No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - 898 - Solheim Cup Happy Hour

Episode Date: September 12, 2024

On the eve of the 2024 Solheim Cup, we take a look at the foursomes pairings for Friday morning, make our final picks, react to what we've seen on the ground so far, and laugh at Neil trying to pronounce stuff. It's been 7 years since the Americans have lifted the Cup, and we dive into what they'll need to do to change that this week. RTJ looks like it's going to be a great venue for this event, and we can't wait to watch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Be the right club. Be the right club today. Yes! Johnny, that's better than most. How about him? That is better than most. Better than most! Expect anything different? Ladies and gentlemen, it is officially happy hour here on the NoLayingUp live show presented as always by our friends at high noon. Sorry, we're a little bit late getting started here. We are battling some technology today coming to us live from New York

with his microphone not working. Mr. Neal Schuster, hello Neal. Sometimes the system just doesn't work. You go through the checklist and it just doesn't work, but we're doing it live. God, I needed a high nooner. It's been a long one today, Sully. You're telling me, brother.

You are telling me. Calling in live from the actual Solheim Cup in his hotel room with a struggling Wi-Fi and without a tripod. Mr. Big Randy, hello Mr. Big. We have a tripod. We just have no means to put the camera on the tripod, which is tough. I apologize for any tech issues, but I'm so happy to be out here in Virginia. I'm in my hotel room. I wanted to give people a gorgeous view into the courtyard behind me,

and I'm ready to talk some golf with you gentlemen. Nice framing, Big. You did a great job framing it in about 30 seconds. I'm proud of you. Thank you, Neil. Cody is running the ones and twos from a lounge at an airport. Pets' Peds are falling off.

This has been a challenge, but we are live. We are ready to talk Solheim Cup. We are nearing the end of the professional golf season. Speaking of the ends, the End Zone Pack, the high noon End Zone Pack is here along with your favorite fall flavors, pear and cranberry, along with year round classics, grapefruit and black cherry,

whether you are tailgating in the lot or playing some golf, get out and enjoy the crisp fall air with even crisper drinks. Gosh, a high noon by the river out there at the Seoul Highland Cup sounds like a delightful, delightful way to spend a fall afternoon. The high noon ends up back us here,

but for a limited time only. So get it while you can visit high noon spirits.com to find it near you. High noon, sun's up big. You've been out there, you've been on the grounds. The opening ceremonies are going on right now as we get launched. We, noon. Sun's up. Big. You've been out there. You've been on the grounds. The opening ceremonies are going on right now as we get launched. We're going to have pairings here.

That's why we delayed the show. We have an embargo on the pairings and we know we didn't want to get going before that started. But what are your first impressions of RTJ and your experience out at the Solom Cup so far? Yeah. RTJ looks fantastic, guys. I had never been out here on property before. I am staying

kind of close to the Dulles Airport. So this morning when I drove over, it took me no traffic I can report. It was about a 20 minute drive. And the first thing that just strikes you it is bucolic out there. It is, you kind of feel like you've definitely left the city center. It's very green, lots of trees. The course just looks like it's in fantastic condition. And we have eight holes that are gonna kind of run along a big lake that's gonna be in play.

And I really truly think, I hope the course is going to pop on television. You look around the trees, the leaves, just hints of fall, hints of change of color starting to peek in there. And, you know, early impressions of the golf course itself, I think it's a bigger ballpark. You know, both captains have talked about distance, perhaps being at a premium. I think it's more of a off the tee approach shot type course. The greens, the average green size. Soly, I was hoping you could tell me this.

I have a fact sheet here, but I don't know how to, I don't know if these are, how big these greens are. You don't speak square feet? I don't really even. Yeah. So what's 6,000 square foot average size of the greens? That's what we're working here this with this week. So I Think they're pretty big. They seem to have kind of some quadrants in them where they can put the pins and I think

listening to some of the ladies if you're On the wrong part of the green you're gonna have some very difficult putts up over ridges that are gonna be moving a lot but for the ball strikers and and the good iron play if you can kind of get it close to the pin shouldn't be too much of a problem around the green so I'm excited I have a clip I better than I could ever explain it I think we have a clip here of two of the euro team members Maya Stark and Lynn Grant talking about this golf course. Can you two compare finger court is in to this course

and what parts of your game might get tested more here versus there? This is easier to walk, so that's great. This is easier to walk, so that's great. I think this is a little bit softer into the green, so it feels like it's playing a little bit shorter than Finca. We've only played the front nine so far, so maybe that's why. You get some long, really long bunker shots here, there's a lot of bunkers on the back nine, which are very strategically placed. So that's something that we didn't really have to worry about last time, I think. I think this week too, just playing yesterday and today, like Maya said, the course is playing quite soft, but the conditions of the place is so nice.

So you get a really at least I get a really nice feeling when you're playing. Like you feel like you could actually play very well here. And I think for the production and for the for the matches and everything, I think it's gonna be like a really good week for everyone. There's gonna be a lot of birdies and like at the end of the day like we just want to go out and play really good golf. And I think that's very possible here. Think it was a little bit more like this is more target golf than think I was to me at least.

Big, I'm hearing a lot of stuff I like, I'm not going to lie. And I wasn't there. You guys were out there in Spain and like it just didn't seem like a good Solheim Cup course for a lot of reasons. Like resort, it was a tough walk, no connectivity of the holes like just the lack of vibe like this place was literally like almost semi built like for Presidents cups and to be able to host major team events like this and and Exactly what she's talking about there Set up you can play the course well sets up for exciting match play

It just seems like this is a really good team golf venue. I think that's exactly right Robert Trent Jones hosted the first four President's Cups on US soil so they're very accustomed to hosting this type of event. Solly to your point like the routing it's gonna be much easier to navigate both for players and for fans crucially. The build out looks great. I had a chance to kind of walk around the first tee and the ceremony area. So this is the first tee for the folks watching. You have a nice build out.

It's not Ryder Cup big, but I think a lot of like a lot of things with the Solheim Cup, like it just works well at the scale that they have it. So this is kind of looking back at the first tee. So there'll be all this grandstand seating is open to the public first come first serve. And then the upper deck of what we're looking at right now is a hospitality pavilion. So that's going to be raucous from the top of those bleachers, you can kind of turn around and there's like a little fan village area where the main ceremony stage is going to take place. There's a lot

of concessions here. We're looking at where currently the opening ceremony is taking place. I'll also note we're going to be doing our live shows the next couple of days from that stage. Here's the clubhouse of Robert. So looking up at, yeah, it's just like very regal, very- Bucolic. Yeah, it fits well in Virginia. Like I'm getting Thomas Jefferson vibes. Cody, this is TC's house.

This is the wrong picture here, yeah. Yeah, it's just TC's estate. It's country's estate. I think what's exciting is you're exactly right. I think this is gonna prove to be a great venue. The weather could not be better. Literally not a drop of rain in the forecast the next three days through Sunday. I think this is going to prove to be a great venue. The weather could not be better, literally not a drop of rain in the forecast the next three

days through Sunday. We're going to have temperatures in the low 80s for a high and then dropping down into the upper 50s at night. So no surprise. I think they've probably put some water on the course. The press conference we listened to was from Tuesday. I expect they'll kind of speed it up, firm it up a little bit as we get into play here these next couple days. But I think it'll probably be set up where

birdie a lot of excitement, a lot of birdies, and hopefully that'll produce fireworks and a lot of cheering around the course. Well, there's a lot of, you know, we also recorded a preview podcast episode for the Soham Cup came out on Monday. You guys can check that out as well. You of, we also recorded a preview podcast episode for the Sohan Cup came out on Monday. You guys can check that out as well. We're going live here. We're going to be kind of reacting to some pairings. There are going to be some overarching kind of questions about the event and some players

on Team USA and for Team Europe I'm going to ask you about big. The pairings are in the process of coming out right now and I believe the embargo has been lifted as well anyway. We are clear. Match one. We're pegging you for your for your reaction to this Brady. Charlie Hall and Esther Henslitt are gonna be going up against Nelly Corda and Allison Corpuz 705 foursums. We are going all shot in the morning first match out. What's your reaction to this match? Yeah so I think this is a first of all let's

start with Nelly Corda and Allison and Alison Corpus they were a great pairing last year in Spain in four in four sums all shot so they went 2-0 last year no surprise that they're back together as a pairing no surprise that they're out first you know Nelly obviously world number one I think that's a statement pairing from Stacey Lewis interestingly on the euro side Charlie Hall Captain Pedersen in her press conference said specifically, I just want to get Charlie out there. She doesn't want to wait too long, you know, notoriously kind of antsy and fidgety. So she's going out in that first match. And I do think it's interesting putting her with the rookie Esther Henslite, who's been playing

awesome golf, but you know, this format first tee group. It's it's a lot of pressure on her So I think my initial reaction is definitely advantage team USA in this first match Career records Charlie hosts 12 7 and 3 obviously Esther Henslett is a rookie and we have Nellie Corde is 7 4 and 1 and Allison Corpus to 1 and 1 going off in that early morning tea time What's your what what's the kind of strategy going for some for first you think what's we we analyze that really deeply on the Ryder Cup side what do you think of this for the Solheim Cup side? Yeah it's interesting because I think that's a relatively newer switch for the Solheim I think they used to start maybe

foursomes and then definitely last year they had Ult Shot in the morning I forget Toledo. So historically it's been a format that's favored Team Europe and last year the US won all four Friday morning Ult Shot matches and got out to a 4-0 lead. And if you listen to Stacey Lewis, of course our good friend Justin Ray helping with the stats, I think this format specifically, the US really leans into the stats and whose games can they pair together to really make the best pairing possible? And so I think it's probably to the US's advantage just because I think they

lean into the numbers a lot more than Captain Pedersen in the European squad who's much more just eye test and trust your gut. I think it's to the US's advantage that this is the first format if the US can get another early lead. You know I think that's a good thing for them. All right Randy match to 717 AM we have Celine Boudier and I believe it's Albon Alenzuela. Did I pronounce that properly?

Neil, incredible job. Albon. I mean, that was such a trap. That was a trap and I didn't fall into it. It's not Alvain, it's Albon. Even though it sounds like it should be Alvain. And then going up against Rose Zhang and Lauren Coughlin. God, do I love that pairing.

And then you got the Stanford, first Stanford with Albon and Rose, I believe. Yeah. Before that, just how do you pronounce the fullback for the 49ers? What is his last name pronounced? It's Juice Check. No.

It's Juice Check, yes. Juicik, I say Juicik, you can say Juice Check. It's really, it's really. It's not either of those though. Isn't there no hard J? It's you sick. Isn't there like no J sound? No, he says juice check.

Like he sounds it out in like his profiles. It's juice check. It's interesting because literally every announcer calls him you sick, but. It's, as I understand it, it's, the J is a hard J. I had to get that in there. Maybe we should talk'm cut, but I had to get that in there. It just cracks me up.

I mean, listen, I feel like Randy, I think Rose played OK last year. A lot didn't really live up to the hype, but I just I feel like this is a fun pairing here. Yeah, for the US. Yeah, for us. I mean, maybe a home game or, you know, maybe I'm being a homer, but this gets me excited. No, I mean, Rose stunk at the Solheim, like her rookie season was pretty good. I don't

know which one you're specifically referring to, but I was referring to the Solheim and I remember her like not getting off the bus basically. Yeah, you were being, you were trying to be nice. Rose Stunk and I think she's honestly one of the keys. Sorry, we can get into what I think are some of the big keys after we go through the matches. But I think this is super interesting because like you said, Neil, Rose has a lot to prove this year in this format. She's paired with with LC, who's obviously a rookie. But they just I don't know, they're both like, very nice, easy going personalities. I like the blend of what they bring that way.

On the euro side, I think Alban is, we've been trying to figure out some stuff about her. You know, she's Swiss, but I think she's kind of like more French Swiss, you know, like Swiss people can go, they're either Italian, German, French. Albon's very much on the French side of the Swiss scale. And so pairing her with Celine makes a lot of sense. Celine's somebody that quite honestly didn't get off the bus last year either. She was like forgotten.

Like she did not show up at all last year. Yeah, I know. So this is, gosh, on paper you look at Rose and Lauren and the world rankings and you think they probably should be the favorites, but I feel like this is a toss up. It's going to be like who can calm the nerves, who can settle into the match, probably comes out with the point here. This one's fascinating to me. Gosh, I cannot wait to watch this tomorrow morning.

This is going to be fantastic. Gosh, I cannot wait to watch this tomorrow morning. It's gonna be fantastic. Got Lauren and Rose in Alt Shot. They may not be putting outside 10 feet the entire day. That's such a dynamic pair. I can't, oh, this is gonna be, I love this freaking event. I really wish I was there. Yeah, Baby Watch has got me stuck here for quite some time,

but that is fantastic, Wim. Match three, so real quick, quick, career records in this match. Valence Whalen and Lauren Coughlin, of course, are rookies. Celine Boudier, 5'4 and 1", and Rose went 0'2 and 1 in last year's Solheim Cup, which of course is a great example of why you should play the Ryder Cup every year. Having back-to-back years of Solheim Cup is... The memories are fresh. It's very, very good. Yeah, yeah.

Match three, Maya Stark and Emily Christine Peterson against Allie Ewing and Jennifer Cupcho on the American side, Randy? Yeah, so I think the surprise from the Team Europe perspective was putting Emily Peterson in foursomes. She can be a very streaky player. She's quite honestly like not on the greatest form. But she's a competitor. She's great personality great

in the team room. Suzanne loves her. So like, that's why she's on the team. And honestly, she answered the bell last year in Spain, and played played above her, her form and and kind of what we would expect of her. I didn't know if they would pair Lynn and Maya again in foursomes. And obviously they've split them up as we'll see in the next one. I just worry with Emily can be kind of erratic. Now she does hit the ball a long way. I think this is very much a pairing of like,

I'd be surprised if Emily wasn't kind of hitting the tee shots on most of the par fives. Maya, when she's on very good approach play. Putters can kind of be a little shaky for both of them. So I don't know. I think this matchup favors Team USA. They're going up. Team USA is sending Allie Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho out, two women that have a lot of Solheim experience, although not like the greatest records. But I feel like Allie Ewing's a bulldog, like she's played in so many of these.

She's the one that got run down by Headwall last year on Sunday in singles. I got run over, I think. Run over. She got Mike Allstodotted by Headwall last year. She was in the A gap and Headwall just plowed through. This is, I mean, they're all interesting matches, but this is kind of interesting. I think the surprise is you're not sending a Leona McGuire out in foursomes, even a Georgia

Hall. I think two players that, hey, if Emily doesn't play well, that's gonna be pretty easy to second guess, but I'm kind of first guessing it a little bit. That's, gosh, it seems like a long time ago, but it really wasn't that long ago that Leona McGuire was like the one in Inverness. Like you wouldn't dream of sitting here

for a single session. I'm sorry. Yeah. I was looking up Leona's career record. What did she do? I don't remember exactly what she did last go around. and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and,

and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, with obviously 10 matches across two. So this will be the first session she's ever sat. And Leona's not in the best form. So like you can defend it a little bit. And Leona's been tight, playing five sessions takes it out of you by Sunday. So maybe it's like, hey, let's let her rest Friday morning. And then I would assume she's gonna play the remaining four sessions.

What's the venue like in terms of people going five matches? Is it like, is the up and down nature of the golf course a factor? Is it a tough walk? Just reading old president's cup stuff, it seemed like the, maybe because they had like 49 year old guys playing in that original one, but some of those guys were complaining about the walk

and hard to play five matches. There is some, there is some like up and down. It's like a rolling piece of property. It's not huge ups and huge downs though. I think, well Stacey alluded to, she doesn't expect any of her players to play all five sessions. And I think with Leona sitting, the only ones that I would really see playing all five, like if Charlie plays really well tomorrow, I could see her maybe get pushed all five. And then you look at the two young Swedes, Lynn and Maya, I think are your other possibilities

to go all five. But I wouldn't expect it on the US side. Take us to match four, Neil. Match four, 7.41 a.m. We have Lynn Grant and the hero of last year Carlota Saganda versus Lillia Vu and Sarah Snellzel. That was not nice of Solly to set you up for this. Neil you should have called him because both Solly and Randy mispronounced Emily

Pederson. It's Pederson there's no T in it. I'm just gonna say that the graphics a little small on my screen. I, Schnellzel. I feel like I'm, Schnellzel, I got it. Okay, we got there eventually. You still are not doing it, Schnellzel. There's no end in there.

There's an early M. Yeah. Oh, there's an M. See, I can't even see the M. I think it's a Pam Pam situation here, you know? Stepbrothers situation. Schnell Melzel got it. All right. I mean they're kind of going with history here Lynn grants an absolute Terminator Randy based on last year and then I'd like carload is a little bit like are we going on resume? You know like she balled out home, you know home game for her last year

You know, like she bought out home, you know, home game for her last year. It's got to feel pretty good about about Lillia, but I don't know much about Sarah clearly. So please, please take over for me. Yeah, I mean, I think this is the. Best match up potentially the best match. Lynn and Carlotta were really good in four balls last year. They did not play four sums but Lynn, Neil, I'm like you. I think this could be a Lynn Grant coming out party. She's got a year experience under her belt. She played well last year in Spain. She comes in on good form. I look for her to do big

things. Carlotta, you know, she's gonna slow the tempo down, she's gonna slow the pace down. We don't know how much that will affect Lillia specifically who likes to play quicker. Sarah's a wild card, you know. I think she's very good tee to green, but you never know first match first Solheim Cup. She's she's a wild card and she does have a good security blanket. I think Lilia Vu she's healthy Although she went one and three last year. I thought she played better than that one and three record She was in some tough matches that just didn't go the US's way so I

Think I mean you could be looking at a scenario where team US is 3-0 in those first three matches. Like this could be like the firewall for Team Europe. I think there could be some pressure here on Lynn and Carlotta just to try to get a point out of this morning session. I'm not saying that's necessarily going to happen, but I could see that scenario. Some dogs out there. You got any thought on that, Neil?

A lot of dogs, a lot of pocket dogs these days. Eating dogs, walking dogs, and seeing dogs. Subtle dogs. Yes, we're talking Roback. And there's a reason we talk about it so much. The depth of the offering is ridiculous. Normally, I go on and on about the performance t-shirts. I'm wearing one. I'm wearing

a long sleeve right now and the hoodies, but not today. I got a new one for you. Roeback just came out with the Sprint Performance Joggers and these are kind of the everyday sweatpants that I'm going to be living in as we get into the fall. I haven't seen them. Weather's cooling off. They're fantastic. They got, I got the Navy ones. I need to get a pair of the Heather ones. I can already see the eye roll from Carson because I'm going to be wearing the same sweatpants for the next three months because they're so comfortable. I mean, it's work from home stuff, run errands, you can go for a jog, watch TV, doesn't matter. You should get a pair of the spring, the sprint performance joggers.

And Cody, I'm curious, aren't you wandering around this week dishing out prizes for seeing subtle dog logos up at the up at the Solheim Cup? Is that what I heard? That is correct. Beyond the heart. All right, so if you're planning to go off to Solheim Cup, you know, wear some Roeback gear. Maybe you see Cody, maybe you get something for it.

Who knows? It'll be a surprise. Don't hunt me down for this. I'll find you, okay? Fair enough. I would say also, don forget Ro back now has officially licensed college gear just in time for college football season. You can go to the game day collection it's linked on their menu. I mean they got some sweet sweet college hoodies

like all the top schools got what a what a good job they've done with the licensing stuff. So don't forget use code NLU at Robak.com for a generous 20% off your first order through the end of this week. That's R-O-B-A-C-K.com, 20% off bottoms, q-zips, hoodies, and more. And the sprint joggers at Robak.com. Code NLU. All right, I'm out, Sal. Well done, Neil. Thank you so much. I need a pair of those joggers. I did not know they had new ones. That's fantastic. All right, Randy, it's been you so much. I need a pair of those joggers. They're sweet. I didn't know they had new ones. That's fantastic. Alright, Randy. It's been a long time. It's been a long, long time since the United States has won this event.

It's been three straight. We had a win, a win, and a retained in Europe last year. Not retained in the USA, Neil. What can we expect on this? I think we have a video clip talking a little bit about this this trying to break this this winless streak going back to 2017 Yeah, here it is both you and your four so high haven't seen a win yet What's the pressure like this week to end that streak now? We got some unfinished business. That's kind of in the heart of the team. This year's unfinished business and some people have asked me what one word would be to describe Team USA this year and I'm just gonna say hungry because Nellie and I obviously being on the same amount of

Solheim Cubs and not necessarily getting the job done last year, it kind of leaves like not necessarily the best taste in your mouth but, we didn't have to wait two years. We have this year to kind of get back at it. And I can tell you now we're more hungry than ever. proverbial stew sink situation. I love that. We got hungry. We got dogs. They're hungry. Hell yes. Shout out to Stu. Unfinished business, yeah. I don't know, like unfinished business, it's almost like, it's more than that. I mean, you haven't won it. Unfinished business kind of works for like,

when you haven't, like for the US men's Ryder Cup team, that hasn't gone over to Europe. Like can't go do that one. Yeah. When you haven't won it for you. We did a deal, like we did a deal. We've had success, but we just can't get this other piece of the deal done. You haven't done any of it.

There's no business done. You haven't won any business yet. So I agree with you there, Sali. That's giving them too much credit. So a couple little facts to just back that up. Sali, you said that the last time the US won the Solheim Cup was 2017. That was three playings ago.

And Team Europe, if you go back a little further Team Europe has won or retained the cup in five out of the last seven Solheims and in fact there's only two women on the US team Lexi Thompson and Allison Lee who was a rookie on the team in 2015 and who hasn't made a Solheim Cup since 2015 they're only two women that have who hasn't made a Solheim Cup since 2015. They're only only two women that have ever been on a winning Solheim Cup team which is kind of crazy. So I do think that 14-14 result last year was like not a bad result for Team USA right going going into Spain and you know it's it's nothing to like be ashamed of of I do think it felt though more like a loss for team

USA because they had jumped out four to nothing after the end of the first session and then Europe kind of spent the rest of The Solheim Cup clawing their way back into it. But yeah, sorry, I think I think we start right there big questions of the week Can the USA stop the streak and we we were kind of joking, talking about in the preview episode, like if they don't, maybe it's task force season. I think it's at least worth like a discussion of why does the US come in every event that they have the higher average world ranking

or the better average world ranking, they're better individually on paper every year, and yet if they don't win this week, they'll have lost six of the last eight. I think it's worth a wide discussion. Just a broken, you know, I know it's not the same golf, you know, there's not like a golf school here where all these, you know, players come from and there's not like a culture that transfers over from the men's to the women's side. But gosh, that's just a familiar feeling exactly what you're saying here.

Wait, we have all these talented players. Why can't they win this more often? I can't quite tell for this Team US side. I know with Justin Ray being involved in the stats side, there still is just that kind of disconnect on the women's side Like not having like shot link shot link data on all the details of you know of all these shots like how You know, I'm sure they would smack me in the face as the data guy They would say like wake up you're supposed to be the data guy here

but like I don't know how like technical you can get with all this stuff in terms of you know, the almost like the qualitative aspect of forming this team is where I, you know, I wonder if they, how they've thought of that, how they've approached that more so than I have the quantitative side. Yeah, who doesn't care at all about data? Suzanne Pedersen, and she seems to be able to put this team together and make them run through

whatever brick wall that's in front of them Like not even in their Scenarios team building at all. She's among me and the biggest alphas on the planet Oh for sure foremost alphas on the planet of absolutely but I will say Everybody speaks glowingly of Stacey Lewis and I think they are all very motivated and want to do well for her. I think it comes down to like the, sorry, I mean correct me if I'm wrong, but it's kind of the same thing on the Ryder Cup side. Like the best American players just like need to play better. And if you look at last year in Spain, I mean the three highest ranked

Americans, you have Nelly Korda, I mean the three highest ranked Americans You have Nelly Corda number one lily of food number two Rosang currently number nine in the world last year in Spain those three combined to go three seven and one and So when you talk about like your three best players who are gonna be playing a lot of sessions for that for them Not to like win that many points and for them to put that record on the board Like I think you start right there and it's it's probably on the best players to play better. Remember when I was in person on the European team last year, so Lee Boudier didn't pick up a single point. They got it from the back end. I was gonna say remember when Scottie

Scheffler and Brooks Koepka lost nine and seven in a Ryder Cup match and everyone was like, yeah, it's just a Ryder Cup. It's like, no, something might be really wrong here, guys. Like, yeah, yeah. I don't know. I don't know if there's just more of a team feeling amongst the European side than there is the American side. I don't know. But there's something there because it's kind of the same themes on both the men's and women's side, and I think it's at least, it's like we all see it. There has to be something there that is just like, I don't know, even if we can't put our finger on it.

That can be Sunday's show. Yeah, the other like, Keith Stag and Cody kind of alluded to, you know, the points were coming from the end of the team, if you will. So there are three new faces on this American team, Lauren Coughlin, Sarah Schmelzel and Alison Lee. They are replacing Danielle Kang, Angel Yin and Cheyenne Knight. And I'll just say that those three women that they're replacing, they got six and a half

points last year in Spain. And so if you're Nelly, if you're Lillia, if you're Rose, don't play well, it's going to be a lot of pressure on LC and Sarah and Allison Lee and the rest of that bottom of the, I hate saying bottom of the team, but deeper down the roster, who's going to go out and get points? So definitely something to keep an eye on.

They need a horse. They need someone that's just like, they need somebody to go win four matches, right? I mean, it just seems like they just always, they lack having that one player that just has the career week. The most, Lexi went three and one, Megan Kang went three, oh and one in Spain.

Like she's been the closest, she was the closest thing to a killer. I mean, that's killing out there. She lost no matches out of four last year. Yeah, and I think Megan Kang, you look at her, I think she could be that role. I also, I don't know, I really expect, like I wouldn't be surprised if Lillia flips her one and three to three and one this year. Like to me she feels like that type of person, and I'm really anxious to see her this year coming off like not a great record last year

Cuz I know that's got to eat her up On the European side two highest ranked players Celine Boudier our tenth Charlie Hall is 12 Those two went a combined one and five last year in Spain and and they still got a tie out of it Essentially, they'd be able to retain it. Do you think we're going to see something maybe a little stronger out of Charlie this year? I think we have to. I think if Europe's going to win, Charlie's got to show up.

I want to play this clip from Captain Pedersen talking about Charlie. This was a great one earlier this week. You move this a little bit lower. I did move it lower. Cody, this might be the wrong one. Who was that? Cody's on mute as well. We do not have a clip.

Give me two seconds. Okay, he's looking for two seconds for the clip. We'll vamp. Yeah, I think I just don't I think last year Team Europe got, you know, they pulled a rabbit out of the hat with Celine and Charlie going one and five combined and and you know headwall doing her Sunday magic and Carlotta playing great in front of the hometown crowd like I just had well didn't play otherwise right Randy well she played so Solheim rules you have to play a session before Sunday singles. So they stuck her out there Saturday afternoon and she lost. Yeah. And so it was like, holy shit, what are we doing?

I think Cody's got the clip. Cody, are we ready for the Charlie Hull clip? Ask you about Charlie as the highest ranked player on Team Europe. What do you want to see from her this week? And the follow up would be, do you get the sense that she's comfortable with her celebrity status online and social media, Instagram, 600,000 followers, that kind of deal? Celebrity status. That's a new one. We're just happy Charlie's already showed up. Charlie's on fine form. She's flying high doing her own thing. I actually think she's in a

great spirit. She loves the Solheim a lot and thankfully we only have one of her on our team because imagine having 12 of her. That would be kind of handful but we've learned to deal, I mean, I know Charlie fairly well over the years. I've played a lot with her. I really enjoyed being paired with her. So I kind of, I feel like I've seen every side of her kind of from a playing and kind of trying to be a captain.

So I'm really happy to have Charlie here and she's been excited over the last month or so and She's been trying to prepare the best she can to come here out there coming out on the on her best side So I'll just add with Charlie Sorry, I know one of you mentioned her record 12 7 and 3 lifetime She was one and two last year. So going into Spain last year, she was carrying an 11, 5, and 3 career record. Like last year's performance in Spain was

definitely the aberration for Charlie. And so I, I really expect her to play well. I'm glad, like I said, going out that first match, she doesn't have to wait around, she can just get right out on the course. I think the Solheim Cubs better. Obviously women's golf is great when Charlie's playing well. So I really hope she does play well this weekend. I'm sure the most important story of the week, of course, as it relates to Charlie Hall, is of course she borrowed a lighter from a fan while she's out there smoking very cool Just social Twitter loves it every single time It's just it's very very cool. I love it. Yeah. Yeah

Real quick my other two like things we touched on Leona That was that was one of my big questions for team Europe Leona going seven three and one and really has been the difference In her two Solheim Cups, they they it in Toledo, it was very close, obviously tied it last year. Do they need Leona to keep getting them three and a half, four points, a Solheim Cup? That's just a huge ask, and I'm not sure if Leona can do it a third time, we'll see.

And then the other thing though, I'm very bullish on Lynn Grant and Maya Stark. They were, we were very excited last year they were making their Solheim Cup debut they actually went out first in foursomes together. They both played pretty well they have a year of experience I love the forum Lynn is in coming into this week and I just think those two are gonna I think they really have a chance to shine and they're gonna be stalwarts of this team for years and years to come so I do think team euro like Lynn Grant and Maya got to start carrying the load. Let's do it now let's get our official fan bill picks of the week and of course odds will be subject to change

as the week goes along here but Randy going to you first put your money where your mouth is what is your official play of the week? My play of the week is and I've just finished touting her Lynn grant for top European point scorer I think she has a chance to play all five sessions. She's gonna play at least four She finished tied for tenth at the open after not a great first round I just love the way she hits the ball. You heard earlier in the show, she likes Robert Trent Jones at plus four 70. I love the odds. Neil, what's your pick? I just decided to make it a little bit more efficient.

I'm going with the U S to win at 15.5 over Europe at 12.5. We're going with an exact score play plus 1200. I think the, at 15.5 over Europe at 12.5. We're going with an exact score play plus 1200. I think the US gets it done this year. I think they finished their business. They put StuSync to bed. I'm looking at this now and I'm seeing the US on Fandl was minus 210 to win, which is, you know, that's a big favorite. But, you know, in a format they did really, really well on, you know, last

year, getting off to the hot start, they're plus 100 tomorrow for first day. That's their line for tomorrow. And I think if there is a path to win, I think they get off the bus quickly and go take care of business. So I think, I think plus US plus 100 day one winner that does include the draw odds in there. If they split, then that's a loss in there. But I like getting even money on the US to be up by the end of day one,

more so than I do like laying 210 to get 100 back on them winning for the week. So if they do go on to win, I'd be surprised if they were down after day one. So I really like circling there. That was nice. Nice handwriting. Just to make sure we know that that's my play. That's my play. So I do think it's interesting. So we didn't touch about on the on the pairings when we were going through the matches, Stacey is sitting Megan Kang and Lexi, who went 2-0 last year in all shot. And I just think that's curious.

She was asked about it in her press conference. And she really just said, some of it's, you know, we feel like we have a great team and great pairings and some of it's course fit. So I do think that's something, if your bet doesn't hit, if the US doesn't win day one, I think where Stacy could perhaps be second guess is like, hey, why didn't we play that pairing

that was like so good last year together? It's all big puzzle, man. You know, this is the hard part where you gotta sit, you don't have all the information and you don't know exactly like, all right, well, if I slot this team in and force them, that means this team has to go out and four ball and this person has to play blah, blah, blah.

And look, captains get a lot of this wrong a lot of the time. But you know, it is like this, this macro thing of, you know, how does it all fit into the puzzle? And if everybody's going to sit one session, how do you manage it and managing energy? You know, maybe you want people, guys, people peeking on Saturday instead of Friday, if they're going to play 36 holes, it's, it's really, really, really tricky. No one's really seemed to completely get it figured out except for you.

Sully, one thing I wanna say before we move off is I've been really big time team. The Ryder Cup, Solon Cup should not be every year. But it is kinda nice to have it. Oh, here he comes. It just adds it, as an outlier, I'm enjoying having the context of last year and the memories are fresh like it's just yeah I mean that's a nice

that's a nice thing now that doesn't mean I want that but I'm acknowledging that you know the other side has a good argument on this point so just wanted to get that out there I feel better I'm gonna sleep better tonight for you know coming clean on that play the Masters every other year too if that's the best way to face out golf tournaments sure let's play the open every other year like or just play it every year like come on. That's interesting. Ohio State Michigan every other year let's just do it like well I play it every year I mean it's better if you got to wait an extra year come on guys love the President's Cup. Anything

to this like driving range controversy that's been going on this week? I tried to read about this and I still don't understand what the controversy is. Can you outline it for me? That's what I was gonna ask. I was unprepared on this topic. What, saw the headline, didn't really dig in.

All right, let me preface this by saying I intentionally did not bring it up when I was on the grounds because I wanted to know if people were talking about it. I didn't want to drive the conversation. And I can report, I didn't hear one single person talking about this driving range controversy. So I don't know if it's a controversy or not. Jamie Weir had a report this morning that, you know, that they have these two houses on the course and the US chose their house and it's a little bigger,

I guess, and so Europe has the other house. Now the other house though has these bays that you can lift up and they go right onto the driving range and apparently there was something in a contract like you weren't supposed to put tables, and games. Doors open. And then so I'm not sure like who was supposed to be upset about that or who was anyway, that's Neil, that's- And is the idea that they're practicing, they're getting extra practice in, like it's an unfair advantage or- No, I think the idea is just kind of like-

They're playing music out the house and like they were spilling over onto the range. It's unacceptable. You know what, you know what this is Randy? You just don't do that. Like you just don't like Like everybody knows that's wrong. We have a Brookline situation here pretty quickly. I don't know, Suzanne, the alpha, she doesn't care.

She's like, oh, it said what in the contract? Double middle fingers. What are you guys gonna, what are you gonna cancel the event? Like what are the repercussions here? Like I almost hope that the US is really pissed off because like I love mind games. I hope everybody's doing

mind games this week. But it's hard to think of this as like an actual controversy. I don't think that's the right word for it. Neil gave his 15 and a half to 12 and a half. What's your official score prediction? So I'm actually with Neil. I think US 15 and a half 12 and a half my heart lies of course with Team Europe I hope Tron is listening and hears that but my head says Team USA. I believe it's 15 and a half 13 and a half. It is my right? It is not. It's not. Okay. Just like it's not juicing. You just saw it during the fan duel. Oh yeah there it is. Alright so I get I get when I have to balance the checkbook I get confused.

You're right you're right. No hand up on that one but it is juice check. I know that. Judy Reagan gonna be in the booth this week. Hold on, did we get your official pick? Oh I'm sorry 14 and a half 13 and a half is what my official pick was. US. United States. US is gonna do it, they're gonna win it. Judy Reagan gonna be in the booth this week, which is always a treat, she is low-key the best, not even low-key, she's the best female announcer in the game. I think that's fantastic, I assume that's because Morgan is an assistant captain, so I think that works out great for everybody, Judy's fabulous.

I just hope that they don't overload it with commercials, but spoiler, I bet they are. Don't yell at us when the coverage sucks because we've been banging that drum for years. Yeah. No, I didn't even think that needed to be discussed. I think we know exactly what's coming. I mean, every single team event goes exactly the same way.

So, all right. Anything else on Solheim before we get over a couple other news and notes before we get into the weekend, the long weekend? No, I would just say if you're in the area, if you're in the greater Washington area or if you're within a drive, the weather is going to be fantastic. If you're in need of tickets, you can find those on the LPGA website. Come on out.

I think it's going to be a really, really great three days of golf. The vibe looks fantastic. Opening ceremonies look, I mean it's gonna be a really, really great three days of golf. The vibe looks fantastic. Opening ceremonies, I mean, just a buzz. It just seems like the right market, the right venue, the right overall, that's something that the US side has nailed on pretty much every Solheim Cup is just getting this into the right market and getting people out there and a real buzz on the ground.

It's definitely shining through on the television so far. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, in the words of Morgan Preston, you guys got me fucking fired up to watch this. So. So. On the men's side, John Rahm announced he'll be, has entered the Spanish Open,

the Andalusia Masters and the Dunhill, but he has not paid his fines to the DP World Tour for breaking their rules and regulations. He said, I don't intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen. But he has appealed it and will be able to play despite not having paid the fines. Just can't afford, can't afford the fines. And you know, I guess wants to support the DP World Tour, but does not support the rules and regulations of the DP World Tour.

So it's great. You know what the fines are? I think. A million dollars, I think. Well, I think it'd be, I think it's 100K for every unsanctioned event that he hasn't played. So it would be like, basically once he's finished with the live season, 1.4 million pounds or Euro.

I don't know exactly, something around that, that, you know, number. Which like one, just got hundreds, literally hundreds of millions of dollars from Liv to go play on this tour. And two would have been like line two of the contract that would have signed, which would have been like, hey, I still want to play DP World Tour events.

Like, hey, Yasser, like I need you to stroke the check for all of my fines. And then like you are supporting the tour, abiding by the rules and regulations. This did not sneak up on you. You knew exactly what the policy of the DP World Tour was gonna be. I know you thought that you leaving was going to cause,

you know, everything to cascade and everything was gonna come together and you wouldn't have this issue. Like put that in the contract before you jump over to live. And this would have all been avoided, but no, just refusing to pay the fines is just like, Rahm has played this like- But he's saying sanction me with your army. Yes. Like, but no, just refusing to pay the fines is just like, Rahm has played this. But he's saying sanction me with your army.

Yes, like, or he's just appeal. I don't understand the full problem. They went to court over this. Like they went to court over the European Tour's ability to uphold their rules and regulations and fine people that did not abide by the rules. And he still was like, no, I'm just appealing. I don't know how long the appeal lasts,

but I guess it gives him enough time to get into enough events and then just not worry about having to pay the money. I think that quote's so awesome. I don't intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen, assuming like how can I play, like dude,

like what is the discussion besides like, hey DP World Tour, what can I do? Pay the fine. No, I'm not gonna do that. Like where does, like what is the discussion besides like hey DP World Tour what can I do pay the fine no I'm not gonna do that like where does it like what's the discussion that I don't understand what's the discussion I think didn't even Sergio pay his fines like it's just like I don't know so sick Brahms played this relatively like not like a fuckboy and this one's just like dude just pay the money like this is literally nothing to you now like that's the whole point of you leaving was kind of the point wasn't it yeah yeah it's just frustrating man I just hate seeing

him get sucked into this this wine fest anyways if you haven't the Irish open is on in the mornings here in the United States at Royal County down is the first time it's been at a links course since 2019 when ironically John Rom won at La Hinch It's it's just awesome to see this course this event back at a links course. It's just phenomenal viewing in the morning It's where it should be I truly believe this event lost a ton of steam at least in my personal interest over the last four years when it's been The K Club and you know, Juliet Mount Juliet and Galgorn Castle and all these like places that are not worthy of hosting an event

like this and like having a Royal County down is just awesome. It's just fantastic viewing incredible golf course Roy McIlroy there. He's paired with Tom McKibbin and Vincent Norman watched a lot of his round today Shane Lowry there it's just make sure you set your DVR for that when you can fast forward the commercials it's just like really, really, really good golf viewing and it's good to have it back back in our lives in a real way. What was the weather out there, Sully? Little breezy. Spicy. Yeah, breezy but not too crazy. You know, there was a little bit of rain

earlier in the week but it was kind of just blowing in off that first tea today. And it's just it's a really, really frickin special golf course. I don't have a better way of describing it. Other than it's just it's a great way to spend your time just watching people play this course. I'm told it's a good golf course. I've heard good things. The PGA Tour and the PIF met in New York on the eve of 9-11. Feels like something that probably could have been avoided

in some way, but it got a ton of great PR around that one. Just coincidence though. What, I mean, God, these guys are so freaking, just bad at it, they're just bad at it. Yeah, it's almost like they're trying to run bad PR Like I checked in a hotel, you know, you flip on the TV CNN comes on and the literally like the first thing I see is you know, Jake Tapper talking about the supposed PGA PIF meeting on the eve of 9-eleven It's just like what are we doing in New York?

And again, I want to emphasize how incredibly fair all of that is when you used these exact people. Yes, exactly. Like that's there. You you're the ones that brought them into the conversation to start. And then it's like, oh, actually, no, we're not. That doesn't matter

anymore. And then I mean, it's just it is it's it's mind blowing, truly mind blowing how how bad they are at the PR stuff. And just just be just thinking it through a little bit. Like I don't know how Jay and like how do they still have jobs? I don't understand. It's remarkable. It's all just remarkable. Like there's stuff happening. I don't know what it is

exactly still yet. I don't know if anyone does. I've been hearing that for 15 months man. It does seem like there's just a little bit more something happening now. Again, I said, wake me up when you tell me what the competitive structure of pro golf's gonna look like, because I just kinda don't care until we do that, so. I will say the mood around the media center at Solheim

was like, of course they're gonna break this big new Solheim weekend, right? Like, just wait until it's like we want the spotlight on women's golf and then they're gonna rip it away. So we'll see. Some evening viewing is just kicking off right now. The Pro-Core Championship formerly, what was it? God, why can't I think of it?

The Fortinet. The Fortinet, that's right. The Fortnite championship up in Napa. I actually really liked watching this golf course. Firm bounces, you know, it's kind of skinny little fairwaysways but light rough and just really interesting. It's been a somewhat interesting golf tournament over the years and this is one of the highlights of the fall actually for me. A little week off doesn't nobody any harm. It gets you a little bit more excited to watch a

little bit of PGA Tour golf. Wendham Clark playing this week, he had some interesting comments. He said, the last time I screwed up, talking about his debut in international competition last fall in Rome He said I took too much time off and wasn't quite prepared for the Ryder Cup and this year I wanted to make sure I don't do that. There's no preparation better than have been playing against the best players I think that's the best prep you can have I Said through four holes. I said to max man I'm sorry because I'm not kind of in not playing good the first four holes and I said, I'm sorry I'm not in tournament shape right now,

I'll get into it. Then eventually I started getting more comfortable but I just found a few of those quotes interesting because not, the entire US team is not there from the President's Cup to play this week but just, it's been an interesting reflection on how bad. I deeply, I appreciate quotes like that.

Of like, you know, hand out, like I'm watching the film and like I didn't like my prep and I'm gonna tell you, like, and I'm here and I'm changing I didn't like my prep and I'm going to tell you, like, and I'm here and I'm changing it. That's sweet from Wyndham. I'm all about that stuff. Yes, I think that's well said Neil. I totally agree. So, that is about going to wrap it for us here tonight other than we do have a very joyous announcement. We have a new welcome to the NLU family. DJ and his lovely wife Justine had a baby boy this morning. More details to come of course from them when

they're ready to share them but everybody's happy and healthy and doing well. We are absolutely over the moon for them for welcoming their new baby boy to the family. Got a lot of boys, got a lot of dudes, a lot of dudes. Guys being dudes, baby, guys being dudes. I got Beanie out here, just, it's the witching hour, baby. It's time to start that bat, let's get it going. We're gonna need some girls. Welcome, pie man. Well, I'll take care of all the girls. You know, I'm gonna have two of them here in a few months,

but you guys just keep making the boys, we love it. It's gonna be fantastic, so congrats to them. Thanks to high noon. Thanks to Roebuck. Thanks to FanDuel. Big thanks for all of your fantastic on the ground reporting. Absolutely licked it. Neil, thank you for joining us as well. Cody has boarded his flight, so I'm gonna play us out here. Thanks so much everyone for tuning in. Enjoy the Soho Home Cup. It's gonna be fantastic. We'll have live shows Friday, Saturday, anday at the conclusion of play uh... and we cannot wait to watch this event and bring it to you live as soon

as it wraps every single day thanks much for tuning crack on chairs