Fairway Rollin' - Essential Stats With Justin Ray and Goal Setting With Patrick Cantlay

Episode Date: June 16, 2021

House and Hubbard are deep in the stats game at the U.S. Open, so they called up the best stats guy around, Justin Ray, to break down every stat to track during this major (06:45). Then Nathan is joined by pro golfer and multi-tour winner Patrick Cantlay to talk about setting his goals high, what he expects at Torrey Pines, and managing injury (46:31). Hosts: Joe House and Nathan Hubbard Guests: Justin Ray and Patrick Cantlay Producer: Steve Ahlman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the Len Bias story hosted by Jordan Ritter-Con is the ringer's latest narrative podcast. You can find new episodes every Wednesday on the Book of Basketball 2.0 feed. Here's a quick trailer. You've heard his name, Lynn Bias, 1980s phenom, second pick in the NBA draft. And then, cocaine, tragedy, one of the most shocking deaths in sports history. 35 years later, Bias' legacy is still making an impact. From Spotify and the Ringer Podcast Network, this is What If, the Lynn Bias story. I'm Jordan Ritter-Con.

Hello, friends, and welcome to this major edition of Fairway Road. Oh, yeah, my birdie buddies. This is the golf podcast on the Ringer Podcast Network, and I am your starter, Joe House. by par saving pals. You can tell I am very excited. This is a major week. We have Major League talent on the program. Today, we are breaking it all down,

as is our custom here on Fairway Rowland with the incomparable Justin Ray. And then a little surprised guest, why don't we talk to a recent PGA tour winner? Patrick Cantlay on the pod telling us about his preparation for this U.S. Open. and how he managed to close out at the memorial. But look, the first T's wide open.

We're going off as a three ball. We're starting off nice and strong. It's Nate Dog, it's house, it's J.R. throwing a peg in the ground, and hopefully we're hitting one right down the middle. All right, here we go, boys. J.R., Justin Ray. Welcome to the show.

Head of content for the 21st group, the name changed, but the business remains the same. How you feeling, buddy? I'm great. Thanks for having me, guys. It's not a major week until I'm here talking to my boy's house and Nathan, so let's get going. California's Open for the U.S. Open. You are throwing a million stats out on Twitter.

You are the best stat guy every week, but especially a major week. Justin Ray, what is your favorite stat this week? Okay, so I'm going to talk about the insignificance of driving accuracy at Torrey Pines. Yes. Every year when we go to Tori Pines, whether it's the U.S. Open in 2008 where the Farmers Insurance Open year in, year out of the beginning of the year,

iron play is the, it's what wins here. It's what wins here. It's not off the T. So the winner's the last 15 years here. Only 11% of their strokes gained for the week were off the T. 46% came on approach play. So over, and this goes even further back. This isn't just the modern era of strokes gain statistics. Over the last 40 years at Torrey Pines,

15 times the winner that week has ranked outside the top 50 in driving accuracy. Like not even close to being a significant statistic. So when they talk about everybody, we get to a U.S. Open every year, talk about the rough. You got to hit it in the fairway. I don't know if you watched Wingfoot last year. It didn't really matter for Bryson DeShambo at 41% of the fairways. I think you're going to see a similar type of setup this week where power is more significant off the T than accuracy. and the guys who are the best iron shots are the ones who put themselves in the most situations

to succeed. It's been in that way year and you're out of Torrey Pines. And just to follow up on that, when you think about this Torrey Pines at this U.S. Open, does it compare to Farmers Insurance tournaments that have been held at Tori? In other words, is this the same course? Are they not able to make it significantly different enough so that you can make these comparisons? It's, so I think that you can make comparisons with a little bit of, caveat, right? So if you're looking at a player's resume, like Tony Fee now has a great tournament history at the Farmers Insurance Open, is it the end-all be-all when I'm thinking about putting a bet on Tony Fiener this week? No, it's not. Goddammit, this is your case for Patrick

Reed. But it can enhance his resume a little bit, just a little bit. Yes, I think that there's something to be said for hitting great shots into these greens and seeing them, you know, again when you get into a big championship setting. There is something to be said. Now, different time of year, the greens are going to be a little bit different. They're going to grow a little bit different in the afternoon. The rough is going to be a little more, maybe a little bit more penalizing, but all in all, it's still the same bones of this golf course. And there's not, ultimately, you're going to hit, you know, you're going to have more long irons than normal with this setup. And that's the way it is in January, February, when they have this tournament.

You're going to, you know, driving accuracy, like I said, not as significant. Scambling's going to be pretty important because guys are going to miss greens. That's the same case of what we see for farmers. So the bones of the course are going to be the same and some of those characteristics are going to carry over. Is it the end all be all? No, I won't say that. But there is some significance of past course history here. So, JR, let's just take a step back. I want you to know, we have manners here at Fairway Rowland. This is your first appearance since the birth of your son. So congratulations on that. Thank you. Where are we on the overrunner? He was born six weeks ago? He turned one month old two days ago. Oh, amazing. So how many diapers? What's the overrunner on

diapers changed by Justin Ray? Well, mom is on the leaderboard and running away with it. You're losing strokes gain diapers. It's a tiger at pebble blowout in 2000 compared to what dad's done. But I will say I'm more deft, I'm more skilled. For my money,

getting the pants back on the tiny legs is a little more difficult than the actual changing of the diaper. That's just from my early experience. That's the same problem house has in the morning. It literally is. It's all about the. reps. This is like I could tell you. It's all about the reps. Well, look, it took it took two men, two great men to fill your shoes when we did the PGA championship. We love Rick Gaming. We

obviously love Pat Mayo. And it was great to have those boys on. But look, you know, US Open, you're back and we're chopping it up properly. And the one thing I want to chop up right away is one of the observations you just made about the importance of iron play. So let's slice it up a little bit. know that this golf course has been fashioned in a way to make it, you know, their goal is to have these second shots be long second shots, 200 yards plus. So if you're doing some slices of categories of iron play where you're trying to make a little differentiation between guys that are accurate from 150, guys that are accurate from 175, guys that are accurate from 200, what are you focusing in on? So I'll give you another number to explain just with the point you're making there about long iron shots.

So the winners at Torrey Pines since 2004, the guys who've won the tournament at Torrey Pines South, 51% of their approach shots have been from 175 and further. That's 10 to 12% more than the PGA tour average week and week out. So just you go to this golf course, it's something you're going to see more often than not. Longer iron shots think like we kind of see at Bay Hill every year, right? The four best players this season, scoring from 175 and out, they're going to ring a pretty solid bell for everybody. One, John Rom.

Two, Xander Shoffley. Three, Bryson, four Web Simpson. So I think those are four guys and a key statistic you can be able to take with you. And look, you're going to see a lot more iron shots from further away, fewer wedge shots into par fours and par fives. Guys have been going up the par fives and two, and they're going to have longer approaches and some of these longer par fours and part three. So it's a key statistic, and those are a few guys keep an eye on. So let me ask you what I just am turning over in my head as I look at this card.

We have not had a who the fuck is that major winner since probably Danny Willett at the Masters in 2016, right? Like he wasn't Ben Curtis. He was 12th in the world. But he really was a guy that we were surprised. Fine. So then where do we got to go back to? I see what you said.

You may be right about that. I mean, Danny Willett was, if he's 12th in the world when he won, then we got to go, even further back, but that's five, six years. Are we silly to look at anybody past the top 20 on the odds board this week? Or are there opportunities for guys further down to actually compete in this major? So to your point, before Phil won at Kiowa Island, the last major champion who was ranked outside the top 50 in the world that week? So true, as you put it, who the fuck is this guy, was Keegan at the PGA championship in

2011? 2011. But now, Phil, that's not, you don't look at him and think, no, that's a little bit different. Not too many super underdogs were five-time major champions at the time. It doesn't fit the category. House's revisionist history on his Phil Mickelson thinking is just world-class on this pod. We just are going to have to go back and write books about this.

I love Phil. He helped me win money. I know. It speaks to, to answer your question, it speaks to the depth of the top of the sport over the last several years, right? And it's tough to get me on on this golf course. I mean, this is going to be a big, demanding difficult ball striking tests.

I think you may find a couple of guys who maybe you haven't heard of down the board who are big and powerful, big driving distance, aren't intimidated by the big stage. Maybe you can find some value way down the board. But I was telling my podcast teammate on the Action Network,

Jason Sobel, if you presented me the prop bet a few days ago of DJ, Brooks, Bryson versus the field, I might take those three guys. Yeah. I mean, it's kind of the,

way I'm looking at this board is that it's going to be such a demanding test that you can really cross off. As Brooks Kepka likes to say, a lot of players going into the week. They're just filling spots on the T-sheet, you know, getting in the way. Look, you smelled Neonabber last week. So I got to trust you as you think about this. If you're not seeing a guy on the outside, that tells me something. Yeah, it's difficult. It's difficult to see somebody way down the board. Now, I can see there's a few guys who I think are undervalued who aren't necessarily at the very top of the world ranking, but they're not names that are going to be staggering, shocking to see. And I know

that we'll get into them. Yeah. Save those names. We're going to we're going to build up some value, but we've got to start with a big ticket item, and we're talking about two big tickets here. That is Brooks and Bryson. The news came out. We're taping this on a Tuesday evening. It was reported.

Smallest R ever. Report is probably overstating it. Almost no R. It was e-ported. Yeah. Well, maybe let's just be blunt about it. The gossip whore, Brad Faxon. Easy now. We love Brad Faxon.

We love him too, but you know, he's the one that was on the range looking at Brooks three months ago and said, I don't see how Brooks could do it. Now, in a conversation that Brad Faxon had earlier today with Michael Breed on Sirius XM radio, Faxon shared that Bryson's camp was. was approached about the idea of Bryson and Brooks being paired together by the USGA in the first two rounds and that Bryson's camp said no. Now, I don't know whether or not to believe it. What's your take on that one, JR? So I find it hard to believe USGA would go and ask permission. Now, the only caveat to that, the only caveat to that is that, okay, Bryson's our defending champion. and we don't want to just, someone in the room, in the room in a USGA boardroom somewhere on a call, said we got to at least ask if it's okay.

Maybe that's the case. But honestly, I would, I don't think, it probably didn't happen. That's kind of the way I feel about it. I don't, facts may have just talked to a guy who heard a rumor and then it went and ran with it. It happens. You know, it happens. He just has a big platform for it. So I have no idea.

But I'm wondering what you, we were talking before we hit Record House and you. had an interesting theory that kind of made a lot of sense to me. Well, I want to hear what Nate has to say, and then I'll share my two cents. What's your take on it, Nate, dog? I think USGA denied it. Bryson's denied it. I don't think it happened. So I think that there is the possibility of there being some kind of communication around there,

not that it was a permission asking kind of thing, just a basic kind of coordination idea. and I do think that the notion that Bryson's camp expressed a disinclination is possible and plausible because I think the only time Bryson and Brooks are going to agree to play together is when they both know they're getting paid. Yeah. They're going to agree to, they'll agree to. It's going to be mono and mono for, you know, 10 million bucks or something like that. That's a good point.

But you know what? The thing that I said to JR earlier and that look, the, the, the, Golf gods might have a point of view on this. Yeah. Right? Like I told you, we might end up with two fellas with the same score Saturday or Sunday. And then the golf gods might just wave the wand and we might see Brooks and Bryson. No question.

Combined to win three of the last four U.S. opens. And when you, you know, drawing up player X, player Y, take the names away. The traits you have from Bryson and Brooks Keppka, you fit this golf course to a T. So, I mean, yeah, we might see it. You know, and Brooks Kebka, the absolute major champion machine, 59 shots better than any player in the major since 2016. I mean, you know, you'd be, you'd be hard pressed to see him not contending. And we don't care that neither one of these guys have like a strong Tory track record,

right? Now, like, neither one of Brooks or Bryson's have a, have like Brooks has only been out a couple times. And Bryson, you know, not like a whole string of top 20s at the farmers. Yeah, neither of them really fits their schedule. I know Bryson's kind of earlier on in his career, but, you know, Brooks is prone to play some of those events in the Middle East earlier in the year where you can get an appearance fee and he's got some sponsor interest there and doesn't really fit with what Bryson's done

in his career so far early on in the season. So I don't put a ton of stock into it. And that honestly, though, I'm a little selective here because there's some guys where they have a great history at Tori and it helps me out. But there's some where I'm like, Dustin Johnson hasn't really played there in four or five years, doesn't have a top 10 in a decade. I don't really care because he's so good on U.S. Open setup. And it didn't matter for Bryson at Wingfoot, right? Because there aren't any events at Wingfoot and he went out and shot six under. Let's go ahead and talk about DJ.

You mentioned it. Yeah, does momentum matter? And does he even have it? I'll answer you with a question. Do you think that Dustin was aware that no player has ever won on the PGA tour and then the following week won the U.S. Open? And that's why he went out and made a seven or whatever coming down to a I'm not even convinced he knew the U.S. Open was at Tori when he was at

Hungary. I think he may have just decided I don't I got to get on the jet. I don't, I'm hungry. It wouldn't surprise me. It wouldn't surprise me if he was like Thursday, Friday, I'm going to have all my focus. I'm going to get through the weekend and then, you know, then I'm going to ease off the gas and see what I'm working on. I think there are a lot of guys who probably think that way playing the Congri. I, so truth be told, I would take more positives than negatives. I don't really put a ton of stock in what he did coming down the stretch. I would, you know, I'd say the positives coming from contending, playing reasonably well that week. You know, he's coming off a stretch.

I think it was like seven consecutive starts without a top 10 finish, which is one of his longest streaks in two or three years. But to have him be, you know, relatively in the mix and look somewhat informed, and then you look at his record in the U.S. Open and, you know, it's ridiculous. He's been in the top 10 following 21 U.S. Open rounds since his career, which is an insane number of the most of any player by far since 2010. You know, we mentioned his not almost non-existent, kind of record at Tori Pines. He hasn't played there in four years. Maybe there's a reason behind

that doesn't see that it fit his eye, but honestly, it probably goes back to the reason I talked to mentioned about Brooks Kepka, where Dustin plays Dubai, Abu Dhabi at the beginning of years all the time, and maybe it just didn't really fit into a schedule per se. So yeah, I do like though the last world number one to win the U.S. Open. And there's a lot of examples of this for this week, but the last sitting world number one to win the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods at Tori Pines in 2008. Wow. So let me just finish off DJ here real quick. You don't, you're not cowed by him missing cuts at the Masters of the PGA Championship. That does not necessarily take you off of DJ. Absolutely not. I put a little bit more, I don't, I don't take a ton of stock in what happened to him in anything that happened more than 36, 48 hours ago. It's a great point. Because he just kind of rolls with everything. And if, look, if he's he's healthy, I know he had the.

withdrawal with the knee slash him jumping off of a boat, you know, on Instagram. Yeah. If he's feeling healthy, he's feeling good, and his swing looked good last week of Congaree. Yeah, there's no reason to think Dustin Johnson can't contend this week. And so is that DJ specific, or do you trend that to other players as well? Well, DJ is such an immense track record of, of catastrophic things happening and it's just not mattering in the long run for Dustin, that he's kind of a special case. I think that if it's a certain kind of player,

maybe a guy who hasn't broke through on the big stage and maybe fell apart on a Sunday that may, you know, we don't really have that. I mean, I guess if Chesson Hadley was in the conversation, that would be somebody, that'd be an example of a player where I would see it impacting him for a few weeks moving forward. But I have Dustin Johnson's caliber.

It doesn't really bug me. Well, we got a couple guys who seem to be trending, and that's really why I asked you about momentum. Nice. Rom, for sure. can't lay, by the way. You take out, he's been up and down, but you take out some of his downs.

He's playing the best golf of his career this year, number one in FedEx. We're going to talk to him in a few. Morikawa, who you and I both know should have won the memorial. Does their play of late, you know, has Rom really earned his status as the favorite this week?

Or do you tend to take some of that out because these events are just their own beast? I know we tend to, you know, In golf, it's a lot of, we believe what we see it, right? So there's a guy like Romo hasn't won yet in a major championship, but the pedigree is there top to bottom. And he throw that in the fact that he's had great history. He's contended every year he's played at Tori Pines.

He loves the setup. We know what the immense amount of talent is. There's no flaw in his game statistically, and there hasn't been since he turned professional. We really just think it's a matter of time before he breaks through wins. And couple that with the fact that, like, you know, Kepka's coming off a miscut. Bryson hasn't played great, DJ hasn't played great,

all kind of process of elimination, you end up with him as a narrow favorite, and it kind of makes sense. As you model this stuff, as you model this stuff, is there any space for a variable like that where you just kind of feel like it's his time? Like, how do you model Rom,

a charging Spanish bull coming out of COVID piss that they stole a tournament from him? Well, let me give an answer, and then let's let the real professional answer. But look, Nate, he was playing a level of golf that the rest of the golfing world was unfamiliar with. What he was doing at the memorial, and that was not a chump change field. That's the top of class field, and he was six strokes better than those boys.

I mean, that didn't, nothing changed between him getting on his airplane Saturday night or Sunday morning whenever it was, he got himself into quarantine. And he kept practicing, I mean, JR, it's very weird that the circumstances under which Ram enters this literally unprecedented. That's how weird it is. But like when you see somebody that's that far above everybody else at a venue that

is as challenging as many of the major venues, to Nate's point, how do you factor that in? The last time we saw John Rom, he had the best round by strokes gained in his pro career. He led an elite field by six shots. I mean, and to answer Nate's question, look, there's a human element to it too, right?

But you can take all the numbers and plug it in all you can. And it can give you, you know, something approximating an answer. But at the end of the day, you can take the human element into it as well. And does John Rom come out of this healthy and pissed and ready to just tear it up? I mean, it's highly possible. But there's also a lot of other numerical things that suggests that he's a really strong. He should be the favor coming into this week. And, you know, statistically speaking, I buy it completely 100%.

Yes. Maybe even without the Memorial Week, you would have said this guy only, this course and there's a bunch of things that work for him. What about some of the guys who've been trending a little bit further down? JT. who's felt a little bit lost, although the last time that we felt he was a little bit lost, and he's at 24 to 1 and what I'm looking at now, he won the damn players. But JT. who's been down a bit, you know, Fienau who owns this course, but's been not playing so what, how do you think about some of those guys who maybe don't have the momentum coming in? Are there any guys who suit this course well, who we might see jump back

into contention. So Justin Thomas is really interesting. I mean, I talked about the significance of iron play. And if you were to pick the three or four best iron players on the planet over the last two years, Justin Thomas is on that short list, along with Colin Morcawa. And you may put Victor Hovlin beneath them now at this point. He, you know, he hasn't had the flashy finishes recently. But if you look at the advanced metrics, it's really been his short game and his putting which really let him down. It's been really bad. His ball striking hasn't been that terrible. It hasn't been that far from his peak. That being said, you know, it's tough for me to, you know, I don't have him circle at the top

of the board, but would it be surprising for him to bust out and have a big week? Absolutely not. The other guy who is fascinating to me, if Tony Fienow can break through a win at the U.S. Open, like everything points to him being to succeeding this week. The first guy I wrote down, first bet I'm making Tony Fienow top 10. And I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the mix on Sunday and we're all on the edge of our seats because We've seen this guy not get it done down the stretch over and over again. But you look at he finished eighth of the PGA championship.

He's got the second best score to par of any player at Torrey Pines since 2017, trailing only John Rom. Lots of great finishes there. We know his ball striking prowess. The guy is one of the best ball strikers on Earth. I mean, you can't be surprised if you see Tony Fiena succeed. And in that same kind of odd circle, Victor Hoffland is really interesting to me as well. I mean, no one would be surprised.

I mean, Hoffland at one point led us. the BGA Jordan scoring average this season. He averages five birdies per round at Tori Poundt South in his career. The only player averaging more strokes cane Tee to Green at the U.S. Open the last four years than Victor is Brooks Kepka. So, and that kind of right off the favorites, those are the three guys I think are most interesting.

So I want to go ahead and step in right here, right this second, all the Eagle enthusiasts, the par saving pals of birdie buddies out there. If you're going to make one bet this week, please we implore you. You just heard it directly from his mouth. know how we feel here at Fairway rolling about top 10 Tony go to your book get on there right now fan duel.com has the odds up right this second get that top 10 bet down on Tony Fee now right away

run don't walk my birdie buddies we've been talking about some interesting guys and trying to figure out form and so forth and one of the most enigmatic players so far this calendar year maybe this whole 2020 season. Rory McElroy. I'm interested in because Rory has a decent track record at Torrey and I can still see it wasn't that far off ago that that ball

striking and especially his power off the T at Quail Hollow was just so impressive. How are you how is he playing out in your models this week, J.R. So I'll give you the pros first. Roy McElroy leads all players in strokes game off the T at the U.S. in the last four years.

Cory McElroy is one of three players to finish in the top 10 at the U.S. Open each of the last three years, which is something I forgot happened until I was looking at his record and like, wow, he's got three straight top tens of the U.S. Open. It's pretty impressive. Consider we haven't really, we haven't seen him like, you know, it's not the first thing that pops into your head, right? Second best scoring average of any player at Torrey Pines the last 30 years. The only guy is trailing is Tiger Woods.

Pretty good numbers, right? I like all that. But the flip side to that is the unbelievable trend he's had in the opening round of major championships. It's staggering. Incredible, incredible splits. In the first round of major championships is the beginning of 2015, he's 35 over par. Rounds two through four, he's 60 under par. It's a 95 shot difference.

It's like two and a half shots around. If he can get out of the gates and we see that driver clicking better than it did at Kiowa, where he was abysmal on the par fives in a way that we really hadn't seen. seen from him in any major championship in his career. Yeah, I could definitely see him contending. The other two guys, by the way, to finish in the top 10, each of the last, this is the last two years, apologies, two years in a row, not three. Rory Louis, who stays in Zandrishoffly. So there's some pros there to lean on. I tend to think that maybe, I don't think his ball striking is all the way back and maybe Quail Hollow ends up being a little bit of an aberration when we

take a 20,000 foot view later on this season. It's not going to be the same guy that we see 12, 18 months from now, I think, when it's really back on track. But yeah, I'm, all those positive numbers I gave, I'm still a little hesitant because it's roaring at a major championship and all those slow starts. Well, you talked about a guy right there who we should not let slip through because we've talked about him before and that's Zander Schaughley. And I think historically we get on this pot and we ask you about Zander and you tend to feel like he's somewhat overrated on the odds board sometime. You know, There's two things going for him this week, and you probably have better stats than I do.

We know he is top five on tour in approach shots over 200 yards from the rough, or between 200 and 225 from the rough. Okay, does that matter this week? Don't know if you're going to miss a bunch of fairways and come in. Great. The point is he can hit some of those long approaches from the rough. But secondly, this is a hometown course for him. He watched Tiger play from the trees. Do you feel any differently about Zander today than you have at Major's past?

because of some of those factors coming in. Looking at all the numbers for Zandu Shroffa this week, I like him a lot. Whoa. He's been the best putter at the U.S. Open by Strokes gained of any player the last four years. He's been absolutely outstanding. Tide Green, he's been really good.

I'll give you a Zandroth. Just ahead of the Cochrak Crusher, right? On the greens? Just ahead of that. He's number two. We're going to get to him. But Jason Cochrak is number two in Strokes game putting the U.S. Open and that's ban.

The Xandr Shoffley number, I came up with, that really blew me away. So he's played four U.S. opens. He's finished in the top 10 four times. The last player to begin his career with four straight top 10 finishes at the U.S. Open is Bobby Jones. That's pretty good company.

That's a decent company at the U.S. Open, I'd say. That's decent company. It'd be a great storyline, right, for the kid from San Diego, San Diego State to break through. He's like Rom. It's just a matter of time before he breaks through on the big stage and gets a win. He's been so close so many times in the last couple of years just on the regular tour,

But yeah, no, I like Zanda Schofley a lot. I think his ball striking capabilities fit really well, how good he is with his long irons. And I mentioned how good he's been putting on fast greens the U.S. Open set up the last few years. Yeah, I like that quite a bit. I didn't have him on my betting card yet, but it's still early.

I know we're still working out the menu here, but that's an immediate top 10 bet for me, Zander top 10. I like any time he's done it every single time he's played a U.S. Open, that's enough. I can recognize that trend line. I know what that means. 100% you can interpret.

Yeah. 100. That's right. I'm interested in, and this is one of my favorite parts of the show, we do this with you for these majors. Let's start talking about some areas of value. Let's find some guys out there that are not catching headlines that might be slightly underpriced that absolutely have enough game to come out here. and win. And let's just go ahead and begin with the Crusher himself. Let's go ahead and talk about Jason

Cochrak. Two-time winner on the PGA tour this year, 55 to 1. I just, I don't understand why he's not higher on the board. I know it's because he hasn't contended a ton of major championships. What was the one thing holding Jason Cochrak back in his career from being maybe not an elite player, but a really good player on tour? Having his own signature drink. We are going to talk about the drink. We are going to have a drink. I was a lead. towards his 150 spot jump in the ranking in strokes game putting. Yeah, incredible. He's fifth best on the PGA tour in strokes game putting for round this season.

I mean, throughout his entire career, we knew he hit it a mile, really good ball striker, but the putter just wasn't there to get him into that next echelon. And now he's won a couple of times. Oh, by the way, among everyone with eight or more rounds the last four years of the U.S. Open, he's second in strokes game putting to Zander Shoffley. So, I mean, 55 to 1 for Coak. There's a ton of value there for a top 10, finish, guy who's going to, you know, absolutely crush the ball out there and have, you know,

some shorter irons. I love the fact, too, that he's won on two completely different golf courses, you know, where was it Shadow Creek where he won earlier in the year or in the fall? And then colonial. You can't have dichotomy there is enormous. She speaks to the skill set the guy has. And I know how else you like him. Well, you know I like him. And I'm going to talk, tell you about this drink that we're going to be having. I'll figure out a way to get you some of these ingredients. But the point you just made about him winning on two different venues, he also won in two radically different ways. He had his A game, his fastball. He absolutely burned the house down when he wanted Shadow Creek, shot the low round on Sunday and waited for anybody to come catch him.

And then what he did at Colonial was an entirely different animal. He was two strokes behind Jordan Speath. He was playing Jordan Speath's backyard. Not one person there was rooting for him other than his caddy. and and he just ground out he was a grinder it was a grinder win and and that so impressive that same that same um the the disparity there and the the having the success under both kinds of scenarios i mean that that really speaks to a guy that's that's adaptable and we know more than anything else that we want out of a u.s. open contender is the ability to adapt now speaking of the ability to adapt we are

going to adapt to this we you're in in the central time zone. We're on the east, I'm on the East Coast. Nate's on the West Coast. Like, the way that this is setting up where we're going to be able to have a nice afternoon beverage and just enjoy ourselves. We have the Coke rack crusher lined up. And let me just walk through the ingredients. We have bourbon. That's the starting point. And I'm talking about a couple knobs full here. I mean, it's not, we don't go light here on Fairway, Roland. And we have some, we're, the, the, the potency, we're going to go ahead and cut it a little bit with ginger. Now, we have a ginger shrub. We have this company crafted

cocktail in San Diego because we got to give a shout out to the locals. And we're doing this ginger shrub. Are you familiar with the shrubs? Do you know what a shrub is? I am not. Is this something I can find in my produce section? I'm unfamiliar with this.

You have to go to your local. I think you ought to be able to get it at the liquor store. I'm pretty sure but it's just it's a mixture. It's liquid though. It's not a liquid. Yeah. It's not an actual plant. And, you know, it's kind of like a drinking vinegar kind of thing. But it's got this got a little, it's kind of like a simple syrup kind of vibe to it.

It's got a little, you know, but in any event. And then we've got a splash of lemonade, splash of club soda because we like a fizzy and have some crushed ice. And that is your coquette crusher. I like it. Okay. I mean, as long as you give me that first ingredient, I'm good. All right.

So, Jay, Ray, let me ask you, am I drinking too many Coke wreck crushers? to think that in order to win sort of a DFS lineup in a major, you've got to, you got to zag a little bit when everybody else zigs, which is to say the bottom of that card, you got to find the couple people who you didn't expect to outperform. Yeah, I mean, that gives you the scarcity, right? That gives you the thing that differentiates between people.

So are there some zags on who we know are not going to probably contend, but who may be in a top 10, top 20 that other people don't get, if you nail the big guys who are at the top of the leaderboard and then you fill out the rest of your card, are there some zags that you like out there? And is one of the Matthew Wolfe? I have his name written down. Not often, the 54-hole leader is 150 to 1 the following year at the US Open. Second place. I don't know. I can't, I mean, as off as he's been, I don't think Matthew Wolfe's one of those guys. Phil Mickelson won the PGA. That's true. That's very true. Anything is possible. I do have a couple names that I think are. Give us some guys to fill out if we don't zag with Matthew Wolf.

This guy way down the board, I don't think anyone's going to talk about him going to the week. He played in the final group with Patrick Reed earlier this year at Tori Pines. Carlos Ortiz, the longer the approach shots, the better his rankings are in terms of statistics this season on the PGA tour. Below average driving accuracy, we kind of impacts him a little bit. I don't think that, yeah, very good iron player. I don't think that's going to hurt him here. I think Carlos Ortiz is going to be some pretty good value and kind of a guy you're not going to see picked on any DFS teams.

I'm going to go way down the board for my next week. So this guy, I feel like some diet Zalotaurus vibes. I know who you're going to say. I'm going to love it. Absolutely crushes the golf ball. He's top five in the corned ferry torn driving distance this year. 71% range of regulation. Love that number.

Yeah. He's singing. Nate's singing. You know that Nate can sing. Did you know that, J.R? I got a remix. It's not Cameron Young. Oh, shit.

Suck it, Nate. Sixth on the tour. I love that guess. Six on the tour and a corn fairy tour on 40 average. Taylor Pendrith, really interesting statistical. I mean, you see his name up there a whole bunch. He's got awesome ball striking numbers. He's a guy I could see, of course, obviously, being on the PGA tour within the next

couple of years. But that's somebody way down the board. If you want to fill out your roster, Okay. To make the cut when you need, you know, you're getting six to six over the line. That's what you want. So maybe if you go top heavy and you can sneak in Ortiz with some value, maybe a Taylor Pendrith way down the board. If you're running out of money, that's a guy who I think there's a lot of names low on a U.S. Open board, guys who qualify.

Yeah. They have no chance. They're not going to be part of the mix. They just don't have the skill set necessary to contend to U.S. Open. Taylor Pendrith, I think he's got some Andrew Landry, 2016, Oakmont, by. That's kind of the way. He's my way off the board going in the movie. This is why we have Jay Ray on the pod.

Of course. Of course. Now, I have a little bit of an angle that I want to explore with you. There's always a prop for the U.S. Open of will the winner be U.S. or non-U.S. And the U.S. has dominated the U.S. open. Like in the 80-something times out of 121 times, it's been somebody from the U.S. and there was a brief moment where Justin Rose and Martin Kimer, I think those were the last two non-US guys to win.

We have been seeing some really extraordinary play out of South Africa. We've been on a tear with the South Africans. I mean, for a minute there, we had three South Africans on the leaderboard at Kiowa, and then you turn around and look at the leaderboard down at Congaree, and, you know, Garrick Higo, who I bet at 16. to one on Sunday morning. I did. I'm not running this, this, this, just to brag on that, but, uh, Higo

there's a long road to a spiked football their house. Eric Van Royent. No, no, but listen, there's a bunch of EVEYAR. South, yeah, yeah, Eric, and Nina Burr, uh, I can't, how's, how do you say his name? Tell me, you're a golf professional. How do you say, Wilco's name?

Wilco, I say Wilco. It's a great band. Great band. Yeah, Bezootin Hood. The Beezer. Brandon Grace. And Louis, we're all like in the top 10 at one point on Saturday at Kiowa. Like all those dudes can play and they can all play

major golf. Is there any reason to think that a non-U.S. player will be able to pull it off this week? Absolutely. I almost think we're due. I mean, it's been five in a row. You mentioned before that at Kimer and Rose won. But the crazy thing about the last, you know,

going back to Chambers Bay, Spieth is the last kind of winter we've had that didn't fit the mold of big, burly, hit the ball a mile, American ranked in the top 25, right? Kepka, Kepka, DJ, Woodland, De Shambon. They've all kind of fit that same kind of mold. Honestly, I see that kind of mold working out this week as well, but like what I'd be surprised if like Victor Hovlin won? Absolutely not. And you got, if you've got probability-wise, yeah, okay, there's, I mean, there's going to be more Americans in the field, obviously, in other country, but I don't have

the numbers in front of me. It seems like you get a pretty good percentage chance that There's enough guys contending from outside the United States that you could see it happening. Now, the guys I have at the top of my board that I'm betting on, female, I really like Brooks. Like, it's tough, but I mean, the favorite in the field is not American. So no one's going to be surprised with John Rom wins. So, yeah, I kind of like that bet this week. Why not? Five in a row, we're due for an international winner.

Yeah, it's plus money. It's plus $145 on, I think, on Fanduel. So, you know, that's a nice one you could just do a tiny little bit on just, to have a little interest on Sunday. Yeah, odds are you're going to get to Sunday and if all your bets have collapsed, you'll have a little bit of something else to root for us. Could be something. Could be something.

Yeah, for sure. Let's just get it out of the way. Phil Mickelson, yay or nay? So he's a sneaky, consistent cutmaker in the U.S. Open. I'll give you that positive vibe first. I don't think there's any way he contends and wins. Just a U.S. Open. Look, there's only been, I think it's four guys since 1990, age 50 or older.

Have you even finished in the top 20s? at the U.S. Open. It's just so demanding and so long of a test, and him coming off, the emotion of winning that major championship were only a month or so removed from it. I will put a bet on Phil to finish top 20. I'll do that.

And that's probably the ceiling, though. Really? You will bet that house? That's good karma. It's good karma. That's why. He's in San Diego. 29 starts at the U.S. Open for missed cuts. Tiger was spotted getting off his jet in L.A. yesterday. I think there's a better chance

we see Tiger on the weekend on camera, then we see Phil. But I was thinking that too, and I went through and looked and, like, you know, he'll have some stinker rounds out there, but that's a lot of cuts made, man. Like, he's able to grind and get to the weekend. I think there's a ton of incentive for him to push through. It's not going to be like a throwaway. Like, you might think a few years ago you might have seen on the big stage in San Diego. He cares about this one.

He earned this chance. And I'm not going to be surprised. But, yeah, I'll give him a time. I'll throw some down for a top 20. He's showing up with that big dick swag. He's got that big turkey, that big trophy. It's his backyard. He said he's been out there every single day grinding.

I mean, he's showing up with the BDS. You know how it is. I do love, though, that you'll hear Phil Mickelson's won three times here at Torrey Pines. You'll hear that all week. Last time Phil Mickelson went Tori Pines, I was in junior high. It was 2001. Like, it's been a long time. Well, look, that's a perfect segue.

You set this up beautifully. let's talk about the guy who just won it at Torrey Pines. His name is Patrick Reed. And I want to put this. I'm going to pair these names together because they kind of go together. Used to be peanut butter and jelly. And now I don't know what it is. Salt and Vinegar.

Patrick Reed and Jordan Speeth. Yeah. Oil and water. Patrick Reed. Oh, yeah, oil and water. Patrick Reed, it would be. Urban and ginger. Those go together.

Those go together. Yeah. Just wait. Those are terrific. I'll just let you go ahead. I mean, there's only one player, two players in the history of the PGA tour that have won a regular season event and also won a major at the same venue. And those two names are Tiger Woods and Jack Nicholas. I probably stole that from you.

Maybe. I'm not sure I said it at some point. I feel lose track. So easy to bore Jay Ray. It's just what I do for a living. I forget everything I come up with. And then I'll do research months later and be like, oh shit, I didn't know that.

I came up with it. I didn't know it. All right. Well, let's talk about those two boys. So I'm sorry to disappoint Nathan, but Patrick Reed has like a sneaky great U.S. Open record over the last several years. U.S. Open, most birdies are better since 2015. Number one, Patrick Reed, 83, tied with Louis Eustazen.

But now I will say, coming back to another course, to a course where he won earlier in the year, I think both instances were Pebble Beach as well for Jack and Tiger. I could be mistaken, but that's one of the only venues that they go back to after playing on the PGA tour. If I had to pick between the two, look, this golf course, like I said, it's not especially penalizing if you miss the fairway. That is music to Mr. Speeth's ears. I mean, that is something you really want to see.

And what's the number one thing that Speeth has improved on enormously just since January when Patrick Reed won at Torrey Pines? This is iron. Not sucking. Distantly. Not, yes, not sucking, but specifically not sucking with this irons. That's very important when you come to this golf course of this tournament. So if I did pick between the two, it's really close. I kind of think Jordan might put together a couple good rounds.

I don't know if he's going to break through and win, but I do like the fact that it's not penalizing historically if you missed the fairway at Tori Fides. I'm just happy to see him not very much in the limelight on this one. We put too much pressure on him in the Masters. Yeah. he's at least hovering below the radar a little bit here. He's well below the radar, especially considering how well he's played, how popular he is.

He won this thing six years ago. I mean, yeah, it's a good point. He's well below the radar. Can I give you one name we haven't mentioned yet? I'm dying for it. Super below the radar. This guy was running away with the Masters earlier this year. He's won the U.S. Open before, and he won at Torrey Pines a few years ago.

When Justin Rose won the Farmers Insurance Open a few years ago, he was 11 under par, when he was presented with approach shots outside 200 yards. That is insane. That is an unbelievable performance. He blew away the field that week. He was nine feet better than the average through his proximity to that range. He's sneaky playing better right now, isn't he? He is.

He's sneaky playing better, had a decent, was it the top 10 at the PGA championship? We don't have it right in front of you. It was a good week. He is playing better. I'm looking at him on the board at, where is he? 66 to 1. He's definitely playing good major golf. Yes.

Yeah. And with a ton of, of past success, past winter here, great U.S. Open resume obviously. I think there's some value there for Rose, maybe not to win, but I mean, that's pretty low on the board for Justin Rose. All right, well, J.R., we are going to let you go

here in a minute, but as is our tradition, we can't let you go until you tell us who's going to win the 2021 U.S. Open. This guy's been in the news a lot today for not great reasons, and this made me almost lean away completely from this pick. But I think

if Bryce and DeShambeau replicates what he did at Wingfoot, he's going to win again. I think that this golf course, there's a lot of traits that are similar to where he's going to be rewarded for hitting the ball a long way and having seven and eight irons at a deep rough when other guys are hitting sixes and fives. It's how he won at Bay Hill. It's how he won at Wingfoot. I've liked him here for months.

If the fans don't annoy him to death called him Brooksie for a few days and he's in the mix, I know I'm almost resigned to the pick because it's not something I want to see. I'd rather see Spieth or Bill contend or something like that or Tony Fienau be an amazing winner. But my pick is Brooks to Shampo. Brooks to Shamba. That's what we should call him. It's been tied together. I can't believe I did that.

My pick to win is Bryce and the Shambal. I'm sorry to both guys. That's fantastic. No, no. It's just the way it's going to be. I'm sure somebody's already come up with a bad combination of those names. Anyhow. Well, look, we can find Justin Ray all over the internet.

this coming week. After every round, his stuff, he'll have a breakdown on the athletic. He has things going up on USGA.org all week. And just to set the stage, why don't you go over to PGATor.com right now and read Justin Ray's full deep dive

on Tigers' performance at the 2008 U.S. Open at Tori. It is a must read. JR, thanks as always, buddy. Thanks, boys. Enjoy the tournament. Okay, Bertie Buddies, we are here with a guy who needs no introduction. Patrick Cantlay, he is coming off a win at the Memorial. He has two wins this year, probably will let him tell us, probably could have won at Shriners and Amex 2, number one in FedEx. Patrick, welcome. Thanks for being here.

What I want to start off with is just ask you, I mean, statistically it doesn't totally show because you had that weird stretch of miscuts starting with the players. You're 32nd in scoring average, but if I back out that stretch, boy, the stats say you're having the best year of your life in terms of playing golf. Do you feel that way? What did you go through during that stretch? And are you playing the best golf you ever have? I feel like I'm playing well, really well this year.

I think maybe the difference this year on some other years is my really good golf has been concentrated into a few different weeks. You know, I've had some really high finishes and I've had a few, you know, you know, weeks where I feel like in the past I've been able to maybe sneak in on the cut number and then be able to play a really nice weekend and kind of band-aids, you know, some core play.

And this year it was just, you know, a couple tournaments where I just didn't make the cut. But for the most part, I played really well And when my game is good, I've been able to be hot and be comfortable in the moment when I am competing and really give myself a chance at winning. And I think part of my goal, you know, this year was to win more because, I mean, I think we really are judged very heavily on wins. And when you do get in contention, being able to feel comfortable and put yourself in the best position to win and then being able to close the deal, I mean, that's what our games all is. about. So I feel like I've had a good year and there's plenty of big tournaments left. And so hopefully I can get a few more. Well, you've definitely had a good year. Let's talk about those

expectations. With you in particular, it's so interesting to hear about your mental mindset. You came into pro golf with some of the highest expectations of any amateur ever, haven't been number one ranked for longer than anyone as an amateur. Then you went through, you know, what at this point is a pretty well-documented series. of physical and mental challenges that put you in a place where you had zero expectations. It was really just about being able to put one foot in front of the other physically, but also emotionally. Now with where you are, do you allow yourself to start thinking really big again to set those lofty goals? Has your mental approach to golf evolved in these last few years from where

it was when you first came back? Maybe a little bit, but not too much. I do think that having lofty goals is only a good thing. And I think even when you are, maybe not, you know, should I say struggling with roadblocks that are in your way, I do think it's really important to not forget that, you know, there's a little bit of greatness inside you and that you shouldn't just abandon your big goals. I think you could be farther away from big goals at different times in your life and, you know, maybe the way to get there is by taking a few baby steps at the start. But realizing that it's just all part of the journey on getting where you want to go and achieving what you're working hard to achieve. And I think... Were you always able to hold on to

that through 2014, 15, 16, 17? Was that still in your mind as you were going through everything that you went through. Yeah, I think, I think it was. I think having that self-belief is really important in getting yourself back to a place where it's possible to achieve those goals. You know, like I say, sometimes taking baby steps and taking small steps, even when they don't seem like they're getting you that close to where you want to go. If they are getting you in that, in that direction, if you're just starting your journey, then that's perfectly fine. And sometimes those early steps are the most important part and not doubting yourself or not limiting yourself, I think is really key, especially when you go through tough times because when you are in tough

times, I think it's easy to feel full of despair and feel like I'm getting a bad break and there's nothing I can do about it and realizing that there is something you can do about it. And even if that's just something really small that day, that's very important. one of the people obviously who helped support you through the dark times but is also sort of there for you always as your father now you're here with us today thanks to marcus from goldman sacks and i know you and your dad did a spot with them last year hey we're coming into u.s open week here it's close to home not sure this counts as a home game i'm in l a la where la guys i'm not sure tory necessarily counts as a home game but it does happen over father's day can you just talk about your relationship with you're l a home game i'm in l a la you guys i'm not sure tory necessarily counts as a home game but it does happen over father's day can you just talk about your relationship with your dad and what it feels like to sort of get to play a somewhat home game with your dad in the crowd over Father's Day. Yeah, I think, well, Torrey Pines being in California, I think that's, you know, to my advantage growing up on the services that we're going to play there. And then being close to home, I think that's great too. I mean, my parents will come down for the tournament,

I'm sure. And growing up, my dad took me to lots of tournaments, you know, junior tournaments on the weekend and we drive a couple hours to tournaments. And I just remember those times being really special and extremely, extremely formative in me becoming who I am as a golfer. And so being able spend those weekends with my dad, you know, I can't thank him enough. And he's a good player in his own right. He's, you know, been at best maybe a plus one or a plus two handicap and won some club championship. So I've played a lot of golf with him, especially when I was younger. And all the time that I spent with him definitely impacted me and put me on the path to becoming who I am today. Let's talk a little bit more about Tori. You are the sort of poster guy for

horses for courses, right? You are the mayor of TPC Summerlin in Vegas. You absolutely have kicked that course up and down. And coming out of last week, it'd be hard to say anything other than Muirfield's in your bag too. Is Tori a place that suits you? It's kicked you a few times. talk about how your game fits that course, what you're expecting from the course and what your mindset is going into this tournament. How do you need to play it to win it? Yeah, well, I think this is going to be a different Torrey Pines.

I obviously didn't play in 2008 at the U.S. Open, but whatever you think about for the tournament, the farmers, it's going to be a completely different animal next week. Combined that with the fact that we don't play the other Tori Pines golf course next week. and all the rounds are on the south course. That's also a considerable difference from the tournament that we play every year there. And I think U.S. opens suit me.

I haven't finished as high as maybe I would have thought in some U.S. opens. But every time I go to U.S. Open, I feel like I love the fact that the rough is really long and the greens are firm. And there's a reward for keeping your ball below the hole and controlling your golf ball. and I imagine Tori Pines will be no different. Combined that with the fact that I really like cuckoo your grass and poana greens, I think it should be a great way. Right now, as I look at your statistics, you're close to the best across pretty much every category that you've been in your career.

Again, I think if we back out some of the results in March and April, they're kind of off the charts. But you're always working to get better. What are you working to get better at right now? Is there anything specific that you and your team are focused on to try to put you into that next stratosphere? As you say, you're focused on wins. What are the things that you've got to get better at to win? I think other than overarching things like feeling comfortable when you are near the lead,

which I feel like I'm getting better and better at the more times I'm in that situation, I think specifically being able to hit some wed shots and being able to hit shots inside 150 yards closer. I think that's a that's a spot in golf that it feels like you can only ever get better. Like if you're if you're averaging 20 feet, you know, it feels like, man, I really should be able to average 19 feet. Now I just need to figure out a way to hit it a foot, a foot closer on average. And so I think spending some more time dialing in yardages and being able to just do it a little closer. I think the stats will say that that helps a lot. And so that's that's a focus of mine and will be for the summer. And when you're working on that, I mean, let's just go back to Wingfoot.

You could argue that the reason Bryson won at Wingfoot is because he got those wedges through that rough better than anybody could. And some people said that was swing speed, you know, as you're working on that, are you, are you sitting on the range just hammering out, you know, out of the fairway? Are you going out and dropping a million balls in the rough? How do you, How do you really focus? What's the work you're putting in there specifically to get those clubs swinging better? Well, I think wing foot is not a great example. I mean, everyone's playing from the rough that week simply because the fairways were so difficult to hit.

So coming out of the rough with a wedge was exponentially easier than coming out of the rough with an eight or seven iron. Just because of how steep your descent into the ball can be with a wedge. and how much easier it is to cut through some of the grass. But for me, I think being able to really dial in yardages, you know, feeling like there is a difference between 120 and 122, and comfortable with that is huge for wedge play. And the better you can get at really being precise with controlling your distance, which has a lot to do with controlling trajectory and spin, you know,

that's the next level for me is just being able. able to feel like I can drop the golf ball where I'm imagining dropping it with the correct trajectory and spin. The more often I can do that, the closer I'll be able to hit those shop. So I want to ask you, I know you sort of talked yourself silly coming out of the memorial last week, but you were so gracious in that press conference. Coming into Sunday, everybody was talking about, wow, this is going to be a big moment for the PGA tour, or they could be in trouble, this decision that they made. But in hindsight, you're kind of the perfect guy. to hit the reset button mentally and take a different approach,

which it seemed like you attributed to how you won. In that press conference, you said that the victory felt a little different. It was your fourth. You said you couldn't quite put your finger on it. And so what I want to ask you is, with the benefit of a few days to reflect, do you have any clearer sense of what that different feeling was about? Well, I would say, because of the emotions and because, you know,

it came down to the wire and hit a lot of pressure shots. It does feel like I definitely hit the right shots and was able to perform under pressure well enough to win. And so taking that with me forward, I think it will feel every bit as much of a win and I'll be able to draw on that experience going forward like a win. And I felt the same kind of pressure and the same type of moment as I have in some of the other wins. Yeah. And you're playing against a great guy. This was not a layup win. I mean, Strongfield, Collins at your heels, other guys. I mean, it must have felt like pressure tournament

back nine golf. Yeah. And obviously, the elephant in the room, the big difference is, you know, I was six shots behind given it being kind of any other year other year than a COVID year. And so that obviously is the big difference. And I think when I said, you know, I can't really put my finger on it. It's trying to distinguish the difference between feeling like I went through the ringer and the fire and the normal feeling of winning a tournament because it was so hotly contested and I hit those shots down the stretch. But then also realizing that most likely it would have been a completely different story had John been able to play on Sunday because he played fantastic the first three rounds,

some of the best golf I'd seen, especially on Saturday. And, you know, it would have been a totally different mindset. I would have been chasing from behind and would have had to put down a round in the mid or low 60s to have a chance. So that's obviously the big difference. But, you know... You still got the trophy. Come on.

It looks good on the mantle either way, right? Yes, yeah. So two more for you. Just really quickly. We've seen a lot of old guys winning on tour this year. You're part of that crop of under 30 players who's had just a ton of success.

But with the fracture that you sustained in, your L5, right? Most people don't understand the amount of work that you have to go in, that you have to put in before each round just to get yourself there. Do you feel like this is an injury that you're able to manage going forward and that physically your back's going to allow you to be one of these guys

who could potentially win a major at 50? Definitely, yeah. I think in a weird way, me having a setback has kind of made me adopt certain protocols and routines to where I will be feeling good for a long time. You probably understand your body better than most guys. That might be true. I definitely put a lot of work into feeling good, and it's a priority for me.

And I know that even if you feel good for a number of weeks or months, it's really important to stay on top of that because you never know when you might not feel good. So even working on your body and making that a priority, even when you are feeling good, more in a preventative way, I think is really key. And you see that with certain guys. I mean, Bernhard seems to be just the ultimate example of someone

that just, he obviously has worked very, very hard on being able to still compete. I mean, he's maybe 60 years old and he still beats up on those guys on the champions tour. And, I mean, that is obviously would be a wonderful goal for me to try and be able to have that longevity in this game. So listen, you're coming off a win. You're going into a major. The good news is you have a week-long break. Did you expend just a ton of mental energy last week? Are you able to rebound and recover?

And do you go into next week believing that you can win this golf tournament? Definitely. I think my play this year has proven that I can go out and win that golf tournament next week. And, you know, I got a full week to relax and rest and see Torrey Pines this week. And then I'll treat next week like any regular tournament week. I'll play a couple nine holes Tuesday, Wednesday, and go out there and be totally fresh and prepared on Thursday. You know, I think as much as the toll it takes to win and the pressure that you're under, I think when you succeed and you're able to pull those shots off,

that success has worked even more than maybe feeling a little rundown from competing at that high level. And I don't think with the week off, it'll make it all a negative impact. It'll be only positives. Well, the weather looks great. We know the course is going to look great. You've got to get out and go see it. So we're going to let you go get ready. thanks for joining us. Congrats on the win last week. Go win a major next week, budd.

Thank you very much. That's the point. Thanks, Patrick. All right, my birdie buddies, there we go. Thanks as always to the big ticket himself, J.R. Justin Ray helping us break down the wheat from the chaff as we try and come up with a winner for this U.S. Open. And special thanks to Patrick Cantlay for coming on the pod. A true honor and a privilege. We're rooting for him as well. We have all these guys to root for. Nate dogs, Alatoris, Coke rack, can't lay. Just put all those guys on your card. You can't go wrong. Make yourself a Coke rack crusher. We're going to have some shots. We've literal shots of the bourbon, but also some shots of the drink as we make it on the socials. And my Bernie

buddies, Saturday night, we're going to go live right after the conclusion, maybe even before the Saturday round finishes. We're going to do another little locker room. We're going to try. Nate and I will be in there. Kevin Clark will be in there. Try and get the pod father Bill Simmons in there if we can break them away from a sushi dinner.

And then Sunday night, we are on right after the conclusion of the tournament with an immediate reaction recap. And I hope that that's enough for everybody out there. I hope we're giving you some things to chew on, some nice angles to play this. this week. Until then, my far say, pal, let's hit it straight out there.