Five Things About the 2022 U.S. Open with Tron Carter

Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Podcast. Today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at Gooder. Sunglasses are a necessity. It's summer. Nothing kicks off summer quite like the US Open. And we're here this week at Brookline and one of the things that I made sure to pack was my pair of Gooders. These are great sunglasses. They are polarized lenses, they have golf specific lenses, they are non slip, and best of all, they carry

Ball in a Frida Egg Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida Egg Frida Egg, Frida Egg, Brian Egg, Frida Egg, Bride Egg Lie.

I'm about ready to run off of the hump. Today's episode, I am joined by No Laying Ups Tron Carter makes his long awaited return to the Frida Egg podcast. Tron and I were in Grand Rapids. This is film recorded the morning after our our collaborative event with No Laying Up at the Mines Golf Club. Tron and I sat down to talk about US Open. So we each came

I am, yeah, going back to Boston. I went up for the media day a couple of weeks ago. There was no leaves on the trees yet, which was jarring. It's been you know, mid nineties in Florida for the last two months. I kind of forgot how late the winter and spring creeps into summer up there.

But yeah, it'll be way till Rochester and actually, oh god.

I'm hoping for absolute carnage.

Like you know, if you open for snow in the practice round to.

Be awesome, be fantastic. Any of you spent much time in.

Boston, just a little, just a little. I need I need to explore. I don't think next week is gonna be the week to explore. You know, you have this like idea, it's like, oh, I'm gonna be a week in Boston, and then it's like, well, I got to the Media Center at seven and then I finished work at like nine, So.

I think the logistics are going to be very, very, very challenging for them. There's only like three ways to get on and off property. The parking is out at Boston College. Like, I think I'm gonna take the tea, Let's take the Metro.

I heard. I heard that like Boston at one point knew that they needed to fix all their roads and make them, make them make more sense. Like the first time I went to Boston, I was trying to get to Brookline and I was driving in a circle for literally twenty five minutes, and it was driving me insane. I couldn't figure it out.

It gets weird back behind Fenway and yea ten more and everything like there's a there's a stream back there, and.

Yes, that's exactly the area. And I just like kept going in this circle. And it's funny. I was telling somebody about it, and they're like, oh, yeah, you know that the city knew back in the day that they needed to fix the roads. And they just said, you know what, fuck the outsiders. The people that live here know how to get around, and we aren't going to make it easier for other people. And I think that's like the perfect sentiment of Boston.

It's our it's our most uh European American city. It's it's super European. It's a great place to live, it's great place to walk, like it's a it's a walking city. Uh. And then they did try to fix the roads a little bit when they did the Big dig and they spent like, you know, twenty five dollars on that, which doesn't seem like as much money in to health, but at the time it was just remarkable.

It's uh, it's a it's a really cool city. I'm excited to be there even you know, I need to make some time to get away. What are you looking forward to, uh at this year's US Open.

Gosh, I think first thing is, first, I'm looking forward to Lady J potentially returning to uh benway to the line drive seats.

Justine, Justine and Patrick are the Red Sox in town.

They are they they're playing the A's I think. And then uh, I don't know who who's in town on the weekend, but yeah, it's like a six or seven game home stand.

That's it. And then uh in the Celtics, Celtics, you know, maybe they maybe they get courtside seats and they get mad because you know, a player could crash into them.

A sweaty player into them.

I mean, this is a big week for for Justine and the team. Read.

Yeah, they're making the move to Live. You know, I'm a little bit worried for her safety. She starts chirping it you know Norman or NBS for setup stuff, for draw stuff. But I guess it's a shotgun start, so there's no no good draw or bad draw right ends though they well pins and then like if you know, I guess the first round like it's kind of luck of the draw if you're if you're teeing off on one or ten or fifteen, right.

Yeah. That's an interesting thing about Live, right, is like the shotgun start works in a way that everybody's playing, but there are different stretches of the golf course that are harder or easier than otherwise, and it doesn't like they need to figure out how to like account for that.

The fact that somebody can come from like one or two groups back, but their team like they're starting on two or three and they have to go and finish on one or two and they're potentially gonna win the golf tournament. Is it's insane to me.

And they send those things out to pick them up and.

Drive them back the tenth the London taxis so so, Lady Jays, you're number one the first I would say.

The thing I'm one of the things I'm thinking about is like what if Pat Reid or a live player wins.

Yeah, I'm kind of rooting for it, to be honest, like in a perverse, sick way, like I'm you know, obviously way way out on on live and I think it's terrible for our game, but like man like chaos theory, like let's just make it completely nuts.

Yeah, Like what what is the response like is that is there? Is it less celebrated if like what if DJ or Phil? You know when you talk.

About like, I mean Phil's not gonna win, Like, yeah, he's not terrible golf course for him.

Well, the thing so we didn't nobody expected them to win.

At Kiwa or or or the British Open.

Yeah. The thing about it is like one of with like DJ and Reid or you know, one of their bigger players. The tour and obviously this is a USGA Championship, but the tour has poured so much money into promoting these guys. I mean, golf is a superstar driven game.

Well what about Yeah, they'll probably be twet about you know, FedEx Cup standings afterwards or whatever, and yeah, Scotty's still number one in the FedEx Cup or I think that. Plus if guys, like if somebody knocks off too in a row, it'd be it'd be awesome. And like they're they're they're leading the FedEx Cup technically, but they're not a PGA to remember.

Scotty might be so far in front that it's true nobody could be. Well, I mean that Zalataurus was that last year.

Yeah, yeah, he.

Was what thirteenth of the FedEx Cup but not listed not eligible, Yeah yeah, I mean anybody that hasn't gone yet that you're anticipating.

You're just shocked they haven't gone yet.

Yeah, I mean number one for me. And I meant to write this in like one of our like little round tables or something like. I'm utterly I don't understand how he hasn't gone yet. It is Rory Sabatine, the same thing the other day. It blows my mind, like of all the people, and you know what part of me thinks like Slugger has dealt with everybody, you know, and maybe he's advising them and be like, listen, you guys, get anybody I can handle. I can handle pe read

Maybe they haven't met his number, like co Crack, which is insane. Co Cracks holding out for more because they haven't met his number. Co Crack's betting on himself.

I don't understand what's going on with co Crack and the Golf Saudi logo.

I just don't understand what's going on with co Crack in general.

But he's just a Northeast Ohio boy, just you know, trying trying to get paid. What about you.

I'm shocked that, Yeah, I mean Sabatini. But like as far as top shelf players, no offense to Rory, Uh.

He's a lower already.

A lot of week team Rose. Uh. Although I from everything I'm hearing, it sounds like Tim Rose is probably going this week in Paul Casey.

Yeah what because I had heard Paul Casey was like actively recruiting at Riviera.

Yeah, and it sounds like can't lay, Like like can't lay sounds like the most miserable guy to have in all the pack meetings because he thinks he's he thinks everybody's you know, coming out to see him and they're worth you know, five six x what they're making right now. And so he's been just vociferous in all the pack meetings, just insufferable, like you know, getting on Jay about all

I think he's got the right attitude though, Yeah.

Oh, I mean I think I think Monahin should lose his job personally.

I mean, he's he Uh. They seem to have underestimated this thing from the start, and it seems like they actually are still under estimating somehow, and it doesn't seem it's not gonna go away anytime soon. These guys have four year contracts.

That brings me to my second thing that I'm excited for Mike Wan's presser. I think it's on Wednesday. You know. It's it's time for like some people in golf leadership to get step up to the plate and like have a press conference. Jamon has had two press conferences this whole year. He's like he's invisible, like the house is on fire and he is just, you know, nowhere to be found.

He should go on ce NBC again.

The markets are taking a dump right now too. Uh. He's just you know, it's like, I think I'm excited for Mike Wan to answer questions and about there, you know, because they came out this past week and said, hey, we're not banning these guys at least for this event. And I'm sure they'll do some wonky shit with the OWGR.

That's the thing I think is like the opens are in this position where they in their name it's open.

You can't really discriminate against someone based on what tour they're playing.

Yeah, and like you can't be like, hey, you know, you're supposed to have a five year exemption because you want a major, but that's not good anymore. And then the OWGR is kind of in the same position because like, if you compromise your ranking, your official World Golf rankings, then are you the official World Golf rankings?

Like someone say they're already compromised some manipulation and the.

They might be getting rid of that with the with the devaluing, but it also feels like they're kind of trying to game against the Asian Tour, which is like I think the Asian Tour has like, you know, outside of Live and has the most to gain from all of this because they could become the minor leagues of Live, you know, and then the European Tour could.

Just your guy, Pelly needs to he needs to do something drastic.

I think might he might along with j Mon hand he to exit, you know, stage left, just quietly just leave as glasses.

And yeah, if the majors like decide to self diminish. The kind of feels like a waste, right, especially like the Masters, Well, it's already a limited field seven of the last thirteen And.

If you're the Masters, why do you want to pick the fight with with Saudi Arabia at this point?

Yeah, And like the Masters historically, like they've taken pleasure in like dunking on the tour and like treating the tour like the little brother and now they seem like they're tight and they're close and everything, which is kind of disappointing.

Yeah.

So and like I don't know, the tour is in such a tenuous spot, and that's before we even get to like them potentially losing lawsuits, and like even when these lawsuits are going, there's gonna be temporary injunctions. I'm sure that like allow guys to play both.

Well, that's the thing. They have a if you do the if they follow the guidelines of it. Yeah, there's a twenty eight day waiting period for an appeal, and during that period apparently so if somebody gets suspended they can appeal, they have fourteen days to appeal and then like so like Ian Poulter who didn't resign and the way they they you know, the language of that memo that Mynhan sent out, if you resigned, it doesn't seem like you're going to be suspended because it said it

Got dropped by by Rocket Mortgage cook and loans. Yeah, I don't. I mean, Tiger's got to just be so pissed, like Tiger, you know, turned down what close to a billion dollars I guess from him.

And well, like I kind of think Tiger needs to be like the commissioner.

Possibly, yeah, maybe maybe Steiny's the commissioner.

They need somebody that and this is where the Patrick Cantlay discussion. They need somebody that thinks about this as the way a superstar would think about it, right, because that's what the war's over. I think live understands like.

It's Peter Mulnatty versus. Yeah, versus Rory, whether Rory wants to submit that or not and live.

I think like they they probably know that they only need like ten superstars and before anybody's like, oh, fill's out a superstar anymore. He finished second in the PIP And that's kind of what matters more than results on the golf course, right. It is like who a fan recognizes, and that's what golf has been about for years.

I mean there's people that work, you know, talking to somebody the other day that was they're like a you know, head pro at a at a golf club around here in Michigan. They had no idea what any of this was about. They're, yoh, what's going on with this with this Saudi League or whatever, Like it's phil really going and like that's that's somebody in the golf thing. Like my dad texts me, He's like like, what what are

And here we're fifteen minutes in. I think this is like the big story of the week, though, is even

Are you are you worried that the that the USGA is going to keep doing this touchy feely, warm and fuzzy, let's be nice to the players approach or.

I you know, Garrett always talks about this and and Garrett I think does a good way of a good job, Like he listens, he reads the history and everything. He just did that open doctor, and you know, I think he he kind of compartmentalizes it. We have like waves of of essentially set up people. And we're in the Bodenhammer era, like right there was we were. We just came out of the Mike Davis era, you know, and now we're in the Bodenhammer area and it's just a it's a unique era and set up and it's a

Wider fairways. Put thick rough off those wider fairways.

Yeah, and and and really thick rough around the greens. Yeah, you know, no more short grass. It's like a reaction.

I do think there's there's gonna be some spots here this week with some short grass, you know, around because the greens are tiny, tiny, Yeah, It's.

I mean it'll be interesting. Like the thing I I don't like. I always like if you want to test people, like why why do they have thick ruff on the backs of greens?

Like if you go over the green at a US Open, like it should roll like sixty yards.

It is a spelcrow to me, like it almost like it pads it right, Like I think like the thing that.

It's like a bumper in bowling. You know you gonna just get get bumped back into the the lane.

I would love like this a move away Like the US Open to me always feels really uniform. It's like we're gonna have like what when they had the you know, intermediate rough. It's like we're gonna have seven yards of that on every fairway, every hole. And then it goes to this. It's like why can't we just like set up a golf course and be like, you know, the right roff over here, we're just gonna have to be short. But it's a terrible angle.

Like that's a that's a great like you don't want to be over there. Yeah, so you know in the.

Left roof over here is really long. It doesn't need to be the same length on both sides. You know, we could have short rough over the green and long, rough, short left of the green.

I feel the same way about bunkers, Like that was something in Australia. We went down there like they you know, you miss right of the screen, there's plenty of sin in the punker. You miss left of the screen, there's no sin and you're completely fucked. Like it's that's a very like there should be varying degrees of penalty.

Yeah, And then also it it lends itself to like the person that's most prepared and the caddy and the and the player that no certain spots all of a sudden like it's not when it's just thick rough. It's really my issue with it. It just dums it down and it a lot of it can be attributed to luck, you know. It's just like I got good lies well.

And it's like the way that the way that you know, everything works these days too, It's like these guys are so long and straight, so it just favors the bigger hitters that much more because they're they're hitting a you know, a fifty four degree wedge out of it versus somebody like you know, Sabatini's hitting a seven iron out of it. You know, like that's a massive. That's a massive, you know, especially with like I anticipate, like the greens are going

The fairways are rockets out there too, if assuming they get the weather to cooperate. I mean, the ball bounces and there's some contour in them that make a lot of those fairways play like they feel they can look kind of wide, but effectively they play really small because of they run a lot and then they just have some contour in them where if you hit the wrong side of something, it just will shoot some direction. But you know that's the thing, I h they're speaking to

And then that affects your strategy for the entire hole where you like you're playing away from it, and then you basically get you get worried about getting your hand

Yeah, And I think like the USJA doesn't want this identity because they hate the player backlash, and I think social media fuels. This where the players have their own platform to go. You know, we saw it with the with the General Paton Kazaire at the PGA, and you know, Hattan's complained at both majors this year.

But some of these guys are gonna complain any which way, so you might as well do your identity.

Part of your identity is the players aren't on the PGA tour this week, Yeah, they're coming, and the USGA is kind of the US Open is the place where players have to kind of like part of the challenge is is dealing with the emotions of feeling like you're getting screwed over, yeah, and having some aandamat Like I like some mental Yes, I like the idea of a course that gets a little under it. And I think Brookline could do that because of it's really hard that place so much.

So there's so much cool quirk too. Like I was talking, I was talking to Caddy last night about it, and I was like, dude, like it kind of reminds me of Birkdale a little bit. And then like there's there's a lot of up and down. There's a lot of you know, movement up the hills like fourteen that part five. It might be the only part five in the world

Yeah. That that fourteenth hole is I mean, I think like Pebble fourteen is another good par five and in for US Open Golf, but this one is like Pebble fourteen. I feel like I'm kind of steroid, like.

Bigger green, but but much much more like severe upslope, yeah, all the way up to it.

Effectively, if you don't hit the fairway there, you're laying up short of this rock cliff, you won't be able to see anything.

And you have like two ten into into green with like a shinnecock style, like you know, false front on there.

Yeah and and yeah, and you won't be able to see there's a tree. And yeah. Both both part fives are going to be really fun to watch. I think That's the other thing is like there's some just truly great holes out there, like three four on the really two two through six is going to be an amazing stretch of golf to watch, and that, to me is is probably the coolest part of the whole course. And i'm i'm I think the par three's in general are really one of the strongest aspects of the golf course.

There's just so quick, essentially New England, where you're driving over these these exposed rock outcroppings to kind of a blind area, you know, over this little hill, but you can bail out down the left, but then your angle sucks into the green. Like there's I mean, there's so many guys that are going to be defeated before before like the first nine is even over because they can't handle the blind shots and you know some of the quirk of the place.

Yeah, that's the thing is like it's one of my favorite T shots is the twelve T shot out there, and it's just like it's blind that it is not a typical US Open course, and none of these guys outside of the guys that played the US Am have really seen it, which I think is one of the cool things about this year, with Southern Hills being basically a new course here being you know, you get like some it's not going to Pebble where they see every

The Ryder Cup. Like that seventeenth hole, that green is unrecognizable. Yeah, they've they've brought that thing back out so much. There's so there's some really really cool pins there, Like that's such a cool hole, great driving hole. That closing stretch is great, like the you know fourteen through fourteen through seventeen or fourteen through eighteen or just fantastic. I mean eighteen green is like there's not that many pinnable spots there.

It's gonna be so neat to watch that chips if they do that front pan because they've recaptured the front and it's all unpinnable space, but it's a really cool, like point, you might see some really neat chips that roll up the hill come back and like potentially in like that hole yields and we can yield some pre creative recovery and then yeah, sixteen, everybody will shit on sixteen compared to the other par threes.

Sixteen's cool, like super understated. Back in that little corner, and the green is awesome.

The green that's it might be the best green on the golf course. The back half they use a backpin there. It's a long par three. The back half runs away on that green and if you land it like middle to back, it's just shooting off. It might jump out like all the way out of the property.

Yeah, I thought I aced it when or put in the media day. I was off the back of the green and like landed at pin high, Yeah, and just shot forward.

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There's so much more, there's so much more elevation. Yeah, and there's so much more context and like texture there I think where but that comes back to is NBC going to do it justice? Like like like some of my favorite shots of the US Open are like the wide two or three hole pans, like they do a really good job of this at Oakmont right or like you see you see several holes in the same shot and you see like truly how how you know, dramatic

Yeah. I think one thing that I think, I thought they did a really good job at the Women's US Open with There were extraordinary, like next level stuff that I haven't really seen. And I'm hoping a lot of that carries over to this week because that that visual experience was really good.

We haven't talked about the shorty Little Part three yet.

Your thoughts.

I think it's great. I mean it's it's just a little drop shot. Especially if there's a front pin there, it's gonna be wild.

Yeah. Yeah, it's uh, that's the thing. It's a It's one of those shots that feels really easy until you miss it and then when you miss it.

Your scar tissue.

Yeah. And I in the media day I played, I was playing pretty pretty decent. I was hitting the ball well and I hit I thought a really good shot there. I end up just short. I ended up walking away with a six. Like it's really really treacherous if you miss the green and the wrong spot, and it's easy to do when you get that wedge. Let's talk about some of the players. I think one of my big big storylines is, uh, can somebody get two majors in

You know, the like both it's like simultaneously awful and hilarious, you know, especially with Saint Andrew next Yeah too. I mean it's you know, it's gonna be I think it's two courses that encourage guys to play a little bit creatively. So I don't know, I still like, I think there's I think there's something to be said for being in

One of the things with the Yeah, especially the way Spee's driving it. It's gonna be really hard and there to me, like because of how much contour is in the greens. I didn't think about this, but like it might actually favor a guy like Fleetwood who's not the best putter. But you know a lot of times that you're twenty five feet lagging exactly like you you've got, I got. I had a two great shots on ten.

Was like an auto three putt.

I was legitimately like where where do I need to hit this so that I have like a four footter? Yeah, to make part and walk away from here. And I think a lot of those greens because of that old school like it's not wingfoot has sections and you get into those sections and they're kind of flat. I don't feel like. I feel like the country Club just has a lot of slope all over the place.

And it blends into yeah, sections blend into one another.

And part of that, like they're really cool greens, but they don't look really cool from a photograph because it's just like kind of like a continuous slope with like pockets of different.

And they're framed by so much rough around them.

So the greens don't like pop visually, but they are very cool greens, and they they're like treacherous in a different way than the masters or a wing foot or you know, even a southern hills where you could see these distinct sections, so when you're twenty five feet away,

Well, and it's it basically makes you know, like it's like the smart golf ins like clapping for a shot that hits the middle of the green this week is like like on some of these holes like if you're coming out of the rough and you're hitting the green, like more power to you, like like kudos, because that's gonna be. So that's why, like I love, you know, I'm not sure Cam Smith is, Like I don't think

Shane Lowry is just a great hard golf course player. Yeah, right, Cam Smith, to me, it's gonna get lost. But like that finish at at Southern Hell's he led the led the field tee to green and he was abysmal with the potter. Yeah, like that was a major that I'm guessing like he probably thinks about as like I hit the ball. That's got to be one of the most frustrating things is when you hit the ball well enough you're one of the greatest putters and it just goes cool.

I think another guy that like going back to our conversation about this kind of neutralizing the putting or almost freeing a guy up a little bit, uh big tone, big tones, playing well trending. He's so good off the tee, like he can hit that you know, bunty three wood down there, like three ten and just good iron player and like lagging putts around and making a bunch of pars and then picking off, you know, a couple of birdies here and there. It's just you know, keep an eye off a big tone.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, and that's the thing. It's like you you might not have to great this week. Yeah.

I Like, I think Max is like just good iron. Like I'm looking at good iron players who are pretty straight off the tee and resilient like mentally, like because like I mean Ted Scott posted a video of it this morning, the fairway on nine, Like, you know, that's that's one of the hesitations I have with Billy Horschel.

It's a yeah, I mean it brings me to Rory and Speath, Right, those are two guys that I don't know if Rory can just keep it together.

I just don't trust him. Yeah, I mean speed, but speed. I feel like it's like I felt sweet out of colonial and it's just it's exhaust Like I don't know how he gets through data dead life because it's so like between the preshot routine and then the just the missed shorties, but then he'll make a thirty footer like it's a it's a really exhausting way to play golf.

I think that's why people like him so much. Oh yeah, but yeah it I mean he's just not a good putter right now. No, he's hitting the ball the best he's ever hit in his career.

But he's kind of got the more Cowa thing going where like or like the Zalatorus thing, where like he's not a good putter from you know, four to ten feet, but he's like he's still like he's still making a bunch of potts from like twenty five feet. It's yeah, it's like it's like the irrational confidence.

NBA. You know.

It's it's like it's like a j. R. Smith kind of thing where he's like irrationally confident. He's pulling up from everywhere, and it's like somebody's got to heat check him. But I think he can get on one of those runs and just string him together. But I also think there's less This is a good major for him because there's less emphasis on making a bunch of birdies, just trying to stack up pars and pick off a birdie here and there. Like if you shoot sixty eight or

Yeah, yeah, it's uh. I mean you start to look at the players you brought up more Kawa. It's kind of been a down year for him Hoveland, like the guys that everybody was talking about John Rahm. Yeah, all the you know, rom obviously won in Mexico, but that was like a.

Group of Selenas.

The field was abysmal and it wasn't really like it wasn't one of the like that was one of those like, oh, if good players were in this field, that would have been a tea time, yeah, or a T four. But the thing about it's been kind of a down year.

It's like the it's like the NBA free agency or NBA trade deadlines like woj bombs and you know what's Sham's reporting, right, I think something else. I'm looking forward to them, uh, to see what they do with the pairings, because it's, you know, going back to what we were saying about practice rounds like taking dicey too. They like to do some cheeky shit, right, Remember when they did the fat pairing of years.

Ago Burly Boys.

That was outrageous.

I mean, it would be amazing if they put Rory with Phil or JT with Phil, like you know, the guys that have just like just like demolished Phil and they put them with them, like, it'd be pretty pretty mean spirited. But hey, I just thought of a name. Hideki. Is he hurt? I don't know.

How long ago. Does it feel like that Hideki hit that three wood at that's Sony? I mean that feels like it was four years ago. It's true, it's less than five months ago.

And that's like the thing is, like you talk about a guy that doesn't this really accurate tea de Green, great iron player, a little bit balky putter. Maybe this is a spot sung Jay, same thing. I mean, that's I think one of the footholds of of this live. They obviously have the Asian Tour, Yeah, but if they pick off some of the like the big names of Asia.

Yeah, Takumi Kanaya thinks of that like, yeah.

Like you know what, you know, if Hideki the tour then loses kind of a lot of its global presence, Hitdeki might be the biggest name that nobody's talking.

Or the CJ Cup becomes a hell of a lot less valuable.

Yeah, because like you don't have the big name players, right, And that's like it's it's in it's hard to do these this pod right now and talk about like the player analysis without that being the second part of it. Right, It's like how is this guy gonna compete out here?

But you know, also this what's your winning score?

I kind of feel like they've we've gotten into like the six to ten range.

Exactly where I'm at.

Yeah, all right, so what Like I've heard though from numerous people and having played out there, that this is like legitimately the hardest with Shinnakok the hardest golf course. So if if we're gonna get an even par tournament, it's this is a place like like Shinnecock that will get it. It's just really depends on like how how

I'm gonna check my weather app to see what we're gonna get.

What. Yeah, you've got You've got the primo weather app. And you're a big weather guy.

Huge weather guy. But yeah, like, well so all right, while I'm looking that up, what how many things? Like what are your five things?

I think, which which ones?

Have we covered?

We've got we got live, we got the course? Uh can somebody get to in a year? And then I had Rory and Speith and I think just the young guys, Like I think there are a lot of guys and this is almost like a storyline because of the way golf is and we we've I've talked about it before, but like, we have a lot of young guys that are really highly ranked that have never done ship in a major, like Hovelin's one of them. Patrick Cantley is

Empty catlories man, and.

You start to go down the list, and it's like Sam Burns obviously, like it's hard because there's these guys are having such success so young, and it's like they have such a small sample size. But you know another guy that has hasn't really done much in a major in a Whiles Xander. You know he's up there high in the rankings.

Doing lately, yes, even on tour. What's his Billy.

Horshel's one right, Billy has never done anything. I mean, it'd be great to see Billy outside of Marion, you know, which was a long time ago. Play. Well, I'm kind of back in on Billy.

I mean, Billy's like he's an acquired taste, but he's also it's just better when Billy's involved. It's he's just such an outrageous.

He's a content man machine.

It's crazy.

He's throwing clubs. He's gonna you know, he's gonna be saying, oh, Billy, he's.

Gonna be talking way too much in the post round presser.

I'll never forget. I was playing with a tour player and I asked him, like, who's who's Like when you see the draw come out, who's your least favorite guy to see in your group and goes, oh, without a doubt, Billy just never shuts up. It's just and I just can't handle that. Like he's I think Billy games people without knowing he's gaming people. Is the thing, Like that's why he should be on just why he should be

You kind of sold me on Xander. You know, we'll throw out the Byron Nelson jas that was an absolute travesty. But he finished tea by there T thirteen at Southern Hills T eighteen Memorial. Like he's he's playing good golf. I think he he's one of those guys that like he drives it really well, good iron player, can play creatively. You know, maybe it's his time.

It would it would Internet critics would be you know, Anders, Xanders like a hot topic. He's like a it's one of those like how do you he's like a Democrat Republican? How do you feel about Xander?

Middle crowd Xanderman be like gun control gay marriage or something like that. It's just like a wedge issue, right.

That is a hot topic in America in American golf. Is how do you feel about Xander Schoff. I'm on the on the side of, like, you can't contend in this many majors and not be really a great player. And but then there's like he doesn't he doesn't close things out, he wins these small events. Is the is the backside of it?

I think Hovelin, I'm ready for Hoblind to like should or get off the pot a little bit.

This could be actually a great Hobland course.

Because it's neutering the chipping issues. Yeah, yeah, the through negating.

And like you talk about, Hobland is an extraordinary driver of the golf ball without being extraordinarily long.

Yeah, totally. I think, Uh, all right, who do you think freaks out like Hatton? Is he going to make it three for three on because somebody's gonna freak out about some of the like some of the pins are going to be outrageous just because there's no other options. Uh. And you know, I think the fairway on nine going into the into the pond, and then there's a couple holes where like your ball.

False run on, roll down on what is it? Eight? Faalse front on eight could do it? Uh, I'm looking at the list here. I mean, we haven't even talked about Kopka. I don't even know what.

I don't know what to do with Ka. I never know what to do with Kopka.

I would you know?

I'm liking JT more and more.

I'd love to see Kevin Nah freak out goes to live. He's He's the head of the Ironheads. I'd love to see a Kevin nah freak out. I always love seeing Kevin freak out at Aaron Hills. Remember he did the crawling out of the rough thing thirsty Kevin. That could be my pick, I mean, for a freak out, who would you? Bryson could be ripe for one.

I don't even think Bryson's engaged enough right now or like, I don't think his expectations are like to go out and win something like this, You know, I would say, I think I think my money's on Billy or Hat and just keep that train rolling.

Billy could who's your pick to win? You've been hot, You're you're like a on a on a true heater.

Pick and winners just all over the place.

You might get the form of golf's foremost you know, gaming expert. At this point, I.

Even picked picked plays four guys this week, and I you know, I picked I picked Lynn Grant for Randy. Lynn Grant's leading in the Scandinavian Mixed. Uh the other guy that we haven't talked about. I think this is a good course for p really yeah, you know, good driver the golf ball. Now that he's out out of the PXG stable, he's got that grind Works in the bag, Like what.

How is he using a grind Works driver?

The fact that he have a PXG sponsorship without a single PXG club in the bag was remarkable. I'm going Fleetwood taking Fleetwood. Yeah, Tommy, Tommy boy, how about you?

Uh well, I've got Scheffler still, I haven't picked him for my one and done lake. That's I'm not one and done. All my text are based around what I've done. I think, uh, I you know, obviously all around talent, but I think, I mean, I think there's a lot of chance in this tournament because of just breaks like you know lies.

It looks like we're gonna get some wind. Thursday, Thursday and Friday, but not a whole lot on the weekend the GFT.

So do you think the wind comes with water on the greens?

I hope not. God, I hope that nothing pisses me off more than them throwing water on the greens overnight or you know, first thing in the evening.

You might be out there first thing in the morning monitoring.

Be like the Buddhist monk, like letting myself on fire on the green. So they don't, they don't, they can't water it.

Did you get to five things?

I mean, we're I think I did. I like Pairings Lady Jay, ninth fair Way, Mike Wan Presser, and then that was kind of my four things, and then just fourteen.

It could be will Zalataurus again.

Yeah, it could be trill time. It's uh, you know, where are you staying?

We're in Cambridge, Okay, it's hard to you know, it was hard to find a house. Yeah, close by, we're the Precision Pro House, the house the range Finders built in Cambridge. It was hard to find something in in Brookline.

It's uh, I think we're in Brookline Village, the Hilton Garden in Fancy. Yeah, I'm a Marriott guy. So it pains me to go to the Hilton Garden in but uh, you know we should we should meet in North End or something one night for yeah, break some bread. Some good places there, some great, great restaurants are in Cambridge, in Summerville. That's kind of where all the really good stuff is.

I mean, Brendan's returning to Boston. This is a this is a Boston Boston college. You know, a notorious alum returning to Boston for the you know, first time in a while.

He's on shaky ground, doesn't alum though, because I know he was a big you know, Steve Dazio guy, you.

Know, content it could be a contentious exactly. Now he's just uh, he's a he's a Capitol Hill guy down there, you know, Yeah.

Beltway golfer belt a Just is he taking me a sella up? Is he taking the train up?

I don't think so. I think he's flying, you know when he might have a kid in a bag. You know, you never know what's going to happen.

So great airport. I like logan, it's good airport.

I don't like how far you got to go together in an uber.

Yeah from the Yeah, and then like if you want to take the train, you got to like get on the one train to go over to the other train. That's tough.

What I appreciate is the proximity to the town exactly. You know, there's nothing worse than that's like the dark stain on uh on on Denver.

Oh, don't even get me starts on Denver, like the light people. The Illuminati needs to get their ship figured out.

Yeah, yeah, this, you know, one day we'll we'll we'll chop up airports. I feel like, you know, there's a there's a lot of takes. You know, there's nowhere worse than Dallas.

In my opinion, Dallas is awful. It's awful. I mean, Dallas, Charlotte, Miami, those are bad airports. They're all they're all American homes.

Miamis Yeah, there's bad. All right. This is great, great catching up. Haven't had you on the pod in a while, And we'll look for you in Boston and follow all the great stuff you guys are doing at the laying up.

So thank you for having me. This is fun.

Thank you for listening to another edition of the Fridagg Podcast. Today's episode was edited by the wonderful Meg Atkins. And Garrett Morrison. Thank you guys, and a quick reminder, we've got a sale in the fridayg Pro shop. It is a automatic fifteen percent off everything except for print photography, and we have a bunch of new items in the shop. We've got some new polos. We created a really neat,