WEBVTT - Phil Mickelson, The Oldest on The Longest. 0:00:02.000 --> 0:00:07.240 The biggest moment had a legendary career, Fell defeats Father Time. 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:26.160 Put another log fi, nobody here is getting time. Welcome 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:31.880 to the fire pit with Matt Channella. What a blur, 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:36.080 a dream, a Hollywood script, complete with the hero and 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:40.200 the villain. It was golf's Roman Colosseum. But the one 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:47.519 with the thumbs wasn't the assembled masses. It was Phil Nicholson. 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:53.560 Phil Nicholson arriving till Land Golf Resort and gets in 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:56.760 his coach thinks what I read about to take a 0:00:56.800 --> 0:00:59.680 close to be? Were those these twenty seven teams would 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:04.720 be such a special for those two. Nicholson hadn't had 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:07.959 a top twenty since August, and yet started the day 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:19.600 in the final pairing. My gracious, that was his fifty 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:26.320 ft bunker shot at the fifth for birdie and he's 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:36.760 gonna like this smoked. And that was his sixty six 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:40.280 yard t shot in the par five, which all but 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:45.160 sealed the wind. Biggest moment of the legendary career. Fell 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:54.680 defeats Father Time his sixth major championship, and we're all 0:01:54.800 --> 0:02:02.640 left in disbelief, looking fit, walking slowly, wearing sunglasses, chewing gum, smirking, 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:06.279 smiling and engaging throughout the Hall of Famer, made history 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:10.239 as the oldest on the longest hoist. Now want to 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:12.840 make a trophy for the second time in your career, 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:19.320 Phil Mickelson. You have earned it. Jim. It's gonna take 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.040 some time for a lot of people to have this 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:25.119 one sink in. Well, it has sunk in by now. 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:28.240 Phil's career and legacy gets a turbo boost into the 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:33.080 top ten of all time. Meanwhile, golf, in the midst 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:35.880 of a heater of its own, was dealt yet another 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:38.520 straight flush. What was the biggest bomb in the most 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:42.560 hellacious seed? You hit that way? Um, well, this is 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.160 the longest golf course ever played in major championship. The 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:46.360 only way you can play well, here's if you hit 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:50.680 bombs and brandle. Before we get to the podcast, I 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:53.080 just want to thank our sponsor, Link Soul for leading 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:57.120 a lifestyle brand by example. Here's Jeff Cunningham, who founded 0:02:57.160 --> 0:03:00.480 Links Soul with his uncle John Ashworth. I always look 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:03.480 at it like Minksol existed, you know, throughout time, a 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:05.920 long time before us, and it's come through all these 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.919 club smiths and golf rounds and everything, and the soul 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.520 of the game really, and it's and it chose John 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:17.880 and I to you know, be the gardeners, and and 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:19.720 and it really John and I watched it all the time. 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:23.440 It it grows and chooses what it needs to do next, 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:25.320 and we just kind of tend to it. It finds 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:27.400 the other people in our company that you know, to 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.120 tend to it as well. Go to links sol dot 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:34.519 com and use promo code fire Pit discount on your 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:38.320 next purchase. So it was Sunday night, and like the 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:40.520 rest of you, the fire Pit Collective was trying to 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:45.080 process the situation social media, ESPN and Golf Channel. We're 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:48.600 all having a victory lap while we were chasing down 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:51.480 Alan Schipnuk our man on the ground who had just 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:55.800 filed his game story for golf Digest dot com. Las Verscias, 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:59.000 the newest member of the collective whose backstory was just 0:03:59.040 --> 0:04:02.080 published on our website, joined us at this pit for 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:04.640 a recap of what took place at Keya was ocean 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:10.680 course plane of the p g A Championship. What was 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:15.440 it like to be there? It was electric, you know, 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:20.600 it was just a phenomenal atmosphere. I think, without a doubt, 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:23.480 these are the best crowds of the covid Era at 0:04:23.480 --> 0:04:26.760 a golf tournament, and there was a feeling in the 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.640 air like everyone was just almost a giddy just to 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:35.280 beat a sporting event around people, a big time events. 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:38.839 I mean, golf missed this atmosphere. The last four majors 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.240 either had no or limited fans and it was just flat. 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.880 And the crowds brought so much energy, even starting on Thursday, 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:49.760 and then it just built and built. With Phil as 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:51.960 we all know, he's the people's favorite, he has been 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:55.359 for a long time. And then he had you know, 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.200 the Brooks pairing was perfect because Brooks wants to be 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:01.960 this anti hero and he wants to be the bad guy. 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.479 And he struts up to the first he like a 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:09.360 big swinging dick and he's just he's you could feel 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:13.880 that that energy, whereas Phil he looked jumpy, he looked tense. 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:16.599 You know, he's working that gum and he's hiding buying 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:20.120 the sunglasses and uh. And of course the first hole, 0:05:20.240 --> 0:05:22.080 you know, it's the worst case scenario. Film makes a 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:26.760 soft bogey. Brooks berries the birdie put two shot, swing 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:28.960 fills out of the lead. It's like here we go. 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:32.760 And then I mean the first the first five holes 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:36.120 were an opera, you know, with the filmmaking mistakes. Looked 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:38.680 like he's gonna play himself out of it. Jars that 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:40.960 incredible sandshot in the fifth hole to get back in 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:46.039 the fight, Brooks looks rattled. It just there was no 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:49.640 easing into this as a spectator. He just these guys 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:51.560 hit the ground and going a thousand miles an hour 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:56.880 and it was just relentless action and everyone sort of 0:05:56.880 --> 0:05:59.560 fell away and it looked like it's gonna be a 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:02.839 coronation for Phil. Then it got tense again and he 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:07.279 started making bogies and just as you said it was 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:10.760 there was there was never a sense you could really exhale. 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:13.200 You know, he kind of had the bag on eighteen 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:15.000 until all of a sudden he got you know, in 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:17.200 the middle of a you know, it was like the 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:20.480 running of the bulls at Pamplona, and it was you know, 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.560 getting jostled around and that dude comes in for selfie. 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.279 He throws them off. Like it was just up until 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:30.080 Phil stroked out birdie on the pl you never knew 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:31.600 what was gonna happen. Like I was, I was waiting 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:36.440 for a you know, TV Tower to fall over jungle 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:38.880 Bird from Olympic to show up like it was just 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:41.960 a sense of anarchy out there was delicious and it 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:45.040 was fun and it was emotional, and it was just 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:49.520 just an unforgettable tournament. The crowds, in fact breached security, 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:53.720 leaving Kepta claiming his bad knee got quote dinged. It 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:56.359 was bad enough for Seth Wat, the p G as CEO, 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:59.760 to issue an apology to the players, and it had 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:02.599 to be Phil, Like who better too, Who better to 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:06.280 bring back the masses to golf than, as you put it, 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:10.080 at the people's champion. You know, if Dustin Johnson was 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:15.880 the perfect champion for a patron less Augusta. Frankly, Phil 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:18.520 Nicholson kind of had to be the guy to bring 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:22.920 back the masses of fans and like almost this ticker 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:25.680 tape like scene kind of coming behind him up on 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:32.120 eighteen you included Alan, but like very symbolic that he 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:36.120 was carrying that crowd with him. A million thumbs up 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:40.480 after a million more thumbs thumbs up, and it felt 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:47.360 like watching from home, Um, every heart in South Carolina 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.640 was beating for him, pulling for him to pull this off, 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:53.840 to the point where if he did hit something into 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:56.800 a crowd, you kind of half expected it to get 0:07:56.840 --> 0:08:01.000 thrown out into a good position, which I'm not so 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:04.800 shure didn't happen at one point. But it was incredible 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:12.280 and also so poetic that it was Phil Nicholson kind 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:18.200 of playing unlike Phil Nicholson that we know, you know, 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:21.000 I mean that was yeah, that was that was part 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:22.720 of the emotion that was baked into it. It's just 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:26.760 it's the most stressful golf course imaginable. I mean, it's 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:34.280 just visually intimidating. There there are trap doors and bananappeals everywhere. Yeah, 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:36.240 you know, with that that swing that film made on 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:39.160 Saturday kind of just flipped the tournament. You know, he 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:41.800 was cruising and all of a sudden that was the 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:44.679 dreaded big miss that he brought everyone back into it. 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:47.960 And you know he fought hard coming home to to 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:49.920 hang in there and avoid any bogies, but you know, 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:52.120 made of some loose swings after that. You could see 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:54.960 that zapped his confidence and it just let it just 0:08:55.440 --> 0:08:57.760 there was this dread that was inside of a golf 0:08:57.800 --> 0:09:01.960 fan because, as he alluded to math, just you know, 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:04.040 Phil has always been a high wire act. Even the 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:07.360 best of times, and uh, you know he did. He 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:09.439 was definitely performing without a net out there on the 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:13.600 Ocean Course because every every bad swing, you know, trouble 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:17.280 just lurked. And that just added to the to the 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:21.520 tension of the whole thing. You know, Harding Park, you 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:24.680 can hit foul balls and you're still in play. Augusta National, 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:28.840 you can, you can, you can play your misses wingfoot say, 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:30.800 and you go, You're gonna get down the list of 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:34.240 championship courses that there's a penalty for missing the ferry, 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.320 but it's not you know, near death experience like at 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:41.000 the Ocean Course. So that Phil pulled it out on 0:09:41.400 --> 0:09:44.440 this venue of all venues, just added to the drama 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:47.760 and the sense of disbelief. Crazy to think that. On 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:52.040 May eleven, Phil tweeted, quote, I've failed many times in 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.800 my life and career, and because of this, I've learned 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:58.840 a lot. Instead of feeling defeated, countless times, I've used 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:02.160 it as fuel to drive me to work harder. So today, 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:05.680 join me in accepting our failures. Let's use them to 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:09.920 motivate us to work even harder. End quote. That tweet 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:12.280 was less than two weeks before this win and three 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:16.079 weeks before his next birthday. Yeah, to do it at 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:19.000 age fifty, Like, I can't think of another analogy in 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:25.280 sports where somebody's pulled something like this off. And I've 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:28.000 been trying to come up with something, and this is 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:32.280 pretty surreal. I mean, it's it's hard to imagine that 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:34.920 Phil Nicholson has been at the front ranks of the 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:39.160 sport for thirty years straight, if not longer. I mean 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:40.960 even when you go back to his Amazur career's thirty 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:44.280 five years. He's win USG events, he's winning in c 0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:47.360 l as, he's winning on the PGA Tours and undergraduate 0:10:48.280 --> 0:10:51.480 and everything that's followed. I mean, for sure there was 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:54.959 a little dip in form two thousand seventeen and two 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:58.120 thousand and twenty, but he was, you know, if he 0:10:58.200 --> 0:10:59.920 had a couple of top three finishes in the lot 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.439 a year and a half, you know, w g C 0:11:02.559 --> 0:11:05.680 in Memphis and at Pebble Beach, and in some ways 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:07.880 he's bigger than ever with this how he's embraced social 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:11.600 media and become kind of this goofball, like the corny 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:18.600 dad jokes, and he's just he's never gone away. And 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:21.480 you know it's I think The only thing that's comfortable 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:23.360 is maybe Tom Brady, who's he's not gonna be doing 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:26.840 it at fifty, but as long as he's lasted um 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:30.280 in obviously a sport that's more physically demanding than golf. 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:35.160 But the longevity of Phil is truly incredible. I mean 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:38.400 Jack Nicholas obviously had the greatest career of all time, 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:42.560 but you know, he was basically had a quarter century 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.920 and then he faded away. I mean, Phil's outlasted Jack 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:49.080 from just the standpoint of start to finish. When when 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:53.160 you're a relevant contender, it's mind boggling. And he's not 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:54.920 done yet. I mean, now he's probably played his way 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:58.240 under the Ryder Cup. He's uh, you know, he's he's 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:00.439 going to Torrey Pines for the US so Open to 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:02.520 try and get that a loosive national championship on the 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:05.959 course he grew up on in his hometown. He's always 0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:08.640 gonna be dangerous at Augusta. Like it just keeps going, 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.559 Like just when you thought that we were done with Phil, 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:13.480 Like you've got five more years of fill in front 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:14.960 of us, and I don't thin anybody's could play. And 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:17.200 he brings so much energy and star power to the 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:19.559 whole thing. To me, he's and he's become the top 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:22.840 you know, top ten greatest golfers of all time. And 0:12:22.920 --> 0:12:27.320 it came out of it was out of nowhere. Yeah, 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:29.000 I mean that that's the amazing thing is he hadn't 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:32.360 even contended the Major since two thousand and sixteen when 0:12:32.400 --> 0:12:36.360 he lost the duel in the in the fog. Then 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:39.400 your extensive. But you know this this felt a lot 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.680 like the two thousand and nineteen Masters, where everything fell 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:47.600 into place, you know, and the right guy won. After 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:51.360 after Tom Watson had his you know, had his heart 0:12:51.679 --> 0:12:55.439 crushed at Turnberry, you had to question how benevolent the 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:59.000 golf guard gods really are. But just as Tiger in 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:04.079 two thousand nineteen, Phil, today, all the contenders retreated. I mean, 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:06.320 no one ever made a run. It feel it just 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:08.959 like Noer made run a Tiger and gave him space 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:13.040 to kind of treadwater and to go backwards and forwards. 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:16.520 And I mean, really, the last twenty seven holes of 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:21.200 this golf tournament fills just hanging on and in some ways, 0:13:21.840 --> 0:13:24.640 you know, you need an element of luck to win 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:27.520 these things, and you got lucky that Brooks didn't have 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.640 his best stuff that Louis, you know, shrink from the 0:13:30.720 --> 0:13:35.720 moment that you know, nobody, nobody on the leaderboard did 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:38.000 anything of note. I mean son m was at four 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:41.679 under and he disappeared. Uh Patrick Cantlahannah run, He fell 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:43.920 back like all these guys who could have spoiled the 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:47.160 party just went away and it was just really as 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.120 the sense that it was meant to be. And I 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:54.160 mean apart from Watson, which was heartbreaking. Like we'll remember, 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:57.280 I think it was two thousand and eight that Greg 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:01.240 Norman almost won the British Up but also though had 0:14:01.280 --> 0:14:05.200 the fifty four the lead and then couldn't really control 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:07.720 of this golf ball and I think Harrington came snuck 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:11.040 up and winted on him, which you know, Harrington played 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:13.000 great this week too, which was great to see. But 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:17.080 um man, he was in control of that golf ball 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:21.000 all throughout the day and it was it was something 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:25.600 to watch. Tom Watson tweeted at Nicholson quote, congrats Phil 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:30.960 you old man, well done. The fact is that old 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:35.200 dog had new tricks. In two thousand six he panicked 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:38.200 and rushed his way to a collapse at Wingfoot. The 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:42.000 film we saw on this past Sunday slow, and he 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:46.400 savored every step. Don't you feel like just his whole 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.640 gate and the whole flow of how the day on 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:55.240 unraveled was so unfeeled, Like, yeah, I was. I was 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:59.800 standing out in the eighth fairway at Wingfoot, and I 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:03.920 never forget the way Phil and Bones marched up to 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:07.040 find that errand drive and how quickly they played the 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:11.640 second shot, and they felt like this momentum and just 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.600 things were happening and they were powerless to stop it. 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.920 And it's really vivid in my in my in my 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:23.200 mind's eye. And as you said, you know Phil doing 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.960 his visualization. You know, we talked so much about he 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:27.560 had to see the shot, and that was part of 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:30.760 his problem Saturday. You know, late afternoons he lost that 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:35.320 that clarity and he would just stand there and there 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:40.320 was a stillness about him and meditative quality. And I 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.280 think that helped his his breathing, it helped us bio rhythms, 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:46.560 and it certainly helped him execute the shots. And you know, 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:49.120 they were playing slower, They were a hole behind a 0:15:49.160 --> 0:15:52.360 lot of the time. But I think Phil's crafty enough 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.520 to know there was no chance in hell they were 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:57.120 gonna get the slow slow play penalty. It just was 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.240 not gonna happen. There could have been three holes mine PJ. 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:05.480 America is not going to ruin the storybook ending by 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:09.440 giving it Phil Nicholson a slow play penalty, like and 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:12.240 that that's a crafty move, you know, like Brooks. Brooks 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:14.960 is a fast player and he's Auntie out there and 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:17.680 Phil just took a sweet time. I mean, we all 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:19.800 can agree that that slow play in general is kind 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:23.120 of a scourge of the game. But in this scenario, 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:25.560 Phil was going to do his thing and nothing was 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:27.760 gonna stop him. And it was kind of like a 0:16:27.800 --> 0:16:30.560 picture out there controlling the pace of the game, walking 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:33.720 around the mound and um, you know, working the red 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:36.320 of the rosin bag and all that. And I Phil 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.760 have that that sense of like I'm going to control 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:41.080 this whole thing. I'm gonna slow it down until I'm 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:44.240 ready to go. And I'm sure Joe Brooks a little crazy, 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:47.200 but Phil don't care. I mean, he did what he 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:50.280 had to do. It could be the evolution of Phil, right, 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:55.560 like we we see people and we see the great evolved. 0:16:55.640 --> 0:17:01.120 Whether you're talking about Jordan's developing the step followay jumper 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:04.679 late in his career to kind of extend, you know, 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:07.240 to to take some burden off of his body and 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:10.480 the beatings he would get. He develops the follow way jumper. Right. 0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:18.560 So now Phil employees um meditation, right, and you see 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:21.960 him using some of these principles and the breathing before 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:25.040 he hits putts and the pace with which he walks 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:29.119 like he's not gonna go into He's too smart to 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:32.560 go into this and be like, all right, Brooks Kepca, 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:36.000 let's go Hagler Herns meet in the middle of the 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.920 ring and slug it out. Why would he do that 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:42.040 with the maybe the biggest puncher in the game. How 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:46.399 about I'm gonna play my game here, control the golf ball. 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:51.639 I'm going to play a very cerebral round around this 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:57.600 golf course and at a certain cadence and not make 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:00.880 it into some kind of you know, slug best with Brooks. 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:04.760 And he did what he had to do, and it 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:11.080 was beautiful to watch. And he's probably fitter than he's 0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:16.520 been in five years. He's mentally fitter than maybe he's 0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:19.080 ever been in his life. He's probably at a place 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:23.240 of peace internally where like to your point, Matt earlier, 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:25.280 are we looking at one of the top ten players 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:28.640 of all time. I mean, he's not done writing this story. 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:32.200 I think there's more to come and and I think 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:36.959 he's also going to inspire other people to do things 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:39.520 differently in their careers and in their lives. Like I 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:43.240 loved that moment when you know Herring he's walking to 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:48.200 the scores tent and players are walking up to congratulate him, 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:51.320 and John Ron Bram says, I'm so proud of you 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:53.280 and you know, a way to go, Phil, And it's 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:56.520 it's the younger players, And all of a sudden he 0:18:56.560 --> 0:19:00.960 has this moment with Patrick Harrington, two guys that have 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:03.880 been through a lot, you know, and and and won 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:06.440 a lot of titles, a lot of majors, And I 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:08.639 would have loved to have heard the words they shared 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:12.600 right there. Um. I think this is a really important 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:15.040 win in the history of the game, not just for 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:20.439 Phil but for our generation of players that you know, 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:23.520 I mean Streelman out there trying to get things done 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:28.080 and it was great to watch and I'm excited for him. Well, 0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:30.879 to go back to your analogy of the Jordan the 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:35.280 fadeaway jumper, the differences, like Phil is now ding the 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:41.080 Gulf equivalent of a three sixty dunk in traffic. The 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:46.600 way he's added length and explosiveness to his game, I mean, 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:50.520 it seemed a little silly his obsession with the long 0:19:50.600 --> 0:19:53.240 ball the last few years, but all of a sudden 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:55.560 he comes to the Ocean Course, which is the longest 0:19:56.320 --> 0:19:59.399 Major Championship venue ever, and he overpowered it in a 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.560 lot of place. Is I mean, look at the sixteenth 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.520 hole today, which was really do or diet for Phil. 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:06.440 You know, its leads down to two. He's coming off 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:09.640 some bogies and he matches a three D sixty six 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:11.679 yard drive which is the longest of the day on 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:14.879 that whole sets him up for the birdie that really 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:19.199 slammed the door. And so uh, he's as you know, 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.040 as you point out lads, that he does have this 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:25.040 this mental game that seems like like a new bag 0:20:25.080 --> 0:20:27.439 of tricks for him. And he talked about how swing 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:30.520 is more solid and repeatable than it's ever been. Work 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:34.479 with Andrew gets in. But this explosiveness that Phil has 0:20:34.520 --> 0:20:38.800 added after turning fifty, I mean it's aspirational, like you 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:42.680 know the I mean Matt Janelle has turned fifty this year, 0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:45.000 Like it's you know, it's not too far behind for 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:46.800 the rest of us. Like, how cool is it to 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:50.000 think that you know, your best could be in front 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:54.720 of you at anything. Feels always been long, feels always 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:58.800 been long. Yeah, no doubt, I mean that was for sure. 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:01.400 But he he was starting to lose that. I mean, 0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:03.920 he was becoming the middle of the pack three or 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:06.400 four years ago and now he's back to being long 0:21:06.720 --> 0:21:09.639 fifty years old. I mean, it's it's an it's an 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:12.720 incredible achievement. And you know, he had a funny line 0:21:12.840 --> 0:21:16.160 and talking about you know what great physical shape he's 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:18.439 in is like someone asked, you know, what did you 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:20.439 have to do? What do you have to sacrifice? He said, food. 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:24.560 The guy is a prolific eater. There's a lot of 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:27.919 stories out there, and you know, Tiger used to love 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:31.680 to make fun of Phil's body, and I've heard some 0:21:31.680 --> 0:21:33.960 some classic tales of how much the guy could eat, 0:21:34.440 --> 0:21:36.480 you know, ten in and out burgers at the time 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:40.639 and stuff like that. And it's a real sacrifice that 0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:43.920 that he's made mind, body and soul to put him 0:21:43.920 --> 0:21:45.919 in position to win this golf tournament. You have to 0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:49.119 tip your cap to a guy who he's got all 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:52.159 the money he's ever gonna need. Presumably he's already the 0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:55.639 Hall of Fame. But to pay that price and to 0:21:55.720 --> 0:21:58.439 sacrifice and give up so much, I mean, it's it's 0:21:58.520 --> 0:22:03.919 damn impressive. Justin Thomas tweeted, quote, Golf's insane. It's just 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:06.880 hitting me. The golf ball has no recollection of how 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:10.000 old you are, and players can compete at any age. 0:22:10.760 --> 0:22:12.959 You just have to work and be willing to sacrifice 0:22:13.000 --> 0:22:16.720 things others aren't. One day it's great, the next day 0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:19.920 it's awful. What a sport I decided to play. I'm 0:22:19.960 --> 0:22:25.480 just as inspired by his drive to stay relevant as 0:22:25.520 --> 0:22:30.280 I am his you know, his success, I mean his 0:22:31.080 --> 0:22:34.639 I just think that he is so accustomed to be 0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:39.520 This is, you know, decades now of being in the spotlight. 0:22:40.080 --> 0:22:42.239 And Phil is you know not some guys are not 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:44.480 good at being in the spotlight, Like Tiger Woods is 0:22:44.520 --> 0:22:48.000 not good at being in spotlight. Uh, Phil is very 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:50.160 good at being you know, Jack wasn't great at being 0:22:50.200 --> 0:22:56.680 in spotlight, certainly not early on. Um and Phil, Arnie, 0:22:56.800 --> 0:23:01.640 Muhammad Ali, these guys they they they they they live 0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:04.960 for it, and I think that's a big that's a 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:08.720 big motivating factor to fill to do what he needs 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:12.960 to do so that he's not just another name you 0:23:13.000 --> 0:23:15.760 know that starts a tournament. He's a guy who's you know, 0:23:15.840 --> 0:23:18.560 in contention at the end of the tournament. And uh. 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:21.200 He lives for the you know, the camaraderie, the banter, 0:23:21.359 --> 0:23:28.159 the competition, you know, the fight, and it most often 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:30.359 brings out the best in him. And he got he 0:23:30.440 --> 0:23:33.399 got close, has gotten close a couple of times. And 0:23:33.760 --> 0:23:36.320 he said, you know that some good golf was coming. 0:23:37.119 --> 0:23:40.840 And as we know, if for four days on any 0:23:40.840 --> 0:23:44.000 given week, a guy can you know, a guy can 0:23:44.000 --> 0:23:46.720 win a golf tournament. It's just that he's done it 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:49.920 a lot more than most. And uh, and he did 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:53.080 it again this week at one of the longest, at 0:23:53.119 --> 0:23:56.240 the longest, at one of the toughest, in bad conditions 0:23:56.280 --> 0:23:58.480 against one of the you know, one of the true 0:23:58.560 --> 0:24:04.080 villains of the modern game. At a crowd coming out 0:24:04.080 --> 0:24:11.760