WEBVTT - Way-Too-Early Masters Storylines for 2026 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.800 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:04.920 I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:05.880 And when I find my. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:08.920 Ball in a fried egg Friday egg, the dreaded Frida Egg, 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:12.040 Friday Frida Egg brid Egg, fridagg bride egg, Lie. 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:14.080 I'm about ready to run off of the hump course. 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:40.880 Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Golf Podcast. 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:44.839 I am your host, Andy Johnson. Today I'm super excited. 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:49.559 I am joined by Friday Golf's Kevin van Valkenberg and 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:53.080 Joseph Lamania. We are doing our monthly check in where 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:55.600 we will just kind of bat around a bunch of 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:59.440 topics on pro golf. We recorded this on Friday of 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:01.640 last week and now we are two for two and 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:06.720 twenty twenty six of having pre recorded deep discussions about 0:01:06.800 --> 0:01:08.800 Chris got her Up and Chris got her Up then 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.880 going on to win, so just you know these conversations. 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.080 It was kind of an in depth conversation about got 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:19.480 her Up did happen before he won this week, which 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:23.399 probably only adds fuel to the fire of what we 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.080 were talking about with Chris gotterr Up, who is now 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.720 the fifth rank player in the world of golf, which 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:35.720 is pretty wild crazy ascension over the last eighteen months 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:39.119 for got her up. Obviously a ton of talent. So 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:43.040 before we get to that, today's podcast is brought to 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.679 you by our friends over at golf Genius. They are 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:48.880 who we use for our event series. Is a software 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:52.240 that's made our lives as people who run events all 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:56.880 over the country all year long, much easier. It's Golf's 0:01:56.880 --> 0:02:01.040 most powerful and trusted on course GPS scoring, statistics and 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:04.920 auto shot tracking. They have more than five million active users. 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:09.680 They are just constantly adding features and bells and whistles 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:13.640 beyond just the typical scoring so they provide real time 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:17.480 GPS distances for more than forty seven thousand courses. They 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:21.520 track accurate distances per club, provide automated stats unless you 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:24.360 review your track shots post round in see your strokes 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:28.280 gained analysis. So check out the free edition of golf 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:32.440 Genius in the Apple Store or Google Play and upgrade 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:36.240 for all the unique, powerful features of golf shot Pro 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:40.120 Thanks to our friends at golf Genius. As always, we 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:44.919 love partnering with them and they have some awesome kind 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:49.760 of more golfer facing tools now than just the stuff 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:51.840 that we use for our events. All right, check them 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:54.760 out at Golf Genius. All right, let's get to Kevin 0:02:54.800 --> 0:03:06.640 and Joseph. All right, Joseph, Kevin excited to gather here 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:07.640 in February. 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:11.440 We've got a a fun theme. I wanted to get 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:12.040 out ahead of this. 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:14.960 I always, you know, I like, I like the block 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:18.520 of being the first podcast to do way too early 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:24.560 Masters storylines. Hell, I wanted to do this The way 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:26.880 I kind of viewed this as is in a vein 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:30.360 of like what am I watching the next couple of weeks. 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.000 We've got kind of a murderer's. 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:37.440 Row of events coming up with with Pebble and and 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.040 and riv and then you go down to Florida and 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:44.960 you're in the heat of Masters prep. So I wanted to, uh, 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:47.680 kind of get this on the blocks. And obviously you 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:50.600 have players. I guess you know. One thing I didn't 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.080 know that we were going to talk about until yesterday 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.920 was is the Master's the second major now? 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:57.720 Because the PGA Tour says it is? 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.600 And do you guys have any takes on the on 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:06.760 the PGA Tour's new marketing slogan that this is major 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:08.120 for the players? 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:11.400 I saw where Shane Ryan reached out to the PJ 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.440 Tour and was like, hey, guys, like, what's going on here? 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:17.920 Like what are you hinting at? And their response was basically. 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:19.600 Like, oh, you know, people have always thought it was 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:23.400 like really a major competition, So we'll let the you know, 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:26.719 we'll let the masses decide what they think or whatnot. So, 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:30.640 you know, just that kind of cutesy wink wink thing 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:33.080 I find. Listen, I've been on this block for a 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:36.279 long time. The majors are made up designation, Like there 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:39.280 is no like there. Since there's no governing body in sports, 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:41.960 you can't really like have someone decide what is or 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:45.200 isn't a major. Essentially, what got decided as being what 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:47.480 is or isn't a major was decided by Arnold Palmer 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:49.320 and a bunch of media people that Arnold Palmer was 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:53.480 friendly with, namely like the Pittsburgh Post Gazette sports editor. 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:57.440 Paper doesn't even exist anymore, unfortunately, So it's like, it's 0:04:57.480 --> 0:05:00.279 it's silly to me to be like, how daries on 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:02.000 this as major? Andy, I know you're on. The Western 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.320 Lam was always or the Western Open was always a major. 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.400 You know, Walter Hagen won five of those so it's 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:11.000 not like you know that what has and has been 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:13.960 a major hasn't been malleable throughout history. So I guess, 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:16.720 like what I think the PGA attorney to do is 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:19.200 just put together another blog cabin and wine and dinahs 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:22.680 and us media types and make us decide what is 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:23.520 or is it a major? 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:29.479 Kevin, I understand that the definition is malleable and has been. 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:31.480 We need to hold the line. 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:32.560 This is not a major. 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:35.159 Live golfers aren't even allowed to play, and this is 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:38.239 not a major championship. And I think my biggest issue 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:40.599 with trying to do it, if people seriously want to 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:43.479 try to do it, is that you can't then retroactively 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:47.200 give people majors when they were playing back nines not 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.800 knowing it was a major, and the pressure that's involved 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:51.719 in trying to win a major. I understand that's been 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:53.760 done before, but we cannot let it happen, and we 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:55.560 need to hold the line. Four is it also just 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:58.040 a good number. We do not need a fifth. 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:01.440 It all is perfect to agreement, Joseph, there is no 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:04.279 other need for majors. Sorry, PJ Tour, you missed out 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:07.160 like you never should have. Let the PJA of Americas 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.599 break off, you should have broke off. You made a decision, 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:12.080 now own that forever pulled the line. 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:14.680 I mean, but then Don Raya would be the president 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:21.160 of the PGA Tour right now. The I agree. I 0:06:21.200 --> 0:06:24.440 agree with the premise. I think the hardest part about 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:28.840 winning a major is the back nine, and no back 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:31.960 nine represents that more than I guess the National where 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:36.039 people just like collapse and or people just can't get 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:39.479 out of the out of the blocks because the the 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:44.400 pressure and the expectations and the you know, anticipation. I 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:49.240 think there's something about, you know, the beyond the players, 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:52.960 whether they deserve to be a major or not. You 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:56.120 don't just get to announce that you are the first major, too, 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:01.240 Like there's something about the order, and there is something 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:06.359 extra about the Masters because of the first major from 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:08.880 the you know Open or what used to be the 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:09.880 PGA in August. 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:11.520 That eight month wait. 0:07:13.040 --> 0:07:15.840 Actually adds to the pressure on the first te of 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:20.080 the Masters because somebody hasn't felt that major feel in 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:20.960 eight months. 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:22.760 That adds to. 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:27.920 The layers of the Masters, and that's another reason why 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:32.760 the players can't just be a major. Interestingly enough, I 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:35.400 think something that that comes to light with the with 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.680 the PGA, and I didn't expect to get here in 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:41.600 this podcast with the PGA moving or with the PGA 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:46.400 moving on to new CEO, Terry Clark is hired. And 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:51.720 while the PGA Tour is kind of, you know, really 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:57.600 heavily throwing around the scarcity schedule, and from things that 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:02.440 I've gathered this the schedule would yield potentially a early 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:09.760 August finish with a singular finishing event, no playoffs. All 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:12.600 of a sudden, this opens the door wide back open 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:17.760 for the PGA Championship to move back to August. It 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:21.600 is actually of the rotating venues. You know, when you 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.640 look at the American rotating venues, it's the one that 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:28.160 has the most free dates versus the US Open, which 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:30.680 is kind of locked in till twenty fifty on where 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:34.000 it's going. And that would open the door to I 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:39.480 think like they've been kind of picking through scraps of 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:43.720 venues that work for them in May. That would open 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.000 the door for a lot of really interesting venues. And 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:51.680 if the tour ended their season, it's like a final 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.400 event and then you have a Major after that. 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.360 I think that's actually kind of compelling for golf. 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:03.400 One question on that would be maybe this shouldn't be 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.520 the end all be all, but like PGA Frisco August 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:10.880 at PGA Frisco is not a good time to host 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:13.160 that tournament. And I don't know, maybe that means that 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:16.560 PJ Frisco isn't a heavily featured golf course in the 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:20.600 PGA Championship future venue list, which would be totally fine 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:23.560 with me. But that would seem like kind of a 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:27.239 big issue that they were so committed to that facility 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.440 and I thought that was a big part of their 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:32.080 future plans. Like, so you're going to try to host 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:34.320 a tournament in Dallas in August, like that would not 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:34.880 go well? 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:39.600 What if PJ Frisco becomes the neome of the PGA, uh, 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:41.560 you know of America just a sunk costs. 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:43.640 You tried, it didn't work. 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:45.800 Now you just need to walk away from it, you know, 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:47.840 like the embarrassment is what it is, like you did, 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:48.600 it just didn't work. 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:55.520 I believe there's only one PGA Championship awarded to Frisco 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:57.440 and it is next year. 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:01.000 Okay, so I'm writing a level it could. 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:04.560 Be a solvable situation. It's you know, I think there 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:07.920 is a you know, in terms of some wisdom that 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:13.160 Seth Waw bestowed on the general golf public when he 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:17.800 was the CEO of the PGA, he described the process 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:21.720 of locking in dates into the twenty fifties as quote 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:23.440 unquote irresponsible. 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:25.960 And this is, you know, if they. 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:30.960 Were to potentially move back to August or consider it, 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:35.719 the the fact that they have a free schedule is 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:40.679 very compelling and just you know, to give listeners an idea. 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:44.240 You know, we're we're we just hosted at Quail Hollow, 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:50.600 we had Valhalla the year before. Venues that are all 0:10:50.640 --> 0:10:53.600 of a sudden open for the PGA if they go 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:56.920 back to August chamber Spay. 0:10:57.720 --> 0:10:59.839 I think a prime time. 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:05.960 Augus guest event at at Chambers Bay, where you're deciding 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:10.199 a champion and watching pivotal weekend rounds at nine pm 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:16.199 Eastern would be very popular in a dead zone of sports. 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:20.880 You also open up, you know, the renovated Madina three, 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:24.080 which we will we will see this year at the 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.600 President's Cup. I think that's going to be one of 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:32.000 the more compelling PGA or you know, championship golf courses 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:33.200 of the next thirty years. 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:36.839 There's no real space for it for a US Open. 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:41.920 It's a huge media market Chicago obviously, then you get 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:45.440 the likes of Aaron Hills in Whistling Straits. Furthermore, like 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:49.760 when you think about sheer population density, the number of 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:53.760 people within four to five hours of those places that 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:59.280 can attend, and what a great time to host in 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:04.640 that area. So I think that is a fascinating topic 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:07.960 of discussion for the PGA. And while we're talking about 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:10.720 you know, this is all done by the PGA Tours, uh, 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:12.480 you know, marketing campaign. 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:15.360 But yeah, I just I. 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:18.880 Think the this is Yeah, I didn't really expect this 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:21.560 year to be a year where you have these huge 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:25.560 underlying stories that are happening in the background of the 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:30.920 golf that aren't you know, really around live. It's more 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:33.800 around what does the PGA Tour look like moving forward? 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:37.640 Because I think everybody expects to see wholesale changes and 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:40.120 then how does everything fall around that. And I think 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:43.360 the PGA, you know, with the with their new CEO 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:47.160 of Terry Clark, is kind of a lynch pin here. 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:49.800 The other part of all that that I don't know 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:53.080 that really got brought up. Somebody can check me on this, 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:57.080 but the college football schedule just also got altered for 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:59.320 next year, and I believe now is supposed to the 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:02.240 final is what the weekend before the super Bowl. So 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.240 if the PGA Tour was thinking about still because people 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.120 have said that the Tory week this week still would 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.719 have worked the week before the super Bowl. But now 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:14.280 if that would be possibly competing with college football, the 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:16.720 college football final, I wouldn't think that's something that Brian 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:19.160 Rolapp wanted to would want to steer into. So I 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:21.800 would maybe be further amo for starting the season after 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:24.080 the super Bowl. I don't know, but I thought that 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:27.600 that was probably a relevant announcement with the college football 0:13:27.640 --> 0:13:29.200 finally getting I don't know, Ken if you have any 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:29.719 thoughts on that. 0:13:30.920 --> 0:13:33.920 Yeah, I just wonder so much how how much of 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:35.960 a winning strategy is to just be like, oh, we're 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.440 so worried about football, like we got to keep away 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:41.720 from football. Like I kind of feel like, differentiate your product, 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:44.040 you know, make it, you know. Maybe so it's not 0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:46.959 specifically lined up in terms of the exact same broadcast window, 0:13:47.040 --> 0:13:49.600 but you know, sometimes golf can be a good like 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:53.560 entree to the actual football like later in the afternoon 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:56.200 or evening, like maybe just find ways to not go 0:13:56.360 --> 0:13:58.679 directly up against it, but don't don't be so scared 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.520 of it that you're gonna alter your entire schedule just 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:04.160 to avoid it. I just say Andy Chambers Bay was 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.160 number one on my draft picks of of PJ venues 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:08.440 that I would like to see return. 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:10.120 I feel like, uh, it. 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:12.640 Got a raw deal and I just really want to 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.520 see something come back there because I think it's a 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:17.200 cool venue for pros. 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.360 Yeah, you just you just think about what they can 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:24.480 do in August, and it would be incredible. And it's 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:27.360 just you know, there's some venues in and listen like 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:30.240 they they almost need to lean in that, Hey, we 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:31.880 aren't the we aren't the us GA. 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:35.600 We know we're not the us GA. We aren't going 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:36.720 to get the top flight. 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:39.760 But are there other venues that make a ton of 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:43.680 sense for us UH to go do because of markets? 0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:46.920 And one that just got discarded with you know, no 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:51.120 second chance is Chamber Spae. You know, I think they're 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:55.280 they're super thirsty for for pro golf, high level of 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:57.800 pro golf. And you know what a great you know, 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:01.680 kind of tell vision product. When you think about it, 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:07.760 you know, it's it's it's a waterfront, uh late late 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:10.280 broadcast window golf like that. 0:15:10.280 --> 0:15:12.920 That is a great combination. Let's get to. 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:18.880 The way too early Masters storylines. As I said, I 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:23.280 think this is a way to kind of a way 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.720 you can kind of view a lens. I think, like 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.200 if you think about other sports, like you're constantly talking 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:32.240 about regular season and and does this work for the 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:35.560 postseason or is this a recipe that can get you 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.920 to the super Bowl? You know, it's always viewed through 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:42.800 the lens of of of majors, and with the Masters 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:46.520 less than two months away, this is this is the 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:49.440 time to start to think about about stuff. And uh, 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:53.080 I'm curious what uh what are what are some storylines? Joseph, 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:54.160 Why don't you lead us off? 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.280 I mean, yeah, it's fun to zag a little bit, 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:00.600 but I think we'd have to We have stars, Scott Scheffler. 0:16:02.360 --> 0:16:04.440 I want to let him down because I knew I 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:05.480 didn't need a list them. 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:08.760 Yeah, it's more fun to start with somebody a little 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:10.280 more off the board, which I'm sure we'll get to. 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:14.240 But the more I think about it, I think Scotty 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:19.440 Scheffler finishes his career with at least four Masters, Like 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:22.240 I think a fifth is very in range. He has 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:27.080 completely dominated. It's a golf course that is so perfectly 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:29.640 well suited for him. And I don't know, I've been 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:33.160 thinking a little bit about the combination everyone talks about, 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:36.280 like iron play and short game and the little power. Yeah, 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:39.520 we know that. I think the ability to control your 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:44.880 driver the way Scotty does and hit really high ballflight 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:48.320 pure iron shots is a combination that not that many 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:50.920 golfers have. I think a lot of guys can hit 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:53.080 the really high iron shots, but then they're not always 0:16:53.080 --> 0:16:55.280 the most in control of their golf ball off the tee. 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:57.840 It is such a rare combination to have both of 0:16:57.880 --> 0:17:00.720 those things that, Like, I think Rory's a great example 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:02.920 where when he's driving it well, like we know he 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.960 can win the Masters, but obviously the driver can get 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:09.240 a little bit away from him, and so he has 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:11.480 that high, towering ball flight, but sometimes it gets a 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:12.359 little bit out of control. 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:13.320 Scotty has just. 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:16.760 This unique combination of having both those skills plus a 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:19.840 world class short game. He's gonna be one of the 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.399 strongest favorites we've had at a Master's in a long time. 0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:25.479 And yeah, I don't think anybody should be anywhere close 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.280 to Scotty right now. Despite sure of a bad round, 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:30.680 we're recording this during the waste management. I don't think 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:35.320 that bad round. He played men a whole lot. He's like, 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:37.920 it's not going to be fifty to fifty. But I 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:39.919 think there's a very good chance Scotti Scheffler's winning his 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:40.919 third Masters in April. 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.760 I look, I think he's I might go over Joseph 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.080 even on five jackets, Like I think we're really I mean, 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:54.480 he's thirty, like crazy, you know, probably twelve more years, 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:58.480 thirty more years of legitimate Masters like contention where he 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:00.960 would be among the favorites, if not the favorite, it'd 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:03.520 be the favorite probably for the next five to six years, 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:07.240 barring any kind of injury. And it just said, no, 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:10.240 course is set up better for him just in terms 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:14.040 of great iron play, great short game to recover putting 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:17.160 is kind of uh, you know, minimized, but even still 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:19.679 like he's a very good putter now. So yeah, I 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:23.080 think we could be looking at like it's probably like 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:26.600 Nicholas's record of eighteen is out of like range, but 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:28.160 I think six masters. 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.960 Yeah, maybe that's that's with more realistic than you'd think. 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:39.080 Yeah, I I mean, you think about like the crop 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:45.480 of real challengers right now, it's kind of weak. I 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:49.680 think like there is like a world where where Scotty's 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:53.080 kind of like choked some players out, you know, and 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:57.960 he's had had this this effect and impact on golf 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:04.320 where people have size tried to to chase things to 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:08.000 improve because of the bar that Scotty has set and 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:12.760 maybe has had some negative impacts. I'll jump in here 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:16.520 one of my big stories I'm kind of watching right now. 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:19.520 I'm going to just call them the down bad group. 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:28.240 Players with very lofty expectations from the general public, media 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:33.560 appears themselves, who are not performing at the level that 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.359 we would expect at this point in their career. I 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:41.920 have in this group Ludwig who's taken a clear step back, 0:19:42.240 --> 0:19:45.120 and it's it's very early. So you know, my kind 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:48.320 of framing of this is like one of these guys, 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:51.240 which ones of these guys are going to show life 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:55.840 so that they can be a first page Masters betting 0:19:56.680 --> 0:19:59.920 favorite in the sense of a real challenger. 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:00.720 And all of. 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:05.000 These players I think need a kind of like a 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:09.600 seismic directional shift from what we've seen to feel that way. 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:13.720 So I've got Ludwig, who's obviously contended the two Masters. 0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:20.840 He's played in real contention, Xanderschoffley, Colin Morikawa, who is 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:27.680 a ace at Augusta National tremendous track record, but also 0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:30.360 is playing You know, I would say the worst golf 0:20:30.400 --> 0:20:35.280 of his career, Victor Hovlin and Jordan Speed, which one 0:20:35.280 --> 0:20:39.199 of these players is going to flash and show some 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:42.320 sort of life. And I think, like I put Speed 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:44.480 kind of on the very end of this list. 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:45.520 I threw him on here. 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:48.960 Joseph's face you thought you were. 0:20:51.359 --> 0:20:52.520 I just threw him on here. 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:56.679 You know, the track record had Augustus good even with 0:20:57.200 --> 0:21:02.000 recent bad things. But like, if Jordan Speed moderately good golf, 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:05.439 you're going to start to hear the Augusta things. And 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:09.479 he's shown he can compete even when he's playing poorly. 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:12.240 Oh on, Joseph, He's shown he can compete Augusta. 0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:16.560 There's so many there's probably twenty. 0:21:16.359 --> 0:21:18.320 Bad golf Lash year he was top fifteen. 0:21:19.160 --> 0:21:21.400 Okay, talking about winning, I think there's probably twenty names 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:23.280 that are winning. But this thing before Jordan Speed, But 0:21:23.400 --> 0:21:23.600 go on. 0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:27.040 But anyways, so I this is that down bad group, 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:29.640 but it ties to Scotti where like you look at 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:33.480 the OWGR or you look at Data Golf or wherever 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:36.080 you wherever you want to get your new your your 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:38.800 news and your rankings for from you know, I know, 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:42.520 our live our live listenership, would you know probably has 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:46.399 some other form of ranking service they want us to 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:49.560 look at. But like you look at the contenders, like 0:21:49.600 --> 0:21:52.280 the in terms of like who's playing the best golf, 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:54.879 and you know, with Xander being on this list, like 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:58.119 Xander's playing right now and I don't you know this, 0:21:58.320 --> 0:22:01.359 He's playing as if he's the forty fifth best player 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:01.879 in the world. 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:02.440 You know. 0:22:04.000 --> 0:22:05.760 What, he looks bad right now. 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:09.399 And you start to look at the list and it's like, okay, 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:13.200 so there's Rory obviously, but then it's it's forty five 0:22:13.280 --> 0:22:18.600 year old Justin Rose. There's Tommy Fleetwood, Major list, Tommy Fleetwood, 0:22:19.440 --> 0:22:23.960 Russell Henley who's not going to win the Masters. I'm 0:22:24.000 --> 0:22:26.040 just gonna put that out there. He's not going to 0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:33.920 win the Masters. Bob McIntyre, nice player, JJ Spawn, Ben 0:22:33.960 --> 0:22:37.960 Griffin who's never played a Masters. Justin Thomas is obviously hurt. 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:43.280 Then you get to Harris English, Sepstraka, Alex Norin like 0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:47.399 you know, The next person who I'm intrigued by and 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:49.880 would I would say, is an intriguing player to. 0:22:49.800 --> 0:22:51.640 Watch right now is Hideki Matsuhama. 0:22:53.280 --> 0:22:55.680 But you know, you start to look at this list 0:22:55.800 --> 0:22:58.720