Making Amazon's Rory Documentary & 10 Masters Favorites for 2026 - podcast episode cover

Making Amazon's Rory Documentary & 10 Masters Favorites for 2026

Mar 26, 20261 hr 18 min
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Episode description

Ahead of next week's release of "Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait" on Amazon Prime, Andy Johnson is joined by director Drea Cooper on this episode of The Fried Egg Golf Podcast. Andy and Drea discuss his latest documentary, focusing on Rory McIlroy's final round at the 2025 Masters Tournament. Drea walks Andy through the process of making the film, revealing details about shooting at Augusta National and interviewing Rory and his family. Andy is then joined by producer PJ Clark to run through their current ten favorites to win the 2026 Masters with just two more weeks until the tournament.


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Transcript

Speaker 1

I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my ball in a brid.

Speaker 2

Egg Friday Egg, the dreaded Frida Egg Friday Fridagg brid.

Speaker 3

Egg, Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the course. Welcome back to the Friday Golf Podcast. I am your host, Andy Johnson. Today I'm excited to, I would say, kind of kick off our Master's coverage. This was a fun interview I was. I interviewed dra Cooper, who's the director of the new Amazon Prime documentary which debuts on March thirtieth, Rory McElroy The Master's Weight. It's like a very inside look at Rory's career and particularly the final round of

at Augusta National. I was able to watch it, enjoyed it a lot. I think people that are really into golf will will enjoy it. And there's some some really cool moments.

Speaker 1

And interviews that you probably haven't heard before about about the whole thing.

Speaker 3

It's it's one of those rounds where I feel like the more and more you watch it, the you still are just as excited to see, you know, footage and shots from it. It was such an unbelievable round. So big thanks to Dre for coming on and talking about his film that he created, and and a lot about Rory twenty twenty five Masters Champion. So also at the back end, PJ and I producer PJ Clark and I are going to chop it up with our ten favorites

for the Here's Masters. It's kind of a crazy Master's going into this where you know, Scotty and Rory haven't been I would say their best, they haven't. You know, Rory was really dominant going into last year's Masters. Scotty has after the win at PGA West, has been very mediocre by Scotty's standards, you know. I want to be clear, I don't want to get in Scotty's crosshairs, you know, but by by the standards he's set the last couple

of years, he's been pretty mediocre. And then every other like really great player around them, you know, has played really well to the point where like Xander Schoffley has looked as good as he's looked in the last eighteen months. But you're looking at all the other guys, it's like, how do you even get Xander Shoffley into the top ten, so that that's a fun exercise. After the Drake Cooper interview that will round out this episode before we get

to dre. This podcast is supported by Cobalt Rangefinders. This rangefinder amazing. Honestly, I was playing a member guest down in Florida. We had a group of caddies. They're caddies, full time caddies, and it's funny. My caddy was was using his rangefinder for the first two days, the two days of this member guest, and then on the final hole, we were trying to figure out where my ball went and I was like, you know, my rangefinder as zoom

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Speaker 1

This is a really really well thought out.

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Speaker 1

It is awesome. Check it out.

Speaker 3

And now let's get to Drake Cooper. Everybody's got like a different bar to clear. I feel like when I make a YouTube video about golf, I if it captures my wife's attention, I feel particularly good. Unfortunately, a lot of our stuff's a little too nitty gritty for my wife. Off it doesn't clear that bar. But like I'm particularly smitten when it does. Do you have a bar? Is there something that you feel like when you clear it, you're like, oh that was good.

Speaker 4

Yeah. Yeah. For me, it's always the mom test. I'm like, if mom can understand this and track this, and if she's in, then we've done our job. So that's that's usually who I'm referencing. My wife, like, you know, she's my toughest critic. She'll tell me all the things that are wrong with it, but she'll understand it all, regardless of the complexity or how dense it is or what have you. Where's my Mom's just like, honey, what's going on here again? So we gotta gotta figure out how

to you know, hit that hit that sweet spot. So yeah, Mom's usually the litmus test we did.

Speaker 3

We did a live pod years ago and I'd been podcasting at this point as my as my job for four plus years, and my wife had never listened to an episode, and she came to the live show and she came we came off the stage and she's like, you know, that was really good, and I was like, well, thank you, thank thank you for for the first time in four years under you know, knowing what I actually do for my job.

Speaker 1

It was it was a humorous moment.

Speaker 3

Dre get you. You've worked on so many projects in your career, and I'm sure you get pitched a lot of projects. When this project came across your desk when you were when uh, it kind of came into your purview? What about it immediately appealed to you.

Speaker 4

I mean, Rory as far as elite athletes go, and and and you know guys that have been at their craft for a long time who've had incredible highs and incredible lows, I mean, Rory is that guy. And I was like immediately, I was like, oh my gosh, are you kidding me? I'm all in not to mention. You know, as most forty year olds do, you know, the door either opens to golf or back to golf. And so I was a kid. I grew up playing baseball. That was my thing. I played it every year, year round,

you know, since I was like five years old. Mom was a single mom, and she was like, you're gonna do this, and I loved it. Fell in love with the game. And along the way, I'd pick up golf clubs, so you know, but then I put them down for some time, and so over the last couple of years, I've picked it back up, and you know, of course following Rory's story over these years and knowing how close he's come and how far he's been, and then obviously this year at the Masters was incredible, and I think

Sunday goes down. I keep saying arguably the most exciting and dramatic round of golf, but I think it's I mean, you tell me you've you've seen a lot. I'm going to just go out on a limb and say the most dramatic and exciting round of golf in history.

Speaker 3

I've rewatched that final round like three or four times now, and you know, watching watching your film, I you know, I'm just as drawn into the story as as I was, like watching it live in person. In a way, I think it's it's got just such lasting power. There are

certain moments in in uh time in sports. It's one of the great things that like just make lasting impression impressions on you and anytime you go back and watch it, you know, as a kid growing up in Chicago, the Last Dance documentary like brought back floods of like memories as a kid that were incredible, but this one being so fresh, it's still like you're still riveted by it, even though there's been so much talked about over the last you know year with as you dug into Rory's story,

what were a couple of things that really stood out to you as someone who was kind of like a casual golf onlooker too diving really in.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I mean, you know, I think first and foremost, there's you know, there's there's the reality that Rory has had this opportunity to achieve the rarest feed in golf with the career Grand Slam, you know, since since you know, going into the Masters in twenty fifteen, right, so you know, essentially eleven years, you know, with that sitting there, you know, as as the elephant in the room, so to speak. And so but you know, then he finally get gets it at this year's Masters. But it wasn't like a

runaway round, or wasn't like a runaway tournament. It was so razor thin, I mean up until literally the last stroke, and so it became immediately clear that, you know, just given what Sunday represented, giving my own experience of having watched it live, that we wanted to make a film about a round of golf. And so I think from a filmmaking standpoint, it's like, well, you know, if you're a golf fan, you can watch a lot of golf.

But if you don't sit there and watch a lot of golf, you're you're you know, if you're not a big golf fan. It's how are you going to do this? Right? How are you going to make a film about a round of golf? And I think, knowing how exciting and dramatic, it was inherently, you know, we had that going for us, but it was like it was inevitable. I knew we had to build the film around that as the through line.

But then it was about how to build this parallel narrative of going back in time and understanding you know what led to that moment on the eighteenth Green when Rory finally sinks that putt and he drops to his knees and he has you know, one of the most dramatic and cathartic responses to that moment. And if you saw that yourself, whether in real time or saw it you know shortly thereafter, you know it was filled with so much emotion and power and a very very touching,

but very intense moment. And I think, you know, we always talked about at the beginning of the project, if you could take that moment, bottle it up, and then unpack it over the course of ninety minutes to understand how he arrived at that moment, you know, then we'd

have ourselves a compelling film. So I think right from the beginning it was about, you know, understanding you know what the challenge was, how to create this kind of parallel narrative of the Sunday Round, but also understanding you know, Rory's sort of story and journey to get there and not fall into the sort of typical, you know, a path of telling the cradle till now biopic.

Speaker 3

Right.

Speaker 4

We made a conscious decision to not do that and try to ground it in that Master's Round. So yeah, that was kind of where we started.

Speaker 3

You know, one thing you hit on it is an enormous story the you know, basically twenty eleven till last year's Masters and just that that kind of journey that that Rory went on.

Speaker 1

That is a huge, huge task.

Speaker 3

Of trying to figure out how to put this all together into an hour and a half. What were for you the most helpful pieces of putting it together or like the real big unlocks that you guys came across in the storytelling exploration.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I mean, you know, when you look at Rory's relationship to Augusta, you know, and I think there's something really really fascinating about you know, Augusta is, you know, arguably the most storied course in all of golf, this rich history, but Rory himself has this incredibly you know, intimate and complicated relationship with this place. But it started out as a shangri la to Rory right as a young boy. You know, he loved the Knights of you know,

watching the Masters with his dad. They'd catch it late on the BBC, you know, over the weekend, and so he grew up in awe of this place and of the players. To then have this place go from shangri law to haunted house over time, and then to figure out how he was going to sort of wrestle with this place. And so I think one of the biggest unlocks was looking at his experience in twenty eleven, arguably you know, one of the biggest chokes in Master's history.

You know, maybe a case could be made for some others Norman, who Rory references as well, but I think Rory himself, when you see a guy with you know, a four shot lead going into Sunday, you know, to just watch him literally just you know, spiral. By the end of it was really really intense. I had known of it. I didn't recall, you know, how bad it went for him until we dug into the material and you just watch him, you watch the body language and

you see the way he was responding. And so that twenty eleven experience, I think became a pretty big creative unlock because you really need to understand and that at just twenty one years old, he's got a chance to again make history, be one of the youngest guys since Tiger to win there, and he was doing it in just rare fashion, dominant fashion with that four shot lead. And then to watch it all crumble, you go, how

do you come back from that? And you hear the punditsy, oh, Rory may never survive this, and then what's he do? Six weeks later? He just dusts off the shoulders and he breaks, you know, half a dozen records at the US Open to get his first major. And so you go ah, that's the guy everybody was talking about, and so that became a big, a big unlocked for us.

Speaker 3

How you know, obviously that A big piece of this, and you illuminated on it earlier, is the mental hurdles, which are how do you go about showcasing the mental side of something and what somebody might be going through between the ears in a visual story.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I mean, you know, Andy, you asked me earlier, you know, when when the project first came my way, what excited me. Rory excited me for sure, But then the you know, the creative challenge of visually telling a story about golf, which is again, you know, it's one of the most if not I think it's the most mental sport there is. You know, as someone who played baseball, I would say baseball is like a cousin of golf, you know, in terms of kind of the mental fortitude required.

But there's other sports where like, it's so much easier to get lost in the rhythm. Yes, you need to be an elite athlete, you need to have great skill to have success at the highest level, but basketball is a dance and when you're in the rhythm, you're in the rhythm. But golf, I mean, my god, you're standing there over this putt and it's right here and there's the cup, and it's like a million things can get

in the way. And you think you're sitting back at home on the couch, You're like, oh, how hard is that? Even I could do that? And then when you watch a myss, you go, oh my god, and you just know it's so hard to get it done at that the margins are so thin, and so the mental side is critical, right, And so visually in talking to Rory, you know, he talked a lot about his strategy for Sunday.

You know, he said he felt good going into Sunday, but he was uncomfortable about his pairing with Bryson, and so you know, he talked to doctor Bob and some others and he was like, all right, I'm going to figure out how to kind of get into my own bubble and I'm going to try to like, you know, sort of drown out the noise. And you hear this all the time at this level, like, oh, you know,

shut out the noise, focus on me. But when you're doing it in golf, it's even harder because just there's just a million things that can go through your head when you're over that ball. It's just it's so hard in that way. And so we started with that, and then as we got deeper with Rory and as he talked about his process, you know, swing thoughts are such a big deal, and so the idea was, well, how

do we visualize this? And so that's where I came up with the idea of, you know, essentially, you know, let's film with Rory at Augusta without the crowd, you know, without the gallery and his own little world, just him

and this place. And so we did all these kind of specific visual shots of him at key holes, at key points, so that we could in the telling of the story not simply see the broadcast just recut, but how to actually go deeper into you know, his experience of it and make the experience of the film you know, sort of immersive and kind of experiential. And so we came up with that sort of visual motif.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that plays out throughout it.

Speaker 3

It's a it's a neat little piece of it of it kind of ties together. I think I think you're right on about baseball. I've always said pitchers. Pitchers are the closest corollary because it's the only non reactionary kind of like you know, hitting sea the ball, hit the ball right, and you can go into slumps a little bit, but it's it's see the ball, hit the ball. Pitching you have to think, and you get the guys that can't throw to first base because they get the yips,

you know. They you got guys that just bomb out because they can't throw strikes anymore. It's very similar with golf. It's it's super hard. I saw that you also directed a documentary about Clarissa Shields, the gold medalist boxer. And then I assume in your career, throughout it, you've you've been across a lot of high performers. Have you noticed anything about personalities of high performers and how so did Rory kind of stand out amongst the group of people that you've been around.

Speaker 4

Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, you know, I'm sure they all share some personality traits. I mean call it, you know, some sort of version of you know, uh type A, you know, alpha, that sort of thing. But I think more than anything, what they share is this and it's interesting. It's it's there's a moment of it in the film an old Charlie Rose interview that he did with Rory where he asked him, you know, is there a common

denominator with elite athletes? You know what what separates you guys from the rest?

Speaker 3

You know?

Speaker 4

Is it a will to win? And Rory said, it's belief, and he goes, okay, And then a moment later Rory corrects himself and he goes, no, no, No, it's knowing. It's knowing that you're going to win. And I think with every athlete I've worked with, it's this un like flappable knowing that they will achieve the goal, that they will achieve the thing they have in their mind and you

can't shake it. But the biggest challenge is for all of them, and you see this in Rory's story in particular, is that when you want it so bad, there's diminishing returns, and you've got to figure out how to unlearn that obsessiveness, right, that obsession to win that competitive fire, you have to unlearn some of this stuff and figure out how to essentially let go and be in the moment, be present, trust yourself, trust the process, all the stuff that is

so easy to say and incredibly difficult, if not the most difficult to actually put into practice, and that's why there's only so many people that do the things that people like Rory do.

Speaker 3

A sought through this process from twenty eleven, what was your particular favorite theory he had through the years on how he should prep for AUGUSTA?

Speaker 4

Oh yeah, I mean without a doubt. I mean, the hypnosis was pretty incredible. And that's when I was like, hold on, you see it in the interview. I'm like, wait, wait, hypnosis and he's like, no, no, no, no, it's not like that, like there's some more science to it. There's some science, you know. And again, look in his defense,

he's like, I'll do anything to achieve my goal. At this point, you know, he was like, you know, when he went into the Masters in twenty fifteen, He's got the Grand Slam in front of him, and it's like, oh, yeah, this will pan out. I mean, look at how incredibly successful I've been. Okay, comes up short, comes up short again, then again, then again. And I think in twenty eighteen with Patrick Reid was when he was really like, oh my god, the clock is actually ticking, like what is

happening here? And you start doubting and he starts searching. And this is what makes Rory's story so incredible. It makes Rory himself as a as an athlete, but as a as a guy who's a like he's a deep thinker, and he he he's willing to go there, not just you know, with us in the film, but with himself right on a personal level, like he's like, Okay, what could I do differently? And everybody's got to kind of

chart their own path. And I think you know, there was a point where we called that scene in the kitchen sink, you know, because Rory was just like, I'm

going to throw everything at it. And ultimately, you know, again it's no surprise he had to figure out how to just care less, you know what I mean, Like sometimes you got to take It's like this in a quantum theory, right, It's like you got to take your eye off the thing, and the thing moves in space, and so you can't be so laser focused otherwise you sees up, you know, and so there's this real challenging practice and so you know, it's like just back to

back to letting go. You know, it's very it's very zin in many ways.

Speaker 3

You know, something you said about the athletes and their belief Through the years that I've known Rory and preceding this win, in any conversation I ever had with him, you know, it always arrested my senses in conversation when the Masters came up, it was he. I never heard him say if I win the Masters. It always was when I win the Masters. And like me as a human, you know, like part of me sometimes was gonna be like buddy, I I don't know if that's gonna happen.

Speaker 1

But he had that belief of when.

Speaker 3

In this round, you know, I I think it's like you guys described it well, and I think a lot of people kind of pointed to this as like any Bryson was the target and the challenge early on, and I think you included like a SoundBite of somebody saying, you know, then he had to beat himself.

Speaker 1

To a certain.

Speaker 3

Extent with all these huge moments and all like huge moments in the sense magical and tragic within one round of golf. How did you go about choosing which ones you wanted to amplify, you know, because you could show everything, you.

Speaker 4

Know, Yeah, I mean that was a ongoing conversation internally with our edit team, and you know, we went, you know, we went all in. You know, are we seeing every single hole? And then we went, oh no, we're going to pull out most of him and make it, make it more about his journey. And then it was like, oh no, no, no, no, no, Now we're coming back. And so we sort of landed in the middle. And look, it was this ongoing conversation with Rory with his team. They

all have different holes that meant different things. There were some that had a level of nuance or I was like, man, that is so in the weeds, dude, I don't even know if I understand what you're talking about right now. So look, I think there's a roller coaster ride that is obvious in the sense that he starts with the lead and he immediately loses that thing right out the gate. You're just like, okay, so we're showing a whole one.

He's tied after one, then he loses it after two, and you're like, oh my god, now what you know what, We're going to show you what happened in twenty eleven, right, this is just like that, right, So you know, for us, it was about finding to the extent that we could parallels between the twenty five round and his and his past and where he's been before, and sometimes those mirrored each other, and they rhymed and sometimes they didn't. But

it was okay from a from a storytelling standpoint. And so, you know, once we come back to twenty five and by a whole three and four, you know, he's the Roary that we've seen before, who's just you know, sharp clean, And next thing, you know, he's got a bigger lead by the end of four than he did at the beginning of the day, and you're like, okay, Then we go back in time and we see, like, this is the young prodigy who went on this meteoric rise after

the incident in twenty eleven. Three out of the four majors in his pocket in three years. That's who this guy was. And now here we are in twenty five and that's who this guy is, right, let's see it. And so then things start to unfold, and so you know, it was a constant conversation about how to use the holes in different ways. You know, Whole seven, well, whole five was sort of the first like recovery shots, and so you know, how deep do we go there? Do

we not go too deep? Because Whole seven is even a better example of it because he has the conversation with Harry and Harry's like, dude, just chip it out, like what are you thinking? And when we went to Augusta and we were filming there with him, and we walked the course and he's like, yeah, so dre's here's where I was. And I'm like here and he's like yeah. And I looked up and I'm like, that's the gap

you shot through. He's like yeah yeah. And I'm like, dude, if I'm in his position, all I see are like four huge trunks of trees and I'm just like, I'm literally just like moving that thing over the fairway. There's no version where you're taking that shot. And he's like, oh yeah, I totally have a shot. And Harry's like

all right, dude, let's see what you got. And so that became an example of like that squash buckling, exciting, you know, approach that he has in his game, which makes watching Rory so fun because you're like, dude, he's not a robot out there. He's a painter, right, He's like an artist. He likes to move, and he likes to do things that are unexpected, and he takes he

takes risks. Jack would say he's taken too much risk over the years, and so it was interesting to get Jack's perspective, Who's like, he's got to temper that a little bit. So, Look, it took Rory fourteen years to listen to Jack, and I think it ultimately paid off.

Speaker 3

You mentioned Harry, he famously never goes any interviews.

Speaker 1

Did you consider asking if he'd do one for this?

Speaker 4

Oh, come on, Andy. We we tried so hard and we were like, oh my god. We were like, we would not put it to bed, you know, and his team blessed their hearts. Everybody went to bat for us. I mean, as you see in the film. I mean, we had the honor and privilege of sitting down with Rory's mom and dad, who also don't do much press, haven't done much in years, and they were so kind and generous with their time and their inside and they were just I mean, you know, I think they really

they really make the film if you ask me. So. You know, once, once mom and dad came into the fold, that really unlocked a lot of the film and yeah, we continue to try to put some pressure on Harry from different points, you know, vantage points. Ultimately he's like, guys, I'm not I'm not one for the limelight. So he uh, he respectfully declined, but his presence is there.

Speaker 3

I was having a conversation the Sunday that Rory won with a journalist who was attempting to put together a story about Rory's caddy, and he was like.

Speaker 1

I can't pin him down.

Speaker 3

He won't give me an interview, you know, And he was, you know, kind of like the strife of you know, he never never gives us anything.

Speaker 1

And I go, well, doesn't that make him a perfect caddy?

Speaker 3

You know, because he he you know, cat, I you know this, it's an interesting dynamic every journalist and media member and thus fans love the cat that always have time for to talk about what's going on. But in a way, if you're a player, maybe you want your caddie to just not say anything.

Speaker 4

Yeah, just keep keep keep keep them guessing, keep them on their toes, you know.

Speaker 3

With regards to Jerry and Rosie in some respects that are kind of the stars of the film. Uh, and they obviously do not participate in media or interviews very often in terms of your work. What what is their contribution? Do you feel Ad added the most to the film?

Speaker 4

Yeah, I mean, look, I think you know, what what makes Rory's story so interesting and inspirational ultimately is Rory's not unlike a lot of other boys and girls who you know, have a dream, right and and and and as crazy and naive as that dream may seem, Rory was fortunate enough to have parents who saw in him this crazy obsession but recognized that his obsession was actually

was pretty good. And they decided, you know, against you know, probably better judgment, that they were going to make some big sacrifices on his behalf and see how things would play out. And so, you know, they came from modest means in Northern Ireland, and they decided to take on additional work and you know, work extra shifts at night to support Rory's Rory's dream. And you know, I think as an origin story, that's where things begin with him

and his family and families everything to Rory. He was an only child and so mom and dad were the center of his universe. It was just mom, dad and golf. And so to have the opportunity to sit down with with his his mom and dad. Look, everything that they shared with us was instrumental and key to sort of understanding in a deeper way, you know, the kind of kid Rory was and just how this whole dream became a reality and they were able to shed some light

on stuff. I mean, you know, it's it's no secret that Rory's you know, had challenges with putting. But to hear Mom just share, you know, the frustrations that Rory had as a young boy that you know, there's some stuff that didn't all make it in the film, but you know she was like, look, he'd say, Mom, I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna putt, and she went, okay, Rory. And then he'd he'd go out and he'd just pick up his chipper and he'd just start chipping and that's

all he'd do. He'd just jip. He wouldn't put you know. So it's that kind of level of insight that was just like so great to hear and understand and you understand, like it just Pete paints this really like interesting and complex picture of you know, how Rory came to be.

Speaker 3

You know, a lot of doc betaries have people uh doing voiceovers, and you guys chose some more traditional method of letting you know, the scenes and the stand up talking heads tell the story.

Speaker 1

Why do you think that benefited this narrative?

Speaker 4

Yeah, I mean I think the you know, again, going back to kind of how we structured the film, this sort of like dual timeline between the twenty five Sunday round and then sort of Rory's kind of backstory and experience. There was a lot of sort of threading that needed

to be done. And along the way, you know, we were fortunate, you know, to be able to have this you know, great rapport with Rory and you know, he wanted the film to be good obviously, and so he was like, guys, I'm going to give you, I'm going to give you quite a bit of my time, don't you know, don't don't let me down. So the pressure was on to deliver, and and Rory was very very open with his time. And it's you know, it's it's rare to have someone in sport really be able to

kind of like tell their story. I mean, I'm thinking of you know, the Tiger doc for example. I mean, Tiger doesn't even appear in the thing. You know, there's others out there where you're hearing from the guys, but he he really provided the backbone, right, So we just wanted to make this like here's Rory, He's guiding us through this thing, and then along the way, these are the people in his world. And so to hear from mom and dad, to hear from you know, his putting

coach and golf analyst Brad Faxon was really insightful. You know. Ultimately, Rory enlisted the help of doctor Bob Rotella, so you know, hearing from from doctor Bob about the work that they do and seeing how all that kind of plays into you know, Rory's experience in twenty five. You know, I thought it was really the way to go in terms

of just bringing the story to light. Sometimes you got to just do the thing, you know, you know, simple as simple can can be good, and so that's what we're we're shooting for.

Speaker 3

You mentioned a willingness like you know, hey, I want this to be good being open. How much did you have to push Rory to be honest about his failures in the interviews or was it an open book? And and how does that compare with other subjects in your in your career.

Speaker 4

Well back to your earlier question, Andy about like, you know, having worked with a handful of various elite athletes, you know there is there a common you know, uh kind of theme that you can draw between them, or personality traits. I will say, and maybe this is obvious to a lot of listeners, but they don't talk about the bad. They don't like to talk about the bad. They don't want to dwell on the bad. These guys thrive on

positivity and short memories right and keeping things light. And so Rory's rare because he is willing to go there, but it's taken time. And when you do that at that level where he's still competing, you still have to be careful not to dwell on it or get too

deep into it in some ways. And so I think for Rory and for other athletes, it's always this fine line between like, Okay, yes, let me spend some time kind of thinking about this, because we are trying to create and share a story versus I got a tournament in two days, and like, the last thing I want to do is be like bringing up all this stuff that's going to like maybe cloud me in some ways, and so I think there's this penchant to always keep

things kind of light and positive. But look, to Rory's credit, he's been at this a long time. He's he's asked himself the hard questions. He's had some really really challenging stretches in his career, lots of doubt, and so yeah, to his credit, he was willing to go there at times and share with us, you know, when he was starting to lose a little bit of love for the game. And I think it was right around that kind of twenty seventeen twenty eighteen time when you know he was

searching and needed to find a different way. And you know, there's no prescription, right if there was, all these guys would be you know, successful every time. There's no prescription, and so you got to find that process that works for you and trust, trust the outcome, but don't pay too much attention to it.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 3

I think the other crazy thing about golf is, you know a lot of sports that's one you win or you lose, and golf it's you know, you have to beat In the case of the Masters, eighty nine ninety other guys who are all attempting to win like it is a It is a true winner takes all sport, which is the wild aspect of the margins that you're you're speaking of how razor thin they.

Speaker 4

Are, Yeah, I mean incredibly razor thin. And it's also

the one sport. You know, again, you could dig into this in every sport, but to be leading with the lead and to be chasing that lead I think take on a completely different complexion in golf because it's so singular and so I mean you saw yesterday the LPGA here where you know, yeah, like Nellie Korda was like, you know what, four or five strokes back maybe at the beginning of the day, and next thing, you know, she's got an opportunity to take the lead, and she's

been charging all day just like in that position to just get after it. And then when she has that opportunity on the on the back nine, she tightens up and she can't quite do it and she's like oh, and then it ends up getting away from her and Kim ends up winning. And so you know, golf is so tricky that way, and so you see with Rory, I mean, you know, after the front or the first nine, I'm using good Augusta speak there, just just noting that that's from the shout out to.

Speaker 1

A guy Pat, I heard it, okay, all right.

Speaker 4

So after the first nine he's like, oh, Bryson was no longer in contention. I felt like I was. I was, you know, I was in control. And then here comes another shark and it's just and Rose and they end up trading the lead back and forth, you know, three four times practically before they get to the eighteenth hole, and it's just that like constant push and pull and uh, I think that part of the game is super fascinating.

And just like man talk about razor thin margins at every step, it's a lot it's so hard to.

Speaker 1

Win outside of that.

Speaker 3

I you know, curious as a golfer, you know, you've you've made most of your career outside of golf. You you work on this project that's you know, so golf. Was there anything else that that like kind of crystallized to you about the sport or rory for that batter that you wouldn't have had this perspective had you not worked on this project.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I mean a lot of it comes back to again, I don't want to take anything away, you know from you know, all the time and energy that needs to go into perfecting a swing, you know, and Rory's got one of the prettiest swings in the game. But there really is and we've talked about this a little bit at different points, there really is something to be said about trusting where you're at, you know, and not over cooking it, overthinking it, you know, the instruction manual as

Brad Faxon calls it. You know, we all fall into that trap of the how to, you know, how we're going to do this thing. And there was this great moment and again this is just like talk about the challenge of filmmaking and editing. I mean, some of the greatest moments don't make it into the movie because they just sometimes they get in the way. And there was this great moment with Jack in his interview and I said to him, I said, so, you know the best to ever do it? You know, you know the mass

like the back of your hand. You played Augusta a million times, Like, what's the secret to the greens? How do you read greens? And he goes, he steps back and he goes, it's just feel that's it. And I'm like, oh, come on, there's got to be there's more to it. You just don't want to share all the insight. And he's like, no, sometimes you got to just feel it. You got to trust where you've been, trust the work you've put in, and you've got to kind of feel

your way around the greens sometimes. And so he's like, you'll see, guys, they spend too much time over the over the ball, you know, common mistake, right, You're just you're over it too long. The next thing, you know, one too many thoughts. So to answer your question, I think in the simplest terms, Andy, it's like, what's the big takeaway I had, which is just like hic be open, trust that process and like let go. Got it. We

have to learn to let go. And it's like it's the one sport where you're like, oh, but you just got to let go. And Rory obviously is a testament to that, especially on Sunday when things could have gone south fast or even further south than they appeared to go on certain holes.

Speaker 1

You know, it's.

Speaker 3

I mean, that's the assets of the sport. It's the hardest sport to let go. Yeah, it's the simplest advice. It's the best advice is to just let go because like you think about, like biomechanics just work better when you're relaxed, right, your body moves more freely, all these things. I was talking to somebody. It was more about life than about golf, but I heard it and it stuck with me for golf. And I've only played one round since this, and I played just an unbelievable round.

Speaker 1

But this person said to me, Andy, you can't go.

Speaker 3

Back and litigate how you got here, and you can't also consume yourself about thinking.

Speaker 1

About where you're going. You just have to be where you are.

Speaker 3

And I use this for golf, and it was transcendent for my mental approach. But it's you know, it's like these things. It's like a fleeting thing. That's the beauty of golf. It's inconquerable or unconquerable.

Speaker 1

It just candever.

Speaker 4

Yeah. Yeah, And you watch these guys. I mean it's like that's why Rory talks so much about like it's like you got to string four good rounds together. You know how hard that is. And when you go back and look at his twenty five Masters run, I mean, you know some say it wasn't four, it was maybe two or two and a half, you know, and he got away with one and you know, or you know, maybe it was three. But to be that consistent at that level is the hardest thing you could possibly do.

So for us, you know, just the guys that are out here trying to have a good time with some friends. I'm just trying to beat my buddies. I'm just trying to win the little stack of stack of dough. I'm just honestly, I'm just trying to hit the ball straight half the time, you know what i mean. And it's like, yeah, I'll go, oh, what did I do last time? Why

I didn't it work this time? It's like no, no, no, no, no no. Just get up there, try to get in the moment, do your routine, and just try to feel your way through this a little bit more and not think your way through this.

Speaker 3

It's I mean, it's just like what Rotella said about in the in the piece, I thought that was an amazing Like I've made a career tell you know, everybody says you can't do this, you know, and win a tournament, and I've made a career telling people it's okay that people do these mistakes and still win all the time.

Speaker 4

Yeah, Yeah, that was a really great retort when we found that little moment. We've kind of again, editing is editing is alchemy, right, and I think it's like filmmaking is funny. There's a lot of parallels to to golf. It's like, you know, in filmmaking, I like to think about three movies are being made. You know, it's the one you plan and write and the one you shoot, and then there's the one you edit, you know, and all three they're all related, they're all cousins of each other,

but they're all different. And the editing process itself is where these things all come together. And when we had that great biting line from one of the BBC commentators, it was just like, oh my god, how could Roy McElroy end up in the bunker on his approach shot on the eighteenth, Like you can't win like that, not if you're working with doctor Bob Sky's the limit.

Speaker 3

It's one day we'll have to have you come on and do a whole filmmaking golf comp you know podcast. But Drey, congratulations on your work. I'm sure you're excited for the world to see it, and hopefully we'll see you do a couple bore projects in golf before you're enter of your career.

Speaker 4

Man spread the word, Andy, I'm like, man, I got the bug. I'm all in. It was great, Rory's incredible to work with, his team was fantastic. So yeah, I had a great time. So yeah, excited, excited for the film to come out, and yeah, I'll see you guys around.

Speaker 3

I just a word of caution, don't make golf your full time thing because then, you know what you learn is golf golf goes away, your personal golf goes away.

Speaker 4

So totally right, You're like, I don't have time to do this. That's the thing. It's like everybody thinks golf is an expensive sport by all means it is not cheap, but it's it's expensive in time, right, It's like you need that more than anything else.

Speaker 1

Yeah, all right, thanks Dray.

Speaker 4

Yeah I appreciate it.

Speaker 1

All right.

Speaker 3

Before we get to PJ Clark and our ten Masters favorites, let's talk about our friends over at Perfect Practice, putting bat. You know what Rory needed when he was a kid, you know's Terrey's talking about how his mom mentions He never liked putting, never never liked practicing putting. A perfect practice putting bat would have been perfect for him for his house. I've got one that's set up. It's uh,

it really helps me with putting. I don't go practice putting at putting greens anymore because frankly, I have a five year old and I don't have a lot of time. But like the things that I like to do when I go practice putting is I like to just sit and hit four footers that are dead straight because I feel like, hey, if I make all these putts that I'm not going to be have bad putting days. Like if I just make all the putts that I want to make that I need to make, which is four

feet in, it's great for that. I used to always love to putt with a chalk line when I practice putting. It has basically a virtual chalk line. Makes sure you're getting your ball started on the right line, makes sure, you know, helps you visualize your st you know. I prefer to get my stroke going a little inside, so like I always like the chalk line seeing my putter kind of come inside and from there I could felt

like I could really release the putter. So anyways, the perfect practice putting Matt is a great way to practice. One of the reasons you can just sit there and hammer four footer after four footer is they've got the autoball return.

Speaker 1

It is a great product. I really like it.

Speaker 3

If you're interested in the Perfect Practice putting Matt, go to perfect Practice dot Com. Use the promo code fried Egg and you get twenty percent off. Thanks to our friends at Perfect Practice for being a longtime supporter of this podcast. That's Perfect Practice dot Com. Use the promo code Frida Egg for twenty percent off. All right, let's get to PJ and let's talk about our ten Masters favorites. PJ, Welcome on. It's been a minute since you've been on the pod.

Speaker 2

Hello, I'm happy to be here. Well, I'm always here, but kind of just floating, floating above everything. But I'm happy to be here.

Speaker 1

Vocally, you're gonna be credentialed for your first Masters.

Speaker 2

It's uh, it's it's very grateful, very excited for the opportunity, very daunted by the task ahead of me. But I can't wait.

Speaker 1

Do you have one thing you're most excited about other than the snack stand?

Speaker 2

I was gonna say the peach ice cream sandwich. Has been calling my name since last year, so I think I think, you know, that's maybe poorly, but that's where my head went first when you when you asked that question.

Speaker 3

That's great, that's great. Anything from like the actual golf that you're excited about.

Speaker 2

Uh yeah, I think, as you said before, everybody except for Scotty and Rory has kind of been in rounding into form or at least has been informed at some point this year. So it uh for as wide open as the top end of this field feels. I think it'll be interesting seeing Scotty now with a second kid, some added perspective, maybe a little bit, but it seems like it's gonna be a good master, So the golf should be good at the very least.

Speaker 3

This was so hard it was figuring out ten to ten. I found myself wanting to spill into like fifteen. You know, I could get with some sleepers to twenty. You know, if I get if I extended, you know, to Corey Connors, he could maybe get me to like thirty.

Speaker 2

Well, Corey Connors is open for interpretation, but I think you can make a legit argument for a list of ten guys. You can make a legit argument for probably I had seventeen on my initial I got to cut seven guys off of this list. I think you can make a legit argument for fifteen seventeen ish guys to be in a top ten.

Speaker 1

All right, let's go ten through one, or do you want to go one through ten?

Speaker 2

Oh, whichever way you want.

Speaker 1

I mean, I think.

Speaker 3

Everybody knows there's gonna be one. Why don't we just start there. This doesn't have to be brief for me. He's in a slump, per se. He don't tell him he's in a slump. As we learned a couple of weeks ago. He's been a little grumpier than usual, but he's still, you know, operating. I'm going to take the body of work over the last three years, operating a completely different plane than everybody else. Scottie Scheffler, two time Masters winner, of course, is tailor made for him. There

are some like alarming things. His iron play just hasn't been very good this year obviously. You know, Augusta Nashvial is a second shot golf course. It is super dependent on hitting precise second shots. That being said, if you're

not hitting precise shots, you know what you want. You want Scotty Scheffler short game because it allows you and we've seen this time after time this year where he's like clearly visibly off and then you tally up the scores and it's like, oh, he shot sixty nine today. Scotty is Scotty's My number one is a year number one.

Speaker 2

Yeah, he's number one until he's not. In terms of the body of work, as you said, and the course history at Augusta, I am curious the current trends of Thursdays not being his best day. This might be the ultimate litmus test of how far back is too far back on Thursday? Where is the line if he shows up and does not have his best stuff on Thursday. He tends to get better throughout the tournaments that we've

seen this year. But I'm sure somebody will have a power rankings list within the next couple of weeks without Scotty at the top. But that's a bridge too far for me.

Speaker 3

Yeah, I just couldn't get there. Who did you guys have going number two?

Speaker 2

I have Bryson to Shambo number two right now. I think the live results are inarguable. At this point, he is won back to back events on live took down John in a playoff. Most recently has the course history at Augusta. Obviously, the the struggles with his iron game distance control have have shown in Sunday, especially last year in the final pair with Rory. I think his putting

kind of got away from him. He's such a good putter with speed control, and on Sunday, watching back as watching the documentary from earlier and watching back the final round, his putting just completely got away from him on Sunday last year. And I am interested to see how he kind of responds after taking you know, Rory used the Mike Tyson quote in the documentary if everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Brison got punched in the mouth pretty hard last year on Sunday

at the Masters. So I'm excited to see how he comes back.

Speaker 3

You know, it's the second year that he struggled with distance control. He cited that in his press conference last year leading into the Masters. Is He's like I've been, I really struggled with with the speed of the greens and getting my pacing right. And I think that's like a bugaboo of his at Augusta.

Speaker 1

But I mean he's had a you know, short of Rory, his career at.

Speaker 3

The Masters has been fascinating, like he's had like the whole run of it and kind of out of nowhere the last two years he has been contending after years of struggles where you know, a fun bet every year was him versus Larry Meies to now where he's number two on your board, he's number three on my board. We'll just dispense the rest of it here. This is the best he's played coming into the Masters in recent memory, really since he went to Live. It's the best he's played.

He hasn't been like a constant presence on the leader board. You know, you go back to Adelaide, he played in the final group. He played poorly in the final group, but he was in the final group where Anthony Kim won. And then he's won the last two, the last two events. He's teed it up in coming into it a lot of confidence at a golf course that he I think, he's like, really how to figure it out, how to

play Tita Green, where to pick his spots. Understands like, you can't just overpower the golf course, but you can, you know, you can work your way around it and get the success that that you're looking for, you don't, you know, it's so I think Bryson for me is one of the big stories. I put Rory number two. I guess, you know, he he showed me a lot. I think like he contended obviously a genesis without like his a stuff. I think Bayhill, if he doesn't get

hurt there, he is rounding into he. I think he probably would have been the favorite going into.

Speaker 1

The weekend at that tournament. You know, that's where I would have probably put him.

Speaker 3

I think that Rory, you know, despite you know the back issue that lingered through the players.

Speaker 1

We won't see him before the Masters.

Speaker 3

He's not going to play San Antonio, so this will be you know, he'll come in a little bit under the radar, but it's gonna be like I'm fascinated by it, Like it's a wild card putting him at number two. But I'm fascinated about the dynamic of like you've gone, you know, the last almost twenty years of your life, like this place has become you know, really since twenty eleven, like this haunted house for you, and you finally get it done in super dramatic fashion.

Speaker 1

Everything is flipped.

Speaker 3

Now, it's gone from a place he probably didn't want to spend a lot of time at, you know, and it was always questioning how he should arrive to a place that it is probably a pretty comfortable place.

Speaker 2

Now yeah, i'd feel pretty good.

Speaker 1

And I think that is you know.

Speaker 3

The question to me is like, is it just going to be too much to repeat with you know, the champions dinner and everything. But I mean this has got He's gonna be on the first tea on Thursday feeling of a relief that he's he's never really had there.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I think I have him. So we could just keep going down the list. Right now we're matched up in the top three, albeit in a slightly different order here. I think grinding out the weekend at the Players, you can tell it it wasn't all there, but some of the shots he hit, especially on Sunday, like his drive on twelve for example, like the speed was still there. The ability to get the ball as far as possible was still there, no matter how much the back may

be hurt or didn't. It wasn't all clicking. But I think with a couple weeks of rest off got to be riding high. I think the only thing that would truly surprise me Rory at the twenty twenty six Masters is if he won again. If he's contending at a top ten finish, not surprised at all. If it's just too much and he misses the cut or is kind of just loitering on the weekend out there early, not

surprised at all. I would only be surprised in the range of outcomes if if somehow this goes back to back we listen.

Speaker 3

I think he's like, if anything understands because of last year that he doesn't have to be perfect and that if he just lets the golf course.

Speaker 1

Come to him and moments come to him.

Speaker 3

He's got enough horsepower to win there. I mean, it's a crazy you know, with last year and all the swings and the double bogies and the perseverance to win that event basically won it like three times on Sunday. You know it's it's it's crazy after you know, the resilience to win after what happened on Thursday. Yes, it's never talked isn't talked about as much as like he is cruising on Thursday and then he chips into the water on fifteen and it just falls apart and shoots

even part. You know, I just think that last year is going to pay off, a payoff dividends. But this is the thing we often do. We always think the floodgates are going to open after a win. You know, remember after Sergio went getting on air and being like, this is the floodgates moment, It's gonna happen. Now he's gonna win three more Majors because you know, he finds freed up.

Speaker 1

So you know, it's it's a it's an.

Speaker 3

Amazing storyline going into this year's Masters. It's also very nice that we don't have to frame everything through Rory. Is Rory can finally get it done this year.

Speaker 2

Now it's got to be as much of a relief for him, it's probably a relief for everybody else because it's not the number one topic of convercation.

Speaker 3

Instead of that, we are going to have likely it seems likely that we're going to have that. Is Tiger going to make the cut occupy the first five days of Masters coverage.

Speaker 2

So Tiger is not on your top ten list, is what you're telling me.

Speaker 3

Didn't make my board, Peach didn't make my board. Models didn't didn't didn't like the the endurance. That's where they fell short.

Speaker 2

You know, understandable, understandable.

Speaker 1

Who's four for you?

Speaker 2

I have Cameron Young. This is the number three player in the world. Number three player in the world, Cameron Young. You know, I only thought we'd be here in my dreams. But on ironically, I think when you're you're making a list of the big game players in today's golf, I know this is something that Joseph harps on a lot. Camer Young has to be near the top of that list.

This is a guy that routinely posts top ten, top five finishes in a very limited major run, had so much success early almost one that opened at Saint Andrews was in it until literally the final putt was trying to make a one on the eighteenth hole at Saint Andrews because that's what he knew he needed to win a major championship. But now is playing the best golf of his career, is a top flight putter, in a total reverse of every fate that has gotten him to

this point. You want to talk about Rory's confidence, I would find it pretty hard to believe that Camera Young's confidence is not sky high right now.

Speaker 3

Either two top tens and four appearances two miss cuts hasn't contended deeply. Those would be by concerns. But I think this is a mark as you've you've hit on. He's a different player than he was two years ago, three years ago. The putter being a weapon is transformational. So I will go with number four, a guy that has appeared in Two Basterds and has had a chance to win two basters Deep on Sunday, Ludwig Obert, he will be number four on mine. I think he's gonna

be a very popular bet. He had been a little bit in the wilderness in the last few months for his standards, I would say, but he is coming on strong. Played very well obviously at the Players, played played well at Bayhill and and something has clicked and now he's heading back to a happy hunting ground where I mean, last year he could have won.

Speaker 1

Or at least very much been in the playoff.

Speaker 2

He tried. I mean, that's that's the the TA last year is not not predicticative and not indicative of what actually happened there on Sunday, because he tried, he went for broke, pushed all the chips in and fell the eighth.

Speaker 3

The way you pick off one of these is if you get in the mix a lot. Yeah, and he's been in the mix two for two. I expect him to be in the mix. He's just got He's got the type of game that just makes you know. The way he drives the ball, if he's if he's clicking, just makes Augusta. It's a sneaky I mean, everything's important, Augusta,

but it is a sneaky driving test. Like if you can get the ball to the right spots with a lot of power, I mean, you make the it's like anywhere anywhere this is the case, but it makes the approach shots so much easier. So Ludwig is my number four. Who's five for you?

Speaker 1

Uh?

Speaker 2

This is where I put John Raum. This was kind of my biggest question on where got him him? Feels like he has to be in the top ten just by giving all of the data is off the charts within the last three months. He's playing like arguably the best player in the world in these live fields for whatever value you want to place on that, but obviously has done it before. At Augusta knows his way around.

I just I don't know how necessarily confident I am in John Ram showing up and being that top flight player. He popped at the PGA was kind of the first, you know, break back into the premiere flight of a game, an animjor championship, and then everybody was all in on the Open last year and he kind of fell right back flat on his face. The John Ram hype is building, and I think within the next ten days we're going to reach a crescendo where he becomes a very very

popular pick and deservedly so. Five could be way too high, or five could be five spots too low. I feel like right in the middle of the top ten is where your eye slotted him.

Speaker 3

All right, I have him the same spot I you know, I I think him getting a win was actually important. Yes, getting the bunky off the back. It had been a long time since you have won. I think the you know, the live going to seventy two holes has helped him. It's just part of like the approach to golf, a fifty four hole approach, Like you're thinking slightly differently during a stroke play tournament than a seventy two hole stroke

play tournament. Listen, I think he's kind of you know, he's a lot of people are going to talk about him, but in the in the vein of of of this, I think he's kind of undervalued at five in a way.

Speaker 1

Six.

Speaker 3

I've got Cameron Young, who've already talked about at length.

Speaker 1

Who's your six?

Speaker 2

I have Xander at six. I feel like it's the sneakiest possible two time major champion entering the Masters that was out in the wilderness last year was basically a lost year, uh, starting off with the injury wins. The Bay Current starts off slow this year, but has slowly but surely rounded back into peak form and is just kind of loitering for a guy again with an incredible major championship record that couldn't just could not figure out how to get off the snide wins twice in twenty

twenty four. I think Xander's live. I think he's running, and I think this is the guy that should be receiving all of maybe the John rom hype that is slowly coming to form here.

Speaker 3

The iron play has been exceptional and that is the big the big thing here. I think, like we did pot a few few weeks ago, it was like we need to see something from Xander, and he shown in the last couple of weeks that he is he is back at the top level of golf. And we're only you know, a calendar year removed from him winning you know, two majors in a year. So I have him ten. I feel like it's low. It's low for him.

Speaker 2

Who knows, But the fact that he is still in the bottom half of both of our top tens, even with me having him at six, I feel like a fool already.

Speaker 3

Honestly, Up next, I've got I've got Justin Rose at seven. This is where, like when I started to look at the list, I'm like, this is insane. The guy, you know, has had an awesome year. He's since at seventh of the world. He has one of the best track records of any player, winners or losers or non winners at Augustin National ever, he won the Farmers Insurance at at Tory. You know, he's he's played played well at the Players.

This guy clearly gets up. He's been just such a factor at major championships and particularly the Masters, Like I'd be shocked if he's not in the top twelve.

Speaker 1

Of this tournament at the end of the day.

Speaker 3

You know, so I got him at seven, Like I think this guy's a legitimate threat to win, and that's why I have him above Xander Like I just I believe in Justin Rose are the masters, like in insane amount because he's been there so often.

Speaker 2

It's hard to not I have him at ten. Uh, And I only have him at ten because after Tory he missed a couple of cuts in a row. I feel like Justin Rose is like he gets up for the big events. Now it's like it's kind of all or nothing where on a week to week basis, Justin Rose is not going to flip the switch. But if it's time to really get in contention, to really push the pedal to the floor, Justin Rose is still at four as good as anybody, But.

Speaker 1

He just won the playoffs. Talk about big moment he got up for.

Speaker 2

He did get up for that, that certainly is true. He's got a new hat that I'm excited to see if anybody debuts that on the grounds at Augusta.

Speaker 1

Who's your seven?

Speaker 2

This is where I had Ludwig. I just I you have to have him in the top ten. To question of how high the innocence your favorite Padrick Harrington quote, the innocence is now gone. I would say maybe after the players, and the scar tissue is building a little bit, but there is no sneak to your place.

Speaker 3

Sneaky scar tissue actually is like if you want to, if you want to short Ludwig, he has some scar tissue.

Speaker 2

Yeah, water is becoming a threat for him between Augusta and Sawgrass, so you have to have him in the top ten. It's a very comfy place, as you said, for him. He should feel in good spirits and ready to bounce back. But I am a little bit wary of the scar tissue beginning to build.

Speaker 3

All right, I've got number eight. I don't think he's gonna be on your board, and I think he just should not be underestimated. At Augusta National, I've got Hideki Matsiama.

Speaker 2

He is not on board.

Speaker 1

I think this is like.

Speaker 3

The least talked about great player who's playing really, really good golf on the in the lead up like this year started and I was like, whoa Hidekidki. He looks good, he's healthy, his finishes. You know, he won the Hero, which is like whatever, take whatever you want. But then he goes t thirteen T eleven two second eighth to start the year. Now he's made the last three cuts,

they've been inconsequential results. But I'll tell you what he is a a great ball striker Ta Green and I don't you know people don't watch TGL normally, but an anecdote you you can take away, file away into your brains forever about Hideki Matsuyama is Roy McElroy talking to Tiger Woods about how he thinks Hideki Matsuyama has the best pitching motion there is like and he's always been criminally under talked about as the best short games in the world. And at a place where sometimes you just

have to dump a ball off to the side. We were just talking about with this with Scotti. You know, if you have to dump yourself out, you have to save tough pars because you get out of position. The number one skill you want to have is a deaf touch. And that's why Hideki Matsiama and the next guy on my list are always threats at Augusta National.

Speaker 1

They are short game wizards.

Speaker 2

Well, we can just go right to the next guy on your list, because my number eighth. You want to talk about the best short game in the world. Patrick Reed ye is here, and I think it's just incredible to think back that Patrick Creed came in third at last year's Masters and was the first and out of the playoff. And yeah, it took a little bit of a maybe not a lucky journey, but some breaks had to go the right way for that to even happen

on Sunday last year in the first place. But you have to respect everything that Patrick reed is doing to already earn his way back via the dp World Tour top ten to the PGA Tour next year. Has two wins already this year, hasn't played in a month, which you could convince me that's a good thing. You could convince me that's a bad thing. Should he be at DLF this week. Is it better to be in India

versus not playing for a month. I don't know, but I'm never ruling Patrick Reid out, especially now that he's playing well entering the Masters this year.

Speaker 3

One of the best stories of the year from like a just a pure golf whatever you feel about Patrick Reid, it's like, here's the gauntlet laid down. This is you want to come back to the PGA Tour, go earn it on the DP World Tour and earn it.

Speaker 1

And he earned it and basically three weeks. And I mean he's a guy.

Speaker 3

This is you know, there are just people that are built for Augusta Dashal. He doesn't drive the ball particularly well. He his iron plays hot or cold. But when you can get up and down out of out of a telephone booth, that is an incredible skill to have there. And you know, if he gets cooking, there's certain people that just go win golf tournaments and he is one of those people. So I have him nine on my list. Who's your number nine?

Speaker 2

I have the leader on the PGA Tour and Strokes gained approach at number nine. Fellow fellow returning to the PGA Tour lugside Patrick gree Brooks Kopka is uh. I think there's some added motivation now that Rory has tied him in major championships. I think the game is rounding into form through the floor to swing. Obviously, this is a big week in Houston as a design consultant place

at Memorial Park. He knows very well. But you mentioned the other day on Shotgun Start that maybe his driving advantage is not as big as it used to be. Maybe there is no driving advantage at all anymore, because everybody has gotten so much better and so much longer, and he's aging out. But the iron play has been just magnificent. The putter has left a lot to be desired. We're putting away a Scotti, Cameron, and now the Spider is in the bag alongside seemingly everybody else in the world.

But can't rule him out. It's hard to given the recent major championship form since his win at the PGA in twenty twenty three, but especially now that he's playing on a week to week basis and the numbers are there and the iron play is there. Like you said, it's a second shot golf course. It's not like he's never contended at a Master's before, so he's got to make the top ten.

Speaker 3

For me, my number ten is Xander who we've already talked about. And rounding out the last spot, what's your what's your last spot?

Speaker 2

Justin Rose, it's uh, it's you have to put on the list. Hat tip to Justin Rose, Sorry to Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood, but that's it all.

Speaker 3

Right, Peach. Thanks for thanks for jumping in. As always, thank you for producing this show. Hey, do you have a pick to click in the pro shop. We've got our our major We're way for major season. Are our I don't know if it's iconic, but our highly sought after Mackenzie Bunker merchandise is up.

Speaker 1

In the pro Shop at proshop dot the fried egg dot com.

Speaker 3

You can get it on the Andy hoodie. You can get it on the Dewey pocket tea. I'm gonna be getting one of those for sure.

Speaker 1

Uh. There's hats.

Speaker 3

There's a hat that I actually ordered the other day, paid good money for it. Much more pro shop dot the fried egg dot com.

Speaker 1

What's your pick to click?

Speaker 2

I like the uh the new line of cool Larson polos from B. Drowty. Some some good some good colors in there.

Speaker 3

All right, all right, check it out proshop dot the fried egg dot com. We'll be back next week. We've got a good one, uh, the one that tickled your heart as our pre evident champions to our analyst, uh, the Great Bernard Longer joins next week uh to talk about his illustrious career uh and and told some good stories. So that was all we wanted, Uh, and we'll be excited for next week's episode.

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