Dunlap makes history, Rory wins in Dubai, and Thirst Bucket of the Week

It's time to put the Year in Review on pause for a loaded week of golf in December. Andy and Brendan are relieved to be talking about current events and the content gods have delivered, providing nuggets spanning from Bethpage to the Bahamas. They begin with the Hero World Challenge and its host "Doctor" Munjal. Brendan calls for an early Thirstbucket of the Week following his yearly media availability in Albany and questions what he's a doctor of after all. PJ chimes in with some quick research finding that his doctorates may or may not be honorary, leading Andy to refer to him as "Mr. Munjal" for the rest of the show. Tiger Woods also spoke on Tuesday about his playing future and the future of the PGA Tour. He stayed in line with reports about Brian Rolapp's 20-event schedule coming as soon as 2027 and confirmed that he'll be OUT for Jup Links in the first half of the TGL season. Brian Rolapp found himself in front of a microphone last week and made sure to mention that the "middle class matters," which is sure to put the minds of mules at ease. In more from the Ryder Cup that will never end, Justin Thomas appeared on the No Laying Up podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the American loss at Bethpage. Within the interview, JT took exception to the green speeds at The People's Country Club and said that they were not what Keegan Bradley asked for. He stated that "they" argued with the Americans about the speed, which was aggregated to no end on social media. On the very (too?) busy Schedule for the Week, the Hero has brought in outside help for its Pro-Am, Rory is teeing it up at Royal Melbourne with Dr. Chipinski, and Will Zalatoris makes his return at the Nedbank in South Africa. With almost all of the world's top players in action this week, Andy and Brendan wonder if there are some scheduling issues that lead to three tournaments spreading out the top-end talent as opposed to getting them all in one place to compete against each other. Lastly, the Skechers World Champions Cup will somehow air on ESPN and ABC this weekend, so PJ has a full primer ready to go for those tuning in for their first Champs Tour action of the year. Friday's episode will contain a full, detailed discussion about TGL's Gil Hanse intro video that set Golf Twitter ablaze on Tuesday afternoon.

3 Dec 1h 3min

A Year in Review episode on the first of the month, AND it's a Victory Monday? Andy and Brendan are in high spirits following the holiday weekend and are joined by KVV and PJ for the third installment of the 2025 Year in Review. For those unaware, the date is December 1 and the Chicago Bears are atop the NFC standings. Andy can't believe what he's seeing and is still rolling following a big Black Friday win over the defending Super Bowl champions. The crew discusses David Puig's win at the Australian PGA and some other assorted notes from the first of two weeks down under for the DP World Tour before moving on to the Year in Review. KVV gets called in from the bullpen to handle the WM Phoenix Open to kick things off. He regales his audience with tales of Andy selling off property on "Just a Guyland" before Spieth popped at TPC Scottsdale and dives into LIV's 2025 kickoff in Riyadh. Brendan then takes the baton and looks back on a "muted" Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines. This event moved from Riviera due to the LA fires and was the week after Tiger's mom passed away, leading to a more subdued event than usual. Andy brightens the mood by unpacking the TGL Presidents' Day marathon and what was perhaps the true "Event of the Year," the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld. Everyone takes a great amount of joy as the pillow fight of a playoff between Brian Campbell and Aldrich Potgieter is pored over in great detail. Lastly, PJ closes out this episode with some more TGL memories, including the league's first-ever one day signing and Brendan's second trip to the SoFi Dome. Jake Knapp's big week at the Cognizant Classic is also discussed, but the true news of the week came in the form of letters to Sam Saunders regarding exemptions into the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. We will put the Year in Review on pause for a few shows as pro golf heads to one of the world's finest courses for the Australian Open and PGA Tour stars will tee it up at the Hero World Challenge this week.

1 Dec 2h 2min

The Year in Review rolls on with this second installment covering the penultimate Farmers Insurance Open and Rory McIlroy's win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Recording this episode well before its release, Brendan and Andy wonder how they'll be feeling on Friday morning as you're listening to this after a day of turkey and football. With the addition of TGL to the early-year golf calendar, these weeks have taken longer to review causing this episode to focus on just two events. PJ jumps in to handle the Farmers at Torrey Pines. Sure, Harris English won his fifth PGA Tour event, but the true highlight of this week was Billy Horschel's TGL debut. PJ recaps the Atlanta Drive's first-ever victory, as well as some important interviews from PGA of America leaders (not the one you're thinking of... yet). Andy then is tasked with presenting on Rory's win at one of golf's great venues, Pebble Beach. This week marked the return of both Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth from injury, as well as Bryson DeChambeau's content-filled trip to DLF in India. Part 3 of the 2025 Year in Review will be in your feeds for Monday morning!

28 Nov 1h 10min

It's time to be thankful for all that golf gave us in 2025. Andy and Brendan return for the always-dreaded (yet eventually enjoyable) exercise known as the Year in Review, back for its EIGHTH season! The two take a very quick look at this week's schedule and preview the return of the Skins Game as well as the first of two weeks in Australia before the long-awaited Year in Review gets underway. This installment, per usual, begins with The Sentry as Brendan remembers what may be the final PGA Tour event at Kapalua. He shares all the bits and pieces that come with the start of a new year, including equipment changes for Max Homa, the PGA Tour's new studio space, and Hideki's record-breaking week in Hawaii. Andy then jumps in to tackle the Sony Open, which ended in a playoff between two podcast favorites after J.J. Spaun fumbled in regulation. Andy also has the honor of introducing TGL to the Year in Review as the indoor league kicked off with an NYGC loss to The Bay. Brendan rounds out Part 1 by covering the "Tank Slam" at a glacially slow American Express and Tiger's TGL debut in the SoFi Dome. Stay tuned for Part 2 of the 2025 Year in Review coming Friday morning for your holiday weekend travels.

26 Nov 1h 39min

It’s Victory Monday on the Shotgun Start! Andy and Brendan are without PJ as the young lad takes in a Lions-Giants game. They get into the Big Fin, Sami Valimaki winning the RSM Classic and some amusing comments from DL3 about the next 15 years at the event where no changes are planned. They also discuss the bubble boys, including one Jordan Spieth, who missed the AON Next 10 by less than a point but will likely get a sponsor’s spot anyways to Pebble Beach. There’s a rousing LIV segment after Jose Ballester won the Saudi International and the hot stove heated up, including some Asian Tour grads, an Abe Ancer trade, and unsub rumors on a run at a potential Magic Stick. There’s also an amusing detail from some recent LIV GM meetings. They close with the LPGA’s CME Championship and an underwhelming season getting a deserving winner in Jeeno Thitikul. They also discuss the momentum the LPGA might have with Craig Kessler and how they can bottle it for some long term success and stability.

24 Nov 50min

Brendan! returns to host this Friday episode and begins by picking Andy's brain about a morning spent at the DMV. This conversation quickly evolves into a debate about different kinds of gasoline and why the "middle" level of gas even exists. If anyone out there happens to own a gas station, please let us know your thoughts on this matter. Speaking of "gas", Rico Hoey is continuing his fall swing heater with a share of the first round lead at the RSM Classic. Andy does some Big J Journalism and investigates whether Hoey will be eligible for the International Presidents Cup team and finds out that he is, in fact, eligible to take down Scottie Scheffler at Medinah in September 2026. The two then run down the Top 100 Bubble Boys as the FedEx Cup season finally comes to a close, mentioning that podcast favorites like Matt Kuchar and the "Beau-rista" may be on the outside looking in for full status. "AI Minute" returns with Andy reading off the Google Gemini suggestions for someone googling Matt Kuchar's age. They then check in on the Tour's "Players to Watch", most of whom are struggling after Thursday's round. Brendon Todd was not one of the five highlighted by the Tour, but "Todd Watch" returns anyway for a quick minute. Brendan then shifts to the biggest news coming out of the RSM, some comments from Harris English about a potential PGA Tour schedule change. English claims that the Tour is discussing starting after the Super Bowl and running a 20-event season. Andy and Brendan discuss the impact this would have on the "A Tour" and "B Tour" setups, as well as major markets that would likely host a new tournament under this structure. Andy brings in a "former NFL executive" (PJ) to share some thoughts on a move to an NFL-like schedule under Brian Rolapp, another very famous ex-NFL exec. PJ is also prompted to preview an upcoming "Lunch with The Boys" episode featuring recurring guest Cameron Young. Through two rounds, Caleb Surratt is doing Caleb Surratt things at the Saudi International, but Anthony Kim is close behind him on the leaderboard! Brendan and Andy then unpack a bit of the LPGA's 2026 schedule changes before wrapping things up with the latest from Notah on Tiger's future competitive plans.

21 Nov 57min

Andy is joined by "The Boys" for this final Wednesday show of the 2025 PGA Tour season! Brendan is off at Pinehurst in protest of the RSM Classic, his least favorite PGA Tour event, so PJ and Joseph LaMagna step in to preview the fall swing finale. PGA Tour Comms put out an unhinged list of five "Players to Watch" for the RSM which prompts a guessing game to kick off the show. Andy then goes down the list of every winner of the event and wonders if this is the worst winner's list of any full-field PGA Tour event. Although he's not a "Player to Watch," U.S. Am winner Mason Howell is in the field and playing with Davis Love III for the first two rounds. The CME Group Tour Championship rounds out a big week of LPGA news. Every round of the 2026 season will be broadcast on live TV with more cameras and microphones on the course to help facilitate this. Andy issues an apology for misidentifying Brooke Matthews as the winner of the Lamborghini on Monday's episode and quizzes PJ and Joseph on whether they'd even want the car after an ace. 43 LIV golfers will tee it up at the PIF Saudi International for some coffee golf in the U.S., but they're all dwarfed by Sampson Zheng for the purposes of this podcast (and the soundboard). LIV's offseason is underway and the first PGA Tour defection is in the books with Victor Perez heading to the Cleeks. Martin Kaymer is ecstatic about this acquisition and gave some glowing quotes about how Perez will further elevate the Cleeks brand. The three pitch some other LIV hot stove transactions, including two offers for one of the brightest young golf stars in the world! In news, former LIV star Henrik Stenson paid his DPWT fines and will be back on the tour for 2025 in some capacity. Andy wonders if this is all a ploy to get a second chance at a Ryder Cup captaincy now that the Euro pipeline seems dry. The Augusta Hooters was demolished on Tuesday but PJ already has a plan for another interview with John Daly next year. Finally, there's some general sports chatter to round out this episode with notes on the Colts, LeBron James, and a takedown of WWE.

19 Nov 1h 5min

This is once again a Victory Monday episode of The Shotgun Start as Caleb Williams led a game-winning drive in Minnesota to push the Bears to 7-3 on the year. Andy is absolutely buzzing following the divisional win but was even more excited about the finish of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Sunday morning. Adam Schenk hung on against 40 mph winds to secure his first PGA Tour win and guarantee his status for the 2026 season. Andy and Brendan run through an incredible Sunday of television as Tour veterans and young players battled the elements on a small island in the middle of the ocean. They pitch that maybe the Butterfield should be a Signature Event to give fans a chance to watch the best players in the world try to figure out the wind patterns for four days of competition. Not to be outdone, the DP World Tour Championship went to a playoff between Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick. Fitz ended up with the win, putting a bow on a season that had him fall outside the top 80 in OWGR only to now have him back inside the top 25 heading into the new year. Andy and Brendan then take a look at the "Year of Rory" following his seventh Race to Dubai title, passing Seve's mark for second place all time. Potential Ryder Cup captain Stewart Cink chased down Steven Alker in Phoenix to become the first player since 2017 to win both the Schwab Cup Championship and the season-long honors. Champions Tour Minute also includes some Tiger Woods chatter following a Golfweek article published on Friday about his potential involvement on the senior circuit in 2026. This episode closes with a brief bit of news involving a back surgery for Justin Thomas that will keep him out of action for the first part of next season.

17 Nov 50min