Fire Drill 026: Cut Day at the U.S. Open

it's a bit more fluid than it's ever been. We've never had this many people capable of meting number one. Put another log on the fire nobody hears give it time. Hello, Welcome back to another Fire Drill podcast. Is Alan Shipnuk coming from the country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. On my left is Michael Bamberger. On my right Ryan France beamed in from Melbourne, Australia. Jeff Ogilvie. Guys is a pretty eclectic leaderboard. There's some there's some world class players, there's

a nice mix of underdogs. Kind a chance to watch the country club play out now for two rounds. Let's get just opening thoughts on what we think about this United States Open. We'll start with you, Ryan, I mean, I love it. We're looking at the board right now. We have in the top five. Hayden Buckley won a playoff in a qualifier Tuesday morning to get in. Nick Hardy won a playoff to become a first alternate that took five holes in fourth. Matt Naysmith, Patrick Rogers, I mean,

it's it's a dream come true. Jeff, what have you seen so far from you know, watching on your Telly and what's really captured your your fancy there? I don't know, it's it was a bit of a different day, right. The course has played a lot easier this afternoon. I think the early late guy's got a bit stiff on the draw. It appears they're having a bit of a good time this afternoon. Rory looked like he could make

a twelve. There was out in the third hole. Yeah, but he made a miraculous double, really good double, and he's back in the mix. It rhymes in the mix. Colin's playing well and as Ryan says, as a mix of qualifiers and sort of other players. I mean, Hayden Buckley's gonna have a big day tomorrow. Is probably gonna be out in the last group on Saturday in the Open. That's going to be a big day for him. That'll be exciting. So yeah, some heavy hitters floating around, Brian

Harmon's going to be sneaky. It'd be a pretty good course for Brian Harmon. I would have thought sort of scrambling sort of place. So yeah, it's interesting at the moment. It's it's it's kind of perfect in that no one's getting too beaten up and the guys who are playing well a scoring well. I like the Jeff has always tuned into the draw like that. I got that's how pros think. You and Justine Reid, you're really focused on

the draw on a comparison. Yeah, my good double is not a phrase you're here too often either, And it was an incredible double honestly. I mean yeah, like Jeff said, he could have blown himself. Roy could have blown himself right out of that tournament. And h he's bounced back with a couple of birdies. So he's now as we speak, he's tied for forth with a couple of holes to go. What have you seen that you like, Michael, Well, it's

just neat just as you're framing this thing. I mean, it's you know, major major stars in the game and the major people that you know that Ryan has in his phone book but others do not. But you know, we haven't mentioned Scottie Scheffler. Scott a show for when the Master's Golf Tournament this year, and here he is contending on a completely different kind of golf course, which tells you that he must be very damn good at golf,

which we know he is. I mean, Scheffler makes back to back bogie's the middle of his front nine, he's at plus two that the cut is projected for plus three. I mean he's he's on the cut line and then he roars home in thirty one guess to three hundred harum. I mean we haven't. We had a nice little break from Scottie Shelfer for a few weeks, but here he

is again. It's it's weird when you look at the board, it's like the good scoring, Oh, it seems to just come in bunches for you know, three or four holes in the stretch of nine holes and the other nine might be very ordinary. But we've seen a lot of that. Yeah, that you know, there was a there's been a little flakum that I've detected on golf Twitter because they were watering the greens this morning and then a little a little rainstorm came through and it's like some people think, oh,

they've already lost control of course on Friday morning. Others like, oh, the usg has gotten soft. But Jeff, you're discerning eye. Do you like the way of the greens are holding, releasing and running out? Well, I'll go back to the draw thing a little bit. I think it's a little fair for the guys who've played light early for that sort of thing to go on, you know. Um, But I mean it's sometimes you get right out of no way, right.

You don't really expected if they felt like they need to put a bit of water on the grains um to sort of protect the integrity, and it doesn't so it didn't get to it out of hand, and um, they didn't lose the grains in the middle of the tournament. I mean, I guess that's the right call, but it's always disappointing when you get on the wrong side of that.

I'm sure there's a lot of angry boys in their hotels this afternoon watching this and the wind dies down and it's a bit softer than than it was for them yesterday afternoon. So, um, you've got to you've got to do what you've got to do. It's always a shame when they maybe kind of get it a bit wrong before the day, if they have to bring water out during the day, But you've gotta do what you

gotta do. Yeah, well, it was you know, it was supposed to be forecast to be in the in the high eighties, which I think it is right now, But in the morning it was a little cooler, and they thought there was going to be a storm that might come in, and then they forecast it was going to blow away, and then it actually did come and dump. So it's been Yeah, the meteorologists have been out foxed by the golf guards. They kind of were wrong a couple times. But it's that that's the greatness of an

outdoor sport. I mean, it's it's it's quirky and you just never know what gonna get. But from from watching from a far Jeff, you like to where the golf course is playing. All that said, I mean, it looks perfect as I said, it looks like it's rewarding the guys who are playing well. It looks super tough, looks like you can get in a lot of trouble, which is like a US Open. You can be playing really well and you just go along and you get one little bad shot. You're getting a really awkward spot and

you make a double really quickly. But as I said that the good shots seem to be going in a good place that they're getting home on part fives, which I think is fun. Sometimes you get these opens and they just make the part fives. No one can get home. So it's kind of fun to see eagles and a few birdies and a few others. And as I said, I'm always I don't really the score relative to part I don't think it is that important. People think it is,

but I don't think it's important at all. I just think, well, you want to identify the best players for the week, and this looks like it's identifying some pretty good players. Still a lot of guys in there, so it's obviously not crazy hard yet. But I'm sure the USG you'll feel like it's maybe been a bit easy this afternoon, and that it'll be a little different tomorrow morning. Yeah. I think it looks like it's playing great. It looks

like a really fun place to play. I'm not a fun place if you're not playing well, but if you're playing well, it looks like that's sort of an enjoyable open to play it from afar, I wonder if any of you guys have insight into this, because I surely do not. They had a great US Open here in sixty three, a great US opreneur Needy. They had a great Writer Cup here in ninety nine. It looks like

they're gonna a really great US Open here. Why is this golf club not getting the respectrum love that it deserves? Witness that oak Mine is like they're playing the US Open there every other year from here to eternity. And this place can't catch a cold. Because my uber took seven and a half hours to get here. I believe it's infastrul. I don't know. It's an awesome place. Yeah, well, I mean you're onto something there, Ryan. I mean it's a it's a smaller build out. They just don't have

the footprint here, which it seems expansive. You know, we're in this giant whatever racketball facility or whatever it is. But there's when you walk around, there's there's not the gigantic corporate villages and there's not as many tents, and I think this is not as financially rewarding a venue. They just they can't they can't get bring in the

corporate entertainment. And I don't know, I haven't delved into the ticket sales, but I feel like the crowds are not as big as they have been at some other opens. And you know, it's just a little bandbox. It's hemmed in. As Ryan said, it's hard to get people in and out. So it's the Fenway Park of golf courses. That's a perfect comparison. So I just I think that's probably you know, it's a great insight as you said before, follow the money. I think it's one of those deals where it's a

net place. They're going to come back every every Periodley so we can talk about Francis we met and all that that fun stuff, but it's not in the rotation because it might. It's just not a lucrative venue. And um, it's sad, but you know, the USGA, the US Open, we all know kind of floats whole organizations, so if if they can take a big hit, they just can't do it that often. Yep, it makes Jeff, do you have any any insight into that at all from your

USJA conversations over the years. I think that's unfortunately. Alan's exactly right. I think it's a commercial operation and they fund the whole the whole year based on the back of the us Open, so they have to do it. Yeah, commercially, I think the places like um that are a bit easier to get to. Obviously Oakmont a winner for them, you know, Pebbles obviously a winner for them, the merchandise

and that sort of stuff. So yeah, I think it's purely that sort of decision, which is a shame, but it's the it's the realities of the modern world, right. We need the USGA to keep control of golf, you know what I mean, in the country and a lot of the world. So they need to fund their operation. If this is their main vehicle for it, it's you've

got to do it. But you need to have these ones somewhat regularly, not always maybe the country club, but the venues like this, because it just adds just a whole lot of credibility to the tournament, a lot of charm, and you need that history and you need that the old stories to sort of keep the US Open being the US Open, right, So you've got to put it in every now and then. This is really far afield, But since I'll make this very brief, it's sort of my theme for the day, Jeff, have you become a

student of US Open history at all? Because I've got a very narrow question. On the chance that you have, probably not all by the sounds of your I'm gonna I'm gonna give it a try. I'm probably the only person is just hit in this thing. Everybody knows that Francis we Met is the first American to win the

US Open, except for the fact that he's not. Johnny McDermott is the first American when the US Open and Francis I went to the we Met house today, which was super cool and interesting, but I'm just a little freaked out. I happened from Philadelphia, where McDermott was from. But you know, Francis we Met was a twenty year old caddy. Well you know McDermott was a Philadelphia caddy as well. Why does we met get all the credit.

By the way, the twenty five cent Francis we met stamp is sales for about two hundred dollars on eb right now, And nobody ever talks about poor Johnny McDermott. It's well, it's the Eddie Lowry photo, you know, the little the little sea urchin or a street urchin, you know, thirteen years old trailing down the ferry. That photo is so iconic, and it's just there's so much folklore and beating you know, Ted Ray and Harry Varton, like, who

did Johnny mcdermotby? Can you tell us right now? Michael Student, student of US Open History. Yeah, that's what I thought. There you go, you just answered your own question. I mean, you know, these they were the two dominant You had the US the under the gritty underdog against the imperial power of England. I mean, there's so many things going on there, but yeah, I think you answered your own question. Yeah, very quickly. Do you have you ever even looked into

this or thought about it? Not until now? Yeah? Yeah, I'm probably pretty good in US opens back into the eighties and the seventies, maybe even not that fat back. Don know, lou Graham's putting style. Now, Jeffy did win at me Dinah, but he was elbows out, crazily elbows out. All right, we move on, I will say. I mean, the fun thing about excavating history is by getting to watch all the Curtis Strain highlights this week, because of course he wanted at the country club such a I

love his action. But the white shirt, hot red pants, white shoes is undefeated. What a look. It's just gorgeous. And seven stall that look, or maybe Curtis stall it from Stubby and Curtis is inside. He's really coming inside, I know. But it just works, man, it's here. Yeah, the whole thing is neat. So Ryan, let let's go back to some of the names on the board, because you know Hayden Buckley, well let's call Mark cow had just made a birdie on his seventeenth hole, so Buckley's

now dropped to a second place. But what can you tell us about this guy? And if there's any of the other somewhat unknowns on the board, who who you're interested in? This is this is your stage where let's hear it yet. Actually I was just pulling up a screen shot to tweet out it is super interesting of Hayden Buckley's story. It was an interview I did with him when I was writing for the PGA Tour, and he was not recruited so at all, like literally at all.

He didn't have any college offers at all, didn't play any big junior events, and his swing coach, Chris Harder, played for the coach played at Austin p for a coach named Mark Larow and Marc Laro eventually went to the University of missus Missouri. So Chris Harder, who was Hayden buckley swing coach at the time, called Mark LaRoe and said, Hey, I'm telling you this kid is going to be really good, and Marc Laroux was like, I'll

take him almost as like a favor as a favor. Yeah, Hayden Buckley got one percent scholarship to go to the University of un Missouri. And now I was leading, well a minute ago, was leading the US Open. That's so cool. How about Nie Smith or any of the other guys? Who else do you want to I mean, Nick Hardy uh posted a story today about he pulled the Billy Madison with a with a player in the Big Ten Championship.

A teammate of his at went to the went into the woods to take a piss pete all over his pants. Was a freshman, super embarrassed, and Nick Hardy went into the woods pete on himself so his thing would feel comfortable. They went on to win the Big Ten Championship. Very true story. It's it's trending currently on Twitter. Couldn't he have just offered him a pep talk? Did he really have to take it that far? It seems aggressive, but

it's fine. But he is a great kid, super talented, as battles some injuries this year on the tour, and obviously he doesn't care. No one's thinking about it. But he's way way down at FedEx Cup points and like he has to in the back of his mind have to think about even keeping his card, So this week is just hugely important from that aspect. Obviously he's not thinking about that now he's won back at the US Open, but a good a good week will go a long

way in just getting his card. I love it. The stories never stopped being interesting and as you've said already a few times on this podcast platform, it that's really what this tournament's all about. But also, uh, just the spring of the variety of of of names and embody types on the board. I mean, could there be anyone more slender than than Matthew Fitzpatrick in this field? And

I mean Will's elet would Will's eleturs? Okay? Uh, Brian Harmon is diminutive, and then you got enormous oversized people like like Scottie Scheffler and uh. But Mark cow is very normal physic But I guess like when we first started seeing Tiger Emerge and VJ and others, it was like, oh, it's you know, it's going to be the end of

the Larry Mises, but it's really not. Actually, there's a lot of different ways to get the game, to get the ball around the golf course, well, especially of course like this that's you know, playing sevent two hundred yards maximum and they're setting up a little bit shorter like so it really is more finesse and more position, more precision.

But um me, no, I love that this is I called Rory a wee lad in a tweet and and some people took exception you could deal with the short guys on Twitter are like that's he's an average height. I said, really, oh please, he's a little wee, right, he's short. Yeah, that's what I mean. I'm towering over him and he hits it seventeen d past me. I'm sure. I mean I said he's become the most towering figure in the game. I mean, I was having some fun.

But I think we lad of it. I'll stand by that. Um, let's talk about a couple of the names at the top of the board. Because Colin Mark Cow somehow all he's accomplished in his career already, he seems somewhat overlooked. And if you were to get a third major championship here,

it would just it would be gangbusters. And this is what I wanted to ask you about, Jeff, because you know, Mark Cow has always played this beautiful sort of butter cut and highly reliable, and he just started decided to start drawing the ball and I was like, yeah, I decided to play a draw and so learning to trust it. Like it always amazed me when guys get to the mountaintop and they seem to have the game figured out, they keep tweaking and experimenting. What is it in the

golfers mentality that makes you keep experimenting? When when you're playing great golf and you seemingly have achieved your dreams, Like, why keep messing around? I don't know, we're all doing We're idiots, really, I don't know. It's the nature of the game. I mean, we're sort of strivers to get to this point of golf. You're kind of pretty stubborn anyway, you know you have to be. It's just the nature of the sport. So I I don't know. We've all

done it. Chase something that we don't have. He swings it so good, he'll work it out. I don't know why. I mean, when he's universally praised as the best iron player on tour, he would sort of mess with that. But I mean, maybe he had a run of three or four tournaments in a row where he had where he had sort of left right winds and left pins and he couldn't get anywhere near him and it was frustrating him a little bit, a few weeks in a row.

And we'd come to home one day and says, I'm going in a draw if I want to compete with Rory or something like that, And it gets your head and then we all think none of us, or at least I didn't, and I think most of us you don't think there's anything you can't do, you know, so stubbornly you just work on it, and you just assume when everything's going well and you don't hit any bad shots like Colin did for so long, you just assume that you can just keep doing that any way you

want to. You know, it's not until you sort of open Pandora's box a little bit that you start realizing, my, perhaps I shouldn't have gone down that alleyway because it's hard to find your way back. I don't know. We all do it, though, I mean commented it for a long time. Westwood struggled for a long time in his middle of his career. I mean, well even Finch he did it with his driving, trying to hit a bit further. He just come off the open, you know what I mean.

There's we've all it's history shows that golfers have been doing that sort of thing forever. But clearly he's managing it fine and he's on top of the leaderboard. But yeah, it's it's just a stubborn golfers, I think, and I think you get bored. I think practicing the same thing day and day in and day out, and you just want to want to try. I know Curtis has said that, you know, he felt like you needed to try different things because he's getting tired of working on the same

thing day after day after day. But having said that, I think, you know, a couple of casual comments or maybe not so casual mint comments and interviews, we can run with it all day long. But the reality is, you know, if it's a left pin, right pin, short long pin at Markows skill level, he's going to play the shot he needs to play. He's gonna fade it or draw. It's not like he abandoned one shot and

one swing in the favor of something else. You know, they're way way I mean, Jeff would know this far better than I. They're way too fine tuned machines to completely get rid of one swing in favor of another. Would that be accurate, Jeff, Yeah, I mean you're right. I mean he can hit every shot. I mean it's probably yeah, he can hit every shot. I mean he's trying to. You just want to be complete, you know, you just you want to be able to get to left pins and rock pins and hit all those shots.

And it can be frustrating. As I said, if you can only move it one way and you get in, you're only fighting, and you get left right wins with left pins. It feels like for a week a week, you just you just can't compete one week. It's frustrating, you know, so you kind of want the complete thing. And he's to be fair, he seems a very he's a very peaceful sort of guy. He's got that great golf mentality. He's never going to get too far off.

I don't think Golan gentlemen, I have to exit. I'm going to go talk to the twenty twenty two US Open winner, Hayden Buckley. I'm gonna try to get a one on one. If you do well, then you better see our new friends, who are the sports gamblers. Since you seemed already know the answer, that's right. This is this is a fire drill first, like someone just stormed off the set. I mean, this is this is history. Um, Jeff, you're not gonna be next in leaving with ship and

a cologne are you? Can you imagine the listenership would plummet if Jeff left, We could we could lose Ryan. But if Jeff goes we're in trouble. Um, So how about John Ram, who's who's looking to defend his championship. He's making a great run. Yeah, he's got one whole left to play right now, he's in second place, one one stroke at he's been a little quiet. I mean, for even last year, there was no doubt that he was the most efficient golfer in the world. He look

at all the numbers, all the strokes gained. He was better at golf anybody else. But he only had the one win, which was the US Open. It's a good one obviously, but and of course he probably would have won Amoral, but the COVID stuff knocked him out. That that was a bad beat. But again, his trivial show. He only won one tournament last year, even though he was playing at such an incredibly high level. So it's

not like we're down on John Rom. But how is it important it for him to pick off another big win at this juncture in his career. I think it would be astounding him because this golf course is so different from where he won last year, Totally different grass, totally different demands in terms of drivery game. I mean, I think it would be really a big statement for John rom to win on this little golf course, he would get more credit than he's He deserves a lot

of credit for being a really outstanding golfer. But I think it would absolutely raise him to the real elite of the elite. Yeah, Jeff, your thoughts on that, Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean it's hard to keep that level up. You know, it's not like that's not that long since this time last year. You know, he's kind of one of the guys you have to pick before every one of these

big tournaments. But yeah, to win it on the West Coast, I mean about as far geographically a part as you can get in the US to win two US Opens. As you said, different grass, but I think it. I mean, he's clearly a US Open style player. It's the ball great, he can hit the ball high, it's the ball miles in his short game when he gets scrambling, he's incredible. You know, he's just I think I said on the TV before I was he only hit ball greens on the front nine and was one under or something. So

that's pretty impressive. That's US Open stuff, you know, to sort of weather the storm for nine holes when you're not hitting that very well and sort of not too too much damage, and history shows when he gets in the mix he usually stays there. You know. He loves the moment. The closer you get to the seventy second, closer you get to the seventy second hole, the better he is. And he has that sort of tiger like knack to come up with really really cool stuff on

the last two or three holes. He's done it a lot, you know, So if he gets there in the mix, if he'd be seems to be a really hard guy to get in front of on Sunday, you know, in the last few holes. So fun to see him play. Yeah, it would be a massive feather in your cap and two us opens it a road. Not many people have done that, so that would be pretty amazing. Jeff, have you ever played with Ron Ron? I played with him

a couple of times as an amateur. Actually, when Phil was we played some practice rounds with Phil out there. It's gonna be a while ago now. When he was at ASU, he goes, this kid's going to be one of the best players you've ever seen, and I thought, oh, yeah, he's all right, you know, but he just got better and better and better. And better and better. Also remember at wis Brocks. I've seen him there a little bit

in Scottsdale. So incredibly nice man and just golf does seem quite It's just such a simple way he plays, you know, it just doesn't seem like there's a lot that can go wrong. Yea brilliant, fantastic golfer. But he runs hot like Sevey did another Spanish gulp. I mean, not to reduce these people to country cliches at all, but he does run hot, and that's part of his

greatness from what I've seen. I think, as I was sort of saying a bit about Rory yesterday, I think that's a it's an attribute if you can kind of get a handle on it, you know, like to be fair. I mean, Tiger was very very well, not always very good at hiding it, but he sort of was running pretty hot most of the time, you know, when he

was at his best. So it's it's just the nature of sort of getting the best out of yourself, I think, and he really really wants it and sometimes if you if you push yourself to the aids, Like you said, it's a race, I mean, it's like a race car. It's like you've got to sort of risk it breaking to get the most out of it. And so he sort of has to risk risk the blowouts if he's the mental blowouts if he's going to play his best, because he obviously has to be right there and fired up.

And that's probably why so great in the last two or three holes of a magic you know, Um, it's uh, it's just the way some people up right and need to opright. So at the risk of trafficking in stereotypes, when I asked last year at the US Open, I asked Paul Casey, what do you love most about John Ram's game? And Casey said, Spanish hands. Imagine being a young lad in Spain and you're in you're a terrible chipper,

and picture that was you're drenched in shave. Yeah, if there are any there are any indeed, Jeff can I can I ask you this because I don't know if I don't know how widely known this is. But when people talk about, you know, the country club takes the driver out of hand, and you know it's not just for bombers, and that's true. I mean, if you look at the holes and you see their shots that they're playing off the tee that that is an extra true fact.

But length is always an advantage period. Uh And Jeff, I'm wondering if you could just take that sentence and explain why that's true to our listenership. Well, yeah, I mean it's even more of an advantage. I think when you don't have driver on every hole. I think because that you can hit less club, you can safely get it to the same place. I mean, some guys might have to hit three would where already can hit four

on under a fairway. You know, it's just it's an infinite advantage because you're always going to be hitting less. It's always more, it's always more accurate to hit less club. So I mean, if you have to hit a two hundred and fifty yards off it t, it's going to be easier if you're already hit bo on than it's for some guys hit three would. You know, it's just

going to be a straighter club to hit. And also, length generally is power, and power lets you create more spin, you can hit the ball higher, you can get the ball out of the rough more. It's just never not going to be an advantage. It's like having power in your car. Even if you don't use it. It's still

an advantage to have power in your car. It's the same when you play golf, even if you're hitting it to the same places if you're hitting less if you can hit less club to the same places, or you can hit it easy, you don't have to hit it quite as hard, or it's a little bit more under control. It's just a little bit easier to do. That always an advantage. Never, never not the shorter In fact, it been length. It's probably more of an advantage on a

shorter course than it is on a longer course. Sometimes because of that, you can hit less clubs everywhere, and you can, as I said, you can generally spin the ball really well and hit the ball higher. And yeah, it's just power is an advantage. I mean it's not you can beat power if you're really good. I mean, Colin can beat John Rome this weekend without even thinking about it, while he's proof that he can. But there's still it's still just easier to hit less club you know,

from the same spot. It just is always going to be Yeah and Jeff along on those same lines. How about when you have enormous leg strength like John Ram has and like you know, Nicholas certainly had and other greats through the years. The ordinary fan wouldn't think of that being an advantage in one's putting game, but it is very leg strength really is an advantage in the And again I'm wondering if you might be able to explain why why that is. I've never actually really thought

about it, but it would be for sure. I mean, just the more stable you are, for one of them, me and John Rahman, Jack Nicholas, with all the affection in the world. Bottom heavy golfers, um, but in a good way. I mean all the great golfers, Trevino, not all the great of a lot of them. If you actually look back at Jones and Snead and they all

sort of got bigger down load, you know. And I think that's because the great great golf swings are using their legs a lot, and they just as they grow up, they're using their legs so much that they just get bigger and bigger and bigger in that area because that's where they need to be strong. But yeah, and the pudding game, just the more stable you can be and the less you move around, I think clearly, and putting it's clearly less of a less of an advantage that

it is in the long game, you know. I mean there's some pretty good skinny leg putters around, but yeah, the leg strength is just going to be in a h It's a bit like length as a golfer, it's just probably always going to be an advantage leg strength, especially core sort of in the bomb gloats Hips area. Most really long term great golfers have been big and strong in that area. So it's clearly an advantage. Yea. And even with Carrie Webb, you see it, even when

when Anica got big and strong sack. So that's a great example. She looks so solid over the ball, every shot right through the back, including the putter. Yeah, well this is not going to impress Jeff. But I did win the putting competition with the Uncle Tony Invitational back to back of years, and one competitor complained that because I have size thirteen feet, I had two touches of advantage. I was so stable over the ball and he wanted me to have to put barefoot when I was going

for a three peet, but I fended that off. But it was, as you're saying, Michael, you know we've left out of these conversations. Who's really protetypical? But Gary Woodland he looks like he's not going anywhere, you know, when he's over those putts. Baby got back for sure, Jeff, I heard a great sound ter day, Gary Woodland walking down a brick path. You can guess why. It's the best noise in golfers. It was so rare. Everyone's like him and are looking or whoever. I was with Bill

Pennington from the Times. Wow, that's a great sound. I missed that sound. I mean, it's I know, it's so much better for the greens and the surfaces, so much better. But I don't know if I wouldn't be happy to just go back and hear that, especially the old leather, so old classics and stuff. They just sounded so amazing walking out walking to the clubhouse and you hear it the two is the only place you ever hear it anymore, and you hear the odd guy doing it. It's yeah.

I mean, the kids these days probably think it's ridiculous that guys wear those things, and they don't understand. They don't have the romance. But there's nothing like sparks walking through a parking What kind of shoes are you sounding gold? What kind of shoes were you wearing when you won? I had sparkes at Wingfoot, Yeah, I varied, I alternated. I have generally up to about there. I was always wearing spikes most of the time, sort of. I was wearing soft spikes sort of after that sort of era.

And the shoes are so good and so comfortable now, and they've they've sort of kind of worked out the soft spikes traction thing pretty well. But I always wore metal spikes at the Masters, the side slopes and greasy mostly for the second shot on thirteen actually bore away above my feet. I used to get the chef like going there pretty regularly on my second shot there, and it freaked me out. So I'd wear metal spikes for

the second shot on thirteen. I don't go generally, but that was towards the end that was the only place I'd wear it. It's wild everything we've done in our journalistic careers, Michael has brought us this moment to listen to you and Jeff blacked poetic about metal spikes on a parking lot that there's nothing I've never been happier in my entire life? Can I ask one last shoe question? This already begins with your size thirteen shoe. Had you

not started there, we probably wouldn't go into the spot. Jeff, this may precede you're involving in the game, but your parents and Adam Scott's and others might have had it. There was sometimes a leather covering of the laces. Do you know what I'm referring to the flap side of the laces, the flaps over the laces. I look ridiculous, but that was so good. Do you know what that?

You know? There's a term you had him? Oh yeahs to stop the water getting in your licenses like it was because that was the vulnerable spot in your shoes. So you're walking through the rockets, it protected uh, your shoe from getting water in there. Alan, do you think there's anybody in this press tent who's going to use the word vulnerable better than Jeff Ogilvy just did. Yeah, in the context of their word, I stand in awe,

but I'll really stand it off. You know the answer to the following question, do you know that the flap as you say, which is the perfect word, but there is a term of golf for that flap. Do you know it? Um, I'm sure you'll remind me. I've heard. Is it quilty? Oh, he's good. Is it kilt? I'm Surelie heard it from you, so I would. I kind of got the answers from the teacher. But this is a long time ago. Yeah, I use that word in a long time because it looks like a little kilt skirt. Yeah,

I can see that, speak of which. I saw a crunshot today and we talked about him. Where he was. He was playing your field and a kilt and and his caddy was carrying his bag without clubs. And his caddy was Herb Wind. He was playing with hickory shafted clubs for some reason. Herb was cadding for and you had to laugh about that. It was funny. But he had one club and had about six clubs. Yeah, so it was there was a few clubs in the bag, but there was no bag. Herb just had him in here.

I see. I couldn't even understand. It was like when I played Peter. Hey, you know I've got like three wedges. Yeah, I get it. Yeah, that's funny. Um, all right, last thing and then we'll end this very Breezy Um podcast. To me, one of the underlying issues in the highest level of the game is who is the best golfer in the world right now? You can make a case for Mari Kawa, especially if wins here, that might end the debate. But GT with his second major, Ram has

got all the strokes, game numbers. Scheffler has been on this heater. Rory often looks like the best player, but then he kind of stumbles at times. You know, Dustin used to be in the conversation. He's fallen off a little bit. But put your guys on the spot. Who is the best golf in the world right now this moment? Jeff, I don't think does it matter you say this? It's an issue, like does it really matter? Isn't this unbelievable

that we've got this many good players? Like I think right now as it stands, I mean probably Rory and Rory probably because the last week and he's one behind and on the leaderboard, but it changes weekly. We're used to having guys being number one in the world. I mean, we had Greg for ten years and then we had Tiger for twenty years, and we kind of got it. Made you guys lazy. You have to go and sort of do something work now and workout who's the best.

It's going to change, it changes week to week. I mean, Scottie clearly was the best goal from the world the first four months of the year, but not even close. You know, m Dustin said his turn. I mean John's had his turn, like it's it's JT's Clearly. When I say JT play up close, I'm like, it's amazing to me that anyone can beat that guy. So I just think it's, um, it's a bit more fluid than it's ever been. We've never had this many people capable of

meting number one, have we? At the same time, it's incredible. Yeah, well, a couple things I'd like to respond to there, Jeff, I'm not saying it matters, but none of this matters is we're having fun and something to talk about. Secondly, did you did you note that embedded in that answer was another critique of how we do our job's calling us lazy. I mean, yesterday both Ryan and Jeff were on our ass about, you know, turn into like a media criticism podcast. I would just I would just criticize

the the golf media again in general. You were the only person interviewing mister Hardy. No, no, the questions that Hayden Buckley was just asked or like like the guy just walked it off the street. I mean, was an All American at Missouri one on the corn Ferry tour and they're like, and you spell your name with a why why? Anyway, Ryan French back on the podcast, still spitting fire. We were just about to end it. I

think we're still gonna end it. But do you have an insight you can share with us from Yon Buckley's gonna win the US Open. You said it on the way out, so I'm not saying it. I've talked to him just now. I'm one hundred percent confitent. Now, okay, you give us one reason why besides your fantastical you know, desires. So, Hayden, the story I told one phone call his Corn Ferry win was he was first alternate Thursday morning on the range.

I don't know if Jeff's ever been a first alternate in a PGA Tour event or corn Ferry, but Jeff knows enough to know what that is like. And a guy slammed his hand in the door and he got into the event. Truth. I broke the story that the guy slammed his hand in the door and he went on to win that week. That's awesome. He's supposed to He's only in Canada. It's like some travel nightmares. Barely got there. It's like all the times, and this time he won a five whole playoff. It's like, it's kind

of the stars are aligning. Okay, I like it. We were just talking about who's the who's the best golf in the world right now? And um, Michael, what's your answer to that? You know, I'm really I'm right right with with Jeff. If Scottie Shuffler wins, of course he's the answer. But you know, over the last five years, I guess Rory or Dustin Johnson's the answer is. I'm more likely to just enjoy the fact I have so many good golfers at the moment. Of course, if more

Cowho wins, he would be the answer. But it's just neat to see so many good players playing good golf at the same time. All Right, I'm gonna say, JT, do you want do you want to weigh in who's the best golfer in the world? Don't don't watch them don't watch the top guys. That's such a good answer. All right, Well, uh, this is like you know, Sein felt the end. This is a podcast about nothing, and yet it was it was quite entertaining. So uh, any any parting thoughts for now, It's just I think what

I think what Ryan just said about. You know, whoever is going to win this thing. You know, if it's not a big name that that we're so familiar with, and that happens, you know, Scott Simpsons won and Steve Jones's won, and guys win that you don't really know that well, but it really it's when it happens at a US Open it's especially great because it just reminds you this thing really is a dream machine. I'm just as a quick side note, I only learned this recently.

Fewer than twenty thousand people have played Major League Baseball. Hundreds of millions of people have had the dream at some moment. You know, maybe not hundreds of millions, but millions of millions have had the dreaming they're going to play it. And that's really what this US Opened, or any British Open for that matter, Open championship is really

all about. It's it's about to dream of the odds of Jeff Ogilvie growing up, or Scott Simpson or anybody else growing up and getting good enough at the game to Winnie's US Open. It's astronomical. If you look at like I was looking at Billy Andreate's record today, to play twenty or thirty major championships, it's astounding because there are millions of people would love to do it, and so if you do it, so it's just it's neat being at a national Open, whether it's a British Open

or US Open. And I thank Ryan for getting us back in touch with the dream machine part of it, inside a machine, just the dream of it all. That's the end of the podcast right there. That was quite elegant. We can't top that. I have to know why. Thank you, Michael. I appreciate that. It's very awesome. Also, I have to know why you were thirteen Billy andreates playing career today. As we say in AUGUSTA appreciate you. We're supposed to

thank power Point power points. Appreciate power points. Yeah, we appreciate, appreciate you. Did you get it all that up? No? Don't Yeah, don't edit that up? Fu fuck it, we'll do it live. We'll do it live. Jeff. Have you ever met Jeff? I'm sure you have. Bill of Paine pain pain. What do you call him when you see him? Came Paine? You called chairman? What do you call him? I bumped into him at the lounge at Lax Airport one day and said, I hate Billy, it's Jeff. How

are you going? And I thought afterwards I regretted. I'm like, oh, when am I supposed to say? You missed the chairman anymore? No, you're not absolutely respectful. Yeah, but did you say why are you're not Why are you're not playing private? I mean, come on, you know a lot of bris. What's you said? We were comparing good, comparing states. Yeah, we was drinking nice wine, I guess in the lounge. Yeah, he was great.

Who'd you who'd you play with? That cypress point? That day at the nineteen US Open, I played with Steve Jones, who's fantastic? Um, well, Cambo huh and someone else. It was a bit of a shame. The best part about that day was sitting on the first tea and you said you were there so you might remember this, but no, it was maybe Jack and Jack and Tom and that like hitting off Watson hitting off the first day and

Trevino was chirping him. Yeah, just didn't shut up, and it was like forty years ago and Trevino is just flapping off on the tea, just getting into Watson and Nicholas and all that. On the first day, it was just like, this is just the best thing I've ever seen. I've got to just sat there all day and listen to Trevino sort of give Nicholas and Tom Watson ship. It was fantastic, just the best. That was great. Steve Jones said a funky grip, didn't he Yeah, very yeah

he didn't. He have a finger accident or something. He had overlapped it right, the porn of finger on his left hand or something. Yeah, we need to Oh sorry, Jeff, I apologize. We need to think Part Points. I mean yeah, I mean we're trying to make art here and all you care about is the commerce. Yeah, I apologize, Jedi. Thank I cut off a Steve Jones finger broken story. But we do need to thank Part Points. A great app. Should download it a new way to score. It's awesome.

I love it. It's great for the whole family. If you take out different skill levels and all sorts of things, it's really cool download part points. All right, fabulous. Well we're not going to end the podcasts seven minutes after I tried to end it, but that was fun. I like the digressions. There's been another fire drill. It's Friday at the US. Wouldn't we do this again the next couple of rounds? And thanks for listening. Everything we do

we do for you the listener. Not to be pretentious, but we wouldn't exist without all you guys, So thanks for tuning in. Jeff, thanks for coming all the way from Melbourne. For Michael Bamberger, Ryan French, I'm Alan SHIPNUK and we're back at it tomorrow. Thanks put another log on the fire nobody hears. Get the time