The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Keswick’s Rob McNamara Live From US Open

Episode Date: June 11, 2024

The Jerry & Jerry Show headlines: UVA To College World Series (3rd Time In 4 Yrs) Super Regional Analysis – UVA Tops Kansas St College World Series: UNC vs UVA, Friday, 2 PM Reece Beekman Is Not Coming Back To UVA UVA Football Opens New 93,000 SQF Facility Thoughts On New Virginia Football Facility Keswick’s Rob McNamara Live From US Open 3 UVA Golfers Are Competing In The US Open Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air Rob McNamara, Keswick Club General Manager and Director of Golf, joined Jerry Ratcliffe & Jerry Miller live on The Jerry & Jerry Show! The Jerry & Jerry Show airs live Tuesday from 10:15 am – 11:15 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The Jerry & Jerry Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible and iLoveCVille.com.

Good Tuesday morning, guys. My name is Jerry Miller, and thank you kindly for joining us on the Jerry and Jerry Show. Wow, what a show we have lined up for you today. June, generally a slow time for sports, certainly sports of the collegiate variety, but at the University of Virginia, that is far from the case. Brian O'Connor and the Virginia baseball team in the College World Series for the third time in the last four years, a convincing super regional victory against Kansas State. Now the Wahoos have the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday with first pitch

scheduled on national TV at 2 o'clock. We'll talk College World Series and what Brian O'Connor's team is doing oh so well today with the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer, Jerry Hootie Ratcliffe himself. We'll also talk basketball. Reese Beekman not returning to the University of Virginia. There was a little scuttlebutt about this last week. We're going to kind of put an end to those rumors and that scuttlebutt and take a look at the roster that now looks pretty set for next season.

We'll talk the new football training facility. This facility, ladies and gentlemen, is 93,000 square feet. Hootie Ratcliffe walked through the facility himself. We'll get a bird's eye view of what that was like with Jerry Ratcliffe in a matter of moments. And we'll talk with Keswick Hall's Rob McNamara live from Pinehurst in the U.S. Open, where three UVA golfers are competing for one of the most cherished and hallowed championships in all of golf, the U.S. Open. Judah Wickhauer, if we can go to the studio camera, and then a two-shot, and welcome the star of the show wearing a Pinehurst

golf shirt, Jerry Hoody Ragliff. Yeah, this is one of my favorite shirts of all time. I bought it at my first U.S. Open in 1999 and they preserved it pretty well. Looks brand new. Yeah, it's got the Putter Boy logo on

there and the place, I've been to Pinehurst and played number two, I don't know, 10, 15, 20 times. I don't know. It's just a special place for anybody who loves golf, and that's what Pinehurst is all about, just not only the resort itself but just the community. It's one of my favorite places on on the planet we'll talk rob mcnamara live from the u.s open and three uva golfers competing in the u.s open j-dolls check my facebook messenger uh the top of my messages for uh that interview we'll talk college world series

we'll talk re-speak but not coming back to UVA and the new training facility at the University of Virginia, 93,000 square feet. But baseball has got to be the lead of the show, Hootie. You were at the dish. Kansas State, what a – they took a licking and they could not keep on ticking. Virginia baseball, pretty impressive. Yeah, and I mean, those were two thriller dealers uh late into both games and when virginia finally broke it open with uh their you know their infamous offensive explosions that they come up with and they uh you know the the pitching again, as we said, going into the regional against Mississippi State

was the key in keeping the games tight and putting Virginia in position to make a comeback, which they've done 23 times this year with that incredible offensive firepower they have. And they broke it open both times in late innings with just incredible at-bats. And they just keep on pounding the baseball. And I'm sure everybody's hoping that that can continue out in Omaha this week. Jay Woolfolk gets a standing ovation. Two times in a row. The guy is playing the best baseball of his life. At the best time of his life. Yeah, I mean, he and the team are peaking at the right time.

And, I mean, how rare does that happen in sports? A lot of teams peak too early or never peak at all. And to have them do that at this time of year is a tribute to the coaching staff and the players themselves, and who Brian O'Connor called them relentless in their pursuit of excellence. And that's what they're doing. And they've just been so hard to beat. I mean, these guys never give up, no matter what the situation is.

And it's been provided the community with incredible excitement the last few weeks. We'll talk UNC here in a matter of moments. It seems to me, and viewers and listeners, I see your comments coming in. We'll get to those in a matter of moments as well. It seems to me this team is peaking at the right time. Absolutely. I don't know the nuances of bringing a team along to where that occurs, but O'Connor and his guys have it down to a science.

This team in particular, because, you know, throughout the year, the pitching was up and down. And I don't think it was ever quite as hard. Brian O'Connor never thought it was quite as bad as maybe the rest of us did. the fact that he's got these arms so lively here in the postseason, they haven't been stressed. The starters have pitched deep in the games. The relievers have come in and been somewhat dominant. And there hasn't been any – some of the relievers haven't even seen any action yet in the regional or sub-regional,

which speaks volumes to the job that the starters have done. Do you see this as good a chance that Brian O'Connor has had to win a college World Series? I certainly do. I do. I think it's good matchups against Carolina and they're in the bracket with Carolina and Tennessee and who's the other I guess there's another

Florida State in their bracket so last time they played Florida State it wasn't pretty but they did take a series from Carolina during the regular season I think they match up well with the Tar Heels for sure. Tennessee, obviously, is a lot of firepower. They're the number one seed in the nation.

But you've got to like their chances going in just because, like you said, they've peaked at the right time. They don't seem to have a weakness. Last year, when they got to this point, they just simply couldn't score runs. They couldn't hit the pitching. And I don't think that's going to be a problem this time around. And even though Connor said to us over at the Miller Center, that's where we had our interviews after games last weekend, that he expects a deeper run than they produced last year

when they lost two one-run games in that College World Series. If you were some listeners, let us know your thoughts. We'll put them on the screen. Let's go to Antoine watching the program right now. Where does this stack up, he asks, with some of Brian O'Connor's previous years in Charlottesville? It's got to be right up there. I mean, they've won 46 games.

They've only lost 15. They've been almost unbeatable at home. The teams they beat in the regional and sub-regional were pretty good. I think in the past they may have beaten some better teams to get to the College World Series, but I think this overall squad, the all-around talent, has got to be one of the best that he's had because the offense is unbelievable.

We keep talking about it, but they keep producing. They're number two in the nation in team batting average, and there's not a real hole in that lineup, any of those nine guys. That's the one thing that Pete Hughes, the Kansas State coach, and the coach at Mississippi State before him, and even other coaches who've come in here late in the season, have kept dwelling on is the fact that there's no room to breathe because any one of these guys in the lineup can hurt you.

Not only do they hit the ball, but they can hit the ball with power. Who's the best player on this roster, do you think? Oh, wow. It's a tough call. I mean, O'Farrell is pretty strong. Ethan Anderson. I know that Bobby Whelan is the highest batting average, but you've got to look at Diddowick and Ferenc. Godbout.

I mean, I don't know. It would be a tough call to try to figure out who the best guy is. Mr. Henry Ford? Henry Ford is just a freshman. Right. Making noise. A local kid. I mean, these guys are just loaded.

And, I mean, they had 13 hits against Kansas State in that championship game. And, gosh, just about everybody on the lineup. in that championship game. Gosh, just about everybody on the lineup. Let's see. I'm just looking down the box for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Ten guys had hits in that game. I mean, who are you going to pick on if you're a pitcher? It's unbelievable.

I don't know who's going to be the highest draft choice out of these guys. Maybe O'Farrell, I'm not sure. But they're just a loaded baseball team. What do you make of that UNC matchup? I think it's going to be one of the best matchups that you could have in this college because they know each other they know each other I think they're evenly matched

both teams have great hitting good pitching I think it's going to be another thriller of a game I wouldn't be surprised if it's a high scoring game instead of a low scoring like we saw last year in the series but I think it's going to be produce some great college baseball for fans viewers and listeners put your thoughts in the feed we'll relay them live on air

yes we're going to go live to Pinehurst with Rob McNamara in a matter of 14 minutes there J-Dubs three UVA golfers in the U.S. Open. We'll talk about the football training facility, a massive facility, that Hootie has seen with his own two eyes. And we'll talk Reese Beekman not coming back to Charlottesville and to the University of Virginia despite some reports that indicated otherwise. If you were a betting man, would you say this team has a chance? National championship chance? I would think so. I mean,

you don't know how they'll react if they get into a battle with Tennessee, which obviously is in their bracket and they'd have to get through them, to get into the championship pool, so to speak. But I would think they've got just as good a chance as anybody because, again, their hitting is so solid, and the way their pitching staff has delivered the past two weeks, I don't see how you could write them off because, again, they're getting what they want out of their pitchers in that they're pitching deep in the games,

and the relievers have been just spot on. It's not like they've had to come in and use four or five relievers to get the job done. These guys have come in and pitched so solid and been in command. So I would think they've got just as good a shot as anybody in this series. We've got multiple folks sharing the Mike Barber column in the RTD today about some Tony Bennett contract status updates for your take on that. I will read some of that to you here in a matter of moments. Before we do,

we got baseball commentary that continues to be on the show. This is an interesting one. Who is the number one team that you're most fearful of in this bracket? It would have to be Tennessee. I mean, they're number one for a reason. I know they lost one game to Evansville, but they're loaded. They're a program that has good NIL money. They're from the SEC, which is obviously one of the best conferences in the country. They're perennial. They have incredible hitting power as well.

They have good pitching staff. So all four of the teams in Virginia's bracket are scary good. But I think Tennessee is, you know, if you were, I'm sure Vegas probably has them as the odds-on favorite to win the whole thing, but they seem to be the most complete team that's in the field. Folks, College World Series, UVA, Friday, 2 p.m., UNC ESPN, national television. Is it Friday or Saturday? I'm pretty sure it's Friday.

I'll confirm. You may be right. I'm not sure. I've seen a couple different. I'll confirm here in a matter of 10 seconds on virginiasports.com. Let's see here. It is Friday, June 14, 2 p.m. North Carolina. ESPN on the coverage. This is a hell of a hell of a situation for Virginia to be in as they continue to get

awareness for the school brand awareness out to a a nationally televised audience. We'll follow it closely. We've got to give Brian O'Connor significant props. We're huge fans of him on the show. He continues to reinforce his position on the Mount Rushmore of UVA coaches. A second national championship, we're not trying to put the cart before the horse, would very much solidify that. We'll follow it closely.

Do you have anything else you want to dot the I's across the T's on baseball? Well, you know, that certainly won't hurt his recruiting either, getting that kind of exposure around the country and particularly from Virginia on up to Massachusetts where it is their prime recruiting territory. We'll follow it. How about basketball? You want to go Beekman and then maybe we go with what barbers got in the td today yeah i haven't i haven't seen the paper today so i don't know what's in there but um yeah uh we were given some incorrect information about bigman uh well i don't think it was it was us i think it was you know what was in the Augusta Free Press here. Yeah, but we tried to

we were also talking to a former assistant basketball coach not here, but at another Power 4 conference and he kept insisting that Bickman could come back that the

deadline to pull your name was later than what it is. It turned out the deadline to pull your name was later than what it is. It turned out the deadline was May 29th, and he said that legislation had changed to allow players to come back that weren't drafted. But that legislation was rejected, I think, by the NBA Players Association, so it never went through. So that leaves guys like Bigman in a tough spot. I guess, you know, it's Europe, international play, or the G League.

If you don't get drafted, then it's a shame because it makes you wonder had he might have come back like a Baycott just to get paid more money from NIL other than the G League salary if you can't get a two-way contract. I think we put this to rest. Yeah, I think it's to rest now. Now, we have a roster that we can know what to expect moving forward. It's a pretty darn good roster. It's an excellent roster, and I think it's going to be a fun team to watch.

I'm not the only one. They're going to have a multitude of guys in the backcourt that can help them. The shooting percentages should go up. They've got a shooter coming in. McNeely's back, some other guys are working on their game. I just think it's going to be a team that can score more easily, be more efficient on the offensive end of the floor,

and they're going to have some physicality with a good front line of 6'9", 6'9", 6'10", 6'11", with some bulk to them. So I think it's going to be a pretty fun basketball team to watch if you're a Virginia fan. There's so much content and coverage and news going around with this program here. We'll get to the training facility, which you toured through. I want to highlight some of the questions

that are coming in on Beekman here you see him as the european basketball players coming on the feed well it could be because you know um the europeans like to get uh a sizable point guard like like reese because i don't think they have a lot of those guys over there. I'm no expert on European basketball, but I know that they like solid American point guards, and they seem to produce better big men and shooters over there, but the point guards, I think they value American point guards to a high extreme. And Reese is so complete, I think he would be outstanding there. But I'm wondering if he would give the G League a shot in the fact that he would hope to get a two-way contract,

which he could make some decent money with a two-way if it gets with the right club. I mean, this just puts in perspective how difficult it is to make a roster. You've got a guy that is a defensive player of the year, one of the best guards in the last generation or so, at ACC and ACC basketball, and you're looking at a guy that might be in flux here. Yeah, I mean, I don't think people realize how hard it is to make the NBA and not only make it but stay in the NBA once you get there

because it's constant competition not only from all the American colleges but all the international players that are being produced and making an impact in the NBA these days. I mean, you look around, everybody's got Europeans or international players on their rosters, and it makes it so highly competitive just to try to land a spot. Guys, we'll follow it closely. The draft right around the corner.

Virginia basketball has got two guys that are flirting with playing in the National Basketball Association. Only time will tell. We have to talk your tour of the UVA football training facility. This is a mammoth, massive facility here. We're talking 93,000 square feet, Hootie. Yeah, I mean, when you just view it from afar, you don't realize just how big it is until you actually get inside the building and walk the length of it. It's two stories and it's got everything that a college football player would want.

It's all under one roof. They've got the sports medicine area there. They've got study places. They've got study places. They've got talking to the strength and conditioning coach to just find a weightlifting weight room as there is in America. It's really impressive. I'll have a story and some videos of that on my site this week. They can eat there. They can study there, get tutored there, I believe. They have player recreation areas where they can hang out and get to bond. The meeting rooms are just the little breakout meeting rooms are nice.

The team meeting rooms are fantastic. They're still putting in the finishing touches on, I think, the coaches' offices and some other things like that. But they haven't left anything out. It's state-of-the-art, and it's beautifully designed. And, again, that weight room is, you know, a lot of people probably don't appreciate the weight room. But that's, you know, that's where a lot of these guys spend a majority of their time.

That's their second home. With a strength and conditioning coach, they probably spend more time with him than they do their own position coaches. So it's important to have right people in there, and they do. And, I mean, some of the technology with the weight room, it's hard to explain, but it's unbelievable. They can record everything and analyze it almost instantaneously, what a player is doing, if he's overachieving, underachieving.

Just fantastic stuff that they have in that building. I think it's $80 million for that building. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. So this comes in today in the TD from Barber 31 minutes ago. He highlights University of Virginia sources saying that a long-term contract, the new one a little shade, it looks like, at the free press. I guess the free press here by saying in recent months, while fringe media in recent months has made much ado about Bennett's contract status, multiple sources told the TD it's much ado about nothing.

The new contract extension is in short order for Tony Bennett. Well, you know, I believe that UVA is probably partially guilty in that and not commenting at all when people were asking questions about two years remaining on the contract. That just left the door open for speculation because it's unusual, I think, to let a coach of that stature just hang out there with no comment. I mean, if that were Kentucky or some of the Duke or some of these places and the coach only had two years remaining on the contract,

the media would be going berserk. And so would the fan base in trying to find out why there's only two years left and no comment from either party on what the future status is going to be. I think that just leaves room for speculation and was totally unnecessary. So that's some good news. The extension is on the horizon. That's great news if you're a Virginia fan that Tony Bennett's planning on

staying around. Absolutely. Should we get Rob on the line? Yeah, we could do that. We're at the 45 minute marker. I'm going to get this, Judah, if you go to studio camera. We're going to see if we can get Rob

McNamara on the phone. Hello? Hey, Rob. How are you doing? It's Jerry Miller. Hey, how are you? I'm doing well. I'm going to set you up here on a tripod for an interview with Jerry Ratcliffe. You are live on air here, so we're going to go to you in about five seconds, okay? You just need to hear my voice, right? Yeah, just your voice, Rob. That's it.

Perfect. Let's make it happen. All right. Sounds good. So, Judy, you're on studio camera, and we're getting this in. And Hootie, he can hear you. Hey, Rob. Jerry, how you doing? Doing great, man. Thank you for joining us this morning. We'll be putting your beautiful mug up on our screen here momentarily. Well, I'm glad to be

here. I must admit this is memory lane in some respects on many levels and just the idea of coming to the U.S. Open in a bus versus being a player when I was 41 years ago is a hell of a step down.

I've got to tell you the truth. It was a lot better going in the front door and having somebody open up the car door for me. For those that don't know the back story, Rob, who is the general manager and director of golf at Keswick Hall and Golf Club here in Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and was at Farmington for 26 years or so. 27. 27, yeah. Growing up in Kentucky, at that time, was the youngest qualifier in the history of the U.S. Open at age 17.

Unbelievable. And what a feat that was, Rob. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you. Well, for accuracy purposes purposes it's it's miss and grow over time i was the second youngest at the time next to jack nicholas but oh okay okay that's not a bad company to be in that was that was good company for sure and uh that was that was a special time in my life on a bunch of levels. And I like to think that I don't live in the past, but there are occasions that I reflect on how cool that was.

And now I can see it a lot differently than I saw it then even. It was great fun. What were your emotions being a 17-year-old going into the U.S. Open with all these guys that you had grown up admiring, like Jack Nicklaus, et cetera, the nerves must have been incredible. Well, I was pretty proud of myself, to be honest with you. I thought I was mad I didn't win. I mean, that's kind of how I thought. I just, I had a very big opinion of myself, and I really wasn't that intimidated, to be honest with you. Honestly, I've just never been intimidated

by anybody. I try to treat everybody the same, so that didn't bother me. My golf game just wasn't good enough, and I'd never experienced some of the things that I saw and had to deal with on a golf level by any means. But the people, I mean, I'm so glad that I did what I did with respect to my practice rounds. I went up to Arnold Palmer and asked him if I could play golf with him. He said yes. I'm a Gary player, same thing.

He said yes. I asked Johnny Miller. He said yes. He said, why don. He said yes. I asked Johnny Miller. He said yes. He said, why don't you come and join me again tomorrow? So, I mean, I played with a who's who. I bet Paul Azinger, Peter Jacobson, Wayne Levy, Scott Hoke, Jody Mudd, Palmer, Nicholas, I mean, not Nicholas, but Palmer and Player and Miller, that was a pretty good group of people.

Bobby Nichols, I mean, that was a pretty good group of people to get to play golf with. Absolutely. There will be three UVA golfers down there this week, Rob, which has never happened before with Denny McCarthy and Ben Coles and sophomore Ben James coming off a fabulous year with the Virginia golf team. The other two are pros on the PGA Tour. But I have a feeling that Ben James may have the same kind of attitude at Pinehurst that you had when you were 17. Well, I hope that he does.

He's obviously a lot better than I ever was, so he might actually really be able to back it up. But you've got to start with a thought and a dream to have anything good happen to you in life, and nothing ventured, nothing gained. So this guy, I've watched his action at the tournament at Birdwood and just watched him on television a week or so ago when he qualified. He's legit.

If I were a sports agent, I'd be on his doorstep, you know, throwing some kind of deal at him because he's going to make a lot of money and wear long pants on Sunday, I can tell you that. I think you're right about that. But, you know, the golf is a funny game. It's a game of history. You come here to Pinehurst. Maybe one of my greatest golf stories ever took place in Pinehurst when I was 14 years old.

I was dropped off, and I'll do it real quickly here because I know you're interested in time, but I was playing in the North South Junior and I was supposed to stay with a lady that was an older lady that was friends of someone that was a cashier at the little municipal golf course I grew up in in Kentucky. Well, she gets me to the golf course the next day, the first round of the tournament. Right is like three minutes late, so I get a two-shot penalty. And, of course, I make a putt for a five-net seven on the very first hole. And it's a 14-year-old, the North South junior. And I decided as soon as that ball went in the hole, I had a caper figured out of how I was going to be on my own.

So I told that lady when I finished the round after shooting 77, I said, can you please bring all my stuff I've just run into my best friend Billy Good from Savannah Georgia and I'm gonna stay with him well I didn't have a place to stay but I ended up finding a place called the Magnolia Inn I went down there and sweet-talked the lady that was the innkeeper to let me stay there and I ended up going over to the Pinecrest Inn and going into the bar chipping people for money and I made so much money chipping people in the bar. They still do that.

I don't know if you're familiar with that, but I was literally home alone as a 14-year-old. Great story. Yeah, it is a great story. I mean, we're here in really kind of the heartbeat of American golf here. It's kind of cool. Yeah, it's one of my favorite places on the planet. I've been there, it seems like, a hundred times and gotten to play number two many times, as I'm sure you have.

Just for the listeners out there and the viewers tuning in, watching from all around the country, really, what separates number two? and watching from all around the country, really. What separates number two? I know, and I know you know, but a lot of them may not know. Just what makes number two different than the other U.S. Open courses that we're more familiar with or some people are more familiar with? Well, I'm standing right here next to the first hole, and I've got to tell you the truth.

I've never played my first number two. I've played nine of the top ten U.S.-ranked courses, and the only one I have not played is the easiest one to get on. I've just got a case of the shorts. I don't have enough money to play this thing. I have $500 to play around a golf and more than I will depart with right now. But I can tell you by looking at it, I played the U.S. Open in 1990 as well at Medina, and they advertised at Medina like we didn't have to do anything special

to play the Open here because all we had to do was set the tee markers and the hole locations. The rough at a U.S. Open in Oakmont is the worst of all of them. I think they play there next year, and people will see the big-time difference between here and there. The rough at a U.S. Open traditionally is knee-high to a giraffe, and that's what just kills you. If you're out of play, and the fairways are generally about 21, 22 yards wide,

so you've just got to stand up there and put on your big boy pants and just stripe it down the middle. This place here looks like it's more open. I'll be able to give you a more honest assessment. You come over to Kazmierk and we can have an iced tea and talk about it. Invite your viewers to come over and see America's finest and nicest and favorite golf resort, which would be Kazmierk Hall. But, you know, I had to put in a shameless plug for America's favorite resort.

Absolutely. I didn't say we were the best. I just said we'd be your favorite. Anyway, so I'll have a better opinion after walking this whole golf course. I'm really, that's the reason I wanted to come down here, just to see the property. And it just, you know, you don't have to look at many holes to just get a feel. This is way different than a normal U.S. Open. Yeah, having played it a few times,

I'm glad I'm one up on you on something in golf. That's probably the only thing, but I've played it a few times, and there essentially is no rough. They redid the course for the 2014 Open. I was down there for the grand opening of it, and they essentially got rid of the rough. You've got some pine needles to deal with and some native grasses and native areas there. But the main thing about number two is the greens. They say it's like trying to land a ball on a pig's back because, you know, they're undulating and they're shaved down.

The greens are shaved down. And if you don't land your ball properly in the right quadrant of the green, you're looking at some trouble and trying to make a putt. And if you don't chip it up to the right area, it can roll off the green because they're so fast and slick. So I guess it's 150 yards in golf course more than anything. It definitely, you know, I'm just sitting here looking at these holes. I looked at 18 and looked at one.

I will say this. The rough looks to be different than what it would have been in the previous time they played here. Yeah, they may have grown it up some. There's more in, and there's going to be much more of a penalty and a sense of randomness to if you hit it in this rough because you get one of these uh like little grass pods that are there everywhere and you could get completely in the middle and have a no problem lie or you could get totally handcuffed where you you're really

really in trouble so i i tell you what i'm going to take the over on whatever the FanDuel Sport says is the winning score. I just have a funny feeling that if it doesn't rain, it stays firm and fast. You might have over par with this golf tournament. And that's what they like. I think that's what the viewers want. I think that's what you really want par to mean something. Yes. And, you know, for so long, people get bored of watching pros shoot 20 under

and hit it four miles off the tee and just make it a bomber's golf course. You just can't just totally bomb it and get away with it. Now, you're going to have to be able to really control your golf ball. I'd be using the ball with more spin this week if it were me. And that's why the U.S. Open is my favorite tournament. I covered probably at least a dozen of those at various places, like you mentioned at Marion, Oakmont, et cetera. It's just maybe the truest test of golf that there is.

And that makes it just so much fun, I guess not just for the viewers, but probably for the players too. Well, you know, the players may have more say where they just try to get them to soften up the greens. But if they let the greens be firm, then par will really mean something here. I'm watching some guys hit in here, and I mean, the ball's stopping on the green. You know, I would bet the first day scores will be lower than people think, and then

you'll have a reversion to the mean where it works its way back closer to, you know, one, two, three under par winning the tournament. Yeah, that sounds about right. I remember in 99 when Payne Stewart won it, we really didn't get the true taste of Piners because it was kind of damp that week and the grains were soft

and so, but if it's warm and dried out down there, it's going to be a doozy. Again, I don't know how much people like luck in being involved. You could say you've got to be a little bit lucky to have a really good round on this golf course where if you were to play an Oakmont or a

Wingfoot or a Medina or just Riviera where they're playing a few years, if you hit it in the rough, it's uniformly the same everywhere. So the luck factor pretty much disappears. Here, when people see it, if they'll watch the golf channel and when they do those aerial picks, just pay attention to the rough. That's the part that is just totally random. If I were betting, and I know Virginia, you can bet legally, and a lot of people bet on golf and have fun with betting on golf.

They don't bet a lot of money, but it is kind of interesting to place $2 or $3 every week on the sport. This is one of those deals where you want to bet on somebody that can control their golf ball and somebody that can chip. If you can't chip, you can forget this place. I can tell you that by just looking at these two holes. Do you have a favorite? I don't know. I haven't...

I've been too busy with my job to really get dialed in on this. This Scotty Scheffler is pretty tough. I mean, this guy, I don't... He's having a Tiger Woods kind of moment. Strong. That's all I can say. The guy's just strong. How are you going to beat him?

How do you characterize, Rob, the state of golf right now? It seems to me it's clicking on all cylinders. Well, you know, it's a shame that this professional golf is divided. You know, you see golf from a consumer point of view, and you look at all the properties in Charlottesville, right? Let's just look at our own community. Every single community golf course is doing well. Everyone is doing well.

I mean, we have doubled our rounds at Keswick in the last four years. We are doing great. Farmington is doing great. Farmington is doing great. Farmington was doing great when I left, and it's still doing great. Glenmore is much busier and more full of people than it used to be. Spring Creek, busy and full of people. I mean, the public golf course is busy and full of people. Burnwood.

Burnwood, exactly. You know, you think of our town having that many good golf courses. If you went to the National Golf Foundation and gave them the statistics of our community, our whole county, what is it, 150,000 people, and to tell them that there are seven or eight golf courses, or you count everybody that's kind of within arm's length, and you're at about, what, 10, 12 golf courses, they would say there's no way that the economy can support that,

and yet everybody is doing well. That's amazing. That truly is amazing. And Kesswick is beautiful. I was out there a couple of weeks ago, and that course has never looked better. Well, thank you. We have a great superintendent. I mean, this guy is so good.

He's unbelievable. Troy Fink is the ultimate grass geek. I call him the grass geek. He is so sharp. He went to North Carolina State and put a plug in for them. And let me tell you, this guy does such a great job with his team. And the owners of Keswick have just poured the money into the place and the golf course is great.

Robert Hardy is kind of behind the scenes running the golf and Molly Hardy oversees the property and the hotel and I'm just telling you the place is awesome. I love it. Also a beautiful place for people to visit. We've got a few membership openings if you want to join. What's going on, Derek? for people to visit. We've got a few membership opens if you want to join. We're in the shearing business. We don't skin you, we just shear you. We want you coming back for more.

There you go. Who's your pick, Rob, to win the U.S. Open? I've got to go with Scotty Scheffler. The trend is your friend. The guy's on Quago and he can chip he's a great chipper of the ball if you can't chip then throw him out yeah i totally agree well we appreciate it rob is this is this all you need from the pro from kokomo

i think that'll wrap us up i really appreciate you taking some time out down there and enjoy. Well, Jerry, I appreciate what you do for our community, for sports and for golf. You've been a great friend to me and the game of golf in our town for so many years. So thank you so much for your continued coverage of the game. And you make a big difference. So thank you. Well, thank you for saying that and we'll have you in the studio sometime when you can tell us some more of your favorite

stories I've got some good stories but I've got a face for radio you don't need to put me in the studio thank you Rob he's fantastic. He's an absolute legend right there. From Pinehurst in the U.S. Open, unbelievable hoodie. Who's your pick to win? I'd have to go with Scheffler as well.

I mean, he's won five or six tournaments already this year. And, I mean, how can you go against that? When Rob said he's in fuego, he's correct. And chipping is going to be a huge deal at Piners because that course is 150 yards in. And if you can land your ball on those incredible, challenging greens and chip to the right places on those greens, that weighs heavily in your favor. No question about it.

What's your favorite major of the four? It's got to be the U.S. Open. Again, because I think it's the truest test of golf. I like the British Open as well and the Masters. The PGA has risen up, in my opinion, since they've moved the dates on it. But the British Open is a lot of times Lynx Golf, which is different. To me, U.S. Open is the best because they do present they make the golf courses as challenging as they can and it's i think it's the truest test of golf that there is this question's come in the feed who's the greatest uva golfer of all time the greatest uva golfer of

all time is uh kind of up for grabs right now. I would say previously it had to be Steve Marino who had a long career and made a lot of money. I think Denny McCarthy is on his way to challenge that. Denny's just now really starting to play the best golf of his career. And I think he's going to make some noise. And then Ben James.

Kid's future's bright. I tell you, this guy could end up wiping out a lot of records the way he's playing. He's very talented, and he's not scared of anybody. Can you put UVA golf's progression into perspective? Bowman Sargent really has it going over there. I mean, he's had his team in the national quarterfinals the last couple years, and only the preeminent programs are there annually and he's getting to the point where

he's been able to do that and the fact that UVA has enhanced its golf program with the facilities and the restructuring of Birdwood

it's just an incredible program right now if you're a golfer they have everything you really need they couldn't say that in the past because the facilities weren't there and the course wasn't built for the length of today's game. But now that they have the length, they have the facilities, and they're bringing in some real talent.

I mean, these guys can play with anybody in the country. Hootie Ratcliffe, guys, put together a hell of a show today. We're going to watch the u.s open coverage starts thursday yeah ben james would love to see a great showing from ben james i mean i gotta go with scotty as well um i mean he's what scotty's doing right now is what last duplicated by tiger, pretty much. And that really says something right there. And you can make a legitimate argument that there's more parody in golf right now than ever.

I would say you're right. And Scotty is dominating. Yeah, and one of the stories of the year and maybe of the century was the fact that a few weeks ago at the PGA out in Louisville, when he was arrested and in jail in an orange jumpsuit that morning and came out and played incredible golf. And he handled that with grace.

He really did. I mean, I can't imagine anybody handling it any better than he did. Right. I mean, charges dropped, apologies made, and he's like, you know what? No big deal. No skin off my back. I mean, you talk about a cool cucumber right there.

Scotty certainly embodies those qualities. My friend, any closing thoughts on today's show? Rob McNamara was a fantastic guest. Rob has one of the best sense of humor. We'll have to have him on the show sometime. He's got amazing stories. He's always been one of my favorite interviews because he keeps things light. People don't realize just what a good golfer he was during his career. In fact, it's been a few years ago now, but when he was the pro over at Farmington, he brought in his All-American LSU teammate. Rob was an All-American at LSU as well. David

Toms from the tour, and they had a one-on-one battle at Farmington, and David Toms barely beat him out. I think it was a stroke or two. Rob knew that course, though. He did. He knew that course like the back of his hand, no question. But the guy is a historic figure as far as I'm concerned in the golf world. Certainly locally. Particularly locally. Jerry Ratcliffe, guys, namesake of the website, jerryratcliffe.com.

College baseball coverage? Yes. We're going to a press conference this afternoon over at The Dish before these guys hit the road to Omaha. So we'll have the latest scoop from O'Connor and the guys on the site tonight. JerryRackliff.com for anything Virginia sports related. Rob McNamara was absolutely fantastic. UVA just clicking right now.

Even football, some positive attention in the offseason. It was just, now that you bring it up, it was interesting to hear O'Connor, excuse me um o'connor yeah after the the win the other day thanking the community for believing in him from day one and uh he pointed out robert hardy who is the he and molly own kuswick as the first guy to take him out to dinner when he came to charlottesville and and tried to take him out to dinner when he came to Charlottesville and tried to help him formulate his ideas into reality. Rob Hardy, of course, the rector of the Board of Visitors. Yep.

He and Keswick Hall, just a pristine, pristine facility right there. For Jerry Ratcliffe and Judah Wittgower, my name is Jerry Miller. The show features the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer Jerry Hootie Ratcliffe himself. Thank you kindly for joining us. And ladies and gentlemen, get ready. You have a ton of Virginia in the news cycle. So long, everybody. Take care. Thank you.