WEBVTT - 2026 PGA Championship Preview with Kevin Van Valkenburg & Joseph LaMagna 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.480 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:04.880 When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:06.960 And when I find my ball in a brid. 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:10.000 Egg Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg, Frida egg, fridagg 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:12.040 Frida egg, bride egg Lie. 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:14.080 I'm about ready to run off the golf course. 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:40.280 Welcome back to the Friday Golf Podcast. I'm your host, 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:44.080 Andy Johnson. Today we are going to preview this year's 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:47.839 second major championship, the PGA Championship. 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:51.199 At aronom ink Uh. It will be it will be 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:52.280 an awesome event. 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:54.440 I think it will be the first time in a 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:57.040 while that we've seen all the PGA Tour players playing 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:01.320 at the same time since the Masters. It'll be an 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:06.600 interesting week with with Bryson and Bram entering back into 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:10.679 the mix with corrupt golf media as some would call it. 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:13.640 But today I have joined We're going to do a 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:16.720 little adaptation. We usually do five things with one guest, 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:18.680 so we get ten things. 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:20.119 This time, I'm. 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:24.600 Joined by our friend at Friday Golf, Kevin van Valkenberg 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:28.000 and Joseph Lamania. We're each going to do three things, 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:30.840 so we'll get nine. But I have a feeling we're 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:35.199 going to find the bonus tenth storyline in the easter 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:38.160 eggs there, so we will get to ten. I promise 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:40.679 you we will get to ten. I don't know who 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:45.120 will bring the fourth storyline though, that's a it's a 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:51.120 storyline to watch within the podcast. Before we get to 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:54.960 our preview for the PGA Championship at ARONOMYK, let's talk 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.280 about our friends over at Golf Galaxy. 0:01:58.160 --> 0:01:59.640 Listen it is uh. 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:02.840 I've seen a lot of Instagram posts of friends who 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:06.760 live in the Midwest Upper Northeast. I guess there's you know, 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:09.720 it's probably still not golf season in the Upper Northeast, 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:13.680 but in the Northeast, and this is the perfect time 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:17.239 to upgrade your game. There's no better time to get 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.920 dialed for the latest clubs up and down the bag 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:23.440 at Golf Galaxy. It's easy and convenient to schedule a 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:27.600 booking with the in app booking service they have, or 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:29.600 you know what, you can do one of my favorite 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:33.840 pastimes just go rubbags about in a Golf Galaxy. Go 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:38.120 see the new items, check out the potters. You know, 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:40.960 I was a kid, I used to spend hours on 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:45.280 those putting greens. You know, and then go look around, 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:49.120 look around, and then schedule a fitting while you're there. 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:51.919 So that's another option. Or you can do the app 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:55.400 if you're a digital person. It's kind of like the 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:59.880 people that order their takeout online versus calling. You know, 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.280 it's a little I feel like that's a big schism. 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:05.800 I'm a caller, my wife's an order online. I feel 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:07.560 like you just get the call. The call gets it 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:10.520 done faster, and in this case, you could get it 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:13.320 done really fast on the app. Or you can go 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:16.440 waste some waste some time. I say that lightly. It 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.040 is not a waste of time. There's never a waste 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.200 of time when you're doing some golf activity. So bring 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.400 in your full bag of clubs, and their team of 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:29.080 thoroughly trained fitters will optimize every club in your bag 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:32.600 to get you playing your best golf. So visit your 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:37.280 local Golf Galaxy or download the Golf Galaxy mobile app. 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:38.800 Or do both. You could do both. 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:52.080 Kevin Joseph, welcome on back back to back weeks. I 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.040 feel like, are you guys gonna ask for a you know, 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:02.040 a day off just for for rest, Like like the NBA. 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:04.520 I'm gonna skip the next signature event podcast, Andy, I 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:07.240 just I don't doesn't help me prepare for the majors. 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.960 I'm here, you know, out of obligation. No, we're I 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:12.640 love coming and talking to golf with you guys, so 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:14.640 I'll always be here as long as we continue to 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:15.280 get the invitation. 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:20.320 I'm with Kevin. I think next signature event gonna skip 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:23.200 probably gonna skip Memphis maybe as well, and just start 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:26.640 going into major preparation schedule. So this is fine. But yeah, 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:28.719 if we do this back to back during the regular season, 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:31.760 especially non signature, then we're gonna start to have a problem. 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:35.240 So you're saying that we can't do a weekly one 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:36.880 during the during the playoffs. 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:41.000 No, some are saying you have an unfair advantage, Andy, 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:43.240 because you have another podcast that you'd let you prepare 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:45.520 for this podcast all the time. Just and I have 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:47.279 to come in cold. We're like the you know, the 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:48.800 rookies who just get a gut all right to do 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:51.719 Augusta for the first time. It's disgusting behavior by you 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:53.040 to just practice a lot. 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:56.919 I would say that with my recent life schedule, some 0:04:56.960 --> 0:05:00.680 of the stuff that's been thrown at me lately, I 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:03.279 think you guys have a big advantage right now on me. 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.560 Uh So, anyways, I think that'll all clear up this 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.440 week and uh and I'm looking forward to a lot 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:11.760 of hours on the open road. 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:15.320 I'll be boots on the ground at the PGA, so 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:18.560 we'll see, we'll see if we can test out some 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.120 of these theories I'm about to throw out in person, 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:23.839 you know, bounce them off people there and there, hopefully 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:26.159 be popping on regularly to discuss what I see and 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:26.719 what I don't. 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.360 I'm gonna take the reins. I'm gonna lead off here. 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:33.800 I'm just gonna kind of drop a grenade in the 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:37.160 hole here and see what see how we come out 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:41.640 of it. But anyways, my first thing to watch is, uh, 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:46.640 it feels it feels like the PGA over the last 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:48.000 five years has. 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:58.039 Significantly damaged its own brand. This was a organization that, 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:01.000 you know, while while they were are always. 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:06.000 Like, you know, grasping for branding Glory's last shot, you know, 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:10.920 they they had always had this major status in this 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:15.960 elevated you know, status above you know, any PGA tour event. 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:21.719 I feel like the PGA of America with issues with 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:25.920 its leadership, notably in the last two years. You'll notice 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:29.520 that the the sitting PGA president is not going to 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:36.600 be there venue selection. Everybody's already dunking on Frisco. I 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:40.240 just have to say, Frisco is so much better than 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:46.240 Quail Hollow and Valhalla and Belle Reeve, Like, I would 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:50.400 rather watch a major personally at at Frisco than Okill. 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:57.000 But anyways, they have done irreparable damage to themselves. Maybe 0:06:57.279 --> 0:07:00.560 maybe not irreparable, that's maybe a bridge to but they 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:04.960 have done significant damage to themselves in the recent years. 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:08.839 And I think they need a really good tournament, a 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.720 really good showing this week between you know, some Ryder 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:18.280 Cup drama, you know, mishaps. Obviously Bethpage was a disaster 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:23.559 on many fronts. They need to have a good, good 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.960 PGA Championship. I am a big believer in the new 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:29.760 leadership that they brought in. I think this is going 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:32.800 to be kind of a foot in the ground moment, 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:36.400 and I think that if they can, they what they 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:39.920 need to do is they just have to stop the 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:45.920 negative pr right now for the PGA Championship. I think 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:48.280 the deal with with the PGA Tour that moved this 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:52.760 tournament to May has been a disaster for them. It's 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:57.440 like it's basically an afterthought in this schedule, and it's 0:07:57.440 --> 0:07:58.520 a major championship. 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.000 So I would just say. 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:04.400 I think from this is a really important tournament for 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:10.040 the PGA of America's brand, and I am I think 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:13.240 this new leadership, new regime has a lot of good 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:17.880 ideas and I hope to see some of them start 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:21.640 to bear out as as we move forward from this event. 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:24.720 How do you guys feel about the PGA right now? 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:28.920 I would echo all that Andy, I would say, maybe 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:31.880 starting with don't arrest one of the top five players 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.360 in the game because you can't get the traffic pattern 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:37.800 right in the sort of way into the tournament. Maybe, 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:41.800 like that's a pretty basic thing, like letting players like 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:43.920 have a specific lane that they can drive into. 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:46.840 I feel like we're kind of gillus, you know. 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:51.600 I feel like we could blame the Louisville PD more 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:53.079 so than Gillis or. 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:55.280 As someone who was there, though, I would say that 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:58.360 the traffic pattern leading in was a mess. So I 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:03.120 don't know that it was entirely Gillis's fault. Certainly Gillis 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:07.800 played a huge role in that. I think just generally 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:14.360 like kind of uninspired overall, branding. I'm always as someone 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:17.560 who likes history and likes to think about like past 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:22.400 championships and venues. They have the worst archival stuff when 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.280 it comes to looking up old championships. So if you 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:28.040 don't value your own history, how is someone going to 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:31.840 value your present. I always feel like that's a good 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:34.360 example of like just a simple thing, like you know, 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:37.160 Joseph and I went back at the Masters and watched 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:40.679 like dozens and dozens of old masters to come up 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.200 with the greatest shots of all time. There's no way 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:45.000 we could do that with the PGA because they just 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:48.680 don't make those things available. And you know, I'm not 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:51.959 one of those people who think like it really should 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:53.839 go back to match play. I think that's probably a 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:57.200 little bit of an unrealistic pie in the sky sort 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.439 of wish, but it does need something that that helps 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.640 it sort of stand out. I mean, Andy, what I'm 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.559 hearing from you is that the last great PGA was Kiwa, 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:09.960 where Phil you know, walked walked out of the water 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:14.200 and into history. So you know, if that's the way 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.600 we have to sort of say it, then so be it. 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:21.960 I I was hoping to actually dive in and rewatch 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:26.000 the Balta strawl. Jimmy Walker when this week, but it 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:29.960 wasn't available on YouTube, so I couldn't couldn't go back 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:33.360 into the memories for that one I was there. 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.400 I feel like I was the only person of like 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:38.679 young ish golf media. I think I was still in 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:41.280 my mid thirties at the time, and man, it was 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:43.920 probably the worst major I've ever covered my entire career. 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.120 It rained the entire time. You know, they had to 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:51.199 play like thirty six on Sunday. It was really, really, 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:51.720 really bad. 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:56.200 Joseph, how are you feeling them about the PGA. 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:00.000 I'm worried because you said we need an extra storyline 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.640 to get us to ten. One of mine was the 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:04.800 new era of the PGA of America, so we may 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:07.800 need two more. Andy, you're taking one of my three things. 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:11.960 I think to your point, Andy, we've gotten to a 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:15.479 place where everyone kind of acknowledges that the PGA Championship 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:18.480 is the least prestigious of the four majors. I don't 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.839 think a single golfer would argue otherwise, maybe outside of 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:24.360 Justin Thomas, who has won two of them, and his 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:27.280 father's a PGA pro, so maybe he would put up 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:30.080 a little bit of a defense. I think between Monday 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:32.599 and Saturday, the most important moment of this tournament is 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:35.600 going to be the PGA of America press conference. Didn't 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:39.720 go amazingly last year. I think a storyline to watch 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:44.400 there is do they change their tune on an equipment rollback. 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:48.360 I think that's an interesting game within the game. Andy. 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:52.160 On Friday, we had an Adam shuepack article come out, 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:55.480 which is always a delight, and some PGA Tour players 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:58.040 are kind of doubling down on their opposition to an 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:02.240 equipment rollback. Maybe they feel emboldened a little bit by 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:04.800 Live kind of going in the wrong direction, and some 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.680 PGA Tour players are getting chesty again this time about 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:11.000 the rollback. But historically, or at least over the past few years, 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.240 the PGA of America has maintained a sort of an 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:17.680 anti rollback position. Now we have new leadership, as you 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.240 have mentioned, and I think it could be an opportunity. 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:23.960 Not that if they come out as pro rollback, it 0:12:24.040 --> 0:12:27.200 elevates the status of their major championship, as much as 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:29.120 I would love to argue that as somebody who believes 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:31.280 in a rollback, but I do think they could align 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.680 themselves a little more strategically with the other major governing 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.920 bodies and if they were to have a little bit 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:41.440 of a stronger relationship probably there And as you've mentioned, Andy, 0:12:42.080 --> 0:12:45.360 I think swapping their championship back to August at some 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:49.200 point would be both tremendously beneficial for the PGA and 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:51.839 also for the PGA Tour. I think that'd be a 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.200 win for both products. I don't know that we're going 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:56.920 to get any kind of announcement of that sort this week. 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.959 Feels like that would be a long off type of INITIATI, 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.320 but they do need to brainstorm ways to elevate the championship. 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:08.559 And I don't think venue selection. Venues are pretty limited 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.120 in May, like we could get dicey weather we went 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:13.680 to Oak Hill, that was going to be a concern. 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:15.960 I think this upcoming week it'll be a little bit 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:16.480 of a concern. 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:17.040 In Philly. 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:19.240 You're pushing the limits a little bit of when you 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:22.240 can host a championship. I'm not overly concerned about the 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:24.360 weather in Philly, but it could be a it could 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:27.480 be a bad weather week for I mean, anyway, August 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.200 could be two. But it does feel like August makes 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.880 a lot more sense. So I'm still I'm really excited 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:35.840 for this tournament, but I agree with you that the 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:38.160 prestige of this championship has been damaged over the past 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:40.120 few years, and they've got to be in brainstorming mode 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.400 under this new regime of how you restore that prestige. 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:46.080 Yeah, it's just from a venue standpoint, I think like 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:49.800 if you're if you're picking, you know, the inevitably the 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:54.400 PGA is picking up scraps from the us GA. The 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:58.760 USCA gets the best venues in America. And if this 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:03.160 tournament stays in a mayor before our international audience screams 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:06.520 that it should not be in America, I don't disagree. 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:11.640 But it is conducted by the Professional Golfers Association of America, 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:16.720 so that is one barrier to it going. But as 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:21.760 it currently stands, if you are trying to pick off venues, 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:27.880 there are significantly more really good venues that the USGA 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:33.800 does not go to in the Pacific, Northwest, the Upper 0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:39.440 Midwest and Northeast and all of those areas, and then 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:43.000 also yeah, like the whole Ross Belt also, but all 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:48.280 those areas our benefit better to host in August than 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:53.200 May not. To mention the other aspect of this is 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:56.720 we're barely coming off the Masters, and you don't get 0:14:56.760 --> 0:15:01.360 a lot of buzz because you're on the backside of 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.800 the biggest tournament of the year and sandwich between the 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:09.240 biggest tournament of the year and the National Open of 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:13.480 the US. So if you're talking about just specifically US buzz, 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:17.400 it is just a very difficult spot to be in. 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:21.920 So who's up next? Who wants to go? Who wants 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:23.280 to throw one in here? 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:24.160 Goo ahead, Kevin? 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:30.200 All Right, I'm gonna say I want to throw out 0:15:30.240 --> 0:15:33.800 a question. What are we to make of what Justin 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:39.120 Rose is doing? You know, number five player in the 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:43.640 world kind of really in an important moment in his 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:48.240 career in terms of like solidifying his legacy. Two majors 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:51.960 would do a lot for Justin Rose. I think as 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:54.920 the way that we view him through history, one major 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.960 doesn't really feel like enough for how good he's been. 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:01.920 Obviously he's been in multiple you know, playoffs with the Masters, 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:07.200 but I really feel like why now, Like, obviously you 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.120 need to maximize your value, and so you feel like 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.520 switching clubs at this moment, might you know, do that 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.720 you have an equity piece in McLaren sort of moving forward. 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:21.560 You're you're hoping to kind of this will be part 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:25.440 of your next stage in life and golf with you know, 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:27.400 these will be kind of a luxury brand of irons 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.640 that people will look at and want to play and 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:32.720 want to be a part of. But man, like you 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:36.960 sure are potentially like sacrificing your last great chances to 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:40.320 win a major. I mean, at the twenty eighteen BMW, 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.240 the last time we went to ronom Ink, Justin Rose 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:46.520 ended up in a playoff with Kegan Bradley. So this 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:50.160 course obviously suits him pretty darn well in terms of 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:53.640 suiting his eye and just being able to make shots. 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:56.360 You know, that's eight years is a long time ago, 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:59.320 but Justin Rose is still a really good player. We've 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:02.840 already been through this once. The Hawma experiment didn't work. 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:04.880 I don't really like to get deep into the gearhead 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:07.439 stuff because I feel like some of it is kind 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:10.680 of overblown. So I don't know that I'll necessarily put 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:14.120 a ton of stock into him playing poorly right away 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:16.840 with these irons. But man, it just seems like in 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.720 the middle of the season, when you've already played pretty 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:23.439 darn well at the first major of the year that 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:25.800 you are risking so much in terms of what you 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:29.960 could potentially do by just switching up irons and saying, oh, well, 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.200 I see, I see, the numbers look a lot better 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:32.920 on the range. 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:33.600 Man. 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:35.919 The range is not the course. The range is not 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:40.920 hitting shots under the gun, and I just it baffles 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:44.760 me why he would do this after already having done 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:47.240 this once. I mean, when he was the number two 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:49.280 player in the world when he switched in twenty eighteen 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.000 to the HaUma clubs and he ended up falling all 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.880 the way outside the top fifteen, and then he fell 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:57.400 further like after that, and it's taken him a while 0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:59.840 to sort of come back and become the player that 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:02.959 he is again. But it just I'm really baffled by it. 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:07.320 I think at this point his career, Justin Rose needs 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:11.360 every edge possible and so it does feel like throwing 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:14.600 some new variable in at this stage of his career. 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:17.720 It just feels like somebody who's trying to cash out. 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:21.200 And that doesn't seem to be the way that Justin 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:25.360 Rose has positioned a lot of his career, at least recently. Yes, 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:28.160 there was the Hanma experiment, but I mean he talked 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:31.280 about not going to live, and there was some smoke 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:33.920 around him going to live, and at least his spin 0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:36.600 on it was that he was prioritizing the major championships. 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:38.959 And to your point, Kevin, this doesn't feel like a 0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:44.199 decision that aligns with those priorities. Since he's gone to 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:47.560 the McLaren Irons, finished almost dead last, it's a rale 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:49.800 and he's not playing well again this week at Quail Hollow. 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:53.920 So I am with you. I guess from the main 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:56.320 question would be how different are these irons than what 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:59.679 he was already playing with, how much experimentation was he doing? 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:01.760 But but to your point, you don't know until you're 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:04.040 on the golf course. I think we could look back 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:07.840 on this as Justin Rose squandering the last remaining major 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:11.000 chances that he had. And if we're being realistic, he's 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:14.600 almost forty six years old. I know Phil one late, 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.119 but that's such an outlier for one of the best 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:20.040 players of all time. I think Justin Rose has about 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:23.800 seven more cracks at a major championship, probably has one 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.120 more crack at playing in a Ryder Cup. I think 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:29.280 it's pretty it would be pretty absurd that he'd be 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:33.920 playing anywhere beyond a dar manor so it feels I 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:36.240 don't want to say reckless, but it feels like somebody 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:39.920 who's capitalizing on some good play, exchanging that good play 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:44.800 for a big paycheck and not prioritizing major championships above everything. 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:47.920 So I think three weeks ago you would have thought 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:50.760 Justin Rose has a realistic chance at winning this PGA. 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:52.719 Now I don't think too many people are considering him 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:55.320 a strong threat. And the only variable that's really changed 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:56.719 there are the McLaren Irons. 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:00.119 I would like to say I think it. 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:05.240 There hasn't been enough time for me to say that 0:20:05.480 --> 0:20:09.960 it's the Irons. From what I gather, it's pretty much 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:13.680 the identical iron with just a different different brand on it. 0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:18.639 Say take what you want with that, but and and 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:20.480 why you should buy the McLaren Irons. 0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:24.560 But I think what's being. 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:30.800 The the irons are like the easy thing to look at. 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:34.040 I don't like the poor play could come down to 0:20:34.280 --> 0:20:40.320 like he just went through a second consecutive gut wrenching 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:45.280 loss at the Masters, and maybe this is just like 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:50.399 really him struggling to come out of that. And I 0:20:50.440 --> 0:20:55.480 don't think that's like an insane other theory here where 0:20:56.320 --> 0:21:00.320 like he put so much into that that masters got 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:03.919 himself right in the mix of where it was like 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:07.240 he's gonna win and this is just continuation of that 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:08.440 back nine on Sunday. 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:15.479 I think that's fair. I think, you know, the number 0:21:15.520 --> 0:21:17.560 that we have to sort of judge whether it's they's 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:20.280 irons or not as very small. It could just be 0:21:20.400 --> 0:21:23.800 sort of some noise in it. But I also think 0:21:23.800 --> 0:21:27.119 of like golf clubs for at this level, like I 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:31.840 couldn't tell the difference between tailor made irons, McLaren irons, whatever, 0:21:32.000 --> 0:21:35.239 tylist irons. But it's sort of like a musician, like 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:38.639 if you have a guitar that you love and you 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:41.359 know exactly how the pitch is and exactly how it 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:43.880 feels in your hands, and someone's like, oh, I built 0:21:43.920 --> 0:21:47.560 you the exact same guitar, I don't think I think 0:21:47.600 --> 0:21:50.080 every single musician would be like, yeah, it's not quite 0:21:50.119 --> 0:21:52.520 the same. There's just something that is a little different 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:55.320 to me. So I don't always buy the argument at 0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:58.320 this top level that the irons are just the same. 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:01.520 You just print, you know, print a Nike stamp on 0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:04.000 the mirias, or you just print a you know the 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:07.320 same irons from Colbra that you would have had with titleists, 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:11.200 Like I just am skeptical of that, and maybe I'm wrong. 0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:13.919 I hope Justin Rose proves me wrong. I hope he 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:16.800 does have one last push in him because I think 0:22:17.320 --> 0:22:21.440 he's been a historically important player, and I think him 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:24.199 winning a second major would feel right in terms of 0:22:24.240 --> 0:22:27.200 his talent and his contributions to this era. 0:22:28.920 --> 0:22:30.880 I think again to your point in yeah, I'm sure 0:22:30.920 --> 0:22:33.359 that they're very similar. But yeah, like Kevin saying, if 0:22:33.359 --> 0:22:36.159 there's anything that's even a little bit different, I just 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:39.120 don't think Justin Rose has any margin that he can 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:42.760 afford at this point. Like at that age, what we 0:22:42.800 --> 0:22:44.960 saw from Rose last year in twenty twenty five was 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:49.280 inconsistency with really high peaks. He was able to summon 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:53.080 these monster performances at the times that he needed them 0:22:53.119 --> 0:22:57.280 the most. And I just wonder if this change disrupts 0:22:57.320 --> 0:23:00.960 any of that flow to Kevin's whether it's a guitar 0:23:01.160 --> 0:23:04.160 or seven iron. Is Justin Roe standing over a ball 0:23:04.160 --> 0:23:06.320 in the fairway right now with total confidence because he's 0:23:06.359 --> 0:23:09.160 been a little bit more demonstrative on the golf course 0:23:09.200 --> 0:23:11.320 in the last two tournaments, there have been a couple 0:23:11.359 --> 0:23:13.800 social media clips of him like not exactly sure how 0:23:13.800 --> 0:23:15.879 the ball is reacting, whether you want to attribute that 0:23:15.920 --> 0:23:19.240 to the Irons or not. I just feel like changing 0:23:19.320 --> 0:23:22.320 gear in the middle of a major season is more 0:23:22.359 --> 0:23:26.040 of a marketing effort than it is an optimization play. 0:23:26.760 --> 0:23:29.760 Hey, I'm just trying to add another layer to the 0:23:29.840 --> 0:23:32.960 to the to the to the debate here that's. 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:35.879 Not being talked about and is very real. 0:23:36.040 --> 0:23:40.359 Like would be really, I think it would be extremely 0:23:40.440 --> 0:23:43.879 hard to get over what happened. 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:46.680 I think it's almost hard. I think it actually is. 0:23:46.680 --> 0:23:50.639 Harder to get over this year than it was to 0:23:50.680 --> 0:23:53.760 get over last year because he had the tournament this year. 0:23:54.280 --> 0:23:57.040 I mean, almost coming up short in the Masters might 0:23:57.080 --> 0:24:00.760 have changed the trajectory of Maxhoma's career. Key was a 0:24:00.800 --> 0:24:04.000 really good player in that moment. Hits a bad shot 0:24:04.040 --> 0:24:07.480 on twelve. Has never really been the same player since, 0:24:08.119 --> 0:24:11.560 and I think that that heartache is probably more to 0:24:11.640 --> 0:24:15.360 do than with things than switching clubs, which he did 0:24:15.359 --> 0:24:15.720 as well. 0:24:17.359 --> 0:24:20.480 That was apparently Tommy Fleetwood had taken the Travelers lost 0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:24.199 pretty hard last year, and some people had thought that 0:24:24.200 --> 0:24:25.920 that was influencing his next few weeks. 0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:26.240 So I don't. 0:24:26.240 --> 0:24:29.119 I don't think a little bit of a heartbreak hangover 0:24:29.480 --> 0:24:32.080 is an unfair narrative to throw out. Can I go 0:24:32.119 --> 0:24:32.919 with my second one? 0:24:33.000 --> 0:24:36.160 Andy? Oh yeah, you're up, You're surf all right. 0:24:36.240 --> 0:24:39.920 I think there's a big three in golf right now, 0:24:40.359 --> 0:24:44.320 and that you could make the case that Scotty Scheffler, 0:24:44.359 --> 0:24:47.399 Rory McElroy or Cam Young is the best golfer in 0:24:47.440 --> 0:24:47.840 the world. 0:24:48.240 --> 0:24:50.679 I was Cam Young propaganda was coming. 0:24:51.440 --> 0:24:53.520 I think this is clearheaded, this is not got a 0:24:53.560 --> 0:24:55.280 warranted Yeah, it's. 0:24:55.720 --> 0:24:59.080 Scotty Scheffler, no matter what happens next week, should be 0:24:59.160 --> 0:25:02.200 considered the best play in the world. I think willing 0:25:02.280 --> 0:25:04.760 to say that even if he finishes T forty and 0:25:05.200 --> 0:25:09.000 Cam or Rory wins by eight. But you could make 0:25:09.040 --> 0:25:12.560 a good faith case that, especially with what Cam has 0:25:12.560 --> 0:25:14.600 done on the golf course in twenty twenty six, or 0:25:14.640 --> 0:25:17.560 even going back to the Ryder Cup, there's a case 0:25:17.560 --> 0:25:19.360 to be made that he's playing better than anybody else. 0:25:19.400 --> 0:25:21.680 It's not a particularly hard case to make. Rory wins 0:25:21.720 --> 0:25:23.600 the Masters with what I would describe as his B 0:25:23.720 --> 0:25:27.520 or B plus game. I think there's a level headed 0:25:27.560 --> 0:25:30.240 take that Rory McElroy, you know, all these other golfers 0:25:30.240 --> 0:25:32.480 come and go year and in year out. The only 0:25:32.520 --> 0:25:34.399 thing you can count on is Rordy McElroy being a 0:25:34.400 --> 0:25:36.240 top five player in the world, which might be true 0:25:36.280 --> 0:25:39.320 of Scotty we'll see five years from now. But I 0:25:39.359 --> 0:25:41.879 think there's a reasonable take that if Rory wins next week, 0:25:42.080 --> 0:25:43.879 there will at least be some smoke that he's the 0:25:43.960 --> 0:25:47.719 best player in the world. So I think it should 0:25:47.720 --> 0:25:50.280 be just take a long view. Scotty Scheffler's the best 0:25:50.280 --> 0:25:52.400 player in the world regardless of what happens next week, 0:25:52.400 --> 0:25:54.880 and there's a good chance he's coming off three runners up. 0:25:55.560 --> 0:25:58.080 Scotty could win at Irana make it's a good setup 0:25:58.080 --> 0:26:00.000 for him. I don't have a lot of skeptic say 0:26:00.240 --> 0:26:02.360 around Scotty other than that he hasn't been quite as 0:26:02.400 --> 0:26:04.840 good as he was the past few years at this point, 0:26:05.359 --> 0:26:06.960 at least at this point in the season, we've seen 0:26:07.560 --> 0:26:10.439 a few more cracks in the foundation that we're accustomed to. 0:26:10.960 --> 0:26:14.280 But I could see I mean, if Cam Young walks 0:26:14.280 --> 0:26:16.919 off Aroun him inc on Sunday with a multi shot 0:26:16.960 --> 0:26:20.200 win as he wanted to row by six recording during 0:26:20.240 --> 0:26:23.199 Quail Hollow, he might win this tournament again, is it 0:26:23.280 --> 0:26:25.000 crazy to say that he's the best player in the 0:26:25.000 --> 0:26:26.080 world if he wins the PGA. 0:26:27.600 --> 0:26:29.800 I have come around to your camp, Joseph. I used 0:26:29.840 --> 0:26:32.040 to think maybe during the Ryder Cup that some of 0:26:32.080 --> 0:26:35.280 this talk from you and PJ was Cam Young propaganda, 0:26:35.760 --> 0:26:39.640 and now I am among the converted. I think that 0:26:40.080 --> 0:26:42.199 you have a really good case if, particularly if he 0:26:42.240 --> 0:26:46.119 wins this week, that he has truly become a different 0:26:46.160 --> 0:26:49.560 player and probably is going to sustain that level and 0:26:50.800 --> 0:26:53.760 be someone who contends all the time in majors like 0:26:53.800 --> 0:26:58.200 it's He's proven it over the last six months, and 0:26:58.560 --> 0:27:02.359 he just has skills that was particularly with the driver, 0:27:03.440 --> 0:27:06.480 that other players do not have, and that is such 0:27:06.520 --> 0:27:11.520 an enormous weapon. I don't think he can discount any 0:27:11.560 --> 0:27:14.760 bit of like what has happened. He's been doing it 0:27:14.800 --> 0:27:20.000 on big ballparks, on different types of courses, and you know, 0:27:20.240 --> 0:27:23.639 I would love to see him stare down Rory and 0:27:23.640 --> 0:27:25.320 Scotty and basically say be like, you know what, I 0:27:25.359 --> 0:27:27.879 am one of you now, and I am going to 0:27:27.920 --> 0:27:31.880 be here for as long as you are and maybe longer. 0:27:33.320 --> 0:27:34.879 I had on my list. 0:27:35.440 --> 0:27:38.280 You know, I felt like the last year and a 0:27:38.359 --> 0:27:41.679 half or so since Xander won, we didn't have a 0:27:41.720 --> 0:27:47.040 great like best golfer without a major, Like people would 0:27:47.040 --> 0:27:50.639 be like, oh, it's Tommy Fleetwood and it's like, ah, 0:27:51.040 --> 0:27:54.440 like that doesn't hit like Phil Ncholson. That doesn't hit 0:27:54.640 --> 0:27:59.479 like a lot of like people in the past that 0:27:59.520 --> 0:28:03.840 we've had that moniker for. And my question was gonna 0:28:03.840 --> 0:28:08.000 be is has Cameron Young gotten to that level of 0:28:08.440 --> 0:28:12.080 the best player without a major, like de facto best 0:28:12.080 --> 0:28:14.960 player without a major? And I think like people are 0:28:15.000 --> 0:28:18.080 gonna be like whoa, whoa recncy bias, like, oh, he's 0:28:18.080 --> 0:28:22.280 only done this for nine months, but the major record, 0:28:23.160 --> 0:28:26.480 He's been doing it in majors his whole career. Where 0:28:26.600 --> 0:28:30.560 he's been, he's had really good chances to win majors, 0:28:31.440 --> 0:28:35.080 And obviously the best chance to win a major probably 0:28:35.320 --> 0:28:39.920 is the Masters. Maybe it's the Open that Brian Harmon 0:28:39.960 --> 0:28:42.520 waggled his way to. You could you could point to 0:28:42.560 --> 0:28:46.320 that as well, where he literally I think he let 0:28:46.560 --> 0:28:49.680 was like way out first in strokes, gained off the 0:28:49.720 --> 0:28:53.960 tee and approach and just was so bad putting that 0:28:54.440 --> 0:28:56.400 you know, if he had had just a mediocre week, 0:28:56.440 --> 0:28:59.440 he would have been right in the mix. So Anyways, 0:28:59.480 --> 0:29:04.800 I listen, it's it's always gonna be cam Young propaganda 0:29:04.880 --> 0:29:08.880 from you, Joseph. It's you know, it's just I will 0:29:08.920 --> 0:29:13.000 always call it that. But it feels less like propaganda 0:29:13.040 --> 0:29:14.320 than ever before. 0:29:14.480 --> 0:29:16.840 I like Andy that we've we've been in golf media 0:29:16.840 --> 0:29:19.360 long enough now where like the Rory propaganda that we 0:29:19.440 --> 0:29:21.320 used to put out has evolved, and now the Camp 0:29:21.440 --> 0:29:24.680 the next generation has their propaganda to put forth about, 0:29:24.760 --> 0:29:27.040 Like we used to think that Rory should win every major, 0:29:27.160 --> 0:29:29.120 and now the younger kids think that Camp should win 0:29:29.160 --> 0:29:31.440 every major, and I'm proud of them for finding their 0:29:31.480 --> 0:29:32.120 own Rory. 0:29:33.080 --> 0:29:36.320 This is Look, at one point it may have been propaganda. 0:29:36.560 --> 0:29:39.360 It is no longer propaganda. I think to your point, Andy, 0:29:39.360 --> 0:29:41.640 about his major record, you're talking about some of the 0:29:41.680 --> 0:29:44.800 best chances he's had and didn't even mention that he 0:29:44.920 --> 0:29:47.880 was one off at Saint Andrews and one off at 0:29:48.040 --> 0:29:50.840 Southern Hills. He was one out of that playoff. And 0:29:51.040 --> 0:29:53.320 I think something you see when guys prove early on 0:29:53.400 --> 0:29:57.760 in their major championship careers that they belong generally down 0:29:57.760 --> 0:30:00.880 the line, they get it across the finish. You could 0:30:01.000 --> 0:30:03.280 point to some who haven't, but you could point to 0:30:03.320 --> 0:30:06.000 somebody like Xander Schoffley, who may not have won a 0:30:06.040 --> 0:30:08.880 bunch on tour right away, but he proved in major 0:30:08.960 --> 0:30:12.000 championships right away with top tens that he was among 0:30:12.040 --> 0:30:14.560 the best players in the world. I think even like 0:30:14.640 --> 0:30:16.600 Chris got her up, he's not one of my people. 0:30:17.000 --> 0:30:20.480 He's not one of my three storylines. But his performance 0:30:20.560 --> 0:30:23.640 last year at the Open and taking Scotty, you know, 0:30:23.680 --> 0:30:25.520 not all the way to the finish line, but pretty 0:30:25.520 --> 0:30:28.440 far into that tournament is probably a signal of what's 0:30:28.480 --> 0:30:30.760 to come in Chris Goddrup's career, that he belongs in 0:30:30.800 --> 0:30:33.280 major championships, and Cam has done that from the beginning. 0:30:33.600 --> 0:30:35.720 I don't have this in front of me, but Cam 0:30:35.760 --> 0:30:37.720 wanted to row by six and at the window at six. 0:30:37.760 --> 0:30:40.200 How many golfers in the world have won by four 0:30:40.280 --> 0:30:43.040 or more shots in the last three years, I'd have 0:30:43.080 --> 0:30:46.200 to imagine it's only Cam and Scotty. So I think 0:30:46.240 --> 0:30:48.960 that kind of upside that I can blow a field out, 0:30:49.000 --> 0:30:50.800 I can prove to all the best golfers in the 0:30:50.800 --> 0:30:52.600 world that there was nobody else that was going to 0:30:52.680 --> 0:30:56.560 win this week is unique to Cam and probably Scotty 0:30:56.600 --> 0:30:58.120 and Rory is the only guys that can do that 0:30:58.200 --> 0:30:58.600 right now. 0:31:01.080 --> 0:31:03.440 Yeah, I mean, that's that's a huge talent. 0:31:03.520 --> 0:31:07.200 I would I'd like to see a little bit thicker 0:31:07.240 --> 0:31:11.680 file before I put him into the top top three 0:31:11.760 --> 0:31:15.320 with a bullet in the world. The file, the file 0:31:15.440 --> 0:31:17.760 needs to get just a little thicker for me, and 0:31:17.880 --> 0:31:21.560 I had this as one of my storylines. You mentioned 0:31:21.600 --> 0:31:25.480 Chris got her Up. It feels like to me that 0:31:25.640 --> 0:31:29.240 there's three players that can go up a notch of 0:31:29.360 --> 0:31:34.000 how the world perceives them with a win at the 0:31:34.000 --> 0:31:38.280 PGA Championship, maybe more so than anybody than every other 0:31:38.360 --> 0:31:42.320 player in the field. It's Cameron Young, Chris got Her Up, 0:31:43.040 --> 0:31:47.720 and Matt Fitzpatrick. To me, those three are sitting there 0:31:48.240 --> 0:31:51.000 and if if in the case of Cameron Young and 0:31:51.120 --> 0:31:55.800 Matt Fitzpatrick, if they win, the discourse between it becomes 0:31:56.440 --> 0:31:59.400 are they as a you know, on the same level 0:32:00.080 --> 0:32:04.600 right now in their career not saying, you know, there's 0:32:04.680 --> 0:32:09.600 such a difference between a year in time, eighteen months 0:32:09.600 --> 0:32:11.760 in time and five years in time. 0:32:12.280 --> 0:32:14.680 And like right now, for me, I can't put. 0:32:14.480 --> 0:32:19.720 Anybody in the Rory Scottie, you know, echelon until they 0:32:19.760 --> 0:32:23.840 do it for a sustained period of time. As soon 0:32:23.880 --> 0:32:28.280 as we put Xanderschoffley into that bucket, there was a 0:32:28.640 --> 0:32:30.360 you know, this is the way golf works. 0:32:30.440 --> 0:32:31.880 It's so hard. 0:32:31.840 --> 0:32:36.840 To sustain an ultra elite level, but you can say 0:32:37.040 --> 0:32:40.880 in this moment in time, this player is of the 0:32:40.920 --> 0:32:44.160 same ILK as these players. And I think for me, 0:32:44.640 --> 0:32:50.240 Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick enter that class of players 0:32:50.280 --> 0:32:53.680 in this short term period like this season. They enter 0:32:53.760 --> 0:32:57.720 that because they are on a heater and always the 0:32:57.800 --> 0:33:00.640 question is how long does the heater last? And Rory 0:33:00.680 --> 0:33:04.760 and Scottie's case, it's just kind of normal to operate 0:33:04.760 --> 0:33:08.280 at that level. And for me, Chris Gottrup, just if 0:33:08.320 --> 0:33:11.000 he wins the BA, if he wins a major championship, 0:33:11.040 --> 0:33:15.520 he wins it, ARONIMNK, he just jumps into the Cameron 0:33:15.560 --> 0:33:20.600 Young echelon of of of talents where listen, like he 0:33:20.640 --> 0:33:25.200 would have he'd have so many wins over the las 0:33:25.200 --> 0:33:28.560 AB his fourth win in less than a year. He'd 0:33:28.560 --> 0:33:31.680 have a major championship, he'd have numerous majors where he 0:33:31.680 --> 0:33:36.280 played well, and and you know it just would It 0:33:36.320 --> 0:33:39.560 feels like to me, those are the three players that have, 0:33:40.200 --> 0:33:43.080 you know the most to gain at stake with. 0:33:43.080 --> 0:33:44.320 This major championship. 0:33:45.800 --> 0:33:48.120 I would add one, which would be Ludvig. I think 0:33:48.200 --> 0:33:52.560 Ludvig there's a lot of smoke around him being the 0:33:52.560 --> 0:33:58.320 most overrated prospect that I can't believe golf media has 0:33:58.400 --> 0:34:00.880 hyped this guy up to us for years and he 0:34:00.960 --> 0:34:05.040 hasn't delivered at all. I think there's a legitimate argument 0:34:05.080 --> 0:34:08.000 to be made for that that outside of Augusta, his 0:34:08.120 --> 0:34:11.600 major championship track record isn't that strong, and this is 0:34:11.640 --> 0:34:14.560 the promised golfer that was gonna be one of the 0:34:14.560 --> 0:34:17.520 best players in the world. If Ludwig wins next week, 0:34:18.080 --> 0:34:21.239 that noise gets completely quieted, and it's a realistic one. 0:34:21.280 --> 0:34:23.200 I don't know exactly where he is on the odds board, 0:34:23.200 --> 0:34:27.759 probably like sixth or seventh, very close to Fitzpatrick. I've 0:34:27.760 --> 0:34:30.960 seen some people questioning that, like how on earth can 0:34:30.960 --> 0:34:34.279 you consider Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludwig to be side by 0:34:34.360 --> 0:34:38.279 side coming into Ironomink. But I think he also has 0:34:38.320 --> 0:34:42.239 the opportunity to completely change the conversation, and I would 0:34:42.320 --> 0:34:44.880 argue that at twenty six years old, he deserves a 0:34:44.920 --> 0:34:48.560 little bit of grace still that at twenty six with 0:34:48.719 --> 0:34:51.280 somebody like Cam Young had done on the golf course. 0:34:52.239 --> 0:34:53.759 There were a lot of people who were skeptical of 0:34:53.760 --> 0:34:55.719 his game. At that point. He was still very fresh 0:34:55.760 --> 0:34:58.280 into his career. And I think it's way too early 0:34:58.360 --> 0:35:01.480 to close the book on ludeg Give him another year, 0:35:01.560 --> 0:35:03.799 give him another two years, but he may not need it, 0:35:03.840 --> 0:35:06.600 Like he could completely change the conversation next week. 0:35:07.000 --> 0:35:11.160 I mean, perfect case for Ludwig is look at Alex Fitzpatrick, 0:35:11.360 --> 0:35:14.880 who all of a sudden, you know, always was talented, 0:35:14.960 --> 0:35:19.880 not as talented as Ludwig coming in, you know, to golf, 0:35:19.960 --> 0:35:22.680 but always consider talented, and all of a sudden, at 0:35:22.680 --> 0:35:26.239 age twenty seven, everything's coming together and he looks like 0:35:26.360 --> 0:35:28.600 he's a top forty. 0:35:28.280 --> 0:35:31.080 Player, top thirty player in the world. The fact, you know. 0:35:32.880 --> 0:35:36.120 Yeah, I would just say to those people, like, statistically, 0:35:36.160 --> 0:35:38.800 this is Ludwig's best year so far. He's really cleaned 0:35:38.880 --> 0:35:41.799 up the around the green stuff that was a clear weakness. 0:35:42.400 --> 0:35:45.920 He's putting better than he's been. It's just, you know, 0:35:46.000 --> 0:35:47.759 he's like a third of a stroke better than he 0:35:47.920 --> 0:35:51.720 was a year ago in strokes gained. I just feel 0:35:51.760 --> 0:35:54.600 like that that he's still to me, trending to be 0:35:55.480 --> 0:36:00.440 like the next great European player in the Rory Rahm 0:36:00.480 --> 0:36:03.480 sort of equation. Now does that happen? 0:36:03.680 --> 0:36:03.839 No? 0:36:04.200 --> 0:36:06.360 No, But it's nothing's guaranteed. But I still think like 0:36:07.040 --> 0:36:09.000 there's a real good chance that this is a multi 0:36:09.080 --> 0:36:09.720 major winner. 0:36:11.640 --> 0:36:15.640 I don't know what. For me, Ludwig is probably top 0:36:15.800 --> 0:36:20.719 three or four totally imprecise. This is not any there's 0:36:20.760 --> 0:36:23.560 no data to support this, but I test who can 0:36:23.600 --> 0:36:26.520 overwhelm the golf course and just on repeat for a major, 0:36:26.640 --> 0:36:29.680 just perfect drive after perfect drive after perfect drive, where 0:36:29.680 --> 0:36:33.240 you trust him. I think it's like Rory, cam Young 0:36:33.320 --> 0:36:37.480 and Ludwig are probably my three, and some of that 0:36:37.640 --> 0:36:39.960 is because his swing is so pretty that maybe I'm 0:36:39.960 --> 0:36:42.600 a little biased there, but I think there's a couple 0:36:42.680 --> 0:36:45.279 other golfers you could throw in that bucket, Bryce and Scottie, 0:36:45.760 --> 0:36:48.799 but I just could see him overwhelming this tournament and 0:36:48.840 --> 0:36:49.680 going wire to wire. 0:36:52.000 --> 0:36:54.200 All Right, I got one, and I feel like this 0:36:54.280 --> 0:36:57.360 helps us cross off a couple things. I like to 0:36:57.400 --> 0:37:02.440 think of rivalries in terms of tennis, and right now, 0:37:02.600 --> 0:37:05.160 like Scotty and Rory are in sort of like a 0:37:05.200 --> 0:37:08.799 who is holding serve sort of situation. Rory just won 0:37:09.080 --> 0:37:12.399 the Masters, which you could look at as like either 0:37:12.440 --> 0:37:15.680 holding serve or like, hey, I broke you because the 0:37:15.719 --> 0:37:18.520 Masters was your spot where you were always great, Scotty, 0:37:19.080 --> 0:37:21.240 and now it's time for Shuffler to sort of answer 0:37:21.360 --> 0:37:24.359 and basically be like, yo, I'm still the top dog, man, 0:37:24.440 --> 0:37:27.040 like you are not any closer to me than you 0:37:27.120 --> 0:37:32.240 were previously. Now it's been ten years since a person 0:37:32.480 --> 0:37:35.759 won two consecutive majors to open the year. That was 0:37:35.840 --> 0:37:40.239 Jordan Speith. So I think it would be really fascinating 0:37:40.360 --> 0:37:43.239 for the game if Rory won that and all of 0:37:43.239 --> 0:37:46.000 a sudden we went into the US Open, Scotty needing 0:37:46.080 --> 0:37:48.560 the US Open to win the Career Ground Slam, Rory 0:37:48.600 --> 0:37:51.680 needing the US Open to keep the Grand Slam in 0:37:51.760 --> 0:37:57.000 one season alive. Man, that would be incredibly fun. Now 0:37:57.080 --> 0:37:58.879 Rory has to go out and get the PJ, as 0:37:58.880 --> 0:38:01.560 we said, the least prestigious of these majors in the 0:38:01.600 --> 0:38:05.240 first place. But I think it's an interesting I also 0:38:05.400 --> 0:38:09.880 kind of wonder if he doesn't say something like about 0:38:10.160 --> 0:38:13.399 PGA tour tournaments, if Rory is gonna kind of treat 0:38:13.480 --> 0:38:16.960 the PGA as sort of an afterthought and just focus 0:38:17.040 --> 0:38:19.560 on majors, you know, skipping three events leading up into 0:38:19.600 --> 0:38:22.799 the Masters, winning the Masters, kind of working on aut 0:38:22.800 --> 0:38:25.080 autopilot in the lead up to the PGA, not playing 0:38:25.120 --> 0:38:28.360 particularly well as of this recording at Quail, which is 0:38:28.400 --> 0:38:30.960 usually a place where he dominates. If he comes out 0:38:30.960 --> 0:38:34.040 and looks great at the PGA and Scotty continues to 0:38:34.080 --> 0:38:37.640 kind of like clean up on these PGA Tour tournaments, 0:38:37.680 --> 0:38:39.719 I don't know what exactly it says about the PGA Tour, 0:38:39.760 --> 0:38:42.560 but it might say that, like, maybe you don't have 0:38:42.640 --> 0:38:46.480 to like care that much about regular season stuff if 0:38:46.520 --> 0:38:50.120 your legacy is already kind of secure. Man, I just 0:38:50.160 --> 0:38:55.080 think a duel between them. Rory's played decent, enteronomic last 0:38:55.120 --> 0:38:57.719 time we were there, Scotty was still too young to 0:38:57.880 --> 0:38:59.719 be there, so it'll be kind of a first, you know, 0:39:00.239 --> 0:39:02.960 for him. All of this is setting up to make 0:39:03.000 --> 0:39:05.760 for a really interesting argument. I still agree with Joseph, 0:39:06.160 --> 0:39:08.200 Scotty has proven it for longer. He is the best 0:39:08.239 --> 0:39:10.279 player in the world. But the argument gets a lot 0:39:10.320 --> 0:39:12.920 more interesting if Rory has won two straight Majors. 0:39:14.880 --> 0:39:21.160 Or cam Where my head goes, Kevin, I've never just 0:39:21.200 --> 0:39:23.200 had I've never had a deeper appreciation for the difference 0:39:23.239 --> 0:39:29.160 between major golf and regular season golf, and the NBA 0:39:29.239 --> 0:39:33.000 playoffs are on right now. You see what the difference 0:39:33.040 --> 0:39:36.879 is in Lebron James at that age, what he puts 0:39:36.920 --> 0:39:39.120 into a playoff game versus what he puts into a 0:39:39.160 --> 0:39:42.360 regular season game. Or I don't know how many of 0:39:42.360 --> 0:39:45.400 our listeners watch tennis, but the way that Novak Djokovic 0:39:45.440 --> 0:39:49.239 has to pour everything into a Grand Slam versus the 0:39:49.280 --> 0:39:52.279 regular season, and now he's been taking more time off 0:39:52.320 --> 0:39:55.279 to get ready for the Grand Slams, and if he 0:39:55.360 --> 0:39:57.680 has to go four sets or five sets, like he 0:39:57.760 --> 0:39:59.120 is completely gassed. 0:39:58.840 --> 0:39:59.480 At the end of it. 0:39:59.640 --> 0:40:03.680 The total from a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint, 0:40:03.680 --> 0:40:06.200 the energy that's required to play in the tournaments that matter. 0:40:07.200 --> 0:40:11.040 It's given me a different level of perspective of the difference, 0:40:11.160 --> 0:40:14.960 and I think Rory clearly treats things that way. I 0:40:15.000 --> 0:40:17.480 don't think he cares that he's not playing particularly well 0:40:17.480 --> 0:40:20.360 at Quail Hollow this week. I don't think it matters 0:40:20.360 --> 0:40:25.040 to him. He's shown up for big events consistently over 0:40:25.080 --> 0:40:27.480 the past few years, and regular season like, if you 0:40:27.520 --> 0:40:30.480 look at his record in regular tour events, he's not 0:40:30.520 --> 0:40:32.520 bringing his best golf to a lot of the tour events, 0:40:32.560 --> 0:40:35.640 so I would think that Rory's in that rare camp 0:40:35.640 --> 0:40:38.000 where he can just summon it, and other guys need 0:40:38.080 --> 0:40:41.360 to grind in PGA Tour events to get that form 0:40:41.680 --> 0:40:43.439 together so that they can bring it to a major 0:40:43.480 --> 0:40:45.920 I don't even think Rory needs it so him. He 0:40:45.960 --> 0:40:48.920 could have finished second at quail Hollow this week or 0:40:49.040 --> 0:40:52.000 sixty fifth, and I don't think it would change how 0:40:52.080 --> 0:40:53.840 much I think he can win next week. 0:40:55.520 --> 0:41:01.759 I agree about, you know, not being necessarily indicator for 0:41:01.760 --> 0:41:07.439 for Rory. I to go to your beginning, uh kind 0:41:07.480 --> 0:41:11.839 of Stanza Kevin on the on the topic if one 0:41:11.880 --> 0:41:14.799 of them, if either of them win this week, it 0:41:14.920 --> 0:41:20.080 is very fascinating for you know, it feels like Rory 0:41:20.480 --> 0:41:23.960 getting that win put a little distance back in. But 0:41:24.040 --> 0:41:27.720 if Scotty wins, it feels then almost inevitable. 0:41:27.120 --> 0:41:28.600 That Scotty passes Rory. 0:41:29.160 --> 0:41:33.560 If Rory wins another it becomes this like, I don't 0:41:33.719 --> 0:41:36.640 we don't know if Scotty's gonna catch him. And at 0:41:36.680 --> 0:41:40.080 the end of last year, after Scotty won at Port Rush, 0:41:40.160 --> 0:41:43.000 it was like, oh, this guy is going to get 0:41:43.320 --> 0:41:45.840 to nine or ten, you know, But this is the 0:41:45.920 --> 0:41:46.880 thing about majors. 0:41:46.920 --> 0:41:49.279 They're very hard to win. There's only four of. 0:41:49.239 --> 0:41:52.759 Them available, and you know there are there are a 0:41:52.840 --> 0:41:55.480 number of really great challengers. I mean, it's only a 0:41:55.480 --> 0:41:58.640 matter of time if you listen to Joseph until cam 0:41:58.760 --> 0:42:02.520 is in the discussion for most majors of any active doll. 0:42:02.640 --> 0:42:03.520 That's a little strong. 0:42:03.640 --> 0:42:04.640 That's a little strong. 0:42:05.000 --> 0:42:06.360 I just had to go there. 0:42:06.520 --> 0:42:10.320 But I mean, every one of these major championship venues 0:42:10.360 --> 0:42:13.080 sets up great, Like there's no golf course in the 0:42:13.120 --> 0:42:16.080 world that you're like, you know what, that's not a 0:42:16.120 --> 0:42:19.719 fit for Scotty or that's not a fit for Rory, because. 0:42:19.440 --> 0:42:22.640 They have such a wide range of skills. 0:42:23.719 --> 0:42:28.080 If you look at ironom Innk, it feels like Rory 0:42:29.440 --> 0:42:32.279 is probably going to be able to bypass some bunkers 0:42:32.440 --> 0:42:37.279 that Scotty cannot just because of sheer carry numbers. That 0:42:37.480 --> 0:42:41.360 obviously is a big advantage. That being said, if you 0:42:41.400 --> 0:42:46.440 look at Scotty, one of ironom Innks like big challenges 0:42:46.840 --> 0:42:49.400 we'll call it, are going to be the greens the 0:42:49.520 --> 0:42:52.920 slope and there are these like ridges that are are 0:42:52.960 --> 0:42:57.520 are in a lot of greens, and these ridges make 0:42:57.600 --> 0:43:01.280 it really difficult to to put or to chip across 0:43:01.480 --> 0:43:05.080 if you miss targets, but if you're able to find 0:43:05.440 --> 0:43:09.720 really small pockets on greens, they become like a bowl. 0:43:10.840 --> 0:43:16.480 So ultra precise iron play is heavily, heavily rewarded at aronomy. 0:43:16.960 --> 0:43:19.600 So like you can look at Rory and be like, okay, 0:43:20.160 --> 0:43:22.480 and I thought, I thought it was interesting. Like they 0:43:22.760 --> 0:43:25.240 Scotty got asked about Rory and he was like, obviously 0:43:25.280 --> 0:43:28.200 the driver, the driver, Like how far he hits it, 0:43:28.440 --> 0:43:31.520 how accurate it is. 0:43:30.040 --> 0:43:31.400 Is such a weapon. 0:43:31.480 --> 0:43:35.000 And I always appreciate when you get really great players 0:43:35.040 --> 0:43:38.720 talking about other really great players. And I'm not talking 0:43:38.760 --> 0:43:43.760 about like getting Matt or you know, Xanderschoffley talking about 0:43:44.520 --> 0:43:47.520 you know, Matt Fitzpatrick. I'm talking about two of the 0:43:47.640 --> 0:43:53.040 greatest players of all time talking about each other as contemporaries. 0:43:55.280 --> 0:43:55.480 You know. 0:43:55.560 --> 0:43:58.919 So Rory has one advantage, and it's kind of like tennis, right, 0:43:59.040 --> 0:44:02.400 Rory's got the big serve, but Scotty's got the is 0:44:03.160 --> 0:44:04.920 maybe the best returner in the. 0:44:04.880 --> 0:44:08.239 Game, and it's it's going to be fascinating. 0:44:08.320 --> 0:44:11.560 Obviously you go from there to Shinnecock and there's going 0:44:11.600 --> 0:44:14.560 to be so much on the line. But these two, 0:44:15.520 --> 0:44:19.000 I think they have just basically obviously, with Rory's longevity 0:44:20.400 --> 0:44:25.480 and Scotty's dominance, these two have basically locked in. You know, 0:44:25.680 --> 0:44:29.360 I do this pod every major have locked in that 0:44:29.560 --> 0:44:34.359 them together are going to be like a storyline for 0:44:34.400 --> 0:44:37.560 the next three years of Major championships. 0:44:38.560 --> 0:44:41.360 I think to your I love this type of setup 0:44:41.440 --> 0:44:45.000 for Rory McIlroy. I have it's not identical to oak 0:44:45.040 --> 0:44:48.000 Kill that this golf, especially the greens are very very 0:44:48.000 --> 0:44:51.000 different from Oakill, but I think, especially the kind of 0:44:51.000 --> 0:44:54.560 tree line Northeastern, you're not going to get killed for 0:44:54.640 --> 0:44:57.560 getting a little bit loose off of the tee. I 0:44:57.640 --> 0:44:59.440 love the way that that sets up for Rorty, and 0:44:59.440 --> 0:45:02.720 I would say that he played like a C minus 0:45:02.719 --> 0:45:06.080 maybe at Oakill a C and finished tied for seventh. 0:45:07.040 --> 0:45:08.840 This is one of those types of setups that I 0:45:08.840 --> 0:45:10.920 think if Rory, as long as he's fine off of 0:45:10.960 --> 0:45:15.560 the tea and just not terrible, he's remotely straight, I 0:45:15.560 --> 0:45:17.799 think he can bring his B game and be in 0:45:17.800 --> 0:45:21.880 the final group on Sunday. So there's a world andy 0:45:21.880 --> 0:45:26.319 in which we get a Scotty Rory duel, and we 0:45:26.400 --> 0:45:28.879 haven't had that major yet, So maybe this maybe we're 0:45:28.880 --> 0:45:31.799 setting the stage for our first true Rory Scotti duel. 0:45:32.480 --> 0:45:34.040 You know, I think it's interesting. I was thinking about 0:45:34.040 --> 0:45:36.839 this in terms of setup. Is this week is it? 0:45:36.840 --> 0:45:41.600 We used to say, like through twenty fifteen through you know, 0:45:41.680 --> 0:45:44.960 twenty twenty one, I would say, oh, man, if it's soft, 0:45:45.400 --> 0:45:47.080 Rory's going to tear it up. Rory's got a great 0:45:47.120 --> 0:45:50.160 chance to win a championship here. And I think that's 0:45:50.160 --> 0:45:53.160 flipped now. I think that if it's soft, a lot 0:45:53.200 --> 0:45:56.640 more people are come into play. If it's firm, there's 0:45:56.719 --> 0:45:59.640 really only about five guys who are have the skill 0:45:59.680 --> 0:46:03.520 set to play with Scotty and Rory. And so if 0:46:03.520 --> 0:46:05.440 I were those two, I would be hoping for no 0:46:05.600 --> 0:46:09.480 rain and for you know, low humidity and just you 0:46:09.520 --> 0:46:11.160 know it's godn't get a lot of humidity in the 0:46:11.200 --> 0:46:13.520 spring anyway. Are on the East Coast. But man like, 0:46:13.560 --> 0:46:15.879 if it's firm, they might separate from the pack. 0:46:16.560 --> 0:46:21.080 The forecast looks pretty good. All I've seen is like 0:46:21.239 --> 0:46:25.680 light rain. I don't know what that constitutes, you know, 0:46:25.719 --> 0:46:31.760 for Wednesday, but the forecast looks good and ideal is Sunday. 0:46:31.840 --> 0:46:37.080 It's sunny Thursday through Sunday. This is like a mini storyline. 0:46:37.080 --> 0:46:41.920 This could be one of our ten. But the weather 0:46:42.200 --> 0:46:46.319 this golf course has such a bad reputation because of 0:46:46.360 --> 0:46:49.080 what happened at the BMW, which was. 0:46:49.560 --> 0:46:50.680 I was there that week. 0:46:50.840 --> 0:46:55.200 That was maybe the worst weather I've ever like, worst 0:46:55.200 --> 0:46:58.799 summer weather I've ever been a part of. 0:46:59.160 --> 0:46:59.920 It was awful. 0:47:00.600 --> 0:47:04.040 I wrote it. I wrote, there's a very popular website post. 0:47:04.080 --> 0:47:06.200 I went out that week. I went to the tournament, 0:47:06.600 --> 0:47:09.240 but I also went to like as many public golf 0:47:09.280 --> 0:47:12.279 courses in the Philadelphia area as I could, and I 0:47:12.280 --> 0:47:15.760 think I titled the blog posts that's about those golf courses. 0:47:15.800 --> 0:47:16.959 It's never sunny in. 0:47:16.960 --> 0:47:21.279 Philadelphia because it literally rained rain and it didn't just rain, 0:47:21.400 --> 0:47:23.839 it rained like three inches every day. 0:47:24.080 --> 0:47:25.280 I mean, it was awful. 0:47:26.520 --> 0:47:30.640 So I will just say, like that is coloring so 0:47:30.840 --> 0:47:35.799 many people's opinions on aronomy. And if these greens can 0:47:35.800 --> 0:47:39.480 be firm, they will be really fun to watch, really 0:47:39.520 --> 0:47:41.920 really fun to watch. And then you get the closing 0:47:41.960 --> 0:47:47.160 stretch and you're playing basically against off side slopes and 0:47:47.200 --> 0:47:50.040 there are a lot of long holes, so you're getting 0:47:50.080 --> 0:47:53.320 like long irons off side slopes into contour greens. 0:47:53.800 --> 0:47:56.040 Does that sound familiar to anybody? 0:47:58.360 --> 0:47:58.800 A little bit of it. 0:47:58.920 --> 0:48:01.080 Now there might be just like lot of green rough 0:48:01.080 --> 0:48:02.080 around the greens, but. 0:48:03.560 --> 0:48:08.560 So the ball can't get very far away from him. 0:48:07.320 --> 0:48:09.719 Which I mean that benefits the two of them again, 0:48:09.760 --> 0:48:12.239 because Rory has elevated his short game in recent years 0:48:12.239 --> 0:48:15.000 to be one of the you know, twenty best on tour, 0:48:15.040 --> 0:48:17.960 I would say, and Scotty is obviously the short game 0:48:18.040 --> 0:48:20.319 is great. So even if they miss greens, they have 0:48:20.360 --> 0:48:23.040 a good chance of scrambling around and competing. 0:48:23.480 --> 0:48:23.800 Yeah. 0:48:23.920 --> 0:48:26.680 Yeah, you know, maybe it's Victor Hoblin who's kind of 0:48:26.719 --> 0:48:30.400 like become a PGA version, get the thick ruff, and 0:48:30.480 --> 0:48:32.760 then all of a sudden he can contend because he. 0:48:32.680 --> 0:48:33.920 Only has to hit one shot. 0:48:35.080 --> 0:48:36.920 Andy, would you say that this type of setup is 0:48:36.960 --> 0:48:40.240 the most sensitive to weather because it feels to me like, oh, yeah, 0:48:40.320 --> 0:48:43.279 the it's not sandy soil, so it can't it's not 0:48:43.320 --> 0:48:46.040 going to dry out as well, Like these forecast should 0:48:46.040 --> 0:48:48.920 be monitored going into the Northeast, going into the Philly tournaments, 0:48:49.000 --> 0:48:50.360 much more than anywhere else in the world. 0:48:50.719 --> 0:48:53.040 I also, I don't think they have sub air, but 0:48:53.239 --> 0:48:56.040 I could be wrong. I don't think they Yeah, I'm 0:48:56.080 --> 0:48:58.640 fairly certain they don't have subair, so they don't have 0:48:58.760 --> 0:49:05.800 like the the technology to sap out, but I did. Yeah, 0:49:06.000 --> 0:49:09.399 I think that this setup is you know, we saw 0:49:09.400 --> 0:49:11.240 it at Oakmont. 0:49:10.880 --> 0:49:13.759 Last year a little bit too. It's just the thick 0:49:13.840 --> 0:49:14.760 rough the green. 0:49:14.880 --> 0:49:18.360 Any setup though, you know we saw Saint Andrews in 0:49:18.400 --> 0:49:21.279 twenty fifteen was susceptible to a lot of rain, right 0:49:21.840 --> 0:49:24.319 changes the golf course. I mean, it's just like the 0:49:24.440 --> 0:49:29.520 thing that that just kills a golf tournament, right. I 0:49:29.719 --> 0:49:35.799 imagine what Wimbledon would would dramatically change if it rained 0:49:35.840 --> 0:49:36.280 all week? 0:49:37.000 --> 0:49:37.600 Oh it does? 0:49:37.719 --> 0:49:41.000 Yeah, yeah, So I think that's like, you know, just 0:49:41.239 --> 0:49:43.880 like the nature of outdoors on grass, right. 0:49:45.160 --> 0:49:47.840 Fair, I'll get with my I guess this is my 0:49:47.920 --> 0:49:50.760 third since the new era of the PJA of America 0:49:50.920 --> 0:49:55.319 was one of mine. Jordan Spief and Justin Thomas. Can 0:49:55.400 --> 0:49:58.759 either of them do anything in a major championship. The 0:49:58.840 --> 0:50:02.439 Jordan's Spief potential to complete the career Grand Slam will 0:50:02.440 --> 0:50:07.239 be a storyline has not been in the mix in 0:50:07.320 --> 0:50:10.359 any major championships going back to Royal St. George's. There 0:50:10.360 --> 0:50:12.200 are a couple top tens in there, but they were 0:50:12.200 --> 0:50:16.440 completely non competitive. Justin Thomas, this is a stat I've 0:50:16.480 --> 0:50:19.120 thrown out before but has now been updated after the Masters. 0:50:19.560 --> 0:50:21.879 One top thirty finish in a major in his last 0:50:21.960 --> 0:50:25.880 fifteen starts. It was a T eight at Valhalla. So 0:50:26.320 --> 0:50:28.879 going back to his win at Southern Hills, one top 0:50:28.960 --> 0:50:33.279 thirty over that stretch, what even the Southern Hills when 0:50:33.320 --> 0:50:37.360 he came back from seven back on Sunday, Like Justin Thomas, 0:50:37.400 --> 0:50:40.160 just has not been a factor in the tournaments that matter. 0:50:40.760 --> 0:50:42.800 You want to have a little bit of silver lining. 0:50:42.800 --> 0:50:44.480 I don't know how much you buy into this, but 0:50:45.120 --> 0:50:47.920 JT did change drivers a couple of weeks ago, and 0:50:47.960 --> 0:50:50.080 that's been his big weakness. He can't keep the ball 0:50:50.080 --> 0:50:52.759 on the planet, off the tee and at least if 0:50:52.760 --> 0:50:55.719 there's some short honeymoon period. He drove the ball very 0:50:55.719 --> 0:50:59.040 well at Durral's fourth in the field off of the tee. 0:50:59.800 --> 0:51:02.160 Not driving it particularly well this week at Quail Hollow, 0:51:02.200 --> 0:51:04.640 but kind of up in the mix. You could sell 0:51:04.680 --> 0:51:08.200 me on Justin Thomas getting back into contention, the Jordan 0:51:08.280 --> 0:51:10.839 speed cell is a little tougher for me. Just has 0:51:10.960 --> 0:51:13.480 not been a factor in any big golf tournaments recently. 0:51:13.840 --> 0:51:15.840 But if those two guys are going to continue to 0:51:15.880 --> 0:51:20.400 be marketed as the faces of American golf. We're pretty 0:51:20.440 --> 0:51:24.600 far past their competitive primes. You have new American faces 0:51:24.600 --> 0:51:28.800 in Scottie Scheffler, Cam Young, even Xander to an extent, 0:51:29.400 --> 0:51:33.719 Bryson to an extent. That these guys have to prove 0:51:33.840 --> 0:51:36.560 at some point that they can do something in a 0:51:36.560 --> 0:51:39.080 big tournament, and this does feel like an opportunity for 0:51:39.120 --> 0:51:41.560 these guys. We're still in their primes. If it doesn't 0:51:41.560 --> 0:51:44.239 happen this week, the noise just continues to grow. I 0:51:44.320 --> 0:51:46.319 kind of feel like people already there. I think there's 0:51:46.360 --> 0:51:48.840 already starting to be a little bit of public backlash. 0:51:49.000 --> 0:51:52.360 Like the PGA tour, you keep marketing these guys like 0:51:52.400 --> 0:51:54.080 they're the face of the tour and they haven't been 0:51:54.120 --> 0:51:56.960 that for a while. It is time to change that narrative, 0:51:57.160 --> 0:51:58.640 and one of those guys, if they were to do 0:51:58.680 --> 0:51:59.960 that this week, I think be a huge tour. 0:52:00.840 --> 0:52:02.680 The only part I would push back on that, Joseph, 0:52:02.760 --> 0:52:05.200 is that the idea that it will be a storyline 0:52:05.239 --> 0:52:07.520 that Speth could win the career grund Slam. I don't 0:52:07.520 --> 0:52:09.799 even really think it is anymore. I don't think anybody 0:52:09.840 --> 0:52:14.960 thinks it's a possibility at this moment. We've now gone 0:52:15.120 --> 0:52:18.120 actually eight years with that potentially being a storyline, and 0:52:18.160 --> 0:52:22.560 it's been so non existent compared to like Rory completing 0:52:22.560 --> 0:52:24.680 the Career Gun Slam or what Phil went through when 0:52:24.719 --> 0:52:27.759 he was trying to complete the career Gun Slam. I 0:52:27.800 --> 0:52:30.040 think Jordan would have to legitimately come back and be 0:52:31.000 --> 0:52:33.440 a top five player for it to sort of build 0:52:33.520 --> 0:52:35.560 any buzz. And it's just never going to build any 0:52:35.560 --> 0:52:38.480 buzz anyway, because it's the PGA. Like even when Tom 0:52:38.520 --> 0:52:41.239 Watson and Arnold Palmer we're trying to complete the career 0:52:41.280 --> 0:52:44.840 ground Slam, those are obviously much better players historically than 0:52:44.920 --> 0:52:47.239 Jordan Spith. It did not have the same kind of 0:52:47.320 --> 0:52:51.120 juice that it did when Tiger and Jack and you know, 0:52:51.560 --> 0:52:55.560 and Rory certainly were doing it. I you know, if 0:52:55.680 --> 0:52:58.080 Jordan was ever going to contend again, it would probably 0:52:58.719 --> 0:53:00.760 be at a place like this where it would reward 0:53:01.400 --> 0:53:04.319 good iron play and you could get a little bit 0:53:04.320 --> 0:53:08.239 loose with the driver. I just I wrote something in 0:53:08.280 --> 0:53:09.920 the beginning of the Ears like it's the hope that 0:53:10.000 --> 0:53:12.920 kills you, and I think I thought it was going 0:53:13.000 --> 0:53:16.000 to be better this year, were a you're removed from 0:53:16.040 --> 0:53:19.400 the risk surgery, and now we're four months into the 0:53:19.400 --> 0:53:22.200 season and it's just isn't there. Part of the reason 0:53:22.239 --> 0:53:25.000 I think he remains such an important part of the 0:53:25.040 --> 0:53:27.680 ecosystem is he's such a good quote and he's so 0:53:27.800 --> 0:53:30.920 interesting to talk to, and that is part of like 0:53:31.040 --> 0:53:34.120 how the Beat functions day to day, week to week. 0:53:34.280 --> 0:53:37.160 Like he gave some of the best quotes about Scotti 0:53:37.200 --> 0:53:40.560 Scheffler when I was writing the big Scheffler piece. And 0:53:40.600 --> 0:53:44.480 he's very eloquent in talking about you know, much more 0:53:44.520 --> 0:53:47.560 than so than justin about like rollback or about live 0:53:47.719 --> 0:53:49.160 or things like that. And so he's always going to 0:53:49.200 --> 0:53:51.960 be someone that people go to to say like, hey, 0:53:51.960 --> 0:53:56.360 could you speak with some gravitas on these big issues 0:53:56.400 --> 0:53:59.040 of the game. But in terms of like the week 0:53:59.080 --> 0:54:02.239 to week highlights of stuff, I can get why some 0:54:02.239 --> 0:54:04.480 people feel like this is not really a meritocracy when 0:54:04.520 --> 0:54:08.279 it comes to showing highlights, because it's usually like, oh 0:54:08.320 --> 0:54:10.839 my god, you'll never believe this sick up and down 0:54:10.880 --> 0:54:13.680 that Jordan made, and he's like twenty off the lead, 0:54:13.920 --> 0:54:14.200 you know. 0:54:14.960 --> 0:54:18.239 Not to mention if you look through the tape, like everybody, 0:54:18.760 --> 0:54:22.400 like a lot of players probably made similarly awesome up 0:54:22.440 --> 0:54:25.839 and down, so they just didn't get shown. Sure, yeah, 0:54:26.320 --> 0:54:29.360 it feels a little bit right now, like I feel 0:54:29.360 --> 0:54:31.239 like that we had this with Ricky Fowler for a 0:54:31.239 --> 0:54:34.279 while and then he had the kind of like has 0:54:34.360 --> 0:54:37.799 resurrected in the second stage of his career. But at 0:54:37.840 --> 0:54:40.560 the end of the day, like you're talking about someone 0:54:40.600 --> 0:54:44.719 with two majors and three majors, and you know, yeah, 0:54:44.800 --> 0:54:47.759 there could be some some maybe they get shown too much, 0:54:47.800 --> 0:54:53.760 but they also have accomplished things that are draw interest. 0:54:54.160 --> 0:54:56.160 So you know, it's one of the things with the 0:54:56.360 --> 0:55:01.439 with golf. Golf thrives on your twenty year careers, and 0:55:01.640 --> 0:55:05.560 these are two players that are probably going to be relevant, 0:55:06.280 --> 0:55:10.719 whether they're relevant because of their their play or just 0:55:10.800 --> 0:55:13.680 them being around for twenty years. You're gonna you know, 0:55:13.719 --> 0:55:16.719 they aren't just gonna go away. I'm realistic enough to 0:55:16.760 --> 0:55:19.719 believe they are, you know. But that being said, I 0:55:19.760 --> 0:55:23.879 do think like it's it's kind of like a they 0:55:23.880 --> 0:55:26.400 were a part of this really interesting era in the 0:55:26.440 --> 0:55:33.880 sport where where youth dominated for a generation, and I 0:55:33.920 --> 0:55:37.040 think that they have been just frankly, like, I just 0:55:38.360 --> 0:55:40.320 don't think that they have gotten better. 0:55:41.960 --> 0:55:43.239 They've actually declined. 0:55:43.600 --> 0:55:45.719 I think like when you look at that era, like 0:55:45.880 --> 0:55:50.799 Rory has got continue to improve and he's that's been 0:55:51.120 --> 0:55:53.560 the thing. But in the case of Jordan Spieth and 0:55:53.719 --> 0:55:58.000 Justin Thomas, better players came into the game and they 0:55:58.040 --> 0:56:01.960 did not meet me. The match of the increase in 0:56:02.080 --> 0:56:05.919 standard is like the short tail. Everybody's wondering what's wrong. 0:56:05.960 --> 0:56:06.439 What's wrong. 0:56:06.480 --> 0:56:09.759 There's been some decline, a little bit of decline, but 0:56:09.800 --> 0:56:14.240 the sheer fact is there's more players with more talent 0:56:14.840 --> 0:56:19.440 than when Jordan Speith and Justin Thomas went on their runt. 0:56:20.800 --> 0:56:22.799 Yeady. You hinted at something there that was one of 0:56:22.840 --> 0:56:25.719 my throwaway one So I'm just gonna segue into it. 0:56:26.320 --> 0:56:28.880 I think if you are looking this is not gambling advice, 0:56:28.960 --> 0:56:31.000 please do not take it. But if you are looking 0:56:31.080 --> 0:56:35.600 for a storyline that is realistic but unlikely, I think 0:56:35.680 --> 0:56:38.840 Ricky Fowler has his best chance to win a major 0:56:38.920 --> 0:56:41.680 in a long time. Has actually been a pretty good 0:56:41.719 --> 0:56:44.719 player this year. Has been a significantly better putter than 0:56:44.719 --> 0:56:46.880 he was in recent years. He's almost putting back to 0:56:46.920 --> 0:56:48.120 the level that he was when he was one of 0:56:48.120 --> 0:56:50.600 the best putters in the world. Just driving it well, 0:56:50.960 --> 0:56:52.880 hitting him off irons, The one thing that's kind of 0:56:52.880 --> 0:56:55.759 holding back his overall statistical profile is is his short game, 0:56:56.000 --> 0:56:58.279 which statistically in the past he's been one of the 0:56:58.320 --> 0:57:02.399 best short game people on tour. It's just I don't 0:57:02.440 --> 0:57:05.120 know whether it's technique or whether he's just not seeing 0:57:05.160 --> 0:57:06.880 it the same way whatever, but I feel like that 0:57:07.000 --> 0:57:08.680 is something where you could get it cleaned up, or 0:57:08.680 --> 0:57:09.959 you could just have a great week where you didn't 0:57:09.960 --> 0:57:12.120 have to rely on it that much. If Ricky Valer 0:57:12.200 --> 0:57:14.440 is ever going to win a Major, this could be 0:57:14.640 --> 0:57:17.200 the moment that sort of rewrites his entire legacy. He 0:57:17.240 --> 0:57:20.280 has a better chance to win this Major than Jordan 0:57:20.360 --> 0:57:23.080 Spieth or Justin Thomas, which I don't think would have 0:57:24.440 --> 0:57:27.280 would have would I think would have surprised people to 0:57:27.320 --> 0:57:30.960 say something like that four or five years ago. I 0:57:31.080 --> 0:57:33.840 just think I don't think it's likely to happen. But 0:57:34.200 --> 0:57:38.480 like we're recording this Sunday morning of the Truest, he's 0:57:38.600 --> 0:57:41.560 currently like on track to finish three straight top tens, 0:57:41.960 --> 0:57:45.800 So yeah, there's some form going in there. It's possible. 0:57:45.960 --> 0:57:47.360 I just want to sort of plow it out there. 0:57:47.360 --> 0:57:50.200 I feel a little bit silly bringing up Ricky Fowler 0:57:50.240 --> 0:57:52.560 before Bryson or John Rahm, which we haven't talked at 0:57:52.560 --> 0:57:56.080 all about. I think we probably ought to owe them 0:57:56.080 --> 0:57:59.040 a little bit of this preview time. But when I 0:57:59.080 --> 0:58:01.480 was thinking about story lines that are off the radar 0:58:01.560 --> 0:58:04.000 a little bit, I think that there is a sliver 0:58:04.160 --> 0:58:07.320 of possibility that rick could could surprise people. 0:58:08.800 --> 0:58:12.240 That'd be a little better story of a story. 0:58:13.680 --> 0:58:15.640 I think the big issue with Ricky is that he 0:58:15.800 --> 0:58:19.920 has a lot of these ths, t nines, and we 0:58:20.000 --> 0:58:23.000 haven't really heard from Ricky deep into a tournament, like 0:58:23.040 --> 0:58:26.520 there's a little bit of the back door topy top 0:58:26.560 --> 0:58:29.680 ten going on. I would push back on him having 0:58:29.720 --> 0:58:32.360 a better chance to win this golf tournament than Justin Thomas. 0:58:32.400 --> 0:58:34.080 I think if you want to put him in the 0:58:34.080 --> 0:58:37.560 same ballpark as Speef, that's reasonable. I think JT has 0:58:37.600 --> 0:58:41.280 a little more upside than Ricky. But I mean to 0:58:41.360 --> 0:58:44.920 your point, it's also just remarkable that we're nearly an 0:58:44.920 --> 0:58:49.280 hour into this recording and Bryson and Ron's next thing, 0:58:50.080 --> 0:58:54.560 all right, go then go for it. 0:58:54.680 --> 0:58:57.880 Golf's hard to play it well when you've got a 0:58:57.880 --> 0:59:01.160 lot of stuff going on in your life. It's true, 0:59:01.640 --> 0:59:03.760 there are a lot of a lot of things that 0:59:03.800 --> 0:59:08.080 you should. You could look at and Live and say, hey, 0:59:08.120 --> 0:59:11.000 this isn't the best way to prep for a major. 0:59:11.160 --> 0:59:13.440 Is like not to be able to control your schedule 0:59:13.880 --> 0:59:19.600 to play, you know, substandard golf courses versus the other tour, which, hey, 0:59:19.840 --> 0:59:22.600 I don't think the PGA Tour plays plays the best 0:59:22.760 --> 0:59:25.120 golf courses, you know, but there are a lot better 0:59:25.160 --> 0:59:26.720 than the courses that Live place. 0:59:28.560 --> 0:59:28.760 You know. 0:59:28.800 --> 0:59:31.640 What I didn't have on my Benga board was being 0:59:31.720 --> 0:59:36.320 asked about the financial feasibility of the league that you're 0:59:36.360 --> 0:59:40.560 the headline athletes of and how that might factor into 0:59:40.720 --> 0:59:47.360 your prep for major. Rom talked about how his contracts 0:59:47.400 --> 0:59:48.720 really locked it locked in. 0:59:48.840 --> 0:59:50.320 It's a really good contract. 0:59:50.600 --> 0:59:53.040 What an endorsement of his own tour. Well, I don't 0:59:53.080 --> 0:59:55.000 see any way out of it. So I'm here. 0:59:57.240 --> 1:00:00.240 Brighton's now being talked about maybe he'll be an owner 1:00:00.600 --> 1:00:04.080 of Live, you know, But then you have Rory kind 1:00:04.080 --> 1:00:08.280 of takeing, you know, shots as if you don't want, 1:00:08.480 --> 1:00:10.720 you know, like the PGA Tour is the best place 1:00:11.000 --> 1:00:13.040 in the world to play if you want to be 1:00:13.200 --> 1:00:20.040 a competitive golfer, you know. I think, like I have 1:00:20.160 --> 1:00:26.080 real questions about John Rahm, and I just think This 1:00:26.320 --> 1:00:29.880 is gets harder and harder for him the longer it goes, 1:00:30.000 --> 1:00:33.120 because he is not a human being where it's just 1:00:33.160 --> 1:00:36.680 like well whatever, Like he doesn't have that like forgettable 1:00:36.960 --> 1:00:41.000 like of the like oh like throw my hands up, 1:00:41.120 --> 1:00:46.720 like whatever happens happened, right, He doesn't have that. So 1:00:48.600 --> 1:00:51.560 every time this doesn't happen for him, every time he 1:00:51.640 --> 1:00:54.040 doesn't win a major, because since he's gone to live, 1:00:54.120 --> 1:00:58.360 this is getting more difficult. It's going to get mentally 1:00:58.480 --> 1:01:02.720 more challenging when you're in the mix or just getting 1:01:02.800 --> 1:01:05.680 ready for the mix. We've seen this with Rory. 1:01:06.120 --> 1:01:06.480 But like. 1:01:08.440 --> 1:01:13.600 I am, I'm fascinated by John Rahm and the majors 1:01:13.640 --> 1:01:16.320 the rest of the year. I think Bryson has real 1:01:16.440 --> 1:01:19.960 questions about like iron play, can can he hit the 1:01:19.960 --> 1:01:23.800 ball well enough? He's from what I've gathered, he is 1:01:24.200 --> 1:01:27.760 going to come out with retailed Bryson irons to sell 1:01:27.840 --> 1:01:31.640 the people. So like, you know, you want to talk 1:01:31.640 --> 1:01:36.280 about the Justin Rose iron discourse, like what should we 1:01:36.320 --> 1:01:39.640 talk about the guy that's like literally three D printing 1:01:39.680 --> 1:01:42.760 irons and trying to put him in play on by 1:01:42.800 --> 1:01:47.000 himself as like, but with John Rahm, this is a 1:01:47.040 --> 1:01:52.160 player squarely in his prime, someone we thought in twenty 1:01:52.240 --> 1:01:57.080 twenty three would have would be in the discussion of 1:01:57.120 --> 1:02:00.360 like does he get to five or six majors? Like 1:02:00.400 --> 1:02:04.120 that was not an unrealistic discourse, and now like I 1:02:04.160 --> 1:02:07.520 find myself more than that asking will. 1:02:07.320 --> 1:02:10.960 He get another one? 1:02:10.480 --> 1:02:13.040 I think you're right. I think the mental thing is 1:02:13.040 --> 1:02:18.200 is larger than anybody could really put into context. Like 1:02:18.480 --> 1:02:22.480 Jon Ram is a emotional player and emotional person. He 1:02:22.680 --> 1:02:27.439 played his best golf in a sort of defiant like fu, 1:02:27.720 --> 1:02:30.600 I'm going to prove to you that I am just 1:02:30.640 --> 1:02:34.160 as important as you know at the time Rory to 1:02:34.200 --> 1:02:38.640 this game, and you know him and Scotti clashing with 1:02:38.680 --> 1:02:42.880 each other in Italy was pretty good golf. Unlike when 1:02:42.960 --> 1:02:45.200 Rory and Scotty kind of are dragging each other to 1:02:45.240 --> 1:02:49.720 the finish line, it's Beth Page and I just I 1:02:49.800 --> 1:02:52.960 missed that version of rom Like I don't care how 1:02:53.000 --> 1:02:55.960 many people cite well it does well and Live like 1:02:56.480 --> 1:02:59.680 those just aren't golf courses that test someone, or at 1:02:59.720 --> 1:03:02.600 least test the skill set of those around him. He 1:03:02.640 --> 1:03:05.840 should win every week on Live like, he should never 1:03:05.880 --> 1:03:09.200 finish outside the top three on there, because he's that 1:03:09.360 --> 1:03:13.320 much better than those people around him other than Bryson. 1:03:13.480 --> 1:03:16.840 And you know, Bryson I think is allowed to is 1:03:16.920 --> 1:03:18.760 able to compete on some of those courses because he 1:03:18.760 --> 1:03:21.280 doesn't have to test certain things, like it's a lot 1:03:21.280 --> 1:03:25.640 of Z setups, yeah, and driver wedge a lot of 1:03:25.680 --> 1:03:29.440 times there. So I don't know. I mean, I feel 1:03:29.800 --> 1:03:33.120 it's silly to feel sad for John because he made 1:03:33.120 --> 1:03:37.280 this choice and he put himself in this scenario. But 1:03:37.320 --> 1:03:39.520 I'm sad for the game, if that makes sense, Like 1:03:39.560 --> 1:03:43.160 I'm sad for what we lost. It's like when a 1:03:43.240 --> 1:03:47.040 band breaks up right, you kind of lament, like, man, 1:03:47.080 --> 1:03:49.800 they could have made so many great albums and they 1:03:49.800 --> 1:03:52.000 broke up right during their peak, and maybe they'll get 1:03:52.000 --> 1:03:55.000 back together and maybe it's like an Oasis situation and 1:03:55.040 --> 1:03:57.040 everybody's like, oh my gosh, so exciting to get the 1:03:57.080 --> 1:04:00.120 real John ronback, But there's also a chance that you've 1:04:00.160 --> 1:04:03.720 squandered like the best creative part of your your prime. 1:04:05.400 --> 1:04:07.880 I think rom every major that comes by. Now there's 1:04:07.920 --> 1:04:11.360 the two oh he's you know, we've lost him, as 1:04:11.360 --> 1:04:14.160 you're saying, and then there's that deep down feeling of 1:04:14.200 --> 1:04:16.320 like I kind of still think John Ram's one of 1:04:16.360 --> 1:04:20.200 the favorites, and I personally am more on the side 1:04:20.200 --> 1:04:24.680 of I would not overlook John Rahm. It gets harder 1:04:24.720 --> 1:04:27.920 with each of these majors that goes by, But I 1:04:28.000 --> 1:04:30.640 do think like when Rom's stunk at the Masters this year, 1:04:31.320 --> 1:04:34.840 played a terrible first round shot seventy eight, still made 1:04:34.840 --> 1:04:37.640 the cut, kind of got it together. When Bryson stunk, 1:04:37.800 --> 1:04:40.400 like he kind of flames out. He doesn't have those 1:04:40.440 --> 1:04:43.080 other tools that he can lean on. If you told 1:04:43.080 --> 1:04:45.520 me that you know, something bad would happen to me 1:04:45.560 --> 1:04:49.000 if Bryson wins, like I wouldn't be that scared. Rom 1:04:49.280 --> 1:04:51.280 is sort of terrifying to me, And I think the 1:04:51.360 --> 1:04:55.200 right side of the Rom discourse is the side the 1:04:55.280 --> 1:04:59.439 tire on him. So I'm kind of going into next 1:04:59.440 --> 1:05:02.360 week and you're talking about those guys who can ascend 1:05:02.360 --> 1:05:05.959 into another echelon with the kind of Fitzpatrick cam Young 1:05:06.360 --> 1:05:10.760 Ludwig Tier, which is fair. ROMs shouldn't be considered but 1:05:10.840 --> 1:05:14.760 those guys, because He's just accomplished way more. But I mean, 1:05:14.800 --> 1:05:16.720 would either of you two be surprised if John Ram's 1:05:16.760 --> 1:05:18.960 leading going into Sunde Beu. I wouldn't be surprised at all. 1:05:19.440 --> 1:05:21.400 I picked him to win the Masters, So I still 1:05:21.440 --> 1:05:23.840 obviously believe in the skill set. I just continue to 1:05:23.840 --> 1:05:27.480 be disappointed that there is some sort of mental block there. 1:05:27.960 --> 1:05:30.600 I mean, he should have contended a Valhalla and he's 1:05:30.600 --> 1:05:33.320 stunk in that first round too, like he did contend 1:05:33.360 --> 1:05:37.480 a Quail Hollow. It's he's been okay in Open championships 1:05:37.520 --> 1:05:40.240 a couple but there is something there that is not 1:05:40.320 --> 1:05:41.880 quite as sharp as it once was. 1:05:43.680 --> 1:05:49.000 Can I just read since post live, so twenty twenty 1:05:49.080 --> 1:05:54.439 four on TI cut, then he had the foot thing 1:05:54.880 --> 1:05:58.280 at Piner, so he missed the because where he showed 1:05:58.320 --> 1:06:01.400 up to do the press conference and tell everybody, you know, 1:06:01.440 --> 1:06:06.120 it wasn't impacting live, wasn't impacting his play, and he 1:06:06.240 --> 1:06:08.800 was just a negative boy, and then went through the 1:06:08.840 --> 1:06:11.720 next day because he had he had one shoe on 1:06:11.800 --> 1:06:12.080 and a. 1:06:12.000 --> 1:06:16.320 Flip flop on. I think if I remember correctly T 1:06:16.400 --> 1:06:21.320 seven at the Open in twenty four, T fourteen, uh, 1:06:21.680 --> 1:06:26.320 T eight, T seven, T thirty four TA or T 1:06:26.520 --> 1:06:30.160 thirty eight, that's that's his list of finishes. 1:06:31.960 --> 1:06:34.360 I would say Quail is the only real contention on 1:06:34.440 --> 1:06:38.200 that list, Like he wasn't contending when Harmon won, although 1:06:38.240 --> 1:06:40.360 he finished fifth or whatever that year like. 1:06:40.960 --> 1:06:44.160 Seventh, Yeah, yeah, that's the that's the Xander year, not 1:06:44.240 --> 1:06:46.800 the Harmon year. Yeah, twenty twenty four, Well, I will 1:06:46.800 --> 1:06:48.240 say I think he came from the wrong side. I 1:06:48.240 --> 1:06:49.960 think he had a really bad wave split and still 1:06:49.960 --> 1:06:52.760 finished T seven. It was not that bad a wrong performance. 1:06:52.800 --> 1:06:55.760 But can I just propose a question. 1:06:55.840 --> 1:07:01.920 We always put Ram in the tier of Rory and Scotti. 1:07:03.920 --> 1:07:05.920 Is he just not that is good? 1:07:07.880 --> 1:07:09.360 I don't think he deserves to be in that tier 1:07:09.480 --> 1:07:14.480 based on, you know, current performance in majors. I think 1:07:14.520 --> 1:07:18.120 we talent wise, we do it, and I also honestly 1:07:18.280 --> 1:07:21.880 like wonder if we insist on doing it over and 1:07:21.880 --> 1:07:24.400 over again as part of like, well, we're trying to 1:07:24.440 --> 1:07:28.320 basically be objective and really fair about live players. It's 1:07:28.320 --> 1:07:31.080 so much of working the refs and complaining about you 1:07:31.120 --> 1:07:34.760 guys are so dismissive towards the live players. Are we 1:07:34.800 --> 1:07:36.479 saying like all right, all right, yeah Ram is still 1:07:36.520 --> 1:07:39.320 that guy? I don't know? 1:07:40.080 --> 1:07:43.120 Show me then, Also, and I know I brought this 1:07:43.240 --> 1:07:45.720 up to you before, like a year or two ago. 1:07:46.240 --> 1:07:49.960 You lay John Ram's resume next to Xanders and there 1:07:50.000 --> 1:07:52.280 is a case that Xander has done as much as 1:07:52.360 --> 1:07:54.400 John Rahm in the world at golf, It's not a 1:07:54.440 --> 1:07:58.240 crazy position to take. Xander has eighteen top tens in 1:07:58.320 --> 1:08:02.000 thirty five major starts. Ram has fifteen and thirty seven 1:08:02.120 --> 1:08:03.960 like a worst top ten rate. They have the same 1:08:04.040 --> 1:08:06.520 number of wins. I still think John Rahm, like over 1:08:06.560 --> 1:08:08.680 the long turn over the over the body of their career, 1:08:08.800 --> 1:08:11.040 is a slightly better player. But we're talking about rom 1:08:11.120 --> 1:08:13.240 much closer to Xander than we are to Scotty and Ror. 1:08:13.360 --> 1:08:15.000 There's no doubt about it. 1:08:15.040 --> 1:08:17.400 Has anyone ever fallen out of the conversation for like 1:08:17.960 --> 1:08:21.000 great player faster than Xander, Like I know this is 1:08:21.040 --> 1:08:23.240 an injury, but we we have not. We didn't talk 1:08:23.240 --> 1:08:24.879 about him really in the lead up to the Masters. 1:08:25.320 --> 1:08:27.519 We're an hour into this podcast. We're just bring him 1:08:27.600 --> 1:08:29.880 up now in relation to well, maybe he deserves to 1:08:29.920 --> 1:08:34.400 be in the same breath, Like I I was wrong 1:08:34.439 --> 1:08:37.559 about Xander for a long time and then one summer 1:08:37.680 --> 1:08:40.080 kind of made me look like a fool, And now 1:08:40.520 --> 1:08:42.639 like it would be nice if like we get over 1:08:42.760 --> 1:08:46.439 this injury stretch that derailed him and start to get 1:08:46.439 --> 1:08:49.040 back to playing some top five golf in the world, 1:08:49.040 --> 1:08:51.080 because it sure doesn't feel like it. 1:08:53.280 --> 1:08:57.440 Think he's fine. I think Xander's a like well behind Fitzpatrick, 1:08:58.040 --> 1:09:01.760 well behind unfortunately. I mean Xander I thought a few 1:09:01.800 --> 1:09:03.479 weeks ago was trending back towards being one of the 1:09:03.520 --> 1:09:04.880 best players in the world. But yeah, I think he's 1:09:05.680 --> 1:09:08.559 in that next bucket after the you gotta go Cam, 1:09:08.560 --> 1:09:10.519 you gotta go down to Fitzpatrick. And I think Rom 1:09:10.520 --> 1:09:13.479 and Xander are sitting there as the If Scotty and 1:09:13.560 --> 1:09:15.599 Rorty struggle, then they've got a chance to win type. 1:09:15.720 --> 1:09:19.360 Would you be more bullish on mat Fitzpatrick or Xander 1:09:19.400 --> 1:09:24.000 over the next three years? Xander, I probably would too, 1:09:24.120 --> 1:09:27.280 but that's just based on talent, not recent results. 1:09:29.240 --> 1:09:32.200 Next four months, Fitzpatrick, next three years, I'd say Xander. 1:09:32.680 --> 1:09:39.240 I think I fallen the Joseph packet. So anybody else 1:09:39.280 --> 1:09:40.280 have a spare thought. 1:09:40.800 --> 1:09:46.280 I think we're I have one spare thought. I think 1:09:46.680 --> 1:09:50.160 Brooks is trending in a good direction, and not for 1:09:50.240 --> 1:09:52.960 the PGA, but I think that there is a chance 1:09:53.000 --> 1:09:56.160 that he could be in the mix at Chinnacock, where 1:09:56.200 --> 1:09:59.000 he will play a brand of golf that is just 1:09:59.479 --> 1:10:02.280 bred for US Open. Now, can he make five footers? 1:10:02.880 --> 1:10:05.559 I don't know right now, the answer would be no. 1:10:06.600 --> 1:10:12.080 Shooting sixty three, you know at the Myrtle Beach is 1:10:12.080 --> 1:10:14.760 not exactly like a huge doorsement, but it's not a 1:10:14.800 --> 1:10:17.800 bad thing. I just think that Brooks plays such a 1:10:17.800 --> 1:10:23.720 smart level of US Open golf. I'm seeing some encouraging 1:10:23.960 --> 1:10:27.800 signs that he could get back to not not at 1:10:27.840 --> 1:10:30.040 certainly not the level that he was, but if he 1:10:30.120 --> 1:10:34.519 was going to contend again, Shinnecock is a great place 1:10:34.560 --> 1:10:36.640 for him to do it. Just keep an eye on that. 1:10:38.560 --> 1:10:42.000 I'm not buying any books, kept gas stock known whatsoever. 1:10:42.240 --> 1:10:43.439 You know, you're not buying at all. 1:10:43.960 --> 1:10:45.280 I'm not buying keka stock. 1:10:45.720 --> 1:10:49.320 Ah, I'll buy some. I think he's got a couple 1:10:49.360 --> 1:10:53.439 of good runs in them. What's who are you guys 1:10:53.600 --> 1:11:05.080 picked to win? Cameon, Scotty, I'll take I'll take Camyo. 1:11:06.360 --> 1:11:06.559 Wow. 1:11:07.360 --> 1:11:08.120 I think it's the time. 1:11:08.760 --> 1:11:12.320 Okay, PJ. PJ is waving me off. What do you 1:11:12.360 --> 1:11:14.760 want to say? PJ? You never talk. You're saying you 1:11:15.600 --> 1:11:18.599 don't want me here? No, no, I don't. You've been 1:11:18.640 --> 1:11:24.200 too critical. I'm waving you off. We werebuked. Critical talk. 1:11:25.120 --> 1:11:26.639 Just that's it. That's all I got. 1:11:28.640 --> 1:11:30.759 Find a new guy and you find a new island 1:11:30.960 --> 1:11:34.800 to buy stock on cam Young were already over subscribed. 1:11:35.640 --> 1:11:39.759 The nice thing is I've I've been able to retire 1:11:40.080 --> 1:11:45.559 off by Jordan Speed, by Jordan Speed earnings on Justic Island. 1:11:45.840 --> 1:11:48.960 Did you shorted justice as Jordan's Speed. That's what you did. 1:11:49.040 --> 1:11:50.200 That's where you've won your. 1:11:51.400 --> 1:11:54.640 I set up a new real estate development and and 1:11:55.400 --> 1:11:58.320 over over the last you know, eight or six I 1:11:58.400 --> 1:12:01.120 don't know when that Justic guy start, maybe six seven 1:12:01.200 --> 1:12:05.040 years ago. I have I've accumulated. There's just there's a 1:12:05.080 --> 1:12:08.519 lot of demand. We're we're looking at buying more island 1:12:09.040 --> 1:12:13.639 space to develop more on Justic Island. With how popular 1:12:13.760 --> 1:12:16.479 it is. I mean this podcast, you're you know, you 1:12:16.600 --> 1:12:20.200 yourself seem to be angling for a spot the. 1:12:21.160 --> 1:12:23.439 Cam Young shareholders are not selling though, just just to 1:12:23.840 --> 1:12:25.240 so you're not going to be buying any. 1:12:26.600 --> 1:12:30.200 People are still talking about Andy shorting the Phil Mickelson 1:12:30.280 --> 1:12:32.720 is a good guy. Uh the sort of stock all 1:12:32.760 --> 1:12:35.120 those years ago, he's he really hit big on that 1:12:35.240 --> 1:12:37.600 when what it seemed like that was penny stock. And 1:12:38.640 --> 1:12:39.680 he's doing great now. 1:12:40.000 --> 1:12:40.200 Yeah. 1:12:40.439 --> 1:12:44.960 Yeah, Ernie, Ernie keeps looking better every every every year, 1:12:46.840 --> 1:12:48.519 all right, thanks guys. 1:12:49.200 --> 1:12:52.920 We'll be back to talk about. 1:12:52.800 --> 1:12:56.280 What happened at the PGA Championship after with Trevor Immelman. 1:12:56.840 --> 1:12:59.720 Big thanks to you guys jumping in. This has been 1:12:59.800 --> 1:13:02.760 a kind of a hectic week for me, so thanks 1:13:02.800 --> 1:13:06.240 for jumping in on Sunday morning to record. Big thanks 1:13:06.280 --> 1:13:10.760 to PJ for putting this all together. And excited for 1:13:10.880 --> 1:13:13.320 this week's PGA Championship at Aernomy