Fairway Rollin' - PGA Championship Story Lines and Top Picks With Kevin Clark

Episode Date: May 17, 2021

Another major week kicks off with the PGA Championship, and House and Hubbard have everything you need. Join them and The Ringer's Kevin Clark as they talk about what to look forward to as the tournament kicks off (02:01). They then break down their favorite picks and analyze the difficulty of the Ocean Course (24:11). Hosts: Joe House and Nathan Hubbard Guest: Kevin Clark Producer: Steve Ahlman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The NBA season is heating up and Kevin O'Connor and Chris Vernon have got you covered on the mismatch. They discuss all the news, the trends, and transactions happening around the league. They also offer their on-court analysis and occasionally get into heated debates. Check out the mismatch on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, friends, and welcome to this major golf podcast, unlike any other. Yes, my friends, we have done it. The second major of the 2021 PGA tour season is upon us. And this is Fairway Rowland.

The Golf Podcast, on the Ringer Podcast Network. I am your starter, Joe House. You know my par-saving pals. We bring out the big guns when it's major week. Of course we have alongside us, our PGA tour, correspondent on the ground, Nathan Hubbard with everything that we need to know

about this venue, the players, who's going to help us with a little return on investment and a very special guest from inside the Ringer Network, our very own DFS gambling

golf aficionado. My boy, Kevin Clark, is on the first tee with us. I mean, Kevin Hill has another beat also. It's the NFL, sure, that's fine. But he's also one of our people. He's a golf guy.

As you know, from all of the locker rooms you should have been listening to during the Masters, the first tee is wide open. We're running over there to throw a peg in the ground, my birdie buddies. Let's get out there and start striping them. Have Nate. Hey, boys, what's happening?

I just want to say, I don't know if I'm a DFS in gambling aficionado. Just because you do things and lose doesn't mean you're an aficionado, right? I'm a frequent gambler, but I'm definitely not an aficionado. Well, no, I mean, if you do that thing in a sufficient quantity,

I think it's just a quantity game, isn't it? I'm a volume shooter, house. I'm a volume shooter. I'm just chucking them up. Well, I mean, welcome, welcome to our world. Nate, how you doing? Well, I'm doing better. We made a cut house.

Yeah, so let's go ahead and we have lots and lots to cover in terms of major storylines this week. It's very exciting getting down to Kehoe Island and the ocean course. But the PGA tour just completed an event that had a lot of intrigue and interest to it for an event that precedes a major, maybe like, you know, even more so than is kind of typical because of lots of folks needing to get reps, you know, felt like they need to get reps. Dustin Johnson was supposed to be one of those people, one of those guys who needs reps

and he withdrew allegedly with the knee injury. Do you think that's really true, Nate? I think he's suspect. He was doing backflips off his boat the weekend before the knee looked pretty good on the dismount. So I don't know. Look, this was a tournament

where you saw the rain was going to come in. There was going to be a delay. There was wind, but other than that, there wasn't much about it that was really going to prep people for the trip for for the pga so i i just think the way that he worded that statement he really understood that the way his agents worded the statement he understood he was ruffling some feathers so dj is the biggest wild card of the week as far as i'm concerned he's not been playing well he had the weird withdrawal this is in his home state he maybe is married already there's a lot

of dj storylines this week in other words it's a monday and it's dj i mean it's it's it's It's always the same thing, right, Kev? It's unbelievable to me because the way I was viewing this house is, you ever play like a basketball video game and you're doing the subs? And it's like, oh, I have my three-point team. I have my defense team. And you can just put the subs in right there. With this course, there are so many different ways you can view it.

Okay, who are my Pete Dye specialist? Okay, who are my long course specialist? Because as Nathan said last week and now it's been repeated everywhere, this is the longest course in the history of major golf, 7,800 yards. and it's going to play ridiculous. The wind to me. They're a wind specialists. But when I look at this,

when I was looking at some of the splits, DJ is like in the top five for all of it. Wind, long courses, Pete die, however you view it, you can pick DJ. It only comes down to whether or not DJ is ready for this. And that's why it's such a wild card for me. It is fun because we,

have like a couple players that fit this. I already have on our dance card today, the Rory conundrum. And we'll get to that in a moment. Before we keep moving, though, quick tip of the cap to K.H. Lee, he really won what kind of played out. You guys just mentioned it as an endurance contest as much as anything. He came out on fire, like four birdies in the first six holes or whatever, threw it down. Sam Burns, who'd played beautifully Thursday, Friday, Saturday. had a 65 and a 62 in there, could not get across the goal line. There'll be plenty of opportunities for Sam Burns.

It seems. He's had some opportunities, though. Listen, this was a track meet. I mean, Cage came out and seven under each of the first two days was a hell of a start, and he was three shots off the lead. So I thought for a second this thing was going to get over 30 under. This is Sam Burns' fourth, 54-hole lead or co-lead, and he's only converted one.

He won the last time out. I love the way he's playing, but boy, is it an indication of just how hard it is to win on tour. Kev, I'm glass half full on Sam Burns. The dude is 24 years old and hits the ball 10 miles down the golf course. I understand what Nate is saying in terms of it's hard to win. It's hard to get across the goal line. But I love seeing him around the hoop with this frequency. I like adding him to our little list of young studs, right?

Yeah. Yeah. I don't see why you. wouldn't. I don't see why you wouldn't. He is, he's striking the crap out of the ball. If there was one thing you struggled with by metrics, it's around the greens. But I think, I mean, this week that might matter. But overall, that's a nice problem to have. He's 97th. The strokes gains around the green. But I really like Sam Burns. And I think that, you know, I think a lot of guys who are young, they, I don't think, lacking the killer instinct is the

wrong phrase, but you need to learn how to close. And so I don't freak out when a guy is young, and hasn't closed the door yet. So I'm buying Sam Bernstock, Joe House. He's getting his reps in crunch time. But there were some other things we learned from this tournament house. I mean, just as we head into PGA week, I mean, first of all,

we give top 10 Tony so much shit for all his backdoor top 10s. I love Will Zalotaurus. I love what he did at Augusta. He's got a lot of backdoor top 25s. Nobody rallies on Saturday and Sunday from 54. into 17th the way that Will Zalotoros does.

And that's not a knock because the guys got more top 25s over his last tournaments than anybody. But he really is the master of those backdoor ones. And then I think we got to talk about three people. Okay, we got to talk about Jordan Speath, who was in the mix, another Sunday that was, he wasn't going to win this golf tournament, I think, at the end of the day,

based on the way that K.H. Lee played. We got to talk about Jordan. We got to talk about Bryson. and we got to talk about Danny Berger House. Okay, that was number one talking point coming out of this is Berger has talked his way onto, as House would call it my dance card this week. What'd you see, Kevin?

Sure. Let's hear it. I saw a guy who normally would be built for Kiowa, and the only question was form, and now he has that. He can play in the wind. He can play on long courses. He can play on the Pete Dye stuff. So I would have thought about Burger before last week as sort of a longer shot.

And now that he's rounding into form. You know, I've heard a couple of the Sharps talk about this, about how a lot of times the PGA winner is hot at the right time. Yes. And I think that Burger having a top five finish the week before it is so important. And so I am in on Burger, striking the crap out of the ball. I also think that he's just got the right mentality for championship golf. I just don't think he gives a crap about a lot of stuff.

I think he just gets up there and wax the ball. I don't think he's overthinking it. So I'm in on Burger as, you know, I've submitted one team at this point on DFS and Burger is squarely in the mix there. Okay, so, but with that train of thought, how do we feel about Kepka missing the cut? Well, you know, we've been in the same place with him since the PGA.

Since the fourth round of the PGA, and this is a nice segue. We've been in this same place with BK since that Sunday. Saturday night, he spent a little bit of time talking shit about the whole field for everybody except for DJ.

He came out and threw up all over himself in the first six holes and was out of the tournament and then injury upon injury, upon compounded injury, upon issue and a mishap. I think this is great that he's doing this left-handed thing

for charity against Dave Portnoy, but I, I, and I'm all for, let me preface by saying, I'm all for guys getting their PIP scores up and engaging with the fans and doing fun stuff. I'm in on that. But when I see him taking left-handed hacks on social media the other day, I'm thinking, okay, I don't, what are we getting ready for here, man? Yeah, we're giving Ricky shit for being in commercials. We're not giving Brooks a lot right now. Well, we can't give Brooke shit.

He keeps getting hurt. Like, he needs to get healthy. he did say that his knee is like, you know, light years better than it was at the Masters. So that's exciting. I don't think we should have any expectations out of him until, you know, maybe, and this is, it kind of makes sense. He went and played at Tori in February. He doesn't usually play the farmer's insurance, but he made a special trip.

He spent a lot of time in California rehabbing because he wanted to. wanted to see that golf course in tournament condition. I think he missed the cut. But still, like, I like him. I think he's building up towards the U.S. Open. I don't think he would confess to, like, just cross me off the list for this week at Kiowa. But he ain't ready to play Kiowa.

He's not going to, he's not on, on the list as anybody that, now, look, I said that I, I crossed off Hedecki when a couple different people asked me before the masters. and I, you know, I stand by my stance on that, which was, you know, the putting was the thing was going to do him in and the putting did not do him in. He had a magical Sunday night, Saturday night moment after a rain delay. But so look, I mean, anytime at this level of talent surprises happen, I just, there's nothing to suggest that Brooks will even make it to the weekend. Well, let's roll it then to Bryson and what we learned about him this week. I think one of the raging debates that we will have later on in this pod is whether this length is actually the story

this week, because if it is, you've got to believe that, okay, here comes Bryson. But his game is just okay right now. He seems a little bit off. And I don't know, you know, there was some weight loss. He has scaled back the driver a little bit. That said, he still hit a 365-yard drive in this tournament. I just am not seeing the big run out of him that we might have expected leading into a major. He's not giving me great vibes for this week. How do you feel? I wonder if he's doing some intentional janky. I feel like he might be sandbaggy. Kind of like he's just getting the handicap he's trying stuff. Yes, yes. That's exactly right. He wants to come in under the radar. You and I last week on this pod had a kind of, you know, let's ponder, let's ponder the possibility kind of evaluation

of Bryson because in the context of the great length here, it's hard to say whether this is a golf course that will permit him to enjoy his driver advantage or not because you can't spray it on this golf course. If you spray it, you're off. Like off the fairway is off the golf course on many holes. And, you know, this is the Pete Dye, the most diabolical creation. Pete Dye's most diabolical creation. Get it. Pete Died.

Jim, any Christmas. I mean, look, he was still first in shots getting off the T this week. So he's still hitting the ball fine. It's just his approach shots have been subpar. He's been terrible around the green. And he lost four strokes putting this week. So the rest of the game is the part. And I do think, I think the wind might be the most overrated thing coming into this week.

It does not look like it's going to be diabolical. It will be coming out of the east in the early couple of rounds, which means those last stretch of holes, which are fucking impossible, are going to be even more fucking impossible. But Bryson, I mean, this is going to be a sneaky tournament where it's about ball striking more than driving, and he's not hitting the ball great right now. Again, I think it's a work in progress for him. It is important to note the distinction, especially at the putting surface.

We're on Paspalum this week, which is really just the guys see it at the resort courses. They see it in the Caribbean, right? They don't encounter it on tour because it needs to be a type of grass that can withstand the ocean conditions. That's exactly right. I did see, by the way, that the bear trap where a lot of these guys practice has the same type of grass, which is interesting to me. Bryson in particular, so I was playing around, Pat Mayo's Fantasy National thing is invaluable to me. No free ads, but he's a friend of the show, right?

And he has a Pete Die filter. And Bryson D. Chambot is number one strokes gained on Pete Die courses. And I think there's something there. For me, I view Bryson D. Shambo. He's like a dorky Anton Chaguer, right? From No Country for Old Man. It's either heads or tails. Even dorkier?

I mean, who is? Is Anton Chiguer a d'or? I think he's kind of a, he's kind of an alpha. I can't get past the hair. I think that he might be an alpha. All right. I think the hair is indicative of a guy who just doesn't care about anything. I mean,

and just rode in bed to kill people. So I understand. The thing with Bryson is he always said he wanted to be the house, right? It's on base percentage for him. Just have the metrics. And this is a guy who last year, I think, broke the record for successful puts within 10 feet. So it's not like he's just some of some long. reactions after those putts too. He brought the record. A hundred percent. Those advanced metrics are off the charts.

But yeah, it's either heads or tails for him. And he's either right or he's not right. And if he's right, and Nathan, I'm with you, the wind would really have to pick up to be a big factor here. The wind was not a factor when Rory was running away with it last time. And also it rained a little bit so it slowed things down. It was playing. I saw a quote wide open from Rory. It was playing wide open in 2012. And there's a reason he was able to win by five strokes. I agree the length is a big deal. I agree with the fact that the fact that there's the five of the six hardest holes were in the back nine last time, and they lengthened almost every hole and they lengthen almost every par five, excuse me, par four. That's really important. And they lengthen the part fives as well, but not as much. But it's interesting to me because Ian Poulter was quoted, I think Will Gray had this this week, where he was talking about the fact that a lot of the guys who were on the leaderboard in 2012, or just out of golf.

Like this, it was a strange leaderboard. It didn't really tell us anything about the modern game with the exception of Rory. And Poulter was quoted as saying, the game has changed so much in the last nine years that, okay, it's a Pete Dye course,

you know, it's a shopmaker's paradise, whatever it is. But the modern game is such, Polter says, that this new crop of player does not care that it's a Pete Dye. Because 320 down the middle is 320.

down the middle. And that could mean Pete die. That could mean Jack Nicholas. That could mean Donald Ross. It does not matter. 320 down the middle is that. And so I think if Bryson is accurate off the T, this is the kind of place where he can play really well. This is the modern game personified. So that's great. That's a great observation and save it because I want to go through that leaderboard. There are some attributes, some characteristics of the guys on that 2012 leaderboard. I have it pulled up here in front of us. And I want to get back to it. But what I will remind you, Kev, on that point that you just made is that Bryson won

the U.S. Open at Wingfoot by hitting the golf ball in the rough. He didn't, he didn't, he wasn't striping it down the middle. He made a concerted, deliberate judgment call to just hit it wherever it was going to land. And he felt like and then proved to the point that. He could be anywhere in that rough and still advance the ball to the green. And that's really where the advantage that he enjoys came to pass. And that's what makes this so fascinating as it relates to Bryce in this venue.

It's the swing speed advantage. The swing speed advantage works in the rough. It's like when Danny Hyfitz and I played Beth Page Black, Hyphitz has the swing speed. He's getting out of the rough. I'm actually like an absolute dork 20 yards behind him just trying to pop it into the fairway. That's, I'm not modern golf. Danny Hyfitz and Bryson D. Chambot or modern golf,

they understand a play to the rough. I think that the word you used was calculation there with winged foot. I think Bryson can be accurate off the T if he understands. That's what he has to do. All right. What do you think, Nate? Well, I was going to say, missing the fairways here, we're not talking about six-inch rough the way that we were winged foot. Here, it's much more intriguing if you miss.

You've got a lot of sand. You've got a lot of- Sawgrass. Sawgrass. It's a very different set of penalties. but it does bring up to Kevin's earlier point what kind of course this is. Like it's a Pete Dye course, yes, it gets sort of misclassified as a lynx course. You'll hear a lot of people this week say it's not a links course because of these raised greens.

And that's where Bryson with his wedges can be deadly if he's hitting out of the middle of the fairway. There's no doubt about that. But this is going to be a different set of approach wedges for Brise. this week than he certainly had at Wingfoot. I'm not sure he has the advantage relative to some other guys. There won't be bumping and running the way you'd see it at British Open, which is a bunch of shots that you would think would favor European players, and Bryson certainly isn't hitting a lot of those in his spare time these days.

So the type, of course, makes it as intriguing for me. We're going to dive a bit further into that, and you just hit on two things that I think are super interesting as we try and anticipate how this week is going to play out. But we have one more story that we must cover here in connection with the AT&T. Byron Nelson just completed. And Kev just made the point, no free ads. And we don't do free ads on this pot either, but we are not above expressing our admiration for folks in the golf space that we've come to appreciate and enjoy. one of those people, Kevin, have you encountered Manolo teaches golf yet on Instagram?

I have. I have. That's right. I have encountered it. I've showed my wife who's learning to play golf. That's where we're at right now with how funny I find this. Manolo is wonderful. I mean, I, we're still not sure if it's a put on what the stick is. I haven't done the deep dive to get the background on what this is all about. But just please, I implore you if you've not encountered Manolo teaches golf on Instagram. go get yourself on there. Nate and I have been quietly enjoying it for about a month now or so. And Kevin, you will not be surprised to hear that Manolo would be glad

to do a cameo under really any circumstances. If you've got the cash, Manolo is available. That's right. My maniacs. That's right. My maniacs. I won't even try. Nate Hubbard is a loving older brother.

And his younger brother, Mark Hubbard, has been well established on this podcast, plays on the PGA tour. Mark Hubbard was going, it's just, you know, he's, he's in the grind. He's, he's, he's been getting very close to really, you know, a bunch of breakthrough kind of moments through the first part of this 2021 season has not jumped all the way across. The goal line, his loving older brother, Nathan Hubbard, reached out to Manolo and have Manolo prepare a wonderful, inspirational campaign. directly to Mark Hubbard,

Hubbard, and told him to find the inner golf child in himself. The inner nino. The inner nino, you roll the putt, you make the putt. Go find it. Go find the inner nino. And just remember what it is that makes you love the game. Kev, I'm here to tell you, Mark Hubbard, not only did he make the cut, he had two

unbelievable comeback, bounce back kind of rounds, both on Friday, and then again, this past Sunday, yesterday, he finished Bertie Birdie, he finished in the top 30.

He tied John Rom. He beat Bryce and Deschambeau. And I just want to make sure, Nate, I mean, is there anything you'd like to say to Manolo? Well,

look, I brought in Manolo, and Manolo, and Manolo in the cameo brought in God. So Manolo was serious. Divine. Yeah, I'll post the cameo so that people can see it. But it definitely, I mean, Mark came out and shot seven under on Thursday after the Manolo.

He came in the clubhouse. He said, man, I thought the day couldn't get any better, but it did. So we appreciate you, Mano. Check it out, man. And, God, I'm really, I'm terrified of what we're going to find when people start digging into this guy. He's so big now, but I appreciated it. It worked. Manolo may be coaching

Mark by July at this pace. We'll see what happens. Well, I mean, we got to get down there too. I need some coaching. I need to figure out how to waggle. It's going to be like the Butch Harmon thing where it's like, oh, he was working with Manolo this weekend. We don't know if they're officially coaching or they just spent a weekend together looking

at the swing, but there's definitely... He seems to be wagging that shit and smacking that shit. He is smacking that shit. I mean, that's right. That's exactly right. Anyway, shout out Manolo. And for everybody else, it's the best $150 bucks you're ever going to spend. With that inspiration in mind, I'm inspired now.

I wanted to tell that story because I know that the hairs are standing up on my arm again. Just thinking about it, how inspirational that was. Let's go ahead and do some inspired prognostication as it relates to the ocean course, to the PGA championship down at Kiowa this week. We've hit on a lot of the important elements of this. And I want to pick up on two aspects. The first is the golf course we've talked about the length. We've talked about the split identity of this venue.

It sits ocean side. Many of the holes. You can sit and say, oh, there's the ocean. If you want to throw your clubs down on the ground and go run into the water, you could do it, then run right back up on the golf course. And you might not even hold up the group behind you with all of that. as you guys have observed, it does not really properly fit the definition of a links course. And the reason it doesn't is because of this design element where you can't really use the

ground to the way that folks traditionally use the ground at links to venues. And there's a couple reasons for that. One of those is because it's in South Effing, Carolina. And it is, I mean this lovingly, because I mean this lovingly, I like South Carolina very much. I've had many wonderful experiences in South Carolina. It's the armpit of the world. It is literally humidity that feels like the insides of you are coming outside of you

when you're down there in July or August. And I have been down there in July or August. So the grass, even though it is, you know, those fairways should be hard as rock. Absolutely. With balls running firm and fast as, as can be. it just doesn't play out that way because of the frequency of rain down there, the thunderstorms, and it really has a lot of characteristics that belong to southeastern United States golf, Florida kind of golf where you might hit a ball and it ends up all carry because it just won't

roll out. That's the nature of this design. So it really does kind of create a challenge in trying to, do what Kevin did, which is, what are the attributes of this golf course and how are we going to narrow down the guys that might be successful on it? Because it seems like, in God, this feels boring, it might be a second shot golf course. Yeah, I know. Every every every effing week we say, this is a second shot golf course. Well, God damn it, this is a second shot golf course, right? The only way to get more specific is there will be a lot of shots above 200 yards on the second shot, that just, which is, which is, is important because of the length here. And that favors, by the way, favors not only Bryson,

but someone like Daniel Berger, he's in the mix there. Big Vic, I would say, is in the next. No doubt. I've already bet him. And I mean, by the end of this, I'll tell you the guys that I already bet, I've been betting over the weeks leading up to this because I didn't want the odds to work against me. But Big Vic is one of them.

You know who else hits great approach shots from 200 yards or so? It's definitely in the top 10, used to be in the top five. is Colin Warcow, the defending PGA champ. Oh, that guy, the guy who won this tournament last year. Yeah. Who strikes the ball, who's been on a 20-year hot streak of ball striking. We never talk about him. He's 25 years old, but 20 of those 25.

I mean, he's not even 25. We sit around and we're like, oh, Daniel Berger, oh, one week of good ball striking. Meanwhile, Colin Morcau has never had a bad week of ball striking. And we just completely ignore him. All roads. All roads lead to Colin this week. there's no doubt about that.

Yes, that's exactly right. Well, we will get to some of the names that we like, but we have to start with that 2012, Rory McElroy. One of the things that I find interesting is we try and sort of unpeel the layers of the Rory onion here and figure out whether it's going to make us cry or whether it's going to be a wonderful flavor enhancer, which is the way I like my onion. I like onion as a flavor enhancer in a lot of things. caramelized raw in any event this rory conundrum one very important thing from the outset as we

assessed this rory they played it in august in 2012 radically different golf course in august that was when it was at its peak armpit moment i'm sure it was there were multiple weather delays in fact there was some concern going into sunday whether they would be able to complete the round sunday It was a marathon Sunday because many folks had to play Saturday, you know, combine rounds Saturday into Sunday. And the wind was, you know, peak over the course of that tournament because of the time of year. There were those thunderstorms rolling through exactly right.

You guys have already touched on it. I don't think we are going to see that wind. And I think it's possible because of the slightly cooler, cooler for South Carolina, 70 degrees or so forecast, you know, all the temperatures in the 70s, a full like 10 to 15 degrees cooler than that 2012 August run. It could be firmer, right? I don't think firm, not length's firm, but firmer. You agree, Nate? Yes, that's what we're going to see this week. No rain, temps.

It'll get up into the 80s by the end of the week for sure. but I think we're going to have basically perfect conditions. It's a shame that we're not going to see the wind really whip for a day. But, you know, this course is freaking hard enough. I suspect that the 7,800 yards in that capacity will be enough of a challenge. As Kevin said, there's going to be a lot of 200-yard second shots. So give me your Rory. Are you, do you, I mean, is there any way any of us can, in good conscience, leave them out?

No, but I keep struggling with this because when we go back to Tori Pines, we're not going to be talking about Tiger Woods and his win from, you know, whatever, 13 years ago. Yeah. Like, tigers hold up with, you know, no left leg at this point or no right leg at this point. So things change over that period of time as you laid out. The last leaderboard is a weird one, Kevin. So I don't know how much there is to take from that moment in time. I was reminded that, God, that Rory.

won that PGA, and then in 2014, he won two majors, and that's it. That's all there's been. So he sort of clustered these things all together. I also would say that Rory's last win in Charlotte was a nice one, but he wasn't being chased by the best players in the world. So Rory, to me, coming in as the big fit, not big favorite, but as the clear favorite, it's hard to put money on that. Isn't it, House? Well, I hate the odds. I'm, you know, I'll look at him for for top tens and you know. Yeah, but that's easy. I mean,

you're not going to make money on it. Kev, where are you on Rory this week? I'm, so first of all, I'm not, I have one team in, as I said,

I'm waiting until like midnight on Wednesday night, just to make sure about the weather, to make sure of everything because right now the 13 mile per hour wins are expected on Thursday and Friday, which is fine. I've been playing a bunch of course on Long Island

to have to about that. I play exactly the same as I would if there was no wind, which is bad. So which is why there's a nine in front of your score. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So with Rory, I have him as sort of a formality at this point. I'm with you in that, first of all, the course is longer. The conditions can change everything from nine years ago. And as we said, the game has changed.

And there's different dudes around there. So I'm going to throw him in some teams. but I don't think this is some coronation or anything like that. I don't, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, you know, I, I, I think about this all the time. We had a slow news day of the day of the election and Nick Wright was on there. And he said that he bet that Joe Biden would win California. And that if he lost, he'd be insolvent for the rest of his life, right? And like, I, now I think about my Nick Wright Joe Biden bets.

What are those bets where I say, okay, I know for a fact that this is going to happen. By the way, congratulations Nick Wright for being financial. Solvent Joe Biden did win California. But I think about those sort of bets. I'd say them in my mind. Rory to me is not a Joe Biden, California bet at all. I would not put significant amount of money on it. I just, I almost feel like I'm going through the motions when I, when I go with Rory. Here's the counterpoint on this. He worked with Pete Cowan for about three weeks before Charlotte. and he went from completely lost and missing the cut at the Masters to winning on a really hard golf course. He's had another two weeks.

What can he do in those two weeks? Well, is he back with Cowan? I mean, the question is, is he going to get worse the further he's removed or better? It seems like he got a lot better in three weeks of some touch-ups. I agree with all of this. I think he's going to be better. I mean, he's going to be comfortable. He's going to be channeling those good vibes.

I mean, all of the storylines support the idea of him coming back and rekindling. I mean, the Quail Hollow, he just beat us right over the head with a gigantic, you know, driver. Hey, dummies, this is what watch me went uncomfortable at a place, you know. Now, this place he has like, you know, the one experience at. And that is part of the intrigue of this entire tournament is how few, guys in this field have played this. Exactly. Yeah. Which is,

awesome. I want to talk about financial solvency. I will give either one of you guys. This will be a testament to the amount of preparation. Don't pull it up right now. If either one of you guys can name the three Americans that finished in the top 10 in 2012,

I'll give you 100 bucks. Keegan is one. Yes. Don't look it up. I don't know the others. Is Matt Coutcher one? No. No. Who are the other two? Steve Stricker, which is the most predictable thing ever. And then a guy named Blake Adams with all due respect, congratulations for finishing T7 in 2012, Blake Adams.

I didn't spend the time to look up your background. Only three Americans in the top 10. And the reason that I'm wanting to go through this list very quickly is because I have a thesis about the kinds of golfers that will be successful here. You love the Euros. I do. You love the Euros and the Aussies. Rory won.

David Lynn came in second. Polts was in there. Pultz was in there. Justin Rose is in there. Carl Peterson. Carl Peterson. Peter Hansen. Jamie Donaldson.

And then, you know, and then the Austria, Tim Clark from South Africa, Graham McDowell. Is this a snipe hunt, though? Is this just a major distraction because it was August and windy? and it's not going to be August and windy? I mean, that's the challenge of this. This is hard.

I don't know. I don't know the answer, Nate. I mean, I, you know, it is clear. Are you going to go with the Euros and the Aussies this week because you really believe. I mean, you have a good feeling on this. You've been riding for Rory at this course for damn near a year on this pod.

So we know you love Rory. You've been right going, when you, when you sway euros and Aussies, I always listen because you're right when you say these things, usually. here's who I bet on so far. I bet on Victor Hovland, who by all rights, you know, he's been playing here domestically in the U.S. primarily. So he doesn't like exactly fit the, what I'm describing here. I bet on that Fitzpatrick. I bet on Mark Leashman. Yeah, I know you'd go leash. You just love a good leash. That's your Joe Biden in California. Yeah. He just loves a good leash bet. Yeah. And I've also got to bet on Cam Mullet just because, you know, He's been around the hoop and I'd love seeing him on Sunday on a leaderboard. It just, it's, it's, it's, it builds my enthusiasm for the day. That's all. So that's so far, those, I haven't bet on any Americans yet because I want the benefit of

the wisdom of the folks that we're going to have on this, this whole week. Quick teaser on that, by the way. Justin Ray had his baby. Welcome to the world. Jack Ray. as everybody knows, Justin Ray from the 15th club. He is our resident major homie. He comes on and we do analytics and that show always goes up on Wednesday of major week.

It takes two analytics geniuses to make up one Justin Ray. So on the show that we'll go up Wednesday, all my birdie buddies. Our old buddy, Pat Mayo, of course, but we're very honored and pleased to have from CBS Sports, Rick Gaiman, who, speaking of Rory, was. absolutely screaming at the top of his lungs two weeks ago as they entered Quail Hollow Rory was available in many books at 20 to 1

and Rick could not believe his eyes and he jumped all over it and he was yelling at everybody to go do that I of course didn't listen but I think a lot of people cash decisions yeah yeah so those two guys will be on and we're going to do our deep dive and I want to hear what Americans those guys have

pulled out of the analytical the analytics sphere but house we're talking about this as a second shot golf course. Yep. You're talking about Europeans. I am.

We might be on the same wavelength there, Nathan. Why have you not mentioned John Rom? I was going to go Shane Lowry on that spot. Well, that's fine. Shane Lowry interests me. Wait, John Rom should be much more interesting because John Rom is much better than Shane Lowry. I didn't know how deep we were going on that.

Isn't there an enormous amount of pressure on John Rom with every major that goes by when he doesn't win and guys like Morikawa, etc, who are of his generation are taking these majors? I don't think so. I think that pressure is just like us. It's us talking about it. I don't get the impression that Rom, he doesn't show any outward signs of feeling pressure.

He just plays great when he feels it and plays great when he's got a vibe. And there's absolutely no reason whatsoever to cross him off a list. I just don't like his vibe lately. I don't like his vibe. I'll put it that way. I agree, but he's got to be the best current golfer to not win a major. Did you see him yell at Sung Kang over the weekend, by the way?

I did. Kev, what was the story? Why was he yelling at Sun? I don't know. I don't know. I think that I think he was like moving or wanted to see the line of a putt or something. Well, don't forget Joel Damon called out Sung Kang. Yeah, that's what to say is that Sun Kang has had some run-ins.

So Sun Kang is, is quite, quietly a villain. Patrick Reed is our most prominent villain. It's going to be annoying when Patrick plays well this week. Okay, so from an American perspective, though, if it's a second shot golf course, we haven't talked about Justin Thomas. And he's one of the best ball strikers in the world. He, too, has a lot of pressure on him. With the win count going up and only one major, he's talked a lot about how the second

one is harder to win than the first, which is a very interesting mental framework. but he comes into this, having played some really good golf, it's just, it's hard to tell because we haven't seen him of late. And the last time out,

you know, he was just okay. So I, there is a lot to be seen from a few of these best Americans. It's going to be hard to put some bets on

for me on anybody, but Morikawa and Speath. Yeah, Kev, you've been doing the work. Let's hear some names, buddy. Hold on.

I do want to say the Sun Kang thing was based on, having done the research, I wanted to have a nail down. He moves too much. too much when other guys are putting. Okay, there you go. So a lot of Phantom swings, a lot of walking when somebody else is putting.

That's right. I thought it had to do with the walking. Some real Muni golf vibes, I would say. Just kind of like, I'm moving around. I'm doing my own thing. We're playing ready golf here. So Sun Kang, you're welcome to play Beth Page Red with me at some point. All right.

So Americans, wow. I'm putting together a couple of different lineups in my head. One of them, as you said, House, is the kind of crap hits the fan lineup and that it's, you just need grinders and need a bunch of euros. And that's where someone like Shane Lowry comes in for me. I have a hard time not putting Xander in any major conversation. Okay. Zander is good at basically everything on the golf course. And I don't think you can remove him from any major conversation at all.

I would put him, Nathan, in the same conversation with the Justin Thomas where there's just something that can happen for him all the time. So I'm, yes, Xander's in the conversation for me. I would also say, by the way, and I know that maybe we're just going to overlook him until he does something. Patrick Cantlay is another guy who has had some metrics across the board where you just can't remove him from the conversation. I'm trying to think of kind of other Americans who might be in the honey or day. I have to come back to Daniel Berger, who I think is rounding into form. And then, listen, I don't understand. Is Webb Simpson just hurt?

Is he really legitimately hurt? He withdrew at Quail Hollow, which, you know, it's literally his backyard. By withdrawing, he said, can you please walk these up to the back porch? You know, he went out, he went out Thursday. and then I didn't I didn't do a deep enough dive to to but you know what that vibe is definitely there like he's got that South Carolina pedigree already he's got you know he wanted RBC heritage last year I am total grim with you and then if it comes down to grinding I think we have to talk about Patrick Reed yeah yeah and you know what grinding really could be the order of of the day when I went through that list of that 2012 now again we

were anticipating a radically different golf course. course, and you made the great point, Kev, that they, because of the equipment and the way modern golf is played, that that might as well be a hundred years ago, maybe, but, you know, there were a lot of short hitters on that list. It was not a list of bombers. It was guys that know how to plot and be strategic and get around the green and then fair ones, scores and birdies, yeah, I mean, pars and birdies, that's right. So no, no cross-off for Patrick Reed. Yeah, I, there's a guy who's looking. who lives in Sea Island, Georgia, which is close enough.

Oh, no. You don't like, you don't like the Harris English call. He doesn't like anybody from Sea Island, Georgia. You don't like the Harris English play. He's not going to win the tournament. But I think Harris English shot a 63 last week. He's been playing pretty damn good golf. He's gone low. He knows these kinds of courses really well. Harris English is going to be a top 20 play for me this week. So Harris English is actually on my list. I thought you were going to talk about Zach Johnson. Oh, hell no.

What a relief. That was what my oh no was. It was the Sea Islands, Sea Island's own Zach Johnson was going to be on your card. Well, I want to finish this off with a name that came out in the first three minutes of the show. And that's Jordan Speeth. Because, again, I love the great stories. That's why I'm going for Cam Mullet.

I love a great story. I love a great look. And, you know, Speed played pretty damn good in Texas. last week, his best finish ever at the Byron Nelson. He finally has a top 10, you know, in his own backyard. Going from the Grand Slam. That's it. So that's the story to me.

And he's been great this year. He's not been good. He's been great. And the drama, like, what if we could get Rory and Jordan Spieth in a final group on a Sunday? What's the best? Let's end with this. What's the best end of the tournament, Tussom?

Nate, who's your, what, from your perspective, what would be the best combo? Speeth Thomas. Oh. Well, that was, you said that for the Masters also. Yeah, but you love that one. I want to see the two of them in a final group. I mean, don't forget, the closing stretch of 13 through 18 on this course, all those holes are going to play over par in this tournament, except maybe the par 516th, but the par 516th is

going to be like 600 yards. So this is going, most tournaments like the Masters, you make the turn and you go, well, there's potentially, you know, some guy could shoot four or five under back here and grab the tournament. People are going to be hanging on for dear life coming down the stretch in Kiowa. And I want to see those two guys do it together. Yeah. I love it. Kev, what's your best combo?

I was going to say it's unfortunate he's not playing, but Sung Kang and Bryson. Just, Bryson just losing his mind the entire time. I would say I would say Spieth and Rory would be an amazing Sunday I would say Spieth and Bryson

would be an amazing Sunday Bryson and anybody coming down the stretch if he's pushed by another alpha if we consider Bryson and Al but I guess in a different episode

that's what I want to see on a Sunday and I think that there are so many as we've talked about even though it's the longest course in major history there are so many

different games that can work here. And I like the idea of a bomber going up against a grinder on Sunday and just seeing what happens. You know what? I'm going to pick right up on that. I'm going to steal that vibe. I said for the masters, my very best final two-some would be Patrick Reed and Jordan Speed. I like what you're dropping here, Kev. I'm picking it up. Bryson and Patrick Reed. Why not Rory and Patrick? Like, just have like match play rider cup style. That's what that's what that's what that's one a, which I'm not sure which one's better, honestly.

Rory and Patrick Reed would be sensational because people genuinely, that's honestly, you're right. That's better than Bryson and Patrick Reed because there would be a huge number of people that will be rooting for Rory and hating Patrick. And then, you know, it puts us in this very conflicted position of can we root? I mean,

are we doing a disservice to our country by rooting for the, anyway, yes, this is wonderful. We should be so lucky to get something so juicy. Speaking of something so juicy, fellas, you're working on your lineups now. Don't tarry. How do they say that word? T-A-R-R-Y. How do you say that, Kev?

Don't tarry? Yeah, I think so. Don't delay. Don't delay my birdie buddies, my part-saving pals. The fairway rolling dough. Yes. The second leg is up. It's live right this second.

Go get your lineup in. 5,000 bucks on the line. It's a single entry competition, and it has the added benefit. We have a season long leaderboard going. This is the second leg. If you didn't do well at the Masters or if you forgot to put in a lineup for some dumb reason in the Masters, you're still alive. There are still cash prizes for each of the four majors.

And at the end of all of this, even if you miss the Masters, if you go like top five for the next three, you're going to do pretty damn good. prizes for everybody that finishes, you know, the top 25, plus the number one winner of this whole thing is going to get this beautiful blue jacket. I have it. It's a ringer custom jacket. I'm going to wear it when we get on with the boys, Pat Mayo and Rick Gaiman later this week because that's when it's serious. We get serious with the analytics. I got to have my jacket on for that.

But get on there. It's right now available on Fandle. Just click the golf button and look at the fairway rolling dough. contest. There's a bunch of spaces open. Jump in there. I'm in it. Nate's in it. Kevin Clark is in it. Bill Simmons is in it and some other ringer luminaries and friends of the pod. Everybody's in it. It's very, it's five bucks to enter. So, so don't wait. Don't tarry. Don't tarry. Don't try and say that word. If you learn nothing else, you learned a new word on this pod today. Kevin Clark, Nathan Hubbard, you guys are the best.

It is a championship week. Hey, guys, can we jump in the locker room again? Maybe like after Thursday. Whatever round is sexy. Maybe all the rounds will be sexy. Let's jump in the locker room. I love it. Okay, we'll do it.

Until that, my birdie buddies, we're back Wednesday. We're going to be doing some locker rooms. Check out our social feeds to see when we're going to be jumping in there. And look, let's all try and hit them straight out there. What a time to be alive.