2018 Open Championship Recap

Welcome back to another edition of the Frida Egg Podcast. Sean Martin and Brendan poor Eth are back to recap an unbelievable Open Championship. We talk Tiger Surge on Sunday, Xander Schafley, Ricky Fowler, and much more. First, I'd like to thank our Open Championship sponsor, Greater Than. It's a healthy and delicious alternative to your traditional sports drink, and it packs two times of electrolytes with half the sugars

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Out onto the green.

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Playing out of a buried lion of bunker is completely different than playing out of a night and clean lion of green side bunker.

You need to be aggressive on any show, whether it's sitting cleanly for its Friday Egg. Well, we've all faked it. The dreaded Frida egg not to be feared, though it's actually a pretty easy shot to hit.

I just the Xander thing is more true today than it was when you asked it before the player.

Is Xander overrated or underrated?

It's more true today than it was before the player.

So you're doubling down on him being overrated out.

There was This was a nuanced take. It wasn't that stinks.

It wasn't general. Yeah, the general ign name is public. He's vastly underrated. But to the in the know golf audience who like he's they, I'm just tired of me, like all woke because I know whose Andrew is. Like, we all know whose Andrew is. If you follow golf and don't know whose Andrew is, you're doing it wrong.

Yes, it's more true today than it was the players. The question was or our point Our response was not that he sucks at golf, or he wasn't gonna win or this couldn't happen. It was that it was like this hipster crowd saying, you know, what I think.

Uh, I'm so woke.

I know whose Andrew is. No, you're not woke. He's a good player. You should know who he is.

John keeps interrupting me. Is sorry.

It was like people saying, you know what, I think Brooks kept go like like last year, I think Brooks kept goes get a golf. He's my dark horse pick. Like, no, it's not dark horse. It's like, it's not it's not. That's the thing. Xander got to overrated with the hipster crowd. It's just like it's a ubiquitous take. He's good at golf. We know he's good at golf. I hope he does well. I would have been great. I would have been happy. If you want today, that's fine. But it's more true

So the problem is that the pod is going to start in the middle of this ran somewhere that idiots.

Again, No, I'm gonna I'm gonna give you guys the full runway here. Where where Doesander? Where does Xander ring? Among the young players in the game, let's just say twenty five and younger.

I mean you still got to put speth in JT ahead of him?

Yeah, Rom, how young are we going?

Like cole Hammer.

Had? I think have to be professional?

There was an over under better career in majors Ram or Xanders somewhere in the Twitter replies, And I still I lean rom, I mean a lean rom in that sense question.

I mean, come on, I think we're getting a little carried away.

But yeah, if Brendon and I don't realize that Xander Schoffley is good at golfer, both idiots should be immediately fire from our jobs.

No, yeah, I just where do you do it? Andy?

You seem to have preconceived thoughts on this before you asked it.

So I think, like you know, two years ago you would say there was like Speith, JT and Berger, right, and I think he's he's moved into I put him ahead of Burger for sure. I think I think with with Americans, I mean, obviously you've got some young guys like D'shambo and Aaron Wise that are just getting there

I mean his hisenis year are rivier the majors and players.

Yeah, like t second at the Players, t second at the Open, you know, first of the Tour Championship, he's got he's got three top sixes in majors and just t second at the Players, and he's he's played in six of them, you know, four you know, four top six finishes and the five biggest events of the year.

You're cut off is twenty five years old? Is that what the question was?

Yeah, I don't know, I don't know where you cut it off. I don't know what you. I think in today's day and age, twenty five is probably the young right.

Yeah, Clost twenty five, you're like already entering your prime, right, I mean, that's kind.

Of that's It's interesting. I think the I think the prime of a golfer has changed from it used to be, you know, thirty to forty to now it's twenty five to thirty five, really totally.

I mean Patrick Rodgers ten years ago, Pattick Rodgers career would be very far ahead of the Kerk and now it's like he doesn't need to get mentioned with his with his boys because they've done so much. But I mean he's like twenty five, had a tour card for a couple of years, like that ten years ago. That was really really good.

It's I was as Uh. The thing with Shoffley is I think rom I'd still give the edge to Ram over Shaffley, but I mean the way he hits the ball, so he's so good tee to Green. It's the way he drives it, like he drove it so well all week. That's he's just got so much confidence. And I think he's he's underrated because he played at San Diego State. Nobody really knew him, but I mean he went he made it to the finals of the Western m I mean that's that's a pedigree event. I think I think

Wow, man, it's awfully just because of like the less the the year year's advantage and this less scar tissue.

And I don't know, man, I.

So Ricky's hard hard to hard to back right now, Like like it's he either gets one and then it's like this is great. You know, it's kind of I'm done, I made my career, my career achievement, or maybe, like the worst cliche in sports, the flood gates open. So I don't know, it's hard, hard to predict with Rick.

Yeah, I mean everyone goes back to the you know, Phil was what thirty four when he won his first major. I think Hogan was thirty four. Uh, you can have

Yeah, I mean, well, Molinari is a perfect example of that career progression. You know, this is his moment and it's all because like he was always an elite ball striker, but you know, he shored up his short game and putting, and I mean he didn't make a bogie the last two two rounds, and you know five years ago that would never have happened. But he keeps working better, and I think that is that's at all levels of golf.

Sure, I would just say this is a good transition to talk about the US. You here, I'm just kidding.

About you are like in here, got a good like ten minutes on Shoplet. Tiger just had like the biggest moment in golf, our biggest contention in five years. Got to get ten minutes on Shopley. I mentioned of Keegan Bradley, Patrick Rogers, Cole Hammer. We haven't talked about Tiger Molinario. Yeah, It's just this is like exactly how it to be so.

So so you're bringing us back to the to the general here, Brendan, what what what? What? What was your takeaway from you know, the open what you know? What do you? What do you? What did you love today? Or what do you think?

Well?

My favorite moment I think was the absurdity of that woman keeping her child in that stroller and shopping back.

I mean, that woman should be ejected from the country. She should be thrown in prison, she should be like she was steadfast refused to move. The guy was over his ball and address, and the kids started chirping again, and she just stood there. He backed off, and then she just stood there, like wouldn't you skurry into the crowd and shame and hide your face?

You know, I'm glad, I'm glad you circled the wagons to talk about a child in the crowd.

Yeah, I mean that my favorite moment. It was just added a sprinkled absurdity to a like to being in all seriousness. I think, you know, since I've been doing this, one of the maybe the top top day at a major championship. I think twenty eleven Masters is up there. Twenty thirteen Masters was bonkers, Like the whole weekend. You know, Adam Scott and Hulkerbrera aren't the names that we got today. And obviously twenty I don't know that whole twenty thirteen

I to go back to the kid in the stroller. I have a two year old, and I don't understand how anyone brings a child under the age of thirteen to accompliment. It blows my mind. As far as manic, I think twe Masters is up there, but it's I mean, it's definitely up there.

I think, yeah, I mean leaderboard wise with like the Superstar, we haven't seen that in a really long time, where legitimately on Sunday you had, you know, three of probably the three biggest names in golf right now, Speath, Rory and Tiger all with like a legit shot to.

Win, you know, And then one of my favorite moments was like, for whatever reason, I flipped out onto the leaderboard online and like I just opened it real quick. It was before they had showed Rory's eagle putt and or maybe my DVR I at some point ended up thirty seconds behind, and it showed Rory at the top at six under. I was like, wait, what the hell we were like because you hadn't seen him in so long and he just he just wasn't like part of the story.

I flipped up in the leader board was like, what the hell Rory McRoy?

He was at the very top because he had just made you know, join the lead most recent and then all of a sudden it showed his eagle and it just like took what already was a crazy day so like a no other level. And I mean, anytime you get Rory joining the lead in the last like what I guess five holes of Major Championship, that's gonna be the biggest story of the day. But this was like way, you know, in the middle of the pack three four five.

That was amazing. I looked at the boards like that can't be right.

Rory's not first, And then as Ego plug came on the TV, you know, thirty seconds later, and I couldn't believe it.

I think it was just there's too much to choose from.

To me, the Open Championship has supplanted the Masters as the best event of the year. Wow, three years in a row it's been the best and then and then you know, if you look back, like Will Knights wrote an article about like the last ten and you read and you read through them and it's just like, oh my god, every year pretty much. I mean, you sink in Watson, you know they're every single year is seemingly a great championship. You know, when was the last time

Yeah?

But why do you think that is?

I mean aside, but I think so much of it is link golf because it allows so many different riise of play to compete. I mean, Watson's not competing if it's not a link course. Greg Norman is not challenging in Birkdale and it's not a link I think so much of it is that it is a links course.

Yeah, but even I think that.

Yeah, we keep getting the best names at the top of the leaderboard out.

Of all but I know we got Rory. I'm trying to make my point. I think Andy will agree here that when it's firm and fast and yeah, the greens were soft, but the fairways were not. This week, when it's firm and fast and windy, you got to control your tras and so that brings out the best players. You know, It's one thing to hit an eight iron one point fifty and stick it. It's another thing to hit like a you know, a little punch seven iron baby cut back into the wind.

Uh.

Pat. The Creed had a great quote earlier in the week of like, the fairways were so firm that let's say you were trying to hit a six iron and you caught it a groove low, it was actually going to go like twenty yards farther because the directory was lower and the spin was last, and so like that small little miship was going to be punished exponentially. So I think you just have to control your trade, strike your ball well when conditions are firm and fast and when you're running it on the ground.

Yeah, I agree. I think what it is is that players all of a sudden have to think about where they're going to land the ball. And that's a lot different than hey, it's one fifty two, you know, and it's is it like the yardages at an Open. I mean, they don't mean anything. One fifty two could be a wedge that you land one twenty or like you know, a chip eight iron that you land one twenty and let roll in. It could be you know, it could be a number of shots. You could hit all these

So do you not need to think about where it's going to land at Augusta or yourself?

I mean, I'm not you do, but I don't think it's to the same degree you know, I think I think, I mean Augusta. You know, the tree planting has has taken away a little bit from that golf course. That golf course is, you know, just like it was built after the old course, you know, So that's I mean, but they've lost some of the you know, the essence

I thought Will Gray from Golf Channel had a great sweet about that. Is like USGA has every like technology and piece of equipment at their disposal and still get out of their own way. Well the harn I just like puts a sign in the ground pointing you to the first t and it's the best tournament ever.

Like they just I don't know.

In the in the defense of the USGA, I think that the media actually goes into the us Open and like looking for things that the USJA is going to screw up, you know, right like if if if the USGA had the greens as soft as as what the RNA had them this week, people would be throwing like a ship fit about it.

Good point, that's a good point, But would they it's like eight under one, I think I think five to ten under is a great winning score.

Yeah, I agree, But I think people would still do that. Like you know, like a perfect example is people would complain about how thin the rough was, and like I thought that was absolutely like that fescue was so perfect because you could you saw shots, you saw unbelievable recovery shots from that stuff. But then you also saw Tiger try and do too much from it, and that's what killed him in the middle of the round. That's that's

Yeah, euphemism of tugging the shaft.

Yeah, that was always kind of parental advisory, kept kept using that phrase. Uh yeah, that's that's literally what cost him the championship in the middle of the That's a that's a great point though, about the different universes the organizations have to work in, especially with those green those soft greens. First couple of days, I don't know, it's

Air or I don't know.

I think it's more they've lost the trust. It's like, you know, if a kid like constantly abuses the trust of a relationship, that the kids got a shorter release, you know, from whoever it is, you know, whether it's their parents. But I think the USGA has, like, you know, they've had so many problems over the years, and in the RNA on the opposite end of the spectrum, has never really done anything that have you know, violated the trust.

The biggest thing was what twenty fifteen Saint Andrew's and the winds. They said that they let the greens get too fast, so they had to wipe out the whole day of play because of whatever. It's like the eleventh green, it's too exposed. So they were just I mean, that's I think that's like the biggest screw, you know, the most criticism they received in the last you know, eight years or so.

How about they put Spieth on the clock.

I didn't get that. I didn't know that until I saw him talking about it. He said that was a turning point in his championship. I mean, I don't know, I don't think I don't think he was trying to blame someone else, but he's like that.

That threw me off.

That really like changed changed the way I played. What would they come in at like three forty I.

Think it was like four fifteen today.

Well they were that long.

Yeah, it was a little longer at two or something. Okay, but but you know they're actually enforcing the rules. If the USGA did that to leader, people would go nuts.

Yeah, didn't they They put the final group on the clock this year? No?

Yeah they did today I think No. I mean at the us Oh yes, they think they did, right.

They did. Everyone's on the clock. They're all slow kidding.

I don't know that pace of play was was also one of the most refreshing things. Like here's the thing.

I tweeted this at Colonial and all these Scotts, well one Scott was coming at me, and I was like, people underestimate how much the walk from Green to Tea affects pace of play. Like Colonial is super walkable. I mean Green's right off of Teas now, granted feels a bit smaller. It's like one twenty I think, but like, guys get around in four uh under four on the weekend and so same with well, lace golf. I think

Talking about how Xander kept getting bugs on his ball.

Yeah, and what else. They had a couple of rulings, but that was the only time.

It's like he said, it was the fastest round he thought he really ever played, and he was surprised.

He had that drop on what hole was it? On the front nine? It was eerily reminiscent of last year.

Five right, yeah, yeah, six, Hogan Zally.

How great is that hole?

That hole?

Those guys made double and and bogie on that holes.

Tiger put it on the front edge of the green.

It's what did you guys think of CARNOUSTI.

I think Paul Casey put it the best. He said, it's not sexy, but it's good. Yeah, Like you can't see the water from the course, but so it's just it is kind of you know, it's not a mistique of Saint Andrews one the water views of some other courses. But it's just it is, it's it's good. It's so well bunkered. And Tyler kind of called earlier in the week of like some guys are talking about like, oh, I'm going to a driver and bomb over the bunkers and tigers, like you can't really do that here. It's

Yes, that's uh. I think like it reminds me kind of a Chicago golf in a way of like where it's like it's not a dramatic site, pretty flat, nothing really special in the architecture. You look at it and you're like, why can't more golf courses be this simple and this good? You know?

Yeah, I think I tweeted after you posted that drone butt of school Chicago golf club, like this place is dead flat, Like why can we do this more often? This would be so cheap to build.

Tiger was saying. Tiger was saying, it's he thought it was much It's much more.

Undulating then than Hoylake, because they were asking him about you know, if you would do the hoyl like strategy. But it's like, well you got a lot more bumps and humps and hills there.

But I don't know, yeah, extremely flat.

Those bunkers are no joke there. I mean, how about that that shot Tiger hit on ten?

That was Tiger looked back there. That was like that was old school Tiger. That was like, I don't know. I mean, I think I heard multiple people say like, oh, this is over. He's gonna win this thing after he hit that shot.

That's what I thought, like in my head I was like, oh my god, yeah, game over.

That was like he was he was getting He was the spots where the first four or five spots where like things would go backwards or come undone didn't happen where he got used to that kind of in twenty thirteen,

In recent years like it.

And then then that that recovery out of the bunker, it just felt like he was the spots where like he would drop a shot like it just felt like those weren't happening. It combined with Saturday's t shot on eighteen kind of dancing on the edge of the burn there that when he yanked that iron to iron, it just felt like it was kind of coming together and.

It was his week. And then the bogie's very much happened a couple.

Holes later, that double bogie on I mean it was it was amazing to watch, and I think I get amazed by this every like Major where you're really watching and you're really engaged in the tournament, is like you just realize how small the margin of error is. Of like Mulinari, like he just he just didn't make mistakes. And then you look at Tiger like that one mistake, like the flop shot, by just not playing a little safer and giving himself a chance making that double bogie.

Yeah, there were a couple with Rory that just what do you have two bogies in first five holes today eighteen yesterday where he kind of just you couldn't get up and down. There's so many like you said, like so many very minuscule things that you know end up being a big difference and put miles between the top of the leaderboard and.

Wherever you fall.

Yeah. I feel like Tiger would have made that Birdie putt on eighteen had it been you know, a different situation.

Yeah.

I think why he saw whatever mulinary stuff it a minute later and I was just like.

Oh whatever.

So Andrew had a good question, Andrew K I think based on this week one, which is the one player you're buying stock? In? Which one are you selling?

Cool? I didn't own any Tiger stocks. I guess Tiger. Maybe it's Andrew, this.

Is what you're buying.

Yeah, selling Ricky.

Buying I mean, I don't know buying Tiger.

I guess right, long term, long term is a better long term investment buying Xander if I didn't own already.

I'm uh, I'm buying Tony Finow three straight top tens and majors, could could be four and Belle Reef probably is gonna fit him. Well, it's gonna be nice and nice and dough boy soft out there, and then uh, I'm gonna sell I'm selling mm hmm, how am I selling.

Rom dj j T trying to messica. I meant a lot of good guys obviously not not worth selling.

But I'm just saying I think I'm probably probably selling right. Tough, Yeah, I don't. Rick only has like you talk about, like these trajectories. Ricky doesn't have a lot of wins.

Yeah, and seventy three, I mean seventy three yesterday was really disappointing. Started in the mix, could have made a move, was playing easy. It was harder in the afternoon, but I mean still the seventy three yesterday was just wasn't good.

What what's his last win? Honda?

No?

Is it last last year's Honda?

Yeah?

Yeah, yeah, last year last year's Honda.

It's just I don't know, it's it's it's like it's not easy to be as like consistently good as he is.

But I mean it's easier than winning.

I don't.

I he just doesn't. He doesn't win as much as he's peer.

It is a tough one. It's like the Charles Howell argument.

Yeah, I just don't understand why either he doesn't win as much. He's kind of like Paul Casey in a way, you know.

Yeah, And I think like he he.

It whether we want, whether it's subconscious or not. Like, the demands on him are greater because he's so exposed. There's so much exposure, whether we think whether we're doing it.

Conscious or not, because he's in you know, he pops.

Up in every commercial break of every telecast, whether it's you know, Mercedes or mortgages or insurance or whatever it is. And like his popularity with with just kind of the clickbait world, you know, like he does something on Instagram, it's immediately a post, whereas a lot of guys with more wins don't you know, do something it's not it's

I know that's that's that's not exactly a new take, but but I think it is.

Where we are when you're talking about you know, Paul.

Casey or someone like that. It's just it just it just is the disappointments are more conspicuous.

Yeah, I like the Master's quote when he kind of said, you know, this was the first one I really felt like I should have won. I feel ready to win. I thought maybe that would bring maybe a harder edge to him. I think too, I mean the hard part too, like Ricky's content, which I think is fine, Like we want these guys to like always be mad, remember they don't win, and we want them to be, you know, just fiery, and you really you can't do that in

It's this whole thing is like, is winning overrated? Because if a consistency is you know, more important than winning, he's like one of the ten best players of you know, in the world. But if it's strictly based off winning, he isn't.

Yeah, I mean, I'm looking at his results, and so he finished runner up with the Masters, and since then he's missed one cut, and besides that miss cut, his worst finishes twenty first, I mean literally like second T twenty one, mc T fourteen, twenty twelfth, and sixth, and then I think he finished like twenty eighth this week. Like, that's hard to do to me, but then I do.

It is. It is interesting because I think society values the you know, win twice in a year miss ten cuts over yeah, you know, missing three cuts, having tons of top tens and not winning, you know.

Yeah, totally.

And I don't know what's better.

Well, the market definitely, I don't know. Once whatever Ricky's selling I guess whether.

He I don't know.

I think, like, but our little corner of the world golf.

Nerves and people who follow this, you know, I guess we can have reasonable debates about it. But you know, Skip, what did Skip Bayless say? Ricky's too short, like physically too small to win. He's not tall enough the take artists?

You know, so is is Justin Rose the best player in the world?

Yeah, I uh, I was gonna say Dustin, But Dustin missed the cut this week.

The thing that was, the thing that kind of struck me was how really like unsurprising it was to see him, Yeah, as soon as he made that putt on Friday to make the cut on the numbers, like, oh, well, like he's gonna finish in the top twenty, top ten maybe, and then like it's just like it just felt natural and expected for him to cheat that sixty four at the round of the day on Saturday, and then you know, goes under under part again today, And I think that

So yeah, I think to the thing with bros. He was an amazing ball striker for so long, right, but he couldn't put yeah, and then his putting improvement has been huge this year. And so basically you're taking a guy who was a perfect player except for his the one club in his bag, and now he's really good with that. So he's basically a perfect player right now.

You know what I mean? It is because he'd stopped wearing the sunglasses. He can read the greens better.

I didn't even think.

I can't tell it. I can't. That feels like it could be a real take, but I just can't tell.

No. He started to stop wearing the sunglasses last fall in the FedEx Cup.

Actually, you know what that's right? I remember it Tour Championship. I asked it, or someone asked him. I was in the interview, and he said that if he starts the week with the sunglasses on, he would wear them throughout the week. So, like I think one day it was cloudy and he was wearing them, and someone was like, why are you wearing sunglasses? Is cloudy out? He's like, well, for consistency with my reads. If I start the week

He's a right, is that right?

I think he does the claw. I don't know, my hand point, I've seen him do that.

You know, twenty three starts since last year's Northern Trust, four winds and eighteen top ten.

It's hard to be the guy who hits it really, really good and now punch for the really good.

Less majors than Brooks Koepka.

Less majors than Brooks Kepka. That's that's the This is like the whole debate. Yeah, you know, less wins than than Dustin probably, I think.

I would say I think maybe not.

I'd say Jason Day has had like the most tiger like run of the last five years. Maybe maybe DJ when he won three starts a row.

But like, you know, Jason Day's the only guy that sustained it for eighteen months. Yeah, you know, like over a year of sustained dominant. You know, like there was like no question who the best player in golf was during Jason Day's run.

You know, He's got one major PGA at Westland.

Straight saying like about Roses, I feel like there's not a lot it's going to be changing his life. Like Jason's wife is pregnant, they have another kid. He wants spend all the time in his family, which I think is great, but like you're adding another kid and things like that, there's no there's no variables in Justin Rose's life, right, Like he's already he has his kids and now it's it's all about his game. And I don't know, I

I'm just talking about like the Primes lasting, you know, being shorter a Rose, although he's Rose has a game that doesn't feel violent. Although he's got the uh the back, the back back witch doctor.

Yeah, but that was the thing is so last year at Birkdale, I asked him, uh, because I've heard they'd been making swing changes for the back, and I mean that's one reason he's playing some much better is the back is so much better. And they've changed a lot in his swing. Not something's visible to like the naked eye, but they've changed stuff in his swing to alleviate the back pain. And that's when we playing so well, because they've gotten the back in a good place.

In Surprise, Bully, one of Poley's students, says, that problem.

You know, I I think with Uh, with Rose, I think we talked about progression earlier in the UH in the pod. Yeah, he was like a short hitter and now he's one of the longest. Yeah, nobody, nobody successfully does that.

I remember at the Masters when he and Sergio were going back and forth. They were both heading at like three thirty with like with regularity on that on that Sunday, you know, not three thirty every time, but they were both.

Plenty long enough. I just couldn't. Like everybody, it was just crazy. Rose.

You just think of as kind of like this lanky ball striker. He's older and he's just like striping irons. But yeah, like I said, he's he's got, he's playing long enough.

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Yeah, that's good.

That that might be my my cell actually is.

I mean, yeah, talk about variaballs. I mean you got married and had a child in not that long time span.

Well that that's kind of what I was talking about with Ricky earlier. Is like I don't know, you spend your entire life trying to get this one thing and you get it, and that like like that just has to be a set of a comp Like, you know, you build a company and you I mean some people, you know, build a company and sell it for enough money to you know, retire one hundred times over, and that's what they do and they just hang out and

More money than they will ever need.

I think like there's you can have that effect with winning a major.

Sergio spent twenty years.

In the spotlight and coming close to winning majors and they finally got it. And I guess, you know, I'm not saying he like doesn't care anymore, but whether that's whether it's deliberate or.

Not, I mean that could that could have an effect.

Where you're just like, Wow, I just achieved, you know, everything that I've been building towards and that's eluded me for so long and maybe some of you know, and I wonder about that with Ricky, that's what that's kind of what I was getting out earlier.

I don't know.

I think Sergio is too talented to never contend at a major again or not win a couple more. But I think maybe that's what he's going through.

Yeah, I kind of think the same thing with Sergio. I think it's uh, it's almost like you needed like he's on like a little bit of a golf break, and that's perfectly fine. You know, like when entrepreneurs sell their companies, a lot of times they take a couple of year break.

You know, Yeah, I don't there, and it's understandable after decades of pursuing a major and then also pursuing marriage and a family.

That's that's the unique thing I think with golf more so than like a lot of other sports, is like, you know, I don't think your body decays it, but your these careers are so much longer. You know. Sergio has been you know, in the spotlight since he was seventeen years old. Yeah, and now he's what thirty eight, thirty nine? Yeah, I mean that's like, you know, Kobe

It also coinciding with him getting married and having kids was like like an unseen like a just kind of an unexpected that's just just a lot I mean, achieving the end of your life and then also achieving so many personal so many things in your personal life happening at the same time. I mean, can have that kind of effect. I don't know, I was disappointed we make these Can we just talk about like how it's so dumb to make to think like a major eight ten

It just it doesn't we put so we put way.

Too much weight in that kind of stuff. So I think like, while it felt disappointed, disappointing, he didn't you know whatever, He wasn't battling down the stretch like he was ten years ago.

I just think like that storyline gets so.

Overblown, Like every time we come to a new place, you know, in the three rotating majors, you come back to a place, it's like, I don't know, people weren't picking Paul Laurie this week. It's just it's just we put way too much weight in that.

This week. Yeah, we just have ten top tens in the open.

Yeah, I understand that, but people were just citing that two thousand and seven one, like, oh, he played well at Cournecy that that had no bearing on how he's playing right now.

And when I got fooled by that, you know, I'm I'm I'm the idiot that picked Sergia.

What's that pick? I mean, it's not like a crazy pick.

So when I when I play like really good golf courses, I find myself getting sad at the end of the round, like on like the fifteenth hole, like on the green, I'll be just like kind of like in devastation knowing

That's uh, I'm excited because my wife's brother is getting married that week for running a beach house for the week in Pensacola. I am sad to not see Brendan and Kyle and Cad either. But I am excited for the vacation.

I like when you talk about your feelings on this podcast and.

Last time that day it's sin was the worst worst day of your life? That was the US Open, like post game, You're like, Saturday of the worst in my life?

Well it was. It was such an upfront to win an angles.

I I completely agree with you and have a good answer for why I should why I should get excited about this this PGA like and I almost think like if, like even if like Ricky or Roy or some big name wins it, it's like it should count as like a WGC wing or something. I just I'm not I don't have a good answer for you. I I completely agree.

I'm not too amp about it.

Like I think that it's Belle Reeve is almost so offensive that it's intriguing to me. And one way tonight I found out that they when they did their most recent renovations, they put brown dye in the cement mix so that the cart paths were brown and they were more aesthetically pleasing.

It's pragmatic.

That's how you want to spend your maintenance budget. Yeah, car Pathesthetics.

It's yeah, I mean it, I don't know, it's wouldn't be a major. It should not be a major championship this year.

Like somebody, I think it was Will Bardwell, somebody was like, can we talk about like the airball is not just not just going there but PG having a hundred. They're like the other like you know what, you know, RNA like threw off the schedule a little bit, so the one hundred fifty in twenty twenty one could specifically be at Saint Andrew's.

What like they like bumped St. Andrew's back the year.

What what it's a hundredth PGA, it's your one hundredth championship, Like.

What happened? Who?

Who didn't get the memo? Like that makes it extra I don't know, puzzling that you're supposed to like celebrate your organization, organization and your championship, you know, even in an extra way, and you're going to Bellery.

So yeah, I mean it's the It's the closest major championship to me and I I'm really having a tough time getting myself to go. I don't know if I can go down there.

Well, the PGA, I feel like they're they're putting the stake of the ground on some better places, just not this year.

That is that wrong? And am I mistaken?

I don't know. They're they're booked till like twenty thirty venues and like, I don't know.

I think that they're always juggling the whole Ryder Cup thing.

All these clubs are here, you know.

That's another thing I got this for my like like, don't like article I've been working on that really grinds my gears. Is like the European Tour, the European Ryder Cup site.

Oh god, yeah, Like We're.

Watching this at Carnoustie and I'm like thinking, I'm being like I was like literally thinking, I'm like, how cool would it be if a Ryder Cup was out at a course like this or like Birkdale or Saint Andrew's, Like how amazing would a Ryder Cup be at St Andrews.

Is there is there stated rationale for that, like because it seems so deliberate that that there's a reason for it, Like it's not just like a anomaly.

Like why can't it be at Royal County Down?

Is it for infrastructure? Like why I don't like Glenn Hill.

I think that's a big part of it.

Yeah, yeah, but if they're the British, you can have the Open Championship at a place.

I don't know.

I know the Ryder Cup's a little different because you want everything's concentrated on like three and four holes at a time.

But I I just yeah, Glenn Eagle was it's a gross.

I mean the Ryder Cup venues in general just bother me.

Like, but it's different.

It's not about the venue, I mean, can it's a it's a competition that stands on its own venueless. I don't know as much as others your particular area of expertise. It's just it's an adversarial competition. It's not the player versus the course.

Speaking of the Ryder Cup, though, the the teams are like absolutely stacked this year.

I've heard I've heard that.

It's many are saying you guys want to want to do uh, overrated, underrated.

Probably it's past midnight here in Scotland.

All right, we'll get Sean out of here, all right? Overrated, underrated the coverage.

I think I don't know if I'm qualified here because I watched a lot of the world feed in the media center. I generally like, I have a lot of friends work in Golf Channel, so I'm biased, but I generally like, and you seeing Golf Channel the ground tracer thing was cool. I'm gonna say it's become cool to knock the coverage, so I'm gonna say underrated. And again that's probably the same problem Randew before with other controversial underrated overrated, is that I'm tailoring it for our small

So I would say, talking about the coverage and this question is extremely overrated. And I and get as guilty of it as anyone, and I fall into it. I just I don't know, I've typed, I've written it a few times over the years. I just think like and I tweeted, I guilt. I'm as guilty as anyone. I

But I just think, like we talk like no one cares.

No one, no one.

People are just just people.

Just tune in to watch Tiger, Like I know, no one's trying to see like you know, the amateur from whatever. It's just Sam walk what Sam Locke. Well, yeah, I mean I guess it gets to us a little bit too much. But and we do want to see some of the like lesser, you know, more random and I don't know off the radar stories, But just talking about the coverage is exhausting. I've been done with it for a while, I've written it over the years. I just I think it's like even worse now.

I think golf is actually like probably the hardest thing to televise of any sport because it's happened. There's there's all these players in different spots across like every other sport is like there's one place that the game is being played and a focal point of the action, whereas golf, like, you know, you're all over the place all the time. So I think, also, yeah, go ahead.

I saw I saw some talk on Twitter about we should have commercial free broadcasts of majors, and I was like, guys, like, what fantasy world are we living in? Like, you got to pay the bills. You paid billions for these broadcast rights for millions. You got to recoup that somehow.

Yeah, I mean the Masters is an anomaly.

I just yeah, it's just.

Like people want all these articles for free, and then you know, expect I don't know expect, you know, deep reported investigations just happened.

I don't.

It's yeah, Twitter is just a place to complain, So it's not really surprising.

Hey uh it was was Bryson's outfit on Saturday, the best outfit of the week.

It it made me feel.

Good for getting up at an hour that I really didn't need to. On Saturday, very little was happening. For some reason. I was down on my couch in front of the TV at five am or whatever, it was four thirty and I look at the screen. I'm like what the hell, what is going on? He looked like some like I don't know, Slavic, like gangster or I don't know, or like an old Italian guy, you know, the output of an old Italian. It just it was it paid off for me to you know, it was

But it was fantastic.

It was straight out of the Sopranos, that outfit. I've seen that look many times. You know, there's there's six seasons of it.

I gotta be honest. Brendan had a great week of tweeting. It was. It was strong this week.

Hall of Fame week.

Yeah, I think over an underrated Brendan, I think right.

I think his tweets are the are the the bar.

They're like they're funny without being just it's so easy just to like rip on guys and try to get engagements that way. But like they're funny without just being controversial or like without being like just mean. Like it's really easy to get people fired up on Twitter and just you know, pick some player you don't like and just harp on them and ignite the masses against them and get it going that way. But like they're funny while being intelligent, without just being like just mean for

I think you're like retweet, like per tweet percentage is like better than anybody on the internet.

Yeah, blushing over here, gosh, let's take what the course gives me.

Yeah, all right.

So that Bryson tweet was definitely, I mean, that was the example of the week, but there's there's definitely more than that.

That came from overrated, underrated, out of bounds, overrated.

It's why, I don't know, I think I think it's hmm, I think it's underrated as it's is that the most brutal.

Penalty and golf, Yeah, it's.

So arbitrary, Like there's so many things that are marked like okay, number one at Carnoustie, the Barry Burn us on the left side kind of early off the tee. You have to really you have to hit a snipe hooke to get it in there. But it's OB on the first hole, but it's it's the Verry Burn. But like so on the first hole, if you hit it left into the burn, it's OB. On a team, if you hit it left into the burn, it's a hazard. Like.

That was the end the end of rick.

OB should be off the property, like you hit on the train tracks. That's ob If you hit it slightly left into like a backyard where you could maybe play it, that should be a hazard.

Well isn't that off the property?

Yeah?

All right, true?

But was that the case this week?

It was like the property was literally constraint, like that's where the property ended, don't know.

But left of one into the very burn, like there's play a property there. There's no reason that left of one in the very burn should have been anything beside the hazard. Like literally if you just hit it off the grass into the burns, if your ball was sitting in the water on one, you were out of bound, but you were in water, which is ninety nine in a time of hazard.

You know, I think it's underrated. I hate it. I think it. I hate so many things about it. But like, for example, that six hole wouldn't be as brilliant if it was a hazard down the left as it is bounds like they were, people were terrified of hitting the ball left and they just kept sailing them right and making sixes without you know, going in any hazard on a part five, When do you ever see.

That it's as its as menacing as the hazard I think right.

To be honest, Hogan's alley is wider than I thought it was going to be. I was a little bit disappointed.

Yeah, it's wider, but that that out of bounds makes it like when you're when you're trying to hit that t shot as like in a tournament, it's absolutely terrifying. You like can't get yourself to hit it over there.

Also, under the aspect of it, the ground slopes right to left, so slopes towards the ob so you've got to like hit a cut in there. No, I totally it's that I wouldn't take that line. I mean that it was wider than I thought it was going to be.

Ended Ricky's championship, right, I mean he pumped on O B and then got spooked mentally and shot and ray right went way right and then get.

You know, not to go back to Belle Reeve, but just that hole, the six hole, the six hole at Krnousti, like I look at that and just Carnousti in general, Chicago golf, like what they do well is so simple. I don't understand how something like beller Reeve happened. Like good golf architects so simple.

Hey, can you give us like the.

I don't know sixty second skinny on bell Reeveh. Give us, give us a little paste of why it's so. It's why I said, what's happened there? It's certain holes or what's what's.

It's just it's just narrow fair aways long and then it's just bunkers on both sides. You know. It's like, you know, hit it. It tells you where to hit everything. You know, like six of Carnusty is great because you could hit it left and take that line, but they give you all this room to the right where it is like a delayed penalty where if I hit it over here, I might not be dead right now, but I'm actually dead unless I hit a perfect shot back.

With an angles. Does that make sense totally? I mean I think, I mean carnis Do is great in that sense of like you had to take on the pop Bunkers. You wanted the best angle.

And you could play safe, but like you're not gonna play safe all round long and be at the top of the leader boar no.

Harrington said it great. Harrington was like, look, yeah, you can lay back short of the pop punkers if you want here, but you're gonna have two hundred yard approaches almost all day long and so you're not gonna score which But the same time, if you're like a twenty handicap and you're playing that course, like it's great, you can roll it. You know, all great holes should be able to be played without a putter or with a putter, except for the seventeenth Sawgrass a great hole, but you

All right, last, overrated underrated tiger.

Hmm, I'm gonna say underrated man, Like I think you know, we it's kind of we've heard him say it a lot every week of like, you know, this time last year, I didn't think I'd be playing golf again. But honestly, like this time last year, he never thought he'd played golf again. And the guy is contending in major championships.

That shot he hit on ten was like one of the greatest golf shots I've ever seen.

Oh, it was ridiculous to get it that high. Then also to move it that far forward.

In that situation too, Like hey, I mean it's it's a shame the green.

You can hit that in the burn easily.

If he goes on to win that event, it's like into his top fifteen shots of all time. Oh yeah, that shot was unbelievable. And I that's like, I think the thing about Tiger is like he regularly does things that you don't ever see anybody else do. He's He's way underrated. Is Brendan there?

I don't know.

I think he's gone.

Oh I see him.

We might we might just have to call it. Brendan just left the left. We'll get him in here real quick.

You know he's back.

Yeah. Well, the last one. I don't know Whenny we lost you, but the last one is uh.

I heard.

I heard the whole thing. I heard it.

I think, Yeah, like you guys are talking about a year ago. I wrote that Saturday, like a year ago. He was sending weird ass tweets about his Open Raiders pool table and then what's the.

Fact that the fact that you remember that stuff is really like the key to your greatness? Like I don't remember that at all, but that was a great tweet.

I mean that was up there with whatever Mac Daddy Santa. For me, It's just like, Wow, he should not have his account. What is the purpose of this, Like he shouldn't have the keys, so why did he send I just remember it in the moment.

I agree with all that. I agree with all that.

I think, like this is like he says, it's a gift. Hashtag blessed. I'm weighing on Tiger, I'm buying them all that. I think we're kind of overrating.

I don't know.

I don't know that.

Yeah, I think based on the last five years of injuries and personal scandals and all that stuff and barely being able to walk kind of makes us a little more lenient. But he was having trouble closing before all that happened. He was having that trouble in twenty thirteen. He had that trouble at Mirrorfield, at Oak Hill. He was having that trouble, and he did again today. I know he led a major championship on the back nine on a Sunday, And I'm not like denegrating that that's amazing.

I'm just saying. And I thought golf Brandle and Frank went into this.

Better than anyone after a round as we were all kind of it was a hit us some and we're on this high and they kind of like brought it back down to earth. For me, was like, well, you know, he hit five and six fairways on every nine all week.

On his back nine on Sunday.

He hit one fairway and they put up like a graphic about how many bogies he has on Sunday back nine this this year, whether it's you know, pumping it out of bounds.

At bay Hill or.

Quick Loans Wells Fargo, the players, you know he put in the water at seventeen, like they're like the bogies or doubles, bogies are worse.

Stats for his final round back nine aren't great.

So yeah, I mean, I thought Rory had a great quote and Rory said it. They said that this tiger does things a tiger of fifteen years ago did not do, Like this tiger is not infallible.

I don't know what the tiger was here, And have my words twisted like we did with Xander.

How many times you said that this podcast.

But I'm not.

Trying to pour cold water on it.

I just think, like, wow, I know what this is going, everything that's going to go last five years. We tend to kind of tend to just focus on the positive. I'm not sure that's necessarily the wrong thing to do, but there is says Tiger is over.

It might be the headline of the of the title of the podcast.

There is some there is some you know, we need to approach this with an equitability that you know, the fanboys may not have.

Come for the architecture takes, stay for Brendan calling Tiger Woods over it.

You won't believe it. You will't not believe what Brandan Poorath from Espanation said about Tiger Woods.

Fortunately small deal, but you know, people don't aggregate my podcast.

Brendan Poora said, what click here to find out?

And it's also at minute seventy five of the podcast You'll never leave.

But Brendan pora I said about Tiger.

Woods, we didn't get into blistering Tiger Takes until the last two minutes.

All Right, what do you guys, what do you guys coming out? Uh, this about the Open, Brendan, are you published anything yet?

Sean? I, I just did a quick jam on on Frankie Am this afternoon and then started gathering things for the morning. Gonna have gonna have a thing on Tiger, probably gonna have a thing on, just a separate thing on like the holistic the entire Sunday.

So yeah, I wrote a Tiger piece. I thought's pretty cool. I asked Xander. I got to ask him Saturday, but being a San Diego guy, if he was at the two thousand and eight US Open, and it was kind of cool. I thought he was at He was there, he was at the seventy second hole watching as like a fourteen year old when Tiger made that putt and the last major he won, and then all of a sudden, now you know, Xander is being chased by Tiger. So that was cool and so sort of Tiger piece on that.

But he didn't hit any foul balls like any no, no.

And also it's crazy too, people no one mentioned ed Wardo like at all today, but like Wardo won the US NAM and Marian so the Molinaris now have a US Amateur and a Clarig jug which is insane, and like it's crazy too because they don't look anything like brothers. And Wardo's really skinny, and he like doesn't hit it very straight and he's a scrambler and has an amazing short game. And Francesco fors forever couldn't putt, but just hit it dead straight like every time, like he's the

The Molinari Slam might be the greatest record in golf. I know, you know, I'm writing an exhaustive piece about the I'm back moment of this weekend, which is Hunter Mayhon tied first at the barbers.

Oh, I'm so excited for that to tee off tomorrow.

I think they're right now, it's seven.

I don't know, well they know. The leader work said they had an eight pm T time, which I assumed wasn't happening, and I assume.

They're just zb texted during this during this pod that said, I'm I'm I'm walking the first t.

Yeah, I'm very exorited that that's a big story. I feel like, yeah, I got nothing to Ironomy. Yeah, BMW Championship. Are you gonna be there? I know it's not in the tribal area, but it's pretty woke.

I'm I'm I'm I'm thinking about, uh, you know, investing some resources and uh getting the low down, doing doing some stuff on for Marion or for Aronomic and uh and Ridgewood.

Oh, and I'm playing Hickory golf tomorrow. I'm woke.

So other than that, hick Fever. You're gonna be Yeah, You're gonna be you and Brandon Stone. That was one of the coolest moments of the of the week. That'll go.

I love Ryan. I love when you see professional golfers who love golf.

Yeah, it's so underrated.

Actually, yeah, it's like ZB why we love.

Them too many guys, Like I don't know. I think that's one of the problems though, is like you know, is when it's your job, you lose what made you so great, you know, Like, I don't know, It's it's tricky, but yeah, I agree. The guys that just can't get enough of golf are the best.

Yeah, shout out ZV in mid ninety seven of this podcast.

Yeah all right, guys, I'm calling it. Unless you got anything else to say about the open.

Oh see a Firestone and Bellery.

I might. I might go to Firestone, you know, just so I can I can put the put the final uh final, you know, dirt on top of its grave. As a PGA Tour site.

I gotta be honest. As a from a journalist standpoint, I love Firestone. It's like summer camp because you have the two other courses there. It's light till like ten pm, and so we would just go like take carts around and play golf to like tens So selfishly, I love Firestones events to go to.

I'm recording this from Northeast Ohio, so I'm on published and get out of town.

A great question.

Al Right, guys, later, alright, alright later. You've been listening to the fried Egg Podcast. We do the digging before you