Fire Drill 069: Scheffler Shines

We have Michael Bamberger coming in hot from pontavidra beats the final round of the players. I just read your story, Michael, which is going to populate on Firepit Collective dot com any second now. I love the way you talked about Scottie. Scheffler is a throwback, the way he moves, the way he plays, the way he carries himself. You know, we've been it's been almost a year now since his Master's win,

and we're still getting to know Scheffler. But what what is You seem to have some affection for the guy. What do you think about his performance today and his place in the game right now? I like your use of the phrase we seem to be getting to know Scheffler, as if there is a Scheffler that one can get to know. In other words, I don't have the sense that he's very complicated person. I do have this sense that he's a very intelligent person, but not someone who

makes things more complicated than they are. But like early on before we even like heard him press conferences, who thought, oh this guy's a dullart. He's not a dullart at all.

He's a thoughtful He just seems like a thoughtful, kind considerate person who's outstanding at golf and doesn't care that a swing is you know, not textbook forever reason he doesn't inspire you with awe like a Rory or Dustin Johnson or John ram Like definitely a level below that just in terms of how he goes about his business and the shots that he plays. But how can you argue with the masters contending all the time now a players and six wins in thirteen months. Yeah, incredible end,

if you know. To me, it was really the Ryder Cup was when that was the breakthrough watching him. You know, John rom was was playing some of the best golf in the in the history of mankind that week and Scheffler took him down and singles, and that was to me the beginning of the ascent. So yeah, I mean he's been doing it now for a year and a half straight. And five birdies with the with the players, five birdies in a row with the players championship hanging

in the balance, I mean, that's pretty spectacular. And um, what was what was the feeling like there at at the stadium courts? For just my personal feeling is if you see him over a six footer and we're playing maker, miss, I find myself saying miss, more than make, they go in one hundred percent when he wins, they go in one hundred percent of the time they don't go in. You know, as you have observed alan of Tiger, like Tiger would be annoyed if they didn't go in the

right part of the hole. This guy seems to be happy if it goes in any part of the whole. It's not it's not it's just not beautiful, but it's uh, it's great. And I am definitely I'm just trying to speak honestly about him, but I'm definitely in the fan camp. I root for this guy. I love the fact that he, uh, he doesn't talk about money. He doesn't. You know, Rory's got a role in this game right now, and the subtext of that role is hard for a lot of people to swallow when you get right down to it,

which is the elite golfers have to get paid more money. Now. I don't know how Scottish Scheffer is player, couldn't think that, but he's not. He's the beneficiary of Rory's conversation and fills outbursts and sawty billions and all the rest. But he's sort of either risen above it or is floating aside it. I'm not sure how you would describe it, but it's just not a central part of his character,

and it's it's very winning. What do you think on yeah, or he just won four point six million dollars and any normal human being would be like, this is a new crum about of money. I am so stoked, Like I don't need to ask for more, I don't need to throw a fit, like I'm so happy. I think, I think to your point, and he's kind of a normal guy. It's like he must be in disbelief the amount of money he's won in thirteen months, tens of

millions of dollars. I think what you just said, Alan just speaks to a relatively not relatively a normal value system. You know, how much does any person need? And uh, you know, of course part of his thing for us. You know, he's twenty six and he has him been around very long, so it's not like, well, we've been seeing this scar for years, like Rory's young, but he has been around for a long time. But he really truly seems like he's well into his mid mid thirties. Hum,

did did you uh? Did happen to notice the comparison to Steve Jones? I loved that. Yeah. In Michael's story he talked about how how Shuffler moves and looks like Steve Jones and has the same no nonsense, Because the ninety six US Open Oakland Hills was my second ever US Open And oh wow was that ninety six? Yeah? Yeah, it's burned into my brain. And I had honestly never even heard of Steve Jones going into that week. You know, he'd had that finger injury and he'd kind of fallen off.

And I was so impressed by the guy. He just seemed, as you're saying, he just seemed like a regular dude who was really really good at golf. And that was the the US Opener. Everyone came apart. You know, Davis loved three putt of the same second hole and Tom Layman messed up the last hole and Jones just was just played golf and got it done. And I think it's a fabulous comparison. They there is a similarity there. I mean Steve Jones broad shoulder, lankiness and uh yeah,

you know Steve. What was Steve's thing? Later? Did he fall off of a motorbiker or something? And everyone was really quite the same after that, but that he was he was the super talent. Well, no, that predated, that predated, and he had to learn to play golf again. Yeah, and but that was for a guy like Steve Jones, winning the US Open was the pinnacle. And I think at that point he was content. But I think Scottie Scheffler it you can't get the number one in the

world that having like a deep reservoir of ambition. But you know, John John Ram obsesses about being number one, and it meant a lot to Dustin. You know, he was very prideful about it, and you know, Tiger and those guys Like I don't think Scottischeff like cares about that stuff so much. He just wants to hit golf shots and get the ball in the hole as fast as possible. And if you do that at the level he's doing it, everything comes your way, the money, the

world ranking points, the fame, the glory. But if you focus on those things, it's easy to lose your way. So he seems to have just the absolute perfect disposition, like I'm just going to play golf and whatever comes my way, I'm going to enjoy. So it's impressive. Yeah,

that that obsessive interests with becoming number one. It's insane because see, it means that you're putting so much faith in the architects of the system in the first place, putting more faith in them than you are what you've achieved. I mean to me, what's fun right now is you can argue John Ram, you can arguist Scottish Shopper if you cared do you can argue Roarriors or somebody else. But that's part of the fun of being a sports fan. I don't need a computer driven log log rhythmic explanation

of who number one is decided. Yeah, it's it's it's all about math, and they change it every couple of years, so it is. It is funny when people obsessed about like you're literally these guys couldn't even pass algebra in high school and now all they care about is a math equasy and it makes no sense at all. But have you ever have you ever heard a real number about what a guy gets contractually, what it might mean to him to become the number one player for a week,

and then you know, I'm sure beyond that. The more weeks you have that, the more money you're gonna make. It's a real bonus and a lot of contracts, and it can be half a million, it can be a million. I mean, it's not inconsequential. But again, if you're getting to world number one, you're winning so many tournaments and making so much money, I don't think that bonus is

going to change your life. But to the point about number one, it's quite an interesting debate because you know, Rory has been playing at an incredibly high level, John Ram has been on a tear. But if you're going to really debate who's number one to me, it comes down to cam Smith and Scottie Seffler, because they've each have won the crown jewel of the sport in the last twelve months, a green jacket and an old course

at the Open. They've also each is one of players, and obviously we haven't seen a lot of Smith, but he went down to Australia in December. He won down there, like so it's funny that there's been so much focus on Rom and Rory, but I think they're looking at the wrong guys. I mean, if if I had to pick one dude to go out and win a tournament right now to save my life, it's gonna be It's probably gonna be Scottie Seffler, and number two is probably

cam Smith depending on the setup. Even though I love Rory and I love Rom's game, but they're get The other two guys are just getting it done when it matters, most more recently so. But it's quite a conversation because you have you have four Strawn candidates. Snape, I'm right there with you, and I would probably as you say, it would really depend on the course, but I would say this, the tricker and shorter the course, the more I'm going down the cam Smith road and for really

for real lung for for a master's pick. If you could only choose between those two, this is whacking for me to say, Uh, I would go with cam Smith. I mean when you can ship and pitch and put like he can, hits it plenty far enough, it would be amazing for those who are for anybody who's writing a book about live golf. If Cam Smith shall win the Masters. I can't say I'm rooting for it because you know, as you know Alan, that we've discussed many times.

Really a traditionalist at our heart, But I don't know that Cam Smith and full you know. And I saw it up close at the Old Course, uh in last year at the Players. It's one of the It's one of the best you'll ever see. It's a little wild driving at times, but for getting in the hole, it's it's at the aloptable Sevy level. Yeah, so a fe people have meet the Tom Watson comparison, which I like

as well. Yeah, but how about for you, Alan, if you could, leaving aside your book interests, if you could, if you as a as a gambler, if you could only if your only choice was Scheffler or Smith Um, which are those two golfers would you pick to win the Masters, Well, if if the course is really firm and fast, it's Smith every time. Um, if they get the you know the early week showers, which seems to factor in a lot of Masters, and it just takes a little fire out, I would go Scheffler. But Scheffler

still has a genius for scoring. I mean, he just he just has a knack for pulling off the shot when you need to. And I mean you could see it today during the final round. It's I mean there's there, there's sluggers and you watch them hit the ball and it's all inspiring and they shoot seventy one. And then there's a guy like Scottie Scheffler who's whose foot works all over the plays who the club's flying and weird. But he just he plays shots and he gets the

ball in the hole really fast. And I don't think you know, if you if you put Scotti Sheffler on the range at a corn Ferry event, people would think he's probably a hundredth on the money list. You know, is not as you said, it's not beautiful, but he just he just knows how to score and he knows how to do it. When it matters, and it's camp Smith's the same way. I mean that that's a certain level of genius and I'm not sure even Rory has that.

You know, he can overpower a golf course. But you know I walked every every hole with him at the Old Course on Sunday, and that was all about scoring. You know, you're gonna drive it near the green on half the par fours at least, and he couldn't get it up and down and camp Smith could and that was really the difference. I mean, there's just you know,

Jordan Spieth when he's playing well, he's got that. There's there's a magic to the scoring that it's hard to quantify even with shot link and Scottie Sheffler has it. It's just really fun to watch. Alan might post your question too apropos of the evening. Yes, why are there so few good golf moves? And one might say there are none? Yeah, it is Academy Awards night. You may hear some shouting in the background. That's my daughter's watching and they're very invested in who wins and loses some

of these categories, which is cute. Um, It's just part of it is because it's such a highly specific skill and no actor can can master it right, Like, I don't know, it just it lacks that that versimilitude, right, And what's compelling about golf is the inner game, which is hard to capture, and it's that that sense of when a big moment and it's dead quiet and the whole world's watching, and it's just it's so the battle

is so internal. And you know, the sports movies that work, they're funny, like Bull Durham or there there's a lot of they're heavy, like Raging Bull or I don't know. I don't think golf has those notes that well. I mean Tin Cup kind of Tin Cup worked as almost as like you know, it's sort of like comedy that the golf was a vehicle for it. I guess it's a golf movie, but I don't take the golf seriously. I mean, because no one's gonna do that in the last hole of the US Open. You're gonna lay it

up and you're gonna try and win the tournament. But anyway, I don't know the answer. What's what's your what's your thinking on that? Michael? I mean, I like, even though I cite Caddysheck all the time. And I know the movie, well, I really think it's a it's of course it's so bad it's good. It's in that category. As our friend and colleague Gary Vinciglers would say, it's so bad it's good. It really is so bad that it's good, but so

but short of Caddyshack. And there are some clever moments in Caddysheck, you know, it's just it is the thing onto itself. A sorry from caddy check. There's really not one golf movie that I would that I've even bothered to watch more than more than a second time. You know, Tommy's Honor tried so hard but was so earnest Uh tin cup with or all over the lot. Let's not

even talk about that. If we may say the name that Will Smith dripping molasses thing, what was that called the legend of back of Vance, You know, I don't say the name from the fiftiesus heinous with john Ford takes his name. Uh. Did you ever see Alan? Uh? And I know this hits close to home for us. I've never saw it. There is a there is a movie version of Golf in the Kingdom. Are you from the everything. Have you seen it? Oh yeah, yeah, it

was filmed. It was filmed at Bandon Dunes, and the early Bandon had just was like just raw basically, And I have watched it. It's kind of a mess in not in a terrible way, because the book is like that as well. I mean the second half of the book especially, Um it's it's it's worth watching and you should probably microdose mushroom as while you do it. It's just it's metaphysical and kind of trippy, but it's worthwhile.

I don't know. I think the actual drama of golf is so compelling, Like if you watched our five episodes of the Grind, which you can find on the Firepit YouTube or on our homepage, Like that human drama is so compelling if you if you follow you know some of these stories of these guys are they're playing for their livelihood. Um it's it's such raw human emotion and so it just it doesn't quite translate to the screen. I don't because that those those stakes are stripped away.

I don't know, because it is a mystery in that movies can reproduce all walks of life, I mean, and they can they can make you care about professions that you've you're never going to experience or interact with, and so they should be able to do it with golf. Maybe I don't know, maybe we're too close to it. Maybe the average viewer enjoy in the movies that drive us crazy. Well, I love a good movie, just dis quesion, But let's let's just talk about the early week drama.

The Academy Award for Best Actor in a Press Conference goes to Jay Monahan, who did his annual State of the Union press conference on Wednesday and said, everything's hunky dorry, We're doing great. Nothing nothing to see here. It's been funny to chart his um. You know two last year at the at the at the Players, it was like,

we're about legacy, not leverage. We're moving on. Well that didn't quite work out, and now there's been a whole year of live golf for half a year anyway, and Monahan came in and talked about the state of things. You were there, Michael, what was your take on Monahan's performance? And and then the related news about you know, how the tours were shaping stuff. We talked already about, um, you know, the cuts or the no cuts, but in a previous podcast, but just the feeling on the ground

at Sawgrass as as this is. You know, players championships become an important for charting the course of the PGA tour. What are your thoughts on that? You know, as we have seen at the at the Masters and in the US Open especialized to somebody read the British Open. Uh. These pre tournament press car conferences, uh, from the from the men and one woman who are have such important positions in the game are really important for setting the

tone for the game. I don't know if they should be or not, but they're they're very much directed to people like us. Uh, you know, and can you win

over the constituency. Uh. And if you think about where where Jay was in twenty twenty versus twenty two and twenty three, you know, twenties dealing with the uh, the uncertainty of the pandemic Washington Shore and twenty two it was you know, fisticuffs and will show you and uh in twenty three he was really very confident, very informed, and uh he gave you the feeling that this PGA tour is going to is going to carry on. UM, So you know, to use the word you used, Alan,

I think it's an appropriate one. As a performance. It was very effective if you dig into the numbers. I just don't see how twenty and twenty five million dollars purses and five million dollars pay days. I just don't see how that is sustainable when you have weeks like this week's, when when the tournament is just not the compelling, Who's who's going to be watching? Uh? I don't know,

I don't know where? You know? There there there he bought a year very cleverly, he took up he really did, uh take part of Phil Michelson's playbook and made it the tours when it's all said and done. Uh, But there's so focused on these elite players at the expense of the journeyman, and I think at the expense of the fan. I really I'm not I'm not at all a financial analyst type person. I'm not good at that at all. But I just don't see how this is sustainable.

How about you, Alan, You've you've delved much deeper into the to the numbers where golf is right now? What's your sense of just as a numbers game is what Jay Monahan is preaching is it sustainable. Well, and I'll add to that. Today um A Ramco released its earnings and it had made a record amount of money. I think it's one hundred and forty one billion in the last the last quarter. I can't remember the number. It

was an astronomical number. And of course that's what feeds into the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and that's what's that's what's floating live golf. So when people talk about, you know, live having unlimited resources, it's basically true. In the PGA tour, it's much more fine. And you know, I did a story a few days ago. I got a tournament director on the phone of a non elevated event and he opened a vein and was speaking for a lot of

his colleagues. It's a real challenge to get corporations to sign up for these these non elevated events because they're not getting the eyeballs, they're not getting the players. The price is only going up. And you know, as as another as a Silicon Valley bank collapses, and that throws a whole tech world into question, Like they just lost Dell computers, how are you going to keep finding a company?

Put in fifteen eighteen and then million dollars for a regular event and twenty five to twenty eight for an elevated it's a tough sell. I think there's going to have to be some contraction of the schedule, and then that reduces playing opportunities for the journeyman. There's gonna be some tough decisions ahead for for the PGA Tours organization. You know, whether that means the Senior Tour, that means

Latino America or China or Canada. But if they're gonna if the entire institutional focus is on the top players and everyone else is going to feel some pain. And so I think, you know, it's been a fun first three months of the season. I mean, elevated events have definitely added some energy to the whole thing, and it's not only been a talking point, but it's been some great golf and we are all enjoying seeing the top players together. But the long term is very much in question.

And you know, the center has held for twenty three. We're going to find out more about who reups or doesn't in twenty four and twenty five, and that that's going to have a huge effect on the future of the PGA Tour and if there is a lot of attrition among the sponsors, then finding a middle ground would live. It becomes a lot more attractive because if you could keep this energy with all these players and you have someone else paid for it, that would be the dream. Right.

So you know, I like this idea of bringing letting the live players back on the PGA Tour, but they have to play the non elevated events, Like that'd be great for everybody. You get all the stars if they wanted to play a half dozen times and try and play their way into some bigger events. Um, I don't know. There's various people, whether it's Rory or Ram or whoever, have have talked about the need to find a compromise.

And as the financials play out and as sponsors leave the PGA Tour, that's going to add more pressure to the whole thing. So the last chapter has not been written in my book or this this long saga. It's uh. I don't think we're gonna know for a while how what it all means that So, um, you know, I I think Jaymonhan definitely did what he had to do and he had that that that that sound of confidence in his voice. But I'm not sure how much of that was acting and how much that was was legit. Well,

I'm before we click off here. Uh, you're off to Tucson, Arizona for the first in the United States. Uh, this year. What are your expectations for it? Are we sort of at a moment of business as usual? Ors there never anything usual with with with live golf, No, I think so, you know last year was was this this chaotic um just trying to trying to build the organization wall conducting tournaments. Now the whole models baked out, the teams are set,

the players are set. No one, there's gonna be no no new players are gonna be added, and no, there's gonna be no attrition, I mean barring injury. And even then they have they have a few guys on stand by to fill in, like an Andeogal Tree or a Lori Cantor. So. I think it's gonna be it's gonna be almost boring in that it's gonna look and feel very much like the Mayakoba event did team uniforms. That was fun and fresh the first time. Now it's gonna

be okay. Um, you know, I think again to quote Jay Monahan's product against product, So this will you know, we're going to see how what the level of play is on a course that has a long history of the PGA Tour. Of course, the match play was out there at that at that venue in Tucson, and um, it's it's the biggest question around live golf. Can it actually generate interests? Just in the Gulf, it's been living on buzz and hype and intrigue and drama, um this

whole time. At some point the golf has to take center stage. And you know, if you get if you get Phil wins, if you get a Brooks Dustin shootout, you know, if camp Smith goes thirty under, then I think people will pay attention. If if Charles Howe, you know, kind of cruises to victory, it's going to be hard to draw the eyeballs. So um, you know, there there

was there's It's funny how everyone cooks the books. What the ratings were, how many people actually tuned in um on the CW and on the app and all that. The numbers that Live put out were pretty bust. What some other folks cited. We're significantly smaller, so we need more of a sample size. And I think you know if they can, if they can draw a good crowd electronically, that that would be a huge step forward and try

and create some viewing habits. By now everyone knows about where they can watch live, not only on the CW, but they've launched their own platform for streaming, and so I think it's going to feel like a golf tournament. I don't think it's going to feel like a side show. That that's good or bad, depending on your perspective, because the live has kind of needed the side show. But I'm looking forward to seeing it and continuing just to

report on what's going on out there. But I guess my expectations are low from an intrigue standpoint and from a competitive standpoint, we'll see. Okay, well, it's very late in pont Abure Beach, where Michael Bamberger has already typed a story and done a podcast. The guy is tireless. We're gonna let Michael gets some rest. But always the fun conversations Sunday night fire drills will keep them coming. AUGUSTA National is only three or four weeks away, so

it's time to get excited about that. I was already excited, but you know, the players really is a benchmark, so I think we have we have an idea of who the favorites are head into Augusta, even though we already had a hunch. But as always, thanks for listening. We appreciate your fidelity. That was Michael Bamberger. This is ound ship Nut signing off from this fire drill, and we'll

do it again next week. Thanks. I've been big and I played the win, made a fortune within my ship game in I ran the table, never thought I could fall. Then the winter time hit me like a cannon the ball and now I can't shake this losing the stream. Every road I take is a dead end stream. I got thoughts in my head, can't get joy, not the thing what I'm thinking about. I got fronts in my head, can't get them out. Trying not to think what I'm thinking about.