No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 126: Arnold Palmer Invitational wrap w/ Adam Sarson

Episode Date: March 19, 2018

Adam Sarson joins the pod again to talk about Rory’s final round 64 en route to winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger’s Sunday charge, and everything else from an exciting week in golf. We gear... The post NLU Podcast, Episode 126: Arnold Palmer Invitational wrap w/ Adam Sarson appeared first on No Laying Up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm going to be the right club today. Yeah. That is better than most. I'm not in. That is better than most. Better than most! All right ladies and gentlemen welcome back to the No-Lang of Podcasts. Probably your shortest ever stint between podcast appearances. But I think we saw your last one was to recap your top 100 moments of the year, Mr. Adam

Sarson for 2017. But how many top 100 moments of 2018 happened today alone Sunday at Bay Hill? Oh, God. Probably at least three or four, right? I mean, you got tighter plan while you've got Rory just blitzing the entire course. Stenson had driver off the tech with the driver today. I have no, like, off the tee.

Like, it was crazy day today. Bryson saying air density on the 18th hole as well. Oh my god. Oh my god. It was so good That was like intentional right like you had to know the cameras were autumn and what else did he say? He said something about leverage or something a compression Oh, I heard I heard air density and that that was it like that that's that's all that mattered to me at that point. I got too excited. I typoed my tweet with my reaction to that. I don't even care. I got way too excited when he said that.

I legitimately had trouble figuring out whether or not we should start talking with Rory or Tiger because both stories were so incredibly significant this weekend. But can't be the guy that just ignores the fact that Rory won for the first time. So we can do the whole Rory, Rory's back thing, right? He never left. Would be, would be, would be my whole thing, right? It's like, I know, I know you, you and I have talked about this quite a bit before, right? It's like, you know, he, yes, okay, he hasn't, he hadn't won,

he didn't win at all in 2017, but there were so many things going on with them between the injury and then the club changes. You know, you're not married, too. So like all those things were kind of going on around them. I just, I don't think he was able to actually get settled in that all at any point last season. So I mean, it kind of made some sense that, you know,

he would come out and he played well at the start of the year in the Middle East on the European tour. He had a few hiccups when he came back over the States side. This was going to happen. I don't think there was any down in my mind anyway that it was going to happen. The way that he went about it, though, is what actually shocked me more than anything. I believe Jake Nichol tweeted out that this was the first time in his entire PGA tour career that he's, that he led a tournament in Stroke's Dan Putton.

And I mean, the putter is what is what got it done. I mean, he got about, I think he, I think he averaged what about two and a half Stroke's Daned on the green per round this week, which is insane. It's over if he does that. I guess over for absolutely everybody else. I held out for so long on pressing the panic button and I'm afraid to go back and listen to last week's podcast with Porter.

Oh, you kind of did. You kind of hit the panic button last week. What did I say? I'm afraid, I don't want to know, actually. I was a panic, but it was like, all right. I was just, I was alarmed by how infrequently he was hitting the ball close to the hole. So, I mean, I was just, I was alarmed by how infrequently he was hitting the ball close to the hole.

So, I mean, I wasn't expecting this resurgence in the putting. I mean, I'm still, I'm still, I still own real estate on McElroy Island. There was no, oh, I never sold it. Come on, come on. But I was like, for the first time last week, kind of ready to discuss the fact that he was not playing very well. And I went down there for a few days this week and I walked a couple of holes with them on Tuesday, kind of like easing into it like, man, like, what's going on?

And he could not have been less concerned. Like it, like, to me, he obviously hadn't won yet. To me, it was kind of like, all right, like he'd be telling himself that he's still there blah, blah, blah. And but he was totally not concerned, totally confident. And he actually like picked right before he went to that practice run, he picked up like some kind of tip from Pete Cowan on the range.

And was like putting it into action and then turned out, went out and striped the ball this week, led the field and driving distance, proximity to the hole. And then got, of course, the well-documented putting tip now from Brad Faxon and led the field and stroke's game putting. So it was going to be a quiet year,

high-pwise leading up for him to the Masters, probably the most quiet since, you know, he had a chance to make this the career grants land. But I don't think that's going to be the case anymore. No, I mean, like I think I think it was a Brennan Porath tweeted something out. I believe it was actually just a photo of a tax message he had sent with him and Kyle Borgerman going back on

and Kyle had mentioned that it seemed like Rory was kind of flying under the radar a little bit this week and he was right. I mean, you know, everyone was obviously talking about Tiger and how things were going to kind of play out this week with him. Yeah, I don't know, it's strange. I mean, with Rory, he's so good that like you know The the struggling is is something that I don't really give any credence to to be perfectly honest There's probably like probably anywhere from say 10 to 15 players in the world where it's just under You know what you probably shouldn't worry about them Rory Rory's one of those guys speeds one of those guys To your point though, it's like you know

You know look at 100 cents in this week too, right? guys, speeds one of those guys. To your point though, it's like, you know, look at 100 cents in this week too, right? Stensons will also one of those guys that when they're puttin', when he's puttin' well, he's almost unstoppable. And Rory, Rory's the best example of that. I mean, I can't imagine that that kind of red hot putter has been a continued going forward,

but I mean, not at least at the level that it did this week which is that would be insane. But I mean, if he can put anywhere near that way, I mean, he's gonna win four or five times that sure without question. I mean, he started slow today. He was even through five, then birdied six, seven, nine, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18.

Like, he needed to finish in that fury though, like this leaderboard was almost nearly unfair. Look, I got a WGC leaderboard. Oh yeah. Yeah, no, it was crazy. It didn't happen for Stenson today, which I generally root for Stenson, but there was so much other stuff going on behind him

that I was definitely not thrilled about about it. I was kinda like, all right, this is, we needed some, I was obviously pulling for Tiger the most. And then when Tyger win OB, it was like, okay, it's Rory's the most. And then when Rory, when Tiger win OB, it was like, okay, it's Rory's time now. And then he chips in on 15. It's routine, birdie on 16, which is a joke. He had 119 to a par five on the PJ tour.

It was at 373 off the team. I mean, he made, he carried that bunker with such ease that like, like, yeah, I don't know, it seems unfair when he's gonna be hitting the ball that far. But I mean, so the causes for concern with Rory were real and that he'd fallen out of the top 10 in the world for like the first time since I think 2009, which first one can we point to the absurdity of that.

That's such a, I mean, we just take him for granted in that regard and it's kind of a, I don't know, that amazed me that he never even fell outside the top 10 during 2013, during that. I mean, he was number one player in the world in 12. So maybe that's how he just kind of held on to that ranking for that long, but that kind of stayed amazed me. But so yeah, they're like, it's a testament to like, you know, all the times that, you know, we talked about the, the, you know, when you were changing equipment back and forth for the last few years, you know, he never fell out, years, he never fell out. There's always so much talk about, he hasn't won a major in a few years, and he hasn't done this, and he hasn't done that. And then it's like, yeah, well, he still goes out, and he wins tournaments.

And then on top of that, he places really high in a lot of those big events, too. So, his consistency is something that we really don't talk enough about to be perfectly honest. How ironic is it that he like never used to play this event in Arnie wanting to play it so badly? And he's only this is only his fourth time playing or I don't even know he started playing I think in 2015. And I was talking to him about it and it's like this course should be pretty good for you. He's like, oh, his eyes lit up. He's like, oh yeah, like this is, you know, they have those like four par fives like that that he can just easily take advantage of. It's good to see. I mean, what did you think? Did you put any credence to his comments

he made about alcohol sales on the PGA tour? Do you think he's gonna catch any flack for that? I mean, he's gonna catch some flack, I guess, from some people, but I mean, does he have a point? I mean, he might. I mean, it'll never happen. I mean, the two are obviously, I mean, does he have a point? I mean, he might. I mean, it'll never happen. I mean, the two are obviously, I mean, they made too much money.

Everyone made too much money off of alcohol sales, but I mean, it'll never change. But, I mean, you've to definitely pay to an argument for it. I mean, especially if tires can be any kind of resurgent player going forward. I mean, it's just gonna bring out even more people, and you know, you're obviously gonna get your fair share of people who can't control themselves when they

don't trade, when they do. So he does have a bit of a point, but I mean, unfortunately, it'll definitely never change. Well, so apparently there was somebody following him Saturday, like yelling his wife's name at him during his entire round. And yeah, so I started thinking about this. And in that it seems to be a theme, I mean, more and more players are speaking out on just fan behavior. And I think I can get a bit lost in what the issue actually is.

Right? I mean, a lot of people are going to, you know, tune all this out and say, those are guys to pay their salary, they pay a ticket, they can go do and say what they want. As long as they're not yelling in your swing, it's fine. I just think like with it, the new policy on cell phones now and that you can basically shoot video and do whatever you want with your cell phone,

that people are getting, they're able to capture themselves, saying something dumb at a player for laughs and put it on social media, that almost this combination of the policy and this kind of resurgence in huge crowds crowds following Tiger and all this is doubling down and now people have like an even more incentive to yell something dumb and a player because they can document it and show all their friends how funny they are.

Do you think there's anything to that? Every putty's in the content making business, you know, everyone's trying to create their own content these days. No, no, that is for sure. I mean, that's probably part of it. I mean, you remember the big thing that happened last year at the president's president's president, Mark Leishman's wife, and then Audrey's her name, made that big post on her blog

that kind of blew up where she was just like, you know what, this is kind of ridiculous, you know, that the things that are being said on the golf course these days that players and that their families are hearing has gone too far. And this is not an American versus Canadian versus European versus whoever kind of thing. It exists everywhere. But I don't know what they're going to be able to do about it. I mean, aside from taking people out, which they probably should do more of, you're never going to be able to stop it.

Yeah, I don't think they're going to be able to stop it. Yeah, I don't think they're gonna be able to stop it, but I don't know what the answer is, but I think I just find it interesting that players are starting to really speak out on willing to maybe take some of the, even the abuse for it, because I mean, I don't think fans are gonna like hearing players complain about, oh, you millionaire, pampered pros and all that,

which there's something to that, but at the same time, like if they feel like it's affecting their performance in the workplace, their workplace, that's where they are making a living, then I feel like it's justified to at least say something. Well, I mean, you remember when Rory, a couple of weeks ago, said that he feels like, he feels like Titer loses what half a stroke around just based on all the craziness that goes on around him. I mean, somebody like him or JT, I think that was when he said it when they played at RIV together, you know, they're probably not as bothered by it, but like somebody like

Sam Burns who played with him a few weeks ago or even Bud Culli today has been on tour for a while. I mean, you have to wonder how much it's going to affect them, too, right? Tyder not so much, I don't think at this point, but the other guys, I mean, it has to take a toll on them as well. Yeah. And I mean, there's going to be, if this continues this way, there's going to be huge crowds out there, especially on Sunday following that guy in red, which we made it over 10 minutes

without really talking about him yet. All I can say is there were some shots hit on today on this Sunday that caused simultaneous, like orgasm sounds in the kill house like there was a trash he hit. He had. He had. He had. He had. He had. Like when he hit the stinger I forget which hole that was on. It was a. Yeah. It was a. Yeah. It was a. Oh. Sound that reverberated through this house. We got off the couch on some of the. Yeah. Some of these shots that, um, man, how aggressive was he out there today? I mean, when he pulled driver on five, which is a whole

he said, iron on every day so far this week. I was like, okay, something's something's kind of different about this run. He's actually really going for it today, trying to get as close to that green as possible and ship up and make another birdie. Um, and the line he took off the tee on six, man. I mean, how this was, to me, people were expecting him to play well this week, considering he finished in second place last week. And he's had so much success at Bay Hill. But this to me was even more impressive

than the second place finish at Valspar. Is that a fair take? The only negative, I just know the only thing I would say about that would be, he's done so well here, right? He knows the course so well that going to Val's Bar where he hadn't played in what, 22 years like Jettinstein Copperhead in that long. That would be the only thing that I would say that Copper was probably a little more impressive than Bay Hill.

But the quality of the shots today today the things that he pulled off I mean even even yesterday I'm not sure if you saw but the the bunker shot that he hit on I think it was on the back nine That was might have been 16 where he basically had to he was up near the lip and he had to get it over the lip You know through the trees and over the water and then on the back of the green, like, it's from like about 200 yards out. These are the shots that we that I personally, like, I mean, I think I think you can attest to the fact that, you know, there are several people like I can say that I was one of the people who thought that he was going to be

okay if you got healthy, but I never thought I'd see this again. Not the way that he's doing it. Like, I don't I don't think that it's a stretch to say that I never thought that we'd see somebody like him hit these shots again. I mean, he's not perfect. He's not totally perfect. He's not totally back in that regard, but he's so much further along than we could have even imagined

that it's kind of scary to think how much he better he can get. Cause today honestly, he looked like a different gear. I know he lost team, we'll get to the back nine. But it was like a different gear where he wasn't necessarily playing at the fat side of the green. He's been so tactical with everything he's done in this comeback. And he's done as much as he struggled off the tee. He's done well, hitting irons off tee and laying back and just being, you know, not making

big mistakes. And that's kind of, I don't want to say that's going to lead to a lot of top 10s and not a lot of wins, but that doesn't surprise me that he's, you know, not making a ton of big numbers, not making a ton of bogies and, you know, had a couple finishes in the top five, but hasn't won. Today, he dialed it up a notch and was going for the win.

I don't think he cared what he finished. He made that run on the back nine and got it to 16, which is a hole he has dominated his career. He missed right all three times the first three rounds and then just pulled one OB. Are you kidding me? Oh my God. I mean, part of me was just like, oh man, if this was Phil, he'd find a sprinkler head

under there somewhere and he would basically say that it wasn't actually OB. But that's the one thing though. under there somewhere and you would basically say that it wasn't actually OB but like it was you know that that's the one thing though right it's like the this the struggles off the T are still are still the thing you know like it's not like I I wasn't actually all that worried about him coming out and and having and having the yips around the greens I think the last time we saw him like he kind of had those resolve them in his short game has been way better than I think than I thought it was going to be and the putter has been incredible But yeah, the driver needs to he needs to sort that out

I mean if he's doing a if he's doing a major run somewhere I think I mean aside from aside from what I mean Like if he wants to roll T it up at the deer or the travelers or wherever I think those are great places for For him to just you know smash those two irons off the tee The if he's he needs this or other driver, but what that said like we're still so early into this whole thing I mean he's playing so much better than anyone expected like there's need to do him a little bit of time And I mean there's no there's no suggestion that he can't they can't figure it out Especially at these places that he knows so well. Yeah, just I'm a bit concerned and that he won't be able to hit as many two irons at Augusta, right? Oh, yeah, no, no, that's true.

I mean, he does need the longer clubs there. So I mean, he'll need to figure it out before he goes there. And Augusta is infinitely more demanding off the team now than it once was, but it's still not the most demanding. And having, I literally just said he won't be hitting that many, you know, two irons off the tee. But I don't think he needs to hit a ton of drivers there. A lot of those par fours, I've always said that it's not that much of an advantage

to come into them from 130 yards versus 160. So I'd be more, I want to see him get the three wood figured out the most. I don't, I just don't think he needs, I don't think he needs a ton of drivers around that place. And if he can find the fairway with the three wood, he's sitting in the ball so far right now, he's still gonna be hitting it past where a lot of guys are hitting their driver.

I was, I went out there and followed him on Thursday. That's my first time I've ever gotten to follow him inside the ropes. I mean, yeah, which is kind of crazy considering that, you know, like basically when we started this thing, it was 2014, he's been, he's been terrible ever since. The timing of this thing couldn it was 2014. He's been terrible ever since the timing of this thing couldn't have been worse, really.

And I got into follow him as some as a kid around Mirafield and whatnot, but it was always so hard to see. And I actually got a first chance to watch him play all 68 shots or whatever he played on Thursday. And it was awesome to watch, but it was amazing just to see in person. It doesn't look like he's swinging that hard or any harder than who he's playing with. And he's blowing it past Jason Day in the deck.

He's not see I'm like blowing it past him with iron. Not see I'm a hit three would or maybe it was five wood on 11 on Thursday morning. It's eight 45 in the morning, 44 degrees and cat just flips a two iron out there. Two hundred seventy five yards. I mean, you didn't even you didn't even lash at it. And just that, that true command he has of the ball with his irons was, was something to behold. And it just, I don't know, I got pretty sentimental last week on the podcast about just the whole, the whole experience and everything. But it's fun to see him like having fun out there. And when he drained that super long birdie on 7, his 16th hole on Thursday,

he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Like he was writing this, like, he laughed all the way up to the cup and while he's writing his score on his score card, he was like still smirking, he couldn't wipe it off. And it's so, I've always been so impressed by his ability to shut other people out and not pay attention to them.

But he was kind of interacting with fans every now and then he gave a fist bump to a girl on the way to the third tee, which he probably shouldn't have done because he promptly hit Adobe after that. But so it's funny, there's Johnny on the broadcast today too. He said, he's like,

you know, something about how important it was to smile on the golf course and how tied her, you know, he hasn't done this since he was a kid. I was sitting here thinking to myself, I was like, well, you know, he did pretty well without the smile and thing for quite a while. But it's a good thing. It's good to see him out there having more fun. The weird thing about all the distant stuff too, I was reading somewhere else a few days

ago that somebody had asked him, you know, like, are you surprised that you're hitting the ball this way? Like, can you explain it? And he basically said that he couldn't explain it. So like, I don't know how it's, he doesn't even know how it's happening to be honest. And it seems like it. And I mean, it's kind of crazy that we're at that point with him in the distance. I mean, he's going to be able to compete at some places like we already kind of talked about without the driver. But you know, once he gets that, if you can get that figured out, I mean, it's, it should be, we could be, we could be seeing something that I don't think you and I ever expected. Well, what, what is great about the distance is what it allows him to do off the tee and

not to rely on the driver, right? Because he can hit that two iron so far and so consistently that that's, you know, I think some people are, you know, concerned by how hard he's swinging it and how far he's hitting it and how, you know, that that means he's going to, you know, get into more trouble with the driver. But I think it's the opposite. I think it's, he can get away with two iron, eight iron around so many golf courses that they, and he kind of makes a, he's always made a schedule out really well to courses that he's even able to do that on. If you're in need of a lightweight golf bag, look no further than the OGO Sirus.

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He hit those balls into the stands on purpose. Oh, that's right, that's right, that's right. I forgot about that take. And he got, he was in the third to last group on Sunday with Rory and it was, like so that, that I just will never forget that and that never been less confident in his game And he was able to scrape together for that masters

It is able to do it the year after the car accident, you know, he didn't even play leading up to it And they finished tie fourth, I think He gets around that golf course. I know he hasn't won there in 13 years But he knows how to get the ball around that golf course. So at I'd be honest I'd be very surprised if he doesn't finish top 10 at Augusta. Yeah, I mean, look, I mean, we've seen this, it's lute and tighter, right? I mean, we've seen this for years at that place that for whatever reason, you know, players like, you know, Fred Couples is always the guy that everyone talks about, right?

About how, you know, every year Couples seems to be on Saturday, you know, he gets on to the first page of the leaderboard and you're wondering how the hell he does it because he's playing only on the Champions Tour and he doesn't really show up any other week of the year on the PGA Tour. Bernard Linder was in the second-to-last group on Sunday. Was it two years ago? Something like that? These things happen. For whatever reason, you need experience to win and to play well at Augusta. I mean, there's no doubt in my mind that both Tiger and Phil are gonna be playing well at Augusta at some point into their 50s, assuming that they're healthy, right? I mean, it's just the way it goes with them.

So, I mean, you're right. I mean, I would be surprised if he didn't finish inside the top 10. I don't know if I'm willing to go much further than that at this point, but yeah, I'd be shocked if he didn't finish inside the top I just want to point to the absurdity of even like 14 days ago if you to tell me we were talking about Tiger like competing for the title at Augusta

I just said so all right He's the favorite he's the betting favorite which makes sense to me It does it makes total sense when you consider how well he's played and how the books have to protect themselves Again the Tiger better is that that does not seem absurd to me, which is it usually does, but it does not right now. Does does today's win by Rory adjust that in any way? I mean, I think we're obviously Rory's odds are going to come down, but I don't think Rory, I don't think Rory becomes the favorite.

Yeah. No, I don't think I don't think it will change it too much. I tweeted this story too, but I thought the coolest moment that I got to see in person Thursday was he was off early 830. He finishes round around one. A lot of guys were there on the range warming up for the afternoon wave. And at Bay Hill, when you come off the ninth green, you have to walk through the range to get back back to the clubhouse to sign your card and whatnot. And I mean, the crowds, as you might imagine, were overflowing. He comes up onto this and everyone's cheering them

as he just made a 15 foot par putt on 18 to shoot 68. And they're cheering them coming through the walkway and he gets up on the range. And like everyone that was all the crowd that was at the range watching stood up and started cheering for him, like walking through. And it was, it just reverberated. Every, almost every single player turned

and stopped their, stopped hitting balls and turned to watch it. Like you couldn't ignore it. Like it was a very reverberated every almost every single player turned and stop their stop hitting balls and turned to watch it Like you couldn't ignore it like it was a very real kind of salute and it was such a cool I just don't think that happens with any other player that walks through the back of the range They stop and watch a guy walk through but I just thought that was so cool to see So so what was it? I mean you so yeah you were there the first couple of days I mean what was it like to be to be inside the ropes just trying to follow them and around like in terms of the crowds and the other player reactions to it? I mean, it was I was there on a Thursday morning. So even that front nine was not overflowing. The noise wasn't, you know, it wasn't like

a Friday afternoon crowd, you know, it was it was just a good size. Obviously way bigger for a normal Thursday morning round than you would and any other anyone else on the golf course, but it wasn't insane. But by that afternoon, that time the afternoon came around and he made that huge putt on seven. I mean, it was, you kind of just take it for granted that having that, that level of access and getting to see it, but that's what I was trying super hard not to, because knowing I'd never got to see this before. And I, I like nobody goes back to the 16 T to watch guys Because it's so far back compared to where you enter the hole I went back to this is I don't get this opportunity to ever see something like this

Getting to watch and play shots up close. I was so just so impressed with the control he had With the irons and the trajectory of the shots and he I don't know I don't fear it's weird like in person I wasn't fearing his driver miss nearly as bad as I do watching on TV. It doesn't feel, he feels closer to being having that figured out than I, than it feels like on TV. If that makes any sense, I'm not sure that it does. Well, I mean, I was on, on Twitter, so I guess, yeah, tonight at some point, I believe

Alan Shipnacht was talking about how like, you know, he was watching him on the range, like he's striping it on the range. And then when he takes it to the, takes it to the course for whatever reason, like he just can't keep it in play. And I was just, I don't know what that is, if it's, if it's something in his head, if it's something, like it's just, it's bizarre. I mean, it leaves me to believe though that it's there and that he'll, he'll figure it out at some point. I mean, now that he's fully healthy, that's always been my number one concern.

But it seems kind of bizarre to me that, you know, if it's true that he's striping it on the ranch crossing, that he can't seem to take that to the course. What's amazing is how palpable the excitement was when he is standing on the 16th T-Box one shot back and he finished eight shots behind Rory. How insane was that finished by Rory? Like, oh my god. It's, it's, oh my god. Well, like, that's, that's the thing. I mean, that's, that's why all the, that's why everybody says, you know, that when,

you know, for the most part, when he's on, when he has that whole like, you know, whose A-game is best, it's like, it's probably his. Like, you know, as much as, as much as I hate that argument, as much as I hate having that conversation because all of these guys are so good, it's a run that you see, like, the one that he put on today on the back nine that made you go, yeah, you know, he's probably the best player in the world.

And sometimes a day like today, makes it think like it's not even all that close. Yeah, I wish we'd see it more often. And I hope this is a sign that we will see it continually more often. But that I'm sure this comparison's been made, but it felt a bit like 2010 at Coil Hollow when he shot fine around 62. I think that was his first win actually on the PGA tour. Yeah. So that that was it's good to see. I mean, I don't know. I feel like every year before the Masters, we get a lot of questions like, who would

you like to see? Well, and we all do these fantasies of, oh, I'd love it if Rory and Tiger came down the stretch. It's like, dude, we kind of get whatever we want now at golf. Like, why can't we get that? It, there's no reason why we can't get that. If you had told me, if you told me right now that the final three groups in a few weeks were going to be some combination of Tiger, Rory, Spieth, Phil, DJ and JT. I'd be like, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I can totally see that happening. It's a crazy thing to think about, but that's exactly what we could get. I mean, it's like I said, it's crazy to think about, but it's

true. It can absolutely happen. One thing I was thinking about while watching Tiger out there was, you know, again, I was quite sentimental last week and looking at it from a different perspective, think of the most embarrassing things that you could have happened to you. Like I could think of maybe like six horribly embarrassing things that would happen to me would be very shameful. And Tigers had like four of them happen.

So imagine he does, I mean some of it is on himself, but like obviously the scandal like that was horrific to go through. Then to have like your text messages all over the internet, your voice mails, then to get a DUI, your nudes leaked. Like look at the combination of all the things that that guy has put up with in the last 10 years. Again, some of it is own doing, but at the same time, like the shame of each of those things would be enough to make somebody just be come over clues

and not whenever we've seen in public again. And he faces all that. Well, and then on top of that too, I mean, obviously these things aren't as important. This isn't as important as the ones that you just mentioned, but like the fact that he came back and he looked like your regular, you know, he didn't look like a tour player when he came back for the last few years. And like, you know, when he had the, he was very clear that he had the yips for a while, you know, that round that I believe you might have been up watching at the time. I can't recall, I know myself and poor Athora up watching it, the one from the Middle East where he pulled out and you know, he said that he, you know, we all believe that he probably

heard himself on the flight over at some point last year, but like, he looked like an absolute wreck. Like, he basically flubbed a putt from off the green. You know, like, he had, he was struggling to get in and out of bunkers. But he basically flubbed the putt from off the green. He was struggling to get in and out of bunkers. It was one of those things where he didn't look like a regular player. That's embarrassing for any PGA to a player. Let alone the guy that many of us think is the best player of all time.

You throw that into the midst of all the other stuff that you just mentioned. I know you and Tyler talked about this last week, but you know, the perseverance that it's taken for him to get back to this point is actually pretty remarkable even You know, I'm sure that like you said some people would say, well, you know, it's a lot of that stuff was self-inflicted But it's like, yeah, okay, that's true, but like he did come back and he looks and he looks as good as he's looked in that's true, but like he did come back and he looks and he looks as good as he's looked in, got at least five years and potentially even more than that. Yeah, I mean, it's, it was kind of amazing to watch it today and how not routine it felt, but normal and not unused, like last week felt unusual.

It was like, all right, this is happening, this is happening. And now when he made the run at it today, just how, last week I kind of still refused to believe it. And this week was, I I kind of still refused to believe it. And this week was, I could have totally seen him burying out. And I was like, ah, I had to hit that ball, OB. His comments about it to San Z, which was fantastic. All San Z.

I thought it was great. That answer was one of the best interview answers he's ever given. He's like, I thought it was very honest. He was very honest. He said, you know, like three different shots he could have played. I didn't commit to it. I, you know, wanted to play a fade. And He was very honest. He said, you know, like three different shots you could have played. I didn't commit to it.

I, you know, wanted to play a fade and then I stood over it and said, why don't you just bomb one right over it and I didn't play the right shot. And he smiled about it. And he's just kind of like, yep, you know what? I learned from that and I need to commit to the shot. That was, that was, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, I, yeah, you're right. I thought that was, that was the thing, and he stepped up right after that, and he smashed the next one right down the middle.

So it's like, yeah, you know, it's there. It's, yeah, you're right. I thought that was, that was, you're right. It was one of the best answers I've ever seen him give to a question that, you know, I think previously he probably would have said something else, but I mean, you know, he was very honest. It was good to hear. It's good to hear.

It's good to also know that it didn't matter, because Rory was going to win this. And, you know, if that was the shot that decided it, that OB ball, then it would have been a lot harder to stomach, stomach, all that. So 71st in Stroke's Gain Off the tee this week, the OB balls will do that to you. And that's four shots just right off the bat. 19th in Stroke's Gain approaching. Second in Stroke's Gain around the green eighth and putting. Unreal. Yeah, it really is. I mean, what I said, didn't I didn't I wasn't worried about the ups coming back

But the the the the way that he's pitching and chipping everything around the greens is actually it's very reminiscent of what we used to see So I'm not I'm not para I'm not you know I'm not terrified when for him to go to address in a couple of weeks and see all those tight lies around the place So I'm I can't wait to see what does he what he does in the next couple of weeks bridging One of our favorite topic to talk about we literally talk about the writer cup every time you're on with another guy It was on the leaderboard today I don't I don't think I had him in my 12 I definitely didn't have him in my 12 and I don't even think I'm had him on the outside looking in when I talked to Porter last week about the Ryder Cup team.

Bryson. Bryson Murray. Right. We'll stay away from that one. And let's talk about the bad scientist, the artist, in France. I can picture this. So back in 2016. So I do these Ryder Cup forecast in posts on my site like usually once every couple of months and

Back around the time of the masters where you know, he contended and he was looking like the the real deal I started to mention him in those posts and I was like, you know, I can actually see this and I think if I'm not mistaken I believe you did something similar around that time as well correct. My name was worse. I said before he made his first professional start I was like guys just like be patient with them right. Either if he plays too well or you know plays horribly like let's just give him time and he finished T for it. Harbor Town and I said okay let's start talk about the rider cup because he might be on the tee. I didn't last a week. I got too excited. He led. I think he led the field that we did, Arbor Town in Schroenskman, Tito Green,

if I recall. He mashed. Yeah, it was incredible. The two weeks in a row, he looked every bit the player that we thought he might look in two or three years. And it looked very legitimate. I don't know, I can absolutely see it happening. It was funny. I jokingly tweeted about it

yesterday, and of course, as I'm sure you would expect, the responses I got back were, no, no, no, you're crazy. Why would you do that? Whatever. He's not a Ryder Cup player. I disagree entirely. I think he is a Ryder Cup player. I'm not saying he's going to be there, but you can absolutely see it. I mean, he matches the ball off the tee. You know, he, can you imagine putting him with fill in a rider cup? Like just, just as appearing the two of them and, and just letting them, let them try to dissect the golf course, it would just like, it would be magic to watch. So that's what I kind of want to know in that, you know, us outsiders, we can look at all this stuff, look at the standings look at you know this guy say this guy be a great match player but you don't

Necessarily weigh in enough of what what matters and that it's gonna be hard to take them with a captain's pick when you're not a Popular player and you're a rookie It's got to be very hard. I would imagine to become a captain's pick so in that regard you mentioned Phil I think they play you know they play some practice around. I don't know what the extent of their relationship is, but I think it would take someone like Phil advocating for him to get picked before it would actually become a reality. Is that fair? Uh, probably. I mean, like, yeah, so I was thinking about this earlier too. Like my thought was, was that you would probably have to make the team out.

And the reason I would say that is, you already have some of these guys that are on the granite. It's only March. We're still so early. But there's no way that players like Patrick Reed and Phil, and whoever these guys that you might suspect might be towards the end of the roster, at least on the ball, and maybe not Phil after the win. They're not going gonna leave Ricky at home

Right they're not gonna leave Patrick read at home They're not probably not gonna leave Matt Kutcher at home either So he might have to make the team out right because those other guys are always gonna be in front of them in terms of getting a tapton's pick You know, you never know how somebody like Jim Fierreck might try to to run a roster right? I mean someone like Zander Shoffler or Patrick Cantler might end up being on the outside looking in because of reason's X, Y, and Z. I mean, the Fierrick might think that Zad Johnson

is because he's a veteran and he needs somebody else like that on a relatively young roster, who knows what works kept his status is gonna be depending on how he gets bad from the wrist injury, things like that, right? So I think you're right. I think it kind of made sense. Then unless unless he made it out right, he's going to have to have somebody advocate

informed and get there. Do we know what Keppka's status is? By the way, have you heard anything on this? I've lost track of it. Is he going to play the masters? I have no idea. I'm I haven't explicitly looked it up. I suppose I can I can look it up.

But I mean, I haven't heard anything. The last I heard was that he was just, he was still recovering from the results. I think it was gonna be eight to 10 weeks when he was, when he initially went out, but I don't remember it being much of a story that he was gonna miss the first major of the year. It's so quickly forgotten, just among, like the people just kind of ignore that he's one of the,

probably one of the five best American players in the world. And he, he's, yeah, people don't even talk about him, that he's hurt and whatnot, but I don't know. We'll see. Well, I mean, right now, like right now, he's third in the point standings, right? So I mean, he's, he's not a little bit above her. But I mean, if he doesn't come back, I mean, the guys are going to start passing them. So yeah, he's got all the, all the points from the US open last year.

I think is what helped in there. But no, you mentioned Cantlay. We talked about him some in Shoffley. Have you looked at much into what the European team's going to look like? Because Job wrote for our site a piece this week that looks into some of the story lines going on with the picks.

It's fascinating because in his, he made essentially a group of locks based on how he sees the season playing out and obviously some guys with experience and where they people rank in the world ranking. And he doesn't have Paul Casey in there. And I was like, as soon as I read it, I was like, dude, come on, Paul Casey is gonna be on the team. And he started explaining it to me.

And I was like, he might not. He might not because of how, like Fitzpatrick and Hatten are locked in from a world ranking standpoint and all these crazy factors that are going in, it's really, really interesting. So is it, have you looked at, have you dug into it? Is it crazy to think that Paul Casey might not be on the team?

I think that's a little crazy. I did not rejoube's piece yet. I had it open today and I just didn't get to it. But that seems a little far fetched to me. You know, like, he's gonna address that in version two. He's gonna have it part two, I think, and just kind of talk about it. But it's, yeah, when he started talking about the world ranking, that's what I was going, oh, yeah, you're right. Like, yeah, Hatten is definitely gonna be on there because of world ranking.

Oh, yeah, if it's Patrick, definitely will because of world ranking. And I'm like, well, let's Paul Casey's world ranking. How is he not on there? Right. But it's a weird system. How they've kind of redone the system essentially. So Paul Casey can play on the team. So I would be very shocked if he's not on it.

Given, yeah, like given that Thomas Bjorn, and I believe Darren Clark, even before that, for 2016, we're adamant about reaching out to players. It wasn't just Paul Casey. I believe in 2016, if I'm not mistaken I believe Clark was also talking to players like like David Lane Murth and whatever and trying to get them to come back and play a little bit more So that they could still be eligible right so I mean given that they've made that much effort to get Casey You know to get him back over there. I don't think that that's it would be very strange to me that he wouldn't make the team

Just and it don't like again without having redjobs peace. My thought would be that they already have like nine, nine locks on the roster, right? So it's it's Rom Rose, Sergio, Fleetwood, Casey, Rory, Hatton, Stenson, and Norton. Like I'm pretty sure those nine are there. And then outside of that, you know, you've got, you've got a lot of really good players between Cabrera Bayo and Fitzpatrick, Mollenary. I wouldn't, like, Polter is kind of their lindering as well. He's back in the match play next week for the first time in a few years.

So that's, it's going to be a pretty stout, a stout team for sure. Yeah, it's crazy. It's going to be super interesting who, like, first guy out on that team is. I hadn't even thought about Polter. I know his play of recent years is not nearly up to his standard of his prime and his writer cup, but it's hard to ignore that guy's writer cup record. I don't know. I think it'd take a lot for him to actually make the team, but I hadn't even thought of

him. But oh, there's so much golf to be played. And we tossed around some names and like Pat and Kazayar's name came up and they're like, all right, that's, I think that's our sign that there's a lot more golf to be played. But it's what we're gonna do. We're gonna keep a keep an eye on it, keep caging it. What did you think of? It's good to, well, let me ask, was it good to have Johnny Miller back in your life today? Absolutely.

Right. Look, I, there was some, there were some tweets going around today about how he was a little rusty and he didn't have his best stuff today. And it's like, you know, sometimes he doesn't have as fast. Well, we know that this is a thing that's happened over the last few years. For me though, I was actually saying this to my brother the other day. The thing about Miller is that I actually used to just, I couldn't stand listening to him. Because I mean, he was, I always just thought that he was ridiculous, he was over the top, he was too difficult on the players. Basically, he forgot how hard it is to actually play the game at this level is what I always used to think. But now, I'm all in on him because he's actually so ridiculous that it's just an ender, it's just, he's a caricature of what he was, right?

I mean, he's so entertaining, he's so over the top, that is, I find it hard to not enjoy having him on the call. You know, the whole NBC crew, just as such, a really good job all week. I mean, I still feel like they're not using Faraday in the way that they should. I don't know what that is necessarily, but it feels like they're not utilizing him properly,

but otherwise, no, it was great to have Johnny back in the booth this way. I shouldn't forget that Faraday's on the broadcast and that's what happens almost every week. Oh, yeah, that's right. I have to have Faraday. I should probably use him more. I think it's totally fine to disagree with a lot of what Johnny says and still be appreciative for what he is. And that if you're, I don't know, if it give me Fowdo or Johnny Miller with a color commentary, it's not even, I don't know who you want with color commentary more than you would want Johnny. I mean, it's okay. Of course, he says some things we all laugh at.

Like he said, Roy had nitrous oxide and his muscles or something. What are you talking about? No one knows, but at the same time, if I'm talking and I hear Johnny talking, like if I'm in the room talking, I, I shut up to make sure I hear what he says because he says things that are worth listening to. Can not always write and something might get on your nerves, but man, we should be appreciative.

And not a popular take on Twitter. I was excited to have Johnny in there. Oh, God. And there today, and everyone's like, wait, why are you saying Johnny's the worst announcer? My man. No. I don't get it.

He's great. I mean, like, I, I, I don't get it. He's great. I mean, from an inside standpoint, I think he's been passed by Gary Koch on the NBC broadcast, and then Gary Koch is really good. On ultimately, I still think Paul Eisenhower is the best guy out there. Whenever, I know I've said this to you and to some other people in our chat that we have, but Fox to me still does the best job of any of the people who broadcast golf. And a lot of it is because of how good it is.

But no, Miller is just fine. I enjoy having them back. It always feels like a big event when he's there. I just wish that they would figure out a way to better utilize fairies. That's all. It's amazing too that we can say that Fox maybe is the best at covering golf,

considering how bad they were that first year and how hard we were all were on them So it comes from a place of love when we're critical, but absolutely Too many I don't have the counter on them. We didn't time it all but man too many commercials today. That was Yeah, I got it. I don't know. It's too late for this year. I know that They do all these stuff. So much stuff is playing out so far in advance and all that, but man, they've got to get something figured out in the commercial front. It loses so much rhythm. It's, it's, yeah. And I think that's more of a tour. And then on that as an NBC or CBS problem.

Yeah, I think it probably is as well. I mean, on top of that too, like, there are always, this week is always a little, a little more different because of all the Arnold Palmer stuff, which is fine. It's completely justified to have a lot of focus on him. But yeah, when you combine that with all the commercials, which is a big deal, I mean, it loses a lot of flow. I struggled with my balance on the Arnie Yeah. Arnie is not of my generation. I didn't get to see him play and I he didn't have the same effect on me as he's obviously

had on so many people. So my perspective really means kind of nothing on it from that regard. But and I understand that I'm one of the you know whatever percent of people that are tuning in and watching the entire broadcast. So I see the Arnie stuff repeatedly. But every year it does always feel like, man, we're doing another, another one, like another segment, like another one, like, yeah. We all know that how high of a regard he's held in and how much people appreciated him

and all of the wonderful stories about him. I just don't know if, you know, Sunday we need to cut to Jimmy Roberts and Peter Jacobs in a room telling a couple stories about Arnie. It's like, I don't know. Especially given the leaderboard that we had today and the way it was all, I mean, if it's five guys on the top of the leaderboard that people might not necessarily want to watch,

that's one thing. But no, you're right. It's a tough balance in after, right? I mean, they have to they have to pay they have to pay a lot of tribute to them because it's justified. It's completely just a lot. And people turn tune in because it's Arnie's tournament. So like some like people not necessarily from our generation, but definitely people do. And at the same time, if somebody tunes in to watch the last hour and they didn't see the three previous segments, like yeah, you need to show them something really

Donnie so I get all that but yeah I will say I got to play in the pro am on Wednesday with Sam Saunders that was Such a thrill it really was it was so cool. He is such a class act Obviously we talked about You know Arnie and all the effects he's had on his life and the the kid just totally gets it He just the so appreciative of of everything he's been given, he takes everything in stride, he's such a busy week, he's got speaking engagements and it just made him an equit and have handled things

with more class, he's out there directing traffic, picking out lines for us, reading puts and signing every single autograph, going out of his way to take pictures with people, it's probably his busy, I know he doesn't get that necessarily everywhere he goes and it's his week to really get it from growing up in the area and all that,

but he handled it so well. It was such a blast to play with him. It was an honor, honestly it was. That was one of the coolest golf experiences I've had. So. Did you see any of the early golf channel coverage today? Because he was doing some of the, he was in channel coverage today because he just he was doing some of the he was in the booth for a bit. I missed this. I missed this. How

was it? He was really good. He was really good and like and I believe it was Steve Sands at the time who would say you know you like you basically as he was signing off he's like you know you know you have a career in this if you really want to at some point like he was really good it was it was it was nice to hear he was like you said he has a different perspective than a lot of the other players too. But you know, he was really great on the era. So I mean, it's it's it was interesting to see him in that way too. Yeah, it was cool. Also played with Ben Rathasberg or who he duck hooked one so bad off the first he that I thought I thought he was like a 20 handy cap.

Like I was the first swing I saw him make He birdied four of the first four of the next five holes He I think he made seven birdies of the course the day. He swings at a hundred and twenty four miles an hour with a hundred eighty four ball speed And he drove a par four he was hitting sand wedges into par five See the guy absolutely murders the ball. He makes a lot of big numbers, but his game is quite impressive. I think that's all pretty much all I had from Bay Hill. Do you want to get to some listener questions? Sure. Ty Ogden says, do you think Big Cat brings out more of Rory?

I don't think so. I mean, it doesn't seem to make a ton of sense to me. I get where people are becoming from, right? If Rory may have been extra jacked up to play this week because he knew that Tyder was in the field, and that he knew that he was making a charge on the weekend and that he was going to be around. I just, I don't, I don't see it. I mean, I, Rory, Rory could have done this exact same thing if Tyder was, you know, sitting on his couch playing Call of Duty this week. Like, I don't know. It doesn't seem to me like, like, that makes a big difference to me. I don't know.

You, you might have more insight into that than me, but I don't think that that makes a ton of difference. I just found it interesting when I talked to him Tuesday. He was kind of like excited about. He's like, how about last week, man? I was pretty wild, huh? I was like, yeah, it's pretty exciting stuff. And I made a comment to him, like, yeah, you know,

obviously it was kind of cool to see all the pros that were kind of rooting for him. But part of me is kind of like, guys, I mean, I don't know if it doesn't have an effect on him, but I don't know if you necessarily want to be rooting for him. And this might be like a very real thing that's very, and he kind of brushed it off like, no, I'm not worried about Tiger.

You know what I mean? He wasn't intimidated, which is the right attitude to have. And I guess that's not like shocking news, but he's kind of like, no, come on, this is really cool for the game. And just for that, he was that steadfast about being really excited that about Tiger being back was kind of cool and how he was still,

and this was again, but obviously for one, it's still so confident in himself and almost unfazed by anything that anybody was saying about his game or anything like that. So I just, I found that interesting that he was kind of like, no, I'm just like this. It's fun, but it has been really interesting to see the reaction from from the other players. When he's been playing well the last few weeks, you'll sit on Twitter, as I'm sure I sit on Twitter and I'm watching the term as I'm sure you do, and you'll see the reactions from the other players that you follow who aren't either in the tournament or who missed the card or whatever. Players like Terrell Hatton, who's 14th or 15th in the world world and he's tweeting about how great it is to watch Tiger play well

And it's like it's a surreal thing to like all these guys like they're they're around our age or younger and they all watch Tiger the way We did right and it's like you know they're getting to see this they're getting to see this again for the you know And probably in the way that they didn't think they would either so it's been kind of cool to see their reactions to it It's amazing that you could you can still as a Canadian still root for Tiger Woods after what he did to Stephen Ames. It's I admire you for it. It's really it's really it's edible. Hey listen, one of his best shot ever might be and might be right near my backyard out of that bunk right one. His best shot ever was the first t-shot against even aims that day when he drove the green and twirl the biggest club troll you could ever imagine Gavin he has an at-time is ill-matic kind of cool name

It's Jordan's speed currently relevant Yeah, let's not let's not he didn't play this week one like no, and we weren't ready to ring the alarm bells last week on him. Look, I mentioned this right off the top. There are probably 10 to 15 players in the world that you should never actually worry about. If somebody has a span where they're just awful for an entire year, then it might be time to start thinking about these things. But until Spieth goes on some kind of run where he's missing cuts every week or whatever, I'm not worried about him at all. I think he's going to be just fine. And as you've said, I believe you have him one in what nine, 10, 11 green jackets or something like that.

I mean, it, yeah, I mean, it's, he's gonna be just fine. And if he wins in a couple of weeks, and no one's gonna be shocked. I mean, along the same lines, the date 89 ask of speed is still my pick for the masters. And that answer is yes. I'm staying with it. I don't change, I make my picks and do you hear? And I don't change them. I stick with it.

No. I'll say it probably in five more podcasts leading up to the masters that he's there's something about him in that place that makes me makes me make that pick. So if I were to change it, it would be for JT because I think JT is quite confident he's going to win the master some pretty sure. Well, I mean, look, I actually don't think I've made a pick at any point over the last little while. It's hard for me to kind of go away from Justin Rose at this point. I don't know.

It's kind of strange, but I'll say this though, I mean if Rory's going to do anything similar to what he did today, then he's going to win by 10. So, I mean, it's hard to, it's hard for me to go away from Justin Rose at this point, but Rory was always built for that place. So, um, not gonna be surprised if he does it. Take me to Augusta now. Let's do this now. Yes. I'm excited for the match play though.

Um, Brian Evansson says, is this the most difficult year in history to qualify for either Red or Cup team? Aye. That's a good question. I don't know enough about history to say it, but in my lifetime, it certainly seems that way for both teams. It, you know what, it feels that way. You know, you get to, I mean, as I'm sure, you've gone over in your head repeatedly, you know, for, you know, things like the 2004,

2000 search rider cup team or whatever, like those teams were historically bad American teams, right? You know, and then even like the 2016, 2016 European team, you would say is probably not, you know, the best team that they've been able to put out, even the 2014 European and American teams, right? Like you look at some of the players that are on, are on those teams, you know, like no offense to some of these guys, but like, have you thought about Stephen Gallacher

since he played there? Like, have you, like, Jamie Donaldson, you know, hit one of the, one of the shots of the tournament that year, but like, he hasn't really done much since. Victor Dubuison hasn't really done much at all since either. You know, then, you know, looked at some of the American guys,

like, I think Mayhan was on that team, Webb was on that team. So, I mean, it's, it, it, it I mean, it strikes me that it seems like, you know, again, maybe these guys were, maybe these guys were looked upon differently than I recall back then, but it feels like these are the deepest rosters that I can remember in a long time. How dare you besmudge the name of Brett Wetterich. I'm offended. No, it definitely does.

And it's, I don't know, I'd love doing the exercise of this guy was on that team. It's crazy. Even guys on the 16 team are like, all right, we can definitely scratch that name off. You're not going to be on the 18 team. But here's a good one from Ginger. Go ahead. There was, there was, there was talk, if you recall, back in 2014, I believe, of if Bernhard Langer was actually good enough to make that European team.

I think he was in 16, even, wasn't it? Maybe it was in 16, who knows? I mean, he's maybe it could be this year, who knows? That might be why the US won that one, because there maybe Bernhard Langer was a candidate for it. Ginger Sports asked, what's happening with smiley cough in this year and other terrible performance and a miscut? What's happening with Smiley Kauf in this year, another terrible performance and a miscut?

I was looking this up randomly the other day. And it seems like he's got, he's on some kind of run where he's like, he's posted tournaments in the 80s, rounds in the 80s and like four of his last five starts or something, like it's so strange. I don't know, it's really bizarre. I mean, I would have thought,

I don't know what, was he worked upon as like one of these up-and-coming players that we should have been paying a ton of attention to? I'm trying to wrap my head around it to be perfect. Yeah. I know that he wasn't supposed to be some spieth, rory level kind of guy, but he was supposed to be better some, you know, speed, rowy level, like kind of guy, but like he was supposed to be better than that.

So try and wrote about this in our mail bag as well. And Ryan Lavender has a great piece also in the golf channel, just about talking to Smiley and getting some answers as to what's going on. But no, he was not projected to be a great player. He had a great year, a senior, I believe he was, he was first team all American when he was a senior, but was averaging essentially 74, 75 in several seasons leading up to that.

And one on the Web tour when he came out and then got hot and won in Vegas and still has his exemption from that. I mean, if you remember, he was the final group of the Masters in 2016. Yeah, I think it was. Yeah. And has not been the same since then. So no, he was not this kind of top caliber player. He gets put in this bet this bucket because of obviously the guys he goes on spring. Which is, you know, that's a, that's a golf media production

that more so than it is a, you can fault him for it. But he was pretty open and honest with with Lavender about stuff he's working on. And I mean, he's lost it pretty, it's very badly. I mean, it's going very poorly. I don't know. I look at it though and just kind of think I respect him for going out there, like holding his head high and facing it, knowing that, you know, people are snickering, people are saying things and he hears it the crowd and whatnot. And he's, you know, still out there grinding at it.

And it plus just makes you appreciate the guys that are able to compete weekend and week out for how hard the game is. Like it just shows you that professionals lose it just as fast as you know, you could play a great round one day and lose your swing the next day. Like that's how it works with some professionals as well. I just, I don't know, I think people,

I don't know, I see people like adding him on Twitter and like talking about shit talking is, don't, it's, man, like the guy's going through some struggles. Obviously he wants to play better. I don't know. It's such a, it's such a, it's a tough part of the game. It's tough to watch somebody go through it. It's a guy, it's a really nice guy.

Guy I definitely root for. And really just kind of see things turned around for him. So, if anyone listen to this is one of those people, don't be one of those people. Don't add on. I mean, yeah. It'll be, I think he'll come out of it. He's shown some flashes and then it just disappears.

But I mean, it's all aspects of his game are a big struggle right now. But I felt more optimistic after listening to a reading labner's piece. So, do you pick out any other questions? Yeah, so there was one that was interesting here about, basically, if we could pick our ideal groups, our last few groups at Augusta.

I mean, then we might have already kind of covered on that, but did you have any thoughts on that? Yeah, like I said, it's one of the, kind of the more ridiculous feeling things to do every year leading up to it. Like, of course, we want Tiger, we want Phil and all that, but now, again, things are trending the way they are. It's kind of like, yeah, like, let's, let's power this.

I'd love to, but it's, I mean, obviously it's going to be Tiger one. I think, I think Phil too, I think a tiger Phil show down in their 40s would be, it would be fascinating. And but I mean, among the young guys, Rory's the, I think the most intriguing. And then yeah, we haven't even, we barely talked about DJ on this podcast. Barely, we talked a little bit of SP. We barely talked about JT. I don't, I think Rose just gets criminally overlooked by myself. We barely talked about DJ on this podcast. Barely we talked a little bit of speed. We barely talked about JT.

I think Rose just gets criminally overlooked by myself by everyone. That guy is so freaking good. And he's just because he's not the longest and he's not the sexiest name or whatnot. Like it would surprise me none if he was right up there in contention too. So, oh, I don't know.

I mean, I'm super pumped for these Texas events and all this stuff leading right up to it, man. I'm really, really fired up for it. So. There's also, I don't have the name off hand, but somebody that asked, do you think golf will do a made for TV prime time event this year and acts like battle at the bid corn?

If so, who would play and what was the format? I think we've made, you and I maybe you discussed this on this pod. I think those events are kind of dead. They were kind of they were cash grabs back in the day when you know tournament persons were still growing and a lot of things were getting figured out. I don't think people would really watch it as much as we think that they would. I don't and I don't I just don't see the production cost that go into it and lining up a sponsor for that. And I mean, part of, part of what makes tournaments appealing for sponsors and whatnot is that they can, you know,

bring clients to them and, you know, play in pro-AMS and have amazing opportunities for networking and whatnot. And that doesn't really exist for a sponsor of one night prime time event. So, I don't know. I'd be surprised if it ever came back. I know they tried to revive it with Ricky and Rory and that got canceled. Like, I got canceled for probably for a reason. I don't know what it is, but I mean, that's kind of assigned to me that that's, that's not going to, not going to, not going to come back.

So, um, get some, get some wolf. That would be interesting. If you want to do like a half baked idea, we got a few of those. But Tucker Blankenship asked a good question. Rank the closing stretch of holes of the three Florida events. Thank you, Bay Hill, for not naming your closing stretch. Just thank you so much. Yeah, no thank you.

Yeah, Bay Hill's is pretty exciting. Bay Hill's the best exciting. They give you the birdie best. It's exciting. Like Bay Hills. They give you the birdie hole. Yeah. It's one of the best birdie holes on tour. And they tough part three coming back

and a pretty tough part for as well finishing hole. So that, that's a good litmus test, I think. It's like, you get one last little go out of here on 16 now, figure it out coming in on 17, 18. That's probably my favorite, I would think. Just because it's a good make. I mean, like, in this book is tougher, right? Yeah would think. Just because it's a good, I mean, like, Innisfrick is tougher, right?

Yeah, the bear trap is not, I mean, I should, I should, I should, the closing stretch of the Honda is not that interesting to me. I mean, just because it's kind of carnage. I mean, they do finish with the birdie hole there. That's a good, good finishing hole, but I think Bay Hill's probably the best, right? Yeah, no, it is by far.

All right, on that note, that's an hour. Sarsson, thanks for your Sunday night. I got my mountaineers here tipping off here in three minutes. So I was trying to, I was trying to run this up as close as I could before, uh, before that happened. So I got a hope if they lose this game, well, it's, well, already this podcast already be out by the time that's over. Uh, my family is going to be quite divided between West Virginia and Marshall. It's going to be it's going to be ugly. So I'm a little nervous right now. So I'm ready to get it going. So I'm sorry. I appreciate

the time, buddy. And we'll speak soon. And let's enjoy the match play. I'm excited. We even talked about the match play, but it's going to be a good week. Okay. All right, buddy. Take it easy, man. Cheers. Nice one. Let's get it right club. Feed a right club today. Yes! That is better than most.

How about in? That is better than most. Better than most. Better than most.