Triumph and disaster at St. Andrews, Playing-Captain Keegan? And the club-toss test

This Friday episode reacts to the first day at the Presidents Cup, where the USA took a 4-1 lead over the Internationals. Andy and Brendan discuss the lineups, who flopped and who impressed. They get into the agonizing pre-match ceremony, the playing-through golf, and the fight in the International side against what could just be a dominant era of American golf in all team events. The second half of the podcast is a Flashback Friday to the time when the International players, led by Greg Norman, fired their captain, David Graham, just a month or two before the 1996 Presidents Cup. It’s an amusing tale that’s hard to imagine happening now. They close with reactions to the lineups announced for Day 2 at Quail Hollow.

22 Sep 202259min

This Wednesday episode serves as our official Presidents Cup preview. If you’ve come for picks, predictions, top points earner candidates, and pairings you want to see, well you’re in the wrong place. Andy and Brendan have a rambling discussion about people getting off shots at this Pres Cup, how badly the LIV losses wounded it, what happens if the Internationals win, and whether reform is needed. They also discuss Billy the Baton boy and the potential for drama both internal and abroad with the attack dog. Quail Hollow, as a venue, is panned. The later half deals with Patrick Reed heading to France to play the Euro Tour, and Greg Norman writing yet more letters to people who didn’t ask for them -- this time a pleading note to the OWGR board. Both Andy and Brendan discuss the justification for giving LIV points, and the likelihood of it happening.

21 Sep 20221h 9min

This episode is for all those people who have been waiting all day for Sunday night to avoid the Packers-Bears game. Andy and Brendan record right after a stunning turn at the Fortnite Champ, where Danny Willett booted it from three feet after Max Homa chipped in to successfully defend in Napa. They discuss some players making early impressions and the streaming/network experience doing the same for all the wrong reasons, especially up against a LIV stream at the same time. On LIV, they discuss that resolution that had minimal juice with what felt like an academic outcome, the commentators getting punchy, and Chase winning low Koepka for team Smash. They also delight in Steve Harvey’s repeated visits to the broadcast, his misnaming DJ, confessing it was the first golf event he’d ever been to, and Sergio’s odd and unexpected admiration. They close with a few more thoughts on the Italian Open, Portland Classic, and senior tour event.

18 Sep 202244min

This Friday episode begins with Italian Open leader Matt Fitzpatrick, and where he now sits among recent one-time majors winners as most likely to bag a second. That leads to an exercise breaking down first page leaderboard favorites at majors right now, going through the current upper crust of the game and pondering the future of Brooks and DJ. Those two will tee it up at Rich Harvest Farms, an underwhelming venue that may not be precisely what the pros are used to this weekend. Precision Pro Flashback Friday gets at the origin story of the Fortinet/Safeway’s move to Silverado, which was only supposed to be a stopgap venue as the event went back to an ultra private course next to a “math castle” with marble lions that spit water every hour. It’s a different but amusing #FBF on some of the myths around “The Institute” golf course.

16 Sep 202259min

This delayed Wednesday episode drops on the heels of a WSJ story on Jay Monahan’s private plane usage, PGA Tour expenditures, questions about an “efficient” global home and “unusually fast” aircraft, a Tour with 750+ employees, and and tax filing language that put the whole place under the microscope in a way its not accustomed to. Andy and Brendan react to the article, both superficial and substantive. With the new season upon us, they get back to an SGS tradition: over-unders, with some serious and some not-so-serious. Shhhedule for the week focuses on the potential Ryder Cup prep taking place over in Italy, where a handful of Euro stars are playing while the Americans sit at home for the Pres Cup.

14 Sep 20221h 6min

It’s Victory Monday! A jubilant Andy and Brendan begin with their 1-0 football teams, the controversy around the Bears flooded new field, and the Browns superstar kicker. Then it’s on to the European Tour’s flagship event that got Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Shane Lowry contending at the end. They praise Lowry’s year of consistency and win, then go over some insightful comments and his quip that he won this one “for the good guys.” Rory’s continued season is also reviewed, and there are some questions put to the floor about Viktor Hovland. Sergio’s abandonment of the event for the Texas-Alabama game is also critiqued. Pat Reed comments are reviewed as well! They close with a quick discussion on Scottie Scheffler’s POY win.

12 Sep 202250min

This is a meandering Friday episode that touches on tennis, the grim prospects for the Bears and Browns, and the death of the Queen. That last bit of news has altered the plans at the BMW PGA at Wentworth, where play was suspended on Thursday and Friday and the flagship event has been reduced to 54 holes. There will be jokes, probably from Sharky. They discuss the early sniping from the grounds and how everyone looks like a loser. Then it’s on to Flashback Friday, which is a longer trip on a host of memories from the grand World Match Play event that used to take place at Wentworth. They start on a specific edition that had Isao Aoki walking away “winning more money in one week than any golfer in history.” That broadens out to the origin of the event, its death, how it could be re-born today, and the themes of its start that feel relevant to today’s battles. There are also some specific stories about Gary Player with a sketchy drop and Greg Norman vowing “never to return.”

9 Sep 202251min

This Wednesday episode begins by sifting through the various comments and call-outs that have occurred this week at the DP World Tour’s flagship event, where there’s a commingling of LIV players and non-LIV players in the same field. Andy and Brendan discuss the “cold hard facts” offered by CEO Keith Pelley, Rahm and Billy Boy’s critiques, Talor’s tweet retorts, Rory’s intimations about the future strategic alliance, and the motives of old guard players like Westy and Poulter. They also discuss the future of the Euro Tour as a “feeder tour” or simply as an occasional PGA Tour host in Europe. News focuses on DL3 and Trevor Immelman rounding out the Presidents Cup rosters with six picks each, with some thoughts and concerns about Kevin Kisner getting the last spot on the U.S. side.

7 Sep 202253min