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 bride egg, Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg, Frida Egg, bride egg.
Lie, I'm about ready to run off the golf course. Welcome back to another edition of the Frida Egg Podcast. Today's episode is with Ryan Laughner. Ryan works at Golf Channel. You've seen his writing, he's been there for a while. He's uh, he's a writer. He's on air, he's on live from will be prominently featured in the upcoming NCAA Championship telecast, the National Championships for men's and women's golf, and he will be on the ground at Oak Hill
as well as he does podcasts. He's got the Golf Channel podcast with Rex and Lav, so he came on to talk do our Five Things podcast with about the PGA and Okill. I thought it was a fantastic conversation, but I'm obviously biased. You guys can listen, but I was really excited to talk to him. He is a Western New York native, so he's going a bit of a homecoming and really excited to just talk okill in the PGA.
It is.
It's awesome that our second major's here. And without further ado, here is Ryan Lavner. I'm excited to be joined here by one of the I can I call you a founding resident of Nakty No?
No, oh, you certainly can't. Like it was definitely established before I moved here.
When was it established? What year?
I don't know, Probably a decade or so ago. I think it was just a swamp, Like we're three miles from the ocean, so yeah, I think it was a swamp until it was inhabited ten fifteen years ago.
And then somebody had a dream of turning into town.
Yes, turning it into like the Truman Show, and now it's and now it's and I was just flourishing.
So you're a little town there, South Panavidra. You can you could just do. You can ride a golf cart around. It sounds like a wonderful place. The most is it would you make an argument that it's the most convenient town in America.
Most convenient town certainly where I'm located. Like, if you've ever been to TVC Sawgrass, we're like fifteen minutes from there. And if you're coming from ninety five, you probably went on this road called two ten and you drive past its Publix, and so it's like downtown Nakati. I live walking distance from that public so like I never get in the car unless I'm driving to like home, depot or target or something like that. Otherwise I'm just like
cruising around in my golf cart. Like it's a great, great place to raise kids.
You can and then you can take your kids to school in the golf cart.
Yes, daycare is literally a block and a half away. It's unbelievable. I was running late. I was running late yesterday and just like Floorida and was there in twelve seconds.
That's my hometown. I'm close. I'm close to downtown and I can walk. I rarely get in my car when I'm home. It's like once you know, I have to be venturing out somewhere to get to get in the car.
I can do every task. It's so underrated.
It's like it's such an inconvenience having to get into the car. Like I had to start my car recently to like make sure it still works. Like I never ever fill up.
It's amazing, wonderful.
One way one way to to say, you know to to reduce your emissions, your your gas emissions.
It's just next year, next year's Players Championship. You're coming over. We'll grow out in the backyard. I'll take you to the water park. I'll get you a three dollars beer. We can get some chicken tenders at food. There's a lot of hard time. Yes, we live a half mile from a water park. Two of them, not just one. Two of them like legit designed by like the Disney engineers. But they're so legit.
All right, Ryan, you're on When do you head up to Rochester?
I fly on Monday morning. So although Nakati is my current home, Rochester, New York is my old home. My dad lives about three miles from there. I grew up in Canadagua, which is one of the Finger Lakes, about thirty minutes south of Oak Hill. So this is a much anticipated home game for me, to be honest.
Ah, that's delightful. You stay in with your dad.
I am staying with my dad.
What a wonderful week for you. I had.
I know I needed to secure one of those parking passes where I can actually park on property, and I have to go through the rerouting that I think every other meat member is going to have.
What's your what's your favorite part of that area? Give us a little bit of a insight here. I didn't plan this, but I would love you know some Upstate New York. Uh, you know what, what's the best part about Upstate New York.
First of all, it's Western New York.
Western.
Yeah. We take actually great exception when people say it's upstate.
Could it be western slash upstate?
It couldn't. It could Nope, Okay, most it most certainly could not. I love it. I miss it. Obviously. The best part is the seasons, and now living in Florida, that's that's kind of been eliminated for the most part. I mean, there's nothing better than than fall golf. That's when we played our high school golf with you know, the leaves falling and you're putting on pullovers and pants like it's it's just a great time to be up there.
Football games I miss like August to October working at the golf course, like yeah, obviously, the winters, the winter suck. We lived near Bristol Mount which was a ski resort, so that was something fun to do. But like the spring's pretty miserable, and that's why I'm like, I'm super
curious to get up there. And I looked at a long rage forecast, like I was kind of hoping that we were going to get the typical Western New York weather, like you know, where it's eighty five one day and then it's forty five and like possible sleep the next. It doesn't look like we're gonna get that, which somewhat disappointing. I know, it looks like sixty five degrees and like partly cloudy, Like that is not the That is not
the Western New York that I remember. Like I remember pitching a high school game early June, so like the seasons, I'm sure it was the same for you in Chicago, like your school year goes into June. Like I was pitching and my fingers were bleeding because the laces were so firm and so sharp from the cold, Like that's just kind of what I was used to it. I feel like it's not gonna be the same if it's just like sixty five and pleasant, Like what is that nonsense?
Also, like for since really since the PGA moved to May, how many years ago was that like almost like five now four, so.
I think it was. I think oak Hill was was awarded this PGA in twenty fifteen, and then either a year or two later is when they're like, oh yeah, by the way, we move move this thing from August to May. Good luck.
So you know, it's been like the most fun little story to bat around every just like in passing, like every you know, every few months. Oh yeah that May major in Rochester, New York. And of course now we get here and it's pretty nice weather, and I think the springs beender. I'm in Chicago right now and I'm just shocked at how many leaves are on the trees. So I'm guessing something similar there. Like you know, I
remember I was there. I was there last fall and I was asking, you know, some of the oak Hill staff. I was like, how are we feeling on trees? They're like, oh, they're they're gonna be bear. They're gonna be bear. But I think they're actually gonna have some foliage, which should help a ton with the with the coverage.
Is there is there a meal?
Is there a restaurant that you where you're anticipating, eagerly excited to return to at home or is it mostly just going to be hanging out at the house.
I mean, it's a lot of it's gonna be hanging out with the house. I haven't seen my parents all that much since, unfortunately, since I went to school. I will say we're going to dinosaur barbecue on Monday when I first get in, like Rex Hoggard and I March label from ESPN, my dad, my step moomb We're going to go out to barbecues. I think that'll be great. And then the rocks that's in the rock. Yeah, it's
like fifteen minutes from Oak Hill. And then I've actually made the mistake before Andy of getting what's called a garbage plate.
Before I barbecue.
No, no, no, no, this is this is different. So that's that's a separate entity. Getting a garbage plate, which is pretty famous in Western New York. It's like everything that you could possibly imagine on one plate. There's like hot dogs, hamburgers, mac and cheese just like all thrown on this one plate. And I made the mistake of hopping on a flight about an hour and a half
after I had one. It was pretty epic adventures. So I think we're gonna have to duplicate that just for just for some hashtag content.
So so you're gonna get a garbage plate that sounds, you know, sounds like an eight year old's dream.
A garbage plate.
It's pretty, it's pretty popular, it's pretty grotesque. But I think anyone who who visits visits that area will have to snag one.
All right, Well, I think I think there should be a challenge to some you know, willing golf journalists to find the best garbage plate. It seems like something you might find at golf dot com nowadays. I go over that website and I find like, hey, here's a great guacamole recipe. I'm like, oh, that's that's what I was looking for.
So I'm gonna have to text Claire Rogers and be like, all right, I want to see like a garbage plate challenge.
Let's go Yeah, all right, let's uh, let's do our our ceremonial five things here. I you know, I again, Hey is my guest here. You have to come up with five things. I came up with five.
Things, very very very unique format.
I mean, yeah, it's the it's the I thought long and hard about it. I'm glad I was able to innovate in the space and come up with a five story lines podcast.
It was a great honor of mine.
We're actually we're gonna count this down in like true TV.
You're te guys, right, so this is good.
You know the TV guy when they're desperate to be very clear.
Oh, don't sell yourself short. You got that CIA's coming up. That's that's usually your time to shine.
I do events double as up coming up. I had to had to beg my way back into the coverage very much looking forward to get into Greyhawk for the final time where I can stop getting a sock tand like it's so freaking hot on that set that like my ankles get burned. So the La Costa, La Costa here we come, twenty twenty four.
You'll be in uh, you'll be in Arizona to see Illinois first national championship in golf.
I'm excited for you.
That'd be wonderful. I mean the storylines are a plenty, like the like the individual racist year is is insane, and we're gonna begin lud big Ayberg's march towards the Roder Cup twenty twenty three. He would come at ntaa's.
All right, let's get into it. What's it? What's your number five?
I didn't really, I didn't number them, so mine are gonna be all out of order. But I love that you've got a countdown, So you're your number five.
Uh for for number five? For me, Andy and I don't think we're gonna be outdated on this when this comes out on Sunday. But for me, the fifth biggest storyline is jordan' Speed's injury, Like is he going to play? How severe is the is the ailment that he's dealing with? Like I was. I was super alarmed when he put out that tweet on Monday of Nelson Week. Like he didn't say that he had discomfort, He didn't say that he had no bagging pain. He said like quote severe
pain in my left for rists. So there's so many alarm bellows that go off. It's not just the left for rists, it's the use of the word severe. It's the fact that he said that he's weak to week.
I made the point with Rex earlier this week, like you can miss time in October, you could miss time in January, Like this is just a dreadful period in the golf calendar to be suffering something like this, right, you have to let it one hundred percent heal, And so I'd be really surprised if we see Jordan Speed tieda this week at Okhall, which I think is a shame. You know, he's playing the best golf he has since
since twenty seventeen. He hasn't had the greatest history at the PGA Championship, and so just to kind of have an opportunity missed, most likely in the prime of his athletic careers is certainly is certainly disappointing from a golf fans perspective.
Yeah, obviously, you know the career Grand Slam is the spot. I don't think Okill was really a great spot for him. But he's playing really good golf, and risk injuries are terrifying for a golfer like that is I mean, when you talk about what are the worst injuries a golfer can have, like I think wrist and hand can risk is like right there with back. Right, So in terms of this, and you know, you know that it has
to be pretty serious. Outside of the majors, the players like the events that Jordan Speces least likely to miss I think.
Are the two at and T events.
Right, obviously his biggest, biggest sponsor outside of under Armour and uh a big PGA Tour sponsor. So those are the events that he is locked in for his hometown at and T event and uh and so yeah, I agree, this is a terrible time to have an injury.
Why is why is? Why is okill not a great course for him?
I just I think it's gonna skew power. I think it's gonna skew I think it's I don't think it's gonna be full Beth Page, but I think it's gonna skew that way.
You know T three, Jordan's.
Beef T three at the Beth Page pg A.
That's it's the most it's the most irrelevant T three, And.
I mean it was he was like nine back, but hey, it looks it looks good on Wikipedia.
Nine back and he's five years later. He had like a historic puttig week. It was like one of the one of the greatest putting Major Championships weeks of all time, and like, you have a great putty week and you still are nine back or whatever he ended up. It's uh so, anyways, I think it's gonna skew a little bit bomber just with uh.
This was one of my things, so I can just roll right into it.
Is it number five or is it?
No, it's not number five. I don't know what it is. See.
It was the first thing that I wrote down, just because that's usually where my brain go.
Two.
It is golf course.
I think it's gonna we're seeing early videos. I've got some insight from the ground from somebody very intimate with the grounds at Oak Hill that the rough is is very lush, which I think was like.
It's been great growing conditions. Andy, it's been warm, it's been warm, and now it's been wet for the past couple of weeks.
I think that was the biggest concern with this, with hosting at this time of year, was like, how are you gonna how's the grass gonna be? And it seems like they've had a great, great uh spring.
So the rough is super lush.
It's like super thick grass, Like the actual grass is really thick.
It's a thick strain of grass.
So I think we're gonna see, you know, with these narrow fairways that can't in different directions, Like it's just gonna be really hard to hit fairaways. And when that happens, it it becomes who can hit it the furthest up and there's some elevated greens out there, so that's the other thing. You have to hit it high and are and so you start to look at it, it's you know, I think you're you're starting the field of who's going to contend shrinks down to ten fifteen players.
That's interesting because that was my number four was the golf course. I remember playing it, you know, back in high school. It seemed kind of forgettable, Like every there was just so many trees I didn't like like being It's kind of like Harbor Town right where you can be in the fairway, but but you can be blocked out, and that was that was certainly frustrating. I didn't find it particularly memorable, at least for vast stretches of the
golf course. You guys an amazing job, but I would I would strongly encourage anyone who hasn't checked it out to see the history of Oak Hill and kind of what they've done with the restoration. Like I'm super excited to see how this golf course plays now after the restoration. Going back to the Donald Ross greens like you guys illustrated so well, like the bunker shaping is so dramatic. Like I think, I don't think this is going to
be a pushover by any stretch of the imagination. Like I don't think we're going to see those the very low scoring PG championships that we've seen in the past. Okill typically plays tough and with the density of the rough like you talked about, like, yeah, you've got to
have this thing on an absolute rope. And so if that's the case, if you need a guy who hits it far, hits it high, is able to stop it on firm greens like who Who's players to you that that fit that profile as well as you know currently.
Informed twenty twenty Bryson.
He was he was too erratic.
I don't know.
I think I think it's gonna be about like hitting it far. It's gonna be a big thing. But you obviously automatically go to that Beth page like Brooks DJ. I think rom obviously I thinks just like brawny, big burly dudes, I think will be a good one, you know, like the I always say, like the thing about Shuffler is if you're really good at everything.
Every course is a fit, right.
I think one of the things to watch, like, I think you hit the nail on the head with scoring. If we're going to just talk about the course a little bit here, and I think, like I was thinking about this, it's like four to six is probably gonna be the winning score if I had to guess.
Stuff was like, I think ten and that was the lowest score ever. It'll kill if I'm not mistaken. Obviously that was in August. Yeah, I was thinking like eight.
Ish, I get yeah, I could see eight. Eight would be I think on the on the upper end. Obviously, PGAs tend to be around saddy, you know. I think the the thing is like what I'm really curious too about is like morning versus afternoon wave because I think it'll be consistent looking at the weather, but like the morning, it's gonna be cold, and the balls just.
Not gonna be go forties. Yeah, the forties in the mornings.
And the ball doesn't go anywhere in that out there at that time of year when it's cold like by this, even if it's like sixty five, you get that kind of spring cool air breeze and the ball's it's gonna play so long.
I'm curious with the club.
I think one of the things where you could have a higher end of scores, like the higher range, like where you get to the eights, the nines, the tens is if they're like very conscientious of the uh of the club pros and they set it up a lot shorter because there are some te's. It's nuts how far back some of these teas are, like you're you know thirteen the par five with the Hill of Fame.
That thing can play so long.
I think it's like six six hundred plus for the back te You know, you have these par threes on three and couplets, aren't there three and eleven? I think once two thirty, once two forty five. It's like those are just beasts of holes. I mean remember remember the guy I forgot his name maybe it was last name, was Haul at the at the the PGA pro who was like sixty five at Harding Park, who was hitting driver three wood.
You think we're gonna see a repeat?
Yeah, I mean like one of these.
And so I think that they have to be somewhat conscientious of of the PGA pros, right, And that's where you could get a little bit.
I mean, it's one hundred and fifty six guys the daylight, like they're not they're not fully stretched out yet like big long golf course. You gotta get them all around. Like, yeah, I could see them. I could see them being gentler, I guess over the first two days and then just absolutely putting the screws to them on the weekend. I think it's custom right for the PGA to not cut the rough after Monday, Monday or Tuesday, so I could certainly see that being the case.
So h that's golf course talk. Was that your number four was the golf course?
Yeah?
It was those my number four. Look at this, which I probably if it if it wasn't the Friday podcast, I'm not sure i'd have the golf course down. But like I watched the video and I got I got super Jazz to be at oak Kill next week.
I think, like what you said, just to kind of close this, like what you said about playing in No for I do think like the restoration has done a wonderful job of like you're gonna have a much more memorable course. Yeah, because like you said, like when you have just like trees everywhere for eighteen holes. They all feel the same because it's like now they have just really great I mean the trees out there are majestic.
Those oak trees, they really are.
Yeah, I hope, like I think actually, like personally I'm in a place right now where like the oak trees are budding. It's more I think that are the most beautiful at that time and in late fall, so you could they could look really cool with just like the buds and everything and give you a little bit more sight lines there. They're gorgeous trees and I think there's some it's opened up some of the really nice topography at the place.
Get like what was the memorable line in the video, like they planted more than thirty thousand? He lost count after thirty thousand trees? And how many? How many did you did you remove the right number?
Yeah?
Like yeah, he I don't. I don't think they did anything by just happenstance or guesswork.
Garrett cut out the history and went on about the trees Fred Belts and he said he said he was like he lost count at thirty thousand, and the estimate is that he planted seventy thousand.
Which is just outrageous, like you could lose, you could lose five hundred, you could lose a thousand.
And not even notice. Well, the thing about it, I'm looking forward to getting up there. He grew He grew them in coffee cans. Where did he get seventy thousand coffee cans?
Wasn't Folger's headquartered around there?
Was he just bulk ordering coffee?
Can't if you guys want, if you guys wanted to do Big Jay journalism, you would have asked, this would have been this should have been like an extra segment.
Well you can ask.
Now there could be a story on Golf Channel where he got all the all the all the coffee cans.
I think people would love to hear that.
I know exactly whould run it.
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If you can pick up, like, you know, a couple feet of you know, dispersion tightness with your wedges and you can be a little bit more consistent with distance control, that's gonna make like a massive impact on your game. So that's something I would I would check out and thank you to Club Champion for their ongoing support. And uh, next time you hear from me about Club Champion, you'll probably be hearing about my new sticks. So I'm excited. And now back to Ryan Lavner. All right, here's my
number four. I'm talking about a couple of major list guys, Xander and Can't.
I did some research. I was just curious.
I was like, these guys have been in the top ten for a really long time, like perennial top ten players. So I looked at number of weeks in the top ten. So Xander's got one hundred and eighty seven weeks. Can't Lee's got one hundred and eighty five. They're obviously best friends. It's kind of humorous to me that they're like that close in weeks in the top ten. Off the bat it's almost four years. Yeah, it's an insane number. So they've spent one hundred and eighty seven, one hundred and
eighty five weeks in the top ten. That's thirty ninth and forty first all time. Obviously, the OWGR I think started in eighty six about then, So thirty nine and forty first pretty crazy, like that high already in weeks in the top ten. By you know, by the end of the year, they'll be up to like thirty four and thirty six in they're four and five. They aren't falling out of the top ten this year, so they're gonna just keep going up.
So active players that are ahead of.
Xander and Cantley are Phil Rory Sergio, Adam Scott, DJ Westy Stenson, J t rom Day, Speith, Donald Luke, Donald Fowler, and Bubba Watson all right. Of the people ahead of them that have not won a major, there's only six guys Monty Westy, Steve Stricker, Luke, Donald, Ricky Fowler, and Jumbo Ozaki.
And that nuts.
So what you're saying is there in rarefied air and don't have much to show for.
It, exactly Like so much like these guys need to be talked. They're they're entering that like you know it doesn't feel like it. But they're entering the greatest player to never win a major?
Discussion, Ah, they're probably they're probably a dozen or two wins behind behind you know, Westy for that discussion, But I see where you're going.
Like we've been in this era of like I felt like for a while, like once Ricky fell off, we lost and Westy you know, got old. For a couple of years, we've had not a lot of discourse around, hey, who's the great player that hasn't won a major because they're too young? But can't Lay and Xander at this point cannot be. They are, without a doubt, in the in the crosshairs of this.
I think the difference though, is Xander and Can't Lay essentially have been out there for five years, right Like Xander didn't didn't break out on tour until the twenty seventeen US Open at Aaron Hills, and Can't Lay Can't was the exact same effect, Like he missed. He missed three years because of a debilipating, abilitating back injury. Didn't know if he was going to be fine. So they've had five opportunities. He's five years of opportunities, which is
twenty majors. Like, that's not a it's not a huge sample size to get it done, particularly when you still had, you know, the emergence of other place. I'm with you, Like I've picked Xander to win a major at least one per year over the last four years, and he hasn't gotten it done. They're they're you look statistically like they're they're basically the same prototype player. Like obviously Xander is is longer than Patrick is, but like they do
everything well. Yes, Like there's no there's no weaknesses in their game. Now Scotty is a tick better, Like we talked about Scotty being a really complete all round player, Like Scotty's.
Is better.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. But like these guys are way too consistent across the board to not have given themselves more opportunities to get it done. I mean, what was their best what was the best chance? I think back Xander that USTI yeah, Xander twenty nineteen masters. Can't they had a chance there too, Like they really haven't gotten their heartbroken all that many times, which I think is even more frustrating that they haven't, Like they haven't been squarely in the mix with a couple holes to go.
Yeah, I'm I'm intrigued.
What's your next thing?
I think I've lost track. I do have John Rahm written down because because we have not talked about the world number one in like genuine world beater.
See I didn't put him on my pretty story to because how was he?
How was he not have him?
I need if you weren't, if you were, if you didn't have him, I would have plugged him bin and just brought him up, you know, as one of my last ones.
I would have kicked out one of my other ones.
See this is a hotel enough. But like, you can't not talk about him right.
Like, so I find him really hard to write and talk about. I think his I think his upbringing is is super interesting, like with the with the club foot and then the transition to college golf was obviously very interesting, not knowing a lick of English, and now I'd put him as as perhaps the most eloquent player on the
PGA Tour. But I find him hard to write about now because over the past four or five years, like it's just been a linear trajectory to get to this point, Like there hasn't been much adversity, like the the the issues that he had a year ago was like moving into a new house and and kind of dealing with the with with the fatherhood and now Kelly's pregnant again. Like that's that's kind of the challenges that he has had.
But he's such unexceptional golfer that it's but I but I don't find him resonating yet well like the general with the general public, which is unfathomable to me. Like I find him super interesting as a player, Like if I was if I was a golf fan who's going out to Oak Hill, like he would easily be a top three guy that I wanted to watch, just because like seeing him he's seeing him hit a power fade is is like one of the best sights in golf, right and and obviously the passion flows through him, the
energy flows through him. I find him compelling. But but man, he's he's he's tough to he's tough to write about because he's just so damn good and he just wants it so damn much.
I think that's like the challenging thing that like one of the things that makes golf so j fun sport to watch, as everybody has weaknesses and everybody has these like holes and things to overcome, Like what he.
Doesn't have frailties. There's like no frailties in John Rock exactly. It's just like a relentless force.
And I'm I'm curious with this year and what he's putting together. Does the discourse start to become easier when he as he keeps winning, like he's in this weird in between spot where he's having historic year. But you
could make a comp to another player. But if he gets to eight nine wins this year, which is in the realm of possibilities, it's you know, which is crazy to say that, but it's in the realm of possibilities, he could win three more times, right, Yeah, Then all of a sudden you get into where does this year
rank all time? And it's in the VJ you know, Tiger Woods level of discourse, right, And I think that's where he gets easier to write if he gets another major, like if he wins this or LACC if he gets the three majors all of a sudden, I don't think because Tiger Tiger, for all of his thing, he was never I don't think he's probably similar in the sense of like there wasn't that much interesting stuff to write about Tiger until it became like this is history.
Yeah, he needed to be like so overwhelmingly dominant that that was that that was the story. If it's if it's if it's Rom winning five times and Scotty winning four times, then Rory, you know, picking up two or three on his own, Like it's hard to it's hard to separate those sorts of personalities in storylines. But if he drops seven, eight, nine wins that then yeah, you're talking about a historic year.
Yeah.
So the other thing is like if Scotty picks this one off, right, then all of a sudden, Rom and Scotty both become I think I have struggle the same way with Scotty, right, Like there's there's not a ton to talk about outside of like he's really freaking good. You know, he's not like dynamic as a personality. I
think he's underratedly funny. I think he's got like some you know, very interesting aspects of his personal life that with golf and how how it relates to a sport that's like so brutal on your mental side of the game. But the thing with Scotty, I think Scotty and Rom almost need each other because that's I think Scotty and Ram have you know, and Rory I would put in
the same bucket. I think those are I think those three guys probably only think about the other two guys really when they think about like there, I think those guys are the clear a different echelon of play.
I mean, if you if if if you beat Scotty and Rory in a tournament, there's a very good opera, there's a very good probability that you're that you're gonna win it, right.
Yeah, or Rom for that matter.
So like those three guys when you put I think like Rory's obviously hasn't played great the last ten weeks, but that's the way golf works, right, you go through dry spells and heat heaters. Right, So with that, like those three guys are have like a really interesting ability to elevate a sport that has been void of like true stardom. Like how many big threes have we had in the last eight years, Like remember the the Rory DJ Ricky Speith big four, you know, so we've had.
These, but Brooks was in there, JT was in there.
So we have like these two guys, especially Scotty and and rom are having have the potential to have like the greatest two player year in a really long time from like really since like I mean Speath and Day and at Whistling Straits and Chambers that was like a great year of two guys, right, But these guys, if they pick off multiple majors, I think they're in that class because of what they've done already on the PGA Tour in big time events.
And like we haven't seen a player win the first two majors of the year since since Speef doing the double dip back in twenty fifteen. Like I would put John Rams as the favorite obviously for this week at Oak Hill. He's had two weeks off now, right after Mexico.
Like and to your point about looking at a potentially historic year, like had he been able to chase down Tony Fee now it hadn't been done since I think nineteen seventy four of win that many times before the calendar turns to May, Like this is this is absolutely crazy stuff. And so let's let's say, let's let's look at Chris, but let's say John Rahm win's it ok kill first in eight years to win the first two majors of the year, like US Open traditionally has been
his best major championship. Okay, then you turn the page to Open Championship, Like he has a great history links golf courses. He has all the shots. Uh, there's there's no like. The way that he drives the ball is
putting him in great position. His his short game is it certainly can be Sevey esque at times, like boy, Like the conversation really changes if John rom wins at okill, I think Scott he's going to factor prominently in that right and like we'll get to that, but but he's he's the favorite, and if he wins it, like wow, the temperature just got turned up.
I mean I thought it was like clear as day from the first tournament that he teed it up on the PGA Tour that he was going to be a great player, just because.
I remember talking. I remember talking to Tim Michelson. This was the Oregon inc Double. Is that twenty sixteen.
Yeah, that was like that was the NCAA's that Illinois got completely robbed, completely jobbed.
Yeah, that's what that's what everyone remembers from that. But Tim, Tim Michelson John Ram's college coach told me that that John Ram is essentially Phil Mickelson, but a better driver of the golf ball. And so you look at Phil's
skill set, which is otherworldly. You look at Phil's career, which you know, it's already legendary when of the top ten all time had tigered up in there, like god knows, who knows what he could have accomplished, Like that's what they were talking about John Robin College, and he has. He has fulfilled all that monster potential, which is just
wild to think about. Like I think we're looking at quite possibly the greatest European golfer of all time and a player who, over the course of his career could certainly win the career Grand Slam.
Well you brought up Phil. Natural segue to my next thing, the Live boys.
That was my next one, All right, perfect?
We got seventeen guys, I counted, is that right?
That's right? Seven or is it eighteen? It's either seventeen or eighteen.
I went through and hand counted, so I might have missed one. You know, some of those guys, some of those names on Live are pretty obscure.
And Dean Burmester is in the field.
I got.
I got him. I would never ever miscounting Dean mean, Dean my guy. But they kind of popped at the Masters. I think, like, you know, they had what was it, three of the top six players the Masters, the top six yep. I think if you really look at who's in the field, who's who's like a potential winner. And I don't want to discount Phil, but I just don't think this is the golf course for Phil.
Phil was out there scouting early, I know, scouting early and then having lunch with Amy.
It's I you know, as much as he won, it's insane to me to think that he won two years ago. We were watching the final round together. I watched you get enveloped by the swarm of people on eighteen and the and the cop and the cop regressive.
I was riding him like a Bronco all the way to the green.
So anyways, I U, I mean, it's insane they won two years ago. But really I zero in on on DJ, who hasn't done anything, but like, I still have to put him in the in the discussion just because of other worldly talent, and I think this is a great course fit for him. And then camp Smith, but like this is not I don't think this is a camp Smith golf course.
It's not a camp Smith golf course.
But he's a top ten player in the world without a doubt. So you know, I just don't is he still?
Is he still? Like?
What is he?
What has he shown you over the past five months to suggest that he's still a top ten player?
I mean he hasn't shown a lot because he hasn't played a lot, and I haven't tuned in to Live Thailand and you know and such, right, So like I don't, I you know, I just I can't discount a guy that was arguably the best player in the world last year, right, and say he's not a top ten player this year just because we haven't seen me.
Cam cam Smith was my player of the Year last year. Like you look at the totality of his year. I think he played the best golf.
I agree, like, and who knows what happens in the FedEx Cup playoffs if he's not like going to live and had that weird WD and you know, it was just kind of like I can't imagine playing in the playoffs when everybody knew you were leaving was very easy mentally.
Yeah, very very very awkward, you know.
So to me, like, and this is the thing is, like Paul Casey's in the field, right, he might finish T. Twelve, That's not He's not going to have a chance to win. I mean I might get burned by this, but Paul Casey's not going to win a major championship, right. And that's that's why I'm saying, like, guys have legitimate chances to win this week.
I don't think there are a ton of them.
I would certainly agree with that. I mean, Brooks's Brooks is to be a top five favorite regardless of what tour he's on, regardless of what tournament he's playing. I think the way that he played through fifty four holes at the Masters was was no fluke. I mean that was that was peak Brooks Kepka, playing, nishing, calculating really smart golf. And I think there's little reason to suggest why he can't continue to do that. He's he's played well in the inner in the in the intermittent time
between those two major championships. But like when you go down the list and you mentioned like three of the top six at the Masters where live players like this is not gonna be a great place for a Bannster. This is not gonna be a great place for like a Woakee Neman. I know Mito had an opportunity to win PJ last year, but like, is has he done enough this year just to suggest that, you know, that wasn't just kind of like a one off. This feels
like a yeah. I feel like Thomas Peters could play well. I feel like with Patrick Reid scrambling, although he's highly inaccurate, Like if this is going to be a slog fest, right, Like, if you're looking at a winning score between five and ten under par, that's kind of right up Patrick Reid's alley the player. So I think Brooks has a like
a legitimate chance to win. I'm very curious a about DJ, who was the undisputed number one player last year on Live, like thirty five million dollar man, and he hasn't done anything. I don't know how much the time off affected him right between the end of the LIP season and starting up again. I don't know how much the back injury before the Saudi event has affected him. But he hasn't done anything. Yeah, he didn't play well with the Masters.
He hasn't played particularly well against forty eight man fields on live, so he's of interest to me, and like the man of the moment, Taylor Gooch is Taylor Gooch's time to shine. And we're recording this spoiler alert, not on Sunday. We're doing this on Friday. The live event has not started. Like it would not surprise anyone if Taylor Gooch by Sunday evening is like one three consecutive, be.
The first first three time winner and live history too.
That's right, it would be a it'll be a historic achievement. But like he's he's the man of the moment, Like there's there's so much dialogue about how good Taylor Gooch is, how live players are being disrespected, how there's collusion between these all these establishers. If you're a great player, show up at the PGA Championship and show it like this is the best form you've ever been in in your entire career. Let's see how you do it against the
strongest field the major championship golf. Like that's that's really what I want to see.
I think there's not a it's not a crazy world to look at Taylor Gooch and think if he had stayed on the PGA Tour, if he would be thought of in a similar vein to Maxhoma. They were on a very similar trajectory. Taylor Goosh was a player that continued to improve, and if you looked at like, you know what he was really good at, it translates really well. He's an unbelievable ball striker, right, he's great t degree
and that really translates well to major championships. And I think that's the thing that's like, it's a hard thing with live and what it presents for players like Taylor Gooch Joaque Neeman is that it's it's it's unfair because there we don't there's no context around it, right, you don't know how to describe it, like, Okay, you went out.
Just they're just playing. They're playing in a vacuum essentially.
Yeah, you went out and beat forty seven guys like he probably would have won a couple PGA Tour events and he was playing like you know when he left the best golf of his life on the PGA Tour. So it's just a it's a tricky thing because like, is there a world where Taylor Gooch like he qualified for Eastlake and he didn't play half the year. Like, is there a world that he finished fifth on the FedEx Cup last year?
Yeah? Absolutely?
Right, Oh totally.
Is there a world that he is the top ten player in the world right now if he didn't go to Live Absolutely probably, Like I think he would be a top fifteen player in the world. Like if you're if you're talking like very you know. I just think that he was on this arc that was really similar to Maxhomer.
They were their friends.
Like if you look at his stats and what was happening, he was becoming a world class player before our eyes. And then he went to Live right, and it's uh, and now he's won twice, he's coming in. He should be in the US Open field. I think that that kind of stinks that he's not. And I'm glad he's going to be in the field this week.
So like the Masters, I think kind of unfairly felt like a referendum on the whole live experience, right, Like I think it was a rough ferendum on the the the time off in between seasons, the early schedule, Like was that going to be enough time and an opportunity for these guys to get major championship sharp and you look at through the top six and the lead board the Masters, like I think that that kind of dismissed that. I think this is actually a greater indication of what
these guys can do. This is a prototypical major championship test, and and Live has has sent these guys to what Australia, Singapore. Now they're in Tulsa like they're there's it's They're not making it an opportunity for these guys to go if they wanted to practice ahead of time at oak Hill.
They're going to be coming in hot On on Monday now, So I'm not as optimistic that the lift players will play as well this week at Okol, which I think is very interesting because had the inverse happened right at the Masters, had they not have three of the top six, if it was just like it was a if it was last year. If if it was last year and the guys completely no showed, then I think the dialogue heading into this year's championship is much more intense than
it is. I think it actually took a lot of pressure off those guys.
Now for a quick break from our other sponsor CLUBTFE. This is a great week to join CLUBTF. That is our membership program for the frieda Egg. Really what it is, it's additional content. You're getting about five new blog posts a week. We have a monthly member hangout. We do these in depth course profiles every week, and then we also have a monthly member video this week. This month's member video is about Okill East. I break down an architectural feature that I'm keen to see on every hole
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A great way to support what we're doing and really help us continue to elevate and do more content if you're interested in that. So thank you guys for the support. And now back to Ryan Labner. All right, you what do you have one left?
I have one left?
All right? I got two left? I will I'll go through this quick.
I'm starting to uh, I'm starting to like Adam Scott is a little bit of a dark horse.
This week. So the last six we're in this sixty.
That's that's sixty three at the Nelson. Really got you going, huh.
Well, he played really well last week too.
Do you feel like you feel like we're due for an over seventy over over thirty seven year old winner.
Yeah, I think we're due for like an older winner, right, We've had We've had a run of young winners.
There hasn't been an old winner since Phil.
And which was like the fluke of all flukes.
Yeah, fluke of all flukes.
But you had Tiger, you had Sergio, you have like you have these guys, pop them, you get them still like they're still good enough to win if they have a great week and you know, he's starting to play well.
DJ and Adam Scott feel like, really the only two guys right now thirty seven plus that I would I would say, like, can win a major Jason Days thirty five for like the record, you know, you start to think about, but like, there's nobody else really in that bracket, that bucket that I would be like, oh, yeah, they could go win it. Sergio's not in the field. It also just feels like, all right, this guy has had such a crazy career, such a great career.
He has to get number two.
It feel it would feel wrong if a player of Adam Scott's longevity and Adam Scott's talent level only had one. Like, yeah, he also won a Players Championship, but that was you know, that was a different lifetime ago. I'm with you. I honestly have not thought about it much. Who who over the thirty seven year old set could could win a major championship. I do like the way that he's playing, obviously,
like he's he's trending heading into this golf course. The putter that has kind of been bugaboo for the majority of his career, Like it's actually kind of short up now, Like that's not a it's not a predominant narrative when it when it looks to to Adam Scott, it's more can he can he not have the round where he where he falls off.
It's like he shoots a seventy four on Saturday, that's what happens so like to me, one of the things that could play in his hands is if this Major ends up being like a minus six, like I think when the Major, when the score gets to ten under
in a Major, that's that's trouble for him. Right if this, if this stays around six under, and it's like becomes, oh, he could go sixty eight, seventy two, seventy two, sixty eight and win, or you know something along that lines, Like I guess that would be wrong, that'd be even
par at par seventy. But you know what I'm saying, Like if all of a sudden that range of scores comes condensed and like a winner can shoot seventy three to sixty eight every day and win that I think that's like the thing with him because he can make a ton of parts. He can ball strike this place to death, and he's great, great around the greens.
Like it just always becomes can he make enough putts?
But if it's that hard, you know, the putter doesn't become that big of a you know of a deal.
Like if you ask me who's gonna have a better finish at the PGA Championship, this could certainly come back to bite me. But like I would say, Adam Scott over DJ Like I would I would take those those two players head to head, like Adam Scott traditionally has fared pretty well all things considered at the PGA Championship. Obviously, varying tests, but like he's got a number of top tens over you know, roughly twenty appearances or so, so
I would I would take him head to head. I'm curious to see how this weekend goes if he can avoid kind of that slip up. TBC Craig Branch has gotta be a different test, right then then than than Oakhill, Like you're gonna have to shoot twenty five thirty under park.
They followed the TPC Summerlan model, so it's harder this year because they reduced the par by one shot.
That's exactly right. But yeah, I haven't, honestly have not given that much thought about it. And it's very curious to me that this is your number two storyline.
It's not my number two though. That's I didn't number them like.
You so was. So is this your number five? Can can an old timer win? Are we due for an old old?
Should honestly be like my fifth storyline, this wouldn't have been a storyline if I put Scheffler or rom in that I figured you would put Scheffler and ram in, So, you know, smart.
That's very it's very forth thinking podcasting.
Is that number one? Well, that's what that's what the host does here.
I mean, we have not talked about this guy, so I would assume that he is your number one as well. And like the player, I'm most intrigued by Rory next week at all kill.
Yeah, Macro, it's not my number one?
How how is he not your number one? How is he not the most fascinating player in golf right now? What are your thoughts on on Rory heading into year second major?
I mean, I don't know.
I know that's that's that's like a great part. I have no idea what's going to happen.
I think like this golf course will set up very well for him.
This is going to be a This is a Rory type golf course, a Rory type major. You would not be surprised to see him win here like this. This is a this is a golf course that plays right into what he does well.
Hand, he hits it high, he hits it far.
He like is one of the players with enough speed that he can fight through rough he can you know, he has a great short game. His putter has been pretty good. But like you know, I just think, uh, I think.
This is great.
Obviously, there's the big The big storyline is gonna be it's a home game for Rory.
He's an honorary member member.
I don't think he's kill He's probably played it like three times.
I don't think he's played it very much.
All right, do you think do you think he's Do you think he's paying his dues?
I don't know if he if they charge him dues.
You know, this is like this is like the Jason Day Mierfield Village, Jory Lane, Like the guy never plays there, but but sure he's a he's a member and he has all this intimate course knowledge.
Like I do not think that I don't think he's played there very much. I doubt, I would doubt. I don't think he likes to do the big prep. It's it's interesting because like I talked to him Riviera week and I asked him if he was going over to Lacc at all, and he's like, no, I'll go there the week of which is interesting because then you know, for the.
Master means that means you and I have played Lacc more than Roy McRoy.
Yeah, yeah, how about that?
It's shocking.
And then for the Masters this year, he did the big prep. I think like he's stuck where he's trying to figure out how to prepare for majors. It's it's this funny thing with golf, right, Like majors were probably felt so easy for him in his younger years. I mean just rattle off four and and then all of a sudden it's like, yeah, now they're hard again, right, and he doesn't know how to prepare for him And listen, like, I think a lot of it is like a bounce here,
abounce there. I think that gets in people's head. Like I remember I had Luke Donald on the podcast years ago, and it was like the end of the podcast, it was a total throwaway question. I asked him, like, do you have any regrets from your career and it was like, yeah, I played. I played in the final group of the Marion US Open, and I watched Justin rose Winn and I played bad, and I completely blew up my golf swing because I said, I need to be.
More like him.
And these things, like these small moments where like you just don't have it a day, become overblown and you think you need to rework the whole way you do everything. And I think that's where Rory is right now is like he doesn't. It's really weird because he wins all these other tournaments, but he doesn't know how to approach majors.
He's trying to make them feel like normal events. That seems what like the mental work he's doing with Rotella when he's talking about it, it seems like he's just like attempting to make this a normal event, but it's.
Not, and he can't do that.
Like as much self talk talk as you give yourself, he's a guy that's very conscious of what's going on. He's not like and that's the trouble of being conscious, right of Like as much as you tell yourself it's just another event, it's not, you know, but he's been.
But he's been. He's been fighting that battle, particularly it comes to Augusta, Nashville and the Masters, I mean for for years. He's like he I remember, he tried to play his way into it. He tried to take a break, he tried to put his phone away, he tried to juggle dive dive into yeah, like yeah, he got he got into the juggling phase, which which apparently did not last long. He was reading like self help books, like
he's literally tried everything. But that's why that's why he like the Master's performance was so mystifying to me because it actually seemed like he turned a corner. Yes right last year he like he described the fun around sixty four Augusta. Last year's like cathartic and a breakthrough. You look at the way he played the Major champi in Chips the last three of twenty twenty two, like what's what's kind of dogged him right over over this dry
spell as he's he started poorly. You know, his his opening round scoring average is so much higher than the other three rounds, which suggests some sort of stage fright or conservative approach or just sort of timid play before he can finally get his way into it. By that point, it's too far behind.
But you look, I think he I think, yeah, like y jitimate like he's.
Just like feeling his way out when when a Scottier ram is like going to going to grab this thing by the throat. And so he was. He was consciously aware of that for the final three majors of the year, and he started great, like he shot sixty six, sixty six, sixty seven or something like that for the final three Majors of the year. He goes into the Masters this year, like, yeah, he missed the cut at the Players, but like played great at the match play on Wednesday of Masters week,
he thought, like, I'm gonna win this thing. Like he's he's hitting it, he's hitting it great. And so to to play as poorly as he did clearly in effect they had been a deep way because he knew he was going to cost himself three million dollars by skipping, and he kind of did the calculus and said that
this is it worthwhile for me. That had to have shaken him to his core in such a way that I have no idea what to expect this week at the PGA, because that was such a bewildering, mystifying, like it had to create some sort of existential crisis.
Like I don't know what all happened after the Masters.
I don't know, you know, if it was.
Just play or if there is something that happened personally, which you know, I tend to think it might have been a combination of both of them. Yeah, I agree, But I do think what's fascinating is we have an all time great player. Really it feels like a little bit hit bottom in terms of like, which is crazy, Like his bottom isn't like anybody else's bottom, right, it.
Feels a more dramatic.
Yeah, it feels like a kind of like a rock bottom situation. And it's because of this major drought, and it's not just about the Masters anymore. That's the thing. It was the Masters because it was the one he didn't have. But now we're now it's any major. I mean, he's so he's so far removed from winning one. I mean he's he said to himself like I'm approaching this like I'm trying to win my first again. Yeah, like
it's nine years ago. So it's almost like he's in this camp of Xander and can't Ley and players who don't have a major, which is a wild thing because we're on I don't know what chapter of the Rory McElroy career we're on, but we're in this like, I mean, that's it is. It's why I think, like, you know, obviously he took like an outfront role with the Live thing, and he's gotten more press than he's ever gotten really in his career. There's been more attention on Rory than
ever before. And I think think like with general fans, there is like a little Rory fatigue because, like.
You know, he's been so front and side, it's been so front and center.
But at the same time, this is maybe arguably, you know, outside of his coming out party and like coming of age, is an all time player, this is probably the most fascinating aspect of his career.
Oh, I wouldn't. I wouldn't disagree at all. Like I think from a from a writing perspective, like he and Jordan are are are by far the most interesting players
to write about. It. It's they're easy to emotionally invest in, I think because they are so open and accessible, like they let you inside their their their mental fortress, and we're we're kind of along for the ride, right, And so that when you when you look at at Rory and the explanation that he gave after or excuse me before Quail Hollow, like it was easy to understand, like, yeah, the toll of the past year finally caught up to me.
I'd play my way through it. Everyone thought, Wow, this is amazing that this guy has taken on this dual responsibility, right, Like he's he's playing some of the best golf statistically of his entire career. And he's also on like eight hour conference calls and is literally literally reshaping the PGA tour, like how do you do it all? Well, it turns out that that's a burden, that's that's eventually going to crush even even the greatest player. And so like we're
we're we're riding this wave with him. I'm just as it pertains to like next week. I'm just curious if if one week is enough to re establish an equilibrium, tighten up a ball like a ball striking performance that was that was really poor by his standards at at Quell Hollow, And can he get himself now in a frame of mind with three majors across the next two months, like to get to get himself across the line in the tournaments that he covets the most.
Yeah, I would say, I think golf is such an expectation game and it's I think what Rory's got going on is similar to what we saw from Brooks in full swing, where he was talking about when he was talking about Scottie and he's like, I mean that guy's not thinking about anything.
He's just going out and shooting sixty five and.
He's kind of and I think one of the things that but like we're like.
But we're two or three months removed from Rory winning in Dubai. Well that's last year he was the number one player in the world. Like, he's not that far removed from from that player. So I'm not quite I'm not quite with you that like he's at he's at rock bottom now. I think it's I think it's easy to dismiss dismiss the Master's performance as as kind of
this curious one off. I think I'm most curious to see if it if it lingers through the entire major season, which I think would be quite alarming.
I think the thing about golf is like when you don't have it, you feel like you're never gonna get it back. And I think that the Masters he just didn't have it and it's scary and you don't see it on Wednesday, Yeah I know Wednesday, I know, and you don't feel and he played bad Aquoil Hollow. But like, one of the beautiful things about that with pertain to Rory is like Rory can get it back in a second.
And one of the things I think that the Masters could do that could be A huge positive is that it resets expectations and all of a sudden he comes into this and I think, like people, the general public expects a lot less out of Rory this week than they did if he had finished fifth in the Masters, you know, which it shouldn't really have any bairers.
I think the general public always think a lot of Roy McRoy, like expect a lot of them.
I think they do.
But like I think that, like the the golf Van, their expectations for Rory now are so much lower because of what happened to the Masters. Then if he had finished T eight, you know, if you'd you know, a non competitive T eight, right, people will be like, oh, he's got to be your first page favorite, And really the reality is like missing the cut and finishing non competitive T eight really isn't that much different, right, It's like you played okay, you played good, like there's some
things to take away, but you never really felt it right. So, like, to me, one of the beauties, if I was going to turn this whole thing and spin it as positive, is that he's coming into Okhill with like way less expectation. He's your number one storyline. But the storyline is like, what is he going to play well? It's not is he going to win? Is he going to finally end the drought? It's more like, is he going to play well?
And one of the beautiful things when you're when you're a player like Rory McElroy is is the bottoms never you know, never, like his bottom is better than he doesn't.
He doesn't say, he doesn't stay down for long exactly, And it's not like a prolonged slump so to speak.
In the last four weeks could completely reset expectations and bring them in to the right mental framework to win a major, because because it's not like I need to win this. It's like it's a weird thing with golf, like expectations are just crazy, and this could be a great thing for his expectation management.
I agree. I mean, he has the preeminent mental guru like in his stable with Bob Rotella, Like I'm assuming, I don't know for fact that over the past month they've they've had some some some pretty in depth conversations to try to get him on the right track to to salvage what is left of the major season. Obviously, wants to win the Masters more than a the other major, But like, at this point, let's just get one man, Like,
let's let's let's get number five and continue rolling. He's still thirty four years old, like there's so much good golf and so many prime years left for him. I do agree with your point that, like next week, the conversation isn't necessarily can this be the one that he that he wins. It's more like, which rory are we going to see? Are we going to see the rory that we grew accustomed to last year who figured prom
Le in every single tournament? Or is it the one who's kind of like a leaf blowing in the wind right now and doesn't have a direction? Seems a little bit lost, seems a little bit forlorn, Like I'm really curious to see what he does next week, which is why? Which is why?
And this isn't my number one, This is just one of my five, all right. I don't like ranking things. I'm more of a bucket guy. So this is all the things I'm watching for my last one er.
Number Number one is club pros, isn't it? Is it?
Club pros? Now? No?
I wanted you know, the one I was most proud of was the can't lights chople, I think because it was it required a little research research, Yes, yes, so I felt I felt a little bit like justin Ray there. So So anyways, my last one is MLR ball. We've heard every organization talk about this, the PGA tours kind of doing their own research. Augusta was pretty strongly behind it. Obviously, you've got a U, S, g A, and Harnae coming out with this ball. So you look at the all
the entities, it's PGA week. We're going to see where they fall. Do they join in. If it's all the major championships that are behind this MLR ball, it puts the PGA Tour in a really weird situation. If they say they're kind of more in the shoes of the PGA Tour and they're going to listen to players and and you know, and do their own research and think about this, then it makes it a little awkward for the US G A, RNA.
So it's just a it's a fascinating little rinkle to the week.
See where the PGA stands on this issue, and it could really dictate how how the MLR MLRR ball discourse goes from here.
I think as soon as Augusta came out and said that they essentially would support a rollback, Like I think it's over, you think that's that's that's the majority of the majors. The PJ really has little choice but to fall online. The PGA Tour as a as a byproduct
that has little choice to fall line. And if I'm the tour, I'd be spinning it totally differently than how they're doing it, because well, we don't know this for a fact, Like it would not surprise me if liv comes out on the side of like where the entertainment product, like if you want to see guys hit three hundred and fifty yard bombs, like this is this is the
tour for you. And I think in everything the tour has done over these past six nine months to kind of restake its claim right as like the number one circuit, like the destination tour in golf, I don't think they have a choice but to fall in line with the
rest of the major championships. Like if you're serious, if you're a serious golfer, if your aspirations are to be the number one player in the world, if you want to play the most major ready regular season golf, right then we're going to play the ball that you're doing it the major championships. I think that's where the divide can go, like one's entertainment and one is strictly serious
golf only. And so I don't think the PGA will come out in overwhelming support, but I think it's I think it's pretty clear as soon as Augusta and Fred the Ridley came out last last month with their stance, Like I don't think there's I don't think these other organizations have any choice but the fall on line.
See, I'm I'm naturally skeptical, So I'm sitting on pins and needles because I kind of think I could see the PGA is zigging when everybody else is zagging.
But like that's just you know, probably me.
Who's what about the ecosystem? These these these entities have never been closer.
I know. It's Well, that's why it's on my list of things that I'm fascinated about.
Like it's the last it's really the last big party in golf that has to hear from yeah, and and and it will shape how like if they support the MLR ball without a doubt.
I don't think the PGA Tour has a choice. They have to go. They have to do even if.
It's like tepid support for the ball.
If they don't support it though, if they kind of give a PGA Tour statement.
Then which is get which is what gather? We want to gather more information and see what the feedback periods? Like, like, is that what you're if we hear that.
Because then all of a sudden, like it's like, hey, well you know, obviously the PGA Tour and players kind of consider the players a major, right is that fair to say, yeah.
No, it's the it's the it's the it's their biggest tournament.
Yeah, so they consider that, and then all of a sudden they can make the argument of like, hey, two fifths of the majors in our eyes, say no to this ball, or like we need to figure it out, we need to come together and like the in two fifths of the other half of the majors are the are the people trying to institute this only one?
Like it's one versus one, right.
Like I just think that it's a super important statement. See where it falls from everything kind of I've heard. I think, I don't know. I I feel like it's going to be more PGA Tour than than Master's support. I don't think it'll be as defiant because I think one of the big things is like the PGA members the PGA membership, I don't know how they feel. And there's you know, the PGA is in an interesting situation
much like the PGA Tour. The PGA has constituents, and those constituents are are very tied in with the equipment manufacturers. Like you know, you go to your local pro shop, you understand they're tied in, right they you know, they interface with these guys. So like that's that's kind of my my uh. One of the things that it's just something I'm I'm really fascinated about. And it's an early week thing. It'll be done by whatever day Seth.
Wall probably Wednesday, Yeah, yeah, probably Wednesday. So yeah, like I would I would be I would be surprised if it was anything other than like tepid support. I could even see basically a non answer answer whether they're still in the information gathering phase and and and we'll get we'll get back to you guys with a more concrete answer by the time the feedback period is ending, right, Like I could I could definitely foresee that scenario.
I mean, what has to happen to advance this discourse and like we're in this weird phase, is like somebody's got to go play with one of these balls, Like I don't know what the USG is doing, Like they have to get a freak.
That's what the match should be.
Yes, they have to get a ball in one of the best player's hands that's supportive of it, which isn't a lot of them. So you could probably figure out who who the guys are that would do this, But you have to get the ball in one of their hands and be like, hey, can you go play with this and tell everybody this guy's not falling.
You know.
I want to see like a Rory JT Fried Egg match roll back ball versus versus JT's ball of choice.
Well, Jay C's personally rolled back this year. It seems like he's he's lost a few few miles an hour on Yes, I think.
Yeah, he's going he's going the opposite direction. Unfortunately, we haven't talked about JT. I think JT the defending champion. If if if the aim point, if you can, if you can get the thing dialed in if he can get to you know, the number of digits right he's he's hashtag trending a little bit as well.
Yeah, that Quail Hollow I thought was really promising because he hasn't done anything.
I agree he has he has not done he has not done much over the past three months. But the way he played for at least fifty four holes of Quail Hollow I thought was very encouraged.
Yeah, I would agree.
I like, I think like he's he's going to be a very discounted player.
That's worth a look.
Like when you think about like, hey, he hasn't been there, he hasn't been around. But like I mean again, like like Rory, you're when you're that level of a player, you're never far away from being great again.
It just takes one little thing to.
Iron play is just slightly regressed this year, but he's still, you know, top a top thirty iron player. It's I mean, it just comes down to the putting, the the ROMs, the Scotti's, the Rory when he's in top flood obviously, the cam Smith and Anders the can't is like all those guys putt better right now than JT does. But that's not to say he can't do it for for four days next week, it'll.
Kill Yeah, who's your pick to win? Then we'll get you out of here.
Pick to win selfishly, Selfishly, I'd love to see a Brooks win.
It'd be fun.
Realistically, I think it's Scotty. Yeah, realistically, I think Scotty Scheffer's gonna win.
That'd be great win too. For the discourse, I'm gonna take Ram going out on back to back, going back to back.
You just want to I mean I think, like any one at this point, like I want to see I want to see like a historic rom page. I want to see like seven eight nine wins, two three majors, like just just to full out Ram assault.
I feel I feel like I'm chasing right now, and I don't like this pick because of that. But like somehow I talked myself out a rom for the Masters, like after like after Riviera was like, I mean, I don't know how you pick anybody else other than ROMs.
I mean, and then I was blowing I mean he was blowing chunks at TBC sawgress. He didn't play great at the match play, Like yeah, there was there was I think there was a little bit of reduction in value.
And then I talked myself into Rory, you know, and since then I've.
So apparently and apparently so did Rory.
Yeah.
So so at this point now I'm I'm going Rom. I've set on it, and you know, I can't be moved off the position I am.
But we're staking our claim to the top two players in the world.
We're going out on limbs. You know, that's what people are coming here for, is the bold prediction. I'm taking John Ram If he wins, I'm gonna I'm gonna cut this clip out and I'm going to celebrated like I was. You know, I was the first guy on the board with Rom and everybody else fell line.
Picked the number one player in the world.
Hey, everybody can read your writing at golf channel dot com. Everybody can uh can listen to you and uh in the Great Rex Hoggard on your podcast Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and laugh and UH, they can see you on TV.
Too. Are you gonna be doing any live.
From just early week shows? Uh, that's when we have eight or nine hours to fill. They bring on. They bring us on to kill a segment with our various storylines, news and notes. We always have a lot of fun, but yeah, just just Tuesday and Wednesday and then I get to kick back and enjoy this Western New York PGA championship.
Hey, enjoy going home.
I look forward to hearing about the meals and look forward to seeing you at LACC in a couple couple of weeks. So thanks so much for coming on.
Ryan, absolutely and I'd love to do it.
Thank you for listening to another episode of the Friday Podcast. Today's episode. I don't know who's going to be edited by at the point of recording this. It will either be Matt Rus's or Meg Atkins.
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