Fairway Rollin' - The Masters Afterglow and Winners and Losers. Plus, RBC Heritage Picks.

Episode Date: April 12, 2023

House and Hubbard tee off by discussing the factors that led to Sunday's final round of the Masters being the highest-rated golf telecast since 2018 (02:40). Then, they give their winners and losers from the weekend at Augusta (10:51). After, they preview the RBC Heritage and provide some picks for the tournament (00:00). Hosts: Joe House and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Eduardo Ocampo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm Danny Kelly, host of the Ringer Fantasy Football Show, and from now until the draft, we are turning our feed into the Ringer NFL Draft Show to talk all things draft with me, Danny Hyfitts, Ben Soak, and Craig Horlebeck. Check us out on Tuesdays and Thursdays and search the Ringer NFL draft show. To this golf podcast, unlike any of them. Oh, yes, my friends. This is Faraway Roll! Golf Podcast on the Ringer Podcast Network.

am your starter Joe house. My birdie buddies, my eagle enthusiast, my par saving pals. Why don't we keep doing golf podcasts? The official golf season is underway. We're still enjoying the master's afterglow. And there is yet another elevated event with a gigantic $20 million purse on the clock and on the agenda. I am joined by my incomparable. unparalleled accomplice our PGA tour boots on the ground Nathan Hubbard it's a two ball

because we're still recovering from the master's marathon but look we are up for this the weather is perfect we're throwing a peg in the ground let's get this thing rolling Nate dog how you feel buddy is there such a thing as too much golf hell no oh no we're just We're just getting started, buddy. I love it. Let's go. It's been a lot, House, but it's like we don't even get a breather. Rom's already on the ground. He's still wearing

his green master's shoes in Harbor Town right now. He shouldn't take him off. In fact, if it was me, I'd be wearing the jacket around as well. Now, he has respect. He doesn't, this isn't the only jacket he intends to win, so he's going to be, you know, uh, respectful about. it, but here's the thing, Nate Dogg. Everybody was paying attention to golf over the weekend.

The Masters just caught the best rating of any golf telecast the past five years. We're talking about the Sunday affair. And I think it was helped by the fact that it fell on Easter Sunday. There was some, you know, consideration around does Easter have a beneficial impact or a negative impact? on how the ratings might play out. I know that I was with... I was with my family. Everybody was starting you and me.

I didn't... I mean, you know, I'm a deep NBA guy. I'm on this podcast network twice a week at a minimum, sometimes three times a week, deep in the NBA. I didn't care about any of those NBA games. The only one that I cared about was Minnesota and New Orleans, and Rudy Gobert made it extra exciting by punching his teammate. But the Masters was on everybody's...

TV Sunday afternoon into the evening because, you know, the nice thing about Easter is you go and handle your religious observation, perhaps, if you're of that inclination, the first part of the day. And then you can convene with family middle of the day into the evening. You can have a nice Easter lunch, a nice Easter dinner. It can be somewhere in between there. There's no reason not to have the master's on. It's church. It really is. And there's really no reason not to have the master's on, right? Yeah. So it comes down to the big question about this. I mean, first of all, there's a bigger question than this, but this is the highest rated

masters since the final round of 2018, which is when Patrick Reed won, how could it possibly, how could it possibly, like, how is Tiger's final round not higher than Patrick Reed's final round? You know why? Because it was in the morning. Because it was bad weather. They had to beat weather. It was done by one o'clock or so.

He went out. That's why. Yeah. Yeah. They showed a replay of it in the sort of normal primetime hour in 2019, but everybody already knew the Tiger won. So it didn't catch that late afternoon Sunday, you know, set of eyeballs. Interestingly, here on the West Coast, I was up at 5.30.

watching the third round finish because that's when so much is that. So listen, it started really early here too, and we still had ratings. But that comes to the really big question, which is, was this because of the timing and the circumstances, A, B, was this because of factors like full swing and the general expansion of the sport? C was this because there were a number of live guys nipping at the heels of a PGA tour guy. And there's a D, I would say. In addition, it follows from the proposition of the full swing thing.

But I think these elevated events have had the effect of grabbing more eyes, more of the sporting public consciousness, because you are seeing the PGA tour is getting exactly what it hoped for, in terms of headlines that where its best players are playing in big time events against each other more often. So if you turn on Sports Center, you see the best guys names more often than not. And this first quarter of the years jam packed with that. So that's ABCD. And my answer is yes.

It's all of the above. It's E. All of those factors definitely at play in terms of the overall interest. and it doesn't hurt to have a guy in the form of Brooks Kepka that won a whole bunch of major championships in a really concentrated time frame that, you know, folks haven't heard from for a little bit, but people still associate Brooks Kepka with major champion winner. That's worth a look. He has a certain, you know, champion charisma and folks that are casual observers, no,

John Rom sort of generally. So I think there was an interest in seeing a heavyweight hand-to-hand combat. And how much do you think that Jordan Speed Phil Michelson pairing contributed? I'm a little bit skeptical because, A,

those guys didn't really start heating up until the back, at least Phil in particular. But also, like, you didn't know that that pairing was happening until later in the day. So at the same time, hey, we got social media and at the swipe of thumb, you know what's happening. It really is a fascinating study into our consumption habits

in live sports. It would have been really interesting if those guys had been closer to the top, right? Because those names absolutely 10,000 percent drive eyeballs. So if there was an indication in the first part of the day that those guys were going to be among the final groups to go off at the very end of the tournament, that for sure would have been a drive. of eyeballs and consumption. Those guys weren't in the mix until they were in the mix. No, I mean, and it was awesome. The leader was at, yeah, the leader was at 13, and I think Phil was down at one at one point.

And that's, that's fine. It was awesome viewing. But it is, it is a little bit perplexing as to whether or not those two guys in a group and doing the run that they did was responsible for those, for those ratings. And if not, then, wow, is that great news for the PGA tour? Because don't forget, Tiger Woods withdrew in the morning. he was out. So this was not his, historically it's been all tiger and that's it.

So this just speaks to, I think, the fact that perhaps we are moving into an era where the general quality and skill level of this upper echelon of players is enough to carry the day. And that suggests that actually we do have growing the game potential. So I think it's really good news. I've heard some things about Netflix full swing of late that it absolutely blew the numbers out of the water. And that a lot of a lot of people have seen this. What does that mean in terms of like overall viewership? Yes. And so I suspect and we'll get more data over the course of the next couple weeks.

But I suspect that the viewership data here, we're going to have a lot of casually interested. watchers. Brooks was featured in an episode of Full Swing. And so people understood who this was in many, many ways. And there was a heck of a lot of social chatter about the tournament. Obviously, the quality of the golf was great. The different views of the course were great. But I'm going to be fascinated to see if we drew in some first-time watchers to this tournament. Yeah, I don't know how you parse that. But the overall rising tide impact of all of the reasons that you listed out, including full swing. I will say this.

As a deep golf, you know, nerd, I didn't love full swing and we went through our own various, you know, observations and criticisms of it. But they did an incredible job of marketing that thing. And they picked an absolutely brilliant time on the calendar to push it out. They owned the week that it, that it came out. And all of the content across many, many sporting channels, not just golf, hit on that, that show. So great job by those guys, circling the calendar properly and pushing that thing out. The really interesting show will be next year's show, fingers crossed.

That's the one that I want to watch. But let's do some winners and losers. Well, we will channel our good pal, Megan Schuster, who got her own winners and losers list up on the ringer.com. Still timely, still relevant. Check it out right now if you want to just, you know, linger in this master's moment for a little bit longer because it's really delightful. What a wonderful masters we enjoyed. I have been very curious to see the ongoing, commentary, the knock-on effects, the reaction to the outstanding performance of Phil

Mickelson and Brooks Kevka and Patrick Reed in the Masters and whether or not there is anything to conclude about bigger picture elements relating to the tour that they play golf for right now. How have you been sort of consuming that stuff and what's your sense as to some of the takeaways. I'm still in the place I was on Sunday night, which is I am really happy that these guys played. I think we have dispensed with the myth that they're somehow being, their skills are diminishing by playing 54-hole, no-cut events at the moment anyway. But at the same time, it's very clear that those are not bringing out the competitive fire or drive in these guys. and that therefore the events themselves cannot possibly be living up to the potential because

these guys already have the money in their pocket. And it isn't a prestigious thing to win a tournament over there. Phil and Patrick Reed get over to this tournament and holy crap, they've still got it. And so I think it does speak. It's just purely about incentives and the way that human beings respond psychologically to incentives. And I think that is a product problem. for Liv. I do not believe that if Brooks Kepka had won the Masters, that the viewership on the

CW network would have spiked around Liv, they still have a core product challenge. And I think we kind of got a sense. I think the guys who really learned that more than anyone this week were the Live guys, because they were thrilled. So obviously, to be back and feeling that energy again. That said, look, it's more fun when those guys are involved. There's no doubt the heel element, the skeletor-fill look, all of it. It was

more fun and you realize that they took away a bunch of the dark and shady and heelish characters who, you know, no surprise aren't necessarily motivated post-checked, but we still do miss them, don't we house?

Well, sure. And the funny thing is, as you began your commentary, there and you started setting this up as the entity with a product problem. I fully expected to hear you say the PGA tour because the thing that the Masters just showed us is we like seeing all the best players together at the same time. And wouldn't these elevated events, there are so many of the Nate dog. I sat and looked at the schedule to see how the rest of the ears kind of playing out because I just found it so curious that we have an elevated event right after the Masters. And so many of these guys just went through such a rigorous grind, an absolute marathon.

I wanted to see. I wanted to see what like what's left. There's still three more elevated events after this elevated event. And then the playoffs are all $20 million purses. So it was a lot of money. product problem. It's not a problem. It's the proof of concept around the notion that it would be better for there to be some

kind of marriage, some kind of arrangement where, you know, those guys are able to play in tour events because there's no doubt that the Masters was enormously enhanced by having those players play in the championship. Let me challenge you on that just a little bit. Yeah, it is. Please do. Please do. But the three guys who stood out are guys who have pretty deep and rich histories here.

Two former winners, one guy who's been very, very close and was on the doorstep of joining an elite list of five-time major winners. I'm not sure the rest of the live guys showed out that great. For sure. but that that is an enticing proposition pardon me in and of itself so walking neiman finished top 20 i was kind of touting already finished top 25 he was he was you know in in the he acquitted himself decently not incredibly cam he finished he was t-16 that's what i thought yeah i didn't uh yeah so cam smith was a bum but cam smith kind of kind of kind of told us well he was four oh over on his last round.

So T34, he told us he didn't give a show. He kind of told us that he had been, he was fishing during the players and he didn't know what kind of shape his game was in. I wonder if this whole experience maybe reminded him of some competitive juices. Like those are two guys that I would expect to see at the PGA championship. And for sure at the U.S. Open, Joaquin Neiman and Cam Smith, I expect to see both those guys in the mix.

I don't know what to make of DJ. I'm worried that the version that you and I observed at the practice round on Wednesday where he seemed awfully satisfied with his station in life. Now, he did make the cut, at least. Look, so did Cam Smith, but they were non-factors. I don't think you saw a single shot of theirs that mattered. I mean, you could have seen any shot by any player, which is the wonderfulness of the masters.

But we were talking about Cam Smith. Should he be in the big three and is there a big four actually? They didn't show up. And it was fine. It was super high ratings. Like I guess I would just argue that it was more about the masters than anything else. Like we didn't need all of the other 18 or let's call it 15 other live guys outside of Phil, Brooks and Patrick Reed. And I think if those three guys had stayed at the bottom, I mean,

maybe this is not true. Certainly their appearance on the leaderboard mattered, but there was something wonderful and prestigious about this master's. I just, look, it's not easy at this point, having taken the checks to put all these guys together. It's what's going to make the majors special four times a year. What I'm interested to see is if people look across the fence that live, now, to your point, We've got so many elevated events, so many chances to win big dollars. Does anyone who's stayed on the PGA tour look across the fence now and go, that's a better place for me. It's just hard to imagine at this point.

Yeah, I think it's only guys who are in touch with their mortality, right? Their golf mortality. They are the guys looking at what their career trajectory. And those guys don't matter. Those guys are not going to matter from here. Phil matters. DJ mattered a little bit. Yeah. At the heart of my

sort of curiosity and as it relates specifically to the tour, the tour has conceded the best defense with the best players to the majors. And the tour doesn't really benefit from that, right? Yeah, they had no choice. I mean, I think John Rom's a bigger star having beaten those guys now.

Sure. I think it's going to help. But yeah, I just Well, it's TBD. Yeah, it's TBD. Again, we, to set the table again, we heard a lot of chatter this week, and you saw it publicly, and even

privately, like, or outside of Augusta, like Norman issued a press release, congratulating John Rom. There certainly was a movement towards some reconciliation and at least dialing down the acrimony, the live bot still had their way with, you know, Phil Mickelson being better than anybody in the world and

blah, blah, blah. But I think we're in a place where we're still going to have a cooling off period before we can get real about whether there is a harmonious way for these two tours to coexist. I do think that for the foreseeable, some guys have chosen one path, some guys have chosen the other. The PGA tour has done enough to keep that crew. And we're not going to see a whole lot of defections back forth, it's just going to be about weather on the live side. And again, full kudos to those guys. They showed themselves well. They shut up anybody who was saying it's a joke and all those guys are going to lose their skills. We know that if somebody's playing well and beating that group of guys over there on the live tour, it means they're generally playing pretty dang well. But I do think that the most interesting question from here is whether it's satisfying over there on the live side of the fence. Because in fairness, the bulk of the people who were in this mix and the bulk of the people who are going to be in the mix at the majors this year are sitting over on the PGA tour side and you have a few guys, including Phil, including Brooks, who really care about that and who really care about going

head to head against the best and seeing how they measure up. They're not doing that over on the live tour. Yeah, that's that that that is undeniable. Well, let's keep moving on in the winners and the losers. I don't think that we in our recap, show Sunday night did enough to extend our continued admiration for the combination of the master's its own media platform and its relationship with CBS and that combination producing a first in class delivery of professional golf in a way that we sadly don't don't see it and can't see it at any other time through the through the rest of the year.

It's such an incredible production, all of the detail, some of the things that I was reminded of, as I was going through various winner and loser lists. They had shots at Augusta that I'm positive I've never seen before, a combination of the drones, and also these elevated, unmanned cameras that are,

behind the players where you can overlay a shot tracer, the shape of the ball, against the shape of the hole. And it was like kind of mind-blowing. It was versions of Augusta, like I said, I don't think I've seen before. What else from the presentation caught your eye? Well, do you agree with me? I think I know that you do. But like what else? Of course I do.

of course I do I mean to me the PGA tour should just license the technology platform from the Masters I think the only hole you might throw

or you might find in that is that we didn't get the undulation of the greens within the Masters app that you get on ShotLink and it was maybe a little bit easier you know in the Shotlink product

than the Masters but it didn't matter because you could see the shot of every single player from every single hole. So I think the PJ Tour means well. They did a re-skin of what was effectively the same dataset, not a whole lot of dramatically enhanced features in the re-skin of the app. In some ways, I think it got better. In some ways, I think it probably got a little bit more confusing. I appreciate that they incorporated more stats. That part was super cool on the PGAT

side. But on the Master's app, it just flowed better. It just feels, and I get that it costs more. and you can't roll those cameras into Harboretown for a week, or can you? Because it sure seems like the digital platform had a lot to do with the enhanced ratings this week. I know I think so. And our ability to consume it by streaming and the American sporting public, the worldwide sporting public's ability to stream overall year over year, streaming gets better. People understand it more, more.

There's a bigger comfort level with. it. Did you not feel, I mean, you and I have walked the grounds now a bunch at Augusta. The telecast did an extraordinarily great job this year of showing what those greens are like. I mean, we're going to talk about Harbor Town this week. And, you know, the average square footage at Harbor Town of the green is like 3,700 square feet. The average square footage at Augusta is 6,400 square feet, but not where the pins are. That's so fake because the actual landing areas are way small. then they're going to be at Harbor Town. And you don't really get a sense of that until you've got a camera that's low to the ground

that is showing you how high up you have to put that ball on the sixth green or else it's going to roll totally back and the seventh and and and and end and end. Yeah, that that's exactly right. And also, I always forget, you know, the pins tend to be in pretty similar positions year over year within sort of margin of error. and until I start seeing balls on the green rolling, I'm like, oh, right. If you miss, like on 14, the ball, you know, where the pin was Sunday. That shot, Rahm hit.

Yeah. Well, so he hit it in exactly the three foot, like the, you know, the hula hoop that will produce that result. If you landed it pin, you know, on the left side of the pin at all, it's 40 feet away because of the way that thing bends. It's just wonderful. I want to do one more winner and then a winner, a loser that's going to be a transition into our discussion

of the RBC Heritage at Harbortown. I just want to make sure we point folks to Justin Ray's current work up at pGA tour.com where he tries to contextualize John Rom and this early stage of his career with the quantity of wins that he has. the quality of wins that he has and the quality in historic measures of his game off the tea, his long iron game, his ability to come from behind. I mean, it's still sort of shocking, at least to me, and it was surprised to John Rom himself, the news that he's the first European in professional golf history to win the Masters and

the U.S. Open. and he did so coming from two shots or more behind in both of those events, which is just the rarest of rarefied air. So I wanted to make sure that we did a little more. Let's give us some more azaleas to John Rom, Nate Dogg. Yeah. It's a scary thing for the rest of golf for him to have put this one under his belt because Justin Thomas talked endlessly about how the second one was harder

than the first. And I do think the frustrations that we saw from Rom, not this year, but a year ago, I mean, I walked around with him at Riviera, and the putter wasn't working, and he was frustrated. And boy, a year later, he's bounding up the stairs, big grins, happy with his family, winning the golf tournament. The headspace that this man is in right now, I'm telling you, I've seen it in person all winter and spring, is different. And now to get the confidence and just just to know that he can kill, that it wasn't a one-time fluke, I think it's going to be dangerous.

I think he's probably already arguably, maybe inarguably a Hall of Fame golfer based on the stats that you just put out. Well, and, yeah. Yeah. No, no, just to that point, I wanted to share the clincher, which is he is currently scoring,

making birdies at a rate that surpasses the greatest rate in history. which was Tiger Woods in 2000. He is, you know, a couple, uh, a handful of, a tense ahead of, of Tiger Wood. Now we're, we're only one cue here with John Rom. But that is the quality of play that he is delivering at this stage of the year.

And you pointed it out on Sunday. It's not like Rom made a bunch of 40 footers and 30, and was chipping in left and right. It was just. methodical, relentless execution. So it'll be a fun

conversation going forward about whether we really truly have still a big three or is it a big two. The transition here is the connection with a disappointment

of not seeing Rory McElroy play professional golf this week. Maybe hoping for kind of a bounce back thing. The Rory Truthers want to see the

bounce back. There hasn't been, I haven't seen anything yet. You know, we're taping Tuesday night with a full explanation as to why he withdrew from the heritage. It does seem like,

you know, based on the rules that the tour itself promulgated that Rory is sacrificing his player impact cash. I don't think that it's really going to move the needle in the Macquarie household. Well, that's another great point.

We'll see whether, yeah, that's right. He has said he's got discretion. I think, I know the question is like wither Rory we'll talk about I mean

this is too many this was a bad call by the tour to put a big event like this right after the Masters and as we get into our picks for this week I'm going to tell you my entire strategy this week is to go with guys who didn't work hard last week because this the Masters is exhausting

and and this just feels like a little bit of a letdown Jordan Speath is speaking to what I think the Rory problem is. Jordan Spieth is exhausted. He's played eight of nine. And it's too much. These guys have to have the mental sharpness to play well.

And if Jordan Spieth came into the master's feeling like he overplayed and like he was mentally unable to focus on shots and only 50% of the time was he in the shot, imagine Rory McElroy, who played over in the Middle East, who has also been bearing the load of being shadow commissioner through the entirety of these massive changes to the tour, getting in front of the mics every week and doing the most talking, it has to be a mental strain and stress.

He started to allude to it in Austin and even in the events beforehand, where maybe my play is being affected by my inability to focus, and I'm really looking forward to getting back to being a player. I think it's perfectly reasonable for Rory to take a week off after a super disappointing week, try to collect himself mentally, and get ready for this stretch ahead.

I think that's what we're seeing here versus like a, were you going to go to the place where do we have a bigger problem with Rory? No, no. I think it's exactly what you're describing. It feels a little glass half full for us to fill in a blank that Rory himself hasn't filled in. But, you know, all of the circumstantial evidence points to exactly what you're describing. And one of the things that you and I both are really eager to, to see. I mean, I'll be patient with the balance of this season. We just put the masters behind us.

But the upcoming 2024 season has to have a schedule with a cadence where the guys can play because none of these guys have played this much golf in the first quarter of any calendar year. No. Since they were probably ever, right? Probably ever. No. Well, I mean, maybe, but they're not going to going forward. And I think the assumption was let's cluster all of these high dollar events together and then with some little breaks in between. But no, these guys are worn out. It's the truth. We saw it in Shane Lowry, who has been playing every single event, not just the elevated ones. A lot of these guys who were not guaranteed

to be in the top 50, I'm telling you, secretly, their insecurities told them they got to play every event this spring because there were a couple of guys who damn near missed the FedEx Cup last year. I mean, that's such a good point. Ricky Fowler was one. 25. And the number this year now has been decided to be 50 or your career is a little bit different. There's a lot of good golfers out there. A guy like Shane Lowry, he's going to be just fine. But, you know, Justin Rose last year would have missed this completely. So I do think they're going to rethink this. They'll take the feedback from the players just as they have. They're allowed to make a mistake, by the way. They're allowed to have overdone it. And the perfect thing for, yeah, the perfect thing for, yeah, the perfect.

thing for Rory to do right now is to not talk about it. Because guess who's been talking? He's been talking endlessly in front of the mic. What he needs to do is not talk. Go rest up, work on the game, clear your head, and come back and play golf and stop feeling like, and this is not him doing anything ego-driven. It's just, you know, the tour needs to not need Rory, if I can say it that way, to be in front of the microphone every week. Yeah, that, that, it's a good thing for the tour and what it really translates into essentially is like nearly a three week break now, right? Because if he's he's skipping Harbor Town, he's not, I don't think he's playing in New Orleans. I know he's not playing in Mexico. So the next thing that's on the calendar

is the first week of May, May the fourth to the seventh, the Wells Fargo. And that's a, that's an elevated event. And that's a perfectly sensible point. place to see Roary again, right? Mexico's going to be empty. I mean, empty. Well, it'll be like some of the, you know, the quiet events. It'll be like the Honda, right? Tommy, I think it's going to be even worse.

I mean, Tommy Two Gloves could win Mexico. Well, we're not going to go anywhere near the 5,000 jokes that immediately spring to mind when I think about Tommy Two Gloves in Mexico. My Bertie Buddies, let's tee it up on Fandul, this PGA. tour season. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place a $5 bet. We're at the RBC Heritage this week down at beautiful Harbor Town. Everybody's catching their breath after the Masters. But you know what? There's $20 million at stake. And so we are looking at opportunities to catch a little value. Yes, we like JT. Posting this week. Yes, we like Shane

Lowry this week. Yes, we like Colin Warcawa this week. And you could play those guys to win outright to finish in the top 20. We have a beautiful finishing position parley here at Fairway, Roland. If you've been thinking about joining Fanduel, there is no better time to get in on the golf action. The app is so easy to use. There is a wide range of betting options and props. You've got finishing position top 10s, 20s and 30s, hole in one props, bathees. ups so much more when you win you can get paid instantly so aim for some green and bet on the pga tour go to fanduel.com slash roland and sign up that's fandle dot com slash r oll l i and to get a hundred and fifty dollar in bonus bets win or lose fan duel the official betting operator

of the pGA tour quick disclaimer you must be 21 years old or older and present in select states. First online real money wager only, a $10 deposit is required. The refund is issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See full terms at fanduel.com slash sportsbook. If you have a gambling problem, you can call 1-800 gambler. Hope is here.

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So this is an elevated event. This is a very cool venue. And it has historically been a fun way for the tour to kind of catch its breath for guys that maybe didn't have the performance that they wanted at the Masters to come and show up and show out. At this event, it's a cool little golf course. It's a Pete Dye design. It is short by tour standards, and it is all strategy and angles. It is a rare venue on the PGA tour that takes the driver advantage away from the guy. So this is not a week to go play a big bomber, not saying that big bombers can't win,

but their statistical advantage off the T is neutralized completely at this venue. So you want to, if you want to play a big bomber, play a guy who's super good at strokes gained approach. He has that under his belt as well. And you and I, they, I mean, it's tree lined. It's, you know, it's coastal breezes. There is in the weather forecast the potential for thunderstorms, you know, it's the south in the spring, so that's not really shocking.

and you know the the guys that have had success at this are you know guys that just sort of plot their way around point a davis loves the third five-time winner yeah so that yeah you have you know a stewart sink victory uh alongside a jordan speed victory alongside a c t pan victory alongside a web simpson victory so that's the kind of of story here. Let's start naming some names. I have the same inclination as you, which is to avoid the guys that were playing

the Masters late into Sunday. Did Cantlay work hard last week? He has vociferously refuted the notion that he was slow, by the way, said he was waiting on every single shot and that it was slow for everyone. If only there were a way to look at the broadcast, to look at, you know, to measure such a thing. I don't know.

I'm positive that some enterprising golf journalist is hot on this case. I'm also positive that Patrick Cantley is dead wrong because his playing partner certainly was not feeling patient or feeling like he was being held up from playing the holes. we will forever have the iconic chip on 13 by Victor Hovlin while Patrick Cantlay is 100 yards away on the other side of, you know, of Ray's Creek, right? Forever. So guess what? I'm not I'm not playing Patrick Patrick Cantley this week.

Okay. Okay. So you're out on that. And well, here's the thing. This is, there are a handful of names that I'm disinclined to play that are, you know, full on beware of of the risk situation.

Yeah, before you say it, I do want to say this. We talked about incentives a lot on this podcast. There's $20 million worth of incentives this week. So there's still guys who are going to put in the effort here. All the guys aren't going to pack it up and mail it in. There's a few, I'm sure. But there's a couple of guys who maybe didn't even make the weekend last week. Yeah.

We certainly have plenty of incentive to play on. we're talking and I didn't mean to suggest that that wasn't the case. I just think that first a certain class of guys that's that that were there for master's marathon Sunday as soon as they sort of reach the point where they've they they they will go in with every intention of winning the golf tournament. I know none of the guys that are showing up Thursday and playing. I don't think mindset wise are are already checked out. Maybe John Rom and I wouldn't be surprised at between. I think Spieth is out. Speeth is out. Did you see him? off with the cannon today.

Like he's, he is over this shit. Yeah. Okay. Well, so, so Rahm and Speeth, those guys,

you know, not showing up perhaps on the first tee with the intention of winning the golf tournament. Um, but we're just want to be mindful. We're saying,

be careful out there with the guys that you might have seen late Sunday afternoon. Again, but this is opportunity. If you're paying attention, this is one of those tournaments we love house. Where if you've been watching. And,

And paying attention to last week and the few weeks before that, it feels like there's a few things that might jump out. So what do you got? Well, I just want to finish the thought on Cantlay in terms of, you know, what you're avoiding him completely. If you don't want to take if you, if you, whatever reason, he has four top seven finishes in five trips. And, you know, he lost in a playoff. He lost in the playoff last Jordan Speed. And his ball striking is absolutely elite. It is like he's in the top three, with Scotty Sheffler. So skill-wise, that's what you're doing to yourself.

He is all the makings of a winner. Yes, 100%. I'm just not inclined to play him. It's a silly, petty reason to not do so, but I don't want to be in a... I don't want to root for him. That's all. I don't want to root for him this week.

Maybe there will be a week while I'll be fine with rooting for him. It's not this week. Give me some names. I just want to point out that she rooted for Patrick Reed last week. I didn't have any problem with that. Yeah, I mean, look, so there's a couple things that I'm looking at. I mean, if we're playing momentum, Russell Henley looks like a guy. He said 45 to 1. He looked great last week at Augusta. And his final round felt like more of a charge. So I'm not sure he had to work too hard in terms of wearing the burden of actually competing. It didn't really feel like he was in, or sort of actually being in contention. It didn't feel like he was really in contention until just down the stretch and a lot of things were going to have to happen. So if you think that some of the really big. names are tired. Russell Henley's sitting there at 45 to 1. I know you're going to hate me for this,

but Justin Thomas tweeted his way through the Masters weekend. He was basically doing the same kind of commentary that we saw him doing, you know, when he was a commentator for the match. He was doing that on Twitter. You and I always say when you can get one of the best guys in the 25 to 1 range, you're a nut job not to take it. I think that J.T. was felled more by the weather than by his shot making in hindsight coming down that that cut line. So it would not surprise me if JT with some energy goes out and has a really great week here. Why do you think that I would be mad at you for saying that? I think JT is the perfect kind of candidate to have success this week. And we talked about this on the recap pod. I think he was specifically felled by a specific

like two hour stretch. Like he got completely walloped by. the um the onset of the of the very worst weather of the entire weekend and he just could not get out of out of harm's way and and it all fell apart for him over the the the back nine six over on on the back nine and he had to go home but that was just bad luck I don't think that it was reflective of poor play or poor strategy he got dumped on he got cold he got wet he couldn't figure he just couldn't get out of it so uh I like j t quite a lot this this week. I think he's exactly the kind of guy to focus on. I'm kind of in a different place on the card, mainly because I want to, you know, kind of pick some guys that they fit the

category of not having to extend themselves very much. One of the guys I'm going to say didn't extend himself at all because he didn't play in the golf tournament. But guys who, this is a ripe picking kind of moment. And I'm looking in the first place at, Tommy Fleetwood, who, you know, had a solo 33rd at the Masters. So that's good. Trending in the right direction, top 30 at the players, top 30 at the Genesis, and then tied for third at the Valspar. With a little bit of a bad shit, though. Yeah.

Yeah, well, sure. But that's, we're looking for, for kind of trending, right? This is the thing. Yes. he had a T10 at this venue last year, so clearly comfortable. It does make sense to me with his ballst of striking prowess. This is exactly the kind of tournament, the kind of opportunity where he gets his first PGA tour win, right? He still hasn't won on PGA Tour, Nate, dog.

Yeah. For the quality of golfer he is. Yeah. Yeah. And I got worried at Vel. bar that he never is going to because I thought that was his chance. But you're right that the game is trending well and this is pretty well perfectly suited for him this course, isn't it? It is.

Another guy that I think could be suited to this course and I know you'll like this. It's Ricky Fowler. Five top 20 finishes in his six stroke play starts this year. good look at the players, good look at Genesis. So we know that he's headed the right direction. There's a rebirth going on with Richard Fowler, right? For sure. And his reconnection with one, Butch Harmon.

And the ball striking is there. And what we know with Mr. Fowler, for sure, comfortable at places, if wind is the challenge, great. W at PGA National W in Scotland W in the desert Isn't it time for Ricky Wouldn't this be a nice moment for him

Having missed out on all of the Masters Hoopla and you know The real state of the union In professional golf Ricky Fowler had to be in the stands for it I like him narrative wise Here at this moment Well I don't mind it this is usually the week

already, usually, we have Ricky, we have Jordan, we have JT, and some rotating cast member, as Chang was our rotate in cast member, historically has been Smiley Kaufman, are down at Baker's Bay doing spring break and they're drunk and upside down on the golf carts and filming great shit. They've been robbed of that because of this elevated event schedule. So yes, Ricky Fowler revenge tour for a week before they all, I assume, get on the jet and fly down there after this week. No, those two's got babies. They can't go down. They can't just leave their wives.

They're there. You can't grind on the golf tour and then say, oh, baby. Oh, okay. So they bring the babies. The wives have come. Yeah, they're just going to bring everybody down. They're still going to go get drunk on the golf course. They got nannies.

They get, do you know how much money these guys are making? Come on. I certainly encourage it. I certainly encourage it. I'd love to see it. Give me some more. Let's hear a couple other names up your sleeve. I gave you the guys that I feel really good on the winning side. Tyler Duncan's plus 450 for a top 20. He has two third place finishes in his past five starts.

He finished tied for 12th last year here at this tournament. So I think he, this is one of those horses for courses. J.T. Poston, he's 30. eight under par of the past four years at this venue. One miss cut, but a T3, T6, T8. And if you followed closely, he also made a hole in one on a par three in the practice round today. Admittedly, it was a par because his first shot dunked.

So it was technically a whole in three. But this is a course that really suits JST Poston. And the last one I'll just say, and I know this is a little non-traditional, but given all the characteristics of the course, Gary Woodland's playing good golf again, and he's been very quiet. And his odds right now, like his winning odds are something like 125 to 1.

Gary Woodland's not going to win this golf tournament, but he played very well last week at the Masters, a second shot course. The putter seemed pretty good. I would be surprised if Gary Woodland doesn't top 20 this week. So that's fun. Here's the thing. I love Gary Woodland.

I love the direction that his game is, is headed in. I'm saving two guys for the PGA championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York. Gary Woodland is one of them and Cam Young is the other. And I'm going to play both of those guys at the PGA. And depending like, you know, if they stay basically where they're at right now, I'm playing them in everything. What we're seeing is like these majors, you know, are, are, they require that that mix that we that we're seeing right now out of out of woodland with a good performance at at the masters and just cam young has all of it so i'm not playing either one of them go ahead since you're talking about the pGA and i completely agree with you about these two guys

right now would you bet phil to make or miss the cut at the pga man i haven't done one lick of work on Phil Mickelson's past performances at Oak Hill. I just can't recall how he's done there. He's probably played it professionally. I mean, obviously the PGA Championship was there. That was the one that Jason Duffner won, right? I just haven't really started that research. It's a close call for me.

It's a close call. It's the most interesting bet at the moment, I think. Yeah, Augusta is such a radically different venue than any other venue. And guys really filled up. And Amy was there. First time they'd seen Amy in a couple years. Yeah. Like there was all of these things conspiring to make it happen.

He didn't talk much. I don't know. My guess is if you, and we like to send positive energy out in the World House. But my guess is if you're a doubter, these are the best odds that you're going to get to bet against Phil for the PGA. I would only would only mess with make the cut missing. cut. I don't, I don't because it's, yeah, no, that's what I mean. So, but I'm saying like, I wouldn't bet him finishing

position. I wouldn't bet him top 20, top 30. Like, it's just no, no, no, no way to really have a feel. If you're going to bet against Phil, this would be the time to do that, because I think everybody's pretty high on Phil right now. And I think if you just dial out and think about the, again, what happened after Kiowa, this man may may be resurrected every every so easter or so and not much else maybe maybe so april may is is

his jam well though you know pg a's in may um i'm so glad that you mentioned j t posting because he is on my card and we're doing a same game parley here your friends of fair way rolling we're just trying to take you know we want everybody to drink responsibly but if you take you know one 10 dollar beer and bet it in this this parley we have three legs to it j t post and i put him um in what i hope is a very comfortable position for him i just we just need him to top 30 you went through goodness yeah i know it's now we're not really asking for very much he not in addition to his stellar performance at at this venue he's also we know he's in good form he tied for 10th at balspar jt poston he won his group at the match play and and he you know made the cut and

I think he finished top 30 at the, I mean, he finished, I don't remember the number where he, but he made the cut at the master's. So we'll just leave it at that. The other two names, and this is going against slightly. T-34, baby. He tied C-34. There we go. Kim Smith.

Okay. Tim Smith. Fine. Fine. Great. The other two legs, playing a top 10, a top 20, a top 30. We're doing a little finishing position parlay here. You're good friends at Fairway, Rowland.

Colin Warcawa is my top 10 play. And I warned you before we started podcasting that, you know, I have something that you might find curious that you might laugh at even. He quietly had a successful master's. He never really threatened to win the masters, but I don't think he expended a whole ton of, of energy.

I think he just... This is a guy who... Well, last year he finished tied for fifth, which is pretty good. And I think he did expense some energy because he was paired with Rory and Rory was making that incredible charge all the way down to a solo second.

The reason that I'm interested in Morkawa is because it's apparent that he's trying to find something he's in search of. He's played seven stroke cut events. he's finishing the top 13 in five of them and then missed the cut in the other ones.

He has missed the cut in the ones that I've picked him in. I don't want him to miss the cut for all our birdie buddies in this one. I do like the setup for him. He's played this event three times, made the cut all three times, has a top 10. The top 10 wasn't last year.

But in terms of the profile for this place, a guy that's not massive off the T, that is an elite ball striker. And the only thing with Morcawa, and you know right away, is whether it's a good putting week or a bad putting week. That's the only thing. Correct.

Holding him back. Another guy that kind of fits the category of guys that we were inclined to shy away from, but I just can't do it, is Shane Lowry. And Shane Lowry is my plug for the top 20 spot in this three-leg parlay. his mastery of Pete Dye courses is unparalleled. He has a significant advantage over the field in terms of, you know,

the number of rounds that he's played if you measure the rounds and what he does on, on Pete Dye golf courses. And in this particular venue, he has a slew of top tens at the event. He was there. I adore this parlay you've put together. Wow. Okay. I mean, I really do.

I try to get something a little bit classy. You know what I mean? It's highly classy. Top 20, top 30. And we know the risk of Boracow. We know the risk of Shane Lowry. But I feel like Shane Lowry can close his eyes and get around a Pete Dye course. And it's just a question of how his touch is around the green.

This parley pays out better than 20 to 1. So that's why you just take. one ten dollar beer it's a tall boy and you try and turn it into you know 200 that's all we're asking doesn't feel like yeah you know i love it try and turn it into 20 that's all i'm saying it's it's 10 that becomes 200 so um that's it from from your your good friends here at fairway roll and hopefully we hit on any any other names that you wanted to touch on no not after that brilliant parley you just handed out that let's go well let's do it now you got now i got the energy to watch this thing this week and let's just hope these. Yeah, it is. I just hope these guys have the

energy to play it. All right. Well, fingers crossed, there's a lot of guys that didn't play in the masters that will have energy to come out. And they very much like a gigantic $20 million purse. So it's setting up for a great week. We just have to catch our breath. That's all, Nate Dogg. And that is all my Eagle Enthusiast by Par Saving Pals, my birdie buddies. hopefully this feels like a little bit of a bonus edition of the Fairway Roland you saw us and heard from us all week last week hopefully you're not sick of us we'll be back next week we'll give you a breather we want to recap what's happening at this event we want to talk about

at least every year they come up with a great menu for the New Orleans thing so we'll definitely run through that we won't have Dave Chang on because he hates poe boys uh no he well he said he told us I mean it was on you he put it out there Dave Chang food take and hopefully not unintentionally creating enemies of the good people of New Orleans, but we're not enemies of New Orleans food. He ate a lot of New Orleans food at the Masters. He really did. Yes.

So did we. Delicious. But that's it, my birdie buddies. It is prime golf weather. Hopefully you are able to get out and throw a peg in the ground. Thanks to our producer, Eduardo Campo. And we'll be back next week. In the meantime, please hit them straight up there.

You know,