2024 Presidents Cup Preview

I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset.

When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my ball.

In a Frida egg Friday egg, the dreaded Frida egg, Friday Frida Egg egg, fridagg brid egg.

Lie, I'm about ready to run off.

Of the hump.

Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Golf Podcast. I am your host, Andy Johnson, and today we are going to talk about this year's President's Cup. Uh. This is obviously a huge event, a international matchplay competition.

UH.

It's delivered some really great moments. It hasn't delivered a lot of parody in terms of who wins the event, but maybe this will be the year that it changes. Joining me today is the PGA Tour Sean Martin, a regular guest here on this podcast. Sean's great. He is on the ground in Montreal and will delve into his things that he's watching for this year's President's Cup. Before we get to Sean, today's podcast is brought to you

First time? I was in Saskatchewan earlier this year to track down the farmer who almost crashed his tractor watching Nick Taylor, whin the Canadian opened last year.

That bumber. That is that he's not here? It is that reheat potential for that story.

Kind of surprise. Yea, it would have been good reheat.

We're talking maybe some crop circles, you know, with the President's cup in it. Unfortunately Nick's not here, so I've seen, I feel like all of Canada, the full range, Saskatchewan much different vibe than Montreal. So I feel like I've had a full Canadian experience, gotten lots of Tim.

Horton's, including this morning.

We might go to a Canadian's preseason game tonight, where I feel very Canadian.

Has Tim Horton's grown on you at all.

The donuts are disappointing, which when I brought it up on Twitter, you got into some I think maybe some private equity money, or they got sold to a larger corporation where donut quality has decreased greatly. I compare them to an American gas station donut, which those have their place. I've been known to have one or two at a time, but the coffee's good. I do like the breakfast sandwiches, but the donuts are a big, a big disappointment. The tim Bits are a no.

Go, the tim fits.

Some Canadians have even agreed with me, so I know it's a valid opinion.

You know, the thing I've heard about from the stem from this Nick Taylor not being on the team is there's apparently like the East versus West Canada beef and East Canada really looks down on West Canada. Allegedly, this is what I've been told, and I could see.

It similar to New York and LA kind of thing.

I don't think that exists at all in America.

I mean, we've had rat battles across.

Some people are saying that Nick Taylor didn't get picked because he's from West Canada and we'ds from East Canada.

I know some of the guys have had relationships with Mike since they were kids, so I could definitely see him knowing those guys better and it might have benefited them. But I could see, you know, Vancouver is kind of like our Seattle, I think, and then Toronto's kind of like New York, so I could definitely see there's cultural differences there. And then just to the proximity to captain,

Maybe that's that's what I'm hearing. That's what I'm hearing. Allegedly, it's all stantiated rumors. Let's get into it. Let's get into what we're excited about or three things we're watching for this year's President's Cup. I am just gonna say, out of the gate, I think this is gonna be the best dressed President's Cup team of all time. Be dratty and zero restriction. Our log timee partner are clothing each team. I think they're gonna be prepared. You know,

It is fall weather. There are leaves on the ground. It is a little maybe damp, but I mean we are in the midst of fall. I feel very much in a Big ten football setting.

That's good. That's good, all right, Smartan, what's the first thing that you're watching us?

Driving accuracy?

You know, we know with these road games that the playbook, especially in the Ryder Cup, is narrow the fairways, thick in the rough. You know, Jim Fierix saw that firsthand with that team in twenty eighteen that went over to Paris and just got decimated. And word is that Mike Weir is going to run the same playbook we're talking four inch rough. There's been a lot of rain the golf course superintendence notes also noted there was a flooding incident,

Yeah, I mean, I gotta push back here on the strategy. It's like running out just the strategy that worked six years ago. Or eight years ago because it worked against the US team, but not looking at the individual players, Like if you look at I mean, I do sympathize a bit with Mike Weir. Like if you look at the US team and you start by looking at Scheffler and Xander, I mean, like, what do you do? They're just better than anybody that you have, So what do

When the with a angles kind of movement was first being talked about, you know, Jeff Ogilvy was one of these proponents that narrow fairways thick rough really takes a lot of skill out of it because instead of the opportunity for the incredible recovery shot where players can really show their ability to shape shots and hit incredible recoveries, instead thick rough you reduce it to a pitch out, which is a shot that I mean anyone can execute.

Royal Melbourne, Royal Melbourne. Yeah, sorry, it's okay. You know, it's early for everybody.

All these Royal golf courses. I'm in the presence of Royalty. I can't keep it all straight.

How about this being the first row, Royal Montreal being the first Royal club given royal status outside of outside of the UK.

It is interesting and it might be one of your things or mine, but uh, it's the oldest golf club in North America, Royal Montreal. I mean that's their claim, you know, organization, but the golf course.

Everybody, everybody claims this. There's there's thirty courses in the world, and I think in the world, not just North America that would make this claim.

Well, it only has to compete against the ones in North America because it does say it's the oldest in North America.

But the golf course, See someone I'm saying, I could see a course this claims so preposterous. I could see a course in like in a different continent claiming this.

I always thought it was Saint Andrews in New York that was the oldest in North America.

It was the oldest thing.

What about Chicago golf? What about the golf course that C. B. MacDonald went and played in Lake Forest, Illinois? That like, no, kind of like arms the hat I got on today, but the you know he he played, he played golf in a yard basically, like is that the first golf course?

I mean part of what Royal Montreal was is basically there was a park in Montreal and they were hitting golf shots in it and then I guess eventually put in some holes. So, you know, the golf club designation for anyone back then was I think fairly loose. You know, you didn't you just kind of hit shots in a park, kind of like Brunsfield Links in Edinburgh, which is always my favorite golf experiences.

The uh, there's a place in Charleston too, there was like there was apparently golf in Charleston very early too. They try and make a claim too.

Bruncefield is one of the most terrifying golf courses in the world because all the holes are like seventy yards. You're in some park with like unkept turf and you're trying to nip like a little wedge with cars parked right behind the green.

It is. It is not for the faint of heart.

I do think, like irrationally, cars are the scariest thing you could put near a golf course. It's not like we're not worried about other people, you know, We're less worried about people and the idea of like seriously injuring a person than we are about breaking a windshield. Like when you think about that, it's kind of messed up. Right.

The golf course I grew up on was a real short course, like five thousand yards, but the one like true hole was this five point fifty par five. It was a dog like left with a road on the left, and it was a terrifying t shot. We're really just we're right on track, yeah, I mean, if you want to pivot to your next thing.

Yeah, well I was gonna kick it. I was gonna say, is there anything about the golf course that you're particularly outside of the fairway lines? Is there any thing about the golf course that you're excited about or is this kind of just a course? It feels like it feels like compared to like Royal Melbourne, which is probably an unfair comparison, it does feel like just kind of a course.

I haven't had a chance to walk it yet.

I mean.

The interesting thing going back to that oldest club designation is the golf course itself is a mid twentieth century Dick Wilson, so the guy who designed bay Hill, Durrell. It's a very parkland golf course. There's a lot of just grass, a lot of places to hit it. I haven't seen anything super distinguishing on the you know part with Royal Mont or Royal Melbourne if you will, But it's just super parkland vibes. I think it's just it'll

Yeah, all right, My first thing that I have that I am most excited about. I is first time orsatheth the Gala, obviously a player that we've seen kind of ascend in the last year. And what I'm excited about is that this is just a fun player to watch. It's a uh, it's a He's got a tremendous personality. I think, like in terms of PGA Tour players, he is very much the opposite of your stock PGA Tour player.

I think he's a guy that guys are going to be lining up to play with. I think everyone in that team room would like a chance to play with him. He's a guy that I love in Forsom's actually because the biggest thing with Force them is you hate making mistakes and putting your partner in a bad spot. And there might be no one better on the PGA tour right now, both on approach play and short game of just creating shots and getting out of bad situations than

He's like a safety net.

All right, what's your what's your next thing?

I'm gonna go captain's picks, you know. For the especially US, we have two people here myself and Paul Hodawanak. Paul's folks on international team on the US, so most of my research has been US base, giving you this shirt wearing. It's just shipped over. I am wearing a zero restriction vest. I think I got it back at the Thoroughbread. So it's several years old, but still one of my favorite, uh, one of my favorite pieces. It's a great vest warm but.

Slam, I think I get you a box of gear. I don't want to. I don't want to infringe on your straight down partnership.

I wasn't gonna mention names. I do have loyalties to another clothing company. I didn't want to come onto this pod and violate the agreements.

All right, I was. I'm happy to, you know, say you're a straight down ambassador.

But the US Captain's picks, you know, whether it's coincidence or not, Jim went number seven through twelve on the points list.

Do you think it was a coincidence?

I I don't know. I it seems like I don't.

It feels like, hey, these guys earned it. They were seven through twelve. I'm not going to bump anyone off the team. They earned it, they deserve it. It's a very you know, player's mentality for his fellow players. But there's especially I think, you know, with Max, I mean even Max, I think would admit there's probably pressure on him that he's got to perform, and it's been a tough season.

And then even at BMW he was near.

Last through most of the tournament, shot a fine around sixty seven, said he found something, but then he missed the cut at Silverado just a couple of weeks ago. So you know that's one where you look at Max and you wonder should you have taken justin Thomas. Obviously, Billy Horsechel's BMWPGA win makes Peo one rough Billy, but I hate he can't he can't go back. In hindsight,

But I just think maybe he was just tired.

He could have been.

It's hard. It's hard being Billy, you know it is. He's got a lot of he's got a lot of appligations.

He's his motor runs hot. I mean, he's a high energy guy. He's putting, he's leaving nothing on the field.

How about his pensity is a knack? Because to use another sports term, you know, like they say football players, this guy's just gotten knacked for the ball defensive player on football. Billy's just got a knack for winning events after international competition teams have been picked.

He does.

And I mean I saw some you know, tweets about, oh I wish Billy was the President's Cup. Oh wait, he's not. And it's like, what are you gonna do? I mean, it's I'm actually I'm kind of surprised three the international guys played the BMWPGA. And I mean, obviously you're going the opps away across the Atlantic, but flying across the Atlantic on Sunday before last Ye's Ryder Cup really hurt the US team. And I was surprised that three guys from the international team played the BMWPGA.

Especially with the Thursday start. It's like the Cup with the Friday, Like if it's Friday, I could see, like you feel probably fine coming back that way, right.

I mean, I was doing a little math. I asked to actually radar at List. I asked him how long a private jet flight from London to Montreal is it's only five and a half hours, and so if they wrapped up at let's say four pm, let's say wheels up at five, you're leaving at Nune Montreal time. You could hypothetically be on the ground at five or six pm Sunday. So it's doable, I guess. But I mean to me, I'm not just being a PGA to her Homer, but the pro Core felt like a much easier warm up event.

Well, the you don't get to play the week before.

Though, right, but you also have jet lag. I mean, I look, I'm soft when it comes to jet lag. I get jet lag going from Florida to California, so I do everything to avoid it.

So, because I just dealt with the toddler switching time zones for a couple of days, a short, short trip, which is not fun.

Their body clocks don't adjust.

No, No, it was up late, then up early because it was light out. You know it's still you should still be sleeping. And you know, she'd look as she pulled the shades up, it's light out, Like, what do you say back to that?

Wait, don't they get a clock?

My kids now have clocks in their bed and it like you can sleep as late as you want, Like if you're tired of stay in bed, Like no, I'm getting up at six thirty. I get up at six thirty. It doesn't matter. They just they won't sleep late. So I don't know why they hate sleep. I'm like, just sleep, It's fine, it's great.

Here's the here's the course thing that I'm watching.

Is this your second thing? I've did like four things. Sorry, so we'll get your second.

Okay, this is good. You know, this is great course thing that I'm watching. Uh, all the part threes are odd numbers. This is just a unique little wrinkle for foursomes uh and alternate shot. So I mean, and this is a great way to analyze captains of what they're doing. We love there's nothing that viewers left board. Then is

Yep.

So you have the ability here to this is like kind of like nerdy in the weeds, like if you like alternate shot. This is like a kind of a really cool setup in the sense that it's so slanted to the odd holes with the iron play, so put your best players. Put your best iron player on an odd hole. This is an opportunity to create kind of these teams where you have like great iron players. I think one of the unique things is I think Mike

Well, you look back at twenty twenty two and you know, Trevor passed up on mac Hughs, who's a great putter. And you know they had Mark the team room that year as well as a couple other stats guys, but they really and Quail Hollow is a ball striker's golf course,

And I think this might be a bit of a reaction to that.

Yeah, but yeah, yeah, I don't know. I think like, at the end of the day, what puts the most pressure on somebody Ellison, match play is great h T. Degreen play, Like when you just feel like you can't breathe because somebody keeps hitting shot after shot close, that's the worst feeling in match play. I will say it's probably close. Close. Second is when like somebody like you

It's interesting too because how much you have twelve roster spots? How much can you really go for specialists? That's the other side on the putters, like are you gonna pick a guy.

Just for his putter?

Is the gain outweighed by I'm not saying Mac Hugh's an inferior ball striker, but yeah, like you said, it's hard to pick guys like like in baseball, you have your defensive replacements or your pinch hitters, Like do you have your like designated putter? Is it is that worth a roster spot?

I don't know, could be yeah, yeah, the I don't know, it's it's it's an interesting like I could see having one or two, but like tipping the scales to we want putters. It is an interesting choice, you know, now, like if they all get hot, it could be the greatest choice because if they're all hot, you know, also if you narrow fairways, maybe putting is more relevant because of chipouts, right and getting up.

On war saves.

Uh huh.

I actually.

Say I missed the I feel like we don't have in baseball anymore of the guy that was just the designated hitter. Like I always thinking of Matt Stairs. I mean, he's the guy like that was that was it. That's all he was doing. He wasn't starting, he wasn't playing the field. Maybe it's because the designated hitters in both leagues. He's your designated hitter now. But I missed the guy who was getting a million a year and he just came in for designated hitting.

And he only played in one league. He only was available to half the league. Yeah, that was the other best part about it. I loved that in Major League Baseball there were two leagues with different rules Like that made them feel like different leagues. Yeah.

Right.

And then in the World Series they would they would alternate based off of I mean that was awesome.

Yeah, I mean that would be kale pitchers. I mean they couldn't hit anything. I mean it was it was brutal.

I mean, but imagine you don't hit all year and then you're facing like a hundred one hour gas.

I mean, you're just.

I said something to someone I went to I got lucky. I went to the Cubs the first world home World Series game when they were in the World Series against the Indians, Game three, and I said something to a former major league pitcher. I was like, oh, yeah, I can't remember who the pitching matchup was, but they were like, you know, it was like the not great pitch to

You think of all the people always think of like the funnel because I have kids playing sports now, of like how many millions of kids are playing baseball right now, and then you have like how many kids even go to play high school and then d one and then even make it to the miners is even like a super small percentage, and then to make it the World Series. That's why, like I'm super fascinated by I mean the Cooties. Yeah, their grandfather won the Masters, that they grew up with

What about Lebron and Broanni.

You know, there's a lot, It's a complex situation. There's a lot.

I mean, you have obviously genetics. He's got great jeens for height and speed.

You know, I.

Captain congratulate you about Otani.

I was at that game. It was it was amazing. I was at that game. And then Sunday was even better. They were down by one in the bottom of the ninth th Tani leads off in homers and then bets Homer's next.

Now we're now I'm in my wheelhouse. Man. That that game was incredible though.

I talked to Nico Daris of Golf Blueprint, who a lot of people know, like we talk about power and like, you watch Otani and I feel like he looks like a long drive guy teeing off and that second home or first homer he hit in that Miami game was a shot.

And there's like nobody in that stadium.

It's the roof is close and it's like a gunshot and that thing is just gone. But I love watching the way Otani like uses his body. It looks like a guy, like a long drive guy, just fully extending.

I gotta just wonder. I don't know if anybody's done this, but what Pete Rose is thinking?

I mean on what that I'm tre'stening a lot of things on a lot of things about like should you gamble on him?

Like, well, how come Otani hasn't gotten treated, got treated?

He has been cleared. That was an unfortunate situation. He was the victim of malfeasance. Don't get me started.

There's a Dodgers fan right there, you know that that World Series. Not to throw some salt in the wound, that World serious game. I was sitting in Dodgers tickets.

Okay, yeah, so uh, I don't get super sentimental about sports when my first child is born that October and so you're up in the middle of the night right with your wife helping change diapers and eating, and I was like, and all the games are on super late because the Dodgers are on the West Coast. I'm like, man, it would be so cool if, like they win the first World Series since eighty eight. And I'm like in the middle of the night watching it with my newborn son.

My sentimental moment of early early child having a kid super early was in the you know, it was during the middle of COVID, so I was in a we It was just my wife, me and my daughter in the hospital room, no visitors, and the Women's open at Royal Throun Pop Offs Win was on and I was just you know, laying with my my daughter watching women's open like early at crazy hours of the morning.

I thought you were gonna tell me that like Illinois was facing Northwestern for the Big ten East Division title or something.

We're a Big ten West team there also, you know, you could be could be going to the coming down South in the in the late fall or winter for CFP games.

You know, probably this point, you guys should be Big ten East. They need to rework those divisions. It's like when the Braves are in the NL West.

I think we're still we still would be West though.

I mean with like Oregon and Washington.

There's Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA, Iowa, Nebraska, and then I mean like there's eighteen teams, so there's Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, and then it's like Illinois in Wisconsin would be the next West teams.

I actually don't watch a ton of college football, mostly because Cal Poly football is. They're on ESPN Plus, but they usually don't have the best cameraman they hire for the games.

It's a little shaky.

And FSU's my wife's team, so I kind of glom onto that. But I love I love following on. You know, we got a big win against cal big acc win, so I think we're off the Schnott. You know, we just want we're waiting for conference play. We're really just peaking for conference play. But I love conference re alignment. I'll read everything about conference re alignment, like Utah State, which was in the Big West, which is in cal

They just turned it down.

Oh that's right, they did turn it down. See, I'm not up to it. I was, yeah, but I love pro.

Might be a big pack twelve team.

We can make a case for it. We're good in some smaller sports. The football would be a tough.

Go we do.

You know John Madden talking right now, we're so off topic. I have another thing. We actually had a great segue my last thing, and I totally blew through it to talk about Otani or something.

I don't know.

Do you want to get to my third thing?

Yeah?

It was actually we're talking about the designated putters. It was Scotti Scheffler. Scheffler's O five and three in the last two team matches. I think there's explanations for it. Maybe their excuses. But you look at twenty twenty two, he's coming off his like life changing year where he, you know, wins his first major, becomes number one. He's dealing with all the adjustments to being their one player in the world, and I think it was a big adjustment for him.

I think you can make a case.

He's exhausted and didn't play great and also, as a lot of people have said, him and Sam Burns just had the fortune of they hit some really hot teams on the international side, and then last year obviously he's in the depths of his potting struggles. I think Scotty should, I mean Scotty should statistically have a great Presidence Cup this week. But if he doesn't, you know, you gotta wonder what's going on for this time he talk.

About can we talk about saddling him with Sam Burns.

Well, so I'm gonna make a case.

I think what are we doing?

I think we keep him with Sam Burns. If not that, maybe Brian harm I think I can make a Brian Harmon case.

Harmon, can we just have somebody that can put the ball in the fairways?

Well, that's why I'm saying, Brian Hartman if you don't do Sam, that's the problem with Sam Burns. You got your best, so the best iron player on the planet with a terrible driver of the buck ball.

That's why I think again, if you don't sticking with Sam, it's Brian Harmon, top ten, top twenty and driving accuracy, solid iron player, solid putter. He's eight yards shorter than Scotty, but Scotty can afford to sacrifice eight yards off the tee. He's great with his irons. He's number one in proximity from one to fifty to one seventy five. He's a great mid iron player, so you can sticking with someone who's shorter than he's accustomed to. So I do think

I think another guy that would be good for him, Keegan Bradley, you know, just a just a tee to green machine, right.

Going back to Captain's picks. Keegan's another one that.

Yeah, he won the BMW, which he almost wasn't in until Tom Kim collapsed. But other than that, the record is the last few weeks wasn't great.

I mean more Cowell would be another great pairing for Scheffler. Yeah, I just I can't you look at there's only one player that I think would be a worse pairing than Sam Burns. An alternate shot for show Windom.

Yeah, you love to dog Windham for his driver.

I don't love to dog Windom.

You were dogging him before the Olympics about his driver and then he you know, or after he had that first you were dancing on his grave after the horrible first round like Golf National, and then he comes back and shoots like fourteen hunder in the last three rounds.

I like Wyndham. Wyndham. You know, most people probably don't know this. The first podcast Windham ever was on was on this podcast when he was just just turning pro. I've been a Wyndham supporter since his his amateur days. Like, you know, accuse me of dogging them.

I just remember there's some takes after his first round at the Golf National.

I mean his his I'm just calling balls and strikes he did. He told driver accuracy is not good.

He told our Paul Hodawana Kee been dealing with a lower back injury, and then he blitched the Olympics last three rounds.

Yeah, I like him.

I've always really win him. I think his back.

Door t six in the forty eight player field.

Congratulations, he's he's had some better signs since the Olympics.

He has he's a great player. You know, I think, uh what, uh yeah, what's your thing? What's my thing?

Yeah?

All right, my last thing here Taylor Pendrith.

Yep actually putting the weight of the international team on Taylor pendrid.

I've got I'm gonna wait for that. I got another question for you. I just have, like a a general question that we haven't talked about this.

I can't wait for this.

Does does the Peak Cup? This is just such a broad question. Does the Pea Cup need the Internationals to win?

I mean, I don't want to go down Adam Shupac's road.

Uh.

I think you don't want to. You don't want to get explicit. Uh uh. Profanities yelled at you. Bet you're about seeing Captain Jim Furich.

Sally said he spoke to Adam about the incident, and Adam and uh Jim, as fellow Pontavidrins, have known each other for a long time, and so it was a little bit tongue in cheek. It wasn't quite as harsh finger in the chest Bobby Knight as it maybe comes across in print.

Well, when people ripped, when people didn't read Adam's piece.

Well there you know you got a quote graphic made out of it.

Yeah. Now now you got the aggregators, the new you get things nucleared on you.

You know, I love going nuclear. No vowel? Well one vowel?

Do you think so? You think?

Sorry?

Real quick on aggregators. A great conversation with Woje retiring. Uh, they said that they don't know will there ever be an insider like Woges again or is it just gonna be the aggregators that are gonna fill the vacuum I think, I mean nuclear, I followed nuclear very closely, so they do a service, but they also can it can lead to misunderstandings like the Atom Shoepack incident.

I think like the key to the aggregators is always go to the source. Take the aggregators as the this pops up on my timeline, and then I'm going to go to whoever if if they actually source it, which is always a good question.

The hard part is, you know x Throttle's posts with external links on them, and so Nuclear does a good job of they reply with the link, but they can't put in the post anymore because they put in the post, nobody sees it.

Yeah, those guys understand the algorithm. Well, Nuclear Discussion, what's so your answer is, yes, the internationals need to win.

I can keep it close.

I don't have to win.

Yeah, I mean, look, and so your point the other.

Thing, the US can't afford to lose if we go into be page having lost two in a row, just getting throttled at Rome and then losing a president's cop I mean, the whole infra structure.

You got to tear it up and you got a new task.

Well, that's why we Keegan's Kean's Keegan's the outlier. This is it's almost like Keigan was picked to protect themselves against the US losing at Royal Montreal so that the PGA can go Listen, it's a new era with with with Keegan Bradley coming in.

Hey, there's a Charles Schwab challenge or commercial on in the media center.

But it's not you.

Oh thanks, I got I heard from a lot of people because it was it was on, It came on at the right at the like critical moment of last week's BMW PGA, like it was like they were plant coming up eighteen, It came on, can you can.

You complain about commercial load if you're in the commercials.

Yeah, you can still complain. I don't want the commercials airing. I don't want my I don't want people people seeing me, you know the Uh. I think Keegan Bradley is just like, what if he goes like for four and oh yeah, does that fuel him picking his own himself?

I don't think he would. I think he'd have to qualify. I don't think he'd pick himself.

What if he what if he's seventh in points?

I think.

Does the BMW count as a mean beat?

Home course? He's a New Yorker. He has to he has to play.

Pj's shaking his head this long islander there he can't jump on. He's in producer mode. Uh yeah, I don't know. It's interesting.

I want is it more valuable for him for next year to be a player this week and get the time inside the ropes with the guys or to be have been a captain's assistant?

I see you think so?

Honestly, Yeah, I think being a captain is completely overblown, then, Glad hadding it's figuring out figuring out what kind of food players like this is you know, I think like and I think and then it's like the important part of being captain is like the pick stuff. You know, who's pairing with who, and you know, getting guys to come together. I think from that standpoint, being a player is actually having connection to the players, and being a player is really important.

Well, then do you limit your you know, Keegan's participation this week, Like, do you only pairing with guys who you are really confident are going to be on the Ryder Cup team next year? No?

No, I think you you play to win. But I think just Keegan being around the players all the time and seeing how a player, like how a schedule works or doesn't work for players. You know, obviously, like Xander spent pretty outspoken about these competitions and the dinners and different things out how it like interrupts his flow. I think, you know, there's probably some deep rooted other reasons that he doesn't like these competitions that center around monetary compensation.

Well, so who Tiger Lean? I guess you.

And then ifan if Keegan plays as a playing captain, it goes so well do they have to run it back for your.

Scotty the playing captain that's sping of Pete Rose playing captains might be in.

Yeah, that's right, good, I'm glad we tied that whole baseball conversation back. Hey, let's take a quick break. You know. One of the things that we've done in the pro Shop is we have just launched a fall line. They there are some awesome, awesome pieces in this in this drop, one of which is named after me. Big congrats to B Dratty for being the clothing sponsor of this year's President's Cup. But one of the pieces is the Andy hoodie. That's a B Dratty piece we have. We have that

Tom Kim has won obviously, you know, such a breakouts superstar. Yeah, a breakout start in twenty twenty two. He's only played twice since the Open. He played the Olympics and then he played and Qualify. Well, he played the Olympics and then he played the FedEx Saint Jude and then he yeah, he was out.

Uh.

And that guy, you would feel like, is ripe to play the Pro Core, but he hasn't played since Memphis. Last time we saw him was that tough finish. He'd finished sixty sixty six to you know, miss BMW And I get the need for a layoff this time of year, but man, that's a long layoff.

Where would you like him play Pro Corps or the Made Sense Worth.

I didn't, I'll be honest. I mean, Adam Scott knows what he's doing. I didn't love the Wentworth thing.

I thought he just was gonna stay in bed. How about that answer, I'm not going out to practice. I'm staying in my hotel.

Yeah, like go to NAPA and then you get a week off in between, and you know, less jet lag. It's three hours instead of five.

I don't know.

I I'm not gonna second guess Adam Scott when it comes to golf decisions, but that just seemed like a curious one to me. I mean, like, look, Young Union's won the BMW before. Adam's a global player. Seawoo Kim, I can't remember the last dep World Tour event that Seawoo Kim played.

Yeah, yeah, I mean all these international players, that's the ironic thing. They're just PGA Tour player.

The internationals though. The guys that played Pro Corp outplayed the Americans oft Pro Corps Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Connors.

I mean that's a pretty sample size totally.

But I mean, I mean Wyndam missing the cut.

I mean because Wyndham, you know, as we've discussed it has been a little up and down this second half of the year.

He missed the cut.

Max missed the cut after having a few weeks to try to straighten out whatever was bothering him.

Salath wasn't great, right T seven, T seven, Okay.

I think saw hit is going to be on the US side. Saw Hith, I think is going to be. I don't I'm not breakout star. He's eleventh ranked player in the world, but I think this is gonna be a good week for saw Hith.

All right, here's the players I'm most interested in. Taylor Pendrith. Yep. Last time we saw him in this competition, he was like the I think, what was the like one hundred and fifteenth in the world. Yeah, he started this year one hundred and six. I think like when you look at Pendrith, he's got some like he had some like raw skills that were very interesting. Now he won no points last last President's Cup, but he comes into this

The crazy thing is the jump and putting. In twenty twenty two, he was not a good putter, and he's part of that problem. On the international side, he's like top ten is Roskame putting this year. So you have a guy who's that long and an elite putter. It's a great combination.

Yeah, yeah, that's the that's the thing. So I think he's just like kind of a key player on the on the American side, I pointed out Sahith just for a little variety, I will go with uh, I'll go with mact I think, you know just I think like everybody's always looking to criticize picks, and I think if he could go get some points on the board early, it will will help any second guessing if this is close with with Furick and the maximum of pick because it's like even if it's like one two and one

I think it's a great week for him too. Match plays a good format for a guy who's struggling the way he is, because you know what, he's not driving it great right now you make a triple. Okay, you lose a hole. It doesn't mean you're gonna miss the cut. Your whole week is derailed. You just move on to the next hole. So I think, you know, maybe like Adam Scott in two thousand and nine when he wasn't playing well and he got a captain's pick and it

All Right, what's your pick.

I'm gonna go USA fifteen thirteen or no, there's thirty points sorry, sixteen fourteen he.

Went with the President or with the Ryder Cup points there, Yeah, seventeen thirteen. It's kind of a blowout.

USA International, USA, So you can't put your money pick. Oh yeah, I think sixteen fourteen. I mean Internationals they won Saturday. Last time singles were close ish, like every time it had that forty five minutes where like the odds probably weren't actually that great, but like you're like, well, Xander doesn't close this out.

It could get interesting.

Is the four ball discrepancy where like they just get absolutely murdered for forsomes because for the talent is that the talent?

Yeah, there's nowhere to hide. You need two players playing well, you know, four balls. One guy can carry a team and if you know, one guy pitches in a couple birdies and the other guy makes six, that works. But for some themes, both guys can be playing well, which I mean that's the same thing you've seen it.

So that's is that the whole like his remedy is putters.

Designated putters, Matt Stairs come in to you know, knocks him in the hole, knock him out of the park, knock him in the hole.

If we get another nineteen eleven, what what is the you know, what's the future of the event, look.

Like, I mean a lot could change in the golf world between now and twenty twenty six.

That's a good answer, that's it. I mean, twenty twenty six Medina's can be fun.

The other two I mean you talk about like golf course set up Madnaly like Davis Love did in twenty twelve. You know, no rough Bomber's Paradise. You know, USA didn't win that Madna Ryder Cup, but they had to have a historic collapse. Not to that that one plays right into the US hands. I mean I don't know, actually the renovation, I don't know. You've been there, I haven't.

So how about how about the fact that you know and the international cap why is it an architect Yeah, you know, might be able to show him some tricks. I love it. You know what interesting thing about about that that one? You know, we'll do a little twenty twenty six Peak Cup preview. Here is the way they rerouted it. The first three holes are like some of the most interesting architecturally for the golf course. It be obi left on all of the first three holes. Love

Could you imagine the feeling standing on the first team one of these events and you just pump it OB and it's four balls.

You have to re tea.

I mean I played, I played their bad. The media thing there I didn't get that I hit. I hit four balls out of bounds and in like a three hole stretch is not like one trying. I want to say, I was actively trying to hit it close to the boundary line.

That's texture to take.

Yeah, well, like you're playing the hole, you want to see how it works, like I'm trying to get to the right spot. Like I'm not. I'm not out there trying to post a score. I'm like out there playing the golf course, trying to have fun with the golf course.

You know, hitting OB is not fun for me. I don't know about you, but I mean it.

Got pretty fun when after like the fourth ball went out of bounds in a two hole period.

One.

I also want to say, one ball hit like a tin.

Cup will take your hand off your caddy, give you another ball, Like no, I'm hitting it down this left side.

I don't care one ball, one ball hit the fence and bounce back in play. I almost hit five balls.

Out of the and he made eagle on his fifth ball. That's whatever I remember.

But yeah, the I don't know what were you saying about about the out of bounds.

Wasn't there's I saw on Twitter that there was like a bunker that goes through and out of bounds fence.

Is that a thing?

Yeah?

Okay, so can you be in the bunker but out of bounds?

Yeah, there's like no way do they do they draw the way it's shaped the ball is going to roll back and play.

Do they draw a line in the sand?

Like how do you?

Okay, that's that's how it would technically be. You know, there's rumors that the tour wants to remove the fence, which would be sad.

It's not my department. I can't comment on that.

Yeah, the U the one green is insane where it's like right next to it. I mean, like I hit like who I thought was gonna be a really good shot, and the wind just like Atlanta, just just off the green, just like gone.

Sometimes you know, Americans are used to short grass being good, but sometimes you can land it on short grass and not be in a good position.

All right, Smartan, I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go. My pick is uh, let's I'm gonna pick the Internationals. Yeah, what do I have to lose? I'll go sixteen fifteen and a half, fourteen and a half Internationals nail bier.

How does it end?

It ends with uh. With Mackenzie Hughes in the anchor match, He's been dreadful, unplayable a whole week. There have been calls from Western Canada through the Western Canada, East Canada. Beef has come bubbled up to the forefront. Never is anybody seeing Canadians so mad at each other. And then Mackenzie Hughes on the eighteenth green in the anchor match,

Mackenzie has a lot of pressure because all the advertisements in town, it's Scotti, Scheffler and Xander for the US, and it's Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Connors for the Internationals.

So like they, he is the face of the President.

Why isn't Taylor Pendreth on those He's arguably the best of the three.

I would McKenzie's a more of a known quantity. I would say, man, by the way, Kent State football is bad. I don't know how closely Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Connors follow it.

But which I mean? That's those guys play college golf.

Do you think they should bring Kent State's the coach the retired up out of retirement to be assistant captain.

I don't think they're going that far, but I believe he'll be here because he's actually Canadian.

I didn't realize that.

What's his name? Legend?

Yeah?

Her Page, Like, what are the great college golf coaches of all time?

I mean to take Kent State and make him into a golf power. Have three guys? I think you had three guys play the Olympic. Two three you guys play the Presidents Cup. He's like Herb Brooks her Page. Great coaches are named Herb. He's a great coach name.

He should be an assistant coach this week.

Maybe maybe they were afraid to be you know, too much influence in the room. Who are you gonna listen to the old college coach or your boyhood idol.

Legit Corey Connors. I do think should go out in like every format if he if he's got the fitness level to do it.

I mean I actually do like the the Thursday start because you can it's more likely guys can play five mm hmm. And actually I mean Thursday Friday, there's five matches, so you can only sit two guys a day. That you know hurts the Internationals because the US has more depth.

But that's hurt hurts the Internationals.

Who sits day one? Yeah, oh man, that's a lot of pressure. It's gonna be four balls, so that matters because they want to start off with their best format.

Internationals get to pick who sits.

Honestly, four balls is a great session to get your your rookies out. So I see, like on the international side, I think min Wu is out there, but you also want to put your best players out there.

I mean Minwu fits both boxes.

On the US side, I would probably say, gosh, I think you sit Keegan. You know, he's a little bit older, he's probably a foursome specialist, so you give him a rest, sit Keegan, and then maybe sit.

Harmon. I like Brian.

I think Brian can have a great President's Cup. He played great with Max at Rome. He had the second most points on the team as a thirty five year old rookie, which is pretty impressive. But I also don't know if they're gonna send out guys in their mid thirties to play.

Five Yeah, it's uh, I think.

Yeah, honestly, I don't know. You sit some just then you have run the gauntlet and play every match from then on in.

I don't know.

I think there's actually like a case that you don't sit your struggling player.

Yeah, well, for balls is a great format if you're struggling to go out and play because you can hide a little bit with your partner.

Yeah yeah, that's why. Like, and then if you sit and then you play bad the next day, that's going to be like what everybody's talking about. I mean.

The other thing one of Europe's keys is success is it figured out with the analytics that it just should never sit someone for the entire first day. So they made sure to play everyone on the team on the fridays of Ryder Cups, at least in one session, so everyone played no more than nineteen ninety nine Andrew Coltart sitting out until Sunday or whatever. Everyone played Friday. But

Yeah, it's it's I did kind of like the four day format. I don't I don't you know, I don't love it from a competition standpoint because of what it, you know, it kind of magnifies like the kind of competition of the issue. But I do like the Thursday Friday. It does like a nice Yeah, like you said, a lot of people play five sessions more often. All right, Smartan, thank you for coming on. What do you do you have anything that you're working on this week?

Our team has some great stuff. Paul Hodawana did a feature on Phil Kenyon, obviously the guy that turned around Scotty's putting, but also works with Russell Henley, Max Homer, and that's a good read. I've never seen something as in depth on Phil, so that was a nice piece for us. Cameron Morphitt doing a great piece on sawhith Igala.

Got it, cut it back, conference realignment, baseball and President's Cup here.

All right, thanks Martin, Thanks Andy.

All Right, that does it for another episode of the fridaygg Golf Podcast. Today's episode was edited and produced by PJ Clark. Big thanks to PJ for getting this up quick. And you know he's headed to Bethpage to get a little taste of Beth Page Black before the Ryder Cup. So big thanks to PJ. If you haven't If you haven't yet, an easy way to get involved with Frida