Welcome back to another edition of the Fried Egg Podcast. Before we get started with Brendan and KVV, I'd like to talk about our PGA Championship sponsor, Greater Than. I highly recommend everybody give this stuff a shot. It's tastes great and it is really way better for you than the traditional long standing sports strengths on the market. It
has less sugars, less calories, and twice the electrolytes. Try out GT at drinkgt dot com and use the promo code the fried Egg with No Spaces to get twenty percent off your first order. If you love greater Than already, ask your golf course or club to stock it now without further ado. Here's our PGA Championship recap podcast with Brendan and Kevin.
The fried Egg requires a different technique.
What you need to do is actually square the face so it'll dig down underneath that bad lie and propel that.
Ball right out onto the green. Here's the same. Play out of a buried lion of bunker is completely different than playing out of a nice clean lion of green side bunker.
You need to be aggressive on any show, whether it's sitting cleanly for its Frida Egg. Well, we've all faiked it, the dreaded Friday Egg.
It's not to be feared though.
It's actually a pretty easy shot to hit.
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome back to another edition of the Frida Egg Podcast. I am joined by Brendan Porath from ESB Nation and Kevin van Valkenberg from ESPN. Guys, Welcome on, Andy, thanks for having me.
Hey, great to be here the third time back. It's like the Brooks Keptka of the Frida Egg Podcast.
Yeah, three in a row here, what a what a tournament?
It was awesome. I mean I think we all, uh you know, predicted that it was going to be a good leaderboard, but yeah, I couldn't have predicted this. I think we thought maybe Tiger was gonna miss the cut, and uh that certainly didn't happen to it, not at all.
I Mean it was am I Ron and saying like Thursday and Friday really kind of lacked juice, Like I don't know, like I thought, like we were kind of like, wow.
This this really stinks.
The course has really been poured on, and like you know, the coverage, we can't watch anything, and it's just we kind of we get of course, you know, Twitter demands the thought of the exact moment. That's really rarely a holistic ten thousand foot view.
But uh, you know, I think it's.
Just the latest lesson and kind of take chilling out and waiting for things to happen unfold.
I know that brooks Keevigy was not happy that no one wanted to talk to him about It's one under sixty nine. I heard all about that from claud Harmon yesterday. How disrespectful that was to the US Open champion, Like, all right, guess what I'm going to us to do it every single major from now on, and you're gonna tell me your thoughts on the course. Really fun to hear you after you shoot seventy four some day.
I do think that that picture that Joel Biale posted of the press conference for a that's amazing. I mean there was like five people in.
There, yeah, which.
He doesn't say anything though they do these like these Tuesdays are just every twenty minutes, they're bringing a new guy, a new guy you got, and there's only like, you know, we live in the universe of unlimited content, but.
Uh, you know, there's like there might actually be limits. You know, the Brooks KPKA on a Tuesday. You know, it's just the limit after Tiger and all these people like, I'm sorry, he doesn't you know now, of course we have a different view. He's a three time major winner, but he just like, you can't have it both ways, where you know the media, like the media doesn't want to talk to me, and then when the media talks to you, you're kind of like a brusque dickhead and
you don't give him anything to work with. You know, it seems like, you know, I actually liked his press conference after the win last night, and I actually I think it was a question from you, Kevin, he really he had to think about becoming one of the all time greats, and he smiled and it like, actually, might you actually saw something kind of working up.
There, And I think.
I think he kind of wanted to give like a legit answer like I just and he said he likes golf and these next few years are gonna be awesome. But like, I think it's hard to have it both ways. That that photo, like those two days are madness. You can't just sit in that press conference room all day. You have work to do. There are things to do. And I guess kept could just draw the short straw and the wrong time he was at near the end of the day, and that's just how it happened.
But it was it was not the most It was kind of an indicting photo for the press. If you never if you compare yourself to the Tiger press conference, you're never gonna like be okay with like how things work out, because like every local TV station there wants to get the Tiger clip on the Saint Louis News and you know, it's you just have to kind of accept that it's different. I mean, it's different for Rory,
like there's not that many people. There's I mean, there's more people in the Rory press conference, but that's because Rory could say something really you know, interesting and insightful, and maybe Brooks could do that, but you know, I haven't heard it yet in the presser from him, and I think it's just because he's not entirely like that kind of person who wants to give that to himself. You i'd sort of be careful what you wish for kind of thing, like.
All right, we're getting this back on the tracks. No more press conference talk. Let's talk about what happened.
You know, you brought up the photo.
Well, you know, I didn't want it to divulge into like a five minute discussion of press conferences. We got we gotta, we gotta get back on topic here. The uh I mean tiger, Tiger I would shot one thirty on the weekend and lost.
Yeah, Like, and.
It wasn't it wasn't like, I don't ever, I never felt like he was gonna win.
I felt briefly like when he almost dumped that wedge on fifteen, that he could win. That was the one moment where I was like, man, like this is even though it was coming off kind of a deflating bogie. I just felt like there was a lot of rumors that Adam Scott had made a double until we were all like, oh man, it's just Brooke some tiger in that moment. And so that was the one moment I
was like, maybe he's going to come to seventeen. If he hits that bomb cut that he's been hitting out there, he's going to have a really good chance of hitting this close in two. And you know, it just kind of just sort of deflated after that.
Yeah, there was one moment I actually I allowed myself to think he was going to win yesterday. I don't know that I did at the Open, even when he held Elite. It just felt like at the Open there were still too many names too, there was too crowded there were, But whereas yesterday, I felt like it just all he needed was something for Brooks to you know, he's just relying on the Brooks collapse, which you know
was highly unlikely as we've seen he's a machine. But you know, there was that moment where he had two buggies in a row, and I think on the sixth he needed like a pretty lanthy save coming back up after he blew it past the hole.
Like I just felt like he.
Had shown signs of maybe giving a shot or two backs to the field coming in and as Tiger again at fifteen, like when the ball was in the air and it literally almost went in the freaking hole, it just felt like something special was happening, even in like the Potter Rays. On thirteen, I went and did the
like photoshop comparison with Baby six necklace. I never tweeted it because I was like, this is like this will be like all takes exposed or something terrible It's like he did the putter rays on thirteen and then he you know, they made the Oi came back on fifteen. I was like, there is this this might be like even with brooks Kepka be the way he is, this might be like something bigger than him and something might be happening.
I allowed myself to think he could have won yesterday.
The uh let me rattle down from thirteen on. This is you know, brooks Keptka Birdie looks seven feet six inches, six feet eight inches, eleven feet five inches, ten feet ten feet, six feet seven inches. He was one hundred and four feet and three inches and two on seventeen, so I think he had like six feet four inches on seventeen and for Birdie, and then on eighteen he had his longest Birdie look of seventeen feet in the last seven holes. Like that is just dominant.
The drives too, I mean you the drive on fifteen was like three forty and then the four iron to six feet, and then the drive on seventeen was I was standing right behind him. It was unreal. I mean it was murdered. And then his drive on eighteen was murdered. It was like that was what Tiger used to be like the guy who just absolutely you know, he could hit it wild, but just dialed it in as a clinic when it mattered, and that's his biggest weapon. He's
a great putter. He's a pretty underrated short game. Obviously he's hitting it that close. But the driver, oh my goodness, just murdered them.
He had no chance to anybody. We were lucky it was this close.
I thought on seventeen like he took like an extra beat, you know, And they said it on the broadcast like this is really like the last spot of trouble. I mean, Kevin, you were there the seventeen Thi's like, this is like his last really chance where he could get in trouble.
There's a hazard. He just saw Tiger going it.
And then he like he not only he took the perfect angle cut off like like right out road over the left half, caught the fairway as it come, you know, doglegs slight left back, and you know, it.
Was just perfect.
There was no there was no crack anywhere to be found. Even after that that front nine home, there was just no crack, and it was it was just a juxtaposition between Tiger kind of blowing one off the planet right and then them kind of it almost felt like the broadcast was like trying to like tease it for us, like jinks him into like it, like this is the last really the last spot where you get in trouble, and then it was the exact opposite.
I was honestly that at the time, I was like, that's one of the best pressure drives that I've ever seen, like because it was just hammered at as hard as he swung at it, and there was just no doubt. And I just watched Tiger, you know, take five minutes to think about his drive on seventeen before, like five minutes before, and kind of ran back to Brooks and Tiger, you know, has had almost no chance and Brooks was
just dead nails. By the way, when Tiger's ball looked like it was in the water on seventeen, we were walking up and I was walking next to Michael Phelps, who I know a little bit, and I was like, hey, man, if this is in the water, do you think there's anybody around here who might be willing to swim the creek and get it out? And He's like, dude, I'm on it.
Humble bread, humble bread right there.
Abb name dropping old old old sources.
Michael Felp, The that drive Brooks had on seventeen was kind of like DJ's on eighteen at Oakmont.
Yeah, that's good comparison. What what was more impressive?
I mean, I thought the shot into sixteen though, I mean, it's like hard to choose. I don't know what what was more the shot into sixteen from what.
Was sixty I was the official yardage of the hole to I think forty eight, and then he hit it according to the shot trager like two forty seven or some things, so it might have been back all the way at two fifty something.
That was an unbelievable shot, Like one of the best shots I've ever seen in my life.
I mean I was talking to his Caddy afterwards. He was just like it was just a freaking laser. I mean, it just never left the pin.
It literally like they had the shot tracer on it. And I don't think it moved like it was a straight rope. But like that's the thing I think is like when I look at when I remember this, I mean, and I think we saw the same thing at Aaron Hills and to a degree, at Shinnakok. Like the guy just I mean, he's unbelievable, Like it not just the driving but the putting, Like the putts go in the dead center of the hole and they like are the
perfect speed. And you're really surprised when he misses, Like you're surprised when he misses a t shot, You're surprised when he misses putts, and that doesn't happen with many guys down the stretch. Like, yeah, I was waiting for like Adam Scott, you know, I love Adam Scott, great player, but like you kind of sat and you were waiting for him to kind of fall apart versus like Brooks. I was just like, you know, is he gonna miss any putts? Like that, Like you're almost praying for a miss.
So it was close.
Yeah, I wrote this on my column, But like what if Greg? What if? Like Brooks is like are Greg Norman, except instead of wilting in the big moments, he like just steps on people's throats. Like there's a lot of similarities, Like they're like young and stronger than everyone. They're both fitness freaks, they're both like generational drivers of the golf ball. But Brooks might have the one thing that Norman didn't, which is just that he's a killer closer.
They have their own logo that is also true, SA nifty little BK A.
Lot of the beautiful women because of fast cars. I mean, kind of gruff and arrogant, a little bit off putting to some people. I like it.
The uh yeah. The poll question that Philip Johnson tweeted last night was was great, like it is an unbelievable question, like better like whose career would you rather have Brooks or DJ right now?
I mean, I don't know. I I think honestly that's I would rather have Brooks's even though it's a you know, it's probably unfair, but like this is history. Is how if you want to be remembered, if you want to have like a legacy, then majors are what it is. Does anyone really care that DJ one Kapalua or DJ
one at in Memphis like twenty years from now. No, they'd be like that dude has one or two majors, And that seems like, you know, not very much for someone who might be the most talented player that ever lived. And so the fact that Brooks just has that kind of extra gear that makes him not care. I mean, it's we were talking about this last night and we were kind of joking, but like Sehn Martin's take about DJ is like the best take of all time that the only major he's ever won is the one that
he didn't know his own score. That's like, so that's so nails as to what maybe DJ is like he maybe DJ isn't like the ice cold, sort of chill dude that we all kind of presume he is, and maybe he does get a little bit nervy when he's around the lead, and this is Brooks is proving to be the opposite.
Yeah, I think it's interesting to see what's the spread, like seven years, maybe seven six years the age. It's kind of so these are like, like Brooks is in the same spot DJ was at whatever Whistling Straits or Pebble Beach or all those like major chances that he had late and didn't really close, and Brooks is actually closing them now.
I'm trying to think.
Like when you were talking about, well, unfortunately we define we defined careers by majors, and Brooks has three, and DJ has won and Brooks has you know, six years down, you know, more to go behind it. I just think like trying to think of the analog for DJ, like someone who like when you were there in the moment, you like, I mean it was just like erotic to watch.
It was like amazing as a rousing. But like then kind of like the thirty year view down the road was it's listening to the old man tell you about how good he was to watch even though he had five less majors than is like a Weiss.
Cop or somebody like that.
I don't know who that would be in the moment, but you know, we love it and like we we can't appreciate it. We'll be able to talk about it thirty years down the road. But if he has just like one or two majors and you know, forty wins and Brooks has seven or eight majors and fifteen wins.
Twenty like we are going to hold Brooks's career in higher scheme.
Yeah, they the financial things. One person tweeted like seventy million to like twenty millions, Like yeah, from the financial sense, there's no question what you would want. But from a legacy sense, I mean, three majors.
Is where it's also going to pro you know, seventy eight years longer. I don't know.
I look at it, a hey, if they both retire tomorrow, whose is it? You know? That's the way I think you have to approach these. And like when I post, everybody's like, you know, terrible. I said something about hall of Fame like and I meant it on in the context of like, like Brooks retire tomorrow, he's in the Hall of Fame, which is n like I didn't I
didn't foresee. I didn't realize that was the case with Brooks before this tournament, watching it yesterday until like even until like a couple hours later, I was like, holy cow, he's a major chance. He's he's a Hall of Famer.
I mean, he was a Hall of Famer before he won that. No, am I crazy? Like this isn't like this isn't like Cooperstown. We don't have these like old krusty riders, you know, his off at the world and happy to just put no one on their ballot. It's like just like an open door policy. I think he was in the Hall of Fame before that.
Brooks untially gonna pull a t o though. If he doesn't Hall of Fame and have his own ceremony with like make ultra and like a bar.
Gonna go to like the Panhandle or something has But Fred Couples is in the Hall of Fame with one major, right, I mean, what else does he have?
Yes, what you have fifteen wins or something like that, you know, Yeah, yeah, I know he has a lot of Here's here's another question. What is one major equal? And and PGA Tour went like what's the what's the ratio?
I don't think I like seven or eight at least? Yeah, because like John Daily has what like four career wins and like two our majors and he's not in the Hall of Fame. And some of that is like because of John Daly is like a circus act. But like so I'm not sure you can just win two majors but get in the Hall of Fame. But just at some point, like if you win three, you're You're just in. There's no real debate about it. It'd be like winning twenty one you know, PGA Tour titles in the Hall
of Fame. Monty is in the Hall of Fame.
Manti has won a lot of European majors, a.
Lot of wins. Yeah, a lot of.
It's so uh so Tiger. Yeah, I mean Tiger solidified that he is the rock from from kvv's earlier take smooth, because if if Tiger's not in this thing, it's the twenty seventeen US Open.
That's correct. No one like that. The emotional like Adam Scott is playing for Jared Low thing is maybe a storyline, but there's not the like bonkers crowds. So yeah, the rock take turned out to be pretty good, right, and he's getting the all his little fans and out there getting going nuts, and I don't.
Know, like to a certain degree, it was the twenty seventeen US Open where where Brooks just like there was some hope but then he just really put it away and he put it to bed. But the hysteria of Tiger just like clouded that. It was actually kind of you know, there wasn't a lot of drama. Yeah, you know, like Tiger made the drama by shooting sixty four, but he didn't ever really have a chance.
It's funny how Tiger like makes everything okay because I think of if Aaron Hills had happened, when everyone was kind of like Aaron Hills, what a bad Us Open. If Tiger had been second instead of JT or whatever he was open, people been like, well that was great, we got to go back to Aaron hills Man. Like even though Kepta one like Tiger made it interesting, no one would have complained about the score if Tiger was involved in that.
I kind of wrote this this morning, like Tiger is the only one that can Tiger is the only one that can make something dramatic, you know, separated apart from the outcome. You know, we don't need him to win for him to like be the show obviously and to provide the most dramatic moments of the day. It's like it was never like that in his career, Like his career was all about outcomes. His career was like I show up to win a tournament. It feels like this season,
and definitely yesterday, that changed. He knew he didn't win on eighteen when he fist pumped and started smiling and waving to the crowd. He knew, you know, he had won when he around the locker room, and you know, like it just feels a little different, Like he feels like there's reward in playing and putting on the show.
Like he did.
Yesterday and not just rewarding, you know, not this kind of like black and white world of win versus loss, and like, obviously he's the only kind of person that could could be the show while losing by but by two shots or you know never, while Brooks kind of really, like you said, Andy never really had anything in doubt left it in doubt over the last to two and a half hours of the broadcast, Like Tiger is obviously the only person who can deal that show, steal that show,
and obviously, and I think it comes clearly in the context of not getting that for two years and not thinking we ever would.
He think he seems happier to me. I think that's not like a made up, projected sort of take that he is genuinely like Kyle talked about this a little bit yesterday, but I think he's talked about in another anlling up pod. But there was a moment on Saturday when Tiger just roped an awesome stinger I think on like eleven, and he just kind of went over and people were going nuts, and he put his his club in his bag and he just sort of smiled like
he was taking it all in. And I think what's kind of neat about watching this sort of version of Tiger four point zero is that he's able to sort of a joy and appreciate things a little bit. He still gets really pissed when he hits a drive, you know, that stinks, but like he wasn't you know, a salty dick after the round about you know, like or he didn't make an excuse about anything, and he just was kind of like, hey, you know, like I played really
well and obviously I needed a great round. Wasn't quite enough and you know, was there to Hugbrooks and maybe kind of flirt with his girlfriend a little bit, And that was That was a classic New Tiger.
My favorite, my favorite tweet was that there's like someone got the screen cab of like the eyes locking. It's like she's one yata invite away from leaving. Maybe slightly inappropriate, but the faith. Yeah, that's what the internet's.
Four that's right.
Yeah, I think that's maybe this, Maybe this is the value of this like sunset phase of Tiger's career is like you know, maybe he wins you know, once out every fifty sixty times or something, you know, fifty times, let's say, or yeah, one once out every thirty starts, whereas I was supposed to once out every FO four or five.
But he's like, okay with that.
I understand the like understands the value to him, value and reward both for himself and for the game and the crowd and just shooting a Sunday sixty four that results in the two shot loss. Like, I think he really understands and appreciates that. And it wouldn't ten years ago, he wouldn't fifteen years ago. He wouldn't care. It's like it doesn't matter I lost. And maybe that's what Maybe that's the real impact of this last phase of his career, that the game can be dependent from outcome.
It's his lowest score ever on a Sunday in a major. I predicted that in the middle of the round to Kyle. It was like, I think this is going to be the lowest he's ever shot since Bob Like, it'll be lower than the sixty five is shot against Bob By And it was I think he shot sixty five, man, No, Bob May shot sixty five.
I mean he hit zero fairways on the front and shot thirty three thirty two, thirty two. Unbelievable. I mean that was one of the most ridiculous nines I've ever seen in my Like when he made birdie on nine, I was like, what did I just watch?
Yeah, maybe the loudest roar I've ever heard, like nine birdie on nine. Yeah, people, I mean it was crazy. People were going nuts. Called it the most simple putt. Is just like this simple inside putt.
The way that he got that, you know, that's that's for my for my money, one of those shots that's kind of part of the career of retrospective highlight. The vender from the car path, I know, it was wet and soggy and the ball was sticking where it landed, but like he threw it to that kind of second
tier and for whatever. I mean, the ball was going out a bounds, the ball was going ob, the drive was going ob and then all of a sudden he's you know, taking relief from the path and stuffing it on the back tier around the trees and you know, off the junk. It's just I mean, that's one of the that's one that you add to the kind of the career retrospective.
And yeah, I just.
I thought, you know, the darts at three and fifteen sounded like the loudest shot. There were too many shots to choose, you know, and people are getting there's the backlash you always get when you talk about Tiger and not the winner. There's so much of that. I get the emails, the tweets like Tugger didn't win, it doesn't matter, like and we can't exaggerate Tiger, but likes KVV just said he shot the lowest final round in a major of his career. It is right and proper to talk
as much as we are about him. We're not exaggerating this one.
He gained just three point eight so four to seven, four shots approaching the greens, and he lost one off the tee, like he was sixty fifth off the tee and first by almost a full shot approaching the green. Like his approach shots were out of this world. I mean that, that's what everybody talks about different aspects of Tiger's game. But Tiger was the best iron player in the world for so long. That's what it was. I
mean that. I think like a lot of stuff gets overblown, like driving the ball in the distance, but like always like approach to the green, I think is the single most important skill out there.
Yeah, he seriously, Like I've joked about this a couple of times, but if Rory was like if they were playing in a shamble together and Rory just was the job was to hit the drive, Tiger went a shot like fifty eight, like three days in a row. I mean it was Rory was playing from places that were unbelievable. I mean he was gonna get thirty yards past Ingke every time and then making hitting it into the bunker
or hitting just kind of crap wedges or whatever. And Rory would be the first to tell you that his approach came was crapped. But the way that Tiger's temple was was just so unbelievably good you couldn't really like couldn't explain it. I tried to ask him about it. He's like, yeah, you know, I just had like a you know, a legit club in every hole. I didn't have to have like a half club or bad yardage or just kind of the kind of golf nerd thing.
But man, I wanted to like bottle that tempo and just like save it for him forever because it was so unbelievably good. After he got it figured out, think about this is like he was three over after two holes, and he that was the difference of the tournament in some ways for him.
Like, yeah, Brooks got off to horrible start though too, both of them. Both of them got like what was Brooks? Brooks was a couple over through you know with the doubles first hole of the tournament.
That's true, he did. He was hit a claw back from it. So yeah, do you remember what.
He was two over threw his first nine.
Do you guys remember used to say like this felt like one of those days when Steve used to say Tiger would get so dialed in that sometimes he would force him to kind of aim a little away from the flag.
Because he was hitting too much. You guys remember what he used to Yeah, don't know what hit the flag.
He's hitting too many of the flags on the fly repeatedly.
That like on fifteen, because the tail of Tiger was mad on fifteen, like or if he was like pumped up there and I thought maybe he had just hit it so good that it had hit the hit the pin and kicked like way right or something. Instead he was either like pumped up or he was mad they didn't dunk it.
It felt like one of those days that Stevie would like like you were too odd like this take like you know, just that a beat off so it bounces to twelve inches doesn't hit the stick.
I would like to say that there's a guy that says that pros can't hit it where they aim like that.
I think pros are pretty good at hitting.
I think I mean to me, Tiger, Tiger, if this cad he's having to email away from Flags is hidden and where he's aimed, you.
Guys, So Kevin just talked about bottling that tempo. I guess i'd put this to Andy and Kevin. Do you think what we saw yesterday with the driver is just kind of how it is and how it's always going to be.
The day before it was so fluid and so good. Yeah, like that a perfect like the juxtaposition is like the beautiful like like cut he hit off of sixteen on Saturday, like versus the beauty of the just like a like never had a chance, like he missed it so big. It was good on Sunday.
Yeah, I think that it's probably that's what's going to be like for from now on. That It's just I don't think he's ever going to get the driver figured out. But I wish that he would just basically do the Nicholas thing where it's just like, you know what, I don't care what the shape of the hole is. I'm going to play a cut from now on and that's what's going to be my sort of go to thing,
and and that's I'm just gonna shape everything. So even on like thirteen and Augusta, either take it up over the trees or just say like, yeah, I'm just gonna kind of flirt with the trees there and then cut it back into the middle of the fairway or or hit three wind because he just I don't know, he was still trying at times to kind of like turn it over, and I just don't think he can do that anymore with whatever is going on with this new swing. That's just not his not going to be ever going
to be his strength. And so can he win a major like with this new swing, Like yeah, if it's a course where he doesn't have to hit that many drivers or stuff. Yeah, I went from being like thinking that he was going to be like a ryder Cup liability to thinking like, man, play this guy an alternate shot, so he only has to hit like three four drivers in round and the other partner gets to hit the other ones, and his iron play is gonna be unbelievable.
He's all of a sudden looking like a great alternate.
Shot player, especially with the artiste.
That's right, So did he hit so many drivers yesterday because he felt like I had that he was behind or just it didn't matter.
That's just what the course of demand, whether you're in front or behind, you got a hit driver.
Well, I think it was soft too, like it you know that that that iron just doesn't didn't chase. You know, it's zoija wet zoija. Yeah, like it like the like the approach shots from Kopka and who is he playing with god Scott on eight? Like they both hit like two amazing shots that just like hit ten yards in front of the green and just stopped, you know, like like low like approaches into that part five And like so if he hits that iron, it's flying two fifty,
it's stopping at two fifty. It's a seventy four hundred yard golf course. Like he needed to.
Hit driver, gotcha, it'scha?
And that you know something I found. I mean one of the guys one of the most impressive things I thought, just in general, like my takeaways is justin Thomas, Like he putted like crap all week, you know, forty fifth and strokes gained putting and fifty six strokes gained around the green and like I almost feel like he had the best chance to win of anybody in the field.
Yeah, I felt like the highest he could have shot.
Yeah, Like, I mean, this guy it. I think there's like almost like a clear class of player distinction right now with JT, DJ and Kopka.
That sounds right. I peeled off at one point from Tiger just because I was like, all right, I want to go watch a little bit of JT, because I think he had gotten it too, within a shot of Kopka, and I watched him miss the seven footer or whatever on nine because he had to hit a bump and then he missed the comebacker and it was sort of over. I think he burded the next hole after like hitting it off a guy's head, but man, like it was JT's. He's going to be a competitive in every PGA I
think forever. I mean he he and Kepka might just trade PGA's back and forth. For a long time.
It's like this, there's a recipe with and Tiger created this recipe, and you know, with technology, it's kind of evolved into this game. It's it's can't drive it far and straight, become unbelievably good with your short irons and wedges and put the living day lights out. Like last week JT putted was lights out with the putter and Kepka couldn't make anything at Firestone. This week, Kopka made putts and JT didn't make putt and that was the difference.
Yeah, yeah, good won. I mean six strokes behind. He just seemed shuffed bird knives sorry, pissed at the end of the end of the day. You know, he seemed really really pissed, like I cannot believe I'm only ten under.
Yeah, I mean he kind of gave him, gave away some shots down the stretch because once he missed that that short one on uh was it fourteen or thirteen, he missed a second short putt and that, yeah, to me kind of was like he knew he had no shot there is I mean, it's such that it always goes back to that margin like to win is just so small, Like is it the same. You saw the same thing with Scott on seventeen when he missed that putt.
You know, then he makes a bogie on eighteen, like you know, you could tell like on his face after he missed that putt on seventeen, he knew that was his chance because it was one It would have been one shot going into eighteen, but he missed that six footer just slides off and it's like, man, it's over. And that's like one of the hardest things I think
with golf. It's like, you know, once he once, you know, you missed your opportunity because that's like the smallest you know, it's the smallest thing, and for Adam Scott it has to be you know, devastating. You wonder how many is this his last real major? Chant?
Yeah, I felt, you know, I don't know what Adam Scott was thinking with the two putters. I were joking the night before because I saw him on the putting green with the short putter, and I guess they were showing it on Golf Channel too, and I was like, this is nuts. Man. You're like, you're you're in the final group of major and you're trying to think about a putter change the night before, and I guess Duvall was like going on on say TV, being like, oh, yeah, yeah,
I'm sure it's just a drill or whatever. But then he shows up with two putters like the next day and he's got him both in the bag, and it's like, oh yeah, I'm gonna use the long puts. I'm gonna use the short putter. But on short puts, somebody's a long putter. Well, at what point do you decide this is a long putt versus like feet do you look in your green reading book and decide like, all right, outside this shaded area, that's a that's gonna be a
long putt, this is gonna be a short putt. Like, I don't think you can have that kind of indecision. And I mean, like Adam Scott legitimately still had a chance like he could have had the last two. He hit a bad drive on seventeen, but he managed to lay up pretty well and then he hit a pretty you know, to six feet and he spent forever looking over that putt and then he just hit a normal kind of Adams got putt, which he just didn't either read it right or hit it far enough, So yeah.
I think, uh, we tend to view Adam Scott is just kind of emotionless. It's like this, you know, good looking guy and with the perfect swaying and kind of he just he doesn't He doesn't we you know, outside of the fist pump of the masters, we don't see him kind of react or remote in one way or the other too often. He has some kind of searing quotes for the USGA every now and then, but like
he's just pretty kind of steady all the time. I thought you could read like the read and see the devast that he was pretty devastated, like they in between all the stuff about Brooks and Tiger, Like they showed him in scoring and he just kind of looked spent, exhausted and crushed. And I think one of the Aussie riders wrote that he like he was legitimately like devastated
by the loss. And the fact that we're talking about a guy with two hunters in his bag, you know that close, and that you know, devastating about not winning is kind of a testament to all the other parts.
Of his game. He was a great tweet. It was like he brought two knives to a gunfight.
The motions, I won't ever forget his face, like that might be a lasting image for me. Is like of his career is his face when that Putt slid off on seventeen. That's what his career kind of if you when you think about his long like long term scope is like it's going to be a lot of close calls.
Yeah. I just think it's so hard to get into contention at a major. It's like you're when you'd let one slip away, It's like the sissifust thing, You're sliding all the way back down there out if every time Rory doesn't win a Masters, it's like you have to wait an entire year just to try to get back
into contention. And that's what's so like devastating. I think when you led a major slip away, it's just like, God, when am I ever gonna how am I going to put in all the work just to get back to this moment just to have another chance, much less to win another one of these.
And it's a different one than like the Thomas Peters lighting it up, Like Adam Scott's contention was like real, like really in it. Let's take a quick break here to talk about our PGA Championship sponsor Greater Than. After a long, hot day in Saint Louis this week, I drove back to Chicago. I got home and was jonesan for a Greater Than and I opened my fridge and found that Missus Fredegg had drank them all while I was gone. She loves it. I love it, and I
think you'll love it too. It's healthy, delicious and hydrating. All you got to do is give it a try, and I think you'll be hooked. Purchase it at drinkgt dot com and use the promo code the fried Egg with no Spaces for twenty percent off your first order. That's drinkgt dot com. Now back to the pot.
So andy.
On that topic, I would say, you know, we heard a lot about the leaderboard, how great it was. Would you know Adam Scott has not been good since really you know the beginning of twenty seventeen. Thomas Peters has not been good this year. Shane Lowry has been not good this year. He switched caddies. You know, his caddy I think fired him in between you know, the first
and second round at the Open. Like he's not and he's battling to make the FedEx Cup, like Lowry Peters, Like there were names of guys who've not played well on the leaderboard as well. Does that say something about the venue so.
Or no, it's it's interesting. I think these guys can turn it around on a dime, like we see it all the time, like Gary Woodland hasn't been playing well, played really well this week. But that being said, like I think the course kept more guys in it because it's a common It's not all the course, it's it's part of it was the conditioning, Like how soft it was,
Like it didn't to me. I'll think about this and think Brooks, it shouldn't have been as close as it was on Sunday with as many people as there were. But I think the guy that won was supposed to win, you know, so in a sense like so something that's interesting, And you know, I've been I've been talking with big data golf, getting in with big data. So Saturday's round at Belle Reeve had the lowest standard deviation of any major championship round in the last ten years and any
PGA tour around this entire season. So like the lowest kind of fluctuation of scores. So to me, like it seemed like Belle Reeve was a course that was really pretty easy to shoot around even par and really hard to shoot really low, if that makes sense. So what it did is it didn't allow for big separation.
You know.
I think it's like a course like we see with Augusta almost every year is where the leaders kind of really separate the class and it's a smaller field, so that goes into it. But you know, Brooks either way, like Shinnacock for example, was the herd biggest standard deviation of any any major or any tournament this year, which comes as no surprise also, but you know, when we look at it, like the venue kept a lot of people, but is that good? You know, like it was an
exciting leaderboard because of how many people weren't it. You know, the question is like it was like do you want the great players of the week to separate themselves?
Yeah? I was wondering if that PGA's brand ought to be like not only boring courses, but just water the heck out of them so that they're really wet everywhere, and that that should they should just completely dumb water on anything they can so that a little more likely that good players are able to rise to the top of the leader board.
I got there was my mentions this week where it
was a dark It was a very dark place. I mean, like I think people have this mentality of like that, Like I was like just watching golf and anger the whole week, and it's like I like love watching golf, like you know, and like I think there's like an irony, Like you know, I've played amateur golf my whole life, and like the courses I hate, like a architecture aficionado, are the courses I enjoy playing tournament golf at the most because like they fit my skill set the best,
Like I hit the ball straight and far when I play well, like and I'm an average putter, So I like playing somewhere which like gets rid of half the field and everybody after round one, look at all the variety, Look at all the variety, Like there there was no variety. Every player plays the exact same style of play down the stretch, Like it was all like bombers, Like you know, I'm not they're the best players in the world, Like it got the best players in the world at the top.
But like none of the guys in the top ten are short hitters. Like someone is like Molinari's short. It's like Molinari hits it like three oh five on average, Like that's not sure so to me, Like at the end of the day, like the tournament unfolded exactly how we said it was gonna unfold before, Like the bombers are it was gonna be bombers, and like brooks Kopka was like the best bomber.
You know, who's like the shortest hitter on the top twenty five of that leaderboard.
Is Shae Revey. Shaye Revey who led the field in strokes gainer pro or second in strokes gainer approach, so he was you know, it took a career performance with his irons to get him there.
Like sometimes when you think about like how to explain to people, like what makes it like a different kind of venue that you can play different styles and be competitive, Like I think you think about like the twenty fifteen like British Open, like we think about that leaderboard, Zach Johnson wins, but like Jason Day almost you know, was
like right there, Speaker's right there, Leishman was there. Dj dominated the first two days, like, those are guys who are playing a different golf course, each of them, and you're they're all able to be competitive because you just play to your style. And that's part of the reason why the old course is great.
Yeah, it goes to variety everything, and.
Then you can both things can be true.
You can have a good tournament and a good leader board and the venue still stink and boring golf. I mean the players. The players said it themselves, like Andy, you don't need to defend the players. You don't need to defend yourself. The players said as much. It's all right in front of you. There is no strategy. Pep
Perez was hilarious. He goes, I mean, I don't want to say there's no strategy, but you know, yeah, I mean he just kind of hit it as far as you can hit it on the green butt and there's like locked himself down an alley, didn't know how to get out as great. The players said.
It, they didn't even play practice rounds.
Yeah, you don't need to practice, you don't need to scout it. You hit it as far as you can and there's not a lot of the green.
Tiger never saw the first the seven, eight nine until he played them on Thursday. That's how like not strategy important it was he never he was playing them blind, like literally he just didn't play them.
So these are these are the three truths. There wasn't strategy involved and that's fine. The leaderboard and the championship were still exciting. And three they spent a ton of money to dive their cart paths. Brown, I will take.
From what I hear that Belle Reeves is going to be a different course here pretty soon. So really, yeah, I think like one of those people. One of the things like.
I think like is Ree's gonna get another crack at it?
No no, no, no no no. Sounds like they're going in a different direction.
There are another Jones, like some like thirty year old Jones, and it just kind of I think.
That actually Trent works for rt J two. Oh nice, Yeah, I hear he's a really nice guy.
So look, I'm sure the Jones family is all really nice. People are like getting this like a lot of this is the wrong way, is it? Like somehow in some of these discussions that we don't like the people. We think they're bad people. Like if you put something out there, if you make art, you have to sort of be willing to have it, you know, be critiqued. And I
think that Andy's always really fair in his critiques. And so this idea that all these Saint Louis people thought that somehow he was shitting on Saint Louis was just silly. Like Andy and I played one of the I think the funnest courses in the whole country on Tuesday in Saint Louis and couldn't say enough nice things about it, And seeing the difference between the two was was obvious once he stepped on the bell reef properties.
I think one of my like my problems with just in general is like what happens is that this week people watch this and they they say, hey, this is this is what and just in general is what happens is the American public and the golf it thinks that this is what great golf is, like in general, like the golf, this is what a great golf course is.
And that's that's where I think the struggle is. It's one of the biggest struggles of American golf is that that people can't play the greatest golf courses in America like they're the most exclusive places and for the most part, like a trip to Bandon or a trip to stream Song or Sand Valley like that, that's a once in a lifetime trip for most people. And that's the that's kind of the underlying issue is like people go, they see Belle Reeve and they think this hard style of
golf is the best golf. But like you know, Saint Louis Country Club is like one of the most fun golf courses in the Midwest and one of my favorite, but unfortunately not a lot of people are going to
ever see that. And it's this type of golf. Like a good example is like these guys so seventy four hundred yards and these guys shot two sixty four, Brooks shot and Tray for example, Trinity Forrest, Aaron Wise shot two six, and they softened the course, slowed it down, played it shorter than it really is to like make sure the players were happy there. Like this isn't hard golf for the modern era. That's the thing that's like my biggest point is that this golf course, like it
can be a major championship post. That's fine. It like we can have a great tournament at it because these are the best players in the world. But it's not a great golf course because like it's completely unplayable for like an eighteen handicap, and it's not even hard for a great player like it was. It's an easy golf course.
We saw it this week, and what on the back half of it is like Trinity Forrest is a joy to play for an eighteen handicap, and it's still really hard for a pro like are still like it's as difficult for a pro as Belle reeves. So like you have these two ends of the spectrum and it's just this type of penal golf design is bad. You know, it wasn't good for the golf in America. That's more
of the overarching point. You know, you can have great tournament golf at a bad golf course because you know, Tiger, like Jesus the guy made the golf tournament.
Yeah. Yeah. A couple guys had putts for sixty two and it was like no one really even cared it, Like, wasn't no one was like, oh my gosh, I'm watching the greatest round in history. There was just no like this course was super ghetto. So I mean, I'm sure that it would have been a little different it had been dry, But when is it ever going to be dry in August here in Saint Louis, Like you get the course that you get when this time of the year. So I don't know that. Brooks was like, oh, I
think they should bring a Ryder Cup here. I don't know, but the fans are going to be the Ryder Cups and courses are generally kind of like this where it's not like it's all that interesting. It's a hazel teine or the ball or whatever. So it was sleeping straight.
It's that's a perfect example of like, you know, golf and competitive golf has the ability to upstage a golf course, you know, like that's like, you know, the golf course. Dismissing that a golf course doesn't matter, though, is extremely short sighted. Like you know, like golf courses do play a role. It'd be like saying like, hey, it doesn't matter if you know, we're gonna have this, We're gonna have the Cubs in the Red Sox in the World Series, but it doesn't matter if they play it at Wrigley
and Fenway. We're gonna play it at minor league stadiums. Instead, you know, like the golf course. The golf course plays like a significant role in in in a championship, like saying it doesn't matter and I and I am no way was saying it's the only thing that matters. Like I've never said that, and that's what people think I said.
You know, so what.
That being said, I guess you probably wait things differently. What was the best major this year with eliminated recency bias?
I think I don't know.
I mean, I think car newsty was was better.
Yeah, I was thinking about it last night. I was like, God, I think that might have been the best major this year. It was like it also just finished, and I'm like coming off the high of it, you know, as opposed and you know, the others are more distant memories.
I don't know, pretty fun majors overall this year, though, Yeah, speak's crazy run on Sunday and read holding off everyone and basically giving a middle finger to all his haters and maybe some of his family. And you have, you know, a world class venue in Chinn o'clock, you know, one
of the five best courses in the world. You got a tiger getting in the mix at Carnelstie and speak almost like rescuing a terrible year and then completely you know, Vullinari coming out of nowhere, and then this one like a pretty awesome year of majors, like no clunkers or stinkers.
I think the most memorable one when we look back ten years from now will be maybe the US Open. Kinds of a Phil and b that the course, Like, yeah, it's crazy, but that's right.
I mean, we think about we think about two thousand and four, and we first thing about the you know number seven. You know, we don't remember. We know Gooseen won, but we don't remember specific shots. We just know the USTA f it up.
You know.
It's weird the things we kind of you know, extract from a from a full season of majors.
How about Phil, Let's let's use that as a segue to talk about like he's he's going to be on the Ryder Cup team, I think, but it's not really the maybe the best thing for the US right now.
Yeah, it sounds like he's gonna be on the Ryder Cup team. And I don't know, I heard people lobbying for like or I don't know, guessing that he's also going to, you know, bring his own captain's pick with them, which would be Kevin Kissner was like, that may be right, but I just I.
Wonder that, like if that's like if you should have that kind of power this particular Tiger gets to bring Bryson and feel like Kisner, like I think Eric just basically getting cooked like on his own, Like you're going to stand up for himself and be like, look if I want to bring Tony Fino, I'm bringing Tony Fino. You guys could be the captains when you're the day captain.
Yeah, it's they'll be. It's I mean they're kind of stuck with with Tiger and Phil for Like I don't think you're stuck with Tiger after the recently, but like I feel like you're stuck with Phil forever.
Yeah.
That's like the problem with America, the American team, Like I could see the Europeans not putting Sergio on the team. I don't know if it'll not happen, but I feel like, like, you know, Sergio, like if he doesn't get picked, he'll be like, oh, yeah, I didn't play well enough, Like.
Oh, I don't know about that, throwing a huge like tantrum about. I would love it if Sergio was basically like, look, my form isn't there, my phone, me is not there. I need to go and you know, like basically be a vice captain, like Sergio should take on that role because he's gonna be a great Ryder Cup captain someday.
But Sergio is also super proud and it's gonna say, look, no one's been a better Ryder Cupper than me, other than Sevy essentially for a long time, and I deserve the chance to see if I can sort of find my form there. I mean, Jorn might not see it the same way, but Sergio has not exactly been someone who like shows that he's obviously a different person now
than he was when he was younger. But I could see some of that old kind of Sergio pride coming out and saying like, come on, man, like I I made the Ryder Cup team in Europe for these people.
Hey, I gathered was that Jorn is putting him on there? It doesn't matter.
I don't know what.
Uh you know who led the PGA and Birdies.
If you know, yeah, yeah, I'm telling you he's gonna be a great floorball player. If they just put him on the team.
Like that's that's the thing that I find sad is Like that's what bugs me, is like, you know, like Phil, I get why Phil. Like Phil is a ratings guy. He sells tickets. He he like attracts the casual golf fan. I don't think he has as big of an impact as people think. But he is a needle mover and he moves it like a fraction of a tenth a tenth of a fraction. I don't think that's possible since a fraction is but that tiger does. But he like
moves the needle. But like Tony fen Now should be on the team.
Yeah, here's the thing.
We talked so much about the captain's picks right after the auto points close that like these things changed so much, I think more than we remember in the like three to four weeks before the picks are made. Like Ryan Moore was just not involved in this point twenty sixteen. Billy Horschell was not even like anywhere on the radar
in twenty fourteen. Like I think there's somebody outside of that group that I'm sorry, could win a window or couldn't win, you know, Windham Philly or Windham, Jersey, you know, somewhere one of the two legs. I think it's just there's the ability to really force Fuix's hand. You know, we think the universe is pretty limited, but sometimes you know, there's guys that come from outside that outside that, you know, that small group of four or five guys.
We think we have to know who are the vice captain's going to be? For Furick, if assuming that Phil and Tiger are on the team, is it Stricker? I assume since he's going to be the captain and whistling, but like, who else is there? I mean, honestly, the the ideal scenario for me is that they put Feno and Kiddner on the team and at this point Phil and Cooch are like vice captains. Could be a Ryder Cup captain some day, so put him in the mix of like vice captain ships.
Zach Johnson might be a might be a peck too. He might captain's fit.
Yeah, oh god, we don't need to reprise that.
Something on that front. Somebody made a point though, he's a good fit for this course. There's tons of lottery, drives it straight and he wages it.
Well, that's that's Ferich. Remember when Fierick was like he wouldn't rule himself out as like a potential forever. He's like, well, you know, I had been healthy the whole time, and we all thought that, uh he did. Love was going to pick him as part of the Buddy system until Feerick, I think, kind of basically took himself out of the mix. Like at these this generation like really sticks up for one another, and I don't know that they're going to quite uh even if someone wins, I don't know that
they're going to say he's done, let's take couture. Yeah, it's amazing how much like we forget political capital matters for these things, like there's a group that runs. I was watching TV last night and David Duvall was talking about the Ryder Cup and I was like, why hasn't he been a captain? You know, why hasn't he been like and Azinger like references I think on either Shane.
Bacon's pod or I don't know NLU about how like there is a specific click that's running the whole operation. Now he's not a part of it. You know, he's he did his thing, but like there's there are these clicks that run the whole thing, and you know it gets political, and I don't know. It was just weird how how things change. And watching Duval is like he won a major, Perich won one major. Duval had probably
a better career than Purich. Maybe maybe not, I don't know, but like it's just weird how we decide who's in the group.
And who's not.
That's the Furich Deval debates interesting because like do you do you this is? This is my Ernie? Phil take this is the same thing, Like do you like Phil's longevity into his like late forties, Trump's Ernie, But Ernie in his thirties was like way better than Phil, like prime versus prime, like the other thing. Phil didn't win a major till the prov one came out, like Ernie ernyeone when it was a game that had more skill.
This is but the Deval. The thing is the Deval is a shorter career but more much more dominant career than than Furick. But Furix was longer sustained success.
I feel like you have to, like, if you go into television stuff, I think it becomes a little bit harder to become a part of the Ryder Cup click because you have to to do television, well, you have to be critical of players. And so then all of a sudden, like it's like Phil like lashing out at Brandle on that ship nook piece. Like Phil, it's expected He's like, Oh, I think everyone should it should be the job of the people to lift up golf instead of tear other people down. Well, you know that's not
an analyst's job. An analyst should be like tethered to the truth, not to like boosting the game. And so I don't obviously devall it was. He hasn't been in that TV that long. But if he'd probably in choosing that path in some ways makes it hard for him to ever really get back into it if he if he was tomorrow, like I really want to be a Ryder Cup captain, I think they'd be like, oh, well, that's sorry, that's not happening.
It also goes into playing in Ryder Cups late in your career. Longevity bridges it like because like you know, Deveolp, somebody say might say, oh, he doesn't really understand the modern game, you know, because he's not around these mod he's not around the guys all the time. When you're forty when you're forty six and still playing on tour at a semi at a like a competitive level, Like you know these guys and there's that camaraderie. You know,
it's the same reason that you know cooocher. I still think he's going to get thick because he's a great teamroom guy.
Yeah, he's also malleable.
He will play with anyone, like he will play with Bubba and then he will play with DJ like he just plays with He just he doesn't mind playing with anybody.
That that is a nast.
Here's a hypothetical, like what if Stewart had out battled Tiger down the stretch and been like the guy that like disrupted that won two majors over like the greatest story in sports two tones. That was a distinct thought, like.
The most innocent hated man of all time. Dude Sing's a good dude and it. Yeah, it was funny to hear him talk about. They were asking like what was like to play with Tiger and he was like, man, I played with Tiger a lot back in the day. I mean a lot, Like I remember a lot of Sundays where he didn't quite say it, but you could tell he was like mentally clicking, like I just got dusted,
and it was similar to that. It's like Stuart Thing like came to the microphone that day with like the perspective of a guy who's seen some shit and they like the current generation just now figuring out, like what it was like to play with bonkers crowds and people moving every time you hit your shot and no one cheering for you and stuff. It was like I want to sit there and hear sink till Tiger, like playing with Tiger stories for ten minutes.
It's it's kind of a shame that I don't know. It's like, I don't know. I would have loved to have JT in that like Tiger group on Sunday. You know, like Gary Woodland's a great player, He's a really good PGA Tour pro, but like what Gary, Gary's experience on Sunday was unlike anything anybody else felt, and like it would have been such a like to have JT making that run like that he made in the middle of the round with Tiger, Like I mean, that would have been unbelievable.
Yeah, yeah, it would have been cool. JT would have definitely embraced it. It was funny, like JT. They were like showing Tiger like highlights on the board when JT was like trying to make birdies, and even he was kind of joking about how that was pretty freaky cool to like be in the mix with Tiger in a tournament, you know, in a major.
So I Tiger has like this straight up yeps off the tea.
Yeah, ah man true.
I mean the iron he hit on thirteen was like a shank. Yeah, he missed the faarawah by like thirty yards. I'm just thinking back if I had, like.
It was unbelievable to see him like hit an iron on Sunday or whatever, and he's like he would twirl it and like walk away and it would like end up in the bunker. Like even he wasn't. It was weird to see him not even like do the thing where he kind of holds it, gets pissed or whatever. I think some of those irons he thought he sort of stripped and they were still missing fairways. It was bizarre.
It's I it was something else. I uh so uh pga. I mean I think I feel like we're still in the same spot we were before the tournament. It was like one of it was, you know, it'll be one of the best best PGAs of you know, I mean the best PGA of all time over the last ten years before this one was Tiger ye Yang.
Yeah yeah, and then that one. You know, it sort of ended with the thud unless you were sort of pulling for the underdog. So I don't know. I think I think if we're ready to overrated, underrated, I'm ready to say PGA underrated. I was, yeah, I would say that.
I'll say this and to make it extremely personal, Ah, I was happy I wasn't going, and now I have serious fault, like I'm pissed I didn't go.
It looked sweet at the start of the week.
I was like, oh, I am just quite happy and contented to sit fat and happy on my couch and watch this on TV. And I really wish I was there this week.
You were on a heater on Twitter all week though you were you had a really you had an excellent week on just with some great tweets. I gotta say that's good.
I mean, useless and least valuable skill in the world.
I was doing it well. I appreciate it.
The fact that I'm like driving distance away and didn't drive down. It kind of makes me sad, like.
Credential too, Like it wasn't like you would have had to buy a ticket. You could have walked within the ropes with seen Tiger with us, and you decided to go have burritos and.
Said, but this is the one thing I will say, Like, I mean, nobody watched Brooks like like that's like I think that's where I mean. So here's an interesting thing with like the PGA is the PGA Championship To me, the more I think about it, seems to embrace the event, like and going to the event, which when you think about the future of golf and just sports in general, like the event is becoming like going to the events
becoming less and less a part of the sport. Yeah, and it's like you know that I couldn't believe how big that merchandise tent was, Like the amount of infrastructure you need to host some PGA championship is insane, like yeah, and that that's like the reality, and like to go like to go to places like Saint Louis, there's only one course that can host it, And to me, that's like one of the biggest problems is that, like with the way major championship golf is now, and like the
way they have to make money, Like the PGA made so much money this week, like so much money? Is that limit where you can go? There's I think there's only probably like thirty courses around the country that can feasibly host a major championship.
Maywhere they go, Now, go Page Harding, Park, Uh, Trump, Bedminsters.
In there, which will be interesting. You know.
It's just it's a lot of like O kill Yeah, next three are that Page Harding, Park, Koa, and then Trump that Bedminster. I think that's the next four and a big, big, big public courses except for Trump's.
I guess.
Yeah. Like like Trinity Fort is a great example. It can host a PGA Tour event, but it can't host a PGA.
Yeah.
Enough, there's not enough space ground.
We know what the study is thinking about. You were talking about how much you hated the third hole, and I think the reason that that had to play like one thirty or one forty or whatever. The bats were covered by a corporate tent. Oh god, yeah, to comment and commodate the tenths, they had to put them over it.
Oh no, I literally like walked up to that hole. It makes so much more sense. Like when I walked up to that hole, I was like, my god, this might be the worst short part three I've ever seen in my life life. And like I got a lot of heat for like saying it was a horrible hole. But then I found out that, like there's a tea like one hundred and seventy yards out, and it makes
so much more sense. It's like a legitimate hole. But like the way it was set up, it was like nobody made a bogie on a par three and a major championship and I had like the biggest part doesn't matter, guy, But the only scores on the hole for the day were two or three. How how is that even possible?
Wow, that is some good on the ground insight. That is kind of a farce. They put a ten over a tea box. Yeah, I mean well that is the starkest example of how these things are are kind of these things are events.
Eighteenth hole, Kylie, I'm joking about this, but like the eighteenth hole was backed up against a road and then like we were laughing about like thinking about jim Nantz, like you know, calling like the sort of the majestic like, and then there's trucks like driving by, like all the big semi trailers, whether they had to set up or like just you can hear the generators like humming.
Like it was not exactly like the pristine sort of beautiful. You know. I'm sure Seas hit it well in the cameras, but it looked like it was backed up against, you know, a construction site. Essentially.
You try to think of these, Yeah, these majors, I'll never forget. You think these courses are like these bucolic classic setups. I'll never forget at Oakmond during a rain to like watching people pile in a porta potty to shield themselves from the rain.
So it's filthy, like disgusting.
It's just like, oh god, generators everywhere, these trucks everywhere. I mean, it's kind of like you can lose sight of the course. It's a big major sport.
I'm I'm excited for the first no attendance golf tournament. And I don't know when it's gonna happen, but I hope it's in like the next five years.
Already. Tory when when what's his name? When the weather delay ad meant that uh Schneiker had to play in front of no crowds or whatever. That was the no attendance golf tournament.
I'm saying nothing nothing, no no stand, no parking, no hospitality. You sell like you know, like you think about the costs that go into it, and that's part of where all this. But like all the benefits for a sponsor are digital. I know that they have these like pro am stuff, but like the the the digital benefits are all that matters in the modern world.
Yeah, that's what it was going to have our Hickory Club Championship at National Golf Links. That'll be the one where you have to hitchhike into National Golf Links and no cell phones are allowed. And that's it.
I mean, Kio, it should be the one. Yeah, you know, players go out to the end of the island. You know, nobody else does. Nobody has to sit in at the shuttle, which we still hear, you know, war stories about this day.
That that should be the one.
Do you think I kept out there? I could book an airbnb like now for that major. Hey, I want to rent this house like four years from now for this week, not for cheap all right, let's uh, let's do uh, let's do overrated underrated. H All right, let's say uh Saint Louis.
Uh, I'm gonna say underrated. Yeah. I had some really good barbecue this week and uh, you know, played an awesome course in Saint Louis Country Club and uh, even though the fans were mean to me because I was making fun of their the boring course and bell reeve, I still enjoy it. So underrated I don't know.
I mean, I wasn't there, so I can't really speak to it. I'd say underrated. Despite Yeah, underrated. They I think they kind of up their check out about being great sports fans, which maybe it's deserved, but it sounds like from all accounts, the players loved it. I kind of hate when you do those questions we did in DC, Like, hey man, Tiger, what'd you think of the fans coming back to DC?
What are you say? What's you going to say? God? These guys are just asshole. Let me, I need to have a quick rand about this. That is the most thirsty behavior ever by media people, and it drives me bonkers. And it look it just scene comes off as so small town and like provincial and look, if they do it in Baltimore too. I'm sure if they did it held the championship in Montana, people the Montana media would
do the same thing. But it just like in the final press conference when you got you know, someone's asking Brooks Koepka like, how awesome were the fans? Can you can you say, Brooks, like, could you just say a few words about the Saint Louis fans? Come on, that is not journalism. You're doing pr for the Saint Louis like commerce chapter, Like, grow up and do real journalism please.
I would like I would like the one guy they're all right. I mean, I don't know, I don't know. Maybe you guys will get another major. I'm not talking about Saint Louis specifically. I'm just saying generally, I would love for someone just to kind of like flip it around so that local newscast, you know, News Team five doesn't have there sound kept Go was our chance.
I don't know, man, that's fine.
They asked it. I guess Kepka's uncle or uncle played on The Cardinals and one World Series with the Cargo, and they asked him about it, and kept Goo was just like, yeah, I don't know. I don't know, he like knew nothing, and it's like, how did you not expect that question? But I you know, Saint Louis as a Cubs fan, way over rated, you know, as a Chicago But they did a great job this week. I got to give credit where credits due. They did a great job. It would only be better if it wasn't
in August. It was so it was so human down there. But uh, but yeah, it was a it was a they did. They did a great job. They deserve they deserve a golf course that can you know they That's the sad thing is there's for me, is there's one golf course there that can host, you know, and uh, and that that is the reality of most cities is that there's one golf course to host and it's not the course you would most want to see the championship at.
So underrated or I guess, yeah, underrated for championship. I think like the small town thing is underrated. I listened a lot in Nelly this week. That was that was awesome, you know, I think I listened to an hour of it last night.
But uh, definitely the country grammar a couple of times because I said it should be like, you know, our national anthem, and so uh yeah.
Hot ship when that when the base comes on, Well think about that.
The beginning of E, I though, was like, I'm a sucker for cornrows and manicured toes, Philly Philly capri pants and parachute toes or something like. That's a that's a great opening line.
What what about you couldn't hold me if your last name was hand? You know?
Can I talk about.
The absurdity that Nelly and Tim McGrath did a duet?
Okay, like.
Top of the charts for like a year, you're looking back on that. I was like, what Nellie and Tim McGrath.
I was looking at this. I was listening to Just a Dream last night. It's an older it's a it's a later stage Nellie song or R and B, but I legitimately was listening to it and I was like, man, this song's about Cat, you know, and it's like all about how he misses this girl and like he just wants her back, and like, listening to it after what just happened, I was like, man, it's so good to have Cat back. Like this is what I felt for
like the last five years. Yeah, uh, overrated, underrated Ricky fell Her.
Oh my goodness, I'm gonna say overrated. Uh, I mean at this point, like it was there for the taking. I know he was a little bit hurt, and that'll be the thing that everyone sort of says, you know, well, how could you rip on Ricky? He was hurt? You know what. Everyone's kind of like a little bit hurt out there, Like no one's one hundred percent healthy. The the guy with a fused back almost won this championship.
At some point, Ricky, like, I think you need to sort of step up and win one of these You're you're everyone thinks you're a great guy, and I seem to be, but uh would not Brooks kept it might not be a great guy might be winning championships. So championships are kind of what people are going to measure you on. So it's it's time to to stop getting in the mix and not delivering a great round when it would give you a championship.
Yeah, let's say overrated, just not I mean, not a part of the battle. What he should sixty five sixty seven To get to the way you were talking about Aaron Hills last year, whoever was I think KVB brought
it up. Yeah, it's just like another sun I was thinking, oh, yeah, the analogy works because Ricky was there on another Sunday where Ricky just was supposed to be a part of it and completely was ejected from the broadcast, you know, early in the round or it was the Open this year he hit when he made a triple in six, He's just like, there's you can know you're when you're that close that many times and never like he's not even like a factor on the back of nind on
Sunday we saw him at the Masters and make kind of you make the charge against Reed, but it's just there's he's over.
I'm sorry, And.
Until I tend to think we forget about how great he was closing that Players Championship.
Like I think great closings ever, I mean, and.
Like when we had these discussions about him coming up short in majors, I think we forget about it quite honestly.
But I'm going with overrated. When I when I get together with the sports writers and reconfigure what the majors were retrospectively like they did to my man, I'm just going to be like, well that's a major. So Rick actually won a major there, psch Like what do you think? You know? Serious?
I U. I always say that winning is overrated. And he finished second in the cumulative majors best score. You know again, like he's he was a factor. He was a factor in all of them in a sense a little bit like a weekend like us opened. Maybe not he kind of ejected hard, but like he was every weekend. He was in the mix. But like at the end of the day, has there ever been a major that we say he should have won this?
Like uh no, no, I feel like yeah, I mean I feel like he should have won Aaron Hills like he was in he was a shot back of.
But I'm saying, like he he it wasn't like on Sunday, this guy's gonna win, Like it's never been that And like, to me, it goes back to like he just doesn't win. Yeah, and he hasn't won at a high rate and and tour events, so why are we expecting like he contends a lot, but like is he really contending?
Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, I think there Yeah that's well, but I'm not going to get into the theory on a lot.
But yeah, yeah, like DJ he has like three majors he should have won.
Yeah, I think closing kick is a thing like it. You know, he obviously has it sometimes like he the fact that he didn't win the Masters might have just come down to read banging it off the pin instead of putting off the green. But you know, that's there's a lot of more instances of where if he had played like that, he would have won a major at this point, and he just kind of hasn't really done it. And I don't know what eventually, you are who you are.
It's like the thing with the parcels. You are what your record says you are.
That's rick last last question before we get out of here. This is going long, but most disappointing season major season.
Tiger can't belave it in one I would say, DJ, Yeah, DJ should one that you was open. I mean, if he had taken care of business on the weekend, Kopka never really would have had a chance, and he should have been in the mix here and backed up. You know, I don't know why he can't quite figure out Augusta. He's obviously a really good links player too. I don't know, he's just at some point now DJ's.
Thirty or young, major like he's as good of a player talent wise as Kopka is.
So I feel like DJ's might pick.
You know how, Rory Speed, There's some there's some candidates here. I tend to agree with DJ with the DJ answer, because what you said earlier about Brooks, Brooks, DJ JT really being kind of a separate class, I think that's true this year. I think Rory searching, I think Speth is searching. I think those three are not I think they are kind of their own class just this year. I wouldn't argue, you know, I'm not arguing that Speith and McRoy aren't in that class or even in the
class involved them based on you know, past results. But DJ should have the Lifford more than he did. There should have been a greater return on this season. I'm sorry.
And that's Saturday when everyone's shooting.
You know, there were nine everyone's shooting sixty five and he's there were only seven scores worse than his.
He shot seventy two.
He was five over through fourteen.
I think like between that, you know, missing the cut of Carnows I just and the US Open. I mean just, I mean Brooks just hip check them off the course.
I don't know.
I think I think it's Dj based on the season he's had, he just didn't get.
The return he should have.
I'm going with Molinari. I can't believe he didn't defend us to go back to back major. I would I think Rory, I just yeah, I just I can't believe we're we're where we are with Rory.
Yeah, like crazy though that, Like I mean, did he have a worse Major season than Speed? You know, I guess Speak kind of essentially had a chance to win you know, Carnoustie and and could have won it with by shooting even par that day. So I feel like Speed's Major season may be a little more disappointing than Rory's, even though he was in contention of Augusta. Rory's Sunday at the Masters is gross.
I mean, it was like it's kind of almost I mean, I love the guy.
The wedge, the wedge, the short iron wedge play is just I mean.
Not good, that's.
Uh but uh yeah, the uh so Rory Speth Brooks, d J j T, who ends their career with most majors.
I still say Speed, just because I think he's gonna he's going to play untill he's fifty and be contending at every Masters in British Open for a long time. But you know GT and Brooks, I think at this point I would put ahead of Rory right now. Oh man, I know it's hard for me to say that. I make it pains me to say that more than four if they're going to get five, Yeah, I had.
Brooks certainly seems on his way to more than four, or at least four.
GT's got a long way to go to get Yeah, that's you know, heavy list.
I think it's speed too. I think it's I think he has, you know, the most staying power. You know, he's going to be playing augusta well into his forties or fifties, you know, unless he has like a crack up.
One of my favorite things yesterday was when the ball was in the air.
At one of those holes because I hope you're right, Michael, and it's like, oh man, I hope he is too.
He might not be might be thrown outside the ropes like.
He he has those moments where you're like worried if he has like he's just gonna have a mental breakdown. But Yeah, I think I think he has the long the most staying power, and shoot, he's even when a year he hasn't really had it and he was sick and not playing well. He contended and laid on Sunday at the Masters and late on Sunday at the Open.
So I think just think he's like a major championship player for the longest.
I I'm either going JT or Brooks. I think I think I'm going JT. I think I think JT. His learning curve is a little bit higher, like it takes longer, but once he learned how to play Augusta, once he learned how to play links golf, it's I mean, he's he's just so talented. I mean he's his game like from like a pure talent perspective, not maybe not, but skills is like at a different level.
Yeah, I think he loves the moment to JT, like he wants to be in the arena. Yeah.
The shot he hit on eleven is like going to be like one of the greatest forgotten shots, like the punch where he killed the guy where he hit him in the head, like like that punch runner up to like that was an unbelievable shot. I mean that that will be one of the greatest shots that's forgotten from this tournament. So all right, thanks guys for coming on. That was fun, a.
Good major, great season. Thanks Andy, Hey later.
You've been listening to the Fried Egg podcast. We do the digging for you.