A TGL opening night content bonanza, amusements, and impressions

PGA Tour dot com’s Sean Martin joins Brendan for this Wednesday episode as Andy’s paternity leave commences. It begins with a quick golf book recommendation from SMartin before a dive into some Northern Trust and Courier Cup history and minutiae, including the time Billy Horschel had to run to the bathroom. There’s also a short Heath Slocum retrospective before running through the schedule for the week. That somehow devolves into stories about the Bryant brothers, Bart and Brad, who got into the Champions Tour event at Big Cedar Lodge as an alternate. Sean makes a one-and-done pick for Andy, which could go horribly wrong, and nominates his own event of the week. In news, they discuss Tiger stopping by Winged Foot and Jon Rahm potentially not playing any Euro Tour events this year in a defense of his Race to Dubai win. They conclude with some serious discussion on if a FedExCup is the best measurement, stat, or title to reflect the player who had the best season in professional golf.

18 Aug 202043min

Our golf cup runneth over in this lengthy Monday episode. Brendan and Andy begin with the U.S. Amateur, which served as a backdrop for the telling of the Strafaci family history. The tortoise-like pace of play is discussed as are the foggy playing conditions, which had some pros on Twitter hollering should have caused a stoppage. There’s also an attempt to explain why watching this at this venue was so captivating, even against a major championship last week. The caddie sand antics from the end of last week are also discussed in detail, as both Brendan and Andy re-live some of their worst caddie mistakes and also have a few questions for how this looper got on a bag in the U.S. Am. Some Ladies Scottish Open discussion leads to Andy going deep down a rabbit hole on the cost of buying your own hot air balloon, the profession of hot air balloon “pilot,” and other hot air balloon topics. The Wyndham review focuses on the amazing career arc of Jim Herman, the Spieth microscope, a nailbiter at the Parsons house, Si Woo’s odd course management, and the failure of the Wyndham Rewards. The Senior Players chat is mostly cause to tell another Monty weight loss story and also how brutal that course looks for the senior pros. On the KFT, they ask if Stephan Jaeger is the greatest player of all time on that Tour after another win.

17 Aug 20201h 12min

The SGS Spotlight is back! With the U.S. Amateur this week, this Friday episode focuses on Bubba Dickerson, who won the U.S. Am during a legendary run in the summer of 2001. Brendan and Andy are joined by Bubba himself, Colin Sheehan, who is the golf coach at Yale and author of The United States Amateur: The History and Personal Recollections of Its Champions, and Steve Paramore, who played against Bubba in the 2001 Amateur. This episode is sponsored by the USGA’s new fan community, the Victory Club.  The episode traces Bubba’s upbringing in a one-stoplight town in Northeast Florida, his outcast approach to the AJGA, and his career at UF under Buddy Alexander. Then the summer of 2001 is covered in detail, including the Western Am he won after initially trying to pass on it, a motivating Walker Cup snub from a weird scheduling quirk, the mad dash and absurdity of having to qualify for the U.S. Am as the Western champion, and his week fending off “cocky” challengers to take the Havemeryer Trophy. Bubba’s rounds with Tiger at the subsequent Masters are recalled as well as the uphill battle to make it as a pro right as his distance advantage started to evaporate with the introduction of the new ball in late 2001. Sound Engineering by J Vierck.

14 Aug 20201h 12min

It’s major championship week! Brendan and Andy, coming down from the high of the first major of the year, jump right back in the pool for a preview of the Senior Players at venerable Firestone South. This includes rambling through the field list shouting out names at random, Andy trying to make an enemy of NE Ohio by disparaging the venue, and a flashback to when Ron Burgundy accused someone ELSE of cheating for using a different kind of club. This episode is not all Champions Tour talk, however, as video of Tacko Fall’s swing is discussed. There’s also some serious analysis on the Wyndham, and how host venue Sedgefield became the first course designed with home sites around it in mind. There’s a brief history on that architectural evolution and the relationship courses have to home sites around them. The event of the week is the U.S. Amateur, and both Brendan and Andy revel in the treat that will be primetime golf from Bandon Dunes. News covers a potentially lamentable venue choice for the next international Presidents Cup and the lamentable delay of the Distance Insights Report.

11 Aug 202053min

It took longer than anyone expected to get there, but the first major championship of the year delivered. Andy and Brendan return for one more daily reaction to the PGA and Collin Morikawa’s win at Harding Park. They assess Morikawa’s rapid ascent since turning pro, his future, and some potential comps to other young superstars. They also drool over the shot at 16, which Andy characterizes as an “approach shot” and not a drive to maintain the integrity of one of his oldest arguments. Then they run through the many contenders and characters from a manic day. DJ’s result is viewed leniently relative to some of his other major shortcomings. Bryson is buoyed. Some younger stars have holes to fill to get to Morikawa level. Some final thoughts on Harding Park, CBS, clouds, the skyline, and the activation timepiece are also included before they run through some of the other results from the weekend, including Brendan’s stroll at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

10 Aug 20201h 6min

The great Shane Bacon joins for this loopy Saturday night discussion on the PGA Championship. But first, a debate about the proper sized coffee mug and some troubles Andy has had in this sizing pursuit. On golf, they discuss the manic and bunched leaderboard movements from Saturday at Harding Park and if Sunday’s final round will bring more of the same. Can it even be changed in any dramatic way at this point? Dustin Johnson’s sudden rise to the top is put in context. Phil’s TV work is discussed and reviewed at length, especially in contrast with Sir Nick. Then they run through the tee sheet, discussing all the names at the bottom of Sunday’s pairings, from amusing anecdotes on Bryson trying to make the world a better place to Cameron “Don’t Call Me Cam” Champ’s beautiful game in the third round. They end with a few predictions and a couple “game within the game” things to watch (namely Chez vs. Spieth).

9 Aug 20201h 9min

This late Friday episode reacts to another full day at the PGA Championship and slowly morphs into a Flashback Friday on the fast life of Mike Lorenzo-Vera, the Frenchman who sits at T2 at Harding Park. Other subjects covered include Rickie’s cut-missing whiff, Brooksy’s rolling around on the ground, Tiger’s chances with 36 to play, the Rory rollercoaster, and Haotong being held captive at the practice facility. Brendan and Andy also cover some of their favorite tee times for the third round (the Bryson-Reed Gentlemen Duo) and some potential worst-case scenarios for Saturday. There is also more praise for ESPN’s group of commentators and analysts as the perfect middle ground that makes this feel like an entertaining conversation while you watch.

8 Aug 202045min

This Friday episode reacts to a full day of the first major championship in more than a year. A favorite son of the SGS, Brendon Todd is yet again on top of the leaderboard and there is condemnation for those who lost the faith because of potential “bombers’ paradise.” Andy uses this to offer some pointed thoughts on the setup and rough and what, if anything, we can take away from a mixed leaderboard after 18 holes. Then there’s a segment honoring Jeff Hart, the 60-year-old club pro who putted with his glove on and hit some eye-poppingly short drives. Brooksy’s back again and continues to speedbag Bryson, who had some shaft problems. They debate whether Bryson should have been able to put a new driver in play. There’s a cross-sport comp that anoints Zatch Johnson the St. Louis Cardinals of golf. There is ample time spent on the Spieth Problem, which Andy claims is just a mental issue at this point. Brendan asks how many players under 40, even with the current grim situation, would not take Spieth’s resume and career right now? Rory’s struggles are also put into perspective but Tiger’s approach is praised in the context of Andy’s earlier course analysis. Also, did the PGA screw Jon Rahm with his grouping. They close with some words of praise on ESPN voices re-joining golf coverage and a whiparound discussion on the Pirate going low in England and the U.S. Women’s Amateur bracket shaping up for a blockbuster weekend.

7 Aug 202058min