WEBVTT - Fire Drill 084: Inside the Ropes at the Women’s Open 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:05.720 It's a big deal when the Women's Open goes to 0:00:05.800 --> 0:00:10.399 the citadels of the game, whether it's oakmant Or or 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:15.319 pebble Beach, it elevates the entire events and of course 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:17.880 they these players deserve that they should play on the 0:00:17.880 --> 0:00:21.000 best playing fields, and to finally get a Women's Open 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:23.320 here is just really cool. 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:30.000 I got thoughts in my head. Can't get him, John 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:32.800 not to think what I'm thinking about. 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:34.159 Count thoughts. 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:40.199 Can't get them out, John not to think what I'm thinking. 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:50.800 About all right, Hello, Welcome back to the Fire Drill Podcast, 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:54.440 joined by Matt Janella and a very special guest, a 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:58.880 gent named Kevin Price. KP and I go back basically 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:01.680 to birth our errands for friends. We were born three 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:04.640 weeks apart. There are photos of us swaddled next to 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.760 each other in a bassinett, lifelong best friends. At my 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.720 wedding in nineteen ninety nine, Kevin met Matt Janella for 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:16.319 the first time. They became great friends. The three of 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:19.600 us and Sundry others have had many golf adventures from 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:24.920 Australia to Ireland, to Scotland to Pinehurst, Abandon and Kevin 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:28.959 is a generational ball striker claims should be scratched is 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:32.039 probably a plus two. That's a sore subject we'll save 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:37.120 for another podcast. He owns his own financial services firm, 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:40.039 but Caddie's out at Pebble Beach mostly because he's the 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.520 biggest golf nerd around and he just wants to touch 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.280 the grass and sniff the towels and do whatever else 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:49.160 he does to satisfy those urges. So Kevin has a 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.880 bag at this week's United States Women's Open Championship, and 0:01:52.920 --> 0:01:56.640 we thought we'd preview the course, the tournament, the players. keV, 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:58.720 thanks for doing this my pleasure. 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:01.720 Guys happy to be here as I am happy to 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.280 be out at the Pebble Beach Golf Links for this 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:04.960 Women's Open. 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:06.520 I think it's going to be a really special week 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:07.000 out there. 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:10.840 It's Monday evening of tournament week. You're you're coming in 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:14.560 hot from a practice round with Mackenzie Han, young player 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:18.080 at University Wisconsin, or you have some roots and tell 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.840 us about Mackenzie and the golf course. I know you 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:25.239 had a special guest in your practice round pairing today, 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.519 Like you just set the scene for the listeners, right 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:28.480 hold on. 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:32.000 Can we please can we take a second like, first 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:35.359 of all, like I haven't said a word yet, okay, 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:38.160 jomp In Matt, Sorry, Like, can I at least address 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:45.240 Ken Well, like you'll have your part of hogging the microphone? 0:02:45.360 --> 0:02:48.440 Are you? Like, oh my, I'm trying to throw it 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:52.119 to the guests, But I mean you're not doing him 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:58.600 at like even close to justice. Kevin Price. Yes, one 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:00.560 of the greatest gifts you've ever get me is my 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:05.000 friendship to Kevin Price with Kevin Price, which is and 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:07.760 we've been all over the world together. We're we're like 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:10.480 better friends than you and I now like we like 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:12.720 we like leap frog friendships. 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:17.720 Like it was like child, it's a tie, it's a tie. 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:20.320 It's a tie. But I lean that way after you're 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:24.359 so very rude intro And by the way, Kevin is 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:28.639 one of those scratch golfers that are actually sandbagging scratch golfers. 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:31.840 When guy rocks up, he's like, oh, I'm scratch, you 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:35.400 know whatever. To your point, he's literally a plus two 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:39.120 plus three. He's two time club champion at Bayonet and 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:39.840 black Horse. 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:43.920 I mean, but also he won the gross and the 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:45.120 net in the same year. 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.240 That was but see that, that's what I'm talking about 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:50.560 like you didn't even you just like YadA YadA, you 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:53.280 blurred right through. You've got some sort of date or 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:56.120 something like, can we just have a conversation now? 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:58.760 You guys are too kind. I appreciate that. Let's be honest. 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:01.480 Those Bayonet Club Champs, we're not exactly the deepest fields 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:04.200 in golf. But I've played I've played pretty well those 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:07.200 two times. So I'll take how many Kevin? 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:09.880 How many? How many? How many times have you caddied 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:10.800 at AT and T? 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:14.040 I've done six at and T prorams. 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.640 And then you've grown up obviously, how many? How many times? 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:19.680 How many? You know? How many years have you been 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:20.640 caddying at Pebble? 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.400 I started in twenty fifteen in the spring of twenty fifteen, 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:30.720 have probably averaged about ninety five loops a year in 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:32.800 those eight and a half seasons. 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:35.400 And what's your low round at Pebble. 0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:38.320 Seventy one from the blue season. 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:43.000 So and US Opens. Obviously, you've spent a lot of 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:48.280 time assessing setup, walking yardages, being the caddy you are 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.680 and the player you are, and the analytics sort of 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:55.600 sort of approach you take to golf in life. You've 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:58.120 you're well aware you're well versed on sort of what 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.800 is the setup of amends you open for you? 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:06.960 Yeah, yeah, so, I mean I think the two key 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:10.800 differences are the primary or first cut of rough would 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:15.880 be a little bit shorter this time compared to twenty nineteen. 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:19.600 Although I'll tell you guys, after the winter we had 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:25.000 and all the rain that visited its glory upon the 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:28.560 central coast of California this winter, that grass is doing 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:30.960 just fine, thank you very much. It is healthy, it 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:34.719 is dense, it is grabby, it varies a little bit. 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:39.800 So reading the lies will be a key part of 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:43.320 the sort of the full swings and the short shots 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:47.000 around the greens out of what I call the regular rough. 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:50.400 That's you know, sort of the two to three and 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:54.120 a half inch rough, that's what we think of as rough. 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:57.560 It's just it's dense and it's gravy. 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:00.600 Every now and then you might catch it jumper out 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.320 of it and the ball just goes sailing with no spin. 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:06.560 I mean, so reading the lies is going to be key. 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:08.760 And then on the margins of the golf course, on 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.719 some of the holes, the pebble and the usga have 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:17.560 grown up some rather long more fescue type sort of 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.720 long blades that lay down, and if they're if you're 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.640 across the grain of that grass as it lays, or 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:28.920 certainly into it, I mean you're probably coming out essentially sideways. 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:32.240 So it's graduated in the sense that you've got a 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:35.320 little bit of a sort of fringy cut on the 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:37.600 edge of the fairways. Then you've got the primary rough 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:42.320 that's playable but really challenging, and then the long stuff 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:44.200 that's just flat out penal. 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:48.839 And compared to AT and T, no night. 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:53.400 And day, much gnarlier in terms of the rough, no question, 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:56.800 much much gnarlier, I mean, honestly because of the amateurs 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:58.320 in the field, and I think the AT and T 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:00.560 has done a nice job of improving the level of 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:02.640 play among the emitters and the AT and T over 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:09.039 the last several years credit SJ. But yeah, it's the 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.840 AT and T is sort of like resort conditions plus 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:13.920 a little bit of speed on the greens. I mean, 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.320 it's really not that different, to be honest with you. 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:19.400 For the Open, we've got a number of fairways that 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:21.840 are now meaningfully narrower. 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:23.640 So I would point to numbers. 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:32.080 Four, six, eight, eleven, fifteen and sixteen are all pinched 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:36.600 in from one side or both so that the extent 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:41.520 of the short grass is smaller. And then of course 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:44.000 the rough, if you do find it, is gnarlier than 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:44.560 an AT and T. 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.360 Without doubt, Matt, can I ask a question? Or do 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:49.560 you want to keep hogging the mic? What's your comfort 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:50.040 level here? 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:50.160 For? 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:53.160 I have one to follow up to that, like green speeds, 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:54.920 Thank you allan, But we'll get to you to say 0:07:55.320 --> 0:08:00.160 the green speeds versus AT and T, Like what what 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:01.920 is the buzz? What's the talk? 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:02.160 Like? 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:04.640 What's the anticipation of how how quick they'll be? 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.320 Honestly, here on Monday night, I think it's a little 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:11.320 too early to say they're not they're not crazy fast 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:14.280 right now, but we still have, you know, two full 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:18.680 days to go, and we've been you know, we've had 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.320 this sort of interior California heat wave the last few 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:24.240 days and that tends to suck the marine layer the 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:27.920 fog in right just in the first you know, half 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:31.480 mile or mile of the California coastline, I mean, from 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.480 Pebble today, I'm looking sort of toward where I live, 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:37.200 which is just maybe two miles from the from the 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:42.040 beach and it's bright sunshine, and yesterday we had visibility 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:44.160 problems at Pebble during the practice round. I mean there 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:47.000 were some shots where I was lining McKenzie up for 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:49.040 a tea shot and we were working off the mow 0:08:49.160 --> 0:08:52.120 lines on the tea box because we simply could not 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:55.440 see targets out there. The upshot of that, for the 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:58.200 for the softness and the speed of the golf course 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:02.240 is that it's still still a little bit soft and slow. 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.000 But I mean that is by us open standards. I 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:08.320 will say today this afternoon, with the fog being a 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:11.320 little bit higher in the sky, I did sense the 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:13.920 greens starting to firm up a little bit. So you're 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:15.679 starting to get some ballance on the greens. 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:20.160 Alan take it away, Yeah, pour some out for the 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:22.480 golf fans home. Have to listen to the marine Layer 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:25.280 conversation for four more days after La Country Club. 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:31.760 But don't if I don't my loo mall Natty's koozy. 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:36.800 By the way, Oh nice, I like that. Yeah, it's 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:40.840 it's so funny. I mean, July here is in in Carmel, 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:44.280 Pebble Beach is so cold and just I'm walking around 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:46.120 town with my dog and all the tursts and shorts 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:49.360 and T shirts are freezing, their teeth are chattering, and 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:51.920 that one's complaining. And it's supposed to be summer. I mean, 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:54.440 our summer is in the falls, as some people know, 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:58.600 that's when the sunshine really comes. So but I like 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:00.840 the uncertainty of the weather. You know, you may get 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:03.440 a bright sunny day, the usually the winds will follow 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:08.360 and that can change the green speeds quickly. But people, 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:10.440 I don't know if people remember how low the scoring 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:14.680 was for the US Open twenty nineteen. I mean, the 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:17.360 men really kind of tore up Pebble Beach. It's just 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:20.720 such a petite golf course for those kind of players. 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:24.640 And the t's that the women are using this week 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:26.880 are around sixty five hundred yards. I mean, it's very 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:30.160 similar to kind of the Golds or maybe one of 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:33.480 the Combo tests. I mean from Kevin, you see a 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:36.120 lot of golf out there. How satisfying is it for 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:39.000 you to see the course play sort of the way 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:41.559 it's supposed to, where you have some longer clubs in 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:44.040 and the players have to navigate with a little bit 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:46.079 of finesse And thought. 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:49.079 Yeah, in two practice rounds now, I've seen some headcover. 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:52.199 Headcovers come off for second shots into these part fours, 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.400 and you know, not for McKenzie, to be perfectly honest, 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:59.440 she hits it. She hits it pretty hard. But i 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:01.800 the people we played with in the first couple of 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:05.680 days here, it's there are some approach shots that that 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:09.360 play long for sure. I mean, it's it's a test. 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:11.880 One of the truisms of the Pebble Beach golf Links 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:14.080 is the is the greens are very small, right, and 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:18.120 so if you if you get gnarly rough and small 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:23.280 greens and some firmness and some wind and a golf 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:27.600 course that's going to play long ish at least for 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:29.840 at least a big chunk of this field. 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:31.520 That's a test. 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:33.800 I mean, that is a real challenge, and you've got 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:39.200 to golf your ball from beginning. You Matt major premium 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:42.320 on playing from the short grass on on, you know, 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:45.839 both in terms of approach shots into greens and also 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:48.000 if you do happen to miss the green you want 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:49.800 to miss where there's a little apron and you can 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:52.040 you can putter chip it off of short grass. I mean, 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.920 it's it's it's the variability and the outcomes from the 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:59.640 green side rough is extremely high. I mean, it's it's 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:03.079 enough in spots to make very very good players look 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:06.960 silly from time to time. So it's yeah, you want 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:08.400 to you want to keep it on the short stuff 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:09.040 without a doubt. 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:14.880 Go back for a second, and how whose bag are 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:17.360 you on? And how did this come about? And give 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:19.800 us a little you know, give us a bio of 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:21.080 who you're catting for this week. 0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:25.240 Yeah, Mackenzie On is an absolutely delightful twenty four year 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:29.000 old graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where in 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:33.480 a in a golf god's work in Mysterious ways twist, 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:36.600 I went to graduate school, as Alan hinted at earlier, 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:42.880 and I have fully and comprehensively indoctrinated our seven year 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:48.560 old daughter into the ways of Badger fandom with her miscellaneous. 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.720 Clothing doc stuffed stuffed Bucky. 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:57.200 Badger's signage, et cetera. So the fact that when I 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:03.360 first got Mackenzie's email after being connected by some Pebble 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:07.720 Beach by the Pebble Beach team. So to back up 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:11.720 a little bit, A few weeks ago, a smallish number 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:16.040 of caddies here received a text message asking if we 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.720 would be interested in working the open in case the 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:22.400 opportunity presented itself, and expecting something like seven to twelve 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:28.840 local caddie requests to come to pass. So the only 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.000 challenge there for me was to not be the first 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:33.920 guy to respond over enthusiastically. So I waited to be 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:38.640 the second and said, yes, that would be great. I 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:42.600 would be happy to do that. So I got an 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:45.280 email from Mackenzie saying that she had gotten my name 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:47.959 from Pebble. And of course the first thing you do 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:52.280 in twenty twenty three is google Mackenzie on and the 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:56.280 headline that popped up was the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper 0:13:56.360 --> 0:14:00.640 article about her qualifying in thirty six holes sectional qualifying, 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:04.560 making it through a playoff with a birdie to on 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.280 the deciding hole in the playoff to to punch her 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:10.240 ticket to Pebble Beach. And I mean, it's just like 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:12.400 it's too good to be true, right, I mean, I 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:16.120 would have taken any bag and would have been absolutely 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:17.680 delighted to be a part of this and would have 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:19.760 done my very best for any player. 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:23.040 But this is truly a match she made in golf heaven. 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:28.080 Yeah, we certainly, yeah, Oh, I mean yeah, I hope 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.600 she thinks the same thing. But I mean, i'll tell 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.920 you what, I'm pretty stoked about it. We actually had 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:36.680 her parents and and swing coach over for dinner here 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:40.160 last night, and Claire had a little handmade card that said, 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:43.000 good luck Mackenzie, I can't wait to watch you play golf. 0:14:43.040 --> 0:14:45.880 And it's like, you know, don't make me cry, boys, 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:49.520 this is some sweet stuff. I absolutely love it. We're 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:52.760 having a blast. And she's a good young player. I mean, 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:55.880 you know, she's one of these people. You watch her 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:58.680 play and you watch her alongside some of these other 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:01.760 pros were were paired with in the practice rounds. You 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:05.280 see what's happening on the practice tee before the rounds, 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:08.200 and there's no reason she can't play at this level. 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:13.160 She's long, she's strong, she's young. She rolls it beautifully 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:17.760 on the greens, and you know, it's just I think 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:20.960 this week is just a little mental fortitude, a little 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:24.080 emotional resilience, and probably a little rub of the green 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:24.960 from time to time. 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:26.880 But she can do it. She can play here. There's 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:27.680 no doubt about it. 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:31.520 You know, I loved that the last US Open, Tiger said, 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:35.200 you know, there's nothing like Pebble Beach for a US Open, 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:37.840 you know, just there's just something special and kind of 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:41.360 magical about it. And for you, Kevin, to be inside 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:46.320 the ropes at a national championship, have you had any 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:49.080 any kind of g whiz moments where you've really felt 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:50.600 the grandeur of this event. 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:52.320 Yeah, when you see. 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:56.120 All the banners and the signage and the grandstands and 0:15:56.160 --> 0:16:00.920 the player hospitality is not bad. We're in there this week, 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:05.760 so that's nice. That's a nice little perk. Yeah, it's 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:08.080 definitely special. And I will say as the father of 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:12.640 a young girl who likes golf and is just kind 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:14.720 of getting started in the game, and we've ushered her 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:19.120 in very gently and gradually, I would say, slowly. 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:23.200 But it's ever since this. 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.960 Event was announced, I thought, what a joy it's going 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:29.240 to be to take Claire out there to see the 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:33.640 best female players on the planet play what we lovingly 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:37.920 refer to around here as Mama's golf course because her mother, Roslyn, 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:40.120 worked for the Pebble Beach Company for a dozen years 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:43.880 and so the family has a real connection to that 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:48.960 piece of land. And now not only does Claire get 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:51.560 to go out and see the best females players on 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.480 the planet and now Mackenzie Haun, someone she has spent 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:57.480 some time with last night, but she gets to see 0:16:57.480 --> 0:16:59.400 her dad, you know, work in the event, and that 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:01.640 is really cool to me. I mean, that's a real 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:05.080 special treat for this family. And of course I hope 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:09.240 it inspires her to sort of want more of golf. 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:12.400 But whether it does or doesn't, it's a pretty remarkable 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.560 opportunity to have to have all these women here. And 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:19.840 I mean, look, it's one of the world's greatest places 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:22.200 for golf. I mean, I just don't want to hear 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.240 any counter arguments to that claim. It's the best walk 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:29.080 in golf. The three of us and Sundry others have 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:34.359 seen a lot of spots, and a lot of really remarkable, wonderful, 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:36.440 delightful spots that we would all go back to. 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:37.000 In a second. 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:40.960 But there's no walk in golf like Pebble Beach. There 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:45.960 simply isn't. It is absolute purity, and the golf course 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:48.040 has never looked better. I've never seen it look better. 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:49.679 This winter helped. 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.600 You know. The guys and gals. 0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:54.840 Who grow the grass around here are exceptionally good at 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:58.800 what they do. But I think Mother Nature has given 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.040 us a really special tread this year with with a 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:05.280 golf course that's just absolutely ready for prime time. And 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:09.480 I think from assuming that the fog stays high enough 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:13.040 from from the blimp or from whatever aerial camera had me, 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:15.320 sea musters up this weekend, this place is going to 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:17.160 look really, really good. 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:20.800 And it is such a company town. It's such a 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:25.000 such a small geographic area. So just driving around, seeing 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:27.920 the courtesy cars, seeing the players. Last night, I took 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:30.440 my kiddos to see the new Indiana Jones movie. We're 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:33.400 driving into the mall del Monte Mall and Monterey, which 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:35.600 some people know, and I saw a Curtisy cars like, 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:37.840 oh my god, that was j y Co And I 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.760 got all excited, you know, and they're like, who is 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:42.400 that said she's the best player in the world. 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:43.080 Are you kidding me? 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:44.679 Like, you know, it was just kind of just it 0:18:44.760 --> 0:18:47.479 was just funny. So yeah, there's there is. You can 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.560 feel it around town. I mean, the street are packed 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:52.680 and uh and there there's just an energy that that's 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:56.240 really fun. It's kind of like I mean, you guys 0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:58.359 have both been over to some of these events that 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:02.120 opens in Scotland where there's just one little town that's 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.399 like the host whether it you know, I think like 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:06.640 bumping into people on the street all the time those 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:09.760 weeks and this week it's kind of similar. So that 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:12.600 just adds a whole other kind of fun layer to it. 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.320 Just just the feeling in the air. It's definitely people 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:18.520 here excited. This is we should mention. You know, this 0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:22.919 has been talked about for a long time. You know, 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:25.199 the Pebble Beach Company it kind of slow played it. 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:27.040 I mean, there was talking about bringing the Women's Open 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:29.160 here I think in twenty seventeen originally, and it kept 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:32.399 getting bumped back and there was a certain amount of 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:36.199 negotiating involved, and so there's been a long run up 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:39.200 and a lot of anticipation and you know, there's a 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:42.919 record number of qualifiers. Everyone wanted to be part of this. 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:45.840 It's just it's a big deal. When the Women's Open 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:49.520 goes to the citadels of the game, whether it's oakmant 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:55.520 or Pebble Beach, it elevates the entire events, and of 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:58.399 course these players deserve that they should play on the 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.879 best playing fields. To finally get a Women's Open here 0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:05.399 is just really cool. And I saw a picture on 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:09.200 social media, a bunch of past champs, how playing golf 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:11.959 at Moniti. Penin's a country club today. You know, this 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:15.240 has turned into a gathering and it's sort of a 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.960 celebration that transcends even just this one tournament. So it's 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:22.120 special and it's cool that we get to experience it. 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:26.000 Yeah, absolutely, it's interesting. You mentioned the energy around town. 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:28.520 It's probably greater than the energy on the golf course 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:30.760 right now, just the first couple of days because there 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:35.440 are no fans on site until Wednesday, so the practice 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:37.840 rounds are very quiet. You know, there are a few 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:41.240 people out there that sort of player guests, essentially very few, 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:45.000 but that allows us to kind of, i think, build 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:48.240 toward Thursday, especially for a young player McKenzie. 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:50.680 She's not played on this stage before. There's no getting 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:52.280 around that. She knows that. 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:55.560 I'm not telling you all anything. She doesn't know, right, 0:20:55.640 --> 0:20:58.680 but to sort of build into it, and I'm sensing 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:01.720 sort of every team we get to she's getting more 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:02.879 and more comfortable. 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:04.600 And then on Wednesday, we'll. 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:07.240 Get some fans on the grounds and and we'll start 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:10.640 to feel the gallery a little bit and what what 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:14.600 it'll be like to play with the people and uh, 0:21:14.640 --> 0:21:16.919 and then you know, the light turns green on on 0:21:17.040 --> 0:21:19.840 Thursday and I think I think she's going to be ready. 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:21.199 But it's kind of a. 0:21:21.200 --> 0:21:23.720 Slow build out of Pebble early in the week until 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:26.800 we get more more bodies on on the golf For. 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:32.560 Us, I'm I'm sort of just commenting on a lot 0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:36.239 of things that you guys we're just talking about. I 0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:40.320 you know, Pebble, I'm a I'm a NorCal guy. You 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:43.439