Spieth’s Fit for the Swamp, TGL dysfunctional franchises, and Coetzee Zone moment

Brendan and Andy return from the weekend to discuss Brooks Koepka bagging the WGC Memphis, Wyndham Rewards and AON Risk-Reward Challenge in one fell swoop. We get into why Sunday seemed to fall flat, Rory’s no-show, and Brooksy’s motivations to earn elite status at Wyndham hotels. We also holler about why his Sunday arrival time was a non-story. In the interest of equal time, we also present a counter argument against all the WGC Memphis critiques. Is it a Southwinds problem or just a WGC problem or both? Wyndham’s investment in the season-long rewards chase only to have no one show up for the finale in Greensboro is discussed and adjudged as a five-alarm fire for the Tour. Then we move to Collin Morikawa’s big win in Reno and the raging Rookie of the Year debate now. Andy breaks some news with a leak of the new schedule for next year and how the Tour will work around the Olympics again. Jin Young Ko’s second major win of the year is given praise and Lexi Thompson’s shot at the course conditioning on her way out is not given praise. Sergio’s continued course destruction and petulant antics are panned. Andy then wraps with a rant on the complexities of the playoff system.

29 Juli 20191h 5min

This Friday episode is recorded with Brendan on a beach house porch with beer in hand and Andy stowed away in a remote location working through some red wine. It’s a predictably winding road that begins with a late declaration for Event of the Week. They discuss early scores from across the world of golf, beginning in Memphis. News that this WGC Swampass event may be scheduled opposite the Irish Open is given a review. Andy provides some amusing intel on Westy’s whereabouts in lieu of playing the WGC Swampass. They get to Brooksy’s troubling quotes that he might play the Wyndham, and then discuss the viability of this entire side pot of cash really drawing the top players to that historic Greensboro stop. Then they take a closer look at the Senior British Open, where a handful of Americans at the top of the Schwab Cup Standings did not show up, which they find disgusting. Flashback Friday gets into the origin story of the WGCs coming into existence, featuring an anecdote with Greg Norman cussing out Tim Finchem. They wrap with news of a new Ryder Cup venue, the Walker Cup roster, and Andy’s soft spot for Tony Romo, who got another PGA Tour exemption.

26 Juli 201958min

This Wednesday episode dives headlong into issues Brendan and Andy have with the WGC Swampass Invitational presented by Initech. News of Shane Lowry’s withdrawal and a smaller field of just 63 players is used as a jumping off point to illustrate all the ways in which they think it’s a bad idea. They give great praise and deference to the people of and town of Memphis, despite some sensitivities about the criticisms of this event, which have nothing to do with the actual city. Are the WGCS still viable as a competition or does the competition not matter? Then they move to the opposite field event in Reno, where it feels like the field took just one charter flight together from the Barbasol in Kentucky last week. They discuss how opposite field events build their rosters and the changes coming next year. Andy then gets into some FedExCup bubble boys with this now being the moment in the calendar when it truly matters. Andy tells a Brandel story on the occasion of his making the Senior Open and critique why the LPGA and Champions tours are having majors in the same week. We wrap with some more thoughts on illegal hot drivers and feedback we’re getting about the scant testing that exists.

24 Juli 201956min

We react to the final round of the men’s major season, celebrating Shane Lowry’s triumph at Royal Portrush. We relay a fun story about Lowry coming up in Irish junior golf in the shadow of superstar Rory McIlroy and then review his work from the weekend to win The Open. We also consider the hot take that this was actually a bad year for major Sundays. Then we get to Lee Westwood’s day of yippy putts and leaderboard watching as he positioned himself for a spot at his happy hunting ground in Augusta. We review who was “most disappointing” from the group of potential chasers, hitting on Tommy Fleetwood’s underwhelming day, Brooksy stuck in neutral, and, uh, J.B. Holmes’ implosion. The Holmes-Koepka pace of play dynamic is given a full account. We hand out a final grade for this Open and then discuss the one thing from the week that we think may change pro golf for generations.

22 Juli 201959min

This special Saturday edition of the Shotgun Start delivers some instant reactions to the third round of The Open. We begin lamenting the fall of Westy, who put it in neutral for much of the afternoon following a rousing tease in the first five holes. Does he have any hope playing from behind and is there a different game within the game to watch for on Sunday? We review the 54-hole leaderboard and marvel at Shane Lowry’s 63 that has him four shots clear. We nominate some contenders for a chasedown and discuss Brooks’ contentions that no one is hitting it better than him. The second half of the pod is largely devoted to the failed driver test scandal and Xander Schauffele outing other failed manufacturers while also describing why he’s “pissed off” at the R&A. Is this just the tip of the iceberg of a conspiracy that runs deep? Should PGA Tour be testing drivers before every single round? We go at length on the issue before wrapping with our picks to hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday.

20 Juli 201949min

This special Friday afternoon edition runs through some instant reactions to the first 36 holes at The Open. Andy cannot contain his Lee Westwood excitement with the hard-luck Englishman rising near the top of the leaderboard again. We run down Westy’s chances, as well as the entire top 10, and look for some names outside that group to make a longshot, given the history, run at the Claret Jug. We review the contrast in Brooksy’s and Spieth’s rounds, and who should be the favorite at the midpoint. With the Pace Car in the lead, Flashback Friday goes down the rabbit hole of that one time the R&A handed out a slow play penalty, which Andy attempts to argue greatly helped Phil Mickelson’s career. We spend a segment reviewing Rory’s push to make the cut and his emotional post-round interviews. Tiger’s decision to skip the WGC Swampass is praised but the grading of his week at Portrush is not kind. We wrap with some late breaking news on Xander Schaueffele failing a driver test and Bobby MacIntyre getting into it with Kyle Stanley over his failure to yell “Fore!” We conclude with some quick hitters on the Meth-head uprising in the heartland, Dru Love’s admirable work in Canada, and Carson Daly returning to our golf lives.

19 Juli 20191h 5min

Brendan and Andy hop on the horn for some instant reactions to the first day at Royal Portrush, but not without first relaying some information exposing the junk science behind the fraudulent physicist’s golf ball ad. Andy also reveals some amusing intel about the physicist hitting seven tee shots into one hole during an Open practice round before finally proclaiming it “impossible.” Then they move to the real action of the day and debate the internal out-of-bounds that ejected Rory McIlroy. They also review Tiger’s day and put forth some compelling evidence of why he SHOULD play the rest of the season, especially at next week’s WGC Swampass Invitational. Lee Westwood’s round is celebrated and given its just due as they examine whether he has the staying power for the weekend. They also consider the nightmare scenario of the Pace Car ruining the Open and playing in the final group on Sunday debating shots in the wind. Would Marty Sleeps ding him with a slow play penalty? They wrap with some “contender or pretender” before Andy attempts to argue that David Duval, of the 20-over 91 first round, played better than Tiger Woods.

18 Juli 201945min

It’s Open eve and we begin this Wednesday episode full of gratitude and anticipation and  a few reasons why each of us have come to hold this major as our favorite on the men’s schedule. We drive off the cliff and discuss the Barbasol field for longer than we should before getting back on track, reviewing some fun quotes coming out of the pre-championship press conferences. First we go to Brooks Koepka’s quip that he doesn’t practice for non-majors and that the only time you see him on TV is when he’s playing golf. Then we get into a lengthy discussion on Justin Rose’s comments that the new schedule has failed to “protect” the major championships, choosing, instead, to prioritize the FedExCup. We then move to some of our favorite tee times for the first couple days at Royal Portrush, from the stars to the hotheads to some of the tough draws. Before we wrap with our one-and-done picks, we discuss Royal Portrush, it’s stout traits, the weather that may not come, the concept of internal out-of-bounds.

17 Juli 20191h 8min