I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. And when I find my ball.
In a brid egg Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg, Frida egg, fridagg.
Bride egg, Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the hump. All right, Welcome back to another edition of the Friday Golf Podcast. Today, Joseph and I are going to discuss some underrated under the radar Master storylines. We're going to do our Big Masters preview next week, but in the meantime, we figured we would cover a few storylines that might be a little bit smaller, a little flying under the radar. As we are in the in the last stages of Masters lead up, it's exciting that
the first major of the year is here. But first let's get to in and out. Joseph, what are you in on?
At the risk of being too similar to last week, I'm in on the Valerio Texas Open, having a better field this year and potentially a little bit better of a weather forecast than in some previous years. This is a place I've always felt like if the field were better, people would have a more favorable opinion of the tournament, and it's often been like one hundred degrees. It's great
golf course for testing professional golfers. I'll write more about that for Club TFE, but I think there's a potential that this is going to be a really fun tournament. It's looking like it's the forecast is going to be in the seventies and the eighties with some wind, which is a really good way for that golf course to play.
So I think people may really enjoy watching this tournament that's been sleepier in the past, but this year we've got Rory Morikawa, Spief Ludwig, Max Homa, Fitzpatrick, like a lot of big names compared to some years previous. So I think it's gonna be a great tournament and I'm pretty fired up about it.
I think an underrated tournament ever all the time is the week before a major, because you start to see players kind of working it out, and I think, like, I think you got to play within the two.
Weeks before a major.
You got to either play the week, you know, like at the Houston, or you gotta play this just having a pencil and a scorecard in your hand before in the lead up of a major, I think is so important so that on Thursday you are not just feeling that that kind of pressure, uncomfortableness that tournament.
Golf presents you.
So I think the week before majors are are super underrated. We'll get out, We'll get to my out. Which is kind of the opposite, but I do love I love tournaments. The week before majors. You just kind of get to see where players are at. Likewise, like I'm excited to see where Brooks and ram are at this week at Live Miami. Just I think those are the two guys
that I'm kind of watching. Maybe you could throw camp Smith in there also for the Masters, but you know, just to get a check on where these guys games at heading into the Masters.
I'll probably add walking Nem into that for me. I mean, I'm pretty interested seeing where he is entering the Masters as well.
I feel like I've seen a lot from him. I don't I don't necessarily need to see more from him in the lead up. I think I think I've seen a lot from him this year, you know, in the sense of that one I'm in on, I'm in I'm in on Houston and Memorial Park, I think I've been in on him.
I think I've I've been a champion of him.
I thought that this last week it got the needed spotlight that it deserves. The last really three years since this golf course was reworked by Tom Doak. We have a number of podcast episodes of but with Tom talking about this project throughout its stages, from the planning to construction to opening of this golf course stages.
But I mean, I thought this week it really shined it.
Obviously, getting out of the fall, getting into this part of the year where you have this master's lead up, the tension for golf, the audience for golf is bigger this time of year than it is in the fall.
It really shined it.
And obviously it had a really good field, and I thought it put on a really, really great tournament. So I thought this was a I'm super in on Memorial Park as a tournament host, as a golf course. There's a variety of reasons. I thought the design really holds up well to modern golf. Short grass, low rough, really fascinating greens with small targets that you have to hit
in order to score. I think what we we saw really I thought It was highlighted extremely well with the setup on Sunday was you have to be in the right place to hit an approach close there, and if you're not in the right place, it's going to be hard to make a birdie. And if you try and make a birdie, that's when you bring bogies or worse
into play out there. I thought, you know, listen, like that golf course along with the Houston market, you're talking about one of the five biggest markets in the country. That golf course in Houston should have a signature event if you want to talk about building up the PGA Tour, building up the product. This is one of the best combinations of market and golf courses. Maybe you know behind Riviera in LA the best combination of market and golf
course that the PGA Tour has. This should be a signature event.
It is.
They have the opportunity to draw a big fan. This is a golf course that anybody can play. It's a tremendous test. I walked away kind of thinking like, could this sneaky be a PGA Championship venue.
I don't think that's crazy. It's an amazing golf course. I think specifically having to miss around the greens in the right spots is something that you don't see that often on the PGA Tour. I mean, it always matters, but it mattered much more at Houston at Memorial Park than at a lot of venues. The only part I'd probably disagree with Andy, I don't think the field was that strong, but the talent within the field elevated to the top right. It was a compelling leaderboard down the stretch.
Obviously Scotty Scheffler was in the field, but outside of Scheffler.
Now of Scheffler, there weren't.
A ton of Like the Leira Texas Open is going to have a better field, and I totally agree with you that if Memorial had a better field, this could be one of the premier events on the PGA Tour. I'd love to see it as a signature event, especially given the accessibility and the size of the market. But just the golf course in and of itself is worthy of having a signature event. So with all those factors, I'd fully support that it being deemed a signature event.
Hey, I'm going to jump you on my out just because it's going to relate to this conversation go ahead. I am out on Harbortown as an elevated event. I love Harbortown, I love the golf course. I think it's a unique, different test. But I am completely out on signature events after major championships. If I'm the PGA Tour and I want to make these signature events a big deal, the last thing I'm going to do is put them at the week after a major championship, which is going
to dwarf them. It is going to make them feel irrelevant. It's going to make them feel small. It's going to make them feel casual in comparison to the Masters or the US Open, with the Travelers following the US Open.
This is just a bad idea.
This is not I know that the players are playing and they're close by, but this is not a good idea going from Augusta National to Harbor Town and deeming it one of your premiere signature events. Like, you're you're doing multiple things. You're you are You're making the signature events feel smaller by putting them next to a major championship.
You're also cannibalizing men's pro golf. To me, and I guess, like, where there's there's a push and pull here is the PGA Tour doesn't own the Masters or the US Open. But to me, the week after the Major should be maybe if you want to still have opposite field events, it should be something like that.
Or no event.
Because a major championship, for gaulf like, you're still talking about the Major championship into Thursday, Friday of the week following a major. The tournament ends on Sunday afternoon, and there's discourse then about the Major for at least the next four to three to four days.
You shouldn't have a big event right after that.
There needs to be space, there needs to be time, and that's going to make the sport more popular is by allowing space, allowing these big events to hold space. And they should be thinking the same thing about signature events. We should have signature events, and then we should have space afterwards for people to talk about our signature events. When you pile these events on top of each other, you are cannibalizing the impact of any of them feeling really big outside of the majors.
I agree, Andy, I'd probably take it a step further, which is even more limiting, But I probably wouldn't want to have a signature event the week before a major either, because no, most people's attention is going to be on the major. So yeah, you need to let these breathe. Every time somebody wins a major, it feels like they're gonna it's only a matter of time before they withdraw from that signature event. Right, that's directly week after, like some of the guys who have seen the or.
They go and miss it, or they go and miss the cut. That's the other off sure, right, Like they go there and they shoot one over par over two rounds or finish if they make the cut, they finished tea like it was like John Rahm spent Sunday afternoon in the booth, Right, he wins the Masters, and then at Harbortown on Sunday afternoon he's calling golf because he finished T forty two and didn't care. That's the problem is that nobody cares about the event after the Masters.
I agree, and no one's I thought the Travelers last year was really sleepy. Obviously, they got a good finish with Keegan Bradley winning, and that was feel good for a lot of people. But I think both Harbortown and Travelers had no energy coming into them and relied on an exciting finish to cut of save the event. Those venues also, frankly haven't held up particularly well to modern technology.
Those are two events that need to be looked at and scrutinized pretty closely, because I think we could get some very low energy tournaments the next coupley.
Well, and this is where the Houston thing, right, like, yeah, what are we doing? We get heart, We're going to hilton Head Island. I would love to vacation at hilton Head. I would love to play Harbor Town. But is that one of your premier events? Is that should that be one of your premier events versus Houston and one of the biggest media markets. Opportunity to build out like a lot of stuff around the event because there are millions and millions of people in the metro area, hotel and
also a great golf course. So like to me, like, what are we doing here? This is this is a market and a golf course worthy of a signature event hilton Head Island, Like how many fans can conceivably go to an event there?
Yeah?
And again I think the playability the golf course is just much better for testing professional golfers at this point, right, that's that's somewhat subject preferential. But I pushed back there gets a little overrated as a professional golf test.
I think we should have a wide range of different tests, and Harvardtown presents a different, unique test. If we have if all the all the golf courses that host signature events have a similar test, we're going to have a similar skill set of players. I would liken this to different courts in tennis. Some players are better on clay, some players are better on grass, some players are better on hard courts. The best players are great at all of all of the course, all of the different surfaces.
In golf, we should have precision cores.
We should have.
Courses that are long and narrow. We should have courses that are kind of open, like open and have like an opportunity to play a lot of angles.
And we should have links courses. We should be we should.
Have a really wide range of tests that formulate who the best players are. And over time, if you have a circuit, you're able to begin to say, like, man, that guy is just a links player. We play three signature events a year on links courses, and this guy just like every year, year and year out he makes his hay on links courses or Hey, this guy like Jordan Speith plays awesome at Harbortown.
You know why is that?
Look?
I agree, I'm not advocating for one type of setup. I just think Harbortown, at this point in its life and where technology is gotten, I think it's compromised that course a lot. I know, I understand, I want a variety of tests. I'm not saying everything should look the same. Pebble Beach is totally different, and I'm fully supported being a signature event. I'm not saying every golf course should
look like Riviera or Memorial Park. But I just in general, I tend to think that we've overrated Harbortown a little bit in the test that it presents.
But I think that.
There is like an aspect of the history of Harbortown and what that golf course meant for golf design that you know, the launching it really launching of Pete Die's like mainstream appeal as a golf architect that does put it into a stratosphere that you know, I think there's there's significance to the history behind it, and I agree with that like where my problem with Harbortown is a signature event, moral lies with where it is a like sleepy resort, uh and be where is on the schedule
the week after a major which it has no hope of ever having any Jews.
Agree And I think something we can probably agree on as you're talking about Harbor Town's legacy and its history going back to Pete Dies Early coming onto the scene, legacy and technology are working against one another right now, and the PGA Tour needs to realize that if they want to tout legacy and they want to play on some historic courses, having the game at the right scale is more conducive to that than just letting it grow out of control.
So I think we can probably agree on that.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, that's a great point too. I agree with that point.
Oh what I'm out on, I'm going to pivot and kind of piggyback off of you a little bit. Something I've bounced around in my head a lot. I think where I've landed. I'm out on major championships, getting FedEx cut points, and I think there's a good case to be made either way here. But I think I've pretty much landed on giving FedEx cut points, distributing them at major championships is kind of an admission from the PGA Tour that their events will always play second fiddle to
major championships because the season long race. Let's say a player won three majors and didn't even qualify for East Lake. Let's just say because you weren't giving points at majors. People would say, well, this doesn't feel like the season long race, like you don't even have this player who had the best season. But I think that's kind of the point. If you want to build a special season long race, like these aren't PGA Tour events the major championships,
it's not. I think the entanglement between majors and the PGA Tour obviously a hot topic between OWGR and a million issues you can get into in which the game is too tangled coupled between the PGA Tour and the majors. I think this is another example where the PGA Tour could elevate its p by actually removing its scoring system, decoupling it from majors.
Where do you land on that?
It's an interesting idea, and I think like there's always been this thing of like you know for years it's like you get fifty extra points if you went a major, Like there's no way to actually accurately represent the majors in the FedEx Cup, because if you accurately represented what a major championship wins in terms of points, it would make all of your other events look silly. I agree, this is not a PGA Tour event. It's set up by other people. It's you know, it's not a not
a PGA Tour event. They get a fraction of revenue from it. I kind of agree that. Being said, I think it could go two ways. I think when you make decisions and changes, there's lots of unintended consequences. And I think, like you could there's there's a vacuum where you could conceivably see this elevating the PGA Tour events. But I think there's also a vacuum that could make people care less about FedEx Cup points. And you laid it out like say, say say well and and part
of this live creates this too. But let's just say Windham not Windham Clark. Let's just say let's say Matt Fitzpatrick wins two majors this year but does nothing in PGA Tour events.
It would make the.
PGA Tour look really silly if he like didn't make it to east Lake. But as you said, that's a different it's I think it's a it's a it's a you could you could go both ways on this. I think that's the thing. It would be an extraordinary risk, and I I don't know if if a billion a multi billion dollar organization can can feasibly accept that type of risk.
I am all for shaking things up.
This seems like a huge step, and I don't necessary you know, listen, it's uh. I like the idea that I think there are positives to the idea.
Yeah, that's where I've landed. I've thought about it a lot.
I think you are admitting by not doing it that your your events are way inferior to major championships. And if east Lake is special and guys have done well in majors but haven't done well in any of the PGA Tour events, like, it'll it if they if it matters to them, If that fits Patrick, if it matters to him, then he needs to play better in PGA Tour events to qualify for the PGA Tour season end race. Majors aren't PGA Tour events, so I think I've landed on being out on them giving points.
But I understand it's not that easy.
I think the other thing, the other thing looming with everything going on in men's pro golf is that the the players really the PGA Tour play or who are standing in the way of really getting the game back together. And I think live standing in the way of getting the game back together too. But they need to understand they're all getting equity in the PGA Tour. If you have all the best players back together, I think that's
actually bad news for the major championships. I think the current setup of golf is extraordinarily beneficial to the majors.
Oh yeah.
If all the.
Players are together, they can begin to negotiate with major championships about their revenue sharers, which with these championships produce the most revenue of any events on the annual golf calendar. And I mean in terms of revenue splits, the players get very little of it. If they're all together and they're all all equity holders of this entity, they can begin to negotiate against it. Because the majors need the players they have to have the top players in the game.
As long as it's split, they're going to have they have no negotiating power. So I just think that in terms of the players, if you are if the tour has so much more opportunity to begin to elevate its events if all the players are together.
I didn't know where we're going here today, But if you're hinting at maybe some of the reason that the Official World Golf rankings have been hesitant to give points to Live being kind of protecting the status quo, if you're suggesting that is something I agree with. So that is a I feel like that's kind of an elephant in the room to an extent, Like how malicious or nefarious do you think some of those actors are being
versus just protecting the integral of the system. I do think there's a case to be made that they're a little bit worried about some of the gained leverage that players would have all being together and actually trying to get a bigger share of the revenue. So I didn't know we were going there today, but that is something I have felt.
If I'm August National, I want nothing to change with my current arrangement with the best male professional golfers because I give them a very small percentage of the revenue I generate on a week, and I generate a ton of revenue that I am able to use every year to make enhancements that make us more money the next
year and the more money the next ten years. And I think like there is a little bit of an undercurrent of you know, listening to the USGA, the US Open funds a lot of what the USGA does, The PGA Championship in the Ryder Cup fund a lot of what the PGA Championship in the the PGA.
Of America does, the Open funds.
You know, the players get very little of that money in comparison to the way other sports leagues operate. And that's just in the only way that that would change in the long term is if all the players are together.
And you know what the best representation of some of those ideas in practice is that within the official World Golf rankings, you get one hundred points fixed for winning a major championship, and the players championship is fixed at eighty and capped at eighty. The reason for that, I don't think you have to read too far into it is that if it were actually just based on field strength, the players would outrate some of these major championships, like the Masters.
But through the Official World.
Golf Rankings, they've decided to fix the majors at one hundred and cap the players at eighty. I think that is a you don't have to be too conspiratorial brained to understand why that's beneficial to the governing bodies and to maybe we make one more leap that the Official World Golf Rankings is kind of a mechanism of retaining the status quo. So I didn't know we were going there today, but I.
Like that all right.
Before we get into our Master's storylines, a huge announcement, huge announcement from Friday Golf and Shotgun Start.
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I mean I just keep it simple with Starbucks every day, but I drink.
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We gotta get that change, We gotta we gotta get you, get you on the on the product. So we have a we have two blends really trying to appeal to all types of coffee drinkers. We've got the fried Egg blend, which is kind of gonna be on your more media medium light blend. It's a Papa New Guinea uh uh coffee as well as a darker blend. It's going to be kind of more on the medium dark side.
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They're both great. So depending on how you like your coffee, uh, We've got two different blends for you. The Shotgun Start is the the medium dark blend. The Fried Egg Blend is the medium light blend. We'll probably dive in with some more special blends around events and different things, like I expect a holiday blend. But if you wanna, if you want to purchase our coffee, it obviously goes to support us as well as good Walk. It is at
good Walk Coffee Dot slash fried Egg. That's Goodwalkcoffee dot Com slash fried Egg, and you can shop there, you can subscribe. This is the way I do it. There's nothing better than never have having to worry about whether or not you're gonna have coffee. Uh, never having like that morning where you're like, I don't have any coffee, I'm gonna have to run out. So subscribe that's the easiest way. Obviously goes a long way to support us
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It's uh, it's good Walk Coffee dot Com slash fried Egg. Subscribe and it saves you money and it gets you just coffee all the time. So big thanks a good Walk and excited for this long term partnership with them. All right, Joseph, Let's get into our underrated, under talked about sleeper storylines. For the Masters. Give me your first one, Andy.
I don't want to be too harsh with this one, but I do think there is a very good professional golfer who people think very highly of his game and needs to do something in major championships before being crowned elite I mean, or even very good. Sam Burns is playing excellent golf this year. He is, I believe he had four straight top tens earlier in the year, coming off a couple finishes that aren't as strong, but he's shown some serious form. He's played fourteen majors in his career.
Does he has won top twenty. He tied for twentieth in the twenty twenty two PGA Championship. Outside of that, no top twenties. I think sometimes you see that with these golfers who are really good with a wedge and a putter, that when they get moved to more demanding major championship like setup longer, more long irons, and short game, they don't have the same results. You're not at PGA
West anymore. He's kind of the anti Cam Young, where Cam Young's not as good with the wedge and the putter, but much better with hitting the driver a little straighter, just a better overall ball striker with some of the long game. He's done exceptionally well in his young major career so far. I want to see some more of that from Sam Burns. I think this Masters's.
Torus would be another great example of the opposite of Burns.
Sure, same with Aideki Matsuyama. Right, Like, there's multiple examples you could throw out there. Like, that's again a big part of why I advocated so much for Cam Young over Sam Burns last year at the Ryder Cup, because Marcos was a little bit more of a major Championship like setup with long irons.
We need to see something from Sam Burns.
Don't want to be too critical, but we're starting to accrue a big enough sample size that if he wants to be considered a great golfer, he needs to do something. This year is a prime time to do it. So that's an underrated storyline for me.
All Right, I'm going to go along the same lines. I echo your Sam Burns. I'm gonna go with a guy that's had a lot of major championships success but has been in a bit of a lull and like as he's aging into his later twenties. I think there's a big question of have we seen the best of this player, Klin Morikawa. Okay, obviously he's got two major championships, but that was a long time ago. We're now bordering on four years ago for those major championships, and you know,
we haven't seen him really win a lot. He won the Zozo in the fall, he hasn't won a an event in like the regular season, like you know, the the season for golf, nonfall event since the Open in twenty twenty one. So my question, you know, is kind of centers around you know, what is Colin Morikawa an elite top ten talent? Is he one of the ten best players in the game or is he just kind of like another really good professional golfer. And I think three years ago he was without a doubt, oh this
guy might be the next great player. And I think now that's a that's a big question. And I think this major season, the Masters in particular, I think is a really good course fit. He's played well here. We haven't seen him contend in a major since the Masters in twenty twenty two, So what what is Colin Morikawa's kind of like major championship future. Is he a guy that's going to get to four five majors or is it? Is it kind of too and done?
I think that's completely fair. We Calin Mari Kaala has been a little bit frustrating over the past couple of years where he disappears at times when you think he's gonna play great golf and then he pops up and wins the Zozo by multiple shots and you're like, well, where's that been in big golf tournament? So I agree Calin Morri Kala does need to show it. Yeah, he's coming out. He's played four majors, three top twenties. He needs to get in the mix in one of these. I'm with you, yeah like that.
That that fifth at the Masters in twenty twenty two was a very non competitive.
Fifth, right, Yeah, he needs to get in the mis.
Him, him and Rory played like they were never really in it.
And they both played they had great Sundays and and and got like great finishes, but they weren't really in the tournament.
You didn't think, oh, that guy's gonna win.
And frankly more, Kala hasn't done a whole lot so far this year, So I think it's an open question of where his game is right now.
I mean, he hasn't done much the last two years outside of that Zozo.
Yeah, he almost won Rocket Mortgage last year. He was in the playoff and then I mean he was kind of in the mix at toy and then he kind of sent away the tournament at Capua. Yeah, but that's not a lot of contention. And those aren't the most high profile events either. So it's time to see Callimore Kawa on a big stage again.
You saw him at Kapalula last year and you're like, oh, this is going to be a big year. Like it looked like he was running away with that event. It's like, oh, more Kawa this is And I just think, I just wonder what what is he at this point? Is is he a superstar or is he an above average PGA Tour player?
And I think that's a real question.
I think what stands out to me andy watching him? This is a random tournament to pull. But when he won the WGC Workday at Concession, that was a pretty cool golf tournament and he looked so good. Then he wins to Open a few months later, Like we haven't seen that. Colin Morikawa in quite some time.
Yeah, exactly, I think, and I think listen, like this is one of the things.
That is hard.
Is like, when you reach a different level of star, you have less time to be who made you the star? And I think if you look at Morikawa, he has more off the course responsibilities than he ever had when he was a young player, when he was a standout,
unbelievable college player. When you win two majors before the age of what twenty six, you all sudden enter the stratsphere and I you know, I wonder, you know, it's just one of those things like is is is the work the same amount of work being put in that used to be put in?
And I think that I don't know. I have no clue about.
That, but I do know that there are more demands on his time than ever before in his life.
Yeah, I guess for me with Colin, it's I think the only concern. I mean, I think very highly of his game. He has multiple things at any given point that could come and bite him. Like he's not the longest off the tee. He hits it dead straight, but he's not the longest. His short game isn't always solid, and the putting can be hit or missed, So when you have multiple parts of your game that can be a concern in any given week, it's hard to project
him to win. Like he's not on nobody's on Scotty's level, but he's got he's multiple steps from being on Scotty's level. And I think, especially with the lack of pop off the tea on some of these more demanding golf courses, his iron play has to be unbelievable to cover up some potential short game deficiencies. So you're asking he needs to really be on.
He's always going to be compared to Hoveland and at Wolf, and I think Matt Wolf for this uh this discussion, has has kind of removed himself from the discussion. But with Hoveland, I think that's like a it's an interesting comparison because Hoveland, you know, you're getting elite tea to green play tea to green tea to approaching the green play week in week out. The putter, I think is more reliable for Holand and the short game has gotten
to a respectable level. Like I think when you look at the true superstars, they have always almost always have three very very dependable skills and usually there's one flaw. And with more Kawa, I think what you've illuminated on is the lack of pop and the putting can can both be problems.
The short game can be a problem too. I mean it's not always I wouldn't call his short game rock solid. It's certainly not elite, and frankly we're seeing that with Hoveland a resurgence in the short game last year, and then this year it's kind of regressed back to a little bit of a questionable level. So that may be another underrated story, maybe not so underrated, so I won't use that one up.
Yeah, I think Victor Hovelin falls into the top tier storylines for me, I didn't want to, but I think it's he'll always be him and Morecow will always be compared because they turned pro.
At the same time, I think.
All right, shall I get to my second storyline?
Yeah?
I think for me always at Augusta somebody. You just have to pay attention to Patrick Reid and why I think he's particularly he hasn't been very good this year. He hasn't, but it almost it's never really mattered too much his form to when he shows up to the Masters T four last year, T thirty five, the year before wasn't great T eight, T ten, T thirty six, and then a win obviously in twenty eight eighteen, so's he can play in the Masters the rest of his
playing career. He's not qualified, though, andy for any other majors this year, and he's outside the top one hundred in the official World's Golf Rankings with limited access as a live player to getting those Official World Golf Rankings points.
So I mean, for Patrick Reid, this Masters isn't just an opportunity to add to his legacy with potentially winning another one or registering another top finish, but it's also a much needed, scarce opportunity to get some of those Official World Golf Rankings points or finish highly enough to qualify for some of the majors the rest of the year. It's a big It's a really big golf tournament for him, specifically in an amazing course fit. So I think Patrick
Reid's a really compelling story to watch. I never doubt him at this place.
I mean, in a way, the Masters is probably the best place to qualify for other majors for any of the live players in the field.
That are not qualified for the other majors.
Why do you say that?
Just it's a small field. And if you finish high in this event with a small field, that like take out the older players and you know, some of the past champions, some of the other exemptions, like you know you have like the Latin American Am qualifier. You take out those players and it becomes a very small field with a lot of different qualifications that are at stake.
And you know, you in any tournament, you immediately can can shrink the field of players you're competing against because half the field is not going to play well.
That is like just math.
And in this case, you have probably about twenty or fifteen players that shouldn't really be that are there because of past success or you know.
So, so you.
Take like an high eight ninety player field and you have removed it down to it's like a twenty five player tournament if you're on your game, and then you know, so, then you're all of a sudden the qualification standpoint, like was it top twelve gets in next year's Masters, And then I think it's uh, I can't remember what the exact thing is for for the US Open, but you know, if you're playing well and you're one of the players that you know that is in it's in their prime.
It it is, it is not an unreasonable thing to to use.
The Masters to qualify for the other three majors, Right, And.
You could just do it on points alone, Right, You could finish second and get a bunch Official World Golf Rankings points and jump up a bunch of slots. Like, there's so many points at stake in a major championship that you can really move your way up. So again, Patrick Reid, even when he doesn't play that well, finds himself doing pretty well at this golf tournament. If he shows up with a little bit of game, like, that's that's somebody who cold finish in the top five. I'm
excited to watch him. He plays obviously a creative style of golf, and I'm just excited to watch him play here, especially with what's at stake.
All Right.
This is almost like always something that I think about, and I think we had like a real breakthrough this year with Nick Dunlap winning the Amex. But the idea of a young player, an amateur that potentially contends on Sunday to win a win the Masters I think this is, you know, something that we've seen. Obviously, Sam Bennett was a player that contended pretty deep into the tournament, into the tournament. But this year, you know, you have a
number of young players. Chrystal Lamprect is one to keep an eye on. The guy's got a lot of game. We saw him leading the Open last year. You've got Dunlap obviously in there. I'm just throwing Ludwig in here because he's you know, last year, he was in college at this time, he's gonna be a first timer. I think there's there's a real chance that we see one of these young players. Neil Shipley's another name, finished runner up at the at the USAM to uh to Dunlap.
So like these are these are the players kind of to watch and I always I think it's a matter of time. I thought, you know, five years ago, is we were going to see an amateur win a PGA Tour event.
We saw that this year.
I don't think it's unrealistic to think, the way the game is going, the talent in the young ranks, to see an amateur contend late or even potentially win a major championship at some point in the next ten to fifteen years.
Yeah, I mean the the US Open that Bo Hostler contended in. That's still a fond memory for me of a major championship in the past fifteen years. Like he was in contention pretty late. I mean, was he his final group, right.
I think that's like Saturday he was. Then he kind of fell out, I think if I remember correctly. Another one would be Paul Dunn and Jordan knee Breuge in the Open maybe twenty fifteen, that was or twenty sixteen. They played really well. I think knee Brugie finished T. Six, so it can happen.
I think the one you got to keep in mind with the Masters, it's a pretty low variance tournament that elevates talent in a way that's much more difficult for a long shot to compete. So of all the four majors, I'd probably say the Masters is the least likely spot for that.
Definitely say that.
But the PGA is the least likely because they don't have amateurs in it.
Well, okay, if you're just if you're specifically using the amateur designation, that's fair. I thought you're talking any young Ludwig first timers. But sure, that's fair. But yes, long shots are going to have a tough time at the Masters, so that'd be the one caveat. But I'd love to see it any in particular that you think.
I think Kristelle Lamppractice is one to watch. I don't know exactly how he's played this year in college golf, but the guy is a stud.
He's got huge tons of speed.
Plays at Georgia Tech, won the he won the British Am last year. He's six foot eight, he absolutely mashes the ball, and I just think he's got a ton of game. He he's felt what it's like. He went at Liverpool. I think he shot sixty six or sixty five in the opening round and listen, like the guy's note now knows what it's like to be, you know, on the leaderboard in a major championship. And and I think like he's got a ton of game, so he'd be my my. I think he's an overwhelming low am belief.
But I think you throw Dunlap in there, and I think, like, listen, like Ludwig being a first timer in a year removed from college is kind of an interesting storyline. He wouldn't be on my on my big storylines, but he's an interesting like, how's it this guy's in the top ten, he's playing.
His first master at age twenty three.
Yeah, and again this will be another bigger storyline. But Wyndam Clark's never played to masters either, which is crazy to think about.
So he's what three at four in the world now.
Yeah, so that might be jumping the gun on big storylines, but just in the.
First time, first time or the biggest story is Peppy Peter Peter Malnotty.
Yeah, how do you like Malnatty's chances?
Don't love them?
How about you? All right? Should I go to my third one? Yeah? Go for it.
My third one is kind of again related to some of the conversations we've already had about the for better or for worse importance of the official World Golf rankings, whether you like them or not. Olympics slash President's Cup qualifying.
A lot of points are at stake in the major championships, as we've already mentioned multiple times in this podcast, and the Olympics is just something that nobody ever really mentions that that's so close from here, and the way you qualifies via the official World Golf rankings, So if you want to be. If you want to be competing in this year's Olympics at the Golf Nationale, you're gonna have to do well in the majors, especially if you're on live right, that's your only way that you can get in.
So I think that that's an interesting storyline the President's Cut Part two. Obviously, without live golfers there, it's it's may not be competitive and that event may not have as much juice as it should have. But who knows, Andy, I don't know where you are on the Olympics if you think it has potential to be special. But this is how you get in, so pretty big. The Masters is a pretty big opportunity for some of those hopefuls.
I mean.
Talk about something that is a huge, huge event in terms of like the greater sports world, the everybody loves to throw around, grow the game. I don't know if there is an event that has more opportunity to garner new fans than the Olympics because it's the Olympics, and like people can just pass by golf, like I don't. I don't think there's another Is there another golf event that has that like passer by potential?
Probably not I'm trying to think, maybef, You're walking around Saint Andrews and there's an open championship going on, but that doesn't really count.
Yeah, so you've got this like unbelievable passer by opportunity, and nobody ever talks about it in golf.
We don't even know.
Like it seems to me like it feels like players, the top players are just trying to figure out excuses on why they don't need to.
Play the event.
Yeah, that's been the history of the Olympics, and golf is like, how do I get out of this? I don't nobody's asking questions to the players, like hey, Rory, are you going to play in the Olympics this year?
Because I think that's a big question.
I don't even know, if you know, like with what the Olympics does to the golf schedule, we've seen it, like it puts the golf schedule kind of in shambles. So I don't know who's gonna even play in the Olympics this year. I mean the South African South Africa is one of the great golf countries. All the best South Africans for the most part, are playing on liv They aren't getting World Golf Ranking points, So are any of.
Them going to be in it?
I don't think so, because I don't think they're gonna qualify because it's not I mean, it's based on your official World Golf rankings until you hit sixty players that fill out the field, and it caps it basically caps at two per country. There can be four if you're all in the top fifteen, but after that.
The US, the US gets four and that's it.
Right exactly.
But I don't you're not gonna you'll get to sixty before you'll hit South Africans unless they play super well in the majors, and the cutoff is after the US Open, so they're not even gonna get the chance in the Open Championship to rack up any points. So it's a little bit of a funky Yeah, I agree with you. We're just not talking about it at all. Some players have already voiced that they don't want to play. We'll see. I don't know who's going to be playing in that.
Who's going to be the fifty fifth golfer.
I mean, the nice thing is that you have like a lot of talent, a lot of depth in some new countries, some different countries, and I think that's one.
Of the I think the Olympics.
Golf in the Olympics will hit you know, it's it's ultimate potential when you see somebody from a non typical, non golf country win a gold medal.
Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
China, India?
I was thinking Toasty. I don't know how kind the golf national would be to Toasty, but he's got a chance of qualifying the toast fan Have you thought about that? Have you thought about him in an Olympic uniform?
I mean him in the Olympic village would be just amazing, amazing.
It's not far fetched. I mean, Grio's gonna qualify before Toasty would. But I mean if he has a good next couple of months, he's not qualified for the Masters, but it's not out of the realm with possibilities that Toasty could qualify.
I mean that, And that's like the neat thing when you start to like I mean Joaquin Neeman and Chile. You know Toasty there the You know, there are a lot of like exciting different countries. I always think about Belgium in this like and that's kind of I think where the the Olympics has dropped the ball. I saw that they announced they're going to do the mixed competition. But the other aspect of it is the team competition.
Give these like if Belgium beats America in or the US and in golf for a gold medal, and like, this is something that could happen, conceivably happen. They have three very good tour pros in D three, Adrian Dumont, Deshassart and Peters. That is, it is not inconceivable for them to beat the US team. If you do that, it would have a massive impact on that country. Goes for yeah, South Korea, same goes for uh like Argentina. If Toasty and Grio beat the US, like that's an
unbelievable story. It's it's not inconceivable for even like some of these countries for the four hundredth ranc player in the world to play at a high level and beat the twentieth rank player in the world. That's the difference between like it's taking basketball decades for these other countries to compete with the with the US that has such a dominant amount of talent. But we're getting to the
point where it is a really good tournament. The US is still the favorite, but there's a conceivable, there's conceivable pass that the US doesn't win. They have to play really well to win. They have to play well to win, and they have to have their best their best players
playing with the with it with golf. Not having the team competition is the biggest miss, and I think it's been hit on so many times and talked about so many times, but that's it's really hard for to galvanize fans around individuals compared to galvanizing fans around a team represented by your country in the Olympics.
I mean, this is a layup.
I agree, and I haven'tly thought about this, but as I'm thinking about it now, I kind of hate that there can be four from the from one particular country if they're in the top fifteen, Like that kind of ruins it a little bit for me as I'm thinking through it, like it would be kind of nice to just have all two person teams so you could compare apples to apples a little bit more. Here's how this
country did, Here's how this country did. I understand getting more star power into the field, but especially when it doesn't mean that much to a lot of these golfers. Unfortunately, I kind of wish it was just two per country.
I think it would be really cool if you had an individual tournament, a stroke play tournament, and then there was and it could be thirty six holes or whatever, and then there was a match play component for countries
that had three that you could qualify three people. You expand the field from sixty to maybe it's one hundred, and all the countries that qualify three players are in the team tournament, and the team tournament then goes to match play with the top four or eight teams and there's three or two rounds of match play, and that you get your winner with three players.
Don for that.
Also, the mix think about Canada. Think about Canada would have a team, you know.
The mixed idea that they're throwing around for the twenty twenty eight Olympics, where it'd be you know, maybe two men from a team and two women like that Also is a pretty cool format for this, So I'd be in on that.
Yeah, So anyways, that should be I didn't expect our Master's pod to devolve into Olympics chatter, but that's it. The last thing I have is Jason Day Jason Day, to me is just an interesting He's still playing golf at a high level, and I think he is one of the great Masters players We've seen this, like players that have incredible Masters record that just never never get the win. To me, also, Jason Day, when you think about his career, his legacy, it doesn't feel like one.
Major is enough for his career. For who he was, I think he's.
Constantly like for eighteen months of his of his career, he was by far the best player in the world, and he was extraordinarily great in months that he wasn't
the best player in the world. Here's his Master's record twenty eleven first Masters T two, twenty twelve, w D twenty thirteen, third, twenty fourteen, T twenty, twenty fifteen, T twenty eight, twenty sixteen, T ten, twenty second, twenty seventeen, twentieth in twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen, T five Obviously, then twenty twenty, twenty twenty one were where he kind of had his troubles in his career with the injuries. Cut cut T thirty nine last year doesn't tell the story.
He was cruising early in that tournament and then he got Vertigo. He was it looked like he was one of he was the only guy that was going to catch Koepka on Friday, and then he gets hit with Vertiko. I think this guy the Masters represents his best opportunity to win a major. We always see these kind of players that win a major late in their career that
that's like kind of that icing on the cake. He's about the same age as when Sergio won his Masters, and I just think Jason Day should get to two majors in his career.
Yeah, it's funny you say that. I was thinking a lot this weekend about the difference between one and two majors is just absolutely massive. Like one can happen like that can be kind of fluky, but the list of people who has two, like that's a much more established, impressive list where you really feel like you've solidified your career. I agree Jason Day feels of the caliber to notch that second major championship. And I think especially last year,
he was playing such good golf entering the Masters. He was coming off a good finish at Dell match Play, had played i think all top twenties between AMX and match Play, which was seven events entering the Masters, and then we didn't really see that much from Jason Day the rest of the year. He won it Byron Nelson finished T two at Liverpool, obviously a big, strong finish, but since then he's really been hit or miss. I'd love to see Jason Day in contention.
Many second place finishes in majors he has.
I don't how many does he have?
Five?
That's tough.
Yeah, it's uh that's like, you know, the sliding doors of major golf is there's only one winner and a lot of people that come close. And uh so he's got eleven. He's got eleven top five, top five major finishes in his career.
Obviously similar.
Not to throw a fourth one, but another player who the reason I was thinking about this, I think will go down as maybe one of the most underrated players of the last two decades. One major championship doesn't feel like enough. Great fit here Justin Rose. I mean, it's it is crazy to me that Justin Rose could finish his career with just one major, and that doesn't feel like it should be that way.
It's it's this is there that are kind of last few years. I think, like you you get into these especially now. It used to be forties, but I think the golf's kind of shifted. These are two players that are in their late thirties and it's you know, they might have a couple more spins around here. I think Jason Day, you know, he's had a decent year. He's got three top tens on the year. I think he's somebody to.
Watch Roses forty three.
But yes, yeah, that's a good point. So all right, that does it for me? You got any parting thoughts?
And now it's going to be an amazing tournament. I think we'll get some more storylines as the Valera Texas Open and as de Rale un folds, like there will probably be some storylines entering there. So just excited for the tournament.
All right?
Do you have a recommendation?
Can I? Can I give one that's completely random? Mandy?
Yeah, I've been thinking about this documentary I watched a while ago called Bill Cunningham New York. Do you know who Bill Cunningham is, Andy, I do not. It's a famous photographer and there's an awesome HBO documentary about him doing his job in his daily life, and he's just in fatuoy with taking pictures of fashion that he sees
in everyday life. Never was wealthy, he never cared about money, lived in like a tiny apartment, was super well connected because of all the people that wanted him to photograph them, famous New York Times photographer. Extremely refreshing watch about somebody that's just fully invested in what they like to do. I think it has mass appeal. I watched it with my mom. You can watch it with your significant other, however you want to watch it. I think most people
would like it just a little bit different. Totally nonsports, but that documentary is really stuck with me.
Great, great recommendation, my recommendation.
This is kind of like a part add but we have all of our events as of Tuesday, so the most likely day you're listening to this podcast are launched and available. So Frida Egg events. We've got some amazing venues. You know a couple. I'll highlight Hollywood Golf Club, one of the best courses that very few people talk about. Walter Travis design absolutely mesmerizing greens. That's one to look at. Chambers Bay. We are hosting a tournament the day after
the Pacific Coast Amateur. It will be in the best shape that Chambers Bay will be in all year. It is also, I think, from what I've heard from locals, a very good deal in terms of pricing for two rounds at Chambers Bay. That's in the middle of the summer in Seattle. I haven't been there. I'm excited. I think I'm going to try and go to that one. I haven't been to Seattle. I really want to go
to Seattle. So that's one that I would highlight. And then two other ones Essex County one of the best Donald Ross courses in the world and Prairie Dunes one of the best golf courses period in the world. So those are a few that I'll highlight. You can check them all out at proshop dot Thefrida Egg dot com. All of our events are there, so uh, come out, hang out.
Uh. They are a great time.
Really, like the whole ethos of Bride Egg events uh is like they're built around like, how would you want to have a day of golf at a really great golf course.
It's all about the golf.
It's you know, uh, we play, it's fun, you meet really cool people, other people that are really into golf. I think that's you know that's what what people are there to do, and uh yeah, they're they're a great time. I know you've attended a few as a as a patron before you before you worked here.
Amazing.
Yeah, of the ones you mentioned, I've played two of them as part of Fridagg events, the Hollywood Golf Club, the Walter Travis in Deal, New Jersey, and then Essex County Club in Manchester by the Sea. Those were two unbelievable days of golf. So I cannot recommend those enough and I'm sure the other ones are just as good.
Yeah, we have them all over the country, so if you're if you're trying to stay regional, you can do that, or if you're trying to travel somewhere, I would you know, like I think the Seattle one, the Chambers Bay one is a great one to do like a weekend away. So all right, big thanks and thanks to Matt Rushes for editing and producing this podcast.
We will be back.
I'm excited about this. The next podcast I have it, I have the file. I'm gonna devour it, probably before it goes up. But Garrett is back with his Great Courses series and the topic is augustin National He has a great guest, Josh Pettitt, who put together the marvelous
Mackenzie Reader book. He's previously been on the podcast to talk about Mackenzie, but they go deep on Augusta National, the latest in the Great Courses series, which previously has documented the old Course sunning Dale, Uh, Royal Melbourne and am I forgetting one? Those are National Golf Links, National Golf Link South America. So those are the previous four episodes. If you haven't, those are amazing. Garrett's done an amazing job with those episodes. I cannot wait to listen to
the Gusta National one. But yeah, that's uh, that's what what we have and next, you know, next time we do this pot it'll be Master's Week. So big thanks to Matt for producing all this stuff and uh excited for the next kind of two weeks here