June 16, 2026 • 43 mins
On this episode of Go Low, John previews one of golf’s biggest weekends as the U.S. Open takes center stage. He breaks down key storylines, and which players are best positioned to contend for one of the toughest tests in golf.
Could we finally get the Sunday showdown everyone wants—Scottie Scheffler vs. Rory McIlroy battling down the stretch for a major championship? John talks about what it would take for golf’s two biggest stars to meet in a must-watch final round and why that matchup would be massive for the sport.
Plus, it’s time to talk betting. he shares their top bets, favorite value plays, and sleepers to watch heading into the tournament. Whether you’re looking for outright winners, top-10 picks, or longshot value, John has you covered.
To wrap things up, it’s the Middlekauff Mailbag, with listener questions covering everything from major championship pressure to the current state of professional golf.
From major storylines and betting insight to fan questions, it’s all covered on this episode of Go Low.
Follow John on Twitter, and Instagram for the latest.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. What is going on my people, John Middlecoff
a little Go Low podcast. We've been on a little
hiatus tar with Little Jack. I have had less time football.
(00:24):
We've had so much going on football wise. I haven't
done one of these in a while. But we got Shinnacock,
we got the US Open, we got Rory, we got Scottie,
we got all the big dogs, and very very very
excited for this weekend. So we'll talk a little Shinnacock.
We'll talk Uh, We'll just go over some different stuff.
(00:45):
We'll do some at Golo Pod is the Instagram if
you want to fire in those dms. It's how you
get on the podcast for your golf questions. So we'll
do a bunch of those as well and have some
of my picks because I love to gamble. I mean
i've been I haven't done a Golo Pod in a while.
I have been watching a lot of golf. I mean
I watch it every weekend, So I've been keeping up
(01:07):
very closely with the tour the last couple weekends, Memorial
Canadian Open, and very much looking forward to this weekend.
Really just the build up. Golf channel all week live
from I find myself rewatching some of the episodes, so
you guys know the drill. We have a go loo
podcast feed so you don't miss anything. We also have
(01:28):
a YouTube channel you can go check that out as well.
And let's just dive into some golf. Anytime you get
to the US Open, before you even get to the players,
Like when I was a kid, you went into the
US Open thinking carnage plus five, plus two plus one
could win the tournament. And over recent years we obviously
(01:48):
some courses are dependent on whether it hasn't always been
the case and by all accounts, I was watching some
of the Golf channel earlier today. The wind is pumping
right now and it's Monday afternoon, and the forecast shows
that the wind is gonna be even harder come Thursday.
So you know, if you've watched any of these guys
(02:10):
play YouTube, the YouTube golfers at Shinnecock because they host
a bunch of media guys, the course looks fantastic, I
mean it's and most of these guys are hacking it up,
unless like Horvat and the Brian brothers. I haven't watched
them yet, but when they played this in twenty eighteen,
kep go one at plus one. So a little bit
(02:30):
of a throwback. Now you could say that technology, you
would say guys play are just better top to bottom
than they were back then. I mean a lot has
to do with technology and figuring out how to maximize
with the track man. And when the wind goes thirty
miles an hour and it's US Open setup, the rough
(02:52):
is long, the greens are fast though they were just
watering it. I don't give a shit how dialed in
you are in your numbers. You kind of gotta be
just a ball striker. You kind of got to just
be a player. I mean, what did Koepka really hang
his hat on in his prime? He actually was playing
pretty good at the Canadian Open, and then his fingers
went numb and he melted down on Saturday and then Withdrew.
(03:15):
So as of recording this, I'm not sure his status
on this tournament because he would have been a guy
I liked a lot. But you got to be off
that if he plays because of this finger issue. But
the one thing I would say is this is a
tournament that just tests you mentally, right regardless on a
yearly basis. Last year, the weather came and Sam Burns
(03:37):
kind of got boned with the water ball where they
didn't give him a relief and JJ Spond just made
some of the greatest shots of his life. And obviously
his rolled in that putt on eighteen just an incredible
moment for the guy. And he's actually turned a season
around this year. He's playing great golf. And mean, he's
a really good player. JJ Spond's a really good player.
But one thing about the US Open is you can
(03:57):
have you know, obviously you can have the Tiger and
the Rory's win. You can also have the JJ Sponds.
You can also have Lee Janssen. You can also have
Corey paven Right, Phil Mickelson finished like second in this
tournament twenty five times. That's an over exaggeration, but could
never win it like that. There are no guarantees. Sometimes
like Ernie El's one of the greatest players I've ever watched,
(04:19):
because just never win the Masters. And part of the
US Open, we'll getting a Scott to here in a second,
is I would say mentally at tacks you more than
most of the other tournaments. I mean, the pressure to
win the Masters is obviously unlike anything else. I Mean,
Rory's gone on record about this for a decade. That
just the weight of the world he felt driving down
(04:42):
Magnolia Lane. But let's be real, it's not exactly the
hardest course in the world for these guys. I mean,
just look at the scores. So when you go back,
that plus one won it. And Tommy Fleetwood, who finished second,
had one of the craziest weeks you'll ever see, seventy five,
sixty six, seventy eight, sixty three to finish second. So
(05:07):
you know, if the win's pumping, I doubt we see
many sixty threes. You could argue being around par, maybe
one or two under could win this bad boy. And
this is the tournament where I don't get as caught
up as some of the people in the golf media
when we get twenty underscores. I have a bigger issue
with individual courses than I do the scores on the television. Right.
(05:30):
To me, some courses are just kind of boring. Let's
face it. The Canadian Open a little bit of yeh,
had some cool holes, also had some holes where it
just becomes a little redundant. You know, everyone had an
issue with Aernomic didn't mind it. I actually enjoyed that,
So I'm looking forward to watching this course. You know,
anytime you get a major. Also, there are when you
(05:52):
win the US Open at Pebble Beach, when you win
the US Open at Shinnecock, like it's it's a really
really big deal, right last year for JJ spund winning
it at Oakmont, Like it's a historic course. It's a
course that kind of carries a little weight, like if
you ever win the Open Championship at Saint Andrew's kind
(06:14):
of a big deal on your resume. So I can't
wait for this thing to start. I hope we get carnage.
I hope the wind pumps. I actually think that makes
gambling and betting on some of these guys a little
bit easier. I think it's a little bit harder for
some of the randos to separate when the conditions get outrageous.
(06:34):
Now you could argue, you know, making some long putts.
That's kind of how Aaron Rye won. He just didn't
fuck up, hit all the fairways and made a big
putt when he had to, right, He didn't do anything stupid.
That's kind of major golf. You know. Jack Nicholas has
talked about it. It's like hit it to the middle
of the green in the tough tournaments, if you make
a lot of pars, like you're not going backwards. And
(06:56):
these guys, you know, in the modern day PGA tour,
let's face it, are used to just attacking literally everything.
I mean most of these guys all their iron shots,
like they can just hit straight balls. This isn't like
the seventies and the sixties, the eighties, even the nineties
where you were just constantly working the ball. So I
(07:16):
think the course this weekend is going to shine now.
To me, number two is forever. All we ever wanted
were Tiger versus Phil, and it never really happened, and
it kind of sucked. You know, you look back or
you know, I wasn't alive for a lot of this.
It felt like we got some Arnold verse jack. We
definitely got some Trevino verse jack, right, We got a
(07:40):
lot of like Faldo versus Norman, you know, I mean,
Tiger had a lot of foes. They just turned out
to not really be Phil. You know, it came down
to Chris de Marco. They had some knockdown dragouts. Right.
So if we could ever going into the weekend, just
have Scottie and Rory both being in like the top
six or seven, that would be fucking electric. And for
(08:04):
this weekend, Scotty's going for the grant his career grand Slam.
He turns thirty on Sunday. You know the video that
went viral a couple weeks ago of him yelling at
Ted Scott. I don't want to say unbecoming, because I
heard someone bring up this point. With the modern day
technology of the broadcasts, everything's on camera, everything's miked up.
(08:27):
Like every shot Scotty hits over the last several years
is there's gonna be video around it, even if it's
in the early in the morning Thursday through Sunday. You
can watch on ESPN Plus where a lot of players
have moments that would be incredibly embarrassing that are just
not on camera that happened throughout the day on a
course where we just don't see. I would also say, like,
(08:50):
and maybe it's remembering it a little bit different. Tiger
would scream at himself. You know, he would constantly scream
at himself, especially off the tee when he would hit
an awful shot. I don't remember him undressing Stevie Williams
very often. If ever, now maybe it happened, happened off
(09:12):
camera in the clubhouse, when they were at home or whatever.
But Tiger was really professional, like one of his underrated attributes.
I mean, you see Victor webbin Yama over the course
of the playoffs skipping media. You've seen Rory do it.
You've seen a lot of modern day players do it.
They just skip media. Tiger never did that. You know
why because he knew he was the Michael Jordan of
(09:33):
the operation. And whether he played well, which he did
most of the time, but it's golf like he had
some shitty days. He fucking sat there and the cameras
were on him. Why because he was the number one
guy everyone always wanted to talk to. And that's Scotty
and Rory now, and they've proven over the years to
get I mean, Scotty's been prickly over the course of
the last year. Now, you could argue there's some dumb
(09:53):
questions answered, Yes, comes with the territory. You know, this
is this is part of the deal. You know. I
asked Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen or Lamar if they
get some dumb questions like yeah, it's gonna happen. You
seen some of these media. I used to sit in
the press box with some of them. I wouldn't say
all of them are the most impressive individuals you're ever
gonna come across. So I think the one question mark
(10:16):
with Scotty at this tournament is if Kanditty's get outrageous,
he can get a little whiny, and like Tiger can
get whiny, but he could also immediately refocus, like he
could immediately lock back in. And that's my question with
Scotty for this weekend. If he gets off on a
couple holes and the pressure of this major doesn't derail him.
(10:41):
So like, I'm kind of off him this week relative
like top ten, the odds are terrible. I don't envision
Scotty winning, not that he can't. He's actually had a
really good season. I know he hasn't won since basically
essentially the first week of the season in Palm Springs,
but like ninety nine percent of players on the PGA
(11:03):
Tour would immediately sign up for the year he's having, right,
But I don't see it. I actually like Rory Moore
this week. Now, Rory turned to corner, you know, in
twenty eighteen. I don't even count that, honestly, like to me,
Rory is like a completely different golfer the last two
(11:24):
or three years. I know he won more majors early
on in his career. This is the best version over
the course of the last thirty six months we've ever
seen of Rory McElroy on a golf course. I would
also say the US Open is something he's kind of
figured out. You know, he really blew back to back
US Opens. He should have won at LACC. I played
(11:46):
that course the last time I was with Colin and
I actually I parted the hole, which he did too.
That cost him the tournament. He hit a wedge in
the bunker. I think it's the par five fourteenth. It's
the Playboy Mansion hole, which is cool. You wear your
tee off, you can hear the monkeys. I mean, obviously
the Heffner has a state has sold the mansion to
new people, but that the animals are still back there,
(12:09):
and then it's a long asshole. I hit two incredible
shots and I was still like fifty yards short. And
we definitely were not playing with the t's. We were
technically playing the back tees, but we weren't playing the
version of the US Open. And I think he had
under one hundred yard shot and he hit it into
this front bunker and it cost him a tournament. It
(12:29):
just did. And then Wyndam Clark hit two of the
best shots of his life. But again he went back
to back seconds in the US Open at LACC, which
was definitely playing easier, and at Pinehurst, which he one
should have won. So like, he has had a lot
of momentum in this event, and even last year, like
(12:50):
I give him a pass he wins the Masters. He
even went on records to say, like I kind of
lost focus. I was fucking wround. He finished tea nineteen
last year, so it's not like he just missed the cutting,
didn't even He's been up there a couple of times,
played this course. I think Rory's going to be in
the mix. And if you could say you could sign
(13:10):
up for one kind of matchup. We got that Bryson Rory.
We've got it a couple of times. We got it
two years ago at the Masters, we got a couple
of years ago at Pinehurst. I would love to get
it this weekend, I really would. But if I'm betting
on one of those two guys to truly have a
chance on the back nine come Sunday. I mean, Scotty
always kind of does I really believe Rory is going
(13:31):
to I would say another major storyline. We got two
big time thoroughbreds who are just kind of us open players.
And you know, one thing's pretty clear with this live disaster.
It's no fault of like listen Scott O'Neill, who is
the CEO when me and Colin went to the event.
(13:52):
He's a really impressive guy. It's you know, he didn't
create this thing Norman and pifted, and I think he
thought he was getting into something with unlimited funding and
they yanked it on him. Now, I'm not a big
believer in the product. It's not like I watched it
on television, but I understood where he was coming from, Like,
you have this type funding, maybe you take it to
the next level and it works. He's not a golf guy.
(14:15):
I do wonder he's a big basketball guy. If he
had understood the golf landscape a little differently, if he
would have been as interested. But he's clearly all in
now and he's trying to keep this thing in survival
mode and the players, specifically Bryson, are helping him pitch
this to investors. You know one guy that has nothing
to do with it and he said like, yeah, I'm
staying out of it is John Rom. And I think
(14:37):
John Ram sees the end inside. He hopes this thing
just ends. Now. He'll probably lose a little money that
he probably thought he was gonna make, but then he
could just transition back to a normal competitive tour. But
the one thing you would say about John Ram, who
feels like he's got to swag back a little bit
over the course of the last two years and some
of these majors, I mean last year in the PGA Championship,
(15:01):
he just did this year in the PJ Like he
just he's just shown more momentum in these big tournaments
because we really only see him right in these four
weeks a year. He's obviously a US Open champion when
he wanted a toy, But if you look at his
career in this event T three, T twenty three, one,
T twelve, T ten, he got injured and then T seven,
(15:23):
Like this is an event he's pretty comfortable in. And
why is he comfortable because typically this event just wipes
out so many people. So the best players, the best
ball strikers, the most mentally tough guys are just gonna
be in the mix. And that is to me Xander's
greatest strength. Pretty steady Eddie, like he's not really a
(15:43):
whiny Scottie type, Like he's not gonna be one of
those guys bitching a moan and walking down the fairway.
And honestly, he doesn't show that much emotion when he
gets a bogey, different from when he fucking knocks his
stiff and as a tap in birdie. And to me,
that bodes well in tournaments like this, And I do
think it speaks to his first ever US Open was
in twenty seventeen. In his career T five, T six,
(16:05):
T three, fifth, T seventy fourteen, T ten, T seventeen,
T twelve, This fucker is just made for this event. Now,
do I think Xander is gonna win it? I don't
think I would go that far, but I would say
one of these two guys are definitely in the mix
come Sunday, and I think one of these two guys
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(16:35):
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(17:43):
tempted to take this next guy number four. You know,
early in the season, it felt like Cam Young was
a lock to win a major. Now it feels like
he's kind of falling apart, Like where's Cam Young. What's
going on? Obviously it's putting's falling off a map. And
to me, if you go back to the eighteen when
this guy shot sixty three, you would have been like
(18:04):
six seven eight years later, how many tournaments as Tommy
Fleet would gonna have won, you would have been like
seven or eight and probably win a major. Well, he's
won one and that was a thirty man field and
he's majorless. But he is good. He has three top
fives in US Opens. He's playing well coming into this event.
Two of his last three events he's top fived. So
(18:25):
and last week, honestly, he was playing pretty good. The
weather got weird in Canada on Sunday. I like Tommy
Fleet would a lot this by all accounts. This is
a second shot golf course. And what's his advantage if
the wind's pumping? Well, where's he come from? You know,
he doesn't exactly come from Scottsdale or Los Angeles? Right.
(18:46):
These international guys bode well when the conditions get weird.
Why because they're used to playing in it. Across the pond.
This is a guy that's used to playing in bad weather.
Now the sun's gonna be out, but the Wind's gonna
be going this guy that can control his irons, which
is extremely important. He's a top five ball striker this
year and honestly his around the green stats also a
(19:09):
top six or seven guy. Now, putting can be very
hit or missed. Do you trust Tommy fleet Wood like
over the years Kopka when he was on obviously a
guy like Tiger, you know, Rory and somebody even Bryson's
been in some of his big wins, has been a
big time putter. That to me is a thing that
kind of leaves you wanting a little bit more so. Five,
(19:29):
who's gonna win? Uh, I'm gonnaicker Rory hard Rock bet
eleven to one plus eleven hundred. I'm going Rory McElroy
to win. And I think that what did we say
after he won the Masters the second time? Like this,
this guy's looking to try to like become a legendary individual. Right,
(19:53):
you start going, Okay, he's never gonna win the Master,
He's never gonna win the Masters, and then he goes
back to back and then you start going, well, he's
got six majors, could he get to like ten to twelve?
And I think the answer is yes, And one thing
he has clearly instituted into his game is one off
the tee and he showed this at Pebble last year.
(20:13):
It is like this kind of low line drive. Guess
where that's gonna play here this week. The other thing
that he's been able to do over of course the
last couple of years, because historically he's a really high
ball player, Like his irons, they went really high, which
is not great for the win, Like much more control
keeping the ball low, especially with his wedges. Remember a
(20:33):
couple of years ago when Scotty won the Masters, it
would have been the year before Rory won it. He
played with Scotty and the weather was just atrocious and
Scotty looked awesome and Rory was a disaster and it
was pretty talents Like Rory Man, you got to go
back in the lab and figure some shit out, and
over the next couple of years he did. And I
would say that's that would define any great player, Like
(20:57):
sometimes you lose, sometimes you get your ass kicks, times
you get exposed next to another great player. I don't
care what sport you're in. Victor win Binyama like time
to get in the lab this summer, Man, time to
really get in the lab. And my guess is that
all that work he's done over the next couple of
years is coming to fruition. So I'm taking Rory this week.
(21:19):
My other two top ten bets are gonna be Tommy
Fleetwood plus two to twenty five, Matt Fitzpatrick, who is
just having an incredible season. Another guy won a US Open,
so youse like excels in tough condittis plus two hundred.
You know, if you want to hammer Rom or Xander,
(21:42):
they will be on my card as well. But my
big three plays are Rory to win it, Tommy and
Fitzpatrick to top ten. I would say one guy a
little bit of a flyer. He's he's basically one hundred
to one, so if you bet one hundred dollars you'd
win ten thousand. But Gary wood to top ten is
plus eight fifty and Gary Woodland to top twenty is
(22:05):
plus three to fifty. Another guy who can hit a
low liner off the team, who can control the trajectory
of his irons, who's won a US Open before, so
tough COUNDITTI player, he's having an excellent season. He to
me would be a little bit of a flyer if
you wanted to go down the board a little bit. Uh, well,
let's take a couple of questions, because there's a lot
(22:27):
going on in the golf world. Some of you guys
hit me up in the mail bag at Golo Pod
and we can answer the questions. We didn't even mention
this guy's name. This is from Eric. How crazy is
the Bryson roller coaster? Dude went from being a douche
to a likable major winner, then back to being a
(22:49):
douche who doesn't look like he's good at golf anymore.
I'm not touching Bryson de Chambeau this weekend. I actually
think if you wanted to take him to miss the
cut not a grazy play. Uh. He clearly has got
a lot going on. He's like working hand in hand
with O'Neil to try to save live. Godspeed to him.
But it's sad. I love watching Bryson when he's on,
(23:12):
but he's missed the last two cuts of majors right,
miss the miss the Masters, missed the PGA Championship, and
I think betting him to miss the cut this weekend
is not a crazy play at all. What are your
thoughts regarding Garrett Higgo firing his caddy for him being
late to his tea time. Does that speak to the
(23:33):
victimhood that is prevalent in our society. Well, he's an
international guy, not an American guy. Not even sure. I can't.
I don't know where he lives. But he's a good player.
I think it's specific to golf. As a golfer, your
inherently selfish. It's just you and who do you typically
(23:54):
blame your caddy and your swing coach? Look at look
at Scotty, Like Scotty, fuck, You're standing there too. You
can feel the win. Hit a different club if you
disagree with him, pull the six iron. If he's telling
you hit the seven iron and Scotty did it somewhat,
(24:14):
you know. I don't even want to say politely, but
he kept saying we we we. He never said you
you you. I think it's so easy for these guys
to point the finger at their caddy. I do feel like,
and I'm sure someone's done a study that the modern
day player, over the course of the last ten years
goes through way more caddies than any of these guys
(24:36):
did historically. When I was a kid, most of the
pro golfers like pre Tiger had the same caddy the majority,
if not their entire career unless the guy got old.
So I think it's so easy, and part of it
is the agent the manager. These guys are such big
businesses now they just blame that guy. It's like, Higo,
(24:57):
since you play junior golf, if your tea times at
one ten or ten, ten or three ten or eight
in the morning, like you fucking have a watch, there
are typically clocks around like I'm sorry that is on you.
That seems to me like a pretty easy out and
(25:18):
playing the blame game. I think it's less about society
and more about the golfing world. I think that's just
the natural move in pro golf is to just point
the finger at the caddy. Now, question for the next
pod as Americans, who do we need on the twenty
seven Ryder Cup that will help bring the juice back? Kopka, Spieth,
(25:42):
Patrick Reid. I think we're gonna get smoked. I mean
I seriously do. I think their team is so much
more consistent and better than ours, it's not even funny.
I mean, look at the guys they have one. They're
best players, like always played great in these majors. There
was a moment in the Canadian Open Fitzpatrick Birdie's eighteen.
(26:07):
He ended up finished in second last week and Hoveland
missed an eagle putt and birdied it and they kind
of hit each other and started laughing, and I was like, God,
these guys know each other pretty well well. The Ryder
Cup teammates. It's like, that's that's not even their like
star power on the Ryder Cup. That's like their middle tier.
That's not Rory, that's not rom, that's not even Fleetwood.
(26:31):
Justin Rose is gonna go down as like one of
the great Ryder covers of all time. So I I
don't think it's gonna matter. We need a we need
a major reset. I mean, I would say, besides, like Scottie,
everything's on the table. Do you prefer watching tournaments that
are more challenging courses like Ironomic in Oakmont last year,
(26:56):
that really test the players, or do you prefer to
watch earlier courses where guys go really low, like Valhalla
a couple of years ago. I view golf a little
bit like I do football. I wouldn't want everyone to
play in thirteen to ten games like I enjoyed Mike
Leech's teams. I enjoy teams that are all offense, no defense,
(27:19):
and then I like watching the Houston Texans play. So
I view my golf courses the same way, like I
enjoy variety. I don't get caught up like I enjoyed Valhalla.
Why it was Xander Bryson, Victor Hoveland, like I like
watching the players excel, and wherever they're playing, people are
oh too many birdies, Like that's this one week a year?
(27:43):
This isn't you know? It's one thing in pro in
like the NBA or the NFL, where you you sign
a guy to a four year contract, you're kind of
stuck with him, you know, unless you cut them or
able to trade them, like it's four days a year.
Then unless it's the Masters, they ain't coming back there.
So I I like variety, like I didn't hate Valhalla,
(28:05):
just like I will will enjoy this weekend just like
next year. I think it's a pebble beach. Well, if
pebble beach is weather's not bad. These guys are gonna
dominate that course unless they grow the rough out like
a foot long. So I don't get as caught up
in that maybe because I'm so close to football and
this is more entertainment to me. It's the one thing
(28:28):
that I can just watch unless I have a guy
like you know, a play, a guy to win a
tournament or to top five or top ten that I'm
really invested, where I can just sit on the couch
and enjoy the golf like Canadian Open. Are there many
holes on that course that I'm going to remember? No?
Did I enjoy watching that tournament? I did. Nothing else
was on I so I it doesn't. I don't know.
(28:52):
I'm not as bothered by that. I just like variety.
I have a hot take watching bryceon meltdown and play
awful in the Majors is actually better content than him winning.
I don't hate the guy, but watching him struggle, combined
with his personality makes for amazing television. I can't take
my eyes off him, I would agree, I said this.
(29:16):
Watching a guy triumph like Rory at the Masters is incredible.
Tiger in nineteen Tiger when he was young, Phil finally
winning the Masters, Scottie winning a major like a great player,
just accomplishing. Is Jalen Brunson win the NBA Championship, Steph forever,
(29:36):
like it's Tom Brady is awesome. There's something pretty special
about watching again if it's not your team, watching the
Falcons bull at twenty eight three league. There is something
special in golf to watch someone implode because unlike football
or basketball, like none of us can play at that level.
We can all play golf, and what do most of
(29:58):
us do? Some of us ain't playing that well. I
played for the first time in like three weeks the
other day, shot eighty two, forty four, thirty eight front nine.
I'm just hitting balls all over the place, had no
clue what to do. It's pretty relatable to watch guys struggle.
Chunk of chip three putt hit one into another fairway.
(30:21):
So in Bryson, he's very demonstrative. He gonna let you
know about it. He starts bitching with his caddy. Why
is it not hooking? We aimed it there. So when
you add his personality of Bryson's a great front runner,
He's an incredible front runner. Like when we talk about
Xander why he's so good here, He's not a front
(30:41):
runner Fleetwood. These guys are just grinders. They don't get
as emotional like Bryson's very emotional So when things are
going well, it's fucking awesome. When things are going bad,
you could argue it's must watch television. My wife loves
Bravo TV. Well, well, I thought I would never watch it.
(31:02):
The one reason you can kind of get into it.
It's like emotional head cases. When you're watching an emotional
headcase go through stuff, it's kind of hard to look away.
So I'm with you. What are your thoughts on Phil
as a person? I grew up loving him because he
always had a smile with tip his cap, and he
always would sign autographs at attorneys. Yet I read about
(31:24):
him online and I see as not well liked by
his fellow tour players. Is that overblown or true? Do
you know anyone that has met Phil personally? Well? This
DM was actually before the story broke last week. Phil
has retained a defamation lawyer to sue. I was looking
(31:45):
like I had a post that actually blew up. I
was like, one off, He's gonna sue me. It's like, Phil,
the Farms acknowledged they didn't put your name in it,
but they acknowledged they kicked someone out for that. I
don't think it's Joe Schmoe the businessman in San Diego.
They wouldn't have released a statement for that. I think
(32:07):
the thing with Phil. I was actually in a tournament,
probably a month ago, and I was playing against in
this member guest tournament, one of his college teammates, and
this is before the story broke, but he hadn't played
in forever because of the family issue. And I asked
the guy. I wasn't gonna ask him anything personally. He
(32:29):
was having a good time. I just said, how's Phil doing.
I mean, this guy has known Phil for thirty five
years And his response was like, WHOA, Because I remember
last year we talked a lot about I've played with
him multiple times. He said not good, and I just
let that live and we just changed the subject. And
(32:49):
the way he said it now makes a little more
sense when this story breaks, and I just think, Phil,
you know, you see the visuals of time coming back
from rehab and you can tell his face looks way better.
Tiger obviously had the the issues with the seven million mistresses,
banging chicks and parking lots like it was. It was.
(33:12):
It was like a movie. But the thing that he's
clearly battled and he's been single for a long time
so he can do whatever he wants. Is this opioid addiction,
like he's just sucking down pills. It's clear, like looking
back once he has the car crash, you can just
see it on his face. The stuff that allegedly we
don't want to get sued by Phil's defamation lawyer. It's
(33:35):
I don't know how Phil ever plays professional golf again.
Like if liv disappears, the PGA Tour is never letting
Phil back. The senior tour guys where Phil would have
been a star, I are not gonna want to fuck
with him. He if he wanted to, could have been
(33:57):
I mean, made millions of dollars sitting right next to
Jim Nantz calling golf. He could have been a star broadcaster.
That's done. CBS is a very conservative kind of stiff operation.
They are not hiring Phil Nicholson. Now, I don't know.
I mean, I've never met him personally. I've heard kind
(34:17):
of mixed reviews. Again, people's one person. How am I
gonna put this? My wife works with someone in the
real estate world, and his brother is a was a
very prominent PGA tour golfer for a long time. And
I've always got this vibe whenever I've been around someone
(34:39):
like that. When you just bring up Tiger and Phil
and they were in that era, they all like Tiger Woods,
And I don't know if it's a respect thing because
not like Tiger was friends with most of them, but
they never really have bad things to say about Tiger.
The reaction you get when you ask about Phil and
I'm not talking about his asu teammates have known him forever.
I'm talking about people that just were on the tour
(35:01):
or around that kind of world, and I'm just now
living in Scottsdale, just kind of one degree of separation
from a lot of these people. It doesn't seem that positive.
So I have no personal interaction with him. I always
enjoyed him. I'm with you, I was a fan, but
this is a fucking disaster. Embarrassing isn't strong enough. If
(35:22):
the stuff is true allegedly, you just don't recover from that.
The other thing is these country clubs, Because I text
a couple of people, I said, how do you think
Phil has been a member there? They're like thirty plus years.
Phil's been going there since he was like in his
(35:43):
twenties or whenever the course first was created. I don't
know when the farms was created, but Phil has been
a member there like since the Internet was invented. For
them to boot him again allegedly. If it's true, they
confirmed it, just didn't put his name on it. I
think it's pretty clear to put the piece of the
puzzle together. That's insane. I asked someone the other day,
(36:05):
I'm like, have you ever heard of anyone getting kicked
out of a club? He's like, yeah, there was a
story recently at this club I used to belong to.
Its two guys got into a fistfight, and one consistent
I would say theme at most country clubs is the
number one rule is when you treat the staff. And
this is just being a dick not doing what Phil's
(36:27):
allegedly doing. It's like, that's a no no, I mean
a complete no no, a disqualifier. And this goes to
Augusta Monterey Peninsula country club. You just go around Oakmont,
you know the shinnecock, the these nice country clubs, you
treat the staff shitty, that's fucking You're gone, Especially in
(36:50):
two thousand and like modern day, what do you think
the penalty for live players going back to the tour
is gonna be Bryson, rom etc. Since they didn't accept
(37:12):
the all of branch like Brooks, I imagine it will
be even more steep. What do you think of fair
penalty is for them? Well, let's just think who the
tour wants Bryson ram I would say, Hatton, Joaque Nieman.
Like I think DJ just retires, Patrick Reid's already back,
(37:33):
Kepka's back, trying to think being out there? Who am
I missing? Phil's done, the old guys they don't give
a shit about. I don't think Bryson necessarily wants to
come back. I really don't, because I don't think he
believes that everyone likes him and the one thing he's
got with live he's got to be a star. He's
(37:54):
got to tell them what to do. Even now, like
he gets to kind of give his ideas to pitch
to investors. No one gives a shit what he thinks
when he comes back to the PGA tour besides like
play and be a big name sar. But like he's
not gonna tell Brian Rolapp what to do at this point, right,
Scotty and Rory run the tour and if Tiger gets
a shit together, Tiger So I don't think Bryson's a
(38:19):
lock to come back. I really don't. Rom I think
he misses it. I do think as a human being,
because put yourself in their shoes, you take the money,
you'll leave. You kind of start drinking the kool aid
and kind of talk shit, Right, we're gonna be something.
(38:41):
This is gonna work. I mean, Bryson never shuts up
about Team Golf like this is the future. It's like, no,
it's not, guys, and then it fails. And the only
reason it existed is because the oil Fund, with trillions
of dollars, gave them almost six million dollars over the
course of five or six years. This would never have
(39:04):
existed without piff no American business investors. It couldn't have
happened because the only way those guys would leave it
took hundreds of millions of dollars to buy all the
top players. It's not like, well, I believe in it,
Give me some equity and give me ten million bucks
and I'm in. That's not the way it wor A.
So I think it's gonna be difficult. Now, Kopka wanted out,
(39:29):
you know, I think you kind of got to want
out even if you're worth a ton of money. Kepra
gave five million dollars, like through the PGA tour to
a charity, essentially a five million dollar fine. Is Bryson
orrom doing that? And I think Kepka looked at it, well,
I already made one hundred and fifty million dollars. What's
you know a couple percent of that just to get
(39:49):
away from here. I don't know. If they're doing that
to me, I would have no problem giving those guys
the same kind of all branch, but I am not
convinced that they are just gonna here's five million bucks
and to do all the shit he did, which you
don't get into the big events right away. I don't know.
(40:09):
I've also thought, like Jackson Coaven, this star amateur just
announced he's going pro. He's playing this weekend in the
US Open. That you know, like when the Jets they
draft David Bailey, or the Cowboys Caleb Downs or the
Commanders Sunny Styles. Those guys start week one like Sunday
(40:33):
Week one. That guy's you're starting middle, linebacker, pass rusher, safety,
whatever they are starters. Now the PGA Tour is gonna
go from they're gonna have Tier one events and Tier
two events. If you are a superstar amateur, shouldn't you
just start in the big leagues immediately, like you have
to work your way up. I think that's kind of
(40:56):
a big question moving forward as well, and roll up
from the football background. I wonder if he's gonna want
an easier path like Ludwig Boomers in if you were
the commission, give me your perfect PGA schedule, what courses
and when? Well they did announce recently. I do think
starting at Tory Pines and the waste management is a
(41:19):
good way to start, and I personally would move waste
management away from the Super Bowl. I think the Thunderbirds
that run waste management are adamant they want it that weekend.
So if they're not gonna budget, you just leave it
and you just do those two weekends. I think it's
really key in June and July around the majors to
find a way to get primetime golf. There's nothing going on.
(41:42):
This is a little bit of an outlier year because
the World Cup. But I was thinking last night, like
the NBA, the NHL, the playoffs are done. Now you
have this runway in June and through July. Of like,
could you play on the West coast and just get
golf Thursday, Friday, Saturaday and Sunday for the East coasters
that's on TV at like eight nine o'clock at night.
(42:05):
So I think you've got to figure out a way
to intertwine some of that. Now, part of it is weather, right,
you can't like, you can't just go to Florida in
July or August. It's too hot. You can't go to Texas.
So part of the hard part about golf is the
weather like plays a huge factor, which is like Pebble
(42:30):
Beach sometime in the summer, Tory Pines sometime in the summer,
Riviera sometime in the summer. Maybe go to Chambers Bay
sometime in the summer. Do a West Coast swing where
you get primetime golf when you're not competing against anything.
It's like, oh, the White Sox are playing the Tigers again,
no shit, play each other like twenty times a year,
(42:51):
so you're going up against baseball. That to me is
something I would emphasize, is how to get primetime golf
really in May, June, and July. You could even if
you want to kick May and look more August. That's
what i'd be thinking. When would that great questions at
Golo Pod, firing those d ms, and we will talk.
(43:14):
We'll talk soon. See you the volume
The volume. What is going on my people, John Middlecoff
a little Go Low podcast. We've been on a little
hiatus tar with Little Jack. I have had less time football.
(00:24):
We've had so much going on football wise. I haven't
done one of these in a while. But we got Shinnacock,
we got the US Open, we got Rory, we got Scottie,
we got all the big dogs, and very very very
excited for this weekend. So we'll talk a little Shinnacock.
We'll talk Uh, We'll just go over some different stuff.
(00:45):
We'll do some at Golo Pod is the Instagram if
you want to fire in those dms. It's how you
get on the podcast for your golf questions. So we'll
do a bunch of those as well and have some
of my picks because I love to gamble. I mean
i've been I haven't done a Golo Pod in a while.
I have been watching a lot of golf. I mean
I watch it every weekend, So I've been keeping up
(01:07):
very closely with the tour the last couple weekends, Memorial
Canadian Open, and very much looking forward to this weekend.
Really just the build up. Golf channel all week live
from I find myself rewatching some of the episodes, so
you guys know the drill. We have a go loo
podcast feed so you don't miss anything. We also have
(01:28):
a YouTube channel you can go check that out as well.
And let's just dive into some golf. Anytime you get
to the US Open, before you even get to the players,
Like when I was a kid, you went into the
US Open thinking carnage plus five, plus two plus one
could win the tournament. And over recent years we obviously
(01:48):
some courses are dependent on whether it hasn't always been
the case and by all accounts, I was watching some
of the Golf channel earlier today. The wind is pumping
right now and it's Monday afternoon, and the forecast shows
that the wind is gonna be even harder come Thursday.
So you know, if you've watched any of these guys
(02:10):
play YouTube, the YouTube golfers at Shinnecock because they host
a bunch of media guys, the course looks fantastic, I
mean it's and most of these guys are hacking it up,
unless like Horvat and the Brian brothers. I haven't watched
them yet, but when they played this in twenty eighteen,
kep go one at plus one. So a little bit
(02:30):
of a throwback. Now you could say that technology, you
would say guys play are just better top to bottom
than they were back then. I mean a lot has
to do with technology and figuring out how to maximize
with the track man. And when the wind goes thirty
miles an hour and it's US Open setup, the rough
(02:52):
is long, the greens are fast though they were just
watering it. I don't give a shit how dialed in
you are in your numbers. You kind of gotta be
just a ball striker. You kind of got to just
be a player. I mean, what did Koepka really hang
his hat on in his prime? He actually was playing
pretty good at the Canadian Open, and then his fingers
went numb and he melted down on Saturday and then Withdrew.
(03:15):
So as of recording this, I'm not sure his status
on this tournament because he would have been a guy
I liked a lot. But you got to be off
that if he plays because of this finger issue. But
the one thing I would say is this is a
tournament that just tests you mentally, right regardless on a
yearly basis. Last year, the weather came and Sam Burns
(03:37):
kind of got boned with the water ball where they
didn't give him a relief and JJ Spond just made
some of the greatest shots of his life. And obviously
his rolled in that putt on eighteen just an incredible
moment for the guy. And he's actually turned a season
around this year. He's playing great golf. And mean, he's
a really good player. JJ Spond's a really good player.
But one thing about the US Open is you can
(03:57):
have you know, obviously you can have the Tiger and
the Rory's win. You can also have the JJ Sponds.
You can also have Lee Janssen. You can also have
Corey paven Right, Phil Mickelson finished like second in this
tournament twenty five times. That's an over exaggeration, but could
never win it like that. There are no guarantees. Sometimes
like Ernie El's one of the greatest players I've ever watched,
(04:19):
because just never win the Masters. And part of the
US Open, we'll getting a Scott to here in a second,
is I would say mentally at tacks you more than
most of the other tournaments. I mean, the pressure to
win the Masters is obviously unlike anything else. I Mean,
Rory's gone on record about this for a decade. That
just the weight of the world he felt driving down
(04:42):
Magnolia Lane. But let's be real, it's not exactly the
hardest course in the world for these guys. I mean,
just look at the scores. So when you go back,
that plus one won it. And Tommy Fleetwood, who finished second,
had one of the craziest weeks you'll ever see, seventy five,
sixty six, seventy eight, sixty three to finish second. So
(05:07):
you know, if the win's pumping, I doubt we see
many sixty threes. You could argue being around par, maybe
one or two under could win this bad boy. And
this is the tournament where I don't get as caught
up as some of the people in the golf media
when we get twenty underscores. I have a bigger issue
with individual courses than I do the scores on the television. Right.
(05:30):
To me, some courses are just kind of boring. Let's
face it. The Canadian Open a little bit of yeh,
had some cool holes, also had some holes where it
just becomes a little redundant. You know, everyone had an
issue with Aernomic didn't mind it. I actually enjoyed that,
So I'm looking forward to watching this course. You know,
anytime you get a major. Also, there are when you
(05:52):
win the US Open at Pebble Beach, when you win
the US Open at Shinnecock, like it's it's a really
really big deal, right last year for JJ spund winning
it at Oakmont, Like it's a historic course. It's a
course that kind of carries a little weight, like if
you ever win the Open Championship at Saint Andrew's kind
(06:14):
of a big deal on your resume. So I can't
wait for this thing to start. I hope we get carnage.
I hope the wind pumps. I actually think that makes
gambling and betting on some of these guys a little
bit easier. I think it's a little bit harder for
some of the randos to separate when the conditions get outrageous.
(06:34):
Now you could argue, you know, making some long putts.
That's kind of how Aaron Rye won. He just didn't
fuck up, hit all the fairways and made a big
putt when he had to, right, He didn't do anything stupid.
That's kind of major golf. You know. Jack Nicholas has
talked about it. It's like hit it to the middle
of the green in the tough tournaments, if you make
a lot of pars, like you're not going backwards. And
(06:56):
these guys, you know, in the modern day PGA tour,
let's face it, are used to just attacking literally everything.
I mean most of these guys all their iron shots,
like they can just hit straight balls. This isn't like
the seventies and the sixties, the eighties, even the nineties
where you were just constantly working the ball. So I
(07:16):
think the course this weekend is going to shine now.
To me, number two is forever. All we ever wanted
were Tiger versus Phil, and it never really happened, and
it kind of sucked. You know, you look back or
you know, I wasn't alive for a lot of this.
It felt like we got some Arnold verse jack. We
definitely got some Trevino verse jack, right, We got a
(07:40):
lot of like Faldo versus Norman, you know, I mean,
Tiger had a lot of foes. They just turned out
to not really be Phil. You know, it came down
to Chris de Marco. They had some knockdown dragouts. Right.
So if we could ever going into the weekend, just
have Scottie and Rory both being in like the top
six or seven, that would be fucking electric. And for
(08:04):
this weekend, Scotty's going for the grant his career grand Slam.
He turns thirty on Sunday. You know the video that
went viral a couple weeks ago of him yelling at
Ted Scott. I don't want to say unbecoming, because I
heard someone bring up this point. With the modern day
technology of the broadcasts, everything's on camera, everything's miked up.
(08:27):
Like every shot Scotty hits over the last several years
is there's gonna be video around it, even if it's
in the early in the morning Thursday through Sunday. You
can watch on ESPN Plus where a lot of players
have moments that would be incredibly embarrassing that are just
not on camera that happened throughout the day on a
course where we just don't see. I would also say, like,
(08:50):
and maybe it's remembering it a little bit different. Tiger
would scream at himself. You know, he would constantly scream
at himself, especially off the tee when he would hit
an awful shot. I don't remember him undressing Stevie Williams
very often. If ever, now maybe it happened, happened off
(09:12):
camera in the clubhouse, when they were at home or whatever.
But Tiger was really professional, like one of his underrated attributes.
I mean, you see Victor webbin Yama over the course
of the playoffs skipping media. You've seen Rory do it.
You've seen a lot of modern day players do it.
They just skip media. Tiger never did that. You know
why because he knew he was the Michael Jordan of
(09:33):
the operation. And whether he played well, which he did
most of the time, but it's golf like he had
some shitty days. He fucking sat there and the cameras
were on him. Why because he was the number one
guy everyone always wanted to talk to. And that's Scotty
and Rory now, and they've proven over the years to
get I mean, Scotty's been prickly over the course of
the last year. Now, you could argue there's some dumb
(09:53):
questions answered, Yes, comes with the territory. You know, this
is this is part of the deal. You know. I
asked Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen or Lamar if they
get some dumb questions like yeah, it's gonna happen. You
seen some of these media. I used to sit in
the press box with some of them. I wouldn't say
all of them are the most impressive individuals you're ever
gonna come across. So I think the one question mark
(10:16):
with Scotty at this tournament is if Kanditty's get outrageous,
he can get a little whiny, and like Tiger can
get whiny, but he could also immediately refocus, like he
could immediately lock back in. And that's my question with
Scotty for this weekend. If he gets off on a
couple holes and the pressure of this major doesn't derail him.
(10:41):
So like, I'm kind of off him this week relative
like top ten, the odds are terrible. I don't envision
Scotty winning, not that he can't. He's actually had a
really good season. I know he hasn't won since basically
essentially the first week of the season in Palm Springs,
but like ninety nine percent of players on the PGA
(11:03):
Tour would immediately sign up for the year he's having, right,
But I don't see it. I actually like Rory Moore
this week. Now, Rory turned to corner, you know, in
twenty eighteen. I don't even count that, honestly, like to me,
Rory is like a completely different golfer the last two
(11:24):
or three years. I know he won more majors early
on in his career. This is the best version over
the course of the last thirty six months we've ever
seen of Rory McElroy on a golf course. I would
also say the US Open is something he's kind of
figured out. You know, he really blew back to back
US Opens. He should have won at LACC. I played
(11:46):
that course the last time I was with Colin and
I actually I parted the hole, which he did too.
That cost him the tournament. He hit a wedge in
the bunker. I think it's the par five fourteenth. It's
the Playboy Mansion hole, which is cool. You wear your
tee off, you can hear the monkeys. I mean, obviously
the Heffner has a state has sold the mansion to
new people, but that the animals are still back there,
(12:09):
and then it's a long asshole. I hit two incredible
shots and I was still like fifty yards short. And
we definitely were not playing with the t's. We were
technically playing the back tees, but we weren't playing the
version of the US Open. And I think he had
under one hundred yard shot and he hit it into
this front bunker and it cost him a tournament. It
(12:29):
just did. And then Wyndam Clark hit two of the
best shots of his life. But again he went back
to back seconds in the US Open at LACC, which
was definitely playing easier, and at Pinehurst, which he one
should have won. So like, he has had a lot
of momentum in this event, and even last year, like
(12:50):
I give him a pass he wins the Masters. He
even went on records to say, like I kind of
lost focus. I was fucking wround. He finished tea nineteen
last year, so it's not like he just missed the cutting,
didn't even He's been up there a couple of times,
played this course. I think Rory's going to be in
the mix. And if you could say you could sign
(13:10):
up for one kind of matchup. We got that Bryson Rory.
We've got it a couple of times. We got it
two years ago at the Masters, we got a couple
of years ago at Pinehurst. I would love to get
it this weekend, I really would. But if I'm betting
on one of those two guys to truly have a
chance on the back nine come Sunday. I mean, Scotty
always kind of does I really believe Rory is going
(13:31):
to I would say another major storyline. We got two
big time thoroughbreds who are just kind of us open players.
And you know, one thing's pretty clear with this live disaster.
It's no fault of like listen Scott O'Neill, who is
the CEO when me and Colin went to the event.
(13:52):
He's a really impressive guy. It's you know, he didn't
create this thing Norman and pifted, and I think he
thought he was getting into something with unlimited funding and
they yanked it on him. Now, I'm not a big
believer in the product. It's not like I watched it
on television, but I understood where he was coming from, Like,
you have this type funding, maybe you take it to
the next level and it works. He's not a golf guy.
(14:15):
I do wonder he's a big basketball guy. If he
had understood the golf landscape a little differently, if he
would have been as interested. But he's clearly all in
now and he's trying to keep this thing in survival
mode and the players, specifically Bryson, are helping him pitch
this to investors. You know one guy that has nothing
to do with it and he said like, yeah, I'm
staying out of it is John Rom. And I think
(14:37):
John Ram sees the end inside. He hopes this thing
just ends. Now. He'll probably lose a little money that
he probably thought he was gonna make, but then he
could just transition back to a normal competitive tour. But
the one thing you would say about John Ram, who
feels like he's got to swag back a little bit
over the course of the last two years and some
of these majors, I mean last year in the PGA Championship,
(15:01):
he just did this year in the PJ Like he
just he's just shown more momentum in these big tournaments
because we really only see him right in these four
weeks a year. He's obviously a US Open champion when
he wanted a toy, But if you look at his
career in this event T three, T twenty three, one,
T twelve, T ten, he got injured and then T seven,
(15:23):
Like this is an event he's pretty comfortable in. And
why is he comfortable because typically this event just wipes
out so many people. So the best players, the best
ball strikers, the most mentally tough guys are just gonna
be in the mix. And that is to me Xander's
greatest strength. Pretty steady Eddie, like he's not really a
(15:43):
whiny Scottie type, Like he's not gonna be one of
those guys bitching a moan and walking down the fairway.
And honestly, he doesn't show that much emotion when he
gets a bogey, different from when he fucking knocks his
stiff and as a tap in birdie. And to me,
that bodes well in tournaments like this, And I do
think it speaks to his first ever US Open was
in twenty seventeen. In his career T five, T six,
(16:05):
T three, fifth, T seventy fourteen, T ten, T seventeen,
T twelve, This fucker is just made for this event. Now,
do I think Xander is gonna win it? I don't
think I would go that far, but I would say
one of these two guys are definitely in the mix
come Sunday, and I think one of these two guys
feels like a lock. Top ten. Today's show is brought
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(17:43):
tempted to take this next guy number four. You know,
early in the season, it felt like Cam Young was
a lock to win a major. Now it feels like
he's kind of falling apart, Like where's Cam Young. What's
going on? Obviously it's putting's falling off a map. And
to me, if you go back to the eighteen when
this guy shot sixty three, you would have been like
(18:04):
six seven eight years later, how many tournaments as Tommy
Fleet would gonna have won, you would have been like
seven or eight and probably win a major. Well, he's
won one and that was a thirty man field and
he's majorless. But he is good. He has three top
fives in US Opens. He's playing well coming into this event.
Two of his last three events he's top fived. So
(18:25):
and last week, honestly, he was playing pretty good. The
weather got weird in Canada on Sunday. I like Tommy
Fleet would a lot this by all accounts. This is
a second shot golf course. And what's his advantage if
the wind's pumping? Well, where's he come from? You know,
he doesn't exactly come from Scottsdale or Los Angeles? Right.
(18:46):
These international guys bode well when the conditions get weird.
Why because they're used to playing in it. Across the pond.
This is a guy that's used to playing in bad weather.
Now the sun's gonna be out, but the Wind's gonna
be going this guy that can control his irons, which
is extremely important. He's a top five ball striker this
year and honestly his around the green stats also a
(19:09):
top six or seven guy. Now, putting can be very
hit or missed. Do you trust Tommy fleet Wood like
over the years Kopka when he was on obviously a
guy like Tiger, you know, Rory and somebody even Bryson's
been in some of his big wins, has been a
big time putter. That to me is a thing that
kind of leaves you wanting a little bit more so. Five,
(19:29):
who's gonna win? Uh, I'm gonnaicker Rory hard Rock bet
eleven to one plus eleven hundred. I'm going Rory McElroy
to win. And I think that what did we say
after he won the Masters the second time? Like this,
this guy's looking to try to like become a legendary individual. Right,
(19:53):
you start going, Okay, he's never gonna win the Master,
He's never gonna win the Masters, and then he goes
back to back and then you start going, well, he's
got six majors, could he get to like ten to twelve?
And I think the answer is yes, And one thing
he has clearly instituted into his game is one off
the tee and he showed this at Pebble last year.
(20:13):
It is like this kind of low line drive. Guess
where that's gonna play here this week. The other thing
that he's been able to do over of course the
last couple of years, because historically he's a really high
ball player, Like his irons, they went really high, which
is not great for the win, Like much more control
keeping the ball low, especially with his wedges. Remember a
(20:33):
couple of years ago when Scotty won the Masters, it
would have been the year before Rory won it. He
played with Scotty and the weather was just atrocious and
Scotty looked awesome and Rory was a disaster and it
was pretty talents Like Rory Man, you got to go
back in the lab and figure some shit out, and
over the next couple of years he did. And I
would say that's that would define any great player, Like
(20:57):
sometimes you lose, sometimes you get your ass kicks, times
you get exposed next to another great player. I don't
care what sport you're in. Victor win Binyama like time
to get in the lab this summer, Man, time to
really get in the lab. And my guess is that
all that work he's done over the next couple of
years is coming to fruition. So I'm taking Rory this week.
(21:19):
My other two top ten bets are gonna be Tommy
Fleetwood plus two to twenty five, Matt Fitzpatrick, who is
just having an incredible season. Another guy won a US Open,
so youse like excels in tough condittis plus two hundred.
You know, if you want to hammer Rom or Xander,
(21:42):
they will be on my card as well. But my
big three plays are Rory to win it, Tommy and
Fitzpatrick to top ten. I would say one guy a
little bit of a flyer. He's he's basically one hundred
to one, so if you bet one hundred dollars you'd
win ten thousand. But Gary wood to top ten is
plus eight fifty and Gary Woodland to top twenty is
(22:05):
plus three to fifty. Another guy who can hit a
low liner off the team, who can control the trajectory
of his irons, who's won a US Open before, so
tough COUNDITTI player, he's having an excellent season. He to
me would be a little bit of a flyer if
you wanted to go down the board a little bit. Uh, well,
let's take a couple of questions, because there's a lot
(22:27):
going on in the golf world. Some of you guys
hit me up in the mail bag at Golo Pod
and we can answer the questions. We didn't even mention
this guy's name. This is from Eric. How crazy is
the Bryson roller coaster? Dude went from being a douche
to a likable major winner, then back to being a
(22:49):
douche who doesn't look like he's good at golf anymore.
I'm not touching Bryson de Chambeau this weekend. I actually
think if you wanted to take him to miss the
cut not a grazy play. Uh. He clearly has got
a lot going on. He's like working hand in hand
with O'Neil to try to save live. Godspeed to him.
But it's sad. I love watching Bryson when he's on,
(23:12):
but he's missed the last two cuts of majors right,
miss the miss the Masters, missed the PGA Championship, and
I think betting him to miss the cut this weekend
is not a crazy play at all. What are your
thoughts regarding Garrett Higgo firing his caddy for him being
late to his tea time. Does that speak to the
(23:33):
victimhood that is prevalent in our society. Well, he's an
international guy, not an American guy. Not even sure. I can't.
I don't know where he lives. But he's a good player.
I think it's specific to golf. As a golfer, your
inherently selfish. It's just you and who do you typically
(23:54):
blame your caddy and your swing coach? Look at look
at Scotty, Like Scotty, fuck, You're standing there too. You
can feel the win. Hit a different club if you
disagree with him, pull the six iron. If he's telling
you hit the seven iron and Scotty did it somewhat,
(24:14):
you know. I don't even want to say politely, but
he kept saying we we we. He never said you
you you. I think it's so easy for these guys
to point the finger at their caddy. I do feel like,
and I'm sure someone's done a study that the modern
day player, over the course of the last ten years
goes through way more caddies than any of these guys
(24:36):
did historically. When I was a kid, most of the
pro golfers like pre Tiger had the same caddy the majority,
if not their entire career unless the guy got old.
So I think it's so easy, and part of it
is the agent the manager. These guys are such big
businesses now they just blame that guy. It's like, Higo,
(24:57):
since you play junior golf, if your tea times at
one ten or ten, ten or three ten or eight
in the morning, like you fucking have a watch, there
are typically clocks around like I'm sorry that is on you.
That seems to me like a pretty easy out and
(25:18):
playing the blame game. I think it's less about society
and more about the golfing world. I think that's just
the natural move in pro golf is to just point
the finger at the caddy. Now, question for the next
pod as Americans, who do we need on the twenty
seven Ryder Cup that will help bring the juice back? Kopka, Spieth,
(25:42):
Patrick Reid. I think we're gonna get smoked. I mean
I seriously do. I think their team is so much
more consistent and better than ours, it's not even funny.
I mean, look at the guys they have one. They're
best players, like always played great in these majors. There
was a moment in the Canadian Open Fitzpatrick Birdie's eighteen.
(26:07):
He ended up finished in second last week and Hoveland
missed an eagle putt and birdied it and they kind
of hit each other and started laughing, and I was like, God,
these guys know each other pretty well well. The Ryder
Cup teammates. It's like, that's that's not even their like
star power on the Ryder Cup. That's like their middle tier.
That's not Rory, that's not rom, that's not even Fleetwood.
(26:31):
Justin Rose is gonna go down as like one of
the great Ryder covers of all time. So I I
don't think it's gonna matter. We need a we need
a major reset. I mean, I would say, besides, like Scottie,
everything's on the table. Do you prefer watching tournaments that
are more challenging courses like Ironomic in Oakmont last year,
(26:56):
that really test the players, or do you prefer to
watch earlier courses where guys go really low, like Valhalla
a couple of years ago. I view golf a little
bit like I do football. I wouldn't want everyone to
play in thirteen to ten games like I enjoyed Mike
Leech's teams. I enjoy teams that are all offense, no defense,
(27:19):
and then I like watching the Houston Texans play. So
I view my golf courses the same way, like I
enjoy variety. I don't get caught up like I enjoyed Valhalla.
Why it was Xander Bryson, Victor Hoveland, like I like
watching the players excel, and wherever they're playing, people are
oh too many birdies, Like that's this one week a year?
(27:43):
This isn't you know? It's one thing in pro in
like the NBA or the NFL, where you you sign
a guy to a four year contract, you're kind of
stuck with him, you know, unless you cut them or
able to trade them, like it's four days a year.
Then unless it's the Masters, they ain't coming back there.
So I I like variety, like I didn't hate Valhalla,
(28:05):
just like I will will enjoy this weekend just like
next year. I think it's a pebble beach. Well, if
pebble beach is weather's not bad. These guys are gonna
dominate that course unless they grow the rough out like
a foot long. So I don't get as caught up
in that maybe because I'm so close to football and
this is more entertainment to me. It's the one thing
(28:28):
that I can just watch unless I have a guy
like you know, a play, a guy to win a
tournament or to top five or top ten that I'm
really invested, where I can just sit on the couch
and enjoy the golf like Canadian Open. Are there many
holes on that course that I'm going to remember? No?
Did I enjoy watching that tournament? I did. Nothing else
was on I so I it doesn't. I don't know.
(28:52):
I'm not as bothered by that. I just like variety.
I have a hot take watching bryceon meltdown and play
awful in the Majors is actually better content than him winning.
I don't hate the guy, but watching him struggle, combined
with his personality makes for amazing television. I can't take
my eyes off him, I would agree, I said this.
(29:16):
Watching a guy triumph like Rory at the Masters is incredible.
Tiger in nineteen Tiger when he was young, Phil finally
winning the Masters, Scottie winning a major like a great player,
just accomplishing. Is Jalen Brunson win the NBA Championship, Steph forever,
(29:36):
like it's Tom Brady is awesome. There's something pretty special
about watching again if it's not your team, watching the
Falcons bull at twenty eight three league. There is something
special in golf to watch someone implode because unlike football
or basketball, like none of us can play at that level.
We can all play golf, and what do most of
(29:58):
us do? Some of us ain't playing that well. I
played for the first time in like three weeks the
other day, shot eighty two, forty four, thirty eight front nine.
I'm just hitting balls all over the place, had no
clue what to do. It's pretty relatable to watch guys struggle.
Chunk of chip three putt hit one into another fairway.
(30:21):
So in Bryson, he's very demonstrative. He gonna let you
know about it. He starts bitching with his caddy. Why
is it not hooking? We aimed it there. So when
you add his personality of Bryson's a great front runner,
He's an incredible front runner. Like when we talk about
Xander why he's so good here, He's not a front
(30:41):
runner Fleetwood. These guys are just grinders. They don't get
as emotional like Bryson's very emotional So when things are
going well, it's fucking awesome. When things are going bad,
you could argue it's must watch television. My wife loves
Bravo TV. Well, well, I thought I would never watch it.
(31:02):
The one reason you can kind of get into it.
It's like emotional head cases. When you're watching an emotional
headcase go through stuff, it's kind of hard to look away.
So I'm with you. What are your thoughts on Phil
as a person? I grew up loving him because he
always had a smile with tip his cap, and he
always would sign autographs at attorneys. Yet I read about
(31:24):
him online and I see as not well liked by
his fellow tour players. Is that overblown or true? Do
you know anyone that has met Phil personally? Well? This
DM was actually before the story broke last week. Phil
has retained a defamation lawyer to sue. I was looking
(31:45):
like I had a post that actually blew up. I
was like, one off, He's gonna sue me. It's like, Phil,
the Farms acknowledged they didn't put your name in it,
but they acknowledged they kicked someone out for that. I
don't think it's Joe Schmoe the businessman in San Diego.
They wouldn't have released a statement for that. I think
(32:07):
the thing with Phil. I was actually in a tournament,
probably a month ago, and I was playing against in
this member guest tournament, one of his college teammates, and
this is before the story broke, but he hadn't played
in forever because of the family issue. And I asked
the guy. I wasn't gonna ask him anything personally. He
(32:29):
was having a good time. I just said, how's Phil doing.
I mean, this guy has known Phil for thirty five
years And his response was like, WHOA, Because I remember
last year we talked a lot about I've played with
him multiple times. He said not good, and I just
let that live and we just changed the subject. And
(32:49):
the way he said it now makes a little more
sense when this story breaks, and I just think, Phil,
you know, you see the visuals of time coming back
from rehab and you can tell his face looks way better.
Tiger obviously had the the issues with the seven million mistresses,
banging chicks and parking lots like it was. It was.
(33:12):
It was like a movie. But the thing that he's
clearly battled and he's been single for a long time
so he can do whatever he wants. Is this opioid addiction,
like he's just sucking down pills. It's clear, like looking
back once he has the car crash, you can just
see it on his face. The stuff that allegedly we
don't want to get sued by Phil's defamation lawyer. It's
(33:35):
I don't know how Phil ever plays professional golf again.
Like if liv disappears, the PGA Tour is never letting
Phil back. The senior tour guys where Phil would have
been a star, I are not gonna want to fuck
with him. He if he wanted to, could have been
(33:57):
I mean, made millions of dollars sitting right next to
Jim Nantz calling golf. He could have been a star broadcaster.
That's done. CBS is a very conservative kind of stiff operation.
They are not hiring Phil Nicholson. Now, I don't know.
I mean, I've never met him personally. I've heard kind
(34:17):
of mixed reviews. Again, people's one person. How am I
gonna put this? My wife works with someone in the
real estate world, and his brother is a was a
very prominent PGA tour golfer for a long time. And
I've always got this vibe whenever I've been around someone
(34:39):
like that. When you just bring up Tiger and Phil
and they were in that era, they all like Tiger Woods,
And I don't know if it's a respect thing because
not like Tiger was friends with most of them, but
they never really have bad things to say about Tiger.
The reaction you get when you ask about Phil and
I'm not talking about his asu teammates have known him forever.
I'm talking about people that just were on the tour
(35:01):
or around that kind of world, and I'm just now
living in Scottsdale, just kind of one degree of separation
from a lot of these people. It doesn't seem that positive.
So I have no personal interaction with him. I always
enjoyed him. I'm with you, I was a fan, but
this is a fucking disaster. Embarrassing isn't strong enough. If
(35:22):
the stuff is true allegedly, you just don't recover from that.
The other thing is these country clubs, Because I text
a couple of people, I said, how do you think
Phil has been a member there? They're like thirty plus years.
Phil's been going there since he was like in his
(35:43):
twenties or whenever the course first was created. I don't
know when the farms was created, but Phil has been
a member there like since the Internet was invented. For
them to boot him again allegedly. If it's true, they
confirmed it, just didn't put his name on it. I
think it's pretty clear to put the piece of the
puzzle together. That's insane. I asked someone the other day,
(36:05):
I'm like, have you ever heard of anyone getting kicked
out of a club? He's like, yeah, there was a
story recently at this club I used to belong to.
Its two guys got into a fistfight, and one consistent
I would say theme at most country clubs is the
number one rule is when you treat the staff. And
this is just being a dick not doing what Phil's
(36:27):
allegedly doing. It's like, that's a no no, I mean
a complete no no, a disqualifier. And this goes to
Augusta Monterey Peninsula country club. You just go around Oakmont,
you know the shinnecock, the these nice country clubs, you
treat the staff shitty, that's fucking You're gone, Especially in
(36:50):
two thousand and like modern day, what do you think
the penalty for live players going back to the tour
is gonna be Bryson, rom etc. Since they didn't accept
(37:12):
the all of branch like Brooks, I imagine it will
be even more steep. What do you think of fair
penalty is for them? Well, let's just think who the
tour wants Bryson ram I would say, Hatton, Joaque Nieman.
Like I think DJ just retires, Patrick Reid's already back,
(37:33):
Kepka's back, trying to think being out there? Who am
I missing? Phil's done, the old guys they don't give
a shit about. I don't think Bryson necessarily wants to
come back. I really don't, because I don't think he
believes that everyone likes him and the one thing he's
got with live he's got to be a star. He's
(37:54):
got to tell them what to do. Even now, like
he gets to kind of give his ideas to pitch
to investors. No one gives a shit what he thinks
when he comes back to the PGA tour besides like
play and be a big name sar. But like he's
not gonna tell Brian Rolapp what to do at this point, right,
Scotty and Rory run the tour and if Tiger gets
a shit together, Tiger So I don't think Bryson's a
(38:19):
lock to come back. I really don't. Rom I think
he misses it. I do think as a human being,
because put yourself in their shoes, you take the money,
you'll leave. You kind of start drinking the kool aid
and kind of talk shit, Right, we're gonna be something.
(38:41):
This is gonna work. I mean, Bryson never shuts up
about Team Golf like this is the future. It's like, no,
it's not, guys, and then it fails. And the only
reason it existed is because the oil Fund, with trillions
of dollars, gave them almost six million dollars over the
course of five or six years. This would never have
(39:04):
existed without piff no American business investors. It couldn't have
happened because the only way those guys would leave it
took hundreds of millions of dollars to buy all the
top players. It's not like, well, I believe in it,
Give me some equity and give me ten million bucks
and I'm in. That's not the way it wor A.
So I think it's gonna be difficult. Now, Kopka wanted out,
(39:29):
you know, I think you kind of got to want
out even if you're worth a ton of money. Kepra
gave five million dollars, like through the PGA tour to
a charity, essentially a five million dollar fine. Is Bryson
orrom doing that? And I think Kepka looked at it, well,
I already made one hundred and fifty million dollars. What's
you know a couple percent of that just to get
(39:49):
away from here. I don't know. If they're doing that
to me, I would have no problem giving those guys
the same kind of all branch, but I am not
convinced that they are just gonna here's five million bucks
and to do all the shit he did, which you
don't get into the big events right away. I don't know.
(40:09):
I've also thought, like Jackson Coaven, this star amateur just
announced he's going pro. He's playing this weekend in the
US Open. That you know, like when the Jets they
draft David Bailey, or the Cowboys Caleb Downs or the
Commanders Sunny Styles. Those guys start week one like Sunday
(40:33):
Week one. That guy's you're starting middle, linebacker, pass rusher, safety,
whatever they are starters. Now the PGA Tour is gonna
go from they're gonna have Tier one events and Tier
two events. If you are a superstar amateur, shouldn't you
just start in the big leagues immediately, like you have
to work your way up. I think that's kind of
(40:56):
a big question moving forward as well, and roll up
from the football background. I wonder if he's gonna want
an easier path like Ludwig Boomers in if you were
the commission, give me your perfect PGA schedule, what courses
and when? Well they did announce recently. I do think
starting at Tory Pines and the waste management is a
(41:19):
good way to start, and I personally would move waste
management away from the Super Bowl. I think the Thunderbirds
that run waste management are adamant they want it that weekend.
So if they're not gonna budget, you just leave it
and you just do those two weekends. I think it's
really key in June and July around the majors to
find a way to get primetime golf. There's nothing going on.
(41:42):
This is a little bit of an outlier year because
the World Cup. But I was thinking last night, like
the NBA, the NHL, the playoffs are done. Now you
have this runway in June and through July. Of like,
could you play on the West coast and just get
golf Thursday, Friday, Saturaday and Sunday for the East coasters
that's on TV at like eight nine o'clock at night.
(42:05):
So I think you've got to figure out a way
to intertwine some of that. Now, part of it is weather, right,
you can't like, you can't just go to Florida in
July or August. It's too hot. You can't go to Texas.
So part of the hard part about golf is the
weather like plays a huge factor, which is like Pebble
(42:30):
Beach sometime in the summer, Tory Pines sometime in the summer,
Riviera sometime in the summer. Maybe go to Chambers Bay
sometime in the summer. Do a West Coast swing where
you get primetime golf when you're not competing against anything.
It's like, oh, the White Sox are playing the Tigers again,
no shit, play each other like twenty times a year,
(42:51):
so you're going up against baseball. That to me is
something I would emphasize, is how to get primetime golf
really in May, June, and July. You could even if
you want to kick May and look more August. That's
what i'd be thinking. When would that great questions at
Golo Pod, firing those d ms, and we will talk.
(43:14):
We'll talk soon. See you the volume
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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