I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my.
Ball in a brid egg Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida egg, Frida Egg, Frida egg bride egg Lie, I'm about ready to run off of.
The Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Egg Golf Podcast. I am Andy Johnson today. With the Ryder Cup just a couple of weeks away. I decided to do something kind of fun and different with Shane Bacon, who's obviously a regular guest here, host of the Getta Grip podcast, host of the Ping Podcast, some sometime contributor to The Friday Egg, sometime contributor to part time contributor to Friday Golf's newsletter, A man of many talents, many hats to come on and draft out the twenty four
Ryder Cup players as if they had no team. We were just doing a draft like a pickup basketball. You know, I take this guy, you take this guy type draft. So I thought it was really illuminating. It kind of reframes the argument for against different players. I guess it removes a lot of that. But I found one of the things interesting was where JT fell on both of ours and for me, he fell a lot higher than the last pick, which would kind of say maybe he
should be on the team. So anyways, that was really fun. It was a different podcast and excited for you guys to hear it. Before we get to Shane, let's take a quick second to talk about one of our partners, our new partner, Red Rooster. These guys make awesome gloves. It is direct to consumer glove brand. It is a new upstart. Their founders, Brad and Carrie have worked tirelessly on improving the glove experience. So Redrooster golf dot com
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Thanks to Red Rooster, and I've started using their gloves. I really really like it. And let's now get to Shane Bacon. Bacon, I have to say I think that this is happening because I was in you know, last week when I came up with this idea for the pod. I was doing a fantasy football draft. So are you a fantasy football person?
Yep, yep.
Needed about eleven points from a certain Jets quarterback yesterday to win my first games.
That was fun. That was an exciting first day.
Hey, can I throw something at you off the top here since we're talking about football. Yeah, I was texting with your with your Shotgun Start co host. I don't know if people listen to that podcast or not. It's a great podcast. You should listen to it. Congrats on five years by the way, Oh thank you. But I I was texted today. I was thinking about the Aaron thing, and I feel like the easy comp is Gordon Hayward. Gordon Hayward, right, I mean first like game of the
season gets injured. But that's I mean, he's not Aaron Rodger.
No.
I think the best comp I could come up with is the one that hits your heart the hardest is the Derek Rose in the playoffs.
Thing, Like, I mean, the Bulls are not the Jets.
For goodness sakes, you guys have had plenty of success over the years, but going into the playoffs, you and I have talked about this, I think online and offline plenty of times.
But you, you and the Bulls.
Fan base were convinced you guys were going to make the finals of potentially win. The Rose injury happens and obviously things go could.
Put Yeah, yeah, I mean it was crazy. I don't I don't know if that applies. I think this is the thing about the Rose thing that was so disheartening as a Bulls fan was it was like our guy, it was the Chicago guy. Okay, you know it was the Aaron Rodgers is the Jet sky right, and the US Open.
A couple of times. We're a tennis channel hat. You know, maybe he's into it.
How good was the US Open?
Oh my god, I went, I went Cindy and I went and watched Alcarez.
Unbelievable to watch those guys in person.
I it is like quickly, you know, it's funny, as like a kid, you have these sports streams of things you want to see. And as I've gotten into like very much of middle aged adult, the two events that are just ascending the list, getting to the top of the list are the or Wimbledon and the US Open of tennis that I really want to go see. And yeah, I have to say being on the West Coast for the for the US Open, it's like the greatest thing in the world. Those late matches. I like Bemoan. Everybody
says West Coast is great for sports. It's not if you have a kid, like because like you have bedtime and dinner time, like right when all the sports are on. But like with with that US Open, you get the in in those quarter final rounds, you get those late matches that just hit right at the right time. I was I brought this up on the shotgun start, but I feel like one of the things that tennis does so well is that it has the you know and There are a lot of ills about tennis right now.
It is not a sport in a great place. People tune in for one of them, tune in for four events of the year. But one of the things I love is the anticipation for matches, and like, you know when they like that you were at the Alcarez Zverev match right right like they were they were showing the next round the Alcarez Medvedev, like what Alcaaz was doing to Medvedev the previous couple matches, and you're like, get
to see how they adjust and stuff. And golf, we just it's so rare we see showdowns in golf, and it's even more rare that we ever see a repeat of a showdown.
Well, I mean, I mean I listened to the pod you guys were talking about this on and I was not in my head as you were discussing this, And I mean, I've been preaching the match play thing for years.
I mean, not just with the Tour Championship, but just if you.
Want to get all the best players together and make these things what I don't know what's the new term.
It's not elevated anymore, are they calling it now?
Signature signature. There you go just elev.
I mean, you have these signature events, but unless it's match play, you're you're never gonna guarantee yourself. You know, these great matchups and the fact that there's not like a four part match play series throughout the year where you get like twenty guys that qualify for it, and maybe there's two floating spots that you could play your way into, but maybe eighteen spots are guaranteed considering how you played last year, like that would be such an
easy way to guarantee a little bit of rivalry. Think about Phil Tiger.
Like, we never got it, never ever ever.
Got a true Phil Tiger showdown in a major chapship, which is why you.
Got Ernie Ernie Tiger.
Shut I know you're well, did we though, did we really get Ernie Tiger showdowns?
Felt like we got Tiger and Ernie was there.
Well, he was there, he was he wasn't uninvolved.
I'm just saying, you know, it'd been nice if we'd had Phil Tiger a little bit.
We get Phil Henrick and we got Tiger.
Bob May Like, if you had match play and you had a really really small number of players, you would guarantee at least some of these finals would involve five floating names that you'd care to see play each other, right, and even in the matchups early into it, you'd get to see Rory play Jordan Speith.
Think about too like these great match play moments. We've had great match play moments. Think about Sergio Kucher. They never played again, They never played each other again. Think about Sir Keegan Bradley and Miguel and hell Havenez. We never saw him play again.
There's too many. The problem with the match play is there's too many people in. And I get why they have sixty four. I mean, I get it's early in the week interest that you have that many people, but just cut it to about a tenth of that, you know, and then let's have to top eight, top sixteen and
go about your business. But having a match play series throughout the year where every you know, there's a there's a winter tournament, and there's a fall tournament, there's a spring tournament, and there's a summer tournament, and you win ten million dollars if you were the highest rated person throughout that because obviously money runs everything.
But well, there seems to be plenty of money floating around, and there might be a giant influx of money in the sport if a certain public investment fund gets involved.
I know, just yeah, there you go, there you go.
But match play is is it needs to be more of a king of golf, and it's just not even in the conversation right now, which is a bummer.
Yeah, and I talked about too like controversial matches, but then you have these great matches you had. You had Sergio and Phil at the right the same day as as Rory and Reid, and Rory and Reid obviously got huge headlines, right and it was an amazing start to the match. But that Sergio Phil match was out of this world and we just don't have a chance to ever see like how great would have been after the Sergio philm match if it was like in the spring.
It's like, oh, yeah, these guys are playing a match in this match play circuit, like there should just be Yeah, as you said, some semblance of Inn's to the roots of the game. It's the history of the game. The game started as the match play sport, and it's just now at this point with the match play going away completely abandoned, at the professional level. It's so silly. I
get that there's some limitations. I get their struggles, but if you made these as you suggested, like events, like you could have four to eight matches going on all the every day, it doesn't you know, just because you're playing out a champion doesn't mean you can't play out third place. You can't play out fifth place. You can't play out and pay out the spots. Like these guys play money matches for twenty grand. You know, they play
these matches regularly. There's it's no different if you're playing an eighth place match for the difference of fifty grand. There's there's stuff on the line, and they're competitive. They don't want to lose. And I think that's something that I have in here about guys, this skuld parlay at Wow.
So you know, hold on hold one second.
Just I remember the early days of you podcasting and you didn't have that skill, and I mean watching you grow and just become this pro is just it's just it's made me so happy inside.
I'm not pro. I'm still very very rougher our badges. But anyways, much like my writing, I still don't know where to put commas. I just guess commas.
Are so lame. Get out of here, Commas.
So we're doing a pod. We're doing a draft, and and I thought this, you know, I found this to be like a particularly like in the JT discourse, an illuminating thing. So I asked you and I were gonna draft teams. You've got the first pick, I've got the second pick. This is a tie back to the fantasy football. We're gonna draft out the teams. There's no country allegiances. There's no continent allegiance, you know, US or Europe, there's
no allegiances there. It says you're gonna pick your team from the twenty four players that are playing in this year's Ryder Cup. I'm gonna pick my team. And the way I went about this process is I just kind of ranked players one through twenty four. I didn't do really like a deep analytics drive. I have reasons that
I have players in certain spots. But one of the things is like you start to get to players and you're like, oh, they might hate to lose more than they want to win, and hating to lose is an incredible, incredible match play trade.
I mean, it's it's what's made some of these guys who are in terms of match play, I mean, you think about like the column Montgomery's of the world and the Endpulter.
Obviously in Sergio.
I don't know if you if you went through this, and obviously we'll hear in a bit really heavy European side of mine on the top end. I just feel like I've got a lot of the European players. I just when I think of match play, for whatever reason, my brain tends to go that way before it goes
to the American side of things. And I think that's because when you and I were in our formidable years, was when the American Ryder Cup teams were just dreadful, and the teams were dreadful, and the European guys were such studs.
But I leaned euro heavy to start, I have to say.
Then it was alarming in the middle and at the bottom for the European Yes.
Yes, it's a tough spot. I will say.
I don't know if you did this, but I went I when I did my list, I did like the top ten and then I did the bottom ten before I did the middle.
My bottom is uh, hero heavy as well.
He heavy, it's like extraordinary, it's it's kind of crazy, it's it's it's very and I think that's gonna be kind of how this like, I don't think the bottom matters as much, especially and I think the European team we'll get into more of a preview in the coming weeks, like a full preview. But one of the things I think with the European team is I think they're way more committed to the analytics, and the analytics would probably say if you have weak players, just don't play them
until singles, you know. And I'm I'm I've heard that this is a tough place to walk, so it'll be interesting to see, like can guys do thirty six? Thirty six? But like I'm just gonna tell show my hand. McIntyre's my last guy.
Wow, Okay, I got a euro last. He's not mine, but he's he's let me tell you, he's floating around that all right.
So I'm not worried about you taking back and tire, but he's last. If I'm the if I'm the captain, I'm probably just gonna say I'm I'm not playing it until like until Sunday. And I think there's like a moral thing of like if you pick a guy, do you have to play before Sunday? But like, I'm not letting my weak links just just cost me points. And I think this was the fill discourse in France when
he was completely not a course fit. He wasn't ready to play, and they've rolled them out there and it was just so clear that he was not going to win points. It's like, why are you just giving away points?
You know?
So it's an interesting I don't know which roster I'd rather have right now, and I think that's great for this Ryder Cup.
Yeah, totally agree with you.
It feels I think if you're an amateur golfer, I think you should be guaranteed two matches if you're playing in a Curtis Cup or you're playing in a Walker Cup. But when you get to professional golf, I think it's who's gonna give us the best chance to win this Cup? It only happens every two years and it's one of the most talked about events.
In our sport.
The issue being here, Andy is it's almost like the shoebomber syndrome. Right, one guy does the shoe bomb thing and now everybody's had to take the shoes off for twenty years. You go back to ninety nine and one captain, Mark James sits all of his bottom tiered guys till the end. They lose on Sunday, and every captain scared of doing what Mark James did. I don't think we should look at the outlier situation as the thing to lean into. I would like to see a modern captain go, hey, Bobby,
no knock to you. You're a great player, You're one of the twelve best on the European side. You're playing on Sunday, and that's it.
Man.
Like, if you want to play more matches, play better golf, and then we'll get you out there more.
Yeah, I think, I mean, this is this is what I would love an event on the speaking of like loving of would love event. Remember when the NBA All Star Game did the public drafting of players, Jokisch was the last pick. Now he's the best player in the world. I mean it's I mean, it's perfectly played better Like, it would be so fun if they did one of these events and then they had two captains pick the teams. That would be better than the President's Cup in its current form.
Well, I mean everything would be better in the President's Cup.
Oh so that's a shot. That's you know, that's a shot against the internationals.
It's not an international thing.
It's just the event is is a Lesser Ryder Cup, and it always has been.
It always win it will be.
What are your thoughts on one of my great Ryder Cup ideas that the captains should have to play in the last singles match against each other.
It would be so great.
See who would you favorite? I mean the film Phil Luke, the Luke Donald Zach would be would be? I think they. I think that would be a good matchup.
That's what I'm saying is I feel like if you go through the captains over the years, it would it would be a pretty good matchup. Like I would be interested to see how it went. So I just think the last match should be the captains.
That'd be so great.
But then the captains are like grinding on their games.
Zach was playing the other day. He's playing in Rome. Like, you don't think he's been grinding on this game. He's probably played twenty five PJ torvents this year, right, You.
Think it's a big deal that Speith can't lay and Xander missed the little outing to real mean, I will.
Say it would it would be nice to have seen the course before before getting there. I was texting with somebody on the team about the course and he's like, the rough is it's not us open, Thick, it's like your backyard, like letting your backyard get out of hand, Thick. I just think it'd be nice to see the golf course before you get there on Monday. The only caveat to that is they don't play till Friday, so plenty
of time to obviously get practice in. But I mean, I don't think it hurts seeing the golf course once if you've never seen it before.
Yeah, I think if you have other extern circumstances, it's okay to miss it. Like rumors of you know, of a bachelor party. I'm fine with that. But yeah, you know, it's just all right, let's go. You got the first pick. Who are you taking the first pick in the in the fake Ryder Cup draft? What's your team? What's your team? I guess you can be bake and I'll be egg.
There you go.
It makes a lot of sense. I'm going to make this really simple. I was battling between your two year tour players. I think you're going to take the other one here with the second pick, which is fine, I'm going Rory off the top. I think Rory is the alpha in golf. I also think the last Ryder Cup
has probably been eating at him for two years. And I think Rory is a guy that is going to show up here with the mentality that I'm going to go five and oh, four and one, three to one and one because he played poorly last time, and obviously he's a guy that I think, when across the board, has probably played the most consistent golf in the world the last year year and a half or so. Also gets to go hatless, which I think Rory really likes.
We're talking probably like a two thousand dollars haircut from Rory headed into Ryder Cup week. So I'm taking Rory off the top.
That's I figured that was where you're going. And I'm I'm I'm so pleased because I got my number one pick number two and the reason I have Rom.
Wow, you're taking Rom here? Yes, unbelievable. Are we doing snake by the way, or are you going now?
You get you get the next one? I'm not gonna I'm not gonna do that to you. Yeah, I'm gonna give you then on this piece of paper Fantasy draft. So I've got I'm taking Ram because I think this is like the he hasn't been playing his best golf is it's gonna be It's a month from when we last saw him, right. I think he's gonna turn things around. But the reason I'm picking him is that I think that this man hates losing more so than than he likes winning. Like I think there's like, you know, that
deep down kind of fire. I've you saw it at Whistling Straights. He was just he was so into matches, he was so engaged. He was a great teammate. And I think I I take Ram just because he I think the guy hates losing and he's obviously an elite player. I like players with no holes in the game. He has no holes in his game like Rory. But I think just the edge of like I think you get on the golf course with that guy, that's a guy you don't want to play a match against. Like Rory.
I think it was just he's too nice to be completely honest to be my first pick. I mean, he's but he's but he's he is he too nice in this event, I think Rom would piss you off. You do think that would bother you?
I think that I think that Rory is too nice whatever. One hundred and what is it, one hundred and one week out of the year, out of the two years. It's just a one hundred and three weeks out of the two years, but the one week at the Ryder Cup. I do think Rory has a little bit of that I'm going to step on your throat mentality. Depending on who he's playing. I think obviously certain guys will get under his skin more than others. But uh yeah, I
mean I think Rom's a good pick. It's an interesting pick. I hadn't played great the last what seven months?
About that?
You don't.
I'm bringing him on no holes in the game, and honestly, he's got a physical intimidation. Brendan talked about this with Brooks in the Masters.
Don't I don't buy this from you guys. I just don't buy this.
It's golf because don't have to tackle anybody.
I think there's something to it. There's just a physicality. There's going against a mountain, a mountain of a man, and he's my number one pick. I'm all in. I'm just pitching to him, like, I'm so happy that you passed on him, because I got him. I got my guy.
Well I am surprised you passed on this guy.
Just like the Bear. This is the Bears trading up to get Mitch. We got our guy.
Oh wow, did you just did you just compare it to Mitch? Just ch It's just a horrible situation for you. By the way, the Bears just looked terrible in Week one. Oh god, it was horrible the.
Other year another year looking forward to the draft.
That's awful.
It's like, what is that like eight months? That's what you're looking forward to. By the way, I have the Packers in a winds pool.
I was in and I.
Knew if they got through Week one, they've got a pretty good chance to win nine games. My second pick is somebody I thought you were going to take off the top, somebody who has been playing the best golf of anybody in the world over the last two months. And another European. I'm gonna take Victor Hovlin. I mean no, I'm not just simply form.
Like, yeah, my one in three players, I know who.
You're gonna take care because you're gonna take another hates losing ever winning guy, which is fine, But I'm just saying I have Rory and Victor and I think you guys have discussed this on Shotgun a little bit. But when you think about the twenty four players on the Ryder Cup right now and you look at the picks we just took, there is an argument to be made that the top three players of the twenty four are in fact all Europeans.
Yeah.
When was the last time they could say that? And it was unfathomable to say that after the after whistling stretch.
Was like fifteenth in the world.
Yeah, it was like, who, what's going to happen to this European team? Is it even going to be competitive?
Are they you know? Do they need to change the Like these were discussions and like now we go, you know, two years and it's just it's always a great reminder of like how and we I talked about this on the Shotguns start at the beginning of the year, is that like every year three to four guys fall out of the top ten in the world rankings, and you never expect like it's like, oh, this guy's never going to be out of the top ten. You know, there's no way Matt Fitzpatrick's going to fall out of the
top ten after the last year. Now he's out of the top ten, right the with the with the Brider Cup, it was like, this is over for the Europeans and now we're well there.
Was one spot Andy, like I thought after whistling it was the Harris English spot was the floating one. I thought there was literally going to be one spot that might float in two years in what is it? Is there four or five guys that aren't on the team from that team DJ Bryson, Tony Harris. I mean, I mean that's four off the top of my head. There might be a fifth. It's like it's not the same team, you know.
And if you did it strictly off of like points, if because that was a really chalk points selection right, like there was no drama, like it would be even more churned because you wouldn't have JT. You wouldn't, you know, like it, So yeah, he'd be on right, he was like eleventh in points.
Okay, I mean that's like going back to like all twelve getting pick but yeah, I mean, but like that, he's a question mark.
Let me tell you something right now.
I don't want to spoil anything low on my list, just in case you're wondering, not high on my list right now, but.
I got.
All right. My next pick is Scotty. I'm taking Scotty Shuffler.
I had him third, I had him above Holand I just think, I think, when it comes to match play, tee to green game is so so so important, Like it is just it when you play a guy that hits it really good, it is just relentless and you just feel like you have no hope when when they're just constantly ten feet away, and I think, like you look at like Sergio is never the greatest putter, but he's he's awful to play against because of how good of a ball striker he was, you know, or is
and was. And I think with Scotty Scheffler, we're gonna see a similar thing where he's just he's so hard to play you can roll him out in any format. I know the putter is an issue, but the tee to green game is such a weapon in both alternate
shot and and best ball. In a match play situation, you know the guy's going to shoot a good score because he's going to hit the ball better than probably everybody on the golf course, with the exception of the three guys that we just picked, are the really the only ones in this in this group that can hit it better than him. And like from that standpoint, like especially an alternate shot, you can play this guy in
any format. He's going to excel in any format. So I love I love Scheffler, and I that's my second pick.
So I totally agree with what you're saying about the
ball striking thing. And I think in match play, we you know, we think about Scotty's game this season, right, I mean, hit it great, obviously didn't put very well, and I mean it's been talked about a million times, but there is a mental side of match play when you're playing someone when Scotty's going first, no matter the format, if it's foursomes or four ball, when they hit it close, it makes you feel like you have got to hit it close and stroke play, that doesn't matter if he
it's at twenty five, if he hats at five feet and it's not a great hole location for your ball striking or your the way you move the golf ball, you don't feel like you got a sling one in there. In match play you do, and so in that regard, I totally agree with you on Scotty. I think Scotty will put the most pressure on his opponents of anybody of the twenty four because he's going to flag so many iron shots on par threes and approach shots into par fours that it puts the pressure on you to
hit a great shot, not a good shot. And englf with these professionals. A lot of the time they're looking away from flag sticks, or they're playing a fat part to the green knowing that pars fine, I could make a twenty footer. You don't have that luxury when you're playing Scotti Scheffler.
All right, I think it gets interesting here fifth pick. This is where I think it goes into.
Like it to anybody who listen, you're gonna be You're gonna be surprised.
I'm going I'm going to newbie here. I'm going.
Going A fella that hadn't played on a Ryder Cup team, hadn't played on a President's Cup team before, really hasn't been on many radars over the last few years.
No, no, no, no, no, it's a little down on my list.
This is a guy that I think when whatever sports book you bet on comes out with odds on you know, leading American point getter or leading point getter for the whole event, this is the person I would suggest, do you throw a little.
Bit of money on? I'm going Brian Harmon here.
With my third no no, oh, yes. I think this golf course sets up great for his game. I think match play sets up great for who he is as a person. I think he's gonna play with Kopka a lot of the week, and I just think that team is gonna.
Be really, really hard to knock off the stoop.
I think Harmon is gonna have an unbelievable week, and I would not be pay surprise.
Hates to lose, factor, hates to lose.
I think I think three to oho to one, three to one to oh, something like that is in the cards for Harmon here.
All right, all right, I you know, I don't know you didn't see that. He was pretty pretty far down my list. I think it was a little bit of a reach. I think you could have gotten in the round eight eight.
I want you know what, I take the quarterback early in fantasy. I'm not scared to take forty nine ers defense a couple of rounds early. I wanted to have Harmon on my team. I think he's gonna have a really really solid Ryder Cup. Are you you're not you're out on him? You don't you don't love him?
All right? So real quick? Can I hear? Can I hear why you didn't? Why you don't love Harmon? Here?
I just I think I'm looking at skill set. I just think I got a lot of guys ahead of them. I you know, and listen, I would have loved I would have loved to snag Harmon, you know, is one of my later picks, you know, and everything. I'm just not going I'm not going number five with him. He's gonna be, He's gonna be, and that's fine. He's just not a fit for my team. We're still looking at at the players with superlative talent and uh and and abilities here. So by watched the open?
Do you watch the open?
Right? All those guys that were in the field this week, they were at the Open, right?
They were there? Yeah?
Yeah, that was they were I guess wasn't but yeah, that's right, lud Big wasn't at any of the majors. But I mean there is something to be said. I wouldn't have I wouldn't have believed this if you told me this at the beginning of the year that the Brian Harmon was gonna run away with a major. There's gonna be one player that ran away with a major in twenty twenty three, and it was Brian Harmon that nobody else had a shot on Sunday.
Really unbelievable.
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running around. I've got a toddler now that you know, pulls sunglasses off my face and it's it's a nice when it's a twenty five dollars pair and not a super fancy uh set of sunglasses. So that's Gooder dot com slash TFE for free shipping. Thank you, And now back to Shane Bacon. All right, my next uh, my next pick is uh, I'm going with Xander Shaffle.
Wow.
Wow, I mean it's listen in the at this event. I think it's a good pick. I had them high, I had them really high.
I uh, I just I again, no holes in his game. I think that. But when you just are are extremely skilled in every facet of the game, it really shows off in match play where you know there are a lot of high leverage moments and you don't want to have weaknesses. And that's Xander Schafflee so.
On that in that same vein my next pick is kind of a similar player, I think to Xander. I think when you look at the PGA tool right now, these guys are relatively comparable. Obviously, Morikawa has done more in terms of winning the big events, but I'm gonna take Mori Kawa here for two reasons. One, I just think Marikawa a lot. It's Morikawa to me is very similar to what you said about Scotti Schefler.
He's gonna hit it close a lot.
Like bottom line is, he's gonna be a great player in match play.
He's gonna hit the ball close.
You're gonna have a lot of birdie putts if you're playing obviously four ball, and your partner is gonna have a lot of birdie putts if you're playing foursomes.
And I also just like the pairing.
I think Marikawa is gonna play with it sounds like it's gonna be more Kwa Homa, And I just feel like those guys are gonna be the new age kind of Xander can't lay and I feel like they're gonna have a great week. And obviously we saw what Max was able to do at the President's Cup. And this is no knock to Billy Horschel, but if you think about Max in the way he played at the President's Cup, he's basically trading, you know, Billy Horschel for Colin more Kala.
So I just feel like those two are gonna have a really, really, really successful week together.
Yeah.
I think the thing with Mark Kala, the one thing you didn't hit on that I love about him, especially in this golf court. He's uber accurate off the tee too, So you get a guy that's in play a lot. And then also if you're if those guys are hitting behind players, like if markw is hitting the pro shot first, that's that's hard to play against. That's the guy that puts. As you said, like Skotti Scheffler, it's not only par threes, but it's also like par four's if he's hitting a
pro shots first. That's a really hard thing mentally to play matches against. Because this is a different, completely different mental test. People could say, oh, you should play the same way as stroke play. It's impossible to play the same play as stroke play in max play. And you can, but you can't aim away when a guy hits it to three feet like you just can't. You know, there's it's not like play to the fat side of the green.
You have to take on shots in different moments because you can't just lose holes when you have chances to win hole, you know, to match them.
And and and Andy, that to one point you made there, especially in foursomes, is Max is going to be hitting those approach shots. And you know Max is one of the best iron players in the world, so you're going to be hitting first, and you're leaning on Max Homa to hit an iron close. So there's a real good opportunity. Now, Andy, you just right here it for should if you took Xander.
Oh yeah, I can't believe. I can't believe I got both of them. I can't believe I got my guys. All right, here we go write it down again. It's just the all around talent. Right, Malleable can play any format and I got Xander and can't they're there. I'm rolling them out there as much as they can play.
I think I.
Think it's it's gonna be just like a physical aspect, Right, can can they handle? Can can people handle walking this golf course?
Like?
Is that a good idea?
Right?
Maybe they sit once, but I love I love both of their games for alternate shot and and best ball And if it were doing this make believe draft format, Like these are two guys that, like they're games, you don't need to pair them with anybody, like they're they could play with anybody. And I think this is like the thing that we get hung up too much on these like pairings. It's like certain guys are going to work with whoever you play and pair them with, Like
we saw this with Sergio. How many different partners did Sergia have over the years. It wasn't like that one pairing was just gold. It's just certain players, certain skill sets are so greatly rewarded. And I think these two guys just being great all round players make them great match play players because there's just a level of consistency, consistency is Key and King and I love that I got Xander and can't you know you you you.
Touch on something I've been really thinking about with these Ryder Cup teams because the twenty four players you said you can you said players can play with anybody?
Right?
Is this the most players can play with anybody Ryder Cup ever? And you think about the twenty four players, like who's an a hole?
Who's a jerk? Like?
Who were guys not wanting to play with? Like I feel like the list is slim, if at all. It feels like all of these guys could play with whomever they get thrown out there with with their captains and we'll be fine with it.
I mean, of the big names, I think the toughest person to play with would be Brooks.
Right, but I mean it's see but I feel like Brooks in this format is so good at match play and he's also such a big I want to I don't want to lose. I want, you know, more than I want to win that I feel like with this team, like no Bryson, you know, you don't have to worry about whatever the hell was ever going on with Brooks and DJ like Ricky, He'll play with Wyndham will play
with JT will play with, Jordan will play with. Like going down the list of the Americans, there's not really that combat of other partner that you wouldn't feel comfortable throwing Brooks out with.
You know, who would you least want to play with as your partner.
I mean that would probably be talent question more than personality I talk to anybody, I mean it'd probably be who we're gonna take twenty third and twenty fourth when we get there?
You know, all right, who who's your next pick?
All right? So fifth pick? I'm gonna kind of follow your lead here.
You went Xander Cantley, kind of leaning on a Perry, and you think you're gonna see a lot in Rome.
I'm gonna do the same with more Kala. I'm gonna take Max Homa here.
I just think I knew you were taking Max early. I knew I didn't have to worry about taking Max. It's gonna listen, listen.
It was.
It's just I think they're gonna be on the first tea a lot together, and I think they're gonna be successful, and I think they're gonna be probably the most successful American team. If it's not Xander Cantley or Brooks and Brian and so, I mean Max played so good at the President's Cup. I just think he's gets so up for this thing, and for whatever reason, when he gets up for these events, he seems to play his best. You think about how he's played a rib last couple
of years. I just feel like, I feel like it's gonna be another Homer show, you know.
So we talked about how the top three picks were all Europeans and how amazing that was. But now you see how the how these things are different, right like where the middle like it's just us US US US.
Straight amer Us.
Yeah, so it's it's a that's a fascinating aspect of this whole competition. We talked about Max a lot with more kala. The next pick I'm taking is Tommy Fleetwood CA.
No almost reached there, been.
Playing been playing great golf. Is uh has had some really good Ryder Cup moments and just is a tee to green nightmare to deal with again, a guy that just hits the ball close a lot. The Butter Butterson issue. But it's you know, I guess statistically he profiled his like the second or third best putter on the European team, which I don't know if that's a good sign for the Europeans, but the uh, you know, not everyday Sunday.
And I like Tobby Fleetwood. I love I love him for just match play purposes because of that t degreen excellence. And I'm quite thrilled. I'm so I love my team so far.
Yeah, that was that one hurts. That's that's my dad.
Drafted somebody that I really wanted the other day in a fantasy draft to pick before me. And nothing gets you more in fantasy than when you get that pick taken right ahead of you. That's the one for me. I had Fleetwood on my list. I thought I could take him around five and six. I should have just take him at five. I'm such an idiot.
I wasn't gonna take Homa. You know, I knew, I knew you were taking him. He's off by board. I just put him down at the bottom because I'm not gonna reach for Homa because.
I think I got I think I got duped there. I think you chessed me and I was playing checkers there. Damn it all right, I'll settle for you know the guy that's one of the most majors of anybody this era.
I'll take Kopka here at six.
All right, all right, I'm a little worried about Brooks.
I well, I agree with you, but I'm I'm taking them in terms. I'm taking them in the sense that he'll show up and play good golf. But obviously, I mean, he's a question.
He hasn't played. He hasn't played golf.
Right, That's the thing is he's a he's a very big question mark.
He hasn't played golf, and he's got a kid, a new kid. I just don't think, man, I know, I don't think head of an exhibition that he has, like, I can't imagine he has a lot to gain from this play. He's the only guy playing here from Blip, right, I don't I don't know. Any time you second guest Kopka, he always comes out big. But for me, I'm just worried about Brooks in terms of like, I think he's gonna be really rusty. I don't think he really I think he doesn't care that much about this. It's not
a major. Probably just doesn't care that much. And I worry about about his his just motivation levels.
The hair is is is out of control, like between him and burns. I mean, this is like almost show shoulder linked levels hair.
Have you seen it?
Yeah, yeah, he looks like it. He looks like a new dad.
Hey, that's a great way to put it. He looks dad.
He looks like a little burly.
He's They've ordered a lot of uber eats. Yeah, it's probably not been the healthiest us I'm saying. I just I've done it. You've done it, like we've all done it.
It's just those first few months are really hard. And I don't think he has had any but I think he's just probably been around. He's just been hanging around, like I saw it with like it's you know, you just want to be around when you have a kid, if you're starting. I think, like in just reading the tea leaves and reading like hearing his comments to certain I can't remember where I heard him just about like having the kid. It seems like he wants to be a very involved parent.
I mean still, I will say this, I'm leaning more on the talent and less on the lack of golf as of late, and I just feel like going back to the team mean and pairing. I think Harmon and Kep are gonna play together, and I think that is a sick, sick group to throw out there. If you're ZJ Well, I'm.
Happy I get my my partner for Fleetwood. I got Jordan's Speith, just a guy. I'm taking him. Uh with your partner with Fleetwood. Yeah, I'm gonna pair him up. That's what I see him. I like. I like the match of of of Speith with Fleetwood, and uh that I that's my next pick. I'm taking Jordan's Speith and he's gonna pair up with Tommy Fleetwood for my team.
Oh, I see what you're saying, because this is not European specific, so you're you're throwing Fleetwood in Speet out there.
Yeah all right.
So it's like it's like Jesus and then like the Golden Child or playing together exactly.
It's like, you know, you get got a guy that's you know, a little bit of a wild card with a with a real steady guy and uh or maybe I maybe I pare him up with Scotty or Scotty or Ram, you know who knows. But I'm taking speak with my next pick, and I'm pretty happy to get him here. I think like just in terms of like he's a guy that can annoy people in match play. It's just like, wait, how am I losing this guy type type situation?
Hey?
Can I ask you a real team question for you? I've been thinking about this lately and I haven't really chatted with anybody about it. Let's say Jordan and Justin go out, and let's say Justin doesn't play well on Friday, Okay, Like they go out both sessions and JT just doesn't have it like you hadn't had it for a year and a half. If Zach was gonna split the team up, Let's say Jordan was playing well. Who is the most likely new partner to Jordan on the American side?
Scotti, It's kind of what I was thinking too.
I was going to I wouldn't want I like, I'll tell you this much like if I was the Europeans, I'd be a lot more scared of Scotty Scotti, Speith. I think this is the whole. I kind of touched on this earlier. I think this whole like we have to pair, we have to play these guys with Xander and Cantley. I think Xander with anybody and can't lay with anybody. You could maybe make an argument there better if you split them up, because you get two really
really strong players. Right with With regards to Spith, I think he's such a unique player in the sense of like he can swing momentum, you know, like he and he hits. You know, he's he's been a really good t degree in this year. But like he's just got kind of like a little bit of an it factor where he can do some like some stuff, right, And if you pair like it doesn't mean he fits well with like anybody. Right, It's like saying like, hey, you know we can't have Steph Curry, We've got we've got
this other guard. Yeah, Like it's certain players work with anybody, and we shouldn't get so locked into this is the pairing we have to to do, right, Like Speith was great with Patrick Red. Everybody's like, oh, you can't break up Speith and Reid. Oh you can't break up j T and Speth. Like I think Speed is going to be really well or do what really well with any type of player you put them with.
So just for people at home counting, there are four Americans left, there are eight by my count Europeans.
Left this wild's that's the the fascinating thing about way these teams stack out. And and to thank God that the Europeans had such a surge this year, because if this was a couple of years ago, after that that the Whistling Straits, I think we would have gotten too, Like I mean, Rory probably would have gone with like pick five and Hi, yeah that's it, and that, yeah, top five, both those guys' top five picks, and then nothing nothing for you know, Hovland wasn't hovelin now.
Right, Andy.
So in both of my fantasy drafts this year, I took Jonathan Taylor. Okay, I took Jonathan Taylor on potential. We know who he is, we know how he can play. We know that if he gets traded to a team that needs to have somebody in the backfield that makes plays, he's gonna make plays and he's gonna be a very very high rated running back in fantasy football. My seventh pick, my seventh pick, is similar to that.
It is not justin Thomas. I'm not going that way, uh huh. I'm going with.
A young player that is a generational driver the golf ball. It's it as far as anybody and hits it very very straight. If the game is dialed in Rome, I think he could have a great week. Now, I think you could also go with three and zero, like there's a there's a possibility of that being the case as well.
I'm taking Ludgig here with my seventh pick. I like Ludwig.
You know again, I don't know what we're going to see out of him, but if he's Ludgig to a certain degree, if he's B plus Ludwig, I think it's gonna be.
A good week for Ludgig.
I mean he's gonna be able to apply a lot of pressure with the driver total. I think like you have like your all round players in people in skill sets, right, like he has a dominant skill and I like to actually think about match play with golf similar to the way tennis is. Right, you have your all round players, you have your your your power players with the big serves like I think Shelton Ben Shelton would fit into that power player mold, like what we say.
Almost a throwback from Sampress used to serve and volley, right.
And then you have like Medmdev who's just like a control, like it just gets everything back right again. That's like you're kind of like your Tommy Fleetwood right where he's just gonna be in play and he's gonna hit some really good shots and he's just gonna be annoying, right. And I think with Ludwig he's just this dominant skill.
He can overwhelm somebody, especially at this golf course with the with the setup, there's gonna be a few driveable part fours, and and that that's just the driver such a weapon. Anytime you can get somebody who might be the best in the field at a certain trait, it's it's a good thing.
Andy.
Could we see Ludwig and Rory play four ball together? Do you think there's a possibility of that?
Yeah, I don't know, though you might want to split them up in four ball.
Right, Yeah.
I just I just think more in terms of, like you, you and I've both talked about in match play, that the sensations you can feel as an opponent. And if I don't, I don't know a ton about Marcos Simoni, but I mean I've watched the no Laying up video. I mean seems like there's gonna be drivable par four's on this golf course set up to maybe play into the hands of the Europeans. I just feel like if you if you throw those guys out there, it could be a Phil Tiger situation.
Right.
If it goes bad, it could go very bad, but you could have a lot of looks for eagle and chipping and hitting you know, mid to short irons into par five's.
What was the match at Hazel team was it DJ and Brooks and and then Thomas Peters and Rory It was just all.
Yeah, that's when Peters had Peters was a rookie and won like four points.
Right, Yeah, yeah, I think that, and it was like everybody in the everybody in it was just just just beat it. Yeah yeah.
Well this this is my question too. A lot of the time with these things, right, because the teams and the captains are so involved, I wonder if the entertainment aspect of this gets thought about in team rooms, right, because it is an entertaining product, right, You're trying to have people watch it and care about it and get involved and turn the TVs on and on the entertaining side, that would get golf people geeked out, that would get
sports people interested. But like you said, is it the best use of two of your power players.
Yeah, because you can split them up and then you get looks on both of them, and you can split split up one of them and put them with the guy I'm about to take.
I know who this is. I know who it is.
FITZI wow. Guy that's never won.
Never never want a point. I never want a half point. A Ryder Cup.
That's not hurted any semblance of a point two.
Ryder Cups has never won a half point.
He's never he's gotten a chip on his shoulder, and he's a new player. He's got some powerful I think he just got engaged. I think I saw on Instagram. You know he's a new man. It's a completely new fits and I'm taking fits again. I'm just harping on this. I want all around skill. You can do everything. He's long now. I like fits here.
Twenty third on my list. Case you're wondering second to last on my list.
That's fine, that's fine. I love it. This is all the batters. I don't need to justify this to anybody else. All the fans of the Egg team just know we got our guy.
Now.
By the way, I just want to lay this out. There are five picks left on both teams, and this is where it gets hard. This to me, yeah, for me, really tough. This is like when you turn the fantasy on auto draft because you're like, it doesn't really matter.
I'm probably not gonna play these guys outside of Bie Weeks anyway, but I'm just gonna lean into a dude that, you know history has been a great putter and seems like he's good in match play and seems like a guy that gets along with everybody and everybody likes playing with.
I'm gonna take.
Ricky here with my eighth I'm gonna take Ricky Fowler. I will never forget the match. I'll never forget it. I'll never forget Eduardo just four down with four to go, had to win all four and he did it. That was those That was the worst outfit Ryder Cup ever, which is saying something on the American side. I was watching that one the other day. Oh a shout out
to the Ryder Cup YouTube page. By the way, Andy, if you watch those, I don't know if they've cut audio on the matches, but they have these like fifty minute YouTube videos of old Ryder Cup matches that are great, and the audio, like if you go watch the old film matches, he is chirping so much and fit in Phil's you know manner. It is unbelievable missing putts and you hear Phil go, well, that's too bad, you know,
Oh that's too bad. It's like, I don't know if they've if they've pumped up, like the natural audio and those matches on YouTube, but they are a great watch at night if the kids go to bed.
Oh man, I've got something that I'm gonna be diving into the next couple of weeks. Thank you for that record.
By the way, a lot of Americans on my team, A lot of Americans on my squad.
Go ahead, I got I got Ricky.
With my I've got I got another American. I thought I thought you were going to take this guy. I was really I was really no, I I thought you were going to take him. When you were describing the last player, I think he's going to have a chip on his shoulder. People are talking about, Hey, this guy shouldn't be on the team. He got snubbed in his amateur days. I'm taking Sam Burns and I think he's just got a little bit of red ass to him.
And I just don't you know, I think it's a hate to lose guy with some with a lot of talent, and I think he's just got something to prove. And I and I I think people are sleeping on how talented he is. Like I, you know, of all the people, think it's fair should have been left off, Like I don't think he should have been one of the people left off. So I've got I've got the Sam Burns.
Yeah, I mean I, I mean I I agree with everything you said about Sam Burns. He was probably gonna be my next pick, so a little bummed you took him, But I'm with you in it. And it seems like he's gonna play with Scotty, which now you have that on your team as well, which is nice. Uh So that'll be a good pairing for ant for the team. Team agg grouping to go out. Uh I listen, two Americans left, It's Wyndham Clark and JT. And I'm not taking either of them. So I gotta go European here.
It's it's not great. It's not great.
I thought I thought you were gonna take JT in here.
No, no, I'm not gonna do zone.
This is JT zone for you. I'm gonna go Shane Lowry here. I'm just gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna take a vat that. You know he probably plays a session with Rory here there. I've got both of those guys on my team. Throw them out there, let's see what they can do. We know when Shane Lowry gets going and gets playing well, he can rock and roll. But you know, I mean I again, I think we're to the point now where I mean, you know, I'm taking him over oyguard right, all right.
I got Wyndam Clark, I'm taking Wait.
A minute, Wait a minute, where you you said you're taking JT.
No, I was getting to the JT zone. I'm in the I'm in the range. But I got Wyndham Clark ahead of him. Obviously elite, elite driver of the golf ball. I think he he can keep up with anybody. You know what you said about Ludwig. I think Wyndham Clark's in that, in that group that could be the best driver of the golf ball in a given week. Also, as we saw at at the US Open, extraordinarily good putter. So I like Wyndham Clark, I think he's, like, you know,
obviously kind of forced the American's hand. Who knows if he's on here, if he finishes second in the US Open, probably isn't on this team, but probably, Like I think he's probably this year proven to be one of the twelve best American golfers this year. So without a doubt, I I just think he's he's I think he's another guy. He's a rookie, he's got stuff to prove. He wants to probably play a lot of these and I think he could well.
I mean it's again to your point on the on the season of Clark and being a top twelve American, You're gonna hear Wyndham Clark US Open champion a million times when you watch golf over the next two or three years. You know, broadcasters always like to lean on like their highest accomplishment. I mean, he won the Wells Fargo this year too. I mean it's a it was an elevated event. Now I think it's a signature event,
but it was an elevated event at the time. Like that's a big win, you know, I mean, you win that event and you win the US Open, like, that's very, very impressive to do in a full season when you have never been in that position before. So probably a little low on the list to be fair, Here we go, here it is, I'm doing it. I mean, if he's if he's justin Thomas Ryder Cup, justin Thomas, this is gonna make us look stupid that he was third to
last pick. He's been third to last pick. Right for me, it is okay, yeah, this is this is my tenth pick. I mean, he he's been incredible in Ryder Cups and
team events in general, incredible. And if he can find the form like we've seen with Sergio and like we've seen with Poulter over the years, not counting whistling straights with Poulter, if he can find whatever works for him in match play, we're going to talk about JT, you know, obviously deserving the pick, and all that stuff comes Sunday night and uh you know, I mean, now, now, now you got to throw speed with Fleetwood, and I get JT to maybe throw out there with Max one session
or blood big one session.
You never know.
Yeah, So it's it's funny, like I think I've presented a lot of cases against picking JT just from like just purely like what should the Ryder Cup be? Should it be like an All NBA since there's big financial benefits, right, you know, the All NBA team in the NBA, like you get these contract bonuses, and it's similar in golf, like these guys get so like that's kind of been
my premise of like don't pick JT. Right is because this is a historical moment and an honor for players, right, and he did not do what he needed to do to deserve a pick. Now, when I did this exercise, I found it's like, this is why you pick JT because of American players. I had him ahead of Max Homer,
Ricky Fowler, and Brian Harmon. He was the sixteenth. He was sixteenth on my list and probably could have easily been gotten up to like fourteen from like probably Sam Burns down, which was Sam Burns was twelfth down I had It was kind of just a I don't know, I guess this guy here type thing. So like when you think about it from that prism, JT was a no brainer. Now, I think the thing that you have to grapple with with with the Ryder Cup is like
it's like Hall of Fame criteria type stuff. Totally, totally, And and Keegan who earned points like got got pulled on that, like he didn't get like if he's a Ryder Cupper ten years apart, ten plus years apart, that's like a crazy career statistic that shows longevity and excellence in the game. So this is the case for JT is that he, without a doubt, wasn't going to be the last pick.
In this Yep.
It's a great point. And I mean he was last American taken for US. But you had Americans below him on your list, huh and we have.
Would you have picked him ahead of Wyndham Clark?
Yeah, yeah, I had. I had Clark low on my list.
Okay, just just simply because of the To me, there's unknown and then there's unknown unknown, and I just feel like with Windham, it's a lot of unknown and it'll be what you know, four months since the US opened. I mean, it'll just be interested to see what he can do. We have five picks left. We have five Europeans on the board, by.
The way, that's the thing this is I you know, I'm thinking about reaching to get one of my guys, but I'm gonna take Hatton here. Wow, he had a great year. He was like, really really good this year. Somebody that might get under people's skin, and he might get his under The problem is he might get looking at my team. I have no clue. I might put him out with there with speed. Just see what happens.
I don't know.
You might go ninety nine James and just not play until singles. The problem with Hatton is to me, is I think the self deprecation works in stroke play events because you're only shit talking yourself.
Yes, how need to bring your teammate down.
That's what I'm saying.
I think the problem is when you're acting the way Hatton acts on the golf.
And I love Tyrol Hatton.
I got asked the other day in an interview, who's my favorite golfer in the world to watch. I said, Tyrol Hadden because you never know what you're gonna get, and he's a lovely guy.
I've interviewed him. I love Tyrol Hadden.
But as a partner on the golf course, and you played a lot of competitive golf in your years, who's the worst partner to have. It's the negative partner. It's the guy that gets down and gets down on the dumps and gets down on his own game. That partner is hard to play with because in it inevitably creeps into what you're doing right totally. So I just think he's a hard guy. I think to throw out there with someone that's real positive, you know.
Well, maybe maybe we'll find a partner later in this.
Man, this is uh, this is it. Here we are Hoy Guard Rose, your voice, Step and Bobby Mack. Final four on the board. So do you go veteran or do you go young player? Do you go unknown or do you go somebody that's done it in their life. I'm gonna lean and I don't love lean and veteran and Ryder cups. I think it's overrated. I'm gonna go Justin Rose here.
Thank God. I'm just so happy that I got Step, I got the guy.
You got Step. Here we go. I'm so worried you're.
Gonna say, Hm, I gonna pass on Hattan and got my guy. I don't think we really need to talk about just us.
It's fine. We'll see what he does. He might play with the Rory. Who knows.
You know, I've done well in Ryder cups. He's done bad and Ryder cuffs who that knows.
The septic tank sepstraca. He really showed me something at the UH at the Open. I thought that was just an illuminating performance. I'm ready for him to be that is the player that nobody saw coming.
He's the He's he's your I mean, what is the last one would have been?
Who was last time?
Can't Ley and Xander Destin Johnson going five and oh Thomas Scheffler Cheffler Scheffler physically physically imposing presents.
God, you're going back to this again. Step is physically Listen. Listen.
We've got a physically imposing team. We've got rom We've got uh Tony, Tommy Fleetwood's caddy. We got Seth Scott real quick.
You have Xander Can't lay Spieth, Fitzpatrick Manhattan on your team.
He got something. We got some big guys up front. We can roll out some imposing player.
Okay, if you want to throw your team at my team in like a five on five pickup game, I'd play it. If you want to do like flag football, I'd feel comfortable with my squad as well, even wrestling.
I think my team would be Okay.
You got Ricky and Harman.
Well, you know, I.
Mean you gotta Rugby has the guys that run the ball. You know, you gotta have blockers in the front.
All right, here you going next two picks left. I know you're gonna saddle it.
I know I gotta do it. I mean, this is so unknown. I'll take away guard.
All right. That leaves with the last guy on my board. Hey, can I ask you a question real quick going back to my last pick? Yeah, if I ask you, you you literally cover golf on a week tweek basis. You do three podcasts a week about topical golf and literally tournament golf. Nobody on the world I would trust more than maybe you, poor Raff like wrap a port or you know, to share somebody like that or Doug Ferguson that like literally covers the sport on a week to
week basis. Can you tell me one great tournament Justin ros has had this year? He've won Pebble?
Oh, well, there you go.
I just was wondering if you could, if you could ring one big event that was in February.
Yeah, yeah, you know what he's been doing too. He's been having these like fluky major rounds, I feel like for a few years and it like it all the tip of the iceberg of this was pebble, where like it was like he was third place and he was negative strokes game Teita Green right, he was just like putting. It was like everybody's like, this is either gonna fall apart or maybe you'll like hit it well for once,
and it fell apart. And since then it's like we've been going down underground where it's like one round he played, it's like, oh, Justin Roch shot sixty five, Like how did he do that? It's oh, he made like three hundred feet of putts, you know, and like that's where we've gotten with Justin Rose. I don't know. I thought you were gonna ask me a ho Guard question, which was I was gonna be way less prepared.
For for people that aren't watching this or if this is even on YouTube. Andy was frantically googling when I started that question, and I was thinking he was going to go to the Rose page. He was obviously going to the Holy Guard page.
I was. I was like, I was like, I know he's won a couple of things, but Nikolai Hoguard is I think a complete unknown.
How many how many matches does he play? Does he play? Two?
Yeah? I think two. I'm I'm way more worried about Justin Rose and Bobby Mack than Hoguard same.
I agree with you on that.
I'm just the Rose thing is a bit of like, obviously he knows what he's he knows how to do this. If he can somehow conjure up that again, maybe he has a good week. I don't expect him to have a good week. There's a reason he was my second to last pick. There's a reason you take kickers in the second to last round, right, I mean you gotta have somebody on your team to play that position.
But you had. We had to pick without those two guys, so they would you most.
Want to see on the American side play Rose and Sae, Like, who do you think would be.
The most entertaining?
That's a good question.
I think mine what what? I don't think? I think?
I think you to worry about about Kepka being complacent like he's not, he's not getting up for the match, and then Rose sneaks someone out like I think you got to put Ka against like rom like it just have a it was uh. I was listening to Rory on the Subpar Pod. Yeah, they the Subpar Guy's Colt and Drew Stultz were talking about how they want the Ryder Cup to be, like the captains get a pick like based off of the other ones versus the blind
the blind card. Where do you fall on that? So like President's Cup style where they go one after another?
I mean absolutely, I mean way more fun that way. I hate that.
I think the blind cards the way to go.
Yeah. Wait, wait, so you're saying the other way way.
I like their strategy that you're trying to think about, like where where people are going to slot players and you don't know. I like that. I like everybody doing it that way.
Yeah, we do.
We do a golf event in January every year, me and my fifteen idiot buddies, and we do the President's Cup way where you know, a team is presented and then you get to counter that team.
It's kind of fun. It is better for TV that way. I think it's better for like internal strategy, trying to figure out what the other person's thinking and trying to roll out your strategy the other person trying to counter. I don't I don't know.
Andy, let me just say the only defense I'll give you on this point is this all I think about on a day to day and week to week basis is how to change things in golf. I write about it for the newsletter a lot, I text you about it, We talk about it everybody in golf. All we're ever trying to do is change things in the game. This is like the loane thing in golf that doesn't need changing is the Ryder Cup. It's perfect the way it is.
We don't got to change anything. We don't need to mess with the way teams are picked, formatting, all that Stuff's like like, this event is perfect.
It's perfect.
I mean, I'm gonna push back one big change I'd like to see in the Ryder Cup. Can we go back to the venues of yesteryear? Could we get the old course, Could we get like Hinch, Can we like can we go to like great golf courses instead of these like made for Ryder Cup places?
Well?
But but but match play is the is the s portion of golf. It doesn't necessarily matter with the golf.
I agree, But it's not like it's not gonna be better if it's had a great golf course.
Well, I mean I I obviously it's not gonna make it worse. Yeah, it's well.
I mean one of the silliest things that they do is when they change the nines. Yeah, and it's like, I don't like this golf course to begin with, and now I don't know what hole they're playing, Like the President's Cup last year, It's like.
Can we just play it the way it's played?
Well? In the course, the best word is always like, well, we don't want the eighteenth hole to be insignificant. And whenever they re route. Whenever they do the reroute, every match always goes to eighteen and you're like, well, I'm glad they're playing the worst sole on the golf course. It's the eighteenth. Like I'm glad this boring gas hole is the last hole instead of you know, Austin is just that eighteenth hole in Austin.
God, love it.
I love that golf course. But my god, I mean it's like three eighty. You're like, what is this hole for these guys?
I mean, what about the rory T shot this year that was made the shot of the year.
Maybe I'm not going to go shot at the year, but I mean it might be in the top ten. I mean, I'm not gonna go.
That was like d Windham's shot at the US Open on Saturday. I'm fourteen on eighteen in the dark.
Oh my god when he hit the flag. Dude, Andy, this is this is I think.
Rory wins that if Wyndham Clark's not in the final group.
So it's it's unbelievable. You brought that up. It was.
It was floating on Instagram yesterday, the shot into eighteen, the one that he hit off the flag stick, and it's this will be forgot in history forever that it changed the final pairing. And I was thinking the exact same thing you just said, the exact same thing. Ricky was leading, Rory was in the final pairing, and Wendy Wyndham because of that shot, got in the final pairing. And I'm with you, I think all of that changes if that shot doesn't happen.
Yeah. I was hanging around the media center. I think Rory was talking and I saw I was watching it.
I was kind of like floating it. There's two tents that were together, one had a TV, not the one Rory was in, and I was kind of watching what was happening, and I saw I was watching the shot, and then I saw Rory's manager was watching the shot, Sean, and I saw him like when he hit the shot, like there was like a visible like disappointment reaction of what happened, because like I know, he knew that if Rory was in like there was that was just a
monumental moment. I think, like to me, like maybe the shot of the year. No shot made a bigger impact on a major championship.
All right, so I'm gonna go through our teams.
All right, I'm glad you were taking I've mine boulded, but.
Yeah, all right, so my team is Rory, I'm going in order of our picks, by the way, Rory Hoveland, Harmon Morikawa, Homa, Keopka, Ludwig, Ricky Lowry, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Justin Zone, and Hoyguard. And Andy's team is Rom Scottie, Xander, Can't Lay, Fleetwood Speed, Fitzpatrick's never won a point in a Ryder Cup, Burns, Clark, Hatton, Sepp and twenty fourth pick of the experiment was Bobby.
Mack So I got I got ten of my top fourteen on on board.
That's pretty good.
You probably were in the same same zone.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, like you said, I mean I had Harmon high on my list. I had Maximore Kwa high on my list. You didn't have as high. And I had Ludwig relatively high on my list. I was I was hoping to get you know again, I want to get Ludwig. I mean, it's like it's like Wimby, Right, I don't know if Wimby's gonna be great in the NBA, but.
I think it is great. He's gonna be really great, you know.
Yeah, all right, Hey, this is fun. I hope this gets everybody in the in the Ryder Cup mood. And uh, Shane, Well you got anything going on? What you got? What you got coming up? You got scratch series?
Right? Yeah?
So when is this strop? It is dropping this week? Yeah, Thursday, all right, So h Thursday through Sunday Golf Channel. I'll be hosting Corn Ferry broadcast with James Nitties and Gary Christian and playoffs. We don't normally have a fourth member of the team, Ned Michael's home game for him in Tennessee, so he'll be on the grounds as well, and then I have a series drop in I think on Thursday with Scratch about caddying, and then you can listen to
my podcast. I got two of them, Get a Grip and the Ping Proving Grounds podcast.
Next week I heard I heard rave reviews for the Joel Joel Damon.
Yeah, yeah we did.
If you, if you, if you don't know what we're talking about. I had Joel and Gino on last week on the Get a Grip podcast. We did the five worst shots and five worst caddy decisions of their entire career.
Unbelievable. It was so fun to do.
That's I got. I got multiple texts from like friends who don't know you, like friends like my friends prior to this thing about that pod. So that's that's good. You reached out into the they were they were comments coming in from out of the golf echo chamber.
Yeah, it's fun.
I might see you next week to which or in two weeks which I'm excited about as well. But yeah, we we have KFT like two straight weeks on TV week off and then the finals are on TV as well, so I'll be hosting all those.
So yeah, to get get into the corn Faerry with with everything online.
Totally great, great, guys, great, great players, a lot of young players in there as well, so tune into that if you got a minute. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Golf.
Thank you for listening to another edition of the Friday Golf Podcast, and thank you to Shane Bacon for coming on. Today's episode was edited and produced by Matt Rushes. Thank you, Matt. As a quick reminder, we're humming on Club TFE. I think the biggest thing that I'm excited for is I've been working on our twenty twenty four events. It's definitely the most time that I've put into the event schedule, and we have as a team, put into the event
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