WEBVTT - Why golf isn't in a bad place 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:04.960 It's the son of Which podcast. I'm your host, Claude 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:07.440 Harmon a little two week break from the pod, but 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:12.520 back refreshed. I was trying to think about what to 0:00:12.560 --> 0:00:15.120 talk about this week, and we just had the Olympics. 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:17.320 There is a lot to talk about in the game 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:19.080 of golf right now. There's a lot to talk about. 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:23.360 I hear constantly about how bad professional golf is and 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:26.720 how bad the game of golf is. But I was 0:00:26.720 --> 0:00:31.319 thinking about this on the flight home, and is the 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:33.760 game of golf in a bad place right now? And 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.760 the reason I bring that up is from a performance standpoint, 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:38.720 which is the world that I live in. I live 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:42.720 in professional golf. I'm lucky enough to work with players 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:46.280 that play professionally and the only thing that matters is performance. 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:49.080 And so I got to thinking about with all the 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:51.960 crazy stuff that's been going on with the PGA Tour 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:54.120 and live which I think everybody's tired of hearing about, 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:59.280 I think from a performance standpoint and from a actual 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:03.760 what's happening on the golf course, I think the game 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:07.680 is in a really good place. I think we are 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:12.360 seeing some amazing golf by some amazing players. I think 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:17.520 we're seeing new players and stars come into the game 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:21.000 that maybe we didn't know about three years ago before 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:24.760 all the craziness started. But I just don't think the 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:28.559 game from a performance standpoint is in a bad place. 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:32.360 And it's just my opinion, and I'm gonna try and 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:36.080 make give some examples as to why I think that. 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.800 So live happened in the summer of twenty twenty two 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:45.600 when everything kind of got crazy. That year, Scotty Scheffler 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:50.600 won the Masters, Justin Thomas won the PGA. Then live happened. 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:53.120 First live event was in London. The following week was 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:58.920 the US Open. Since that, okay, since live happened, I'm 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:02.880 going to give you the main winners. Matt Patrick twenty 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:06.639 twenty two US Open champion, Cam Smith the twenty twenty 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:11.480 two Open champion at St. Andrews with an unbelievable Sunday 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.079 duel with Rory McElroy. Looked like Rory was gonna win. 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:20.200 Looked like Rory was finally gonna get another major. Cam 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:25.120 played unbelievable on Sunday, some great golf, great up and down, 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:29.720 down the stretch wins. We go to twenty twenty three, 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:35.960 John Ram beats Brooks Kepka the Masters, Brooks Kepka wins 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:40.239 the PGA at o'kill. Great down the stretch duel got 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:43.480 Michael Block, great story. Victor Hovlin was in the mix. 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:49.080 US Open, Wyndam Clark Los Angeles, Ricky Fowler in the mix, 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:52.840 Roy McElroy again in the mix. Wyndam Clark hit some 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:57.640 just some great shots down the stretch, made some great 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:02.920 pars down the stretch. Harmon the Open champion was Rainy. 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:07.760 Was a gutty, gritty performance. And then this year Scottie Scheffler, 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:12.240 now a two time Masters champion, Sanders Chaffle great duel 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:15.120 on Sunday, Bryson in the mix, hit that great eight 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:20.320 ron at seventeen. Xander wins his first major. Then I 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:23.720 think one of the best majors I've I've seen. Bryson 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:28.200 Deshamba two time Major champion, now two time US Open 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:33.520 champion Pinehurst beats Rory McElroy down the stretch again. Rory 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:37.040 trying to get another major, doesn't get it done. And 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.520 then now a two time major winners, Xaner Schoffle wins 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:44.600 the Open at Troon. Tons of drama on Sunday. So 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:48.840 from a major standpoint, everybody that keeps saying how bad 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.400 professional golf is and how bad the game is. The 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:57.600 majors have been unbelievable, the winners have been unbelievable. The 0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:01.240 twenty twenty two FedEx Cup winner Roy mc last year 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:06.280 twenty twenty three FedEx Cup winner Victor Hovlin, household names 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:13.440 global superstars, Ryder Cup heroes. So this kind of talk 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:17.240 about how bad professional golf is and the shit show, 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:21.799 maybe from an organization standpoint and maybe from a governing 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:27.200 body standpoint, and can we figure out the live PGA 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:29.640 tour drama? I don't know. I mean you had business 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:32.560 people like Jimmy Dunn and guys like Seth Wall at 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:37.159 the PGA or kind of captains of industry. They tried 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:40.239 to throw their hat into the ring. Figure this out. 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:45.120 They're out of golf now professional golf. You've got billionaires 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:48.080 like Stevie Cohen and Arthur Blank who are involved in 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:52.400 golf now professional golf. So you've got I think one 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:55.359 of the cool stories this year has been Matthew Levaughan. 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:57.600 I mean, Matthew had a chance to win deep deep 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:01.040 into the US Open. He played on the DP World. 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:04.960 The DP World now kind of has that partnership with 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:08.240 the PGA Tour, so ten of their top players get 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.840 immediate cards on the PGA Tour. He wins on one 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:15.680 of the iconic golf courses on the PGA Tour, Tory Pines. 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:20.839 It's French first year on the PGA Tour, has a 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.440 legit chance to win a major. Who's leading a major 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:27.200 in the US Open. I think that's a great story. 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:30.440 So I think it's easy to look at all of 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:32.839 the negatives right now, and I think that's what I 0:05:32.839 --> 0:05:36.039 see a lot of people focusing on. Focus on all 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:40.080 the negatives, all the reasons why professional golf is struggling. 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.320 But I just look at the golf that's being played 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.360 on the golf course and I think it's pretty damn good. 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:51.680 I look at the winners from last year. I think 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:54.760 we had some great stories last year. Chris Kirk coming 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:58.880 back and winning again and then wins again this year 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:03.279 at the Tournament of Champions, Lucas Glover winning two tournaments late, 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:09.200 Sahit Sigala getting his first win, Tom Kim getting wins Camilla, 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:13.920 Vijaygis getting a win, Ludwig Oberg he was playing college 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:17.279 golf last year. Now the guy's top five in the world. 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.960 He's a superstar. I mean, he's a stud and I 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:23.440 just look at the performance of these players. I think 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:27.800 the game right now, in my opinion, I mean it's 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:29.919 just my opinion. I could be wrong. I think the 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:33.440 game is in a pretty good place from a performance standpoint, 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:36.839 from the golf that is being played on the golf course. 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.239 I mean, you look at the Olympics that just happened. 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.720 We didn't even have Olympics ten fifteen years ago. Now 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.600 we have the Olympics. Scotti Scheffler wins the gold. Bertie's 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:48.839 four out of his last five shoots sixty two on Sunday. 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:54.279 Tommy Fleetwood a fan favorite, somebody that everybody is waiting 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:58.679 to have a major breakthrough. Everybody loves Tommy Fleetwood. He's 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:04.919 a writer, Cup hero for the Euros, a superstar in Europe, 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.159 he's a star in the US. Adeki Matsiyama, you can't 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:12.760 get a bigger global star. I mean he's a legend, 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:18.120 a Master's champion, He's a hero in Japan. So those 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:21.960 are the three people on the podium. John Rahm had 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:27.760 a big lead down the stretch, couldn't get it done again. 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.120 Is the game in a bad place. Is the quality 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:35.240 of golf that is being played on all the tours. 0:07:35.560 --> 0:07:38.160 And I'm not even talking about what's going on on 0:07:38.280 --> 0:07:44.600 Live where John Rahm just won, Wako Neeman is having 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:49.000 an amazing year, Sergia Garcia won again, Brooks and DJ 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:52.080 have won on Live again. Whether you like it, whether 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:55.360 you don't, I'm just looking at the performance of the players. 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:59.640 I think we have loads of young talent. Akseh Batia. 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:05.280 I mean the kid no fear already a winner on tour. 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:09.600 Nick Dunlop this year as an amateur plays the MX 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.960 wins it. He's already won again. The kid's twenty years old. 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:19.960 Davis Thompson turned pro in twenty twenty one, went to 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:25.400 the University of Georgia, already winning on tour. So youth 0:08:26.160 --> 0:08:31.360 coming through, kids directly out of college, no real experience, 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:38.720 not veterans. They're winning golf tournaments on liv Andy Ogletree, 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:42.840 usam Champ, you know, struggled around the world, went to 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:48.920 the International Series, won that. He's playing great golf. I 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:52.800 think one of the best stories of the year. Bob McIntyre. 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:56.880 He wins the RBC Canadian Open again. Another duel with 0:08:57.040 --> 0:09:00.920 Rory McElroy. Rory's trying to win again. Bobby Mack gets 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.800 it done and then goes and wins the Scottish Open 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:09.920 in Scotland obviously, but he's from Scotland. Winning not only 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.839 the National Open of Canada, but winning the Scottish Open. 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.520 For someone from Scotland, that is that is the dream. 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:23.040 It's what everybody wants. And I look at the winners 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:26.000 this year. I mean, Wyndham Clark's won again. He's a 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:32.520 major champion, he DECKI played some amazing golf. The run 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:35.360 that Scotti Scheffler's been on, the things that he is 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:41.480 doing right now are they are special? They are I 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:48.800 think generational in what he is doing a major. I mean, 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:50.800 I'm gonna be shocked if he doesn't win the FedEx Cup. 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:57.280 He seems to have a chance to win every single week. 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:01.040 Billy Horsewall won again. Billy was in a slump, figured 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:05.680 it out, got his mojo back. Roy McElroy won this 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:12.640 year Wells Fargo golf course that he loves. I just 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.600 I think it's too easy right now with all of 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:21.000 the turmoil between what is going on with the PGA 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:26.240 Tour and live how the PGA Tour is handling the situation, 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:30.640 how lives handling this situation, how the governing bodies are 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:36.320 handling live coming into the professional golf world, the world ranking. 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:40.760 It's easy to just say, yeah, it's all negative, it's 0:10:40.760 --> 0:10:44.120 a shit show, like Rory says. But the quality of 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:46.240 golf that I'm watching, the colity of golf that I'm 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:48.640 watching over the last three years on Live, the quality 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:50.920 of golf that I'm watching on the PGA Tour, the 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.880 quality of golf that I'm watching on DP World, the 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:57.760 quality of golf on the Asian Tour, the quality of 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:01.000 golf on the Ladies Tour, the golf that Nellie Court 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:05.040 is playing, The performance of these golfers and the performance 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:10.160 of these athletes, to me has just been amazing. And 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:16.440 I have really enjoyed watching professional golf. There is a 0:11:16.559 --> 0:11:19.559 narrative right now that people aren't enjoying it, that they 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:23.720 don't like watching it. I'm watching it from a performance standpoint. 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:26.360 I'm watching it because I'm lucky enough to be a 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:30.480 part of the performance element of professional golf. I work 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:33.840 with players that play professionally, have done for the last 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:36.760 twenty years, and when I look at the golf that's 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:41.560 being played over the last three years since Live Okay 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:45.120 came in and disrupted professional golf. Yeah they did. They 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:48.920 came in and disrupted it, and everyone's trying to figure 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:52.439 out what to do now. But when I look at 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:56.360 the quality of golf that is being played, When I 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.280 look at the quality of shots that are being played 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:03.240 on all of the tours all over the world, wherever 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:06.560 you are watching golf, wherever you are choosing to watch golf, 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:08.920 you can choose to watch golf wherever you want to 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:13.280 watch it. I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:17.280 stars we have in the game today. I'm a fan 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.400 of the players that are winning these golf tournaments. I'm 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:23.880 a fan of the drama that we have in professional 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:26.120 golf right now on the golf course. Not the golf 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.959 course bullshit. I'm a fan of what these players are 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:36.320 doing under the gun. I haven't seen a run like 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:40.000 this from Scotti Scheffler in a very, very very long time. 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:43.600 The Tiger Heyday, the kind of Ernie El's heyday, the VJ. 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:49.200 Singh back in the day, Superstar heyday, Ratief. I just 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:57.040 from a performance standpoint, from a professional golfer standpoint, and 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:01.600 what the professional golfers are doing on the biggest stages 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:06.160 all over the world, in the majors, in big tournaments. 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:11.480 I like it. I like what I'm saying. I like 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:14.760 the drama. I like the shots that guys are pulling off. 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:19.679 I think an unbelievable story is Xander Schoffle. I mean, 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:24.760 Xander's everybody's favorite on tour, right. Everybody loves Sander. He's 0:13:24.760 --> 0:13:27.440 a great guy. He and his caddy, Austin, they're they're 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:31.559 great people. His dad's one of my His dad is 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:36.160 a is a character and a half. He's fun to 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:41.959 talk to. I was watching the Open Championship and he 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.280 had a mix of Yeah, Justin Rose had a chance 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:47.160 to win a major at his age, Billy Horshall had 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:50.440 a chance to win a major. You had a couple 0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:54.320 of players that weren't household names, right, that weren't on 0:13:54.360 --> 0:14:02.280 anyone's radar, that had legit chances deep into that tournament. 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:07.040 Shane Lowry made a massive run at the Open Championship 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:10.880 this year. He's a fan favorite. The Matthew Jordan and 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.840 Daniel Brown stories, I think we're really good. Russell Henley 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:21.720 played amazing golf. It just it's too easy to just 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:27.760 say golf is in a bad place. Maybe from an 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:31.400 organizational standpoint, golf is in a bad place. If that's 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:35.760 your take, and that's your opinion, and that's the narrative 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:37.440 that you want to push. I see a lot of 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:40.880 people in the media continuing to push that. But I 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:43.840 am lucky enough to be around the best players in 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:48.480 the world on a regular basis. And the golf that 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:52.080 I see in person and the golf that I see 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:56.200 when I watch golf on television is I think fascinating. 0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:01.760 I think engaging. I think the quality of shots under 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:07.600 pressure that players are hitting. Xanderschofley shoot sixty five on 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:13.880 Sunday and was even through the first four or five holes, 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:17.880 and then you could see the confidence from winning his 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:22.000 first major championship at Valhalla. He said he felt calm 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:25.560 on the back nine. I'm a fan of that. I'm 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:29.800 a fan of watching that. I'm a fan of watching 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:33.560 Justin Rose in the middle of the seventeenth fairway at 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:37.000 the Open Championship at Troon roast driver off the deck 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:39.520 and try and give himself a chance to make an 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:44.200 eagle on sixteen and try and have a chance to 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.360 win the tournament, have a chance to win another major, 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:50.680 He's got one at his age. I think the golf 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:55.040 that he played sixty nine, sixty eight, seventy three. But 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:59.280 Justin Rose went out on Sunday at the Open Championship 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:06.320 and shot sixty seven. Where's the problem with that? From 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:13.560 a golf standpoint, From a tournament golf standpoint, where why 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:16.920 is that bad? Look at the leaderboard at the Masters, 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:22.240 Scotty Scheffler first, Ludwig Oberg second, Tommy Fleetwood, Max Homer, 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:28.120 Colin Morikawa tied third, cam Smith, Bryson d. Chambeau tied 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:35.000 for sixth, Sanderschoffle tied for eight, will zlatorres, Tyrrell Hatton, 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:40.160 Cameron Young. That's the top ten. Where is the bad golf? 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:43.040 Where is golf in a bad place where you have 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:48.560 those guys in the top ten in a major championship. 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:53.280 Scotti Schefler shooting sixty eight on Sunday, Ludville Goebert sixty 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:58.760 nine on Sunday, Tommy Fleetwood sixty nine on Sunday. I 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:05.239 think the game for me isn't in as bad a 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:09.880 place as everyone's saying it is. The performance of the players. 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:16.960 The PGA Championship this year Xanderschoffle Sunday sixty five, Bryson 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:22.320 sixty four, Victor Hovlin sixty six, Thomas Dietree sixty six. 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:26.679 My point behind all of this is if you're just 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:33.520 looking at the tours and this constant battle between Live 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.439 and the PGA Tour, and the constant battle and the 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.600 media between Live the people that are on the Live 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:43.160 side in the media, and then the PGA Tour people 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.639 in the media, it's just constant doom and gloom. But 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:51.720 I over the last three years since Live came in 0:17:51.760 --> 0:17:56.320 and changed professional golf, and I don't know if they 0:17:56.400 --> 0:17:59.720 changed it for good worse. I know they're playing for 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:03.720 more money on the PGA Tour. I know there's signature events. 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:08.920 I know we've got indoor golf now the TGL. Does 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:14.240 that happen without Live coming into professional golf? I don't know. 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:20.040 PG Tour. You now players are coming directly off college 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:24.000 golf and getting access and getting opportunities to play on 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:27.199 the PGA Tour. Does that happen with LIV? I don't know. 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:29.800 That's something that everybody's been saying that needed to happen 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:34.200 for the last fifteen years, and I think it's a huge, huge, positive. 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:38.240 But I just think right now, there are a lot 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:43.159 of positives in professional golf that might be controversial. You 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:47.360 might not agree, you might disagree, you might vehemently disagree. 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:51.840 That's fine. But I'm around professional golf, and I'm around 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:56.280 professional golfers all the time, and when I go to 0:18:56.320 --> 0:19:00.920 the majors now, I see unbelievable golf being played when 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:04.000 I am on Live. Whether you agree with the format, 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:07.200 whether you agree with all of it, that's on you, 0:19:07.520 --> 0:19:11.600 right that's that's that's your choice, whether you want to 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.800 choose the tour or not choose the tour. But the 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:18.600 golf and the shots that I see week in and 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:24.199 week out on Live are unbelievable. There's drama, there's great shots, 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:27.400 there's hitting the right shot at the right time. There's 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:30.680 players with leads, you know, not being able to get 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:34.200 it to the house. Same thing that we see DP World, 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.920 same thing that we see on the PGA Tour. And 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:43.720 when I watch the PGA Tour, see just some really 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:48.200 really good golf being played by some really good players. 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:53.760 I think Rory McElroy continues to be an amazing story. 0:19:55.000 --> 0:19:57.520 The golf that he plays and has played over the 0:19:57.560 --> 0:20:00.479 last three years, how can you not be a of that? 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:03.160 How can you not be a fan of the things 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:06.199 that Roy McElroy does on the golf course. How can 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:10.640 you not be a fan of the things that John 0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:15.520 Rahm and Brooks and Bryce and Xanders and Cam Smith 0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:17.840 and Matt Fitzpatrick and Brian Harmon. How can you not 0:20:17.920 --> 0:20:20.199 be a fan of the quality of golf that they 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:26.240 are playing to win these major championships. And then I 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:29.520 think there have been some great, great stories, some comeback stories. 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:33.520 Kimillavt jagis winning again on the PGA Tour. As I 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:36.800 said earlier, Chris kirk Now winning twice in the last 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:40.280 couple of years with the struggles that he had off 0:20:40.359 --> 0:20:43.760 the golf course. And I just think the youth movement. 0:20:45.080 --> 0:20:49.800 We have a lot of young, good stars playing good golf. 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:53.960 Cam Davis won it Rocket this year. You watch that 0:20:54.040 --> 0:20:56.359 golf swing and watch the shots that he hits. That 0:20:56.400 --> 0:20:58.879 guy's a stud man. I mean, that guy is a 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:04.160 legit stuff. Davis Riley, the performance he put in at 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:11.040 Colonial this year to win. Guy was playing golf college 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:14.720 golf at University of Alabama. He's winning on tour now. 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:20.280 I just I like it. I like the mix. I 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:24.359 like the quality of players that are playing, I like 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:27.880 the shots that they're hitting, and I liked the performance, 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:35.879 and hopefully we as people that love golf and love 0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:43.159 watching golf, and obviously as people that love watching professional golf. Yeah, okay, 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:48.119 maybe the product, which I never heard anyone talk about 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:50.479 three years ago, I never heard anyone talk about the product. 0:21:50.720 --> 0:21:53.760 Maybe you could argue that the product's diminished. It's easier 0:21:53.800 --> 0:21:56.439 to win on the PGA Tour now that some of 0:21:56.440 --> 0:21:58.760 the big stars went to live. I don't care about 0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:01.919 any of that. About watching the best players in the 0:22:01.960 --> 0:22:06.760 world execute on the golf course, hit the right shot 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:10.960 at the right time, get on a run, Bertie the 0:22:11.040 --> 0:22:15.560 last three coming in win their first tournament win is amateurs. 0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:21.200 I'm a fan. I'm a fan of professional golf today. 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:23.119 That might be a hot take, that might be a 0:22:23.240 --> 0:22:25.920 controversial take, that might be a take that a lot 0:22:25.920 --> 0:22:29.360 of people listening don't like. But the golf that I'm 0:22:29.440 --> 0:22:34.400 lucky enough to watch up close, I'm still watching unbelievable golfers, 0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:38.800 regardless of where they play, hit unbelievable shots under pressure 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:42.920 to win tournaments when it matters, And yeah, maybe they're 0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:47.040 not names that you knew, and maybe they're not superstars 0:22:47.119 --> 0:22:51.960 and you don't like that, maybe you're someone that is 0:22:52.080 --> 0:22:54.720 using the we need to get the best players in 0:22:54.760 --> 0:22:58.280 the world together all the time. That really didn't happen 0:22:58.320 --> 0:23:01.119 that often. It happens at the majors. There have been 0:23:01.160 --> 0:23:04.800 big tournaments in the US at the beginning of the year, 0:23:05.760 --> 0:23:09.200 early in the season for the last twenty years, and 0:23:09.880 --> 0:23:11.919 some of the best players on the PGA Tour have 0:23:12.000 --> 0:23:17.800 been China, the Middle East getting paid, getting paid because 0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:21.920 they won majors, getting paid to go play. And that's 0:23:21.960 --> 0:23:24.239 been going on for twenty years. I was going on 0:23:24.640 --> 0:23:28.000 hell of a long time before Live showed up, and 0:23:28.119 --> 0:23:31.480 some of the biggest stars on the PGA Tour have 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:34.119 gone all over the world and got an appearance money 0:23:34.400 --> 0:23:38.919 to play, which I believe and in one hundred percent 0:23:39.440 --> 0:23:41.880 in favor of I've said that before. If you win 0:23:41.920 --> 0:23:44.639 a major championship, one of the perks is there are 0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:47.560 going to be places around the world that have tournaments 0:23:48.160 --> 0:23:51.000 that want to pay you millions of dollars to come play. 0:23:52.200 --> 0:23:56.480 Every great player in the world, whether they're playing that 0:23:56.600 --> 0:23:59.280 is a major champion. All the major champions that have 0:23:59.320 --> 0:24:02.160 gone to Live have all done that. All the major 0:24:02.280 --> 0:24:04.560 champions that didn't go to live that stayed on the 0:24:04.560 --> 0:24:07.600 PGA Tour, they've all done that too, So that is 0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:11.320 not news. There have been players getting paid to play 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:15.480 golf all over the world. But I like what I'm 0:24:15.480 --> 0:24:17.560 seeing in professional golf right now. When I walk up 0:24:17.600 --> 0:24:20.880 and down the driving range at a major, at a tournament, 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:23.479 regardless of where it is, I like the golf swings 0:24:23.520 --> 0:24:29.280 I'm seeing. I think I think live coming into professional golf. 0:24:31.320 --> 0:24:33.919 We're talking about television now. I think the work that 0:24:33.960 --> 0:24:38.240 Bryson is doing in social media. I think the fact 0:24:38.280 --> 0:24:41.720 that the PGA Tour is looking at influencers now and 0:24:41.840 --> 0:24:46.359 influencers in golf, I think that's all positive. I think 0:24:46.680 --> 0:24:50.560 some of the technology that's available, the sports box stuff 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:53.359 that you're seeing on the PGA Tour now, the launch 0:24:53.400 --> 0:24:57.320 monitor technology that you're seeing, you know, live in the broadcast. 0:24:58.640 --> 0:25:02.159 We saw that during COVID they started using Whoop. We 0:25:02.240 --> 0:25:08.440 saw whoop data. We're doing live in round interviews with players. 0:25:08.520 --> 0:25:12.600 None of that stuff, ladies and gentlemen, happened before live. 0:25:13.200 --> 0:25:16.080 None of it. All of this has been everybody trying 0:25:16.080 --> 0:25:21.400 to pivot and trying to figure out. So yeah, maybe 0:25:21.720 --> 0:25:28.720 from a tour standpoint, the tours are divided the organizers, 0:25:28.960 --> 0:25:34.800 the USGA, the PGA of America, the RNA, the Masters. 0:25:35.520 --> 0:25:37.560 I think they're still trying to figure this out. But 0:25:37.880 --> 0:25:41.600 what is happening at all of their tournaments, What is 0:25:41.600 --> 0:25:45.600 happening at on the PGA Tour, What is happening on 0:25:45.760 --> 0:25:49.400 DP world, what is happening on live? What is happening 0:25:49.480 --> 0:25:52.760 in the majors? For all the arguments that have been 0:25:52.800 --> 0:25:57.520 going on about how bad things are, the performance from 0:25:57.760 --> 0:26:01.520 all of the players playing professional golf on the golf 0:26:01.600 --> 0:26:06.679 course inside the ropes on Sundays, I love it. I 0:26:06.680 --> 0:26:09.480 love what I'm seeing, I love what I'm watching, and 0:26:10.359 --> 0:26:13.560 I'm a fan. So I just think it's too easy 0:26:13.560 --> 0:26:15.920 to just beat up on professional golf right now. And 0:26:17.920 --> 0:26:23.359 I've never had people that are outside of golf, that 0:26:23.440 --> 0:26:26.800 are non golfers that I meet, that I'm friends with, 0:26:26.880 --> 0:26:30.919 that aren't you know, massive golfers that don't play golf, 0:26:30.920 --> 0:26:34.240 that don't follow the PGA Tour. I've never talked about 0:26:34.320 --> 0:26:37.439 the professional game more in the last three years to 0:26:37.560 --> 0:26:42.080 non golfers than I have. And is that bad? I 0:26:42.080 --> 0:26:44.640 think that's a positive I think the fact that even 0:26:44.680 --> 0:26:47.840 if it looks like what Rory said a shit show, 0:26:48.040 --> 0:26:49.800 I think the fact that people are talking about it. 0:26:49.800 --> 0:26:52.080 I think the fact that people are talking about it 0:26:52.119 --> 0:26:57.760 on Sports Center, Steven A. Smith, on podcasts, the fact 0:26:57.800 --> 0:27:02.359 that people are talking about golf and they're trying to 0:27:02.359 --> 0:27:04.199 figure it out. I think everybody in the game is 0:27:04.240 --> 0:27:05.840 trying to figure it out. I think the players are 0:27:05.840 --> 0:27:08.919 trying to figure it out. I think the organizers at 0:27:09.080 --> 0:27:11.879 the PGA Tour, TP World Tour and IT Live or 0:27:11.880 --> 0:27:13.600 trying to figure it out. I think all the governing 0:27:13.600 --> 0:27:18.320 bodies are trying to figure it out. And it's difficult 0:27:18.320 --> 0:27:22.400 times right now. But when I watch golf and watch 0:27:22.400 --> 0:27:25.080