Fire Drill 078: LIV Reigns on the Block Party

f bomb. You know, that's what you want in your major championships, is you want to put extreme stress on the players, and that that certainly happened with the foul weather on Saturday.

fun little fingers like the eighth hole today. And I love the sort of the berms, the raised up berms behind the greens that just framed them so beautifully when you're looking down the fairway or even on TV and it was I mean, you look at Brooks, Koepka, He's now conquered Oak Hill, Beth Page, Shinnacock. I mean, that's really macho. Those are three of the hardest courses in

championship golf. You just what a resume, and of course five majors now he's These are the geniuses who have won five major championships Seth A Reno, by Astero's Lord, Byron Nelson and Peter Thompson, I mean all timers. I mean those are generational talents. Those are icons. And Brooks is right there and is not done. I mean he's motivated, he's healthy, he's fired up, and it's just so impressive

to watch him because he keeps it very simple. You know, It's like every putt has the perfect speed, every every approach shot is pinned high, it's a bad drive. He just gets back in play like he really, he's he's he's reduced the game, the championship level, to the most basic parts. I mean, it's impressive. It's it's it's a reputable formula.

very simple. It's sort of low, low stress golf the way the way he goes about it.

but he played a big high draw. He needed a extra carry and he just let that club go and uh to having you know, hit nothing but fades and then you come to a doer die hole and it leads down to one and to pull that shot off and put it up there on the green. I mean that that was macho. That that is real lot.

you know, credit to Victor Hovlind. I mean he uh he played lights out for fifteen holes, like he didn't give in at all, and he even you know, Brooks came out. I tweeted it was like it reminded me of Secretary to the Belmont. You know, he is performing

like an incredible machine like Birdie Birdie. Birdie opened up a three shot lead and looked like he might shoot fifty five and win this thing by one hundred and but Hoblin he never backed down and he just kept coming and he you know, he had he had got within one stroke and then had some bad luck in

the fairway bunker. But even that was was cool. You know, Hobblin's making a mess in the sixteenth hole and kept had to wait out there for a long time in the faraway and then when it was his turn to hit, he's knocked the flag stick over and that was like it was a real exclamation point on the wind that gave him a four stroke lead. And it was a

neat moment. I mean, it was sort of the signature shot and it just speaks to his kind of ruthlessness, like you you know, and Hoblin said, he's tough because he doesn't give you anything. He just doesn't give you anything. And it was a very it was a very relentless performance by Kepka.

associated with Greg Norman's name in that. In that sense, I think your insight about the t shot on fourteen is great. I feel like I've never seen him hit a draw shout of my life, so I'm really interested to hear this. And of course it brings to mind Nicholas in his prime, because you know, everyone you stuck by Nicholas's prime at Nicholas's distance in his prime, and it was he was way longer probably than you know, most everybody else. You know, a couple of weird odd exceptions.

But what people don't know is Nicholas fade fade, fade, fade fade, and then when he had to turn it over, you know, thirteen and at August National in his day, for sure he did. And I actually did not know that Kopka could do that under that kind of pressure. But what you're describing is that you're and swing ten yards. In other words, the draw shot has a chance of carrying and the fade shot doesn't. And it's ballsy because if you hit into that bank, you don't know what's

going to happen. Uh, you know, it could be a bogey. So it's impressive what.

just have to will it into the hole. It's just it's an x ray of the soul. And I mean, he just he just gutted that putt and and he kind of he swaggered of in this really neat empathy to there at thirteen. I mean, it was a super cool setting and the place went crazy when he made it. And the way you know, we Brooks the physicality, just the way he carries himself, the way he moves. You know, he has a presence which is really rare. And there was a little extra swager coming off with that green

and it was like, okay, this is getting real. And then he went to the t and he hit that rope, and if you're hobbling, you're like, man, what do I have to do? Like I thought I had him, but I don't.

That does I think that does kick in and we've seen it, and that's one of the glories of golf. I've seen with seven, we've seen it, Tiger definitely, so with Nicholas Arnold and his day, this guy and that he kind of can't imagine Victor Hoblin, who's a really nice player and we'll have his chances and might win a major maybe someday, but you can't see that part in his game now. Justin Leonard weirdly had it, but he didn't have it for the rest of the game.

You know, very few get everything, but the guys we're talking about, John Rom, Rory and Brooks Skopka. I would say, really, John Rom, you know, I mean for sure really do have it. Seems pretty much everything plus drive, I mean drive is that's really really it?

And imagine when when Rory won at Valhalla, you know, he had four majors and Brooks had zero, and you could have gotten pretty long odds about who is going to get to five first, and Brooks did it. And it's like, if you it's it's it's not set in stone, it's not definitive. But when you talk about the best player of sort of the post Tiger era, I mean it's Rory, it's Brooks, it's Speed, and it's maybe Dustin

or the four guys in the conversation. Rom could play his way in maybe Scheffler, But right now, when you look at the resumes and you got to give it to Brooks, I mean that the five majors is monumental. It's really it really separates him. And so he's, you know, you get to six, you're talking Trevino and Faldo. I mean, he's he's scaling, he's heading towards the Mount Rushmore of modern golfers here. If he can, he's basically of his

last twenty two major championship. He's won five of them, you know, basically that's basically one a year, and so if he can.

jump to live. His wife's pregnant, he's married, Like he's really in a different place as a golfer, as a human and completely settled and healthy and hungry. So this is a big this is a big one.

your emotional response to him winning? And I and I could add the part that you know that I'm thinking of, which is his handling of that situation at Augusta National on the on the fifteenth pole when the caddy clearly, clearly, clearly said that to Carrie Woodland's caddy that his managers hit.

they stepped out of bounds. And I think he felt like his little ticky tack he wasn't totally involved, whether he believe the glove hand or not. And but it was a missed opportunity. I mean, Bobby Jones, you know, called penalties on himself and back to back us opens in the twenties and we're the nineteen twenties, we're still talking about it, you know, his I think it would have been amazing if Brooks had done it. But setting that aside, and we'll come I want to hear your thoughts on that.

We'll come back to that for you. But I think I think this was this was a really impactful victory. The larger landscape, you know, is this this ongoing battle between the tour and Live Golf. This is meaningful. I mean that Live Golf now has has two of the reigning major championship winners with Brooks and and Cam Smith. It looks like Brooks is gonna is gonna be the alpha of the sport here for a while, and so

it definitely recalibrates things. And he could also be the bridge because he's gonna play his way onto the Ryder Cup team just through points. They're not gonna be able to keep him off of it, and uh, that opens the door to maybe pick Dustin as you know who he could play his way on through points as well, but he's not. He has been doing it in the majors and that that would that would sort of tear down the wall a little bit. And you know, Brooks has not talked any trash in this, in this battle

between the tours. He's kept a low profile and he was not a party to the lawsuits. You know, he has not stirred it up. He's not been like a Poulter or a Westwood or a Garcia. He just kind of kept his head down. He made a decision for him that he thought was best, but he hasn't been trying to stick it to the man. And so I think his credibility as as a human, but especially as a player, you know, he could he could he could be a bridge to help, you know, get in trying

to reunify the sport in some way. And so I think it's a huge victory for him his place in the pantheon, but also for the what's happening in this in the sport. I was rooting for him because it's obviously good for the book, but I also just think Brooks is he's this cool I mean, there's just something about him. He has a mystique, and I think there's a there's there's something magnetic about him that that attracts casual fans. Uh. And you know, he's his wife has

a very high profile on social media. She kind of adds a little star dust to their whole their whole life. And he's alviously, he's a good looking guy. He's got the Nike deal. You know, they'll they'll they'll get a lot of mileage out of this. So I think I think it's really impactful. So let's talk about your thoughts, because.

is on Live. And so that's for for a young playerho's never been able to find his footing on any major tour, it's a huge deal. And you know Brooks loves his brother, and that that was I equate it to. You see this in college basketball where there's an incredible prospect and a score hires the kid's dad as an assistant coach so they can get That's kind of what Lived did with with Chase. They signed up Chase first. That was an inducement to make sure Brooks came over.

And you know, there's something sweet about it. I mean, I think that was definitely a factor in Brooks's decision. Like he's kind of like, I'm gonna be fine either way, but I can set my brother up for life as a golfer. And you know, they they won one in uh in Jedda last year. They won as a team, and Brooks had promised Chase, you would buy him a new car if they if they won, the team element happens to be a lime green Lamborghini because that's how they roll in the Koepka family, and I live golf.

But you know that that was a big deal for them, like he was. I think Brooks was more excited about the team victory than his own individual one because they had this whole little thing with his brother. So it's kind of a.

there's lots of reasons why. They all make sense if you start to think about them. But if you're giving information in your group and another group's not, it's not a team sport, it's an individual sport. So if you're if information is being exchanged in your group, then it's not being changed in another group. It puts you at an unfair It puts you at a the other group has an unfair disadvantage. The idea of the rules of

officer to create a level playing field. It was so obvious to everybody that the caddy said to the other caddy that Kepkaz caddy said to Woodland's caddy that he hit a fiburn the rule books. So some might say, oh, but that's just the caddy, it wasn't the player, But that's not what the rule book says. So if you're not going to simply go by what the rule book says, you're kind of really just sort of kissing off something

that's actually at the very core of the game. And it would have been just so great for him to say, yeah, I didn't know what the caddy was doing. He's a great caddy, but he crossed the line. There other guys do it, but the fact is nobody should do it. That's really what should have been said, in my opinion, I don't like to use the word should. But of

course that's not what happened. What very likely happen, and I'm not saying I know what happened because I don't, is that they went in, they watched the tape and they said, yeah, what you think you saw isn't actually what happened. But we know what happened because we saw it. So I think he really hurt the game. I know it a ghosta national there was no one who It's hard to imagine someone was rooting for brooks Kopka to win that Masters, So by extension, it was hard for me,

even though I think he's an impressive golfer. Of course physically I find him to be an impressive person. I like watching him on the range. I like the way he carries himself. I like his no bullshit quality. But real no bullshit quality is to stand up and say, yeah, something went wrong there, to give me the two shots I deserve him. That would have been just appropriate, not even like great, just appropriate really, So when he didn't do that, it just makes me think very differently about him.

And actually I can feel even in me this whole notion of everybody loves the winner, because like the area was interviewing, you know, the way I was in a group interviewing the Ricky that his caddy afterwards and kept as impressive in victory. People love a winner. But the fact is he kind of hurt golf actually in a significant in a significant way, because it's another it's another pin in the value system of what makes golf golf in the first place.

this up to you. Do you want to be Bobby Jones or not that it was almost like they just it was a test. But I love that you're so passionate about this because everyone else has already moved on. But It's part of what makes me who you are, Michael is you care so deeply and these things stick with you. So I think it's valid. It's worth discussing it. It did reveal a certain value system for the people involved. And you know, it's like, it's not like Brooks, It's

not an issue of cheating. It was more it was more of an issue of personal responsibility, right, Like, this was a moment to do something really special and the moment passed.

in their positions. But to me, this is what golf is. It is what makes golf special. And what you said, Alan, I believe is correct. Like Augusta does have a tradition of saying, let's see if you'll just do the right thing on your own, we don't want to force you into it. They do have Aerian tradition doing that.

But let's let's talk about what was undoubtedly a feel good story this week, which is Michael Block, who You're You're typing about for firepay Collective dot com this evening. I mean, the guy didn't make a birdie today, and somehow we stole the show, Like, what was your read on on this character?

You know, for those who don't know, I think most do Twenty club pros get to play in the PGA Championship. It's put on by the association, the Professional Golfers Association America. It used to be forty before that, it was way more than that. Now it sounded twenty club pros what the US what what amateur golf is to the masters, and what sectional guys who play their way in in the US is to the US Open. The club pro is to the PJA Championship, fundamental part of the game.

But there were many years when no clip pro he makes the cut. Now you got a club pro who's playing with Rory McElroy, you know, fighting for like a top fifteen position in the in the final round of a really difficult golf course, and this guy hits it way shorter. This is not hyperbolic than Alan chipnook and by the way, the guy's forty six. The guy's forty six swings slow anyway. He was between a chipping a six iron and as his guy he told me chipping

his six iron and a driving range seven iron. He hit the driving seven ron on the fly into the back of the cup. Now, often when you hit a when you hit a driving range seven iron and towerything into the back of the cup, it will not go in the hall because a lot can go wrong. By everything went right, because everything went right, because everything was going right. And he seems like an absolutely great guy,

is kat He seems like an absolute great guy. He's playing next week in colonially, just got a special exemption sponsors exemption excuse me into the Colonial Tournament next week. So it's absolutely fabulous for golf to see this happen, because this is really what this particular championship is all about, but really really what golf is all about, you know

part of it. By that, I mean the dream machine of golf that Tom Layman had, you know, in his thirties, finally starting to playing Hogan in his thirties, finally starting to play good golf. Just Jack Fleck against Hogan. I mean, there's been many examples over the years of this guy having, you know what, Michael Murphy Cold in Golf in the Kingdom, a true peak experience that at the moment of life when you want everything to come together, everything came together for this guy.

because you could really feel what he was feeling. You know, he kind of he's a very expressive, emotive personality and and today you know he was there was so much at stake, like he was never gonna win the tournament. That was too big an ask. But if you could finish top fifteen, he earns an automatic invitation back to the PGA Championship next year. Top ten would have got him into a PGA Torvet. Top four get to Itto

the Masters. And then there's the actual money. You know, I don't know if the guy's salaries about one hundred thousand dollars one hundred and twenty, you know, which doesn't go very far in California. And you know, if you fit his top ten, you're gonna make half a million here, like actual life changing money. That term gets thrown around a lot, but in this case it really could be.

And and so he was struggling out there. He hadn't made a birdie, and he was he was fighting so hard and getting up and down, and then to make that ace was so cathartic, and that's really what pushed him into the top fifteen and punched his ticket to the PGA next year. And so it was it was a neat moment, and he you know, he really was

one of the stars. And it was cute to see Rory who was and his caddie were both, you know, so into it and the hugs and the tears, and it's it's the golf is funny because you know, I'm a huge basketball fan, but I can I can watch him big playoffs and know that I could never step out on the court and hang with those guys, right i'd be a joke. But for this guy to walk out of the pro shop and to be inside the ropes like it was, it was really everyone was living

vicariously through him, and it was it was special. Yeah.

he's exhausted. But like of all the courses on tour, you know, a Colonial or a pebble or like a you know, a whilea something like that, there's only a handful that a guy that as short as him it could even be in the conversation. So yeah, it was talking about a star. I mean, he just he was.

should acknowledge our calling. Matt Chanella. He just put out this week a podcast about the club pro crisis, because it's really a job, that's how. It's very demanding, and a lot of courses and clubs are having trouble attracting and retaining talent. And you know, Matt did a tremendous job pulling a lot of different voices together, Sethwa who runs a PG of America, butch Harmon, a bunch of others and it's really interesting and insightful and obviously timely.

Part two will come out next week on Tuesday, And I would encourage anyone who was sort of charmed by by Michael Block to listen to these podcasts because it probably a lot of us think, oh man, the club pro job would be so cool. All you do is hang out and drink beer with your members, and you go and play Skins games and you get to hit balls for two hours on your lunch and happy that if it was ever like that, it's not like that anymore. It's a tough it's a tough job.

groupings or the pairings. Everything made sense. So you can say about the Page America every year, but this year especially, but this was the thing, and Allan and I commented a few times there was a co mingling of fan and player and caddy and reporters. They in the parking

lot around the clubhouse out on the golf course. In recent years, in part because of the security, which is an underspendable thing, everyone's been sort of cordoned off in like some years literally if you want to get a you know, if a kid wants to get an autograph, there's like a fence or something. And this wasn't like this. So it was much looser, kind of but not disorganized, but appropriately loose, and it was great. It was great for us as reporters, but beyond us, I think it was

great for fans. They could be just leaving and there were the players walking to their cars and it's kind of like it just sort of makes the player in a regular human being, which of course he is, except for his skill.

If you got out of position, you hit a bad shot, then you were punished severely. And that's cool. I mean, you don't want to you don't want to course so hard that the guys can't make birdies and it's flawed, but you don't want you don't want it to be a pushover, like it's a hard balance to strike. It really is. And as you said, they nailed it this week.

weather is too unpredictable, which it is. But they rolled the dice and it worked out beautifully. But there's a lot of that in golf. Has been said many times. It isn't after sport. It is unpredictable. But it makes you think that you could come back here. Maybe if you hadn't one week later and May it would be even even more maybe predictable, and it wouldn't be graduation season with such a stress on the on the hotels. But well, like I said, when it works since you

get to Memorial Day. But the point being is that they rolled the dice. It takes balls to do it.

But they are really trying hard, and I'm sure Matt got into this sentence podcast. They are really trying hard to modernize and just make the game accessible to really anybody who wants to play it. And that's a really really I mean, if you love golf like we do, that's a really important function. And I'm glad to see the PGA of America, the organization and their championship, you know, really have a week to celebrate what they do, because it was it was great. It was a great week

of golf. Even if I'm in Biflin Belt the lead, the winner, it was terrific.

of America, like they try hard. You know, it's it's it's not they have two of the five biggest events professional golf, including the Ryder Cup, but it's not what they do, you know, fifty one or fifty fifty weeks a year, and so there's always a little free wheeling element to these things, and it's things are a little loose to goosey, but it makes it more fun and I think it sets the tone for the whole week.

So I agree it was fantastic. But before we go, just a couple of quick shoutouts on the leader board. We should recognize Bryson Deshambo back from the dead. I mean he he had four solid rounds, finished tied for fourth, and we had some fun interactions. I know you you did. You were impressed by Bryson's normalcy and humanity.

seventy two. It complicates Ryder Cup golf. It complicates the Deaton or not the daytape, the war really between the PGA Tour nobody wants war for too long you get tired of it. He kills people. What do you think this tournament means in the short long term? In other words, this year, Ryder Cup, going into next year, lawsuits and the rest, this particular their PJA Championship with this Live Golf winner, what do you think it means for the future of the of the fight between the PJ Tour and Live.

and I understand why it makes business sense. But you know, if Live is struggling, if if they're not, if they're their players aren't playing well, if they're if they're not getting world ranking points, then then there's the tour can just keep going and feel like they can win this war of attrition and they can produce. They can pick up the best players come out of college and this

and that. But if Live is coming from a position to strength I think it makes a compromise more likely, and I think ultimately compromises what's going to what you want and what a lot of golf fans want where

we can just kind of move on from this. So I think the more these guys play well the majors, the more that they assert themselves, I think that brings the PJ Tour to the table, not imminently, but just philosophically, Like this is you know, j J. Monha must have heartburn tonight because I mean he went to Brooks Kepka's wedding last June, like they were clothed, and Brooks made a business decision and now he's return to the front

rakes of the game. And it doesn't serve the pgs or not to have access to Brooks Koepka, you know, it really doesn't. It's a huge loss as they're trying to attract sponsors and if you're sponsored an event and you're like my favorite guys, and I mean to me, the players I enjoy watching most in golf are Cam Smith,

Dustin Johnson, Phil Micholson, Jordan Spieth, Scotti Scheffler. But I would say live as three of the five guys I think are the most fun to watch, and you know, if you're a tournament director, you want those guys in field, and now you have Brooks. It's just like, I think that this is a setback for the tour, but that makes it more helpful for the big picture. That's my feeling. But you know there's ebbs and flows, but certainly you

know the live guys brought the heat at Augusta. You know you have Brooks finishes fourth here, Bryson's fourth, Cam Smith is ninth, Mido Pereira is eighteen. Patrick reiders on the board for a long time. He just fell off. But it's not like only one guy that's carrying the flag. I mean they've there. Brooks has been the keynote player, but there's other guys who are who are making making a run. So this this definitely, as you say, complicates things,

but it might also clarify. Like, Okay, if you're Jay Wantaghan and you're and you're Rory and you're Tiger, you know the guys were setting policy. Like it's like what are we doing here? Like we've we we we've reshaped the tour, We've made it more attractive where all the top guys are getting paid, but we're missing out on so many players that folks care about, and so I think this could hasten some sort of some sort of larger conversation. But we're still a long way from an

actual compromise. But it's got to start with the desire to make it so, and I think this helps achieve that well. I think not only has this been an excellent podcast, but I'm going to miss the last bus out of here, so I got to go. People are backing up. I'm getting the stink guy from the security guys. But Michael, this is so fun. I missed podcasting with you, and I enjoyed our week together. I can't wait to read your story on mister Block. I'm writing about Brooks

and Hoveland and what it all means. So that'll be all over Firepit Collective dot com. Hope you guys check those stories out. Thanks for listening. We appreciate your fidelity. Michaelot will be at the US Open and points in between. So for Michael Bamberger, this is Alan ship Nike. This was a fire drill podcast and I appreciate you listening. That's the end.