A Mark O’Meara Spotlight, the commish works for free and TV programming wishes

This Whiparound Friday episode might as well be a show about nothing with not much going on in golf this week. Andy and Brendan start with a quick rundown of an early leaderboard at the Procore with players like Mackenzie Hughes and Matt Kuchar leading the way. They then move to the BMW PGA on the DP World Tour where auto-qualifier Rasmus Hojgaard struggled on Thursday. Andy takes that baton and runs with it, explaining that the Ryder Cup captains need to be more cutthroat and sit struggling players until Sunday singles if that's what is best for the team. This leads into an impromptu Flashback Friday on the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Paris, France. Andy and Brendan remember some crazy decisions made by the American side, such as making a "celebratory" Tiger Woods play four times that week and pairing a rookie Bryson DeChambeau with a wild Phil Mickelson. They bring up supporting characters such as Thorbjorn Olesen playing with Rory McIlroy and the European team of "Moliwood" that effectively won the event on their own. As for the 2025 event, the Americans are out in full force in Napa and Keegan Bradley is calling this the "closest team he's ever seen" - despite only seeing two teams prior to this. After a bunch of winding Ryder Cup chatter, some legendary Golf Advice emails send us into the weekend. A #HedgeBoy story from Cypress jogs Andy's memory about a horrendous round in the area before Brendan reads an email about a member-guest caddie's interactions with nature.

11 Sep 1h 7min

It is NOT a Victory Wednesday (or Tuesday) episode for Andy, but he's back to join Brendan! for a preview of some September golf throughout the world. Things kick off with a quick Champions Tour Minute highlighting Thomas Bjorn's win in St. Louis that was ignored on Monday's Walker Cup recap. Bjorn took home one of the more interesting trophies in golf at the Stifel Charity Classic before working as an AssCap for Team Europe in a few weeks. Speaking of Ryder Cup preparations, 10 of the 12 Americans are in the field at the ProCore Championship in Napa. Tuesday's practice round has already brought some early "pods" and potential pairings. Scottie Scheffler looks like he'll run it back with Russell Henley after a strong showing at the Presidents Cup while his deputy, Sam Burns, played a round with Mr. 1,000 and No-Hat Pat. Team Europe is also gathering this week - they're almost all in the field at the BMW PGA at Wentworth in England. Rory McIlroy had some insightful comments regarding his future schedules in his pre-tournament press conference and stopped just short of naming some events he doesn't particularly care for. Also teeing it up at Wentworth is defending champion Billy Horschel, who makes his return to competitive golf following a mid-year injury. To preview this week's Champions Tour event in South Dakota, Andy runs down the Schwab Cup standings and once again wonders who Ricardo Gonzalez is. In news, future Champs Tour star Tiger Woods was seen hitting balls on a New Jersey range on Monday, sending the internet into a storm, per usual. To close the show, Andy comments on Monday night's Bears loss to the Vikings and has some questions about Caleb Williams.

9 Sep 1h 7min

Andy joins Brendan! fresh off a weekend at the 50th Walker Cup with a notebook full of observations from Cypress Point. The United States won for the fifth-straight time, securing a blowout margin with a strong performance in Sunday singles. Andy shares some tales from the ground, including notes on Mason Howell, Niall Shiels Donegan, and Michael La Sasso. Brendan provides some color on the broadcast side after two days of watching at home. Not to be outdone by the amateurs, Bryson DeChambeau showed up for the weekend to be a thirsty boy and share his thoughts on Dr. MacKenzie's masterpiece. Andy also spent some time with a legendary light-hitting first baseman as well! On the professional golf side of things, Rory McIlroy won the Irish Open on Sunday morning, making an eagle on the 72nd hole to send the event into a playoff. It was an emotional week for Rory, who brought his green jacket to show off to the home crowds at the K Club. Andy and Brendan try further contextualize Rory's rollercoaster of a 2025 following this latest win. In news, a podcast favorite throws out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game and Xander is the only eligible American Ryder Cupper skipping out on the Procore. We wrap things up with a Football Minute following disastrous Browns and Jets losses on Sunday, because how would an NFL season start otherwise?

8 Sep 1h 12min

Andy and Brendan return with a mega-episode to kick off a big weekend in sports! Andy is especially excited about his trip to the Walker Cup at Cypress Point and previews some players to watch in the 50th playing of the competition. The two discuss golf's resurgence in popularity, using Sergio Garcia's decision to skip the Irish Open to play with tennis star Carlos Alcaraz as a prime example. After a lengthy Walker Cup discussion and an all-time story from a trip to Cypress, Andy and Brendan dive in on the first round of the Irish Open. Rory McIlroy found himself on the clock on Thursday and was quite upset, but not as upset as Pablo Larrazabal was at Marco Penge missing out on the Ryder Cup team. Larrazabal's tweet is a perfect transition into some Ryder Cup commercialization news on a slow week in golf. PJ is appalled that there will be an outdoor takeover of Rockefeller Center for Ryder Cup weekend and Brendan shares details of some very expensive "at-home" kits for those watching on TV. Following the Ryder Cup, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will lead another set of teams at the "Golf Channel Games" in December. Andy is already excited for the potential of some takes surrounding any pro's performance in this made-for-TV exhibition. In a follow up from the legendary "Dunky" on Monday's episode, Andy shares another Walker Cup crime file - with this former player ending up absolved of any wrongdoing. To wrap things up, there's some brief NFL chatter before we send it to an old Flashback Friday segment from 2019 on the first-ever Walker Cup.

4 Sep 1h 35min

Andy and Brendan! get this First of the Month recording in under the gun, chatting late on Labor Day about the latest news in golf. They run through Monday's announcement of the European Ryder Cup team as Luke Donald finalized his roster with 11 of the 12 players from Rome. The two debate whether this is the best Team Europe has ever been and wonder who, if anyone, will be looked back on as the "random" member of this 2025 roster. The picks were made following the Omega Masters on the DP World Tour, won by pod favorite Thriston Lawrence after a year of struggles in the United States. In honor of this week's Walker Cup, Brendan shares quick flashlight about a player from the last time the event was held at Cypress Point. This flashlight has twists and turns and ends up with an extradition, if that's your thing. PJ quizzes Andy and Brendan on some SEC backup QBs or SEC golfers following Week 1 of college football and all three take some joy in North Carolina's loss to TCU. Things wrap up with a Champions Tour discussion after Ernie Els publicly challenged Tiger Woods to tee it up on the senior circuit in 2026.

2 Sep 40min

With minimal golf news to chat about, this Friday episode covers a myriad of topics including geography, plane flight paths, and the Green Bay Packers. Andy is still recovering the Micah Parsons news and Brendan prompts PJ to explain his love for the Packers in 2025 just to make things worse. After an abridged Football Corner before college football kicks off this weekend, Andy and Brendan move on to golf and discuss Sunny Kim's latest win on the Minor League Golf Tour. Brendan is especially impressed by the record books on the Minor League Tour and suggests the PGA Tour take some notes. They also run through the field at next week's BMW PGA, where most of the potential European Ryder Cup team will tee it up alongside some LIV boys and... Corey Conners? Brian Rolapp is reportedly wondering how the PGA Tour can better market the mules, so Brendan and Andy come up with some ideas and players they'd like featured. Andy then audits the PGA Tour socials to figure out where some mule content could fit in. In other news, Kapalua is now shutting down in order to preserve the course due to a water shortage and The Sentry is officially in danger. There's plenty of Golf Advice to send you off to a holiday weekend, with listeners wondering when they can drink non-alcoholic beer and an Andy takedown of the handicap system in America. To wrap things up, Brendan, Andy, and PJ look ahead to Week 1 of college football and highlight some games to watch, with Andy making a shocking revelation.

29 Aug 1h 18min

This Wednesday episode was recorded live right after the interminable dog-and-pony show announcing the final six captain’s picks to fill the 2025 US Roster for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Andy and Brendan are giddy coming off that show and dissect the six picks, who got snubbed, and the agonizing choice by Keegan Bradley to just captain and not play even though he is clearly one of the best 12 US golfers this year. They also outline some points of concern on the roster, potential pairings, and a laundry list of amusements for the one-hour show with all six picks sitting on a zoom. They ponder the notion that the Americans are on “the back foot” and the Euros are tap-dancing in their heads. The role of Tiger Woods, if any, in these decisions is also bandied about. They close with schedule for the week and some news on the Masters and Open switching up their exemptions into their fields, a Rory-Scottie skills challenge coming to TV in December, and the Tour Championship’s monster ratings.

27 Aug 1h 16min

Tommy Fleetwood has finally won a PGA Tour event. Naturally, this episode starts elsewhere, as Andy and Brendan immediately jump into some quotes from Robert Garrigus and James Hahn. As told to Adam Schupak, these men are very unhappy about the PGA Tour's continued shift toward Signature Events. Garrigus challenged Jordan Spieth to a match for his "five sponsor exemptions" into Signature Events next year and Hahn wants Brian Rolapp to get his phone number from Jay Monahan. This sets Andy off, wondering which players should feature in the "Mule Derby." Things eventually get back to the Super Bowl of Golf, won by Tommy Fleetwood after four rounds of preferred lies. Tommy held off "Playoff P," Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley, and a half-hearted charge from FedEx Cup fourth-place-finisher Scottie Scheffler on Sunday. PJ questions whether this Tour Championship should even count as Tommy's first win, but Fleetwood is now Mr. 1,001 regardless. Andy and Brendan discuss the week at East Lake and give Tommy his flowers for landing the plane on Sunday afternoon. With the U.S. Ryder Cup team set to be announced on Wednesday, it seems like Keegan Bradley will select himself, leaving one of Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, or Sam Burns at home. There's a lengthy discussion about what Keegan should do, but everyone agrees things are trending toward him being a playing captain. The European Ryder Cup team also got a boost on Sunday, with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton teaming up to win the LIV Team Championship in a playoff. Elsewhere for Europe, Rasmus Hojgaard qualified on points, all but locking up their 12 players. Brendan is unsure of how Rasmus accumulated enough points to make the top six and questions whether all points lists should go away for the 2027 Ryder Cup. Stew Cink went back-to-back at the Ally Challenge, beating Ernie Els in a playoff in Michigan and Brooke Henderson won her national Open on the LPGA. Finally, President Trump declared that he's in favor of Keegan Bradley's playing captaincy and said he will be attending the Ryder Cup on Friday. Will he chop it up with Don Rea? That remains to be seen.

25 Aug 1h 26min