OverDrive - Sands on Spaun's incredible win at the U.S. Open, his next steps in golf and McIlroy's uncharacteristic stint

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

Golf Channel Commentator Steve Sands joined OverDrive to discuss the U.S. Open's headlines, the entertainment factor of Oakmont Country Club, J..J. Spaun's impressive putt to win the tournament and his emergence on the course, Rory McIlroy's conundrum with outside noise and more.

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Here's a man that was down at Oakmont all week. We saw him just about a week and a half ago up at TPC Toronto. Here's our main man Steve Sands from NBC and the Golf Channel. How we doing, Sanze? Oh fellas, it's so good to talk to you. So good to hear your voices and let's get Edmonton a win tomorrow night. Yes. And send this puppet a seven, baby. I agree.

I want seven. I want to see a game seven. Who doesn't want to see a game seven? I'll say the same thing about the NBA finals. I want to see a game seven. Who doesn't want to see a game seven? I'll say the same thing about the NBA finals. I want to see game sevens. I don't have a dog in a fight. I just want to see entertainment. In terms of the entertainment value of this US Open, rank it between from one to ten. How would you rank this in terms of entertainment value that the US Open just supplied? rank this in terms of entertainment value that the US Open just supplied? You know, did it have the biggest names in the world on the leaderboard yesterday?

No. But I thought the drama of the last hour and a half, the craziness of the USGA and some of their rulings and non-rulings and blowing the horn and not blowing the horn and you know, somehow the USGA tends to just get itself in trouble and you know they did some goofy stuff yesterday Sam Burns just got to get a drop out of that water I mean my god and they should have called to play a little bit before they did and they probably should have called to play after they did but having said that it's fair for everybody or unfair for everybody depending on how you

look at it and I don't know man. I thought it was pretty darned intense Okay, and see I think their slogan was we don't want to punish the best players We just want to identify them Do you think that was accomplished or do you think that they identified the guys that played the best for the last day? The whole tournament like how do you break that down? You know it I think it's a little bit of both. If two things can be true at once, O'Dog, I think that if you are watching the best players in the world get punished for missing fairways and missing greens and, you know,

putting up big sideways crooked numbers that they normally don't do week in, week out on the PGA Tour, then you thoroughly enjoyed what you saw the last four days. If you also saw some of the goofy stuff that goes on at a US Open every single time and that includes some of the non rulings like I said Sam Burns should have gotten a drop and that was ridiculous. That guy looked like a parking guy that handed out parking tickets in the fairway, just a creepy ploy. He just said, no, you're not doing it and walked away. Like that was crazy, Sanze.

It was ridiculous. And by the way, credit to, I mean, I'm a really easy going guy, but credit to Sam Burns, because if that would have happened to me in that position, he was going to win the US Open for goodness sakes. If that would have happened to me, I would have gone full fledged George Brett pine tar there. I would have gone bananas, you know, if that was the ruling. And by the way, side note to that, you guys heard the word bifurcation when it comes to golf. Talk about that all the time. Why is it that golf's the only sport where

amateurs are giving rulings to the pros? Why do the pros play under the same rules that the four of us play under, the three of us play under, the audience plays under? It's insanity that amateurs are making the rules for the pros and the pros have to follow what the amateurs say and do. I find that fascinating, but there are two things that can be true at once. There were some goofy stuff that went on because it was a US Open. That's what always happens at a US Open. But there was also some, you know, some punishing great things that happened

because that's also what happens each and every year at a US Open. Well and that's what brings us to JJ Spahn who ends up under par the only player in the tournament under par birdie 17 birdies 18 a miraculous fashion with that putt it was just incredible launches him into you know the the golf world the sporting world likely launches him onto the American team at the Ryder Cup like where Like where do you see this going for him? Because you know, the players, he was right there, he had it, he had a chance to win it on the 72nd hole,

he just came up short in that putt at Sawgrass, was unbelievably nervous against McElroy the next day in that playoff, like unbelievably nervous. And then just kind of faded back into the tour, and now he's won the US Open. So where do you see Spahn taking this of us and then just kind of faded back into the tour and now he's won the US Open. So where do you see Spahn taking this in the next two or three years? I always find it fascinating no matter what the sport, including the individual sports

like tennis and golf, that you have to kind of get punished and hurt and heartbroken before you actually do something amazing. So we started by talking about hockey and the Edmonton Oilers, hopefully, you know, winning tomorrow night and getting us a game seven. Maybe they learn from that game at seven experience and they come back home next year, this time a year later and win the Stanley Cup. Well, JJ Spahn, he learned something from how he played at TPC Sawgrass. He was better than anybody in the field at TPC Sawgrass after 72 holes except Rory

McIlroy who tied him didn't beat him but tied him and then he slept on the playoff the next morning and he looked really really nervous. He didn't look nervous yesterday. He bogeyed five of the first six holes and everybody including us thought that's it for JJ Let's wipe him off the list and everybody else now has a chance. Well, he shot three under on the back nine he birdied the last two holes and Never lost his poise never lost his poise and to me that's an athlete learning and becoming more confident based upon a previous big spot that he was in and he

failed it and he was heartbroken after the players but he's not heartbroken now because he came up money and I I think JJ spawn like you said is gonna be on the Ryder Cup team or as he should be. And I also think that, you know, who knows this could propel him to great things. He seems like a U S open type of guy. Ratif Goosen one, two Lee Jansen one, two Andy North one, two. You know, I don't think JJ Spahn is going to win 10, 12, 14 events in his PGA tour career, but I could see him contending at the at the at a US Open again. I certainly could because of the way he strikes the golf ball and he's always in play. It's

amazing to watch him strike a golf ball and when the putter cooperates like it did at the players until the playoff and like it did this past week and his mindset now has that confidence knowing he can get to the finish line. I think good things could happen to JJ Spahn, but I don't think by any means he's about to go become some amazing Hall of Fame player. He's a great, great player on the PGA Tour though. Sanzi, where do you think Scottie goes with his putting? I think you would agree that if he putted a lick he probably wins that trophy It's like everything happened for him to make a Sunday comeback

But he just like is he gonna go with the the left-handed Bernhard Langer broomstick next week or what are we gonna? Not I don't have the yips just yet. Although the putting does waiver from time to time You know, did you guys think when he birdied 17, got to three over, which basically eliminated John Rahm who was in at four over, that he was gonna birdie 18 and post two over and then see what happens? I was thinking, wow, this guy go, wow, this cat's got a chance. I can't believe it. I think that his putting, you know, is it a deficiency? No, but it's just not as good as his short game. It's not as good as his iron play.

It's not as good as his driving. But I don't think it's a deficiency by any means, like JJ Spahn, although I'm not comparing the two by any means. But when Scottie is putting just a little bit, I'm not talking about getting hot. I'm just talking about throwing it in the microwave and warming it up. He's gonna be on leaderboards and he was on the leaderboard You know yesterday late if he would have done anything with his putting the first three and a half days

I agree with you. I think he probably would have won but Scott he'll be fine. He'll go back recalibrate play this week And probably it He'll win in Hartford. And probably, he'll probably win. But I think, I think Scott is going to be just fine. I don't think he and his confidence are wavering at all right now just because he didn't win yesterday. With Steve Sands. And then there's Rory Mca roy who had the most triumphant moment of his career in life you know at augusta national and justin unbelievable scene build up the way in

in a playoff the holes the whole scene was just incredible and then he shows up here last week osprey valley and effectively look like he wanted to be anywhere else on birth and went out and you know throws a seventy eight on the board on Friday and gets out of here shows up at the US Open miraculously makes the cut but then his presser on Saturday was asked you know like what are you thinking tomorrow and he goes I hope hopefully around an under four and a half hours so I can get out of here like

giving off this kind of vibe and attitude like he just had no interest in playing and it was a formality And he had to but if he could have opted out he would have Everyone has a different theory on what's up with this guy and why it's turned to this kind of disinterested slash Well, he's the other kicker comment was I've earned the right to do whatever whatever I want. Yes That was in large part to you know speak with the media and and all the different obligations to come with the in rory mccroy what is your you know thesis on

why we're seeing in hearing what we're seeing in hearing from rory mccroy do you guys and i mean it sincerely do you guys cover a lot of college football uh... there are not a ton of years. No, so down here, you know I mean the NFL is number one and college football is number two as far as ratings and popularity There's this very famous phrase Nowadays with the way things go on in college sports That a kid opts out of his bowl game because he wants to get ready for the draft He doesn't want to get hurt that kind kind of thing. But the phrase is always opt out.

So you, you, you just use the phrase opt out. Doesn't it seem like he wants to opt out of 2025 and we'll see in January. That's what it seems like. You know, when we were in Toronto with you guys, you know, I was like, man, is he even interested in being here? And then last week he said, after he made the cut on Friday, when he finally spoke to the media, I thought it was interesting that he said among the things that you guys both talked about that you know it's pretty good to make the cut for somebody who wasn't really that interested

in actually being here on the weekend and then I was like whoa and you know that kind of I'm paraphrasing but that kind of thing and look he spent his whole life with one goal to be a Grand Slam champion, to win all four major championships, to be the best player in the world. He's achieved everything that you could possibly achieve in this sport and it just happened in April and unlike the other five guys who won the career Grand Slam, it took Rory 11 times. So it took him forever to get there and now he can finally exhale in that regard as far as winning the career Grand Slam. What's interesting to me about what Rory's going through right now is I remember in 2001 when David Duvall was the best player in the world and he won the Open Championship at

Royal Lytham in San Hanse and after he won he was number one in the world and he was a major champion. A few weeks later, I remember seeing him and David's a very bright guy, like Rory, well read, like Rory, has other interests in life, like Rory. And I'm not comparing the two, but I'm just saying they're very similar in those regards. And David said, after being number one in the world and after winning a major he said is this it? Like what else is there? And wow I thought I was gonna feel different when I accomplished these things. So maybe Rory's just kind of going through a

little bit of a funk right now. Now he's too great of a player to play this poorly. He did shoot 67 yesterday by the way And he's too nice of a guy and too bright and insightful to seem so disinterested and not wanting to share his thoughts and talk when he knows so many people are interested in what he has to say and what he's thinking. So I'm going to give him a little bit of a pass right now, but he's got to talk to the media he's got to be professional in that regard and he's got to get out of this little funkies in or else it's gonna be a long haul for him he's a young man he's his mid-30s you know he's got a long way to go I think he just needs to recalibrate I'm really

fast and I'm sure we'll speak when we're over at the Open Championship in a few weeks at Royal Port Rush. That's his home country, his hometown, you know, right near Hollywood's Northern Ireland where he grew up. If he doesn't speak to the media there and have a great attitude there, then there's nowhere in Major Championship Golf where he's going to have a great attitude and want to be there. So I'm curious to see what it's going to be like next month for him him but he needs to snap out of it pretty quickly that's ancy quickly before we get you out of here I'd like to throw something at you that Brian brought up earlier in the show the Caps next season miss the

playoffs what are your thoughts on that? What are you talking about? Give me a break I mean it's the ghost ghost of tide only in wendell clark gotten into your guys it's sex you know it's just one size we we gotta talk about possibly it's a lot of you know i was building a lot of the thing that they're going to keep it going to get a little so we don't you know we didn't even in the past year that

we don't live in the past yet well i mean you know i'll still pepsi's on computers either well we don't live in the past. Well, I mean, you know, I don't spill Pepsi's on computers either. What are we doing? Allegedly it was you, Fancy. Talking about. Yeah, all right. Hit the best record in hockey other than Winnipeg. Yeah.

They got to the second round. They got their butts kicked by a better team in Carolina. What the Caps need to do is get faster and they need to get up and down the ice like I'm watching these two teams right now get up and down the ice. I mean, nobody gets up and down the ice like Edmonton, but the caps will be fine I'm give me a break. Okay, I'm worried about that Daniels in the sophomore slump too, man I'm worried about the Daniels

We'll check in with you in week three and talk about a Daniels Sanze. You guys need to worry about the Argonauts We did they're all in two men. They're not off to a good start. You're right, Sanze. They still have the Rouge? Yes, they do. The Rouge is ours, man. We love the Rouge. 900 yards long. What are they doing up there? That's a different game, man. It's a different ballgame up here. I actually, I enjoy watching the CFL. I'm a big fan of the sports fan fan as you guys know, I'm the wackos sportsman I love watching late night CFL man. It's great. There's it's off and running now. We're already two weeks in it's it's a beautiful thing up here I am where I'm more worried about the commanders in year two because defensive coordinators now have tape on Jaden and that offense and Now they can hunker down and know exactly what they're gonna get from this kid Sophomore slumps are a real thing in the NFL because coaches are so good But the caps will be okay. The caps will be okay. Yeah, okay. Not great Man, there's actually could be that could be very good. I think so man day. They got Debo now Daniels is a stud

I I think I think you're gonna be alright down there Sanzi. we appreciate you doing this as always buddy we'll do it again soon I love you guys I hope I talk to you late night from a pub at the harbor you know the harbor in and the ass rush next month and we'll have a good time you got it dial it in thanks Sanzy I felt you guys be good there is Steve Sands of NBC in the Gulf Channel Hey this is Ruby Carr the host of the podcast, Encore. You know how some artists grow to kind of hate their big hit? This is one of those stories, but I promise, still a likable one.

Tune in this week to Encore, the stories behind the songs you love, or the incredible story of Vanessa Carlton's 2002 hit, A Thousand Miles. I recorded the episode while riding a piano around New York City. Not really, that would be cool though. Listen to Encore on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts for stories behind all the songs you love.