The PGA Tour’s venue problem, LIV’s poor ratings in Mexico, and OWGR awakening?

Andy and Brendan are buzzing as they hit record shortly after watching that Sunday duel between Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler at the Tour Championship. They discuss the fallacy of the entertainment being a “win for the format.” They praise Rory for the longevity of his greatness, critique Scottie for a poor day in an otherwise excellent year, and revel in a rewarding day of golf-watching to finish off the season. After plenty of Rory and Scottie talk, they get to the news of another batch of LIV defections that would significantly harm the Presidents Cup. Some were expected, others were a mild surprise, including Joaquin Niemann, who was just in that Delaware meeting plotting the future of the Tour. During the LIV chat, they also note some fairly alarming quotes from Cam Young. They close with the continued but amusing incoherence of James Hahn.

28 Aug 20221h 3min

August is winding down but the summer of upheaval and change in pro golf continues with the PGA Tour announcing its next move in the battle against LIV. It’s a series of moves, really, dramatically re-shaping what the Tour is, who controls it, and acknowledging some truths that many have been shouting about for years. Andy and Brendan discuss the new “elevated” tour, how it will all fit into the schedule, who should get the credit (thank u Mr. Mickelson!), and if Jay Monahan and his team are the right people to implement it all going forward. They also discuss the notion that the Tour copied LIV. Rory and Tiger’s new TGL project is also pondered at length, as Monday Night golf returns in a new way.

25 Aug 20221h 11min

It’s a lively Wednesday episode with tenuous WiFi on both ends for Andy and Brendan. They begin with breaking news that Kapalua will now permanently be the Tournament of Mostly Champions. This leads to further discussion on the Tour Champ, the discarding of history, a low net and gross disaster, and how it could be re-made by going west. That transitions to more thoughts on the NLU report about the Rory/Tiger concept and where exactly the room comes on the schedule and how best to execute it. The Will Zalatoris injury is a big blow and also reveals the weakness of the staggered start net championship. Schedule for the week has a Canadian bent to it. News of a joint Rory-Tiger venture that has eradicated vowels is discussed even though there are minimal details yet. The PGA of America’s Frisco home got its big reveal, so they dive into from Global Home comps before getting out.

24 Aug 20221h 3min

This episode begins with some Monday positivity, both with impressions of the BMW Championship and reporting about the meeting that went down there. Andy and Brendan react to the NLU report with the list of names and what exactly was proposed -- a “top tier” circuit within a larger PGA Tour. They discuss how this makes Monahan and other Tour bureaucrats look and react and where it might go from here. There’s some further approval of the BMW and the stakes of it, including kind words for Patrick Cantlay after another win. They discuss a Golfweek report on another Tiger-Rory endeavor about one-day non-green grass events. The U.S. Amateur is reviewed, with praise for the spice some of the final four provided both with quotes and style. They close it by reviewing the rest of the weekend’s results and a few comments on the death of Tom Weiskopf.

22 Aug 202254min

The cup of the content gods runneth over as golf’s summer of absurdity and existential crisis continued this week with an outlandish Pat Reed defamation lawsuit against Brandel Chamblee, incoherent tweets from a PGA Tour player advisory council member, last week’s PGA Tour winner having to disown a ranting “mentor,” a Tiger Woods attended players meeting to combat LIV, contents of LIV contracts coming out in the WSJ, and more. It’s been a week, and Andy and Brendan meander about in all that, while also discussing the great golf watching at the U.S. Amateur, where (good!) coverage comes on and goes off in what feels like indiscriminate fashion. There’s also some amusement in Paul Azinger comments on this week’s BMW venue, compared to Patrick Cantlay’s thoughts. The episode closes with a Precision Pro Flashback Friday on the 1990 U.S. Amateur, won by a brash Phil Mickelson over former HS teammate turned foe Manny Zerman, whose own legend is explored a bit during the segment.

19 Aug 20221h 3min

This Wednesday episode is out early as Andy and Brendan react to news of a players-only meeting that will include a visit from Tiger Woods as the remaining PGA Tour loyalists try to rally the troops and also discuss, reportedly, the job security of commissioner Jay Monahan and major championship boycotts. They ponder the meeting in light of the news that Cam Smith, rumored LIV boy, has withdrawn from the BMW. The U.S. Amateur is given the event of the week, with some top names and amusing names highlighted, Ridgewood previewed, and the meandering TV schedule panned. Does NBCUni just have too many golf rights and is this week proof of that? They get off some BMW Champ one-and-dones, a few notes about Wilmington, and then to an angry reaction to the news that the once historic Western Open will go to Baltimore and St. Louis in two upcoming years, with Chicago slated to host just once in a six-year span.

16 Aug 202255min

This Monday episode begins with a discussion on the dynamics of youth birthday parties before jumping into the thrilling conclusion to the first leg of the Courier Cup Playoffs. Andy and Brendan discuss the strutting and putting of Will Zalatoris, who clinched his first victory on the PGA Tour in a circus-like playoff against the Sepptic Tank. It was a potentially ugly day for the PGA Tour that finished with a bang. They react to the bizarre Cam Smith penalty and the LIV conspiracy theories that followed. Saki Baba’s dominant U.S. Women’s Am victory is discussed, as is host site Chambers Bay and the unfortunate reality that we may never see a U.S. Open there again thanks to the ridiculous pre-advance booking at a few anchor sites. The final regular season event on the Korn Ferry Tour is also discussed at the end, with praise for Michael Kim, a pronunciation debate for Kevin Roy, and a schedule lament that buries one of the Tour’s best days behind the playoffs.

15 Aug 202249min

Typically, mid-August is for getting away and golf slowing down despite what the FedEx Cup marketing might try to make you believe. Andy and Brendan had that in mind with various vacation and work travels planned, but they did not expect such significant and entertaining golf news to develop this week. So Brendan sits in the car outside a beach house, while Andy scoots through rural Nebraska in his own vehicle, and the result is this episode discussing the LIV plaintiffs lawyer making a fool of himself at the TRO hearing in California, the completely unsympathetic Gooch-Swafford-Jones trio, and the Tour having to acknowledge some hard truths in order to craft winning arguments. They also discuss world No. 2 Cam Smith reportledy jumping ship next month to LIV, and many other things in an episode that did not feel like it would get off the ground.

10 Aug 202236min