The Herd with Colin Cowherd - GoLow Golf:  LIV’s TV Debut Review, Arnold Palmer Best Bets, Mailbag

Episode Date: March 1, 2023

John jumps from the gridiron to the links for his weekly PGA pod as the tour moves to Bay Hill and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He discusses the good and bad from LIV Tour’s TV debut on the CW, and previews the Arnold Palmer Invitational field and best bets with Action Network’s Jason Sobel. He also answers listener questions in the GoLow Mailbag. Follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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John Middell Cup, back again. Here is the drill. I got a couple takes off the top. Some thoughts on the live golf, the CW, everything that transpired. Watch a decent amount of it. Not going to lie. The Honda and leading in, which wasn't very good beside the last couple holes, leading into these next two weeks.

We got Bay Hill elevated event Then obviously the players Which is a massive event So fun week Not obviously just to watch But to gamble on We'll have Sobel come on Talk some gambling

He's at Bay Hill So talk what it feels like out there He just got there Will Tiger play next week Is a big question mark We'll probably know by Friday When he tweets something out Good or bad

And at Golop pod Is the Instagram account I put up golf content up there give some takes, throw up some BS, bullshit about golf, try to post some of my own playing of golf. That's where you get on the mailbag. We do a mailbag after Sobel every single week. At Golopod is the Instagram.

Fire in those DMs and get your question. It's separate from my other Instagram for three and out. At Golopod, easy to find, and get in on it, ask a question if you got one, and let's talk some golf. Can I tell you about my friends at game time? Live golf in a couple weeks is right. down the road for me in Tucson, Arizona, where the University of Arizona is, I am on the fence

about going. The only reason I might not is because NFL free agency is that weekend, but if I do go, I will go through my friends at game time. And I'll go to game time. I'll download the app. That's what you should do. Go to your smartphone. Type in the promo code, John, that's J-O-H-N, any event you want to go to sports events, basketball games, baseball games, hockey games, or concerts. You want to go to a comedy show, take someone, I got a discount for you. $20 off. promo code John, that's my name, J-O-H-N. When you download the GameTime app, sign up, first-time users, get $20 off tickets to any event. Do it on me. I'm trying to help you out here. I got your back. Want you to have fun. Get out of the house. Go enjoy something. Get a little sunlight. Springtime's right around the

corner depending on where you live. It might be here. So download the GameTime app, promo code John tickets to any event. Sporting event, comedy, concerts. I got you covered. Okay, before we dive into Bay Hill and some of my thoughts on this upcoming week, in two weeks we got the players. It's a good little stretch here of golf and the Masters isn't that far away. So this is a fun time. You know, we have a little dull run right after the West Coast swing when we go to the Honda. But now with the elevated events, Bay Hill, obviously the players is massive. Then the Masters and then it gets fun.

I wanted to dive in on Live because I had some people hit me up in DMs. Listen, I'm not some PGA tour homer. And I'm not like rooting for live. I'm kind of indifferent. I like a lot of the guys on the PGA tour. And I'm a Tiger Wood stand. So I roll with them. But like,

I'm a consumer. And I thought once they announced that they were going to the CW, I thought it was really dumb. I'm like, it's so easy for me as a television watcher or a guy with his iPad or always buy his computer to consume you on YouTube. And I found that I was wrong. Because when I went to,

I have YouTube TV in my office. And obviously the algorithms for YouTube know that I watch a lot of sports. So when I go to my home page, what popped up on Friday was the Honda, which was on Golf Channel, and right next to it was Myacoba at the CW. Right. And then when I went to where I live, our cable is Comcast. And right next to NBC come Saturday and Sunday was the CW and these guys playing. So from a ease to access it, it was a lot different than I thought.

For some reason, in my mind, I thought the CW was some throwaway channel. And it obviously is because most of us do not watch it. But in terms of if you have YouTube TV, it was very easy to access. And if you have basic cable, it's literally right next to NBC, especially with Comcast. So I will give them credit might be the wrong word, but I thought it was moronic to leave YouTube TV. and honestly seeing it this week, not YouTube TV, but just on YouTube, I didn't think it was that crazy.

Now, ultimately, they were just replaying their own ads. Like, a lot of the ads during Live Golf was their own shot commercials, which I understand, hard to sell inventory. But, like, I understood it when I was watching it on TV. And I also, it hit me. Now, I guess they did this last year, that putting their events up against the non-elps, elevated, non-star studded events on the PGA tour is a pretty smart move.

You could say it's an easy, no-brainer move, but they are doing it correctly. They've put it on television, which like I said, if you have Comcast, if you have YouTube TV, my brother has Hulu, and he said he could not find it. So that's a problem. Like you got to get on the Hulu, Disney, and maybe that's because of ESPN Plus. You know, they were not going to show it. I don't know all the details. And the ratings came out, NBC over the weekend.

you know, like did 1.6 and 2.4 relative to like $300,000 or 300,000 people on the CW, which makes sense. You do know why the NFL is king. One, it has the most people watching. But two, it's on the easiest to access channels. NBC is the most watched channel in America. Pretty sure CBS is right behind it. I would imagine Fox is number three or ABC. So most people watch those channels.

you know, is archaic as it sounds to some of us younger people when sports are not on. Like I would never watch ABC or CBS or NBC non-sports. But when sports are on, they get inflated values because so many people watch. Because the Honda, let's face it, beside the last couple holes, was a pretty irrelevant golf tournament. I follow golf. I put myself in like the top two or three percent. And that did nothing for me, especially, and part of this was my own fault. I was going to put a bet on Harris English and Davis Riley.

But on the West Coast swing, you were able to wake up for me in Mountain Time Zone at like 6.37 o'clock and place a bet before they teed off at 8 or 9 on Thursday. Well, obviously when they're at Florida, by the time I get up at 6.30, it's 8.30 there and the group's already teed off and the odds have already changed. So I was late to the draw on that one. Got to adapt when they change venues on different time zones. but I do think he's on to something by putting it against these events that are only going to be way worse now that the elevated events are so skewed and have so much money and the top guys are all going to gravitate toward it. And even the middle tier guys, if they do well in that event, will potentially skip some of these random events. Now, Chris Kirk, who won the Honda, skipped Rive because he wanted to prepare for this event where he thought he had a much better chance of having success. he was proven right because he won the event against some random guy I've never heard of

in with the last name Cole. Honestly, never heard of the guy. And I think these events, the only thing the PJ tour has in these random, the Honda now, John Deere, whatever's going to turn out to be the events that no one actually cares about is the drama on Sunday and gambling. Like gambling on live is much more difficult. And here is one main issue for live because if DJ, if Cam Smith, and Bryson would have been dueling it out with Charles Howell and Uline and Graham McDowell over the

weekend, I would have been really, really dialed. Now, I paid attention, but I wouldn't say I was dialed because it was a bunch of random guys I didn't care about. When you invest a ton of money, as Liv did, now, ultimately they have an unlimited amount of money. But still, in this endeavor, they took $2 billion and they invested a large percentage of that money up front to these players. Now, ultimately, how they're going to get played or paid, like is DJ or Phil getting $150 million, $200 million check? Or is it paid in installments over the years? I don't know. But clearly, they allocated the most resources to Dustin Johnson, obviously Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Kepka,

and I would imagine Cam Smith after he won the British Open at St. Andrews. So if I've invested, let's just pick a random number, $700 million into five guys, partly because they are the most famous guys. Phil is obviously the oldest, not as good anymore, but the other guys have won majors, have been top golfers in the last five, six years on the PGA tour. I need them in the mix. Now, the hard part about sports is this is not the WWE. This is not a scripted television show. Ultimately, I know Aaron Foster made the joke, but you got to go out and make plays. You got to go out and strike someone out. You got to go out and make birdies. So it's on the players get it done, but they need the top guys, which they invested the most money in, and rightfully so,

those guys deserve the most money to play the best. And right now, like, it also hit me. They don't have access to the sweet courses, right? Just go around the country where they're playing this weekend, the players, the Phoenix Open, all the course in Southern California, you just go throughout the country. The major venues are not going to allow live to play their events there. One, they're in bed with the PGA tour. And two, they just don't want, they don't need anyone's money. So last year when they went to Pumpkin Ridge, the course up in Portland, they were able to pay for the course. And I'm pretty sure I read that they bought the, like the parking lot next door for their own use as well, because money can buy you a lot of places. But in this sport,

where a lot of the elite courses have an unlimited amount of money, money only goes so far when they don't need your cash. So they have no access to some of the sweeter courses. Well, They're playing Myakoba, which historically is a lower level PGA tour event, a guy like Bryson, assuming he's on, he wouldn't play there to begin with. His game doesn't really suit there. So they're going to play a lot of these second, third tier courses, and it's not going to suit some of their big dogs. Like, I had to take watching, I watched Dustin Johnson play a couple holes and eventually pumped a couple in the trees, whatever. It can be a challenging course. And I thought, I looked at his master's odds.

They were like 25 to 1. I'm like, if Dustin Johnson was playing on the PGA tour, he'd be one of the best five or six players on the PJ tour. And his odds to win the masters would be like 13 to 1. Instead, they're like 25 to 1. That's incredible value. But it's hard to judge how good Dustin Johnson is when he's playing half the, this field is pretty random and older guys. And how much is he really trying? I don't know.

Now, when it comes to the majors, I expect him to not only try, but be pretty good. But they need him to be good in these events with Bryson, with Kepka. I know it's a long shot, but it'd be nice if Phil was in the top five in one of these events eventually, because if he's not like his name recognition and his stardom's kind of going to wear off. Now, you're never going to compete in the next several years against NBC or CBS when they have one of these random events. They just get way more viewers. We both could show the same show. It could just be me talking for an hour.

And you could put it on CBS and you could put it on CW, the exact same show. and the CBS would 25 exit. So it's not going to be a fair fight. But their product is not going to differentiate if they don't get the top dogs, which they invested playing well, and in the mix in all these tournaments. Because if it's not the case,

as someone that loves the sport and wants to watch it, I'm going to be indifferent to it. And if I'm indifferent to it, then the random fan is. And that, to me, is his biggest uphill battle, which is something Norman and the Saudis can't really control. because watching the Honda, like the last couple holes were cool, but beside that, unless you had one of the guys in the mix to top five, top 10,

or win the tournament, who cares? It doesn't really matter. And now a tournament that does matter because of these elevated events, because of the amount of money, and because of the strength of field. Now, however we want to, you know, equate the strength of field, OWGR, just fucking look at the names. The best players are playing in this event.

Now, John Rom is getting Tiger Woods-like treatment. He's 6 to 1 to win. this thing. Now, you could argue that's crazy, but he's won tournaments before at 6, 7 to 1. And if he's on, he can probably win anywhere at any time right now. John Rom's already won this year, right? A couple times. Max Homa's already won. Scotty Schephler's already won. It's like kind of time for Rory to do something in these next couple weeks. Like, it'd be nice if Rory also rattles off a W, either this weekend or the next weekend the players before the Masters. So we get some all the top players, which I know Max Homa

technically is not a top. four player, but like, don't get a twisted. He's playing better than Max, you know, Justin Thomas or Colin Moracawa. Like Max Homa, right now currently, if you had to put money on a player, is one of the first five players you would gamble on playing in a golf tournament. So those guys have already taken care of business. Their game speaks for itself. Scotty Schaeffer goes to the Phoenix Open. Like, oh, he can't win back to back. No, he wins back to back. And he takes out Rom, right? Takes out Patrick Cantley, takes out Nick Taylor, which kind of a fun, little story, but like, time for Roy to do something.

You know, if we're going to, and I thought coming into this season, Roy's going to win a major, just like John Rom's going to win a major. It would be nice to see Rory get it done here in the States right now, this week or next week. I think there is some tangible pressure on him to kind of parlay what was last year into right now, into these next seven, eight days, maybe even a long, 10 days, right? Bay Hill and Sawgrass. It would be exciting to watch Rory be in one of the final groups,

either Saturday or Sunday. I'm not necessarily expecting it. I'm not going to bet on him these next couple weeks, but I'm rooting for it as a fan. Let's dive into Sobel. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The midway point of the NBA season is here, and now is the perfect time to download

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1-800-5-2-4700. Wyoming. Visit www.1-800 gambler.net, West Virginia. Okay, after a little week off, you know, like many of the top players, the Honda was not doing it for us. So we're back in action. One of us, Jason Sobel is live from Bay Hill currently. You can read his picks. He tweets it out. It's on the Action Network.

Well, it's links and locks podcast. Find that. And hear them all week long with the caddy on a series XM channel. Is it 92? I think so, yeah. Yeah, 92. So what's the buzz? what's the buzz out at Bay Hill, bro?

Yeah, John, I like the fact that you and I have a designated podcast here where we only show up for the big events. You know, I will be very, very honest with you to do this for a long time. And many, many times over the years I've shown up on site at a PGA tour event and in two minutes, done an interview with someone who goes, what's the buzz out there? And I usually like to kind of, you know, guest around. Well, you know, lots of players warmed up, you know, the well, you know, the well. and this is going to tell you right now. I got here about five minutes ago.

There's no buzz. There's a bunch of guys right in front of me on the range. I don't know. The wind's blowing a little bit. I haven't quite gotten a sense of the buzz yet, but I just got here. Okay, before we dive into the tournament, obviously, you know,

once you'll be talking to these guys the next couple days. I would imagine the live buzz. CW. Live thoughts. So, first of all, very funny because I was one of these people who denigrated the deal for Liv to sign CW. I'm like, I can find CW if I tried. Well, Friday night fell asleep watching like Seinfeld reruns or something like that. Saturday afternoon.

I got home from playing golf, turned on the TV, and the TV's on the same channel that had been on the night before. And Liv is on the TV because the Seinfeld reruns were on the CW. And I'm like, well, okay, there you go. That's how you find Live Golf, if you want, on your TV. I just have to luck into it. And so I watched it for a little while. I don't know. I mean, look, I've been saying the same thing for a while now.

If you like Liv more than you like the PGA tour, I'm so happy for you that you found something. I'm sure there's people out there that have been watching XFL games saying, man, the NFL, it takes too long. They don't get the cool, like, you know, fourth and 15 type play for an onside kick. And I like some of the stuff that they're doing on XFL. And I'm going to be a big XFL fan and like it more than the NFL. I get it.

If you have the need to feel like you're a big fish in a small pond, And you want to be a fan of the alternative nature of the sport there. I get that. I feel like there's people out there that want to be that for Liv. That's fine. Look, I got no problem. You like Liv. Hey, more power to you.

Go ahead. There's choices out there. There's options. But I will tell you that I thought the tension, the pressure, the drama on the PGA tour at the Honda Classic this past Sunday, I thought was as high as any we've seen at a non-major in the last couple of years. Chris Kirk on the road back from sobriety to sobriety, trying to make that comeback full circle and win for the first time in eight years.

Eric Cole, who's had a crazy journey in his own personal life and professional career, Ryan Gerard, who's a Monday qualifier. I just thought that everything around that last 90 minutes of the telecast was terrific viewing. And so it wasn't that, for me at least, for live. And look, if there are others out there and I've seen people on Twitter saying, Charles Howell the third winning this golf tournament. It was great. It was great theater.

It was great drum. If you feel that way, I'm happy for you. I'm not going to argue with you. Go ahead. I didn't feel that way. I love the PGA tour event was fantastic at the Honda. And look, this is exactly what they need. I don't know if there's script writers out there for the PGA tour,

like people accuse the NFL of having. But if there were, this is exactly what they needed, which was two really good storylines down the stretch on a week when most of the best players weren't playing. Yeah, one of my takes on Live, like you said, it's much easier to find than we all thought. I saw a lot of people tweeting out the picture. It was literally right next to NBC on the guide, I think, for Comcast. And for me, YouTube TV, it comes right up.

They cannot have Peter Uline and Charles Howell battling it out. Like, they're going to, the guys they gave $150 million to, they're going to need a couple of them in the mix every single week. I mean, they're not have, I mean, Bryson, I'm sure you've been to Myaco, but the one issue they're going to have, right? They don't have access to these sweet courses. So they're playing these second rate courses. And some of them are kind of target golf.

So Bryson's irrelevant. DJ doesn't really care. I mean, he can get hot or whatever. Cam, if those guys aren't in the mix, no one's going to care about these up, either the older guys or some of the other randoms. So the randoms on the PGA tour playing on NBC. There's a reason the NFL loves NBC,

because it's the most watched channel in America, is going to do two and a half million, people when it's Chris Kirk and Eric Cole, I've never heard of the guy, but it didn't matter. Like you said, the last couple holes, which, you know, is what I watched, was fantastic. Yeah, I agree with all that. I don't know a way that you manufacture or live having the Cam Smiths of the world and DJ on top the leaderboard. You can't.

And so at some point, you're going to have Charles Owl winning by seven shots or whatever he did. And I don't know. I feel like that's not even part of necessarily the nature of what they're trying to do, which is, you know, I look at it. of the PGA tours competition. I look at Live as more entertainment. And the people who are watching Live are probably watching less for the competitive aspect of it

and more for the entertainment aspect. And look, you're going to get the entertainment. They're playing loud of music. They're wearing shorts. They're having fun. They're wearing their team colors. Again, you know, it's not my thing. I know it's not your thing. I know a lot of

people, it's not going to be their thing, but there are going to be some people who enjoy that more. And I don't know who you are, and I don't know how you can watch the last four or five holes of regulation, the playoff hole, the Honda Classic, and say, nah, I thought Charles Howell winning by a bunch at Maya Cope who was more interesting and more intriguing. But there are people out there who feel that way or at least say that they feel that way. And again, that's fine. They could be that. I'm okay with it.

Not going to bother me. Transitioning from Liv, I would say post-2020, one of the best golf moments, major or not made. has got to be those couple days with Bryson hitting it over the water where you're sitting just in terms of a viral moment, it transcended golf, NFL people, or a sports people were into it. It was cool. And this event had kind of fallen off. The top players were not in. Now with the money, you know, kind of forced by live, however we want to put it, all the top guys are here.

You know, you know a lot more players than me. But one thing I've heard over the years that, like, Tiger, who won this place a lot, hated this course. a lot of guys hate this place because it's hard, you know, and, you know, the wind's coming. What do you expect? Because the field is loaded. Obviously, the money drives them out. Do you expect a normal leaderboard like Riviera, or is this course a little more unique that it could be chaos? I think more because of the weather, it's going to level the playing field a little bit. The winds are going to come through. It's like it's Tuesday, midday, as we're talking right now.

And the flags are already blowing around. It's pretty windy out here. Looking at the forecast Thursday, about a one, one and a half club wind. Friday really gets going. I mean, Gus up to the mid-40s right now. And again, it's Tuesday. That can change and get lighter. Get heavier. I mean, we can see wind goes up to 50 by the time Friday rolls around.

Well, it happened last year at the players, right? You got out of control. Last year here, five under one. Two of the last three years, we've had five under and four under is the winning score of this golf tournament. And that's all because of the weather. It's wind and it's hot and windy. And when it's hot and windy, as you know, golf course gets baked out. These greens are really, really difficult to hold.

They're difficult to hold in normal conditions. They're really difficult to hold when they get fast and firm. And there's a 40-mile-an-hour wind blowing through here. John Rom, six and a half to one. Like it? No, not even a little bit. If there is some kryptonite for Superman, it may be Bermuda greens. he has never won in the state of Florida,

any of his 10 career PGA tour victories. And so, look, I don't think I'm betting him anywhere at that number right now, but certainly not here and probably not next week either. Who's your pick? I'm going Will's Alatoris. I get that he's not 100% yet. And I get the putting stroke. There's been a few viral videos.

There was one back at Farmers where it looked really ugly. But I picked up here last year, and he was in the middle of losing strokes to the field. in six straight events with the putter. Right now, he's gainstrokes in six straight events with the flat stick. And so I'm not going to sit here and say that he's the best putter on the BGA tour, but it's been better than field average for the last six, and that's him playing against the best players as well.

So it's not like he's picking off good weeks against poor players or anything like that. So I think the putter is there. I think ball striking's there. He has said that he won't be 100% from this back injury until April, but I do think sometimes with lowered expectations come better results with some of these professional golfers. And I'm hoping for that with Zalotaurus this week. You know, there are a couple guys, obviously the high end.

I mean, we got three guys right now hovering below 10 to 1. Now they win a lot. And Rory, not necessarily, but he's always in the mix. You know, a guy like Justin Thomas, Tony Fienow, who you would say would have some win equity, just on a weekly basis on the PGA tour. You know, we're both hovering around more that 25 to one number. You know, Jason Day now feels like he's a little too high, right?

Like him more 50-60 to 1 more than up getting lower than 30 to 1. Like I got to punt the brakes there. But JT, who I put a lot of money on the Riviera and wasn't very good. And Fienau, who is, you know, just kind of slow and steady so far this year. What do you think about those two guys from a value standpoint? I mean, those guys, I mean, when they're playing, Manwell can be 12, 13 to 1 on a given week. The value is great.

Look, there are very few events during the course of the season where those two guys are at 25 to 1 and they're not an auto bet. This week is one of those few weeks. And I say that, John, because I'm looking at players who aren't just here because it's a designated event. I'm looking for guys who come here every year, who like this golf course, who like the test, who like the fact that cars mean something on this golf course. JT has been back here in about seven or eight years.

And the reason for that is because he just doesn't like it that much. It's hard. It beats you up the week before a big time event with the players championship coming up next week. And so I look at JT and I say, you know what? 25 to 1 is a great number. I'm with you. I bet him a few times on the West Coast. And that, of course, didn't work out.

But I'm not getting after them. And again, there are very few times during the year with JT's 25 to 1 that I won't jump at the chance. but the fact that he hasn't played here most years in the past, I think since this rookie year. Yeah, I think 15. Yeah. I'm looking for guys who are essentially going to be here anyway. And that's, quite frankly, that's what we've seen in both Phoenix and it ribs so far. Of the last two of the last three weeks, those prior designated events, the guys who are up there on the leaderboard is guys who normally play there anyway, not guys who said, well, I guess I have to throw it on the schedule because, well, I'm one of these top players.

and I have to go play there. We saw Rory in Phoenix is a great example. Phoenix, great golf course for him. You know, should go out there and play well. Didn't like the vibe. He was never quite into it. Didn't play his best golf. And the reason for that is because he just doesn't play there anyway.

He only played there once, and that was during COVID, when there weren't a whole lot of fans out there. So, you know, I think you have to look at guys who have played in the past and were coming here anyway, even before it was a designated event. So then another guy riding that range who's played here consistently, would be Victor Hovlin.

You know, one thing, you know this, I've never been there, but I guess the greens are bigger, a little less chipp. You're either on the green or probably in the water, so he keeps the wedge out of his hand. Would you like Victor Hovlin then more this week than JT? Yeah, I do like Hovlin. Hovellum's not a guy that I've been on this year at all, but unlike, say, Augusta National in about five or six weeks,

there are not these tight chipping areas where he's got to pick it clean. If his ball does miss the green, and we all know about his problems, around the greens. He's going to get a lie in the rough where you can get under the ball and pitch it up in the air. And I don't think that's as much of a problem for his maneuver as trying to pick it clean off those tight lies. So I do like Hovlin a lot. Should have won here last year. Start out 69, 66, finished 74, 75, finished the sheriff's second place who's really close to winning this thing over Scotty Sheffler. I would not be surprised if Victor Hovlin picks one off this week.

Okay, a couple longer shots around 70, 80 to 1. And, you know, it's probably safer to bet these guys top 5, top 10. But Keegan Bradley last year, Florida, wind pumping players was excellent. He's been playing well, drives the ball well. Gary Woodland shown sides of life a couple weeks ago at Riviera. Another guy, I'm pretty sure he lives in Florida, tough golf course, windy conditions. He plays this course, you know, this kind of Florida swing every year. I mean, that's about as long as I'll go, about 70, 80 to 1.

but what do you think about those two guys? Really like those two guys. I'm going to throw Tommy Fleetwood in the mix for that range as well. And I'll even give you Keith Mitchell. Keith's a little too short for me this week for an outright, considering he's only still won once, even though he has a pair of top fives in his last three starts. But I do like that range.

And I'm looking at flushers. This is team no putt this week. And what I mean by that is the greens are going to get fast. They're going to get baked out. It's going to be windy. Give me the best ball strikers. And you know what? Two putting for par is all.

over this golf course is not going to be a bad thing. I think you have to look at this event sort of the way you look at a U.S. Open, which is not who's going to make the most birdies, but who's going to make the fewest mistakes. And the guys who drive it well off the tee, the guys who hit solid approach shots will be on the greens. Those are the guys that I like this week. You know what? If I happen to make a few puts, great. They probably have a good chance of winning. But if not, they will still be up there because of the ball striking Browice. So it's those names. Again, Keegan, Tommy Fleetwood,

Keith Mitchell, Gary Woodland, and I'll give you two if we go a little bit deeper. I'm watching right now on the right side of the range. He's right next to Mr. Palmer's umbrella, but Christian Bezaden, who 's very good around the Greens. And if you miss Greens, he's the guy that

I want getting up and down. He's a member here at Bay Hill. And he's finishing the top 20 each of the last three years. He's about 130 to one right now. I don't know if he's going to win, but top 10s, top 20s, definitely in play for him. And then if I'm going really deep at 250 to 1, a guy who isn't afraid to go out and win against a big field because he's done it in the past. He's got some form. He's played well here in the past. How about Danny Willett this week who's starting to play golf again? Okay. Former Masters

Champion? Yeah. Okay. I like a good long shot. Okay. I'm going to end it on this. I guess you have to commit as a PJ tour player to the tournament by what, Saturday morning, Friday night? Is that why Tiger tweeted Friday evening? Do you expect to tweet then while players are on the course, either Thursday or Friday from Tiger? See you guys in a couple days or no? I do. I have no insight. I have no knowledge inside knowledge of this, but it would surprise me more if Tiger doesn't play next week's players championship than if he does. I think that as long as he got home from,

Riviera and was in one piece and could feel okay, go out and hit balls a couple days later, I would think there's no reason he can't get in another set of reps. First of all, just to prepare for Augusta and prepare for the upcoming major championship season. But the second part of this is that Tiger, of course, be a very vocal leader of the PGA tour over the past year with all the tumultuousness going on with the PGA tour and with lift golf. I would think the Tiger wants to support the PGA tour as much as he can. And there's no better way to support the tour right now than showing up for their flagship event at TBC Sawgrass. And a little like Augusta Wright, he knows that course so well.

It's not like he has to grind Monday through Wednesday. He could just show up kind of Wednesday. He hit balls at his own house Monday, Tuesday and be ready to roll. No pro am. No pro am on Wednesday. That helps. Yeah, the weather should be pretty good. I would think that this would be right up his alley. He can, he can show up. like you said Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning, just go out there and play. From a gambling standpoint, there was so much unknown when he played RIV,

and he was definitely better than anyone thought. Would you say there would be like a little value on a Tiger Woods, like top 20 at the players, given the signs of life that he showed at Rive? He's had success at the players, or still the field so deep, which is difficult. It's never been his favorite golf course.

I know he's won there twice, just because he's the best player in the world and, you know, for 20 years. and so by accident you're going to win everything at some point other than at Riviera. So no, I would wait for the top 20 play until we get to Augusta. And that's where, you know, if you're going to throw, let's say you're putting 20 bucks on them, at the players for a top 20 and 20 on them, and Augusta for a top 20, I just take 40 and save it for the Masters because, like I said, he's never quite loved TPC Sawgrass.

Now he's a different player now. He doesn't play with as much power. I know the swing speed is still up there, but he's more of a precision type player that he was 10, 15, 20 years ago. So maybe the course plays to his strengths a little bit more now than they did before. But I still, he's just never quite been in love with that golf course. And so I don't think it's a health issue. I think it's more of a Tigers is kind of ramp it up. He's looking past that one to the next one.

And so I would just stay away until we get to the major championships. Well, have fun at Bay Hill. wear your windbreaker and let's enjoy the week. It's too hot. I know it's windy, but it's 90. 90 degrees? Yeah. Well, you got no state income tax there. You guys are doing okay. We're doing fine, yeah. See you. See you, Selbel. Thanks, buddy.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all. bet it in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators,

and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Mailbag time. Here's how you get in. At Golopod. At Golopod is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs and get your question answered here on the show. Who would be your four dream picks to win majors this year? Good question. As I talked about earlier, I think Rory is definitely in need of a major. I always, like, listen, I say this all the time. I watch pro sports for Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Peyton and Tom Brady. Like, I want to see John Rom become a fucking legend. So I wouldn't mind seeing Rory win the Masters. John Rom, you know, off like the U.S. Open and I don't know, the Open, the Open,

and maybe like Max Homa win a PGA. So it wouldn't bother me if I'm rooting for John Rom to win a couple, Rory to win the Masters, and then Homa to maybe Homa to win the U.S. Open, ROM to win the PGA and the Open would, it's kind of what I'm rooting for. John, have you explored betting groups for these tournaments? you can bet the winner of a group of four guys and the odds are usually good. Picking one to beat three is a hell of a lot better than one to beat 100. I have. I enjoy doing that. Where I'm a sucker, and this is why I'm going to have a bet on Zalotoros, Hovlin, Fee now, Keegan, and Gary this

week, the odds. You know, like I bet the stock market. I have a lot of money invested in crypto, invested in some stocks like I have some basic ones right some ones that probably a lot of people have bet on like Netflix or Zillow or Apple but I also like betting on crypto and betting on some you know electric vehicle companies that are a little bit of a long shot that might pay 30 to one and that's how I gamble on golf like I like taking max home at a hundred bucks to win 2,500. I bet on football for the odds. I bet on golf for the payouts, you know, and the rush. I'll be honest. I don't bet on golf like I do football. It's much more like betting on hoping I win the lottery, which is not a great way to gamble. I don't claim to be gambling responsibly in the

sense where I think I'm going to win a lot. But if I have a guy that has a chance to win come Sunday, and I have 30, 40, 50 to 1 odds, and I bet 50 or 100 bucks. It's one of the most incredible feelings I've ever felt in my life as a sports watcher, as a sports gambler. I bet several thousand dollars on football games in my life,

on individual games, like $1,000 or $2,000. But I can only win what I bet, right? Even if I bet plus the Niners, plus 105 to beat the Eagles. So I bet $2,000. Well, if I would have won that, I would have won $2,000 back. If I do the same in golf, which obviously you'd never bet on someone $2,000 to win a golf tournament, but to win $2,000 in golf, you only have to bet $50.

You know, on a really sweet player, $100. That's what makes golf gambling so special. Now, it's hard to hit outright winners, but if you're betting $100 on a guy to win $2,000, you're betting on one of the better players in the tournament. Like Max Homa is 22 to 1 this week, or Willis Alatoris is 25. to one or Justin Thomas is 25 to 1. So all I have to bet is 50 bucks to win

1,300. That's hard to beat. Hey John, I asked this question on your other Instagram, but I don't believe you've been able to get it and the question fails more in line with golf. How would you personally make the argument that Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all time?

If you have answered this, then my bad. Well, I think Jack Nicholas is the most accomplished golfer of all time. won more majors. I don't think anyone, I'm not old enough to watch Jack. I've never met Jack.

I've watched documentaries on them. I do think it's fair to say that Tiger Woods is the best player of all time and Jack Nicholas had the best career of all time. Jack Nicholas competed in a major. I watched a highlight, I think he got sixth when he was 58 at the Masters. Is Tiger Woods going to be playing at the Masters when he's 58?

Probably not. Now obviously Jack didn't battle the injuries. that Tiger battled. But I do think it's fair to say that Tiger, in his peak, is the best player we've ever seen and Jack had the greatest career we've ever seen. Like, I can say this, Tom Brady.

He's going to have the greatest NFL career ever. I don't think any quarterback is ever going to win seven Super Bowls. But if you're my age or older, is Tom Brady a better player in a vacuum than Patrick Mahomes? No, Patrick Mahomes is definitely more talented, more athletic, stronger arm. But that's not, we judge you in most sports on who's a better player.

Like, Michael Jordan was the best player, and he's the most accomplished. Well, Bill Russell's more accomplished, but him and LeBron. LeBron's never winning six championships. It's over at four. And I'll be honest, the fourth is very questionable, the bubble championship. But, like, I'm not here to argue that. But he's never stiff in Mike, especially now he's injured. Tiger is never going to catch Jack

He's never going to win another major Listen I love Tiger but he's never going to But yeah I think Tiger is the best player of all time I've been playing golf for two years And I've actually worked at a course So I've been around the game a ton recently This is my first year really betting on the PGA

And was wondering What you do to base your picks on Outright winners top five top 10 etc Is it more a feeling you get Or more stat based or just riding the hottest coming in. I think it's several categories that I use. One, I watch every week, so I know who's playing well.

And then you do have to do some research, right? Like this week at Bay Hill, Gary Woodland played well last year at this tournament. Well, Gary Woodland just played well a couple weeks ago. So he's in form, he's played well at this tournament, getting him 80 to 1, placing a $25 bet on him to win, is not crazy. Victor Hovlin last year

played well at this tournament I like his ability he's a great iron iron player when he's on he's accurate off the tee he's not great at chipping

but as we talked about with Sobol at this tournament the greens are huge you don't have to chip you're either in the water or you're putting so I think you have to base things on courses course history

and how guys are playing currently now sometimes with the great players like Justin Thomas can just get and win any given week. Like if you told me Justin Thomas wins at Bayhill, I'm not going to bet them, but it would shock me. So there are going to be a subset of guys, the top guys, that if they're on, like Colin

Morikawa can be playing shitty and then all of a sudden win. But I think when you get past like the top five, six guys odds-wise every week, you know, you do have to factor in how they're playing in their course history. Chris Kirk plays really well at the Honda. so betting him to finish top 10 last week would not be crazy. Now like I said, betting guys to win outright in golf is really hard. It's not football. You don't just have to beat one team.

You technically have to beat 150 guys, right? Obviously, you know, Tiger said this forever. If you're playing pretty well, you really have to beat 30 or 40. But from a gambling perspective, you have to look at it like, you know, can this guy beat? That's actually how I look at it. Can he beat 40 or 50 guys? Right? because half the field's going to suck.

It's difficult to do. I'm a gut field guy. I always have been as a gambler. From my boyfriend. I find it odd you don't have more interest in watching Live. It's been ignored on your podcast other than talk about the controversy. It's human nature to pick aside and stick to it. But I think objectively, there is too much to like about Live product to not enjoy if you're a true golf fan.

The field they have assembled for the upcoming season is no joke. and honestly the format really is more appealing for TV. Feels high urgency like a live sport. I watch higher popularity PGA events, Waste Management Genesis as well, and my viewership isn't going away with the talent they have. I just feel like there is plenty of room for supporting both for the consumer.

Listen, at my core, I am a consumer. So if Live is good TV, I will watch. But like last week, Honda did nothing for me, but I don't pretend like it matters. I live plays 14 times a year. Like, we can't pretend that that mattered. It was Charles Howell against Peter Fucking Uline.

And Peter Uline, who was a couple shots back on like whole 10, hit a shot like me, duck hook low into the trees. And I think most people that have followed his career much closely, closer than I have, consider him like a minor league player, like a 4A-type baseball player. Like he's not a PGA tour, legit player. Charles Howell is, he's won once, I think, in 15 years. So DJ is one of the best

players in the world. Cam Smith, one of the best players in the world. Bryson, one of the more intriguing players in the world. But we can't act like Charles Howell the third matters, or Peter Euline matters. Because no one pretends that Chris Kirk battling, you know, a bunch of randoms matters. We don't. But live every one of their 10, 12, 14 tournaments. We act like it, is really important. Some of them are, if it's DJ battling Cam, but what we just witnessed,

it just doesn't. Like, that's, that's not anything. I watched, like, I'm a consumer, I consume, but when we try to, like, measure it of the importance of it,

like, we all have to acknowledge, like, that wasn't that important. We just do. You mentioned on a recent pod that your handicap is a four. What's your golf handicap journey been like? What was the low,

fruit that helped you get below 10. I started golf about two years ago, down to a 16 from a 24, but I aspire to be a single digit. Well, I've been a, I played in high school, so I've been a single digit since high school, but I've always been a guy, high 70s, low 80s. I shot the best round of my life last year.

I shot one under par in the Bay Area. And honestly, I didn't hit my driver very well. I just birdied like four or five holes, and I got up and down in a lot of holes. My driver has never been great. it's always been a major weakness in my game. If I can hit my driver well, like when I play rounds,

when I hit my driver and I'm hitting 80% of the fairways, I'm going to shoot in the mid-70s, no problem. Because I'm a pretty good iron player. I can putt a little bit. My short game's probably average. But I've been playing golf on 38. I mean, I've been playing golf almost 30 years now. So I never,

I haven't been a 20 handicap since I was like 10 years old. So I have an advantage that way. So there's not like I'm banging, balls, but I, last week I shot 75 one day and the next day I shot 89. So I'm, I'm all over the map. Like most guys that are four or five handicaps, I can shoot in the mid 70s, I can also shoot 88. I have to get your take on the new Tiger and Roy TGL League. Monday night, golf, I fucking love it. I've been saying for a while, I don't even know what it is. Like, what is it? You know, that's my question. I'm not anti it. I'm not for it. I don't even get it. I don't even get it.

they got a bunch of famous guys I'll pay attention but I remember Dan Patrick said this a year ago like I don't even understand like I don't night golf indoors cool I'm not against it

but I can't pretend that I'm into it until I even know what it is in your opinion what's the most entertaining round one grouping of golfers under the age of 30 for a PJ tour event this season I would say it would be

John Rom it would be I think Cam Smith's one of the best players in the world and he's on live. I would say if I could pick three guys I would go John Rom, Cam Smith, Colin Morcawa. You know, I guess you could say JT but I would pick those three.

Okay, last question. Hey John 26. Been playing consistently for about six years now and hover around 90. Considering going to get driving lessons or meeting with a swing coach given that the drive is the weakest part of my game. Have you ever gone to a coach or gotten swing looked at or just adjusted with

your own eyes? When I lived in the Bay Area, I used to go to get a lesson. It was like a hundred bucks. I went there a couple times and it helps a lot. And I have a couple good buddies. One guy that played college golf played in the U.S. Open won college golf tournaments and his brother who was a great player, Scotty and Tyler. And I listened to their takes on golf very, very seriously. Driving the golf ball, I would say for the majority of human beings, whether you're a four handicap or whether you're an 18 handicap, is a huge, huge indicator of success. If you're hitting the ball 2.30 plus and are in the fairway, you have a huge advantage of being in the trees. So hitting the drive relatively straight and relatively far is a massive, massive advantage

in golf. Like the short game, yeah, it's important, but if you just hit fairways, deep down the middle, you're going to have a chance to break. Average player, break 90, decent player, break 80. If you're always in the shit, golf's a very, very hard game. Whether you're Tiger Woods or whether you're me or you. So I would say, if you can get a lesson for a relatively not some outrageous price, no-brainer. Absolutely no-brainer. Because hitting the ball straight off the is a cheat code. I mean, it really is. It's like being able to throw

go routes in football. Why do the chiefs dominate for so long? Because they could throw deep to Tyreek with Patrick Mahomes. You couldn't do anything about it. Nothing you could do. I mean, absolutely nothing. It's cheat code because you can gain

such chunk yardage. Well, no different. If you can hit the ball 250 yards and hit it straight, you're not going to shoot 100. You're just not. Appreciate everyone listening. Fire in those DMs at Golopod. And let's enjoy the golf this week.

Adios. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.