WEBVTT - Fire Drill 044: Tom Kim Versus the Universe 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:06.520 It's the biggest issue right now. We live golfs. Are 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:08.320 they gonna get what ranking points are? These guys can 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:11.559 be able to play in the majors and it will 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:15.920 be hysterical if the MENA Tour becomes important. I mean, 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:18.439 it's been dormant since two thousand and twenty. In the 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:22.520 last four years it's played one full season in five events, 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.400 and it is somehow a key cog in the wheel 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:28.840 of one of the biggest golf stories in our lifetime. 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:35.000 It is wild. I got thoughts in my head. Can't 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:42.800 get jan nothing thing what I'm thinking about, can't get 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:54.400 them out, nothing think what I'm thinking about. Hello, this 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:59.520 is Alan Schipknuck back for another Fire Drill podcast. As always, 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:01.480 we need to give a shout out to our sponsors. 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:05.320 Par Points the best golf scoring app ever invented by 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:08.240 man or god. It really makes a game more fun 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.160 and interesting. If you're tired of just you know, old 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:13.520 man par I would I would definitely recommend you check 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:15.840 it out. It's at the app store, go download it 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:20.240 today and then Dormy Workshop another great support of everything 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:22.360 we do here at the at the fire Pit Collective. 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:28.160 They makes super cool um handmade artisanal leather goodies for 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:30.920 your golf bag and your life in general. Um, if 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:34.560 you go to the Firepit site on our on our website, 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:36.640 we have some we have some special things that are 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:39.560 unique to the fire Pit Collective. But Dormy does all 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:41.959 kinds of cool stuff. I would implore you to check 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.800 it out. So let's get to the podcasts at hand. 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:51.240 Joined by by two aces, not four aces like on 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:55.160 Live Golf, we have two aces in Michael Bamberger and 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:59.520 Ryan Friends. Um, so it was quite an eventful week 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:04.040 in oflf Jen's I think, well you should start with um, 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:08.680 Tom Kim, who is just going off. I mean, a 0:02:08.680 --> 0:02:12.639 few months ago, even the most restless Golf channel viewer 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:14.919 never heard this guy's name. He's won now, He's won 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:17.880 twice on the PGA Tour. He dusted Patrick Cantley in 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:20.480 a great shootout in Vegas, and of course he had 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:23.600 quite a starring role the President's Cup. I was struggling 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:27.520 to think of the last basic unknown who was burst 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:29.280 on the scene like this. I mean, you can't say 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:33.440 Tiger because he had an incredible amateur career. Maybe Sergio, 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:37.080 but you know he was making cameos in the big time. Um, 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:39.400 I mean for both, I'll just put out to both 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:42.120 of you guys, who does it this this uh? Who 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.400 does this kid remind you of? It's just this incredible 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:47.960 debut on the on the global golf stage. And let's 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.680 just note for any listener who doesn't know what you 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.280 just said when you say kid, he's a kid. He's 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:57.480 twenty yeah, and so everyone knows, no one since Tiger 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:00.920 has won twice before before turning twenty one. And that 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:06.679 is a really good question because everyone no Now I've 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:09.520 trotted this out a million times, but when Ernie Els 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.239 turned pro at about nineteen and he's catting, he was 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:14.760 playing in his first tournament in Europe and I happen 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:17.240 to be catting in his group, and my guy Peter 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.320 Terravan and said, I don't know who the funk this 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.880 kid is, but he can golf his ball and that's 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:25.120 started that started this. Tom Kim is, how does somebody 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.000 come up and now you look at him, he looks 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.320 like he's thirty four. You know, he's got an old man. 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:33.359 You know, he's you know, he's not ready for the gym. 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:35.840 He doesn't look like he cares and he doesn't look 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:37.520 like he's trying to hit her hard. You know, he's 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:40.440 just like he's out of nowhere everything about him, and 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:42.400 he's laid off like a lot of modern guys are. 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:45.600 That's a great question, Alan. I can't think of anyone 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:48.119 read all except for maybe you know Ernie way back 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:50.760 when before the internet, Ryan, you follow all these young 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:54.160 golfers coming up that did you know about him yourself? Yeah, 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:58.600 So there's a guy named Jude uh Deloye who's uh 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:02.720 is a follower and become friends of mine, and he's 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:05.360 a big he's a gambler, you know, one of these. 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:10.920 And he was on another guy named skyler Um who 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.880 has been on Tom Kim for a long time. He's won, 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:16.960 you know, he won over in Asia a couple of times. 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:20.120 And so um, I'll tell a quick Tom Kim story. 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.760 I posted the video Jake as the producer. You gotta 0:04:22.760 --> 0:04:25.720 put it in right here, right here. Uh. We're at 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:30.480 the Waste Management Monday Qualifier in two thousand, nineteen or twenty. 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.760 Tom Kim has hit his ball onto a bridge. Okay, 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:37.520 and like at that time, I think he had won 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:39.520 two or three times and he was eighteen years old. 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.039 I think this was his first trip to the United States. 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:46.159 So welcome to the Monday que life. McCormick ranch, where 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:49.320 the waste Management Monday has played. Is not a good 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:53.560 golf course. You hit Matt's, you know it's not great. Uh, 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:57.479 it's just a factory. Uh. So Thomas hit his ball 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:01.360 onto a bridge and his waiting for a ruling. In 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:04.599 the meantime, me and Neil are watching the Monday qualifier 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:08.520 and watching Tim Tom and we see a woman with 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.359 two dogs walking on the golf course and she is 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:16.840 coming directly for Tom and this bridge and we're like, 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:19.640 no way this is going to happen. And sure enough 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:23.640 she comes across the bridge. She's Canadian. She goes and 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:26.279 Tom Kim is over his ball. This can be the 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:30.080 social clip. He's over his ball, like guarding it as 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:34.840 she comes across the bridge, and she goes, uh, yeah, 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:38.159 that's a good job. I'll know he'll eat it. He'll 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.920 he'll grab that ball. You better protect it. And she 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:42.800 and then she walks by and goes, I know this 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:46.800 is important, but I gotta walk my dogs and leaves 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.279 and I was just like, what just happened. And this 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:52.240 poor eighteen year old South Korean kid who's just come 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:53.840 to the United States for the first one. I was like, 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:56.039 oh my god, the PGA tour must be so great. 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:58.240 I can't wait for all these dreams. And here he 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:00.640 is on a bridge and this woman is walking hit 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:03.839 and dog over the bridge. It was wild. And I 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:06.839 posted that video tonight just now to say, like, wow, 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:08.840 one of two two and a half years it's been 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:13.320 for time kid who's now like a rising star. How 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:17.800 how old was when he was already playing pro at eighteen? Then? Yeah, 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:21.640 he was seventeen or I think no, I think he 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:26.240 turned pro and he was fifteen because his his his family, 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:29.719 they moved to the Philippines at one point because they 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:32.599 thought it'd be better for golf and better for the 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:36.880 dad's professional life. And he kind of dominated golf in 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:40.440 the Philippines. He wasn't getting recruited by American colleges. He 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.000 was fifteen years old, and he knew he wanted to 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:43.520 be a pro golfer. He said, screw it, I'm just 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.520 gonna turn pro. And you know, it's kind of the 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.400 Thai trion or um, you know. So there's there's been 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:53.000 a few others we've turned pro around that age. You know, 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:54.760 back in the day that you and wose numbs of 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:56.440 the world. You know, it wasn't unheard of to turned 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:59.640 pro in your in your mid teens, but um, somehow 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:01.800 he made it work. I mean, I think any any 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:06.640 modern golf observer would have said that that's nuts, that's crazy, 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.040 but he did. He did as Ryan said he I mean, 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:12.840 he's had success throughout Asia. I guess maybe in the 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:14.680 beginning we kind of oversold it a little bit. I mean, 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.000 if you're a serious student of the game, you you've 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:20.040 heard this kid's name. But the casual fan, it's just 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:23.160 certainly he's come out of nowhere. And to your point, Michael, 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:26.120 I mean, in the ear of the Internet, it's almost 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:29.520 impossible to sneak up on anyone. But it just feels 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:32.360 like he went from being Oh, this this, there's this 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:34.800 kid who's playing pretty well in Malaysia, to all of 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:36.560 a sudden he's one of the biggest stars in the game. 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:38.440 I mean, I think any tournament in the world would 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:40.960 kill to have Tom Kim in their field right now 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:43.320 because of his charisma and the way that people have 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.520 responded to him. So that brings up the question, guys, 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:50.440 I mean, if you live, if you're Greg Norman. Right, 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:53.560 you have to have a target on Tom Kim, right, Like, 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:58.640 he's twenty years old. He's like everything that you need 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:01.080 on that tour, right, Like you have a bunch of 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:04.360 old guys, you have some names, like you need a young, vibrant, 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:06.880 rising star. Not that they don't have a little bit 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.040 of that camp Smith a little bit older, but they 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:12.320 don't have like, you know, the kid if I mean, 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:18.000 they have to be just absolutely hammering that guy with offers. Well, yeah, anecdotally, 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:20.080 I mean I was I was told already earlier this 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.760 year that he he had an offer that he turned down. Um, 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:25.600 but of course they can just add another zero to 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:27.360 it and it becomes a lot more interesting. I mean, 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:30.920 certainly the price tag has gone way up. But you know, 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:34.160 I wrote this, I think one of my mail bags. 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.520 I mean, the President's Cup is the greatest recruiting tool 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:42.400 the PGA tour has right now, because um, that experience 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:45.040 that Tom Kim had being embraced by all these world 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:48.360 class players, including the Americans. And I think he said 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:50.240 that Sunday night party was like the first party ever 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:52.800 went to. You know, he's like a very serious, determined, 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:56.520 focused kid, like Um, you know, I think that that 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:58.960 will make a loyalist of him. On the other hand, 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:01.680 if you follow you know the social media of the 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:04.800 live players are they're doing their own partyings. But and 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:07.280 they've they've tried to foster this atmosphere as well, but 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:09.720 it's a little more organic from I think, what what 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:13.920 Tom Kim enjoyed it the President's Cup, But um, he 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.480 does seem like you know, I I go back in 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:20.680 Michael uth side of this Max this Max home line 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:23.600 a few times you can't buy my dreams, right, And 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:26.640 I think this kid, this this very winding path he 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:29.560 took the beginning in the Philippines as an early teenager. 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:31.960 He was a laser focused on the PGA tour, and 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:33.320 I think it has a lot of meaning to him. 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:35.920 You know, it was it was the shining, you know, 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:39.200 city on a hill kind of thing. And so for 0:09:39.280 --> 0:09:43.160 guys like that, maybe you know, the tour stuff runs deeper. 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:45.800 But no doubt, I'm sure you're right Ryan that that 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:50.560 that that another offers forthcoming. I may be very that's 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:52.640 very well set out. And I think that the biggest 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:54.920 thing to come out of this President's Cup will probably 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:58.400 be Tom Kim's affection for anything related to the PGA 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:00.680 Tour and and I was on the phone with Davis, 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.199 you know, right after that. Davis loved the captain of 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:05.200 the of the U S t and he said, you know, 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:08.680 Tom Kim was wandering around, uh the U S team 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:12.199 room where everyone celebrating, of course, with with adult beverages. 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:15.120 And he literally at age twenty. It's got hard to imagine, 0:10:15.160 --> 0:10:17.079 but I think Davis is just something straight. He was 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:19.720 walking around with the water bottle because he was under age, 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:21.719 and uh, I don't really know. I don't know the 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:25.079 kid at all, but uh uh, that kind of experience 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:27.160 will last a lifetime. And we all know what it's 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:29.320 like to be twenty. The things that happened to when 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.000 you're twenty stay with you for the rest of your life. 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:34.520 And uh now, of course, you know Live has had 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:37.160 a lot of success recruiting people that I would have 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:39.600 guessed would have been unrecruitable. I would have put pat 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.360 Reid Patrick Read in that category. I would have been 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:45.440 completely wrong about that. But just looking at his comments 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:49.240 after the the the the the tournament today, you know, 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:53.880 he's citing the PGA Tour by name, and he's too 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:57.160 young and naive to be like playing one, I would think. 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:59.440 I think he's really proud to be winning on the 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:03.280 PGA too. Were beating Patrick Cantley and you know other 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:06.520 Jason Day and other name brand players down the stretch 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:10.600 and it's it's neat. Yeah, I mean, it's obviously just 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:12.920 I mean, of what perfect timing for the PGA Tour. 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.400 I mean, the Fall Series is obviously, even in a 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:20.520 normal year, it's pretty boring for most fans, uh And 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.720 obviously this year just the PGA Tour needs as much 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:27.600 good stuff happening as as it can. So um, you know, 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:30.000 the President's Cup in general, it is pretty boring, but 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:32.480 if it produces stars like this every once in a while, 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:35.959 then it's worth it. And the fact that he's came 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:40.000 and capitalized after that, it's just a huge, a huge 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.240 win for the PGA Tour, assuming that he stays. And 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:44.760 I agree with all that you guys have said that 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:49.640 it seems you know what he said. Obviously. The other 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:51.720 side of being twenty years old is you put a 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:53.920 big enough blank check in front of you, you can 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:57.440 just kind of forget about all the dreams and think 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.720 about all the cars you can buy. You know, just 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:01.720 a up right on that point real quick, and I know, 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:03.400 and you've got something. I'll make this real quick. The 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.839 uh but Nicholas said this right right from the start. Uh, 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:09.560 the PGA Tour will lose players and it will develop 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.440 new stars, and the Live Tour will develop its own stars. 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:16.360 And you know, here's a man who his early eighties 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:20.640 saying that. But it sounds so obvious. But it's until 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:23.000 someone says it. It's not obvious. But it's true. I mean, 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.600 that's the way of the world, and especially the way 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:28.200 of the PGA Tour. But the PGA Tour has something 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.920 that live golf doesn't have, which is a system to 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:35.440 earn your keep. You're not invited, you have to earn 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.080 your way there. And uh so for me, that would 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:40.719 that would always be uh something extra special. And I 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:42.200 don't want to cut you off. I saw you were 0:12:42.280 --> 0:12:44.480 right about to say something. Oh no, I was just 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:47.280 I feel like, in a in a weird way, live 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:50.360 golf is elevated the Fall series on the PGA Tour 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:56.440 because these scrappy tournaments with not really brand name players. Um, 0:12:56.480 --> 0:13:00.560 the palpable hunger and the chance that change the whole 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:04.760 trajectory of your career. Welcome to my world, everybody, This 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:09.080 is what I've been preaching for five years now, I know, well, 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:11.440 but it's it's hard. You couldn't feel that during the 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:13.840 FedEx Cup when you know Rory of all people are 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:15.960 gonna win another eighteen million dollars, Who cares? That's that 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:18.480 feels like live golf. That's the rich getting richer. But 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:21.000 now you come to come to Vegas and and all 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:24.360 these other events that are are lacking depth and stars 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:26.959 for the most part, and there's a chance for a 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.400 young guy to become go to a whole different level. 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:32.199 You know, we've seen it throughout this fall series with 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:35.560 with with players like really there's there's a desire there 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.280 that you can feel. It's been neat right because when 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:41.400 you talk about you know, and we're going to get 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:42.920 to it, I know. But just to jump the gun 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:45.080 here for for a quick second, when you talk about 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:49.199 Kara might pronounce anthing correctly. Yeah, when Chakar wins that event. 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:51.959 Of course, he's a super talented player and he'd beat 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:53.800 you know, a lot of good players to win this thing. 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:58.120 But if it weren't Chick, but Norman decided or the 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:00.880 committee whomever decided, oh we want this kid and not 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.960 this kid. It's just a little bit more not a 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:07.679 little bit, it's a lot more random and not really 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:10.800 what tournament golf has always been. That doesn't mean it 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:13.520 always will be. Which is survival if it is to 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:16.520 get there, it's an invitation, you know, as Norman says, 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:21.400 we're a closed shot by invitation only. That's just very different. So, 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:23.720 I mean, here you got to your car is probably 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:25.680 right about the same age. I don't know his exact age, 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.080 but think i'd be their total contemporaries. Okay, but they're 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:34.600 total contemporaries. Uh, which of these two guys is better? 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:37.760 We don't really know, but you kind of guess Tom 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:42.600 Kim because he's proven against has proven himself against a deeper, 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:47.520 bigger field. Yeah, of course we're talking about Eugenio Lopez Jakara, 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:51.520 who won the live events in Bangkok Um recently of 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:55.960 Oklahoma State. And he wasn't important signing for live because 0:14:55.960 --> 0:14:57.760 as you were saying before, Ryan, I mean, a lot 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.480 of guys that went over there have significan amount of 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:03.400 uh wear and tear. There's not much tread left on 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:05.640 some of those tires. But this this is a young 0:15:05.880 --> 0:15:10.560 ascendant player obviously, um not not of us origin, which 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.480 makes it probably more attractive from a loose standpoint. And um, 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:16.840 you know for him to throw in we Live instead 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:18.720 of what could have been a very long and healthy 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:20.560 career on the PGA Tour, and that those are the 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.320 kind of signings that were important for Live. And but 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.600 this kid did to breakthrough and win was a big deal. 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:30.280 And of course his his team also, UM had a 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:33.080 terrific showing. They won that, so you know, he in 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:36.440 he took home four point seven five million dollars today, 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:41.040 which more than Tom Kim's two victories combined easily on 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.080 the PGA Tour. So it is interesting because I was 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:48.880 talking to a college coach recently and I you know, 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.240 it was actually was someone whom coach Taylor Gooch, and 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:55.840 of course Taylor Gooch went to Oklahoma State. And I said, 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:58.040 how much of the college kids talking about Live And 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:03.720 he said a lot. It's you know, they recognize it 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:06.760 as you're saying, Michael, it's invitation only. But how they 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:09.400 play in college and these amateur events of the summer, 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:11.960 that's how they get invited, and that becomes an avenue 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.440 to win five million dollars in one day in Bangkok, Thailand. 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:20.120 So um, you know, it's it's interesting there. It's invitation only, 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:22.680 but you have to earn that invitation with good play 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:25.480 and having some other things that make you marketable. So um, 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:27.960 I thought that was that was an interesting comment. But 0:16:28.200 --> 0:16:30.440 it's like getting into Cyprus Point Club, you know, for 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:33.520 you Northern California is like, we want this guy, and 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:36.000 we're not going to take this guy. But then other 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:38.240 guys a quality guy too, but he just didn't get 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:41.720 invited for whatever reason. So yeah, this this kid got in, 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:43.800 but some other kid didn't. And if this kid had 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:46.800 said no, even some other kid. But I think this 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:50.640 is very important for live this win from the standpoint 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:55.160 of I think it makes other people, other young guys 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:59.840 look and makes like makes that trip more real, Like 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:05.800 going over there and seeing them in that really doesn't 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.400 make sense. But to see a guy that they've played with, 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:12.000 that they've you know, just we're in college tournaments with, 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:15.159 you know, win five million dollars and win an event 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:17.679 and have his name you know, all over the internet 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:21.080 on this podcast, on podcasts all over. I think it's 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.919 important from the recruiting standpoint of when you do go 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:27.040 to that time amateur you can go, hey, this guy 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:29.359 just want five million dollars. Look at what's happened to 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:33.320 his life. He's changed his life in Ryan, I don't 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:35.720 know Ryan if I agree with that, because if there's 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.480 no path to the Master's Golf Tournament and the U 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:43.440 S Open, British Open, the PGA Championship, it's that's that's 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:46.720 a that's a serious for that kid from college. For 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:49.520 Dustin Johnson, Patrick Greed, they've got a path because you 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.840 know of what they've done for a while. They do anyway, 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:55.720 and of course, in Patrick Greed and Dustin Johnson's case, 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.960 they'll play the Masters forever. But for the kid out 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:02.960 of college, are making a really really big calculation about 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:05.840 Max Holmas. You know, you can't buy my dream because 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:09.760 he may never play in the Masters. But but Michael, 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:12.639 I mean that the pitch that they're giving him is 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:14.919 that they will have o w g R points and 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:17.760 that if he plays well enough. You know that we're 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:22.040 talking about a hypothetical top amateur obviously, that they get 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:24.439 o w g R points and he comes over and 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:27.040 plays well, he will be at the Masters, assuming the 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:30.119 Masters doesn't turn their back on lived players. I go 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:32.280 back to a conversation I had at a bar in 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:34.760 at the U S Open with someone who knows James 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.800 Piatt very well, right, and James finished six his best 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:43.600 finished ghost parties. Uh. But you know, he said, Ryan, 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:47.400 you never know what's going to happen in your golf career. Obviously, 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:50.840 James is a little bit of exception. He struggled, uh, 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:53.240 you know, a senior year after winning the US Amateur, 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:55.760 and he got seven figures to go over there, like 0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:59.359 he set for life, he hopes. I would assume that 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:01.119 maybe he's able to come back and play the b 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:04.040 J Tour, but he also can go be a club 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:06.439 pro and work twenty hours a week and live in 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:08.760 his nice house because he just got a bunch of millions. 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:13.439 You know what's interesting. Also, the one thing that's that 0:19:13.480 --> 0:19:15.960 hasn't been talked about enough, the path to the majors 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:20.000 like US Open and British Open Open qualifying are going 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:25.080 to be lit. I mean, look, you could have some 0:19:25.200 --> 0:19:28.640 big names rolling up for these these qualifiers. I mean, 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:30.840 if that's if that's what it comes down to. But 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:34.159 this is the perfect segue to Ryan's story about the 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.400 Mina Tour. Um. I would implore everyone to check out 0:19:37.400 --> 0:19:41.680 fire pick Collective dot com. Um as as everyone knows 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:45.520 Live Golf, I give them credit, like there's such like 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:49.120 they're they're so shady and there's such pot stirs like 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:53.320 instead of just patiently waiting for the World Ranking m 0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:57.720 and meeting all its criteria and maybe possibly tweaking their 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:00.199 format so they could they could check the various x 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:01.840 is that that have been laid out for every other 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:04.200 tour in the world. They're always looking for a back door. 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:06.760 They're always looking to like cut a corner, and so 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:10.360 they lashed onto the Mina Tour, which has been dormant 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:14.679 for years. That um and they have seventy five persons 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:16.600 and they think this might be their avenue to the world. 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:20.399 I mean the hubris and as as Bambers, taking the 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:23.920 hutzpah is unbelievable. Whether it works or not, I mean, 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:26.879 I love it. It's ridiculous and it's funny and maybe 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:29.840 it's clever. But um so, all of a sudden, the 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:32.240 golf will discover the menu tour, which no one really 0:20:32.800 --> 0:20:36.080 has been paying attention to. You, um, but our our 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:40.040 dogged detective here, Ryan french Uh has learned a bit 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:43.240 about the Mena Tour. Ryan and tell the listeners what 0:20:43.240 --> 0:20:46.119 what you know that very few people do. Yeah, I 0:20:46.119 --> 0:20:49.200 mean the opening paragraph that I just changed my story 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:51.160 is like it's a kind of a tale of old 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:53.520 as old as time and many tour golf that happened 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:56.960 way before the Internet. That many tours would come and 0:20:57.000 --> 0:21:00.000 go and not play players and disappear, and owners would 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:02.639 disappear with money or bounce checked his checks would bounce 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:06.960 or whatever. And I get so many d m s 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:09.959 about tours either being delayed and pay or not paying 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:13.520 that I had totally forgot that. At the beginning of COVID, 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.000