PGA Tour board and Monahan fatigue, LIV’s puny Hong Kong Course, and SGS Golf Advice

This Wednesday episode begins with the event of the week, the Women’s Open at Carnoustie. Andy and Brendan highlight some of the key tee times and discuss the course setup options that should test the best women’s players in the world. Then they’re on to Liberty National, stumbling through the top 125 players and wondering how the hell some of them got to the postseason given their profiles. The Euro Tour event has a distinct silver medal vibe. The Senior Tour event is really only cause to mention the one time Brendan said something on air that got the Tour to call into Golf Channel. And last but not least is the start of the KFT finals, where the usual mix of familiar names have come down to play for improved status next year on the Tour. The Journeyman of the Week is a Kiwi who did not make the FEC, or the KFT, and will be out there in the woods wandering to try and make his way back.

17 Aug 202152min

This Monday episode reacts to a full and diverse weekend of golf offerings, starting with the U.S. Amateur. Andy and Brendan review the revolving door of tv channels that the final visited, the Greaser-Piot match, the limited coverage earlier in the week, and yes, the alternate lines down different venerable Oakmont fairways that got plenty of action on Twitter. At the Wyndham, there’s a rant on the overselling of what it now means to *not* make the top 125, as well as some thoughts on the six-man playoff format, Chesson Hadley’s push, and Roger Sloan getting family time. In Europe, there are two segments dedicated to Ryann O’Toole facts and Calum Hill facts, which devolves into research on the Western New Mexico University mascot. They close with what turned into arguably the most compelling conclusion of the day, the regular season finish on the KFT, where David Skinns burst through for a win and a Tour card, Austin Smotherman held on for dear life, and Taylor Montgomery got screwed thanks to a well-worn old scheduling gripe.

16 Aug 202158min

This summer hours Friday episode wanders around, starting with some thoughts on the early bracket matches at the U.S. Amateur. Chicago may have a new favorite son, Mike Holmgren’s son is a big boy, Thorbjornsen is a rallying killer, and more on Oakmont. Andy and Brendan then bounce around on some of the early stories from across the tours, hitting on Wyndham, the Women’s Scottish, and the KFT. They discuss the OWGR reforms and also ponder what golf’s answer to MLB’s “Field of Dreams” game would be. J.R. Smith’s attempt to play college golf is also praised. Flashback Friday throws it way back to another U.S. Amateur at Oakmont, the 1925 edition, which featured two members from the same club and one notorious party boy playing in the finals. The episode closes with some quick thoughts on Merion and Oakmont getting USGA championships all the way out to 2050 and what larger impacts that might signal.

12 Aug 202153min

This Wednesday episode is a wide-ranging look at all the games within the game this week -- the top 125 to make the playoffs, the ISP Top 10, the Risk-Reward Challenges, the cards at the KFT, the U.S. Amateur finalist perks, and much more. Andy and Brendan begin with the Wyndham Championship, where Matthew Wolff could win seven figures in the risk-reward challenge. There’s also general confusion over the Business Tour Top 10. They both offer one choice they’d like to see play his way into the top 125 this week. Then it’s on to the event of the week, the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont and uniquely spelled Longue Vue. They hit on the stroke disparity between the venues during the first day, and the stroke disparity between a crispy Oakmont and a rain-soaked one for the second round. There’s a lengthy and often incorrectly informed discussion on what Cazoo, which is now sponsoring another Euro Tour event this week, does as a company. The Journeyman of the Week is Sean O’Hair, who is playing Wyndham and well outside the top 125 in the FEC standings. O’Hair’s career highlights, the infamous upbringing, and current Tour status are covered in this closing segment.

11 Aug 20211h 5min

This Monday episode begins with feelings of vindication and delight over some high-profile confusion on the Home of Golf during the final round telecast at TPC Initech. Then Andy and Brendan get into the resolution of the event of the week, the women’s golf at the Olympics. They discuss Nelly’s gold, Inami’s charge, and Ko’s comportment as maybe the model professional golfer. They also have some final big-picture thoughts on golf in the Olympics. Then it’s on to the WGC Memphis, with a big shoutout to Honest Abraham Prancer for his first win. They discuss their unexpected enthusiasm and anticipation for this WGC, and the absolute circus that ensued in the final group implosion between Thicc Boi and Harris English. They discuss the absurd boundary fence ruling and why the Tour is setting up “bumpers” to keep balls in play. There’s also reaction to the pace of play, shouting fore backlash, and refusals to talk to the press. At the Women’s Amateur, they ponder if the winner might be a Frugalite while praising the Westchester setup. The winners at the Home of Golf, in Reno, and in Utah, also get their due.

9 Aug 20211h 1min

This Friday episode is another AM recording to work around the overnight Olympics, which Andy and Brendan immediately jump into at the top. They start with the peculiar decision not to play more than 18 holes per day that has brought in the possibility of a 54-hole event, and the uncertainty it has created around the last two rounds. Then they opt to talk not about the favorite in first, but the current silver-medal position holder Aditi Ashok, who is hanging in there despite an extreme distance disadvantage. There is, of course, a segment praising Nelly Korda but also cautioning against again forgone gold. In Memphis, they discuss the “Summer of Harris,” Jim Herman’s run at the WGC title, and the Thicc Boi’s altruism of not taking vaccines out of the general supply. At the Home of Golf, they re-visit and root on an old friend and first original guest on the SGS. They close with a Precision Pro Flashback Friday that hits on one astounding stat and  a former winner in Memphis who nearly missed his Sunday tee time because he was watching a space launch.

6 Aug 202155min

This Wednesday episode begins with a preview of the women’s golf competition at the Olympics, and a quick rebuttal to any notion that it’s unfortunate the course might play “harder” for the women one week later. There are three things to watch, including a theory about why we have all three medalists from 2016 playing this week when we had none last week. Then it’s on to the double dose of Tour golf, both at the WGC Swampass at TPC Initech and the opposite field boys trying their hand at stableford in Reno. This just leads immediately into reactions on the new PGA Tour schedule -- the courier cup incursion into Euro Tour events, the remaking of the Playoffs for August stops in Memphis and Atlanta, and the omission of some major American markets, among other things. Continuing with the instant schedule for the week, there’s a return to the incredulity about the Euro Tour event at the fake St. Andrews and some praise for the U.S. Women’s Amateur. They close with a new segment, the Journeyman of the Week, brought to you by our old spirits-making friends in Michigan. This week’s subject is “the other Bassy,” who might be the greatest golfer ever at Arkansas.

4 Aug 202149min

A triumphant Monday episode begins with some “we’ll always remember where we were” reminiscences about a legendary Saturday night and Sunday morning at the men’s Olympic golf competition. Andy and Brendan discuss all the delightful elements of the Boy from Bratislava’s record-setting round of 61 that earned the golf-loving nation of Slovakia a silver medal. They hit on the actual golf, the absolute shotmaking show, the jubilant middle-of-the-night party on Twitter, the broadcast having to acknowledge and lean into the Slovakian story, the true “love story” that delivered this country a medal, some unconfirmed reports about Sabbo’s Saturday night out, and much more. Of course, they also hit on the actual gold medal winner and the weight and import the competition seemed to carry. They recap the 7-man playoff and the other Rory’s attempt at a bronze. The glowing reviews from JT to Morikawa to the other Rory’s change in tune are also discussed, as well as their own impressions from a great late-night watch and what it might mean for Olympic golf going forward. There’s also recaps of all the other golf, including Annika’s absolute dominance at the U.S. Senior Women’s and a Western Am phenom playing the most grueling test in amateur golf in between visits to Lollapalooza.

2 Aug 20211h