Fairway Rollin' - A Trip to Texas, Then It’s Off to the Masters With Joel Beall

Episode Date: November 3, 2020

It’s almost time to head to the Masters. But before the tea time in Augusta is set, House and Nathan sit down with Joel Beall of Golf Digest to talk about the Houston Open and what story lines may transfer over to the Masters. They also discuss the recurring theme of older players doing surprisingly well at tournaments leading up to the showdown at Augusta, and who to be on the lookout for. Hosts: Joe House and Nathan Hubbard Guest: Joel Beall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

friends and welcome to this golf podcast unlike any other it is farewell road and on the ringer podcast network i am your starter joe house my birdie buddies what a time to be alive it is november as we record this and the calendar flipping to november means that we're going to have a master's more major golf. There's only one way for us to get down here on the Fairway Rollin podcast with the Masters right around the corner. Of course, our PGA tour correspondent on the ground. Nathan Hubbard is here.

And special guests straight out of golf digest. He has a very exciting trip in front of him. Joel Beale is on the pod. The first tee is wide open. Let's stroll over, throw a peg in the ground, and get it on with the fellow. J.B, how are you, pal? Great to have you all on the pod.

The Masters is right around the corner, and you're going to it. It's a week away, and I already have half of my car packed for the trip. And I wish I was lying, but my wife just texted me, hey, is that dry cleaning in your car? And I said, nope, that's what I'm wearing to Augusta. So I'm already set, cannot wait. It's a 14-hour drive. I know flying is safe right now. I just cannot chance going through LaGuardia

to get there and then test positive. I just, I can't handle it. So being safe, doing the drive down, I literally am having trouble sleeping and it's still eight or nine days away from Master's Monday. So I cannot get, cannot wait to get there, bud. What do you pack in your car

besides the regulars of clothing to take on a road trip to Augusta? Well, first you've got to have your sticks in there, just in case. Just in case you get the invite, right? Any invite, really. Exactly. Every polo I own,

because I am not a guy who irons my stuff before a round. So a couple of those are going to get wrinkled somewhere along the way. So have to be packed. You have to have options, as we all know. Who knows what Georgia is going to be in November. Then like four different pairs of golf shoes. Because again, who knows when that invite's going to come. So again, I wish I was exaggerating any bit of this, but it's all too true.

How long is that trip? What is that like 12, 14 hours? Yeah, Waze is telling me 14 hours as of this morning. but I figure if I leave around 3 a.m. on Sunday, Saturday night, Sunday morning, I should be good to at least get there in 12. Fingers crossed. We can take it before we get on property. So, yeah, I know it sounds bananas, but hey,

and I think every golfer would do the same thing if they're in my shoes. Well, I'm counting on the adrenaline of that drive and the building anticipation as each hour goes by, you will be that much closer. So, you know, several dozen miles each hour that goes by, And what are you anticipating in terms of when you land on grounds down there? I mean, obviously it's going to look and feel very, very different. Yeah.

And what we're hearing is all over the place, too. A few people have told us the club has brought in trees that specifically bloom in the fall to kind of give it that nice orange blush. So we'll see if that's true. But from guys who've played it, though, in the past couple weeks, it's not playing that much different than it has in April. Greens are rolling about the same. Fairways are maybe holding a little bit more than they used to.

But I think people are going to be surprised a bit and how much this tournament actually plays like the masters we all know and love. Well, one thing about that, J.B, that kind of makes sense. We are having a little bit of a warm spell here in the Mid-Atlantic this week right now. So from like November the second through maybe like November the 8th or so, the temperatures are all sort of high 60s, even bumping into low 70s, which means it will be four degrees, five degrees warmer than that.

Typically down there in Augusta, which means they're going to be able to have the course in a condition that's not that dissimilar from April, but the visuals will all be enormously, different because it's it's going to be fall visuals rather than spring visuals. But I'm I'm not that surprised to hear that it's sort of playing in sort of April condition. I have 500 questions for you in terms of storyline and so forth. But first, we have to take off our hats and give a tip of the hat to Brian Gay, who just

won in Bermuda. Please tell me you had Brian Gay on your dance card. If I did, I would not be talking with you guys. I think he was going off at 2001 on Thursday morning. So, yeah, 48 years old had not had a top 10 since this tournament last year. I mean, it's a real shame he doesn't get to play next week at Augusta. That would have been something, 48-year-old Brian Gade team. But you'll do it next year.

Which is just a handful of months away. Yeah, this is true. What a year for the old guys, Tim, Stuart Sank, Sergio, at 40 years old. we keep hearing this youth revolution at the PGA tour. Old guys aren't done yet. Still got a little bite to him. I don't know if that votes for Augusta at all. But yeah, for Ryan, as someone said,

didn't even know he was still playing on tour. So get forget. Well, what do you make of the old guy trend? Because we've been talking a lot about it here. The sneaky subtext to the old guy trend since the fall is that there have been some younger guys who've been in contention who we don't normally see on Sundays in some of the more well-known events in the winter and the spring.

But, you know, Doc Redmond was in contention this week. He was in contention in Safeway. Harry Higgs was in contention in Napa. But we're seeing these younger guys who have had an opportunity to grab it by the throat, like, say, Sebastian Munoz did last year and use it as sort of a springboard for the next year of their career.

But they've kind of gotten shaky down the stretch. And then you see the old guys who are cooler customers as they've been through this before, albeit nine, 13 years ago, depending on who's winning this week. But it feels like some of that experience has trumped youth. What do you see, what do you see A in this trend of old guys? And have you been surprised that we haven't seen a sort of breakout younger star in the fall? It's a bit surprising just because if you look at the past five or six years, that has been the trend. And really, I know everyone's been citing the three, 40-year-olds, Martin Laird is 37 and really hadn't done much in five or six years. So we can kind of throw him into

Yeah, he looks like he's 57. Oh, my God. Yeah, he's kind of a great guy, but time has not been, time has not been well to Martin Laird. But no, I think with only eight events, it's hard to extrapolate anything of true meaning. And these courses do tend to cater two shorter hitters for the most part. Maybe Shrinders is the one exception.

So to kind of extrapolate that any further, I think right now, there's just not enough information to tell. But, you know, Stewart's think, that was, that was, I think, the really surprising one. Sergio, I think people were more surprised at Sergio was 40 years old than anything else. But no, I think you're going to see a lot of the lot more older guys playing right now just because with this expanded season, it's going to still be hard to get chances. I did a story last year about once you kind of get over 40, the opportunities are very few and far between. And really the falls at the time to kind of make your move.

After that, you only get a couple events, you know, Pouble Beach kind of early in the years. A lot of big names don't like to play that. then maybe a few events between the U.S. Open and the Open Championship. Outside of that, it's very slim picking. So the fact that there are a lot of 40-year-olds, I mean, if you look at the fields, there are a lot of older guys that they're winning at a higher rate right now. I think it's a bit of an aberration. But, you know, who knows Houston this week, you know, it's got some big names,

also has some guys that, you know, if you've been following the PGA tour for a while, you haven't seen a while. So we'll see if it's anything more. But right now, I think it's more of an oddity rather than any type of time. trend. Well, I felt bad for Wyndham Clark only because he has been playing some good golf on and off over the last year. He shot out just a blazing round in Phoenix in February where you had a sense that maybe he was going to break out. And he just, it's a reminder of how hard it is to win a golf tournament. I mean, even last week at the Zozo, you know, JT got shaky down the stretch and John Rom got shaky down

the stretch. So you just wonder, it speaks to just how hard it is to win a golf tournament. And once you get over that hurdle a couple of times, that those guys have a little something in their back pocket they can use when they're coming down the stretch with a 26-year-old like Wyndham Clark, who hasn't gotten there before. Did we learn anything about the Masters from this tournament? No, right? Absolutely not. No. Thank God. Do we even have five guys that competed in Bermuda that are playing the Masters? Or I mean, Max home is going to play. I don't know who else.

Yeah. Other than that, it's pretty, yeah, pretty short list. Yeah, Fred Funk did not make the list. Although Fred Funk made the cut, speaking of old guys. Nate, I just have to say for one second, we began last week's show saying which old guy are we going to pick. And somehow, we seriously just need to sit down and look at a list. I know.

We got to spend more time on the old guys. We do because, like, I mean, Brian Gay is exactly the archetype of the guy that. we were looking for. 48 years old hasn't won on tour in seven years. That's our kind of guy. Yeah, and probably isn't as prone to go to the beach bar and his flip-flops like might pick Charlie Hoffman or finish B. Farrley-You keep being a ride or die for Hoffman.

I'm out. Yeah, he's your guy all of a sudden. I am off the Hoffman horse forever. I thought maybe there would be some pre-masters magic. It was ridiculous. Horrible call by me. Well, you know what? That actually means that might be a decent first-round leader bet now.

All of a sudden, that's the guy. That's my guy. Charlie Hoffen, it's going to get, I don't know, 10 bucks for a round leader. I don't think Hoffman's even in the field this year. He's not. No, he's not. Oh, there you go. Okay. But he could be first round leader in Houston this week just to make up for it.

That's probably a decent bet. Yeah, yeah. Well, speaking of Augusta and some storylines, let's go ahead and jump into it, J.B. We're a little early here, but we want to start getting a feel for what people are anticipating. what's the buzz on the ground. I'll tell you one thing that I saw from your colleague Alex Myers, and that was the news today that if you hold on, if you have a ticket to the Masters,

you can order for yourself online a beautiful spread of Masters Fair. The food, they are sending you a food box, a full array. If you have a ticket, you can go online. You can even order two. So I already reached out to one buddy that I know

has a ticket and told him he needs to hook me up with one. But the whole thing, I mean, we're on a positive first step. That's a great first note as we start to figure out, you know, storylines for this year's masters. I was going to send you that note, but I saw the package only feeds 10 to 12 and I thought that's not going to be enough for him. It's not enough for house. No, no, he needs three X the pimento cheese just to survive a Tuesday. Don't we all? Don't we all? Well, you're going to have it, buddy. What are you looking at? What's the early kind of buzz? We kind of touched on the fact that maybe the course is going to play reasonably close to April.

What other kind of things are you hearing? Well, I think when we talk about storylines, there's really only one big storyline. It's been the storyline since the restart. That's been Bryson. You know, what he's been doing, especially what he could do at Augustine National and what that means for the game and what that means for the course going forward. It's going to have some serious ramifications and it's going to be fascinating. and, you know, talk to a few people who, Bracson had played a practice around a couple of days ago.

And from what we heard, it went very well. I think everyone wants to know what's going to happen on 13. He's already stated his intention to drive it into the 14th hole, which would leave about 100, 120 yards into the most famous par 5 in the world. But really kind of the more interesting tidbits came on other parts of the course. First hole, for example, is weighs in around 445 yards. allegedly Bryson had 65 yards in off his drive at number one. A number eight, 570 yards, most of which is uphill.

He had a six iron in for a second shot. Nine got it to the upslope, so that leaves about 60 yards. I think we calculated on Google Earth. That's about a 400-yard drive. Then on 18, he just blew the bunkers on the left side. I mean, that takes a lot of bite out of that hole. So I know a lot of people are wondering what he's going to do at the par fives, But from what we're hearing, what he did on the par fours, it's been 60, 80 yards in almost

every every, every, every, every, every, every, every whole. And if you really kind of extrapolate that going forward, I know when we think of Augustine National, it's kind of the epitome of the second shot course. And Bryson's honestly, one of the worst iron players out of the top 15, 20 guys in the world. I think he ranked like a hundred and 19th in strokes game's approach last year. But the whole reason he's doing this essentially to bulk up is to take the importance out of the iron shot. He just wants a wedge in his hand. And that's what he did at wing foot. And it really eliminates the need, the 150, 160-yard shot. And that happens, given his improvement in putting in the past year, he was 10th in putting on the tour last season. I think it really could live

up to the hype of what could every, all the worst fears and all the hopes, every, all this, what will Bryson do, all this mania? I think it actually could come to fruition. He's not necessarily my pick to win, if only because it'll be, I'm curious. to see how he reacts to having the target on his back. I think people were really interested to see what he would do at the PGA and the U.S. open. But now that he's kind of the man and he's got that major under him and guys are going after him now.

It'll be interesting to see how that reacts. But I mean, I know the odds are very, very scooting his favorite from the point. I think a lot of people are staying away from betting him. But I think it's going to be the real deal. I think you're going to see Bryson in contention heading into the weekend. Well, the thing about Bryson amongst the top guys the last three, four years at the he's had the worst putting performance of any of them. And so that is the sneaky part of his game that has gotten so much better. And as you say, his iron play hasn't been great, but his wedge

play has been good. Let me ask you on the Bryson front, we have seen a lot of shenanigans from him over social media over the course of the last four or five weeks, right? We saw the ridiculous video of him getting off the jet and into the Bentley SUV with the sort of quest for 215. Then there was this leak of him being filmed, like screaming at the golf ball and hitting the crap out of it that maybe was a commercial, maybe was like a cameo that somebody ordered, or maybe it was just Bryson being Bryson. What do you make of the social media work that he's doing? Is it putting undue pressure on himself? Can this guy handle it? What are we seeing from him right now? I wouldn't call it work. I think it's performance art. At least that's what I'm hoping. There's no way

what he is doing is serious. At least I really hope not. I do think it is putting a bit of pressure from, at least from his fellow Tor pros. They definitely have bought in that what he's doing is real. That being said, they're not exactly thrilled. The BS question after question about it and stuff like this, obviously,

it does make the target on the back all that much bigger. But, you know, I think most of it is innocuous. It's maybe they find it a little bit annoying, but I don't think it's also anything established by means. I think they just kind of think it's very goofy. Who's liked less on tour right now by his fellow peers? You know, I think the guy who won this tournament two years ago would qualify as that

and a few other names. I don't think that he's even stated in a great S.I. profile last week that he doesn't have a lot of friends on tour. I think he kind of named Kevin Nause, the only guy who really hangs out with. I don't think there are bad relationships with him. I think people will say certain things, but I don't think he's overly disliked. I think there's a bit of what's this guy's deal. But I think there's also a lot of respect for what he's done,

especially since the restart in June. I want to pick up on one thing that both of you guys touched on, which I think could be the factor that most impacts what Bryson's going to do. This is not profound by any means. And I'm going to cite our homie, Justin Ray, who a few days ago put this out. He says, you know, there are 50. players over the last three years with eight or more rounds at Augusta National. And of that group, of those 58 players with eight or more rounds at Augusta National over the last three years,

Bryson D. Chambot ranks 58th, which is dead last in strokes gained putting per round at the Masters. Now, we have observed. We've watched it with our own eyes, and the data analysis tells us that he has gotten much, much, much better at putting over the last year. In fact, he was tied for 11th at the U.S. Open. But a lot of folks have talked about the fact that Bryson's going to be deprived of his green reading book, because they don't permit that at the Masters.

and I just am eager to sort of hear your views. It's kind of fascinating, J.B. You know, which version of Bryson's putting is going to show up? Because that's the thing. Even if he only has 65 or 70 or 75 yards in, a four-footer at Augusta can turn into a 12-footer, 12-foot comebacker, unlike any other course really on the planet. Am I right about this?

Yes, I know from experience last year. That's right. You know this. This is it. Humble brag by Joe, Joel Beale, right? I know. Great flex. Well, as the over-under there.

I mentioned that round. It had to be underdum. But, you know, it's a good point. It's a point people have brought out not only about its putting, but just his track record at Augusta. You know, his best finish was as an amateur. Now, he did lead this tournament after the first round last year and kind of fell apart a little bit.

but it's not like he hasn't had success here. It's just not to what we've expected now of a guy who's, you know, the top five in the world. I do think the profile is of who Bryce and D. Chambot is and who he is on the golf course is so much different from the past. It does make comparisons tough and not just off the distance. His putting really has improved. And, you know, part of it is everyone's so tantalized by this distance.

So that's kind of all we focus on. But his putting at wing foot was really solid and really one of the keys to him winning. So as shaggy as he's been. at Augusta in the past, even without the Green Readings book, I don't think it's, I think it's more of immediate creation that this is really going to submarine him. I think he'll be just fine on the Greens. You talked about the Google Earth obsessing that has been done by golf fans for the last couple months as we've watched the course go to Brown and then get overseeded and come back.

Have they made any significant changes that, I mean, there was the talk of will they move the 13th T back? it looks like their space, but probably not this year. Have they made any significant changes to the course as far as you can tell or see or no that are going to change the way this tournament has played this year? The few people we've talked to mentioned nothing that really stood out to him. I think I saw over the weekend, forgive me, because I'm not sure who posted it, but somebody mentioned they added a tree on the 13th to try to hopefully cut down guys either cutting the corner or just going straight over it.

but from at least probably we told the guy or someone that was with Price and nothing that stopped him from kind of doing his game plan. So I think most of the trees are going to see that art plan are more for the aesthetic rather than any type of strategy in place.

I think people are going to see the Augustine National they've come to watch over the years. And what soundtrack is CBS going to pipe in? Are they going to do the spring birds or do they have like fake fall birds they're going to pipe in this year? You think it's got to be fall, right? They get enough calls as this.

So you got at least make, make sure it's seasonal. What are fall birds? I don't even know what they're like a wild turkey. The geese flying down from the north. I did not study up on the migration patterns, unfortunately, before the podcast. Well, let's go from birds to a tiger. How about that for a segue?

We've been talking about the masters now for all of 11 or 12 or 14 minutes. And we haven't mentioned the defending champion by name one time. let's go ahead and talk about it. I mean, I don't have high hopes. In fact, I have very modest hopes. Help me feel better about what L.T. Gray is capable of, J.B. Well, if you want to feel better, I think there was a very serious chance

that thing was played in April. He would have missed the Masters. I think we already, well, obviously, a lot has happened since then, but, you know, he had pulled out of a few tournaments in the Masters lead-up, including the player's championship. I think he would have ultimately played,

but clearly in the, late winter, early spring. He was not physically that great. Talking to a couple of people over the weekend, it sounds like he's doing okay. He feels like, you know, his game is actually trending for the right way. But, I mean, history, you really have to have some type of momentum heading into the master's. It's been really since Trevor Immelman that a guy's kind of come out of nowhere to win. And what we've seen from Tiger, not really just the past couple of months, but really the scope of the past senses win. That's, I mean, it was 20 months ago. since he won at the master's on.

I know he had that win in Japan, and he played pretty well at the President's Cup in December. But, yeah, he's missed the cut in three of the past five majors. It's best finished since the June restart was at T-37 at Harding Park. You know, if anything, it just kind of gives you more appreciation for what actually happened in 2019, how miraculous it is, because this guy is 44 years old. He doesn't have a lot left in the tank.

I think he could make the weekend, but seeing Tiger in contention, that just seems like a big, big ass right now. So Tiger and Bryson will definitely take most of the air out of the room for the week and the lead-up. But underneath those guys, there's some pretty interesting stories.

We got DJ and Tony who were coming off COVID. Adam Scott coming off COVID. Obviously, Tony played really well last week, but we don't know how those guys are going to play. As you said, it's a little bit of a game of momentum. J.T. has hung around and played great, but boy, he's looked shaking.

in some stretches this year. Rom, can he get his first? How do you think about the next slate of guys who are still in that upper echelon underneath Bryson? And are there any that you see who have that momentum or who you've got your eye on coming into the Masters? I mean, my pick, and I feel bad that's not an exciting pick, but it's John Rom. I mean, he's played 18 events in 2020, and he's finished inside the top 10, and I think in half of them. He's got a very good track record at Augusta, finished fourth a couple years ago. And I think just two or three shots. I think three shots back last year. What's really been impressive for Rom this year is he's kind of figured out how to win ugly. If you look at

his victories coming into the year, it was a lot of the 15 under, 20 under variety. But when things got tough, he really wasn't there. But then we saw at the Memorial and BMW this year, he held strong in really brutal conditions. Now, the only real downside to a Rom win, I think you're going to see just a wave of that, you know, the guy finally controlled his emotions. And, you know, I think that's BS. He's fiery. He's fiery. yes, it sometimes manifests in bad ways and is directed the wrong people. But I think this guy has reached a stratosphere that he has, despite a fiery disposition, I think it's the exact opposite.

So that's the only thing I ask. If Rom does win, let's just put that on ice. But yeah, Ron's my pick. DJ is going to be the really interesting thing this week because, as you mentioned, he's coming off the COVID result. And you've got to kind of feel for the guy, as much as you can feel for a guy who won $15 million and lives with a super model. You know, had that heater doused a couple of years ago in 2017 by the flight of stairs.

And now this, I mean, it was a runner up win, runner up win to end last season that has a T6 the U.S. Open. And now he tests the positive. So House, you mentioned, Fienau came back pretty strong at Sherwood. It had a, I think, T-11. But as we've seen with athletes across the sports landscape, these guys really react across the spectrum in a lot of different ways. So DJ is playing Houston. He's the favorite. I would stay away from that at Houston this week. But this week will be really interesting to see how he comes back.

And is he in shape? Because if he is, man, with his track, and he's had four straight top tens at the Masters, including a runner up last year. That's kind of what really interests me going in to see how, is his game back or is he kind of lacking energy? Well, speaking of lacking energy, a guy that Nate and I have been watching pretty,

attentively and waiting for him to flip the switch is Roy McElroy. And to his credit, congratulations to him and his wife on the birth of the little baby girl. And he came right back out and has been playing in a handful of events since the baby girl arrived. He didn't just shut it down. And it seems like he has intentions as it relates to the masters, the fabled Lord now of his meltdowns at this place and his opportunities that he has himself sort of let pass by. It's well known. We don't need to go through it again. But is there a reason? Is there a rationale? Is there a storyline here where Rory quietly steps into this moment and grabs it?

This is the first time in recent memory that he has kind of come in as not only the top two or three storylines for the masters. In terms of rationale, I would say just look at his track record. Last year's T-21 was the first time he hadn't had a top 10 since like 2014. The game is in form. At Wingfoot, I followed him around a couple of days. He's scored about as bad as he could and still finished T8. So, Rory, this is, I know people are wondering is he's snake bit at Augusta. He's only 31 years old. The fact that he's played so well in the opportunities he's had, I think he's a guy who's going to win multiple green jackets. If I'm making my list, I think he's just right behind Rom.

Yeah, the fact that Rory is where he is on the, I think he's 13, 14 and 1, I'd snag that up as quick as I can. Well, one guy that we have not talked about yet as we talk about upper echelon guys is Brooks Kepka. And of all the players playing at Houston this week, Brooks seems to have the most to prove because, you know, let's be clear, he wants this tournament badly. And he has been preparing himself in a lot of,

of ways for this tournament through most of the fall. What are you hearing about the status of Brooks's lower extremities? Again, he treats these injuries like hockey injuries and doesn't totally disclose what he's going through. He's showing, speaking of social media performative art, he's doing a lot these days, which makes you think he's feeling pretty good. He's showing up a lot and talking a lot in a good way, in a fun way. But what do you hear about the state of his health? you know, a couple of guys, when he came back at the CJ Cup a couple of weeks ago, everyone said he looked a lot better than what he had did not only at PGA, but when the Wyndham Championship, people said he was really hurting on that week.

So, you know, I'm not usually one to buy into emotional narratives, but you've got to think for a guy who's built his entire career off a slight, spoke real and concocted, seeing his guy he's needle for the past year in Bryson when the U.S. open, You got to think that's got to lay a little bit of fire behind the guy. That's where I'm going. And I don't think that's something that we're just talking about for the sake of talking about. I think it's a very real thing.

I think there's also a little bit of to, I think he realizes the PGA Smack Talk backfired just from people I told. I don't think he's not sorry he did it, but he just kind of realizes, all right, that one's on me. And I don't think he's a guy who it's not going to make him shy away from it. He just wants to prove himself that he still is that guy. Um, kind of as we mentioned with DJ, this is going to be an interesting week form at Houston 2C if he's physically there.

Uh, with Brooks, think the big thing is just going to be the putter. Um, you know, you can get away with spraying the ball at Augusta, as we all know, but, you know, poor, poor putting, that's, that's a quick out, um, for the masters. And during that stellar run in 2017 and 2018, Brooks was an, you know, an average putter. Um, definitely good when he needed to be, but, you know, fairly average across the board. Last year, he was, I think 150th or 144th in putting. and it wasn't much better at Shadow Creek. So this week, if he can kind of get some momentum on the greens,

obviously there's not a lot of correlation between Memorial Park and Augusta National. But just if he can get his short game right going on, I think it's going to be a big indicator of what we can expect next week. Yeah, he knows this course. I mean, he was the advisor on the remodel and has a lot invested in this one. So it's going to be interesting to see if he can use this as momentum. There's not a whole lot about this course that's going to feel remotely similar to Augusta. but it will be, he seems to be the guy who, if he's in form,

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or you can visit www. www. 1-800 gambler.net if you are in West Virginia. So I want to pick up on our old guy theme. I want to ask your opinion on a couple old guys

that I have kind of soft-circled. We know that old guys can win because Tiger Woods won this tournament last year. He's a defending champion at age 43. Last year, he's 44 now. I wonder, under these circumstances, where, again, we've sort of said that the trend of this fall has been an aberration in what I'm going to characterize as the sort of regular way PGA tour stops, where we've had, you know, winners, a bunch of winners north of 40 years old. But there are a couple guys still that the combination of experience and the form that they're in right now, I'm interested in your opinion of.

the leading contender for me if it's that category is none other than Bubba Watson himself. Yeah, his T's T degree numbers have been spectacular and it's coming in hot. Personally, I I'm not on the Bubba bandwagon. Okay. Just because there are a lot of people

on it. I'm not trying to tip it over, just not jumping aboard, but obviously this is the guy. There are people on it already? Oh, are there ever? Oh, I didn't know. Oh, now I'm off. I'm off of it. But he is a guy who if you look at at his wins, they seem to come with the same exact courses. And obviously, he's got the two wins that I guess also played pretty well last year as well.

So this is, you know, I don't, I don't disagree with people jumping on Bubba. And clearly he's found something that's worked after kind of a rough year, year and a half from him. He has found something related to talking about his mental health, it feels like. The more that he has spoken about the journey that he's gone on and been transparent about the struggles that he's had. and talked about, you know, he talked about his breathing in response to a question of how he played well. And then people sort of chortled, but then he came out with a much broader explanation for how his breathing is really helping him deal with his anxiety. I've been pretty impressed with, A, the way he's sort of stepped out and been almost a, you know, a spokesperson for mental health. But secondly, the way that it's clearly liberated the way that he's playing golf right now.

Have you any insight into really how he has gone through this journey beyond what we've read? Is there, you know, Bubba was, as you said, he's not always been everybody's favorite player on tour. And some of that in this guy's case has been really honestly, clearly, because he's been misunderstood. People haven't really understood who this guy is. Any more insight into the journey that he's been on? Or do you think he's just swinging the club better? No, I think that's something that people around the game, and if you kind of go back, he's at least somewhat alluded to it, not as clear cut as he has in the past couple weeks. But it's a battle that a lot of people have known he's dealt with.

And I think that's why when he's had these kind of, you know, I don't want to say controversies, but things he says that kind of startled. There's also a little bit of a latitude there because people did at least understand he was battling something. But yeah, I think he's kind of seen the culture and realize I need to be more upfront about this. and it's just not lip service. It's something he is dealing with. And it's interesting. He's a guy who, depending on the day and depending on the tournament, says he either loves playing in front of crowds or really likes kind of the peace and quiet.

And a couple of guys have actually mentioned if you, if you're looking at who would be affected possibly by no patrons this year at Augusta, the rookies are the first guys mentioned. But they kind of mentioned Bubba as well. As someone who might be able to just kind of go about his business, this might be something that kind of helps his case a little bit. But no, I think it's great that he has been more up front about not only his battles, but he's trying to take the stigma away from him.

And everything I've heard has been positive that it's really helping not only his golf game, but his personal life. House, no fans. Get back on the wagon. What do you mean get back on the wagon? What wagon can I get on? The bubble wagon, you were on, then you were off. I think you've got to get back on it. Well, I do want to pick up on this no-fans thing in the comment you just made, J.B.,

as it relates to rookies. again, speaking of facts that we'll all be beaten over the head with over the next two weeks, you know, no rookie is won here since Fuzzy Zeller back in, what is it, 78. And, you know, there was properly a great deal of attention and thought put into how Colin Moracow was able to take down the PGA championship out there in Harding Park, you know, with no fans and he his own self talked about how quiet his own mind was down that back nine stretch I'm interested in in your sense of you know whether that's something that will be at play here at Augusta will the moment get to these guys because it didn't get to either

morcawa or scotty Sheffler out at harding park but you know augusta is a whole different ball of wax that's a different church right there brother what's your sense of how these young guys are sort of, you know, likely to respond. Well, not only those two guys, I think the even bigger near are those is Matthew Wolf, you know, finished B4 at PGA, then runner up at wing foot. And you're right, it's a different ballgame, but at the same time, having a bit of a runway at the PJ and the U.S. Open to without crowds, I think it is a nice kind of chamber to see how these guys will react.

Honestly, when I look at the odds, I see Matthew Wolf. I know 33 to 1 doesn't necessarily qualify as a sleeper, but given how his game is trended and how he has performed over the past three or four months. I know his iron game might not be quite as strong as we want from some guy, someone to compete at the Masters. But Matthew Wolves is a guy who is not one for convention. I think if anything, he takes pride in knowing that he's doing something that he probably shouldn't be doing at his age or his experience.

So that's the one guy I could really see being spurred by without a crowd, just because you're right. guys can say it doesn't bother them, but once they get into the weekend and they hear those wars, it's something else. A lot of players have attested to that. So I do think there is something for Wolf. I would also know Scott E. Sheffler in there.

I think he's a guy for looking at early round picks as a, you know, 50 to 1, 60 to 1 guy. And I think Sheffler is even 71 as a first round leader. Those are odds I really like for that area. Sheffler is someone who, again, kind of got taken away from the U.S. Open because of a positive COVID test, but no one was playing as good as he was from kind of mid-July on.

Morikawa, his short game worries me a little bit more at Augusta than it has kind of going forward. But yeah, I think all these young guys, they have a little bit more of a chance than they would have if the crowds were at Augusta this year.

So speaking of crowds and patrons and fans, last week in Bermuda was the first time that the tours had fans on site, albeit in a super limited number. This week in Houston, there's going to be a few on site. We'd actually heard some players might be a little nervous about showing up,

but they've gotten through that anxiety. What are you hearing going forward about how the tour is thinking about fans and when we might start to see fans more regularly back on the course? Definitely going to see it a few more times. Things kind of hold. I think C Island would be a good spot

to see fans going forward, but they really haven't, different tournament officials from events in January and February have kind of already stated their intentions of what they want to do. But especially given the rise in numbers the past two weeks, it's been extremely silent the past few days about what these sermons have going forward. I know the tour was galvanized by what they've seen, not only what baseball did, the World Series, but what different NFL teams have done.

But most people really do not want to talk about it until they get. a little bit closer. Again, I think if you're looking at other events, see Island be the one you can kind of circle as more fans there. But I think the way things are going right now, everyone's kind of silent on that front. Well, speaking of silent, I don't imagine that the green jackets at Augusta are going to permit dead, quiet silence because it will be just such a different vibe already. Do you have, as a person that's physically attending this thing, do you have any sort of sense of the parameters of who's going to physically be on the grounds, what the numbers are like? Are you, for instance,

going to be permitted to walk around out on the golf course while the guys are competing? And if you wanted to clap for somebody performing well or even let out a little cheer, are you permitted to do so? Do you have a sense as to how any of that like on the ground game is going to occur? I think if any media member, well, Scott clapping, especially in these circumstances, they'd be, especially at the Masters,

too, they'd be pulled out pretty quickly. In terms of who's going to be on the ground, it does sound like there'll be members. I don't think they'll be on the course, but I've heard two different things from that, from two different, pretty eye of people.

So, you know, there's going to be a heavier media contingent than you've seen at other events from what I've been told, we will be on the course, but they're going to try to keep us out of the camera, which, listen, I want to want me on a camera.

camera either, so I totally get that. But yeah, I don't think you're going to see quite as many people. I think people who watch the U.S. Open are kind of taken aback on Sunday by how many volunteers and wing foot numbers were falling around the final groups. I don't think you're going to see that coming master Sunday. Before we get to the Masters, we've got a tournament this week that, you know, really moved to this course, J.B., because the organizers had to pull it out from the suburbs of Houston where there were no fan shows.

showing up, even though they were allowed. And they moved it to Memorial Park in conjunction with the owner of the Astros, who was at the center of this tournament and moving it down. And everyone was excited to have a big old, you know, event that, you know, probably was only second to the Houston rodeo in terms of big cultural sporting event that people came out to. And since that time, we've had the owner of the Houston Astros have to swallow a terrible cheating scandal.

we've had the guy who was advising the course Redesigned Brooks sort of knocked out with injury and now we've got a global pandemic with no fans so I think there are some good reasons but why do we care about this tournament this week especially because his house pointed out a little bit before we hopped on the pod nobody who has won the Houston Opener

the week before the Masters has gone on to win the Masters in quite some time I think there are a couple of reasons to watch There are a lot of big names. We mentioned DJ and Kepka. Matsiyama's going to be playing. Fianow, is going to be there. Adam Scott, who is also battled COVID,

Victor Hovlin. Jordan Speeth, which we can get to in a little bit, we'll be playing. But this is the Redstone where they used to play this. They try to make it as much as a gustlegg as possible with these guys to kind of prep however much credence you want to put into that, have you go for it.

But Memorial Park, Tom Doke, redesigned it with Kepka's input. Everything I'm hearing, it's a fantastic layout. They took a lot of bunkers out to make a little bit more playable and get some lies that you wouldn't necessarily see on the PGA tour. Also, it is just a revival of this event. It was left or dead, really, in 2016, after a shell pulled out. And even really, the Golf Club of Houston pulled out as well.

It really didn't have a home. Last year, it was kind of just a one, oh, like a goodbye, just because this was under renovation. I think fans are going to be really pleasantly in supplies that the course laid out before him. But no, I think, as we've mentioned, just because historically the past couple years, guys who've played well here have kind of struggled to come to Augusta. But, you know, there was a trend before that where guys who at least played this week did have success at the Masters. And so many big names are here, even the guy like Jason Day, who at 50 to 1 at the Masters is someone who I think is very appealing. Just to see a couple of big names get back into it.

Hey, if you're a golf fan, I don't know what more you can want. Well, I want to pick up on that name you just mentioned. We can't blow by it and act like it's part of the comedy routine. Jordan Speath has a particularly magical touch and a magical experience at and around Augusta National. He's available this week in Houston at 60 to 1. How about that narrative coming into Augusta? He has been showing small green shoots, not enormous green shoots, but he did shoot two rounds in the 60s to finish out at Sherwood.

And he finished, you know, and I think he was in the top 30 or so. I know that was a limited field event, but, you know, he's been quietly working and trying to build. He had his dad on his bag at Sherwood. Let's come up with the fantasy scenario for, for Jordan Speeth because professional golf is better when he's competitive. I would just love to have his name be one of the names that we're talking about as we go through the upper echelon names right now.

Yeah, the numbers don't speak to anything going right at the moment. I think he's like 218, like, 330, 30, an approach. And yet all the guys I talked to said, like, no, he, you know, he's got rid of the two-way miss off the T. the iron games are looking a lot better. Obviously, that was one of, you know, he's one of the best iron players in the world just three years ago. It's starting to get closer to that. And the playing has actually improved a lot over the past two or three months. I know next week is why everyone cares about, given his past at Augusta National.

But, you know, he is playing. He's a Texas guy. This is a course. It's not overly long at 7,300 yards, at least by tour standards. And it does roll out fairly well from what I'm told. So when a little win picks up, he's one of the better one players out there. It's not inconceivable. Speed could be in contention come Saturday afternoon.

Look, we mentioned the stat. Nate just mentioned it. Only one of the last eight master champions played the week before. That was Jordan Speeth in 2015, who finished second at the Houston Open in 2015 and then won the Masters at 2015. I mean, it's 60 to 1. It feels like it's worth. 10 bucks. Nate is a speed truther. He's been dying for speed to be back on on the scene and,

and, you know, full speed again. So 10 bucks, can we do it? I put a little bit more money than that on his 40 to 1 master's odds. So I'm definitely not going to hold you up here with the Houston Open. I'm with Nate. I'm a speech truther. I'll defend him to the death. I really do think the turnaround is coming. And so, yeah, I am not going to cast any aspersions on anyone who wants to. I'm going to to buy in the speed right now. I buy into speed every week. It's almost as bad as my Charlie Hoffman riding, but I'm off Charlie,

but I'll never get off Jordan. Two guys who may be a little bit more realistic this week in terms of seeing an interesting performance, I want to ask you about. We haven't had a defending champion who's beneath the surface playing as well coming back into a defending situation as Lanto Griffin in quite some time.

He really seemed to take a lot of the spring to figure some things out. But he won here last year, made a great put on 16, made a great putt on 18, coincidentally on top of my brother to win this golf tournament. But he has been playing really well since the startup. So what do you see from Lanto? Should we believe in this? Or is this just a swell of decent play that may not translate into another win? No, because even before his fall, he's... He played pretty well at the PGA Championship out in Harding Park as well.

And even throughout the year, I know he didn't quite carry over a fall 2019's fall success to the spring. But as you would watch this guy throughout the summer, you're going, you know, the scores aren't reflecting how he's playing. And definitely, he definitely seems settled in now. I mean, this is the guy who, you know, he's a jury man. If you know his story, it's incredible that he's even on tour, let alone one of the top 25, 30 players on tour over the over the past 18. months. So, you know, again, obviously we're playing a new course this week. But no, I was looking at his odds. I was surprised that we wasn't getting a little bit more love given how he's trending right now. So he's even a guy next week that I wouldn't be totally shocked to see on that Thursday,

Friday leaderboard, just because, man, he's about as cool as it comes. He's very unflapable. And yeah, he's someone who I think in the next couple of years, you're really going to see make a breakthrough. Well, there's a lot going on underneath the surface with him for sure. We saw him. fade a little bit, it sure would. But he's an interesting play this week, even though it is a different course. The other guy wanted to ask you about is Russell Henley. Should we believe what we're seeing with our eyes, is he really back and playing the kind of quality golf?

Because this is a guy who, Georgia kid, you get him at Augusta, you know, you could see him actually make a run there. But is this for real or is this also a little bit of a flash in the pan where he finds the game for a bit and then recedes? I wouldn't say flash in the pan. This is the guy who did a lot of work to kind of. of overhaul what his swing look like. And he's kind of dealt with injuries as well.

So I think that's, if you look at kind of what happened to Russell Henley of the past three or four years, it was more, that was kind of the spur of it. But, you know, he's had Houston success as well. And he was some, I think I was another Georgia guy Hudson Swofford. And they mentioned Henley's the guy, watch out the next couple of months because he's right now in more ways than one. And if you're looking for someone to really kind of bust through, you know, a guy, a veteran guy at least, to really kind of get back to where he was.

Russell Henley is a pretty good pick. So I didn't see what his odds are this week. But man, that's a guy who I think he's on the short list of someone to contend this week. He feels a little Webb Simpson-esque in his revival. We forgot a little bit about him, but he's playing pretty strong right now. Yeah, he's available right now.

I see him at 25 to 1, which is a reflection of the market, thinking he's capable of pretty damn good things because those are odds that have him inside the top 10 at Houston. Joel Beal, you are about to embark on the trip of a lifetime, a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Augusta National and the Masters competed in the fall like this. Nate and I really cannot contain our jealousy,

but I will just convey to you Godspeed, and please drive slowly. And, you know, if they let you, you're probably not permitted to take pictures of anything because you're not allowed even even to have your phone on there. But if you can sneak a picture of what they have in the press food or just, you know. Some fall birds. Yeah, fall birds. Exactly. Please share it with us. We'll keep it in the private collection. I'll do you one better. If we're allowed somewhere in the camera vicinity, I'll try to wave a pomeo cheese sandwich at you.

Just not. I love it all well. Guys really appreciate having me on. It means a lot. Have a safe trip, man. Yeah, we always appreciate it. Thanks, J.B. Thanks, guys. All right, my par saving pals, there you have it. Our thanks as always to Joel Beale. Safe travels to the homie on that drive down to Augusta. Next week on this podcast, the Fairway Rowland podcast, as you would expect, we have a show on Monday. We're going to set the stage.

We have a show on Wednesday. We're going to give out some picks and try and get some return on investment. And then we will have a show, of course, immediately. following the green jacket being slipped on to some shoulders. Nate and I will be reconvened and maybe special guests, who knows, Sunday evening with a reaction to the Masters victory. That's three shows next week for the price of none because you don't pay for this podcast, but you do listen and you do love it.

And thank you for your attention and love to all of our sponsors. Until next week, by Birdie Buddies. Let's head them straight out there. You know,