryder Cup we got
Speaker 1: to see them do that, but there have been loads
Speaker 1: of players UM that have come through UM Asia and
Speaker 1: and and it is and I think a lot of
Speaker 1: the players coming from Australia have been able to use
Speaker 1: the the Asian Tour as a springboard to try and
Speaker 1: get to the next level exactly. I mean Australia aphtically
Speaker 1: is very close to Asia, but there's a lot of
Speaker 1: guys who come out of college in the States as
Speaker 1: well and want to take the path list traveled. UM,
Speaker 1: you have guys like David Lipsky, Kurt kid A Yama
Speaker 1: I'll come through our system, perform well on the Asian
Speaker 1: Tour and then work their way up. So uh yeah,
Speaker 1: it's great to see these guys performing on the world stage.
Speaker 1: And most recently Tom Kim, I mean, I mean what
Speaker 1: a story. I mean, three years ago, the guy came
Speaker 1: to Asian to a qualifying school and a sixteen seventeen
Speaker 1: year old exactly and didn't even make it through. He
Speaker 1: didn't get through to UM the Asian Tour, so he
Speaker 1: had to play on the Asian Development Tour. He won
Speaker 1: three times on the Asian Development Tour, and I mean,
Speaker 1: let's face it, these guys are playing for sixty to
Speaker 1: seventy thousand dollars a week on that tour, trying trying
Speaker 1: to make a living. So he's gone through uh the
Speaker 1: ad t come onto the Asian Tour one twice, gone
Speaker 1: through a pandemic where he couldn't play the Asian Tour,
Speaker 1: but he played back home in Korea on the Korean Tour.
Speaker 1: One order of Merit, came out to the Asian Tour
Speaker 1: when we restarted one R order of Merit, and he
Speaker 1: is where he is today. You've mentioned the Asian Developmental
Speaker 1: that started in two thousand and ten. What was the
Speaker 1: imparticipatory but around why you wanted to do that. You've
Speaker 1: got the Asian Tour, but was the idea based off
Speaker 1: of the PGA tour model to PGA Tour Um Canada,
Speaker 1: PGA Tour Latin America, PGA Tour China to have a
Speaker 1: way for players to say, Okay, right now you can't
Speaker 1: play the Asian Tour, but we're going to talk to
Speaker 1: me about why you guys did that and how successful
Speaker 1: that has been and and and has that helped you
Speaker 1: get players to the actual Asian Tour. I mean absolutely,
Speaker 1: I mean it was a it was a thing that
Speaker 1: we created to support the guys who didn't come top
Speaker 1: thirty five at qualifying school. I mean, paying your two
Speaker 1: thousand dollars to come to Qualifying School, seven hundred guys
Speaker 1: playing for thirty five spots. I mean outside of that,
Speaker 1: if you don't make the grade, what do you do? Um,
Speaker 1: So we decided to put on the Development Tour strictly
Speaker 1: not not for profit. We're not making money off those events, UM,
Speaker 1: and the players, i'd say, aren't making that much money
Speaker 1: on that tour either. But at the end of the tunnel,
Speaker 1: if you come top ten on the A d T,
Speaker 1: you have your Asian Tour card, and I guess the
Speaker 1: Asian Tour card is more valuable than ever now. And
Speaker 1: I mean that's what we're seeing with qualifying school going
Speaker 1: into three. Um, just off the back of what we're doing, uh,
Speaker 1: and where we are right now, the Asian two Qualifying
Speaker 1: School is completely fully subscribed and we have a reserve
Speaker 1: list of about a hundred and twenty players just hungry
Speaker 1: to get onto the Asian Tour. So that's testament to
Speaker 1: how far we've come. You mentioned, um, the Asian Tour
Speaker 1: places in so many different countries. UM, I think it
Speaker 1: is very much. Um. The European Tour has kind of
Speaker 1: evolved and changed. Um. There I started working on the
Speaker 1: European Tour with players in the early two thousand, two
Speaker 1: thousand one, two thousand two, and there were so many
Speaker 1: more tournaments in Europe then there are today. There are
Speaker 1: a lot of tournaments all over the world that are
Speaker 1: European Tour events, a lot of tournaments in the Middle East. Um,
Speaker 1: how have you all managed to keep the Asian Tour
Speaker 1: in Asia. It's not like there's an Asian Tour event
Speaker 1: in the United States. It's not like there's an Asian
Speaker 1: Tour event in South Africa. I think it's one of
Speaker 1: the cool things about the Asian Tours. It has kept
Speaker 1: a lot of kind of I get not so much
Speaker 1: to eat those but the feel of you're going to
Speaker 1: play in Asia, because a lot of times now guys
Speaker 1: are going to play in tours and you're like, we're
Speaker 1: playing on this tour, but we're in this location and
Speaker 1: it doesn't feel the same. I mean for us, I
Speaker 1: mean the bread and butther is Southeast Asia and we
Speaker 1: don't even have that made many tournaments in North Asia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's where we play, UM, and it's
Speaker 1: it's exotic, the foods, great, the destinations, a great um
Speaker 1: for our players to see um and it's just a
Speaker 1: great place to be. The atmosphere on the Asian Tour,
Speaker 1: it's it's not like the PGA Tour. It's not like
Speaker 1: the PGA of the European Tour. We stay in the
Speaker 1: same hotel, we traveled together. It's a it's one big
Speaker 1: family in the hospitality. Weekend week Out's fantastic. So let's
Speaker 1: take a short break and we will be back right
Speaker 1: after this. All right, let's get back to the interview
Speaker 1: we just um believe tour was just in Bangkok. Um
Speaker 1: as the guy that's running the Asian Tour, um, you
Speaker 1: mentioned to me that the crowds there were off the charts.
Speaker 1: Um that for for an Asian tournament in Asia. I mean,
Speaker 1: and the PGA Tour has played in Malaysia, they've played
Speaker 1: in various ways. But to see those crowds last week,
Speaker 1: it just shows you how much Asian golf and and
Speaker 1: it does have a fan base. Now sure, I mean,
Speaker 1: I think that was quote unquote Asia's major last last week.
Speaker 1: I mean the caliber of players that we had that
Speaker 1: um Brooks kept. You had Dustin Johnson, you had Phil
Speaker 1: Nichols and Cam Smith. The list goes on. I don't
Speaker 1: think we've ever had a tournament with that many high
Speaker 1: caliber players play in Asia before. Um. We've had Tiger Com,
Speaker 1: We've had a Honeycom, We've had a few players come
Speaker 1: for the Thailand Golf Championship, but to get this amount
Speaker 1: of high quality players has never been seen before. And
Speaker 1: the proof was in the crowds that turned up last week. Um.
Speaker 1: I mean, you can't expect crowds that that you see
Speaker 1: weekend week out in America. But for Asia, what was
Speaker 1: present at stone Hill last week was incredible. Um. And
Speaker 1: people flew in from Singapore, they flew in from Taipei,
Speaker 1: they flew in from the Philippines, and it was just
Speaker 1: a great week for them. Yeah. I mean I was
Speaker 1: at the event in Bangkok, and you know when you
Speaker 1: watch I think a lot of people when they watch
Speaker 1: golf on TV and they see golf tournaments where they
Speaker 1: don't see a lot of people, they don't realize one
Speaker 1: how popular golf is in America, how popular the PGA tourist.
Speaker 1: But I was saying, you know, DJ Brooks are the
Speaker 1: players that I worked with. We were all saying the
Speaker 1: crowds were very similar to what you see in Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 1: You see in Dubai, which are some of the big
Speaker 1: flagship events on the European Tour. Um. You mentioned the
Speaker 1: vibe on the Asian Tour. One of the things I
Speaker 1: think is is great about the Asian Tour is you're
Speaker 1: pretty much guaranteed, although you're guaranteed it's going to rain
Speaker 1: every day, you're guaranteed that you're going to be playing
Speaker 1: golf on at an Asian Tour event in the sunshine,
Speaker 1: in good weather. I think that's also a huge, huge
Speaker 1: part of the draw for players wanting to go out
Speaker 1: and and try and play in Asia. Sure. And the
Speaker 1: connectivity as well. I mean playing in Bangkok, playing in
Speaker 1: Kuala Lumpo, are playing in Singapore, there's direct flights from
Speaker 1: every capital city, um. And it's it's just easy to
Speaker 1: get to. It's a great week that's not too stressful, um.
Speaker 1: And it's just an enjoyable atmosphere. So I mean we
Speaker 1: get that type of comment from a lot of guys
Speaker 1: that come and visit. We're I mean in professional golf
Speaker 1: is a business, um, the business community and and the
Speaker 1: partners that you all have, UM, where do you all
Speaker 1: find them? And what use the typical partner that you
Speaker 1: will have at the the Asian Tour that wants to
Speaker 1: be a part of sponsoring a tournament and sponsoring the tour. Well.
Speaker 1: I think this is where we we are greatly different
Speaker 1: to the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour. A
Speaker 1: lot of our tournaments, which are long established tournaments, are
Speaker 1: put on by people who just love golf. It's not
Speaker 1: a corporate exercise. It's not for branding, it's not for hospitality. Uh.
Speaker 1: They are just individuals who love having golf uh played
Speaker 1: in their country at their golf course, and they just
Speaker 1: put it in the year in, year out. Um. Some
Speaker 1: of our tournaments have been going for twenty thirty years.
Speaker 1: Even pre Asian Tour, they used to put on tournaments
Speaker 1: for their domestic circuits and it's just a love for
Speaker 1: the game. UM. I mean what we've seen this year
Speaker 1: is another dimension where the International Series has come on board. UM.
Speaker 1: The destinations that we're going to, the support that we're
Speaker 1: getting from Live Golf, UM adds another layer to the
Speaker 1: Asian Tour. Uh. That's that's part of our fabric. Now
Speaker 1: you mentioned, um the Asian Tours relationship with Lift Golf. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the PGA Tour just signed a I believe a thirteen
Speaker 1: year deal with DP World, the former European Tour, their
Speaker 1: strategic alliance. Was that something that you looked at and said, okay, well,
Speaker 1: in order for us to continue to try and stay, um,
Speaker 1: keep pace with what's going on around the world globally. UM,
Speaker 1: the decision to choose Live as a partner. You mentioned
Speaker 1: the International Series. Um, obviously there is so much toxicity
Speaker 1: and professional golf right now. That decision to to do that, UM,
Speaker 1: I'm guessing that wasn't a an easy decision, not a
Speaker 1: decision that you took lightly. I mean, like we weighed
Speaker 1: up the pros and contents, but at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, it was so heavily waited towards going with
Speaker 1: Live that it was not a difficult decision in there. UM.
Speaker 1: I think had we'd stayed aligned with the PGA Tour
Speaker 1: in European Tour, we would have always stayed defeated to
Speaker 1: it to the European Tour, where in this case we're expanding,
Speaker 1: we're growing as fast as we want to grow, and
Speaker 1: where true partners would live. So, I mean, if if
Speaker 1: our players want to go out there and play other tours,
Speaker 1: they're welcome to do so. If they want to play
Speaker 1: on the Asian Tour and try and get into the
Speaker 1: Live Tour and work their way up, then that's also fine,
Speaker 1: and we're not restrictive on our members on where they
Speaker 1: can play and where they can't play. When when Lives started,
Speaker 1: there were a lot of players from Asia that a
Speaker 1: lot of golf fans in America hadn't heard of. But
Speaker 1: for you, as someone you know involved with the running
Speaker 1: of the Asian Tour, it must have been heartening for
Speaker 1: you to say, okay, these are This is an opportunity
Speaker 1: for players that we see all the time play in
Speaker 1: Asia get an opportunity to play on a bigger stage. Sure,
Speaker 1: it's been a big, huge, it's been a huge bonus
Speaker 1: for us to see our guys progress into the live invitationals.
Speaker 1: This year. We get five to six guys in every
Speaker 1: single field of the eight tournaments that are being held
Speaker 1: this year, so it's exciting. It's great for them and
Speaker 1: it's been a huge learning experience for them as well.
Speaker 1: I mean, you look at Saddam from Thailand, who's played
Speaker 1: i'd say every one of these live events. I think
Speaker 1: the experience on live enabled him to play well in
Speaker 1: the Open Championship finished a credible eleventh place that the
Speaker 1: Open Championship at St. Andrew's. I mean that, I mean,
Speaker 1: that's proof proof in the pudding right there. Believe question
Speaker 1: the PGA Tour question, you know, showing your opinion. How
Speaker 1: powerful is the PGA Tour and how powerful have they
Speaker 1: been up to this point. I mean, growing up as
Speaker 1: a golf fan, the PGA Tour is what you wanted
Speaker 1: to watch. That's where you wanted to be anyone with
Speaker 1: aspirations of becoming a professional golfer. That was the typodies
Speaker 1: everyone that everybody wanted to play the PGA Tour. But
Speaker 1: I mean, I think there's a shift now where there's
Speaker 1: an alternative and people are starting to realize that maybe
Speaker 1: the PGA Tour isn't the center of the universe. There's
Speaker 1: other ways where you can play top professional golf, and
Speaker 1: there's other places you can play um and I'm glad
Speaker 1: that the Asian Tour is a viable option for players now.
Speaker 1: I mean, I find it really interesting that that right
Speaker 1: now things are so polarized. It's like you can't before
Speaker 1: the PGA Tour without being against Lave, You can't be
Speaker 1: four lived without being against the PGA Tour, and you
Speaker 1: mentioned that, you know, growing up, that was the aspiration.
Speaker 1: Do you think that there is a way that we
Speaker 1: get to a point where the public and the fans
Speaker 1: hopefully can get to a point to where they're a
Speaker 1: fan of professional golf, Because I think a lot of
Speaker 1: people when when Live happened, UM, a lot of people
Speaker 1: I thought, well, the PGA Tour is professional golf, and
Speaker 1: there were tours all around the world. I mean I
Speaker 1: I were I started working with my my coaching career,
Speaker 1: UM started on the European Tour, and the holy the
Speaker 1: holy grail of being in Europe was you knew that
Speaker 1: if you wanted to have a career, have a long career,
Speaker 1: and have a financially secure future, you had to get
Speaker 1: to the p g A tour. Top fifty was the
Speaker 1: holy grail, right if you were in Europe, you got
Speaker 1: in the top fifty. That got you into Players Championship,
Speaker 1: That got you then into the w g CS. It
Speaker 1: helped you get into the majors. Um. Do you see
Speaker 1: a future to where all of this somewhat calms down
Speaker 1: or do you think the future is both sides just
Speaker 1: digging in. Well, I think from the fan perspective, We're
Speaker 1: almost there. I mean I've been at a lot of
Speaker 1: these live events this year and talk two fans in
Speaker 1: the gallery, and they're there to see good, high quality golf.
Speaker 1: They don't care about the politics behind the scenes. Whether
Speaker 1: it be a PGA Tour event, a live event, Asian
Speaker 1: Tour event, or deep World event. They just want to watch.
Speaker 1: They just want to watch these top players play golf
Speaker 1: in their city. And a lot of the venues that
Speaker 1: we're visiting us have been starved of top class professional
Speaker 1: golf for decades. So you take Portland for example, they're
Speaker 1: out there to support Phil, They're out there to support DJ,
Speaker 1: all the top guys, not there to support a particular
Speaker 1: tour um. We got that in Bangkok as well. I
Speaker 1: mean they came out to see these star players, not
Speaker 1: to particularly take a side politically. How has the relationship
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour and you specifically have with the guys
Speaker 1: in part of VIDRO with j Monahan and the because listen,
Speaker 1: you know anybody that thinks that the PGA tour um
Speaker 1: isn't an amazing product, and that's that's what I find
Speaker 1: really really interesting that you know, I'm currently working with
Speaker 1: players at my on live, but I still watched the
Speaker 1: PGA Tour. It's where so many of the world's best
Speaker 1: players play. Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Scotty Cheffler. I mean,
Speaker 1: the depth of that is so deep. But there are
Speaker 1: so many players right now playing on the Live Tour.
Speaker 1: There are so many players playing on the DP World
Speaker 1: Tour in Asia. Um, how is the current relationship that
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour has with the PGA Tour. Um, Look,
Speaker 1: I'd like to think it was. It's still a professional
Speaker 1: relationship that we have. UM. I mean, even though there's
Speaker 1: only one w g C left on the calendar, was
Speaker 1: still part of the World Golf Championships and hopefully HSBC
Speaker 1: in Shanghai comes back. Um, we're still counterparts on the
Speaker 1: World Golf Ranking Committee and we still have to deal
Speaker 1: with day to day to A related issues. So from
Speaker 1: that perspective, I think we still have a professional relationship.
Speaker 1: But day to day UH, tour to tour, there's no
Speaker 1: progression from the Asian Tour to the PGA Tour. Arguably
Speaker 1: that never was. Um, we don't co sanction with them anymore,
Speaker 1: but arguably, you know, after the C I and B Classics, stopped.
Speaker 1: We haven't done so anyways. I guess the biggest change
Speaker 1: for US is we used to co sanction and be
Speaker 1: alliance partners with the European Tour. Now the DP World
Speaker 1: Tour um we don't have any co sanctions with them anymore.
Speaker 1: And it was a successful model for twenty five years,
Speaker 1: and there were I mean there were a lot. I
Speaker 1: don't think the average golfers realizes how many of the
Speaker 1: tournaments outside the United States were co sanctioned. They just
Speaker 1: see somebody playing here, they see, you know, Justin Rose
Speaker 1: would always at the end of the year go over
Speaker 1: and play on the Asian Tour, right and as soon
Speaker 1: as And that's the other thing I wanted you to
Speaker 1: talk about because I think a lot of people listening
Speaker 1: don't have a real understanding there this this big talk
Speaker 1: right now about live getting trying to get world ranking points.
Speaker 1: The PGA Tour obviously is where you're going to have
Speaker 1: the most world ranking points. But talk to me about
Speaker 1: the fact that regardless of before Live, if three or
Speaker 1: four of the top players from the PGA Tour, you know,
Speaker 1: let's take Live out of the equation and let's just
Speaker 1: say everybody was still playing on the PGA Tour. If
Speaker 1: Dustin Johnson, Brooks kept go, Bryceon, d Shambo and Cam
Speaker 1: Smith currently, given where their world rankings were before they
Speaker 1: went to live and before they had the opportunity to
Speaker 1: get world ranking points, that tournament immediately gets elevated from
Speaker 1: a world ranking standpoint. Yeah, look the way the world
Speaker 1: rankings used to be. If you had strong players from
Speaker 1: inside the top ten, the top twenty five, a top
Speaker 1: fifty in the world, if three or four of them
Speaker 1: got together and came to an Asian Tour event or
Speaker 1: wherever they wanted to play, that would immediately bring the
Speaker 1: strength of field up. Um. There's been a slight change
Speaker 1: to the World Golf rankings recently as of August of
Speaker 1: this year, where the formula for calculation of strength of
Speaker 1: field is is very different. And you see the PGA
Speaker 1: to have massive strengths of fields every single week, weekend,
Speaker 1: week out, and there's no denying that the best players
Speaker 1: are playing there at the moment. But it's certainly distancing
Speaker 1: all the smaller tours from the PGA Tour as well
Speaker 1: as the European Tour. I mean, they're not immune from
Speaker 1: this distancing because you're seeing a tournament in America where
Speaker 1: the winner gets forty five to fifty points for winning.
Speaker 1: In Europe it could be as low as ten or eleven.
Speaker 1: And in Asia. One of our fully sanctioned events in
Speaker 1: Taiwan a couple of weeks ago, Um, we only received
Speaker 1: two point two points for the winner. And I mean
Speaker 1: that's disappointing to say. I mean for a guy like
Speaker 1: Tom Kim to come through Asian Development Tour, Asian Tour,
Speaker 1: Korean Tour, work his way into the top hundred in
Speaker 1: the world, get into majors, get into the top fifties
Speaker 1: in the world. Yeah, I mean that that's probably not
Speaker 1: going to happen again, based on how the world ranking
Speaker 1: is right now. One of the other things that obviously
Speaker 1: with Live coming on board this this this constant talk
Speaker 1: about money, money, money agreed from the players. How much
Speaker 1: is enough? Um, you and I both know that a
Speaker 1: lot of the people listening this podcast and the golf
Speaker 1: fans don't know how the sausage and the hot dogs
Speaker 1: are made. Um. If you are one of the best
Speaker 1: players in the world on the PGA Tour, if you
Speaker 1: are going to leave the United States and go play
Speaker 1: somewhere else, you are going to get paid accordingly to
Speaker 1: go and I am I am all for every single
Speaker 1: professional golfer being able to make as much money as
Speaker 1: they possibly can, because you and I both know from
Speaker 1: a professional golf standpoint, golfer standpoint show and from an
Speaker 1: athlete standpoint, the runway is not as long as everyone
Speaker 1: thinks it is. You have a very very small window.
Speaker 1: So when we see now the live people, the live
Speaker 1: tour paying players, everybody's saying, oh, the players agreed. But
Speaker 1: you and I both know that if any player from
Speaker 1: Tiger Woods to Greg Norman, to Phil Mickelson, to Nick
Speaker 1: foul to Rory McRoy, we can just go down the list.
Speaker 1: If you are a great player. One of the things
Speaker 1: that that allows you to do as a great player
Speaker 1: is be able to shop yourself around the world and
Speaker 1: be able to make money off the golf course by
Speaker 1: going to a tour in Asia, tour wherever. I mean,
Speaker 1: that was very much what we built the back end
Speaker 1: of the Asian Tour season on. It was the Singapore Open,
Speaker 1: the Hong Kong Open Malaysia. Adam Scott has one multiple
Speaker 1: time in the else is one there. Patrick Reid's come
Speaker 1: to um Hong Kong, Justin Rose has come to Hong
Speaker 1: Kong and Indonesia. It was very common to see those
Speaker 1: guys come out and play two or three times at
Speaker 1: the end of the season, and that was just the
Speaker 1: norm for us. I mean that that's very common. And
Speaker 1: it's like you're saying, it's professional sports, not just golf.
Speaker 1: I mean, you look at the transfer market in football.
Speaker 1: You look at football in general. You have top players
Speaker 1: playing in Spain, you have them in the Premier League,
Speaker 1: You've got them in the Bundesliga. And France name I've
Speaker 1: plays in flats France, Ronaldo plays in the Premier League. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, they go where the money is at. And
Speaker 1: if you also look at basketball in America, I mean
Speaker 1: twenty five years ago, you would never envision as many
Speaker 1: international players coming from leagues in Europe. But again, the
Speaker 1: Holy Grail. If you are a basketball player in Europe,
Speaker 1: you are going to beg, borrow, and steal to do
Speaker 1: anything you could possibly do to try and get to
Speaker 1: the NBA. And I think it's it's interesting to me
Speaker 1: that I find that it's almost like this utopian Truman
Speaker 1: Show type. We want golf to kind of be like
Speaker 1: it was in the sixties and seventies. I mean in two,
Speaker 1: if Jack Nicholas, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, the big
Speaker 1: three were playing golf at the height of their powers
Speaker 1: in two they would be making millions of dollars to
Speaker 1: go play somewhere else. I mean, it's it's crazy to
Speaker 1: me that golf seems to be this only entity that
Speaker 1: people think that the players shouldn't be financially rewarded for
Speaker 1: their stature and their position in the game. Well. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and look I'm gonna take it right down to Asian
Speaker 1: two and a d T level. You look at the
Speaker 1: money that our guys are playing for. Right, if you
Speaker 1: keep your card on the Asian Tour and you come
Speaker 1: sixtieth on the order of merit, you're only making a
Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars and fifty of that goes to expense exactly,
Speaker 1: So you're struggling to break even when you get make
Speaker 1: it to the big leagues. What's wrong with making money?
Speaker 1: It's a grind on the Asian Tour, it's a grind
Speaker 1: on the A d T. As we've mentioned multiple times.
Speaker 1: But once you get up there, I mean, like you said,
Speaker 1: your careers fifteen years well that was the thing, you know,
Speaker 1: when I was working on the European Tour. Um, it
Speaker 1: was very similar to the Asian Tour. We all stayed
Speaker 1: in the same hotels, we all traveled together. It was
Speaker 1: like a traveling circus. It felt like a family. And
Speaker 1: then you get to the PGA Tour where you get
Speaker 1: a courtesy car every week, you get free dry cleaning
Speaker 1: every week. Um, the golf balls. Which golf ball do
Speaker 1: you play? Which golf ball do you want? I mean,
Speaker 1: the golf courses are better, the conditions are better. Um.
Speaker 1: That was the aspiration to make it to the PGA Tour.
Speaker 1: And do you think that there will be so where
Speaker 1: do you see all of this playing out? I mean
Speaker 1: where do you see the Asian Tours role in professional
Speaker 1: golf in the next two years, in the next five years,
Speaker 1: and and the next ten years. What is the goal
Speaker 1: of the Asian Tour moving forward? Well, I feel like
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour was lagging behind, Like over the past
Speaker 1: two decades, we've kind of hovered around the same prize money,
Speaker 1: we visit the same places, we have the same sponsors.
Speaker 1: But the injection that we've received from Live is just
Speaker 1: rejuvenation of the Asian Tour. I mean outside of live.
Speaker 1: We have a relationship with Golf Saudi. They provide us
Speaker 1: with the Saudi International, which we sanction in February. That's
Speaker 1: the start of our year, five million dollar event stop
Speaker 1: players from all over the world coming to play with
Speaker 1: forty odd Asian Tour players. That's a crack over of
Speaker 1: a tournament to start our tour. And then I mean
Speaker 1: we go into twelve fifteen events which are over one
Speaker 1: five million dollars on the Asian Tour um. Then you
Speaker 1: have a few which or seven fifty, a few that
Speaker 1: are five hundred, but I mean it's a collection of
Speaker 1: two to twenty five events where you're making good money
Speaker 1: now and kids are watching wanting to get involved in golf,
Speaker 1: wanting to choose golf as a career, which is important
Speaker 1: in in Asia where mom and dad always wants you
Speaker 1: to be an accountant or a doctor or go to
Speaker 1: Stanford or to so I mean we're not trying to
Speaker 1: deter kids from going to school, but they see sports
Speaker 1: or golf in particular as a proper career where it
Speaker 1: wasn't before. It was a hobby before you mentioned Asia,
Speaker 1: and and it's a place where players can kind of
Speaker 1: further their lives and their careers. Obviously the women's game
Speaker 1: on the LPGA tour UM. I was at the Women's
Speaker 1: U S Open and there are so many players from Asia,
Speaker 1: from Korea, from Thailand, from China, UM the I think
Speaker 1: it is enriched the the LPGA UM. There's there's talk
Speaker 1: about UM. A couple of weeks ago when the President's
Speaker 1: Cup was on, there were guys saying, listen, the President's
Speaker 1: Cup is dying because the emerits keeping. There are so
Speaker 1: many great players internationally around the world, from the from
Speaker 1: the ladies game that could play. Maybe we get them involved.
Speaker 1: Do you see the the Asian Tour moving forward with
Speaker 1: the International series with UM, the alliance and the partnership
Speaker 1: with Live having an opportunity to build Asian Tour players
Speaker 1: not only wherever they play. I mean, I'm I'm noticing now.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you look at the current UM International
Speaker 1: President's Cup UM team that just had Trevor implement on
Speaker 1: my podcast Good Friend UM, the Koreans played a huge,
Speaker 1: huge part of that. Are you excited that you when
Speaker 1: you look at a PGA tour UM event, when you
Speaker 1: go to tournaments, that you're seeing more players from Asia
Speaker 1: playing on the PGA Tour. Sure. I mean we were
Speaker 1: really excited to see four Koreans on the President's Cup team.
Speaker 1: I don't think that's ever happened before. Even though not
Speaker 1: every one of those Korean players had played on the
Speaker 1: Asian Tour before they all started out in Korea. Um,
Speaker 1: they started on the Korean Tour and then moved their
Speaker 1: way up to the PGA Tour. So I mean, it's
Speaker 1: great to see those guys get the recognition they deserve.
Speaker 1: And what's exciting is we're seeing a whole bunch of
Speaker 1: them come through the Asian Tour, and like I said,
Speaker 1: Qualifying School is fully subscribed. I think we've got a
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty five Korean kids coming to Qualifying School.
Speaker 1: So they're wanting to come out of Korea and apply
Speaker 1: their trade in Asia. Um. Another exciting thing for us
Speaker 1: is a fifteen year old amateur winning on the Asian
Speaker 1: Tour this year. UM playing six seven times already on
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour and missing only one cut and finishing
Speaker 1: in the top ten three times. I mean, that's incredible
Speaker 1: for a fifteen year old. What what what were we doing
Speaker 1: at fifteen? What a great story. And I saw him
Speaker 1: yesterday on the putting room. He was one of the
Speaker 1: alternates here. Um. He was here all day as an alternate,
Speaker 1: and Pat perez Um walked past him and said, you
Speaker 1: know you've been here all day and he said, now
Speaker 1: I had to go back to the hotel and take
Speaker 1: chemistry test. I mean that story alone, You know, a
Speaker 1: young kid from Asia who's doing those type of things.
Speaker 1: I mean, do you feel like a kid like Tom
Speaker 1: Kim now who basically is a product of the Asian Tour? Right?
Speaker 1: I mean there are a lot of people now that
Speaker 1: that given this whole kind of you know, current battle
Speaker 1: between the PGA Tour and Live but Tom Kim is
Speaker 1: a product of the Asian Tour. Do you see him
Speaker 1: as someone like a from an Asian standpoint, someone like
Speaker 1: a Rory McElroy to where this younger generation can grow
Speaker 1: up and if you look at how many kids you
Speaker 1: look at just to Thomas and the you know, the
Speaker 1: amazing friendship and relationship he now has with Tiger Woods.
Speaker 1: Justin Thomas grew up idolizing Tiger Woods. He was to
Speaker 1: go right, Yes, Jack, Nicholas, Arnold Palmer, the ones that
Speaker 1: came before him. But this younger generation of golfers under
Speaker 1: the age of thirty five, Tiger was there. Michael Jordan's right,
Speaker 1: he was the benchmark. Do you you feel like a
Speaker 1: young player? And again we're throwing all this at Tom Kim.
Speaker 1: The kids only still nineteen, but there are kids that
Speaker 1: are ten, eleven, twelve that are into golf that are
Speaker 1: now going to look at a kid like Tom Kim
Speaker 1: and said, listen, I can go play in Asia. And
Speaker 1: Tom Kidd got to the PGA Tour about time, who
Speaker 1: was nineteen. I mean that is a that is a
Speaker 1: huge calling card for the Asian Tour. Well. I think
Speaker 1: Tom Kim is a very unique individual because he has
Speaker 1: so many touch points with so many different countries. His
Speaker 1: dad was a teaching professional in Australia, um so he
Speaker 1: lived in Australia. Then he traveled to the Philippines and
Speaker 1: played club golf in the Philippines. Then he based himself
Speaker 1: in Thailand, played on the Asian Tour whilst being based
Speaker 1: in Thailand, went back to Korea. He never lived in
Speaker 1: Korea till the pandemic, went back home to where his
Speaker 1: parents are from and lived in Korea. Now he's in America.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's so many different countries that claim a
Speaker 1: little bit of connection to Tom Kim that it's incredible
Speaker 1: and all of those countries or in Asia, yeah, factively well,
Speaker 1: and they contributed to his career. The club that he
Speaker 1: played at in the Philippines puts out a newsletter every
Speaker 1: week mentioning Tom numerous times. Australia, Thailand. I mean, up
Speaker 1: until a few months ago he was wearing the Singer logo,
Speaker 1: which is the number one supporter of golf in Thailand.
Speaker 1: So he was receiving support from a Thai company whilst
Speaker 1: being a foreigner in Thailand, helping him with his expenses.
Speaker 1: So he's touched a lot of people in such a
Speaker 1: short amount of time. Oh, I mean, he's a great
Speaker 1: ambassador for us. Lastly, um through the Asian Tour. I
Speaker 1: mentioned the fact that predominantly the tournaments have been held
Speaker 1: in Asia. But I look at what's happened, you know.
Speaker 1: I look at Camp Smith, I look at Adam Scott,
Speaker 1: I look at all of the great players that have
Speaker 1: come from Australia and and to me, it it's like
Speaker 1: Australia just gets overlooked from a tour standpoint. Would there
Speaker 1: ever be a time to where the the Asian Tour
Speaker 1: would look at maybe hosting an event, an international series
Speaker 1: in Australia. I think the fan base down there for
Speaker 1: golf is starving to see some of the best players
Speaker 1: in the world play down there. Would you all, as
Speaker 1: as as the Asian Tour, ever think about hosting an
Speaker 1: Asian Tour event in Australia. Um, I guess it's very
Speaker 1: close to home because it was my home for twenty years.
Speaker 1: I grew up in Australia. Um, from the age of four. UM,
Speaker 1: I've played a lot of golf in Australia and watched
Speaker 1: a lot of golf in Australia growing up. And UM,
Speaker 1: what's lacking is that huge Uh you know, the summer
Speaker 1: of golf that they used to have. They used to
Speaker 1: have three, four or five events consecutively that brought top
Speaker 1: players to Australia and unfortunately that doesn't happen right now.
Speaker 1: But this literally holding it back up. And I think
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour can collaborate with the Australian PGA and
Speaker 1: work together on doing something down there. Geographically, it's it
Speaker 1: makes sense. We have twenty five Australian members on the
Speaker 1: Asian Tour as well, so it's just very logical to
Speaker 1: do well. I think you guys are doing a great job.
Speaker 1: And and and I know you guys are doing a
Speaker 1: good job when I have junior golfers, high school golfers,
Speaker 1: and college golfers saying now, listen, I've just graduated from college. Um,
Speaker 1: I'm going to look at going to Asia as my
Speaker 1: pathway as opposed to saying Okay, I'm gonna go try
Speaker 1: and qualify for the corn Ferry. I'm going to try
Speaker 1: and qualify for the PGA to our Latin America PGA
Speaker 1: Tour Canada. So I think you guys are doing amazing job.
Speaker 1: I think, um, the fact that Tom Kim is is
Speaker 1: such a huge, huge part of your story moving forward. Um,
Speaker 1: and I think you guys are going to continue to
Speaker 1: do well. So congrats on everything you're doing. And thanks
Speaker 1: for talking to me. Thanks. And what's really exciting for
Speaker 1: us is going to new destinations as well. As you know.
Speaker 1: Next month we're going to Morocco, a place which is
Speaker 1: very dear to Yah and Egypt, so you know, expanding
Speaker 1: our horizons. So looking forward to it. Keep up the
Speaker 1: good work. Thanks that so another really good interview there,
Speaker 1: showman that Um, listen, I think all the tours right
Speaker 1: now are trying to figure out how they positioned themselves
Speaker 1: in the crazy professional golf world of two And like
Speaker 1: I said at the top of the show, I think
Speaker 1: the Asian Tour, Um, you're gonna start to see more
Speaker 1: players look at that as a viable way to kind
Speaker 1: of further their careers, and um, you know it's it's
Speaker 1: got some really really good things happening on the Asian Tour.
Speaker 1: And want to thank Choe for talking to us, so, um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean Brooks kept back in the winner circle, Ricky
Speaker 1: Fowler had a chance to win last week at Zozo,
Speaker 1: and I want to take wanted to talk about those
Speaker 1: two things. I mean I started working with Brooks again
Speaker 1: about a month a little over a month and a
Speaker 1: half ago, and my dad started working with Ricky Fowler
Speaker 1: about a month ago. And listen, I think it's really
Speaker 1: easy in the professional game. Um. I'm on the coaching side,
Speaker 1: I'm not on the player's side, so it's just going
Speaker 1: to be my opinion. Um, but I do think one
Speaker 1: of the negative things of what Tiger Woods has done
Speaker 1: over his career is that, um he has changed his
Speaker 1: golf swing so many times and had huge success doing it. Um,
Speaker 1: My dad was part of a massive swing overhaul of
Speaker 1: Tiger Woods from his amateur days to his professional days,
Speaker 1: and they had a lot of success. And then he
Speaker 1: made the choice Tiger to completely throw everything that helped
Speaker 1: him win eight majors and become the best player in
Speaker 1: the world and worked with Hank Kaney, completely revamped his
Speaker 1: golf swing, had an unbelievable win record. UM, one more majors,
Speaker 1: was dominant. UM then worked Shawn Foley, then worked with
Speaker 1: Chris Como, and I think a lot of players, I
Speaker 1: think that they have to make all of these massive
Speaker 1: changes in their golf swings. And UM, using you know,
Speaker 1: Ricky and and Brooks's examples. I worked for Brooks Kapa
Speaker 1: for eight years. UM, haven't worked with him in two years,
Speaker 1: and UM we started working together at the live event
Speaker 1: at Bedminster and UM he's back in the winner circle again.
Speaker 1: And listen a lot of this stuff. I've had a
Speaker 1: lot of questions on social people asking me what we
Speaker 1: were working on. We basically just kind of went back
Speaker 1: to the things that helped him be the greatest player
Speaker 1: in the world, to be dominant in the major's, win
Speaker 1: four majors in a very very short period of time,
Speaker 1: get to number one in the world and just you know,
Speaker 1: play golf that we just haven't seen in the major championships.
Speaker 1: Ricky Fowler, my dad and I worked with Ricky. Uh,
Speaker 1: we were both let go um at the end of
Speaker 1: nineteen and um, you know, Ricky's now back working with
Speaker 1: my dad, and you know they're working on a lot
Speaker 1: of the same things that they were working on in
Speaker 1: the past. I think players players have DNA's right, players
Speaker 1: have UM signatures in their golf swing. And when you
Speaker 1: do work with a player at a very high level
Speaker 1: for an extended period of time and they have a
Speaker 1: tremendous amount of success, and then they decided to go
Speaker 1: in a different direction and do something else. If it works, great,
Speaker 1: but if it doesn't work. Um. I think one of
Speaker 1: the things that that I've been able to do with
Speaker 1: Brooks in in in working with Brooks again is to
Speaker 1: just simplify things, to just go back to the basics
Speaker 1: of Hey, listen, we we had a pretty good blueprint
Speaker 1: in the eight years that we worked together. Um, we
Speaker 1: had a lot of success. Um, you got to number
Speaker 1: one in the world and I said to Brooks, listen,
Speaker 1: we're gonna go back to doing some of the same
Speaker 1: things that you used to do. And it was interesting
Speaker 1: that a lot of the things I think that Brooks
Speaker 1: was trying to do UM over the last couple of years. UM,
Speaker 1: he was trying to work on some of the things
Speaker 1: that we worked on in the past. But one of
Speaker 1: our main job abs his golf instructors, but certainly as
Speaker 1: coaches UM at the tour level, is we're a second
Speaker 1: set of eyes. And I think Brooks was trying to
Speaker 1: work on some of the things that we had worked
Speaker 1: on in the past, but his set up, the things
Speaker 1: that he was doing before he even hit a golf
Speaker 1: ball just weren't allowing him to do some of the
Speaker 1: things that he was able to do before. So really
Speaker 1: in the last month and a half, we've done a
Speaker 1: lot of basic work on posture, alignment, ball position, all
Speaker 1: of the things that Brooks does before he hits a
Speaker 1: golf ball. And as a result of those things starting
Speaker 1: to feel a little bit more normal like they used to. UM,
Speaker 1: he's been able to swing the golf club the way
Speaker 1: that UM he wants to and the way that we
Speaker 1: want to. UM. So I think you should if you
Speaker 1: are trying to make massive changes in your golf swing,
Speaker 1: you have to kind of think about, you know, what
Speaker 1: you're trying to do, why you're trying to do it,
Speaker 1: and what direct should you're going to go, and you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes those changes don't work. I mean, my dad's been
Speaker 1: working with Ricky Fowler. UM. He's played three tournaments this year,
Speaker 1: and I think he's come close to accumulating in three
Speaker 1: tournaments the same amount of FedEx Cup points that he
Speaker 1: achieved in the entire season last year. And three events,
Speaker 1: and again going back to some of the things that
Speaker 1: made him a great player, going back to the things
Speaker 1: the formula that that you know, my dad knows works
Speaker 1: with Ricky. UM, I've gone back to working on the
Speaker 1: same things with Brooks um that I know made him
Speaker 1: the number one player in the world. UM. And so
Speaker 1: it's been interesting. UM. I think it was a really
Speaker 1: important win for for Brooks. I think it was a
Speaker 1: really important win for Ricky Fowler, even though he didn't
Speaker 1: get back into the winner circle. Because professional golfers are
Speaker 1: just like everybody that's listening, they play a lot on
Speaker 1: confidence and and all of you know that are listening
Speaker 1: that if you're hitting a lot of fairways, if you're
Speaker 1: hitting a lot of greens, the game seems easier regardless
Speaker 1: of what your handicapped level is. But if you're a
Speaker 1: bad driver of the golf ball and you're a fifteen
Speaker 1: handicapper and driving is one of the weak parts of
Speaker 1: your game, if you have a round of golf where
Speaker 1: you hit ten eleven fairways, your confidence is going to
Speaker 1: go through the roof. And I guarantee your iron game
Speaker 1: gets better as a result. Um, if you're you know,
Speaker 1: a streaky putter and you're not putting great, and all
Speaker 1: of a sudden you get on a run to where
Speaker 1: you're making a lot of puts, it trickles down to
Speaker 1: every other part of your game. So tour players in
Speaker 1: general play so much on confidence. And I think that
Speaker 1: you're seeing that in two players, um that have that
Speaker 1: have struggled over the last you know, two to three years,
Speaker 1: and Brooks and Ricky, and I think in going back
Speaker 1: to some of the things that are familiar and some
Speaker 1: of the things that UM, the people working with them,
Speaker 1: my dad and myself, we know the things that we're
Speaker 1: working on, UM myself with Brooks, and I know my
Speaker 1: dad looks at the stuff he's working on with Ricky.
Speaker 1: I worked with Ricky for a number of years. I
Speaker 1: look at the stuff they're working on and in my opinion,
Speaker 1: it's what is going to help Ricky get back into
Speaker 1: the winner circle. It's what's going to help Ricky get
Speaker 1: back inside the top fifty. It's what's going to get
Speaker 1: Ricky to have opportunities to win golf. All you want
Speaker 1: as a tour player, um, regardless of where you're playing,
Speaker 1: is to have an opportunity on Sunday. And I think
Speaker 1: it's huge for Ricky Fowler's confidence to take a lead
Speaker 1: into the final round and maybe not have his best stuff,
Speaker 1: but to to have an opportunity to finish where he
Speaker 1: finished given where he's been, has been a huge, huge
Speaker 1: plus for Ricky and I would expect Ricky continues to
Speaker 1: play well this week. Um, Brooks listen, whether you're a
Speaker 1: fan of Live, whether you're not a fan, whether you
Speaker 1: think it's an exhibition, whether whatever whatever side you fall on.
Speaker 1: At the end of the day, Brooks Kepta is playing golf.
Speaker 1: He is playing the same golf courses everybody else, and
Speaker 1: he shut the lowest score and won the tournament and
Speaker 1: that is going to be huge for his confidence moving forward.
Speaker 1: That is going to be huge for his game moving forward,
Speaker 1: and confidence is a huge, huge part of tournament golf.
Speaker 1: So UM really really happy to see Ricky Fowler, UM
Speaker 1: have a chance to win again. UM. I love Ricky
Speaker 1: and UM I root for him. And as someone that's
Speaker 1: working with Brooks, UM, I've never seen the guy work harder.
Speaker 1: And I know a lot of people listening you're gonna go, oh,
Speaker 1: this is the guy that says he does in practice
Speaker 1: and everything. He said that comment three years ago, and
Speaker 1: somewhat that comment, that comment was taken out of context. UM,
Speaker 1: I'm just telling you as someone that works with him, UM,
Speaker 1: I've never seen him work harder than he's worked in
Speaker 1: the last month and a half. And I've never seen
Speaker 1: him want to win more than I've seen him want
Speaker 1: to win in the last month and a half. And
Speaker 1: I'm glad that he did it. And UM, I'm excited
Speaker 1: to see what the future holds, not only for Brooks
Speaker 1: but also for Ricky Fowler. So if to everyone for listening,
Speaker 1: UM excited. Got some good guests in the pipeline. Tough
Speaker 1: to get everybody's schedule. It's not easy to kind of
Speaker 1: schedule everybody. Everybody's got kind of real world stuff going,
Speaker 1: but we are going to have some really good guests
Speaker 1: for you in the coming weeks and the coming months.
Speaker 1: Son of a Buch comes to you every Wednesday. We
Speaker 1: will see everyone next week