I miss a green for example, I'm already upset. When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my ball in a brid egg, Friday Egg, the dreaded Friday Egg, Friday Frida Egg, Bride Egg Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the course.
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Egg Podcast. It's your host, Andy Johnson, and I'm joined by DJ Paiehowski of Scratch and Brendan Poorath of sp Nation. Welcome on, guys, Amen, good to be here. Yeah, running it back again, running a back So I don't want.
To uh think Tron, you know he needs to worry about his roster spot here, but happy to fill in again.
Well, Tron's got a you know, he's got bigger engagements. He's got you know, he's got big things going on. So we big timer he is. But you know that that's his uh, that's part of his his pro trage holding.
So we were many fresh mm hmmm. I think this is good though. This is like when when Bob Ryan sits in on a pt I that's good.
I love it, just a little a little some new new takes new perspective, you know, a little less spicy, a little more nuanced.
So it's gonna make even spicier.
Yeah, might become spicy at me. But you know, so so Brooks Cavka, you're twenty seventeen US Open champ. What do you guys think?
Man, I don't know, it's one of those things. I think that like, there's nobody that's surprised that it happened.
I don't think.
I mean, he's a player that's played great at you know, big manly golf courses, which this certainly was, and you know, he's been in the moment, he's been close in majors. I mean, it's kind of the progression that you expect from these guys where they show a bunch of talent, they you know, get close a couple of times, and then they finally break through and like, yeah, I mean, it kind of turned into a bit of a snooze
fest unfortunately. I think, you know, Brooks Brooks hitting some of the shots he did down the stretch made it fun to watch. Not necessarily you know, interesting from a competitive standpoint, but it was fun to just see just some of the shots he pulled off, some of the putts he made. But yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think it ith to borrow phrase. I think it just it is what it is. Yeah, I mean, I.
See, you know the barrow line. Many people are saying that they had this. It's like a lawn shot call. But like you know, it's not a lawn shot for anyone who knows anything about this. It's as expected. It's it's it's no more shocking than I would say if Ricky won today, or you know, Thomas won to day or maybe even you know, if Speed's won, Like, yeah, Speed has more name recognition, but we kind of you know, Kopka only has one PGA Tour win, which you know,
maybe you know, kind of the golf nerds. He's got too much of a cult following, you know, that's not commensurate with one, you know, waste management Phoenix Open win. But you know, I think everybody saw this as a possibility, and it's not really a launch shot win.
It was it.
You know, the day lacked a little kind of little sizzle there, you know, but him streaking down the back and maybe that's an old old man media complaint Andy that it lacked sizzle, But you know, him streaking on the back nine was cool. That was that was fun to watch, just like JT the prior day on the back nine was fun to watch.
You know. That's what what I would ask you.
Andy's kind of like, you know, you talked about how this set up for every player, but what did you think of like that? I thought fifteen was like a great example of that. You know, it's hardest all on the course Brooks is. Everyone just says power, power, power, like he's a masher, and then he played you know, it makes a birdy. I'm fifteen, you know, just three fifty six. That was kind of all strategy and touch.
So I don't know, do you think that like a firms that's going to affirm like the lazy take that this was just a bomber's course.
I've already heard it. You know, we expected a bomber to win. But like Brooks won because he played the best, you know, like what he didn't hit any bad shots, you know, it was it was fair away and then green and then you know he rolled in some putts and you know, you look down, you know fifteen or you know, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, that was you know, those were just incredible shots he hit over and over again to make birdies there and basically put it put the
whole term into sleep. I mean, fourteen, you know, easy birdie for him there, and then fifteen that web shot was just so good. I mean, I don't I don't think. I don't think one of the things I don't think Fox did was to give enough of a narrative of how difficult fifteen was playing, because I mean, yeah, it was.
It was a full shot harder than the day before, and a half a shot harder than the first two rounds, and it was already a tough hole, so you know, for him to hit that iron, it's a really hard driving hole with that iron because it's really narrow. And then he hits a wedge right up there to this small back shelf. I mean, then he goes and birdie's an X hole, which is a tough hull. Part three I think. I mean, he was the best player this week.
He hit what is it of his greens eighty eight percent of his greens miss ten greens for the week. I mean there's a I mean, I think it was cool though you saw Harmon was there playing a completely different style of game. I mean, I know he's not like he's not short as everybody wants him to say, but he's not long. You know, if that many people expected him there, You saw Bill hass Is another one.
He's in the top five. Completely different style player. You know, Patrick Reid thirteenth, Oh so close to his first top ten in a major.
Thought his Ryder Cup pants are going to carry him to that top ten first ever.
Yeah, I mean, I think the crazy thing, I think people overlooked Kopka's major record coming into you know, he's got a top ten at the at the British he had a top five at the US Open, and two top fives at PGA is coming into this week, Like, you know, that's that's far better than JT's major record. It's probably about the same level as Ricky's. And you know he he was flying under the radar for no reason because he was playing great golf offspring.
Yeah, that's a good way to put it. I think. You know, I was looking earlier today and we're kind of texting back and forth with both of you guys and looking at that cluster of guys that was you know, there was whatever five six guys that were kind of within a shot or two, and you know, you know, it's a major Sunday and one of those guys is at least is going to get just vaporized. And I mean it's kind of hard to it's kind of hard to. It was kind of hard to pick out who that
person was going to be. And you know, I was kind of thinking, like looking at Brooks, I'm like, eh, maybe, but you know, it's just yeah, he's he's been there quite a few times, like more times than people realize on the Sundays of these things. Here's Royder Cup is another example too, And.
So Kepka was the only player that shot four straight under par rounds.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's hard to beat.
He played the best, and he was the most consistent. He was never in trouble all week. You know.
Yeah, you kind of kept waiting for him to lose it or to kind of hit some wayward balls or something, but I mean he just yeah, he was just never in trouble. Like you know, he had maybe had a couple of part like a couple of lengthy par putts like that was when he's making bogie. He's not he's not out there making doubles and the kind of stuff that knocks out of contention. I mean, he just was kind of impossible to catch.
He bludgeoned it.
Yeah, do you think that?
I mean, I don't know.
Do you think that was kind of why he won't Did he hit the right angle? Do you think he just he wanted because he hit whatever three hundred and seventy nine yards on eighteen and that kind of stuff.
So it was interesting. I heard one of his, uh, you know, one of his post round interviews, and he talked about how like he just was hitting driver and hitting it far and he hadn't hit anything more than a seven iron. You know, it didn't play long, and I think it was a you know, there was a lot of different ways to play the course, you know,
I think I've written a lot about it. But his way, what like, he went out there, took advantage of the wide fairways and hit the driver spectacularly well you know where he did not miss, you know, and that's what DJ what Rory and what Jason Day did was they didn't hit the ball well. You know, they missed a lot.
And if you don't miss, then you're hitting drivers well and you're hitting eight iron, nine iron wedge seven iron and all these other guys are hitting six iron, five iron, four irons into greens, like your birdie puts are gonna be shorter and you've got a lot less chance of missing greens and a lot less chance of making bogey.
I thought watching him this week and just kind of his like his you know, just the fact that he never did miss and he was just zoning for seventy two straight holes. It felt a lot like watching Jason Day a couple of years go. It just feels like a super similar style. And it's almost like these two guys that when they're on they're just like fully optimized machines that just like can't miss, you know what I mean.
I don't know if you got that. And I kind of felt the same way as I feel when I'm watching Jason Day, which is like, man, I know this is like so impressive and awesome, but for some reason, I'm just like not that into it. Yeah, I felt, I mean you could.
You definitely felt that way more even than the power was like the putting the back to back on fifteen and sixteen, where like just that trademark day like pouring them in from whatever, like fifteen feet to like put the gas down and you know, grind it, you know, just grind everyone else to dass. I thought like fifteen was like ten feet coming back down.
Yeah, that was six That was a hard putt.
Sixteen was a pretty big you know vendor, you know, and that was whatever fifteen seventeen feet I can't remember, but you know that's like trademark day. Just smash and then you know, be just like a machine on the greend.
Like you said, you know that was that was day pre blade collar.
That's true. Wow color.
Yeah, Brooks is defiant and it kind of applaud him in that regard. Defiantly anti blade. And you saw like those little bubble boys, you know, the whatever Tron.
Called them, like the there.
Were so many different takes like Slushy Machine, Gender reveal. You know, Rory and Jason Day kind of ejected early, but you know, Nike Nike boy, Brooks defiantly anti blade and he's there with the trophy. Makes you think.
Something I saw think Jonathan Wall tweet yesterday that I thought was so interesting is Brooks no equipment deal they I didn't realize that he made himself a lot of money today.
Yeah.
Absolutely, Yeah, it is curious. I wonder what the trade off is with like, you know, if he like what the incentives are if you win a major on those equipment deals, like those things stack up. But I mean, I don't know what is Do you know what's in his bag?
Like I know he has one Nike club.
If Leeward is playing that Nike driver all week, it's awesome.
I saw someone tweet like they're gonna have to start making these clubs again if he wins. I remember I said it, but I think I saw Taylor may Woods. I'm not sure. I don't want to. I don't want to give it. Uh any kind of unpaid for brand advertising here.
Yeah, yeah, speculation, it's a big no. No, I'm the fried Egg POD's Uh, I'm not.
In the pocket of a big Carls bad.
So Brooks twenty seven, top five, two, top five and PGA, Like, I mean, he's gonna win one of those. It seems like, yeah, top ten at an open, which should fit his game really well if he gets the right side of the draw and US opens should be I mean, like, is is this the guy? I mean, like, how much I honestly thinking about when I'm putting it when I was just writing about this ah a little bit. Is is like this guy could be one of the guys that wins three four majors.
Yeah, definitely.
Well I think, you know, I don't know if it was lessened by like the lack of presence, you know, chasing him just because like JT and Ricky kind of faded. But like his round to day was outrageous. It was a sixty seven, and I don't know, like why if it just kind of like why people were not like freaking out the way they were maybe with he Decies was arounded the day sixty six, and then after that it was Brooks and he was already using the second
to last group and he's got a sixty seven. I'm not sure like we're giving that number like the proper credit, just because maybe like no one was kind of pushing him, you know, it was just him.
I mean, but Harmon was right there and then he vaporized.
It right exactly exactly.
And maybe that's why too, because there was just like no one kind of keeping pay us, and all of a sudden it got boring. I wasn't I don't know, it was odd. I don't think we're giving that sixty seven enough credit.
I think I think sometimes when you uh, you know, when you when you win by one and you come and you burdy the last hole or something, it just feels like a much better round than when you just shoot a flaw as sixty seven, you know what I mean, Like winning by four almost hurts, like I don't know if this makes any sense, but I mean it almost hurts, like how we look at the round because it just doesn't feel close, and it just feels like he was
completely in control the whole time rather than actually like responding to punches or something like that, which I think is kind of what you're talking about, right, I think it.
I think it's so interesting too, because, like you know, it was one of the most packed leaderboards and bunch leader boards. It had big names, It had you know, it had Ricky and JT. Fleetwood is you know, becoming a you know star in Europe. And this guy, yeah, I mean, this guy just blew them all out.
To see it is funny, man, Like I forget who I was talking about. This might have been earlier in our pre tournament podcast, but just look at the last what sixteen twenty majors something like that like the guys who are winning these things. You know, there have been a lot of pack leader boards and it hasn't been the no name guys that emerge out of those packs
like almost ever. I mean, we're we're joking about it, and like, you know, the biggest quote unquote no name guy was Danny Willett, who was like number fifteen in the world or something when he won, right, and it's like, man, these guys are just to win one of these tournaments, man, you've got to be just an absolute horse.
That's what like the whole like, oh, you got a lawn shot, like I had Brooks like that. That's like bugs me, like and maybe that's just the nature of kind of the whatever. This like the post Tiger era, where like anyone who wasn't Tiger was you know, I had him. I got that was like a good call because I didn't pick Tiger. But like all these guys, you know, we said, like the last seven first time winners saved for Willett. But Willett was like a stud at the time. You know, he's not right now, but
he was a stud when he won the Masters. Like they're all completely you know, realistic, no Fluke, like totally reasonable champions and nothing, nothing is shocking about this, And I think maybe that's kind of just like how we're adjusting to this like post Tiger era, where you know, if it's a guy that maybe like Skip Balis has never heard of, it's all of a sudden like some stunner, you know, Cinderella storm.
But we haven't had any of those.
I have. Skip was right a tall player one, that's true.
All the short players kind of faded at the end.
Is he six feet?
I mean, come on, I think Brooks? Is he that short or that's not short? But he seems bigger than that.
He does seem bigger than that. He's he's he's built like a brick ship house.
But I don't know he actually wanted to play baseball. If you guys heard, oh.
I heard athletics running his family.
But I know.
So so, you know, I think we've talked enough about Brooks.
What about girlfriend Gate? You have any thoughts on that?
Is that fit your you know, I think that's Andy's audience is really into golf architectural Yeah, I think your audience is really big into like the off the course lifestyle choices of.
These guys, it's amazing how many people like there's some serious like bloodhounds out there rummaging through the Instagram archives within second ridiculous.
It's uh, it's whatever. You know, it's cool and neat and fun, but curious who you got are thinking in terms of like who's who was your most pleasant surprise this week? Like what player?
I think for me it was in granted, you know, today's round went a long water. I think it was hit Ecky. That was awesome to watch some of the shots he was hitting, and like, you know, I think we were saying earlier, you know, he's he's just done in by his putting so often, and it was just cool to see him you know, wholesome putts when they really mattered and and not fade away and not make you know, miss short chances and all that kind of stuff.
I thought it was. I'm so pumped for him to win one of these things, which which obviously doesn't seem like it's very far off.
Yeah, I mean obviously, like yeah, when he walked out the eighteenth grade and I was just kind of like flabbergasts, like, God, this guy is such a killer, Like I love watching this guy sixty six just kind of wasn't really on TV until like the back nine fires of sixty six like a day after it or two days after. You know, he could have shot maybe sixty three. You know, he burned some edges on Friday.
By the way, he opened with seventy four in the first round, that's right, and then shut twell under he's just the tournament. So I don't know. I mean, I guess I'm going to Harmon was obviously so fun.
I mean, he's kind of he's not going to give you like a ton of like fist pumps, which is cool, but he's just he's cool to watch, I think. And you know, he had really no major kind of results. You know, he hadn't done a ton at the US, but he's cool.
I love.
I tweeted about it, you know, the X man when he finished and looks like he just missed like a master's exemption.
But he was cool to follow.
Like I got into him kind of randomly last year at the web Web Finals event, and uh, you know, because he had he had already got his card. It was just I don't know, and some web guys tipped me off saying he was on a run, so I followed him.
Well, no, he he got his card through finals right right, right, right right.
Right, So he was he was cool to watch this week and his first, you know, ever US Open. He's in double digit under par, which they said would win what all the two US Open.
He was, he's cool to watch.
Yeah, he what I was impressed with. He shoots that sixty six. He shoots seventy three, which wasn't bad backing that up, you know, and that was right, you know, and and then he comes back he I mean, he played great. Most guys, you know, most of the younger guys kind of faded on the weekend, you know, like Cameron Champ faded. You know who else was up there? They had, you know, basically guys that just you don't expect their usually fade away. And he was there till
the end. You know, I was impressed as much as I want to say Trey Mullnax my boy, but Tommy Fleetwood because I was going to say too. You know, he hit some like really bad shots and had moments where it could have gone really off the rails quickly, but it never seemed to like he never seemed to
let go of the rope if that makes sense. You know, like you know, when he had that that kind of disaster on eighteen yesterday, but then hit that like unbelievable chip back up to save Bogee after you know, playing ping pong, and then today, you know, on four he puts the ball off the green and you're like, oh boy, this just could get out of hand. And then he you know, managed to get up and down there save Bogie.
But like you know, he was you never felt like he was gonna win, but you never felt like he was out of it. You know, he had a chance.
Yeah, he's got a fun game and good personality, good story. I'm I'm in on the on seeing him a lot more. What do you think about, uh, what do you think about Pat Reid fading today?
I didn't think much, and I didn't think much beforehand, all right. I just thought, you know, I thought Tron's tweet, believe it or not, was instructive.
You know, that is discrimination against his ball flight.
I mean, he had he had to kind of he was trying to make a pretty desperate charge to get up into that cluster that was you know at twelve and eventually thirteen under. I think he just probably I don't know, playing playing to win.
He just just going for and couldn't couldn't make the birdies. It is interesting that the days he played well were Thursday and Saturday, which were the soft days, you know, I mean, well, there is probably something too. I mean, that's Andy's Andy's take, which I love, but there's something to you know, just the hard draw into those greens. It's like it's a tough one.
You know, as somebody that used to hit a hard draw. You know, when he hit a hard draw, you eat hot dogs, and when you eat a fit and when he hit a fade, you eat fully.
You know, you like Hogan. You like Hogan.
Here. Here's the thing with Reed like to be very frank like. So Reed went thirteen greens on Thursday, thirteen greens on Friday, shot one of the most I can't believe people haven't talked more about this. He shot sixty five, hitting twelve greens. He made eight birdies and only hit twelve greens yesterday and today he hit eight greens. Like simply put like that doesn't win you a US Open. You know, you look at Kopka. Kopka hit seventeen greens today.
He hit fifteen greens yesterday. He hit fourteen greens the day before and sixteen greens on Thursday. So you know, Kepka's worst day was better than Reid's best day. T degree, you know, it's you can't win the US Opens without hitting the ball good.
Yeah, I made look sixty eight seventy five, sixty five, seventy four.
That's rollercoaster. Yeah, Captain America.
It's he's I mean, he's great when when conditions are soft and you know there's there's only so many pins you can get at and it's tough to play in the wind when your ball moves one way. You know, it's it's just it's hard. What do you guys think about JT and Ricky?
Yeah, I don't know. I just saw Will Gray tweeting, you know, but that, like Thomas said, he struggled to not like read all about his sixty three on his phone yesterday. I don't know, it was just he said, Uh, I don't know, it's interesting. I don't know that it was necessarily like unexpected after the high of yesterday, it seemed like that would have been hard to back up.
You know, I don't know, I was kind of more disappointed with Ricky really just not really again, like it's hard to say with Kepcaz shooting at sixty seven, like you can't fault these guys for not keeping pace with that. But I just kind of expected Ricky to not seemed like he played like a little.
Conservatively down the stretch.
I don't I don't know. I don't not trying to go brand All Poulter here, but uh, it just kind of wanted a little bit more and expected a little bit more of Fouler.
I think on the JT front. I mean, I guess I'm not super super familiar with his wins. I mean I guess enough that you know that, like they've all kind of been these like really massive margins of victory. I don't think we've really seen him go out and like grind one out quite yet, you know what I mean Where I think, I think when it starts to
go sideways, I think that's why. I think. That's why I just like, I'm like the biggest speef in the world is like that guy just fights and fights and fights and fights, and he'll miss a shot and then you know he's back making birdie on the next hole. And it seems like when things start to go sideways
with JT. I mean he gets you know, it's well documented that he starts throwing clubs, he starts finding things to blame that kind of stuff, And I mean everybody kind of externalizes things differently, I'm sure, but that's just kind of the feeling you get when you're watching him is like, man, it just doesn't look like a guy that's going to like dig deep and you know, fight back and get back into it.
I will say I was surprised he was. I wasn't surprised that, you know, he didn't win or it was pushing at the end. I was surprised he was basically completely ejected from the broadcast by the fifth pole, like we just he was dumped by the fifth pole. I was a little surprised by that.
Yeah, I mean I think it's incredibly hard to back up really really great rounds. Nothing ever seems to go right, you know it. It's just something that's very hard, and it's I think it was a bad break that he got into that last group. I think if he was not in the last group, it would have been a lot better.
That's interesting.
Yeah, I think so Fowler made the turn and I texted somebody's like, you know, it kind of felt like Fowler had weathered some you know storm, and it was like, oh, like here's where he's I think he ripped one on time. You know, it's like, oh, you know, like this is where he could turn it on and put together a nine.
And I feel like that's kind of where we've gotten with Ricky, is that he gets to this back nine in a major and you're and you're waiting to see what he did at the Players, happened in a US Open or a Masters, or because like the Masters this year, he was still in and and it just doesn't happen.
He did that yesterday.
I mean after he bogied the thirteenth and he's kind of like, you know, after sitting on top of leerboard for thirty six holes, or you know, at near the top, he bogees thirteen and he's like, uh, followers, like you know, falling out again. Then he birdies three in a row fourteen through sixteen, and yeah, the course is harder today, but I still, like you said, I think we're just kind of expecting some you know, one more punch there on the back nine.
He didn't really do it today.
I think. I think though, you know, you get close in golf and you have these moments of like where you don't where it doesn't go your way, and the key is just keep putting putting yourself in that situation. I think, you know, it's becoming where he's he's becoming more and more prevalent again. It's more of a matter of when, not if.
Yeah, I mean I think, yeah, I would be surprised that he's not there again in whatever three or four weeks at Birkdale.
Speaking of Birkdale, one guy you definitely got to look at for that. Uh. West Wood a little one fifty one on the weekend.
You know, west the Island is uh, you know, you see like you know, something like a you know, a beach town post hurricane. That's kind of the state of Westwood Island right now.
It kind of feels like one of those one of those towns in like the Northwest that used to be like a really big, like forestry place and then kind of all these logging companies left and now they're just like really desolate and kind of like full of crystal meth and kind of delusional people. That's what west That's what West. The island kind of feels like to.
Me right now, you know you're your.
Man, the crackpots that are still still inhabiting it, or just you know, just no sense of reality whatsoever.
I just want you to know, your big man, big leash is down two to one to West this year.
Sure, or that's true.
We got two more, We got two more West West? You know he uh.
I would say Tour championship as well, but West would definitely will not be there.
So this is the I would say, this is probably the last year for Westy. Do you think, well he's gonna fall out of the top fifty.
What was he saying about the golf course?
I don't know that. I need to. I need to he needs to answer my tweet, dear sir, because because there could be a I could be packing up, I could be shuddering up and out off Lesty Island, if you know, if he answers that the wrong way?
What did he say? What did he say? I didn't actually see it.
I think that it was he was asking about the course and relation to par you know, basically, I mean Westwood likes when scores around par like he's not gonna wine when it's he's not going to shoot sixteen under. Yeah, but he can shoot even part you can get two under four under six hunderd. Yeah. It's a you know, he's a fairways greens machine and this week it didn't
work out. It's a you know, he's but he's a guy that could go out on a on a really really windy day at Birkdale and shoot like at sixty eight when everybody else shoots seventy five.
Yeah, what did you uh so, what did you think of how it played today? You wish it had been like that? You know, you said the fifteenth you'd like when the fifteen is a full stroke harder and then you know, generally the course overall it was a lot like is that that's how they wanted to play basically.
I mean it still wasn't firm, you know, like yeah, firm like when guys can hit shots and there's no you know, there's no penalty for being out of position as much, you know, when the greens are soft, and I mean you see it week to week. It's it's one of the sad things about the PGA Tour is like how rarely it plays firm and fast, you know, it's it's the best defense because then all of a sudden, when you miss the fairway, you know, it becomes that
much harder to hit the green. It makes it, you know, from the fairway even you have to be so dialed in. I mean it firm and fast is the way to go. And that course was never firm and fast. And you know, if that place is firm and fast and it's windy, it's a disaster, you know it, it might have gone the complete opposite way, where people are like this is out of control hard.
That's my problem with all the people yesterday saying it was too easy, they're like the same people who you know today probably said it was boring because you know, it was harder and more even par scores, and then they'd say it was tricked up and unfair if you know, the leader was a two over or something.
There's just kind of people are never happy. I think for me, it either has to be I mean, not just for me. I'm sure this is pretty obvious, but I think that where it's super exciting like yesterday, where people are making birdies and eagles and all kinds of things that obviously those are incredible to watch and I think the days when it is brutally difficult and guys are just getting ejected constantly is when it's good to
watch it. Today just like felt really stuck in the middle, which I think was a lot of you know, had a lot to do with the course being damper than they wanted to and them having to kind of you know, put a lot of front pins to kind of try
to protect a lot of the holes and stuff. I think it just kind of, I don't know, it's kind of set up to be set up to be a good day, like in relation to par or whatever, you know, to to not have another big scoring day, but it was also set up to just kind of, you know, it was set up to kind of be what it was. It was kind of a little flat and not all that crazy interesting.
So you think we're going back. That was the big thing, Like Chambers is, you know, never coming here again.
And there was you know, a.
Speculation that might get one of those whatever like four balls or something. Then they didn't get that.
Seems like people think we're gonna get this again. Everyone else.
I hope it does. I mean, I think it was. I just I wrote an article about this yesterday, but like this was the first US Open where being long for the most part, with the exception of guys like Jim Perrick, but like being extremely great off the tee wasn't a prerequisite. And I think that's so good for golf because like you got to see Brian Harmon, Like if this is at Oakmont, Brian Harmon is probably fortieth Brooks.
It would have still won, you know, but you wouldn't have had I don't think Xanderschaffle would be up there. Bill Has certainly wouldn't have been on the leader board. Shay Revey, I mean stricker future. Yeah. It allowed different styles of play and what makes other players great be showcase, you know, And I think that that's the cool thing.
Patrick Reed hitting twelve greens and shooting sixty five. Yeah, his short game was out of control and that wouldn't happen if there was you know, eight inch rough around the greens.
But like three times yesterday.
Yeah, the short that short grass, like the short grass around the greens. Really great pictures of the ball, like feast on that and guys like Westwood are putting and having them roll back down to their feet.
Right, can we just can I kind of bring that up for a s. I love how the US opened that those chipping areas, the US Open makes these terms of art and closely Moaned became a a now like hit it to the Closely Moon, like's just like facts and these guys just throwing these terms out. It's ridiculous the calmarrain and I love it, like only at the US opens these like these terms just become you know, ubiquitous closely Moans.
What do you guys think coming back?
I hope So I loved it. I mean I thought it was awesome. I think anytime you know I'm biased, of course, but anytime you go to the Midwest, I think you get awesome crowds of like good golf fans and people who are like pretty hungry for these kinds of tournaments and support them well and all that kind of stuff. And so I mean, yeah, I was all in. I mean, I think they got a little unlucky with some poorly timed rain, but other than that, I mean, I don't really think you can. I don't think you
can say anything bad about it. I mean good, good winner, good, you know, good setup, everything was, everything was good.
I thought, Yeah, I'm totally fine with it going back. I think it's just you get this hostility to new venues because there is so much competition and there are so many classic courses, even just in the Midwest that you want majors going to that are kind of off the RODA.
And I guess that's is that.
Like you need property to accommodate these and maybe the course layout is sometimes secondary to the operations being able to set up across the property.
And that's where it seems like the USJA is kind of like is kind of doing a cool thing. I mean, I'm sure if you remember at one of these like really classic courses, you're not into this trend, but you know this this kind of model that they're building now where they're they're kind of building these golf courses specifically to host US opens is you know, it's just interesting, I think, and like that's kind of what they did with Chambers Bay. It feels like, and you know, I
think it backfired. I still low key think that a US opens is going to go back to Chambers Bay. Not for a long time, but I think it will just because I don't know, I feel like they've got so much skin in the game when they when they develop these venues that way, and I don't know, I'm kind of cool with it. It's basically them kind of building their building their stadiums around the country. Basically, Yeah, I uh yeah, I think.
I mean, and like, let's let's keep in mind that Aaron Hills was was up against cog Hill Number four, which got a got a restoration, just got just got the character just wiped right off its face. And like, frankly, I wouldn't even say it's one of the fifty best courses in Chicago anymore. So Wow, it's just it's sad what happened to that course. So as much as I would have loved like the twenty minute drive from my apartment there, it it wouldn't have been as good as Aaron Hills.
So there any upcoming Chicago majors. No, No, nothing on the raidar.
I don't think we've got a We don't have like we've got Madonna, which is you know, the PGA thing, you know it. I just don't think it really like does and get the juices flowing?
Yeah, I agree.
Olympia Fields. The problem is it's south of the city, so you don't have like the fan base like you where you draw fans for golf tournaments, isn't it from the north and the west, So you need it, you know, to be in one of those two areas. Butler is the course that would be the ideal US Open course. I mean, that place could host it tomorrow. But they are all men, and if if I forgot my shoes, my fiance would have to drop them off at the gate.
So don't think. I don't think that's gonna fly.
I don't think Diana Murphy's going there anytime soon. So until they dropped that, I don't think we'll get we'll get anything big for a while. I just don't think, you know, frankly, I don't think we have a rate of we have great golf courses. We don't have great We don't have Shinnacock, we don't have Marion. We we just don't have one of those pedigree We don't have Oakmont.
You know, Shinnakock should be awesome, though I heard they're they're really I heard of their widening faaraways and the trend is real and they've been expanding greens, so we should see a lot of what we saw at Aaron Hills at Shinnakok, awesome.
I think that speaks to the question, is the USGA woke?
I think that's more Shinnacock's woke, you know, Yeah, yeah, I think.
I mean, I feel like the pretty they gotta have kind of carp launch over what happens at a lot of these.
Venues, right Well, they're getting it back to the original design. Yeah, so, you know, I think it's just the overall trend of classic courses is getting green sizes back, getting fairways back to original wits and and it's it's a way out or golf. We saw it this week. Just when fairways are wide, it lets all types of players play. It's not just who can hit their driver best.
Yeah.
So let's do a quick overrated, underrated. Let's do it, John Rob.
Oh wow, that's a good one. Brendon, I'll let.
You go first. I will say underrated. I think the backlash is just too too hot this week. So now he's gone too he was he was, he was, he was catching a little too much trendy hype, and now he's back to being underrated because people think he's you know, too hot.
Yeah, I agree, I think he Yeah, I think he was so underrated that he became overrated, which makes him underrated, right, Yeah.
I agree, what about it? I mean, I'm in on throwing bunker.
Rings, punching signs, love it, love it. I'm I'm I'm still in on him. I like we talked about with j T. It's it's tough when things start going the wrong way. But uh, underrated backlash was high. See who kim Oh?
Underrated?
Underrated? Just a killer. I watched him last night. I'm such a fan. He did a flash, he did he did a press conference with no translator. You know, he's I love it, I love it. He's just he's just a killer. Well, all these other guys are antsy. He's just like deadpan, ready to go out and carve it up.
Yeah, you know it said finally, I was watching live from last night and finally, you know, Brandle was like, you know, we might need to look at last year's statistics instead of this year's and realize that this guy made it to the you know, tour chances. It's like, right, like when you see a series of withdrawals from tournaments and miss cuts, like their serious. Probably something going wrong.
You know, Yeah, I think he's a he's he would be a good. I know you guys both love the player A player B. Take the names away comparison, and if you said, you know, you have this twenty one year old kid who has won a players, won another tour events, made it to the Tour Championship, all this stuff. I mean like if he was, you know, named Michael Smith instead of Seewoo Kim, I think he would probably
be a lot more popular. Frankly, I mean it's it's one of those things that like, I don't know what else he can do to like show people how good he is here.
Here's a good question, good follow up on this, Like who's got a more impressive career? Him or John Robb?
Yeah, I don't know, you Wiu. I think I think John Ram is a He's like he has the benefit of just us knowing more about him because he went to college here and because he played some other tour events before getting his card and all that kind of stuff. He just had a little bit of like built in cachet. But again, kind of the player A player B Like right now they see.
Kim right, he's younger too.
Yeah, really I don't know that.
Yeah, John twenty one, Yeah, John Ram's twenty two. Or twenty three. So yeah, you got it's kind of crazy. It's uh you know, so uh I had another one? What do I have?
Oh? How about Fox?
Fox?
Overrated and underrated?
Ooh underrated, underrated. I think there's just still that stigma attached in Chambers. But like you know, people have watched the last two years. No, they've improved that. What do you think, Andy?
I love how many golf shots they show. I I don't think that is laboring, you know, really yeah, how good was that?
How good was having Gil hands out there?
It's good? But here's the thing is like they they didn't let Gil Hants like really go in. You know. That's something that bothered me is they have they have this world class architect up there, and they put who do they put next to him? Some of the time they had Darren Clark next to him.
Clark.
It's like, let this guy like go in like what Gil hans for thirty seconds, like he can do stuff, but like give him like a real thing and let him like he knows what you know, and have somebody help him and say like hey these are this is this type of player, like explain why they're playing well here, you know, explain why this is doing, like why this is happening, explain like and that is what you know, Like you had this guy here and he said some
insightful things, but he never they never took something to the next level where I was like, whoa, like you know, like this is like you know, And I think that's the thing they're missing out on is that they I don't know if it's they don't have anybody there that can like that can coach Gil up to that to get to that point and maybe that like there is the issue where you could you know, say like let's talk about that, you know, like and he'd once you
lead him into the right direction, he probably would come up with pure goals. But I feel like he never got led into the right spot.
I think even just having him have a seat at the table, so to speak, is like a good step in the right direction because I think a lot of the former players are really good. Johnny comes to mind for sure, as guys who can put you in the moment and like describe what's going on. But a lot of them, I mean have a tendency to you know, Darren Clark was was okay. I don't know that I really heard anything from him that was like went beyond kind of cliche and like, you know, kind of taking
up space. But so I think having just having a really really really smart non player at the table, I think it's good just for balance.
I guess by like one kind of I don't know, I hate playing like medium budsmen all the time because this stuff's hard. But I guess like what you're saying is, I would think there's like too many people at the table sometimes, and Grant, when you're on the air for more than nine hours, like you can't have I just
want more of their best people. And I know that's hard when you have like a nine plus hour broadcast, but like, I don't know, it just seemed like there were too many people, like they'd throw it to Holly Saunders, who like does like a fifteen second introduction of like a Shane O'donahue video essay on like the fields of Wisconsin. You know, just just felt like there's too many people do it and not getting enough exposure. You know, you want more of the best people.
See. That's that's kind of my point, is like I don't think they gave Gil enough time to really to get let him get what he could have given out, Like there is so much he could have This golf course was like an architecture in Nirvana for a modern architect because like it was you know it it had so many little like intricacies and so many little things.
And in like just talking about like what happened with the leader board was you never see this at a US Open, and like they'd never let Gil talk about, Hey, why did Ricky? Like what did this course do? That made the top three guys? Rory, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson missed the cut? That wouldn't have happened at Oakmont? You know, why did this happen here? You know? And in trying to kick it over and give him something where he could say like this is why, right?
But did you think overrated? Underrated?
I don't think I think underrated. I think a lot of I don't disagree with anything that you're saying. I mean, I think there's room for improvement, but there's always room for improvement.
I think underrated too.
Yeah, And I think that a lot of the stuff that they kind of quote unquote messed up is stuff that's really TICKI tech that I don't really care about and it's it's messing up the name of the girlfriend. Like I mean, I don't care about that, like whatever, just do a good job like showing the golf, and I think that kind of they're outside the course stuff, Like I keep bringing it up, but I'm dead serious. Like the Ken Brown brownie point stuff about how the
holes are playing was so awesome. I was like made everybody in the room stop talking when those came up, because like you learn so much about like these holes. And I tweeted something about it, but like my favorite part about that was just it's such a good indicator of like how quote unquote easy it is to like make impactful segments on these broadcasts. And like what they did with those things was they went out there with one camera. They took one take. There were no cuts.
It's just Ken Brown riffing. And it probably took six minutes to shoot that thing. I mean, he knew what he was going to talk about when he got out there. But like it's not like it requires a huge graphics package and a huge like you know, a camera crew shooting for three days to get all the b roll
for these features. Like no, just like take somebody who really is passionate and knows exactly what they're talking about and has a good personality and can carry a segment and just turn them loose and let them go do that. And I think that's what you don't see on the week to week telecasts, at least not nearly often enough. And I think that the other thing was they didn't do a lot of the big the big features and the big kind of like essays and packages and stuff.
And I thought a lot of those were you know, I think a lot of times those segments have a tendency to answer questions that like nobody's asking or like care about. And these segments were all, like I thought they were all did a great job of like explaining something that you either we're curious about or should be curious about. And like they did a really really good job with that. And our boy, our boy Bacon did well as well. That's always fun to do, always fun to see.
Fun to cool to see him ye up on the big screen. Uh yeah, I would just say, you know, I know those segments like they have to do some tape segments because to break up the live stuff. Sometimes they're sold and advertisers thing like that, like yeah, that's exactly what you should do. And maybe because like it appeals to us because we're already in the boat, like we're golf nerds. We're watching this. We don't need, like,
you know, the emotional essay on whatever else. But like him just with a whiteboard and like a basketball or with the balls, like showing us the open the grain was had me locked in. I was completely locked in. And the other times, like when we do those tape bits for whatever, a normal PGA tour broadcast, I'm like, you know, wandering off and looking at something on my computer. I just don't care. But I was locked in.
Yeah, I don't know. I think it's good. I think it's only only gonna get better. Yeah, actually I think it. It kind of a lot of the stuff, I mean, everybody points out, like the pro tracer stuff, but like there's a lot of things that I think, you know, the CBS and NBC producers are probably watching that broadcast very very carefully and looking at a lot of these ways that you know, they're incorporating things that that you
don't see in a week to week basis. So hopefully it kind of keeps pushing the pushing the ball forward. Or pushing the stick higher or lower, whatever the metaphor.
Is, Hey, last one.
Par It's the most the most overrated thing there is.
It just doesn't matter, like you're, yeah, you're gonna get contensus here matter, it's over right, Car's over.
It's so dumb. It really has it. It doesn't matter at all, Like to me to a certain extent, Johnny's right.
Oh yeah, Johnny's always right. How how much would you have paid to have Johnny in azing your seat today? Watching JT?
Well, I think what got buried yesterday was him, you know, calling at the Milwaukee Open and calling it like an easy setup. But those were like the headliners. But what got buried was like the other quotes, like the specialness of my round is not altered by this. I did this in the final round the US Open at Oakmont. The specialness he said, the specialness of my round is completely not impacted.
This does not hold up to it, So how could you disagree?
I texted ZB last night and I was like, what, uh what is it? Andy? His caddy who caddied for Johnny? What what does Andy think about this? And he texts it back. He goes, Oh, Andy says Johnny's was five shots better at least. Oh man, that's great, five shots better at least.
So good.
That guy, he's great.
He would have been on there today, like DJ said, just roasting.
You know. Jas's like I told you the specialness of my rout. He can't. You know, it's just different dynamic.
It's one thing to do it on a Saturday, it's another to do it on Sunday.
That's right. Hey, can I throw it at Andy real quick?
Yeah?
Do you think it's overrated or underrated? Is it wise or crooked? With the misdirection of another Illinois grad actually wearing Badger red in Wisconsin?
You know I heard that is his daughter place on the Wisconsin golf team. All right, so all right, some some pod listeners inform me.
But it's like you're flip flip flopping.
No, no, no, it's still very dishonest.
I think it's just good marketing. I think he's just playing to play into the crowd. It's like it's like the guy with like a Lakers sticker on his bumper and a Yankee sticker on his bumper. Let's see at the John Der Classic what he wears. I've been to have a little blue and orange out there.
You can't have it both ways, you can.
It's a nuanced position. You're all about nuanced. You know, everything's not black and white. Just broadening his base.
I think he knows he lives in Madison. He knows who utters his bread. You know, he knows, he knows that. You know, when he hits the Senior Tour, there's gonna be some it's gonna be some more local sponsorships. You know.
I'll tell you what. He's got his Champions Tour event next week. They playing it, they play it in uh you rich in Champagne, or they play it.
In Madison, MS. Just the Daughter is a good cover that makes sense.
Alone. I'm thinking everyone pilot on strigger.
All the time.
When when.
Just let the guy be.
Let me tell you when when, Uh, how about he's surge to beat Jordani Brugie. He almost lost Low, Wisconsin.
It's true, he won Low Alna predicted.
I don't even know if he is an a Lini anymore. Oh man, all right, yeah, we'll ended on that depressing note.
All right, Well, good week, Thanks for all the thanks for the takes. Andy, good stuff, Andy, brilliant stuff. This week on the course. I really really appreciate that.
Yeah, you know, I do what I can not. All heroes wear capes right.
Shining light, shining light in the darkness. Ignorant takes well, you know I didn't.
I did actually break my rule and talk about how far somebody hits it.
That's true. So it was a note.
Yeah, but then I'm a champ. Yeah. Then I misled poor Wrath and I played collar Sean Foley for text.
That's true, that's true. Yeah, he's a nuanced character.
Yeah.
Hey, overrated errated Sean Foley.
Oh, I feel like he used to be overrated and now it's cooled so that he might be underrated.
Now totally the rob thing. He got so rated that he became underrated I think.
So you know, I'm gonna go overrated just because Brandle and him teamed up to do like some segment together. Saw that and it made me cringe it what how how did Brandle do that?
Wow, it's pretty weak principle.
He gave in.
Yeah, I was shocked when I saw that. It's a forthcoming show or something it sounds like. But they they used some footage this week. I was I was shocked when I saw that.
That's good to see guys bury the hatchet. Yeah, there can be peace in this world.
Yeah, exactly, there can. But do you think that was because of crookedness?
I don't know. That's for the next podcast.
Well, we'll leave it up in there. We'll let we'll let the listeners.
That's good. But this podcast provides more questions than answers, which is exactly what you want. Yeah, any great art.
All right, you guys have a have a great night and actually a really exciting week next week at the Travelers pump Field.
Oh yeah, one, two, three.
You know it might there might be rumors that the Travelers is the new US Open.
That's what a lot of people are saying. Yeah, Phil, many people are saying that.
Yeah, phil Phyi'll believe that right is either travelable par four fifteen.
You know they were there first. Yeah, that's the one question, and I know we're wrapping up. That's the one question. Would Brooks have won? Is there an asterisk on this US Open without Phil? Or first major without Phil? Or Tiger since nineteen eighty four? You know, again, I don't have the answer. I think we're just you know, providing more questions and answers let the listeners aside, I.
Got a great story from the media more.
Like the more like the listener. I guess an hour and five minutes into the podcast, we.
Said we were going to do this like in thirty minutes. So this is a phenomenal story from the media center. This week, I went to say hello to Jay Rigdon, who I'd never met before, and great guy. And right next to him is this guy I forgot his name, and he just pipes into our conversation and he goes, you know, I talked to Bones today for about fifteen to twenty minutes. He says, Phil is going to try and come.
And Sally wasn't even there this week.
So I turned I and I, you know, this guy's never met me. I turned, I looked at him and I go, you know, you know what, I'm tired of talking about a guy that has zero chance to win this tournament. I turned it back to Jay.
I kept talking, Wow, savage, Andy, Andy is better than anyone I know, completely just icing down someone looking for a conversation. It's on at the players first hand that he just completely puts a wall up and shoots it down right away. Amazing, amazing, pre eminent talent.
You must be real. Yeah, you must be really fun in elevators.
You know. I don't want people to get a wrong impression. I am very friendly, but you know, I had not. I didn't want to talk about Phil. I'd already seen eight thousand stories written about the same thing with no updates, stories every day about the same exact thing, and I really didn't want to hear about it. Man, So we'll we'll now land on that note.
Alright, alright, alright guys, thanks, have a good one, yeah,