July 24, 2019 • 31 mins
Shane Lowry's performance at the 2019 Open Championship was amazing. After discussing that we get into...Brooks' unreal run for the 2019 "major" season...and what we should continue to expect moving forward from Tiger. Lots to discuss...and the WGC FedEx St. Jude is this week as well. We are PLAYING THROUGH!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Don't mind us where playing through as Froggy and welcome
to a long overdue addition, I'll be playing through podcast Whacker.
Finally back from the Open Championship. That really was. I mean,
it may not be exactly what we thought we were
going to get, but I'm extremely happy with the way
(00:24):
Open Championship turned out. I know getting home, Whacker, was
not the easiest thing you've ever done. Correct, Well, look,
I don't expect anybody to have sympathy when you're coming
back from one of the most incredible places on the
planet in Ireland. And you're right that Open. We'll get
to that in a second, but you're right. The travel
troubles uh took about I was a week for about
(00:45):
twenty four hours, given some delays on Delta as usual.
So to have witnessed that the Open, to see it
not only um, you know, the Open, going back to
Northern Ireland for the first time in sixty years and
then having an irishman win there. Man, it was an
incredible scene. We got some great golf, fantastic, fantastic golf course,
(01:07):
one of the one of the best courses in the world. Really,
I mean, you can make an argument that it's it
belongs you know, one, two, three, somewhere in that range. Uh.
Royal Port Rush is absolutely terrific. I think we're gonna
see it go back there. We'll get into that in
a little while, but just a terrific open with Shane
Lowry and man, how good? How could does that? I mean,
(01:28):
you know he was true from this week's w g
C and event in Memphis, which sort of foregone conclusion,
and one of my colleagues tweeted it would have been
great if he'd given hungover as the official reason. I
responded back and said's still drunk. I think the party's
still going on in Ireland as it should. Man, that was.
That was an incredible performance. Yeah, I'm not sure what
Shane's better at. Is he better at golfer? Is he
(01:49):
better at drinking and singing karaoke on the stage? Well,
his golf was pretty damn good, especially that Saturday sixties three.
Man that was. I was actually in a pub in
in Northern Ireland watching Now. That was one of the
best ball striking rounds you know, a year, probably by anybody,
and or maybe the best ball striking round of the year.
That was just fantastic stuff. From him, and uh, you know,
(02:12):
good on him for this is a guy who obviously
wouldn't have been on a lot of people's radar, but uh,
certainly a world class player and really really talented. And
to do it in Ireland, man, that's just living up
to the pressure or just you know, letting the that
atmosphere carrying him probably just an incredible, incredible moment for him. Yeah.
I thought the fans in Northern Ireland were awesome. They
(02:35):
were really into golf, They understand it, they love it
h and Shane was really eating it up. As much
as I want to congratulate Shane, I was very sad
and it's something that I do want to get into.
It was sad to see Rory start the way he did.
Whether I agree or disagree, and I'll be honest, I
disagree with the out of bounds on the first hole.
I didn't think it was necessary um and I know
(02:57):
plenty of other people felt that way too. But to
see Rory start the way he did with a quadruple
boggy on the first hole at eight and basically take
himself not only out of the tournament, but really even
making the cut on the very first hole was sad
because I know a lot of those fans are hoping
to see a great performance on Roy McElroy. But that
takes nothing away from the performance that Shane Lowry was
(03:19):
able to put on at the Open Championship, right, And
you know, we'll get into this, but Rory, um, he's had,
He's got a little bit of a body of work
now when he's been in various positions that you know,
the pressure is really on the really highest and not delivering. Look,
I mean he's got four major championships and a bevy
of other impressive victories and and really when he's playing
(03:42):
his best, I mean, there are a few people, if anybody,
who's better than than Rory on the golf course. But
this is just another example of we've seen him not
necessarily handle the pressure very well. I mean, how how
do you hit an iron how pounds on that first
hole in the first hole of the tournament, and then
he goes on to make a snowman there, And look,
(04:03):
I actually gave him a lot of credit, but the
way he bounced back the rest of that round, it
was pretty good. He didn't play great, but sort of
pieced it together and and sort of hung on really yeah,
until eighteen to really not shoot himself out and then
he tripled the team. Just inexplicably had the bogey putt.
I'm sorry that the putty missed on sixteen from a foot.
(04:25):
I mean, these are the kinds of things that just
um are inexplicable almost for a guy of that talent level.
And clearly, um, it's got to be in his head
at this point. Uh, some of these opportunities and and
some of these missteps, there's there's some mental scarts issue
that he's trying to work through. So but you're right,
amazing performance by Shane Lowry that that's sixty three on
(04:48):
Saturday and then holding it together on Sunday when he
needed to um squirrely. The weather was not good on Sunday,
he started going on a little bit of he started
with a bogey, the opening t shot was not good
and and kind of went out a little bogie run
there on the back nine after really getting a big lead.
And there was a time Tommy Fleetwood had a couple
of puts he could have made things close, but he
(05:09):
didn't either. But Shane did hang on an amazing round
of golf. He put together really the body worked for
all four days. It's not like he played bad any
one day. But once again we have a major championship
that Brooks Kepta finished in the top five. Again, had
Brooks been able to put, he would have had something
to say about the end of this golf tournament for sure. Look,
(05:32):
I tweeted this out last week and and not a
lot of people are gonna maybe agree but or it
could be polarizing. But you know, Brooks, to me, is
the closest thing we've seen, the closest thing to Tiger
we've seen since Tiger meeting Tiger's prime. Now, look, I
get it that Brooks doesn't do it on a week
to week basis, That's not what I'm saying. What I'm
saying is, you know, major championships the ultimate measuring stick
(05:55):
and golf. I mean, this is the guy who steps
up every single time right now, and it doesn't appear
that that's going to change. He's motivated, he doesn't seem
to have any other distractions off the course that have
affected him negatively. So this is a guy who when
the pressure is at its highest and when the golf
(06:17):
is at the toughest, and that's Major championship golf. He
tends to play better than anybody. Um. Now, look, he
didn't win, obviously, and he's but you look at the
last couple of years worth of majors and really a
guy who has been better than Brooks consistently from one
Major to the next, I mean the last four Majors
(06:39):
prior to this, the Open he went first, second, for
a second. So this is a guy who's got that
killer instinct the Tiger had. This is a guy who
steps up and plays his best golf when the sport
demands it, when it when it. You know, Major championship
golf is a whole other level than week to week
(06:59):
tour golf, right, And I don't know. Look, I'm sure
Brooks's board on a week two week basis, it's hard
to get motivated. Um, he had that taste of the
success and majors obviously loves it and and and thrives
on it and find ways to motivate himself and to perform.
And to me, that's the closest thing we've seen to
Tiger since Tiger. True. And you know, something else you
(07:20):
didn't bring up is that the Major's other than the Masters,
moves to a different venue every year. So it's not
like he's continually performing at the same golf courses that
are playing in his wheelhouse. He's able to take his
game and adapt it to no matter where these majors go,
he still shows up on the leaderboard. And like you said,
this year alone, let's go ahead. Look at Masters. He
(07:43):
finished his second. Yes, they played Augusta every year. He
didn't play the year before because he was injured. Masters,
he's second, right behind Tiger, only one shot back. P
g A runs away with it. The US Open, he
said it. Gary Woodland just flat outbeat him. Gary Woodland
caught lightning in a bottle, played very well. Brooks finished
second there, and then the Open Championship he's fourth. I mean,
it really is amazing what he's able to do. You
(08:04):
go back to last year he won the US Open,
in the PGA Championship, did not play the Masters, did
not finish great at the Open Championship. But Brooks really
has been on a run. And speaking of Brooks, I
know you were there. You saw her. He walked off
the green getting a little frustrated with jab Holmes pointed
to his imaginary wristwatch, like, hey, this guy's taken too long,
(08:25):
and when asked about it, he said that, you know, listen,
he knows that Holmes played slow. But his problem is that,
Brooks says, when it's when somebody else is playing, he's
at least getting his glove on and at least going
through his preshot routine and kind of getting ready. His
problem is that while somebody else is playing a shot, JB.
Holmes isn't putting his glove on, He's not getting ready.
(08:46):
He doesn't start until it's his turn. That's his issue,
and I think personally Brooks makes a great point. Yeah, look,
everybody knows the JB. Holmes, you know, moveing the snail's pace,
and and those are all valid points that look springs up.
I mean, look this team up during holmes victory at Riviera.
I was there for that as well. I mean he
(09:08):
just now, look, there are two ways you can go
about this, and I don't necessarily blame JB. Home Sure,
I'd love to see the guy move faster. I think
he needs to move faster. He should move faster, Okay,
but the rules makers have got to put their foot
down and they need to start penalizing guys. That's the
only way. It's going to change, right does anybody with
(09:30):
a child that's the same thing as you. You you
can threaten a child to continue to do something as
long until you punish them and actually go through with
what you say you're gonna do. The rules mean nothing. Yeah,
I mean, look, you've got a teenager. Tell me how
that works if if you try to get him to
do something without the threat of real punishment, right, I mean,
how is that going to work out? Right? It doesn't work.
And that's the problem is they keep saying that they're
(09:52):
going to you know, listen, I know he's been on
the clock ump team times until they dock somebody's shots
and somebody's slow play, whether it's JB ms are, it's
anybody else, until the slow play cost them a tournament
and they're literally taking away strokes. There is not going
to be any change on the tour. No, It's just
that simple. You can find guys all you want, You
(10:12):
can talk about it, you know, when it comes from
the top down. I mean the tour sort of views
it as slow play is not an issue. It's because
it's this is something that just gets talked about by
a few could last, you know, thirty years forty years.
But the fact is, you know, we are in a
time where other sports are making strides to try to
speed up play, and you know their golf is a
(10:34):
little more complicated that way. Look, if you're playing a
seventy eight hundred yard golf course, uh, it's hard to
be fast, right because you've got long walks from teas
to greens and so forth, and you're walking seventy hundred yards.
So there's all sorts of reasons why golf is slow.
But to get guys to speed up, to your point,
the only way it's going to happen again is if
(10:56):
it's in force, and that comes from the top down.
It's not viewed as as a problem though, And and
because sponsors don't view it as a problem, because the
tour is not going to view it as a problem,
players buy and large view it as as a problem,
but not a real problem. I don't think the majority
of players would say it's killing the game. Shut Brooks
(11:17):
was adamant about it. Other other players took exception with
what Jason Day said a couple of years ago about, Hey, look,
I'm gonna take as much time as I need. I
don't really care if people think I'm slow or if
I am slow, because the only way a guy considers
himself slow is if an official is putting him on
the clock docte ultimately docking him strokes, and ultimately that's
(11:40):
costing him down the line, you know, in a tournament,
in a season, et cetera. But finding guys, look, that's
just that's just laughable. It's not going to accomplish anything
in terms of getting guys to speed up. Right, And
speaking to J. B. Holmes, talk about a bad Sunday
that was rough. What do you shoot on Sunday? He
needs to Yeah, it was a rough Sunday. He definitely, Uh,
(12:03):
I think I saw he gave I forget how many
how much money he gave up on Sunday, but it
was bad. He went from tied for fourth when he
teed off. I think he only beat three guys that
played on the weekend and made the cut. So, you know,
it wouldn't be a podcast if we don't bring up
Tiger Woods and and and Whacker. I really, you know,
there's no bigger Tiger fan than I am, But I
(12:24):
really don't know what to expect. Like, I mean, let's
go over the year we started out the year, he
said he was gonna play a lot less. He played
a lot more last year than he has this year.
He looked like a completely different person last year. Last
year at the Masters, he was never really was not
really a factor, but it was not and I think
he missed the cut at the US Open, but at
(12:46):
the PGA Championship. He finished second at the US Open,
At the British Open, he was leading on Sunday. I
know Francesco molinary One, but he was a factor this year. Yes,
we do have a major victory at the Masters, but
you're talking about Ms the cut oft the PGA Championship,
At the US Open at Pebble Beach, he was never
really a factor, and then Ms the cut at the
(13:09):
Open Championship. What should we expect moving forward? I've got
my own opinion of what we should expect, but you
know much more than I do. What should we expect
from Tiger Woods moving further, whether it's the rest of
this year, in the next year and the Majors. Is
he injured, is there something going on? What do you
put it on? Well, Well, let's start with what we
(13:32):
should expect the rest of this year, and I would
say that's not a lot of golf. You know, he's
not playing this week's w g C event in Memphis.
He'll play the playoffs, which there's been some speculation is
in wonder or question whether he'll even skip the first
playoff event in New York because at Liberty National, because
he's in a good enough position that he can just
(13:54):
play the following week and if he plays the following
week well in Chicago, then know that could get into
Tour Championship at east Lake. Now, look, ultimately, does that
stuff matter to Tiger Woods. Um No, in the grand
scheme of things, it really doesn't. So um that said, look,
(14:14):
we don't know if he's injured, okay, but we do
know that he's forty three years old, had all these surgeries.
We saw what the Masters, you know, the the the
hangover from the Masters was like for him. I think
he put so much into that physically and mentally, and
then the the outpouring afterward it was incredible. So, you know,
(14:38):
not a surprise. And he didn't play again into the
p g I and didn't play well. And then you
look at the schedule with the Major every four weeks,
and if guys like Justin Rose are talking about how
difficult that is. What does that mean for Tiger Woods?
This is this is a guy who's again, you know,
deal with all these injuries. Forty three years old. Doesn't
seem like he's got a lot of years left in
front of him. So to me, you know, what do
(15:01):
we expect the rest of this year? I think a
little bit of golf. You know, we've hurt and talk
about the exhibition he'll play overseas, We've we'll see him
in the playoffs, will presumably presumably see him play his
event in the Bahamas or at least hosted if he
doesn't play it. Sort of I think maybe depends on
whether he makes the President's Cup team. I don't think
(15:22):
he would put himself on the team as a captain's pick.
So I don't think we'll see Tiger play a lot
of golf the rest of the year. And then moving forward,
you know, look Augusta again as a tournament he can
ramp up too. We saw this year, didn't play a
lot of tournament golf going into it, made a few starts,
but really spent you know, six months in essence preparing
(15:42):
for that event. Well, he's not going to get six
weeks preparing for majors the rest of the you know,
after Augustus, So, um, I think this is the new
normal for Tiger. And then you throw in I know
we talked about this before the podcast. You throw in
the weather at the last three majors, right, the final
three majors of the year. It was cold at all
(16:03):
three of them. And again, this is a guy who's
forty three, needs a lot of maintenance on his body,
and when you have cold weather, that can make it
that much more difficult. Uh. Then you add in the
fact that obviously the fields are bigger than the Masters,
so it's a bit tougher. There's a larger pool of
players he's got to deal with and try to contend.
(16:24):
So where as Augusta, you're talking smaller fields, less you know,
fewer people to beat. So you know, what, what are
we expecting for? I don't really know, but I do wonder.
You know, afterward, there was all this talk of look,
start to count for you know, we can resume this
count on eighteen and again, and and maybe we can.
Who knows. Um, I think there's just so many unknowns.
(16:47):
But the flip style of that argument is maybe this,
you know, this past year at the Master's will be
uh Tiger's version of what Jack did in any six um.
And that's what NBC analysts as that he doesn't think
Tiger wins again. And the reason he doesn't think he'll
win again is because he said there was a couple
(17:07):
of different reasons. He said that, look how much he
enjoyed this victory. You know, usually he wins, He enjoys
it for one day, he moves on, he's preparing for
the next one. This one was different. Then he also says,
like the same thing is he doesn't have the time.
With the major's now all being every four weeks there's
a new major, he doesn't have the time to put
(17:28):
in and prepare. The most he has to prepare the
most time is Augusta, and it's played at the same
place every single year, place he knows better than he
knows anywhere else. And that, yes, that is his best chance.
And I do believe that moving forward, if he does
win another major, it will have to be Augusta for
these reasons that he doesn't have the time to prepare,
(17:50):
nor does he Look, I don't listen. I'll never say
that he doesn't care because I think he does carries
a competitor um. He loves to compete. That's been that's
been made very clear. I just don't see him preparing,
Like after the US Open he went to Thailand for
a couple of weeks, and listen, he's got the right
to take his kids on vacation. I get it, but
(18:10):
he's not preparing the way he did for major championships.
He even admitted before he got to the Open Championship,
before they teed off on Thursday, he said, my game
is not where it needs to be. I just don't
think we can expect to see I think the best golf.
We're going to see how the Tiger is every year
at Augusta. And you might be right about that. I
mean you also you know at your point about motivation,
(18:31):
I mean, look, I'm not having to question Tiger's motivation
when it comes to trying to win major championships. But
I do think you can maybe question or wonder at
least what the motivation will be for him to go
through all the work and all the effort it takes
for him to get in that position where he can
contend to majors. Now, look again, I think if we
(18:54):
look at it. I really think the cold weather plays
a factor with him. He's never played well historically in
cold weather. Uh, and now he's forty three and that
really can zap you. I mean, you look at the
conditions at the Open. They weren't by any means difficult
the first two days in terms of um. You know,
we didn't get that classic British Open weather that we
(19:17):
so often see where there were it's howling and it's
very cold. But you saw the grimaces off the tea,
You saw the facial expressions. We didn't see any of
those last year. As much golf as Tiger Woods played
in two thousand and eighteen, we didn't see any of
those grimaces. He's played a lot less, given his body
much more time to heal in between tournaments. He's not
(19:40):
practicing as much, he's not playing as much. But we're
seeing grimaces this year we didn't see last year. Right,
And you know, I'll even go back to something I
heard going into the Open. I was over there a
few days early and there was speculation amongst some people
there who I would I would say, I trust that
the question or wondered whether Tiger would even play. They
(20:02):
believed that there might have been an injury that he
was he was not disclosing, or you know, maybe battling
some injuries. So again, this is the guy who is very,
very old. You know, years are measured in dog years,
given all he's putting itself through physically, so you know,
who knows. But I I just don't know what it
means going forward. I mean, we could see, I could
(20:24):
see a scenario where, yeah, maybe this was that moment,
that Jack moment. He he could go back and two
years ago he said fifteen, meaning the fifteenth major is
always going to be the hardest for him to win
out of any of this major. So you know, once
he accomplished that, well it's like you just scaled Everest
in his eyes again, So where's the motivation to do
(20:47):
it once again? At some point everybody loses that sort
of motivation or at least the ability to do that.
So I don't know what we'll see from him going forward,
but obviously disappointing year from him sort of post Masters,
but I think overall, you know, not a disappointing year
because again he did something that I think not even
(21:08):
he thought he would ever be able to do again.
And that's of course, win a major championship, and uh,
you know when of Augustus. So you just read my mind. Actually,
I was going to ask you, is this year if
he does not win another tournament? Is this year with
a victory to missed cuts and kind of just a
mid mid finished Listen, he finished a little higher at
(21:29):
the Open at Pebble because he had a really good
run at the end on Sunday. So is this year
a success for Tiger Woods? Yeah, there's no way you
can say it's not a success for Tiger this year. Yeah.
I mean nobody, nobody would have imagined this scenario two
years ago. So success. Okay, I'm gonna ask you another question.
(21:51):
I want you to tell me in in in order.
How do you rank this year's major? So this year's
major's we've got Tiger at the Masters, We've got Brooks
at the PGA Championship. That was the best page. We've
got Gary Woodland wins the US Open at Pebble Beach,
and Shane Lowry wins the Open Championship at Royal Port Rush.
How do you rank this season's four majors? Well, look,
(22:13):
I think, um, if I'm ranking the majors themselves and
sort of what was the most memorable historic prominent however
you want to put it, Tiger at the Master's Um,
you know, tops them all, because again, this is something
we thought we'd never see again. You go back to
where he was two years ago when the police find
(22:33):
him on the side of the road, passed out in
his vehicle at two o'clock in the morning, and and
everything that came out of that, that seems so so
far he seems so far removed from that, and that
seems so long ago to be to do what he
did at the Masters. Uh, in the way that unfolded, um,
you know, he held off some guys that were chasing him.
(22:54):
It was pretty pretty open there with handful of holes
or so. The birdies on fifteen and sixteen definitely put
it away for him. Yeah, and just the scene, the atmosphere,
I mean, it was incredible. I've I've covered probably ten
or twelve Masters now and that scene. I've seen some
some memorable ones in those over the years. But that
(23:14):
scene behind the gust the clubhouse tried to coming out of,
you know, in their green jackets on the veranda, just
just all of it was. It was incredible. What do
you rank his number two. You know, I'd put Brooks
in their number two because to me, now, if you're
talking about the most impressive golf me, it's kept it
because it goes back to what you said earlier about
(23:35):
his play really in all the majors um effectively was
that he was in contention almost for every major this year.
So that's to me, that is his play is the
most if we're just bringing it down to play, and
what stood out to me, it's it's Brooks kept in
(23:56):
the majors because this guy has established himself as the
player every time a major rolls around, he is the
favorite or a co favorite because look at it. Look
we've seen. You know, Rory McRoy has had a fantastic year,
terrific year. He's won twice, he's he's barely finished outside
the top ten save for a few events. You know,
(24:18):
he's had a terrific year. But when we go into
a major championships, one guy that first guy that comes
to mind every single time, and to me, it's Brooks
and deserves it. So right, I agree, So what do
you make his number three? Well, yeah, Shane Lowry, Uh
that performance uh in the atmosphere and going back to Ireland.
I mean, that's and the great thing about it is
(24:38):
I think we'll see the Open return there, maybe as
soon as five or six years from now. It's been
a long time in the making. It's a fantastic golf course.
The town was incredible. Uh, there's some logistical issues there
that are a little bit difficult. It might be a
couple of course changes that we see the next time
it rolls around there. But I do think we'll absolutely
(24:59):
see the Open head back to Port Rush. Um. It's
a fantastic fantastic men. You should be part of the
ROTA and Shane Lawry's performance there in front of the
home fans really was something special. I mean it was
one of the most memorable majors I think I've ever
been a part of right, which unfortunately leaves Gary Woodland
in fourth place, but yet was still an amazing performance
(25:22):
he put on at the US Open at Pebble. Yeah,
that was a top top NOZ performance. I mean, go back,
go again. This brings me back to my point about Brooks.
It's almost Garry's win. There was almost you know, Brooks's.
Brooks's performance is almost as memorable as Gary's win. I
mean you come away with that thinking that you know,
(25:43):
at some point on Sunday, right, I'm sure everybody thought
that Brooks was going to win. Right, it's sort of
I mean, you're sitting at home and take nothing away
from the performance. It was spectacular. You got back to
that chip that Gary hit on. I'm seventeen there from
on the putting Green. Look it was. It was nothing
(26:05):
short of a of an absolutely a plus performance. But
again it goes back to me, Brooks again has himself
in the mix, has himself in the conversation, and the
way he is doing that time in and time out.
To me, that's the most Tiger like performance I've seen
in a major since the Primate Tiger. Yeah, I would agree.
And real quick, I know you've got to get going
(26:26):
to the head of the airport. You've got Memphis headed
to the w GC event this week, fed x UM
real quick. Two things I want to ask you. Phil
Mickelson took some time off, came off of social media,
said that he did a fast lossome weight, tried to
do a hard reset, did not appear to get the
results that he was looking forward the Open Championship for
(26:46):
the very this was a crazy stat for the very
first time since Phil and Tiger have started playing majors,
it's the first time they've ever both missed the cut
in the same major. That's a pretty amazing stat What
is going on with Phil? Well, again, I think we
have to remember this Phil is forty nine years old.
He's forty nine. Like, how many guys are in contention,
you know, or even playing or even relevant or even
(27:06):
have a tour card at forty nine. Um, this guy's
you know, a year listening, a year away from the
Champions Tour eligibility. So to me, look what's going on
with him? Again, it's it's a matter of age, you know.
Some of these any stuff going on in social media,
I don't like, I get it, but it's I'm not
a Phil I'm not a huge Phil fan, and I
love these fireside chats with Phil. I think they're hilarious. Look,
(27:27):
it's it's certain one thing Phil will never be is
dull and uh uh. He is always entertaining in that respect,
in a good way or or a negative way. So
you can never take that away from But again, I
think you have to remember that this guy is forty nine. Um,
he's getting up there. He's played a ton, a ton
of golf. He's been relatively healthy throughout his career. But again,
(27:49):
you know, at some point this stuff just catches up
to you and clearly the best days of filmer behind him.
You know, Does he ever win again on tour? I
don't know. I mean he I would put him in
the same boat Tiger in terms of Look, these guys
are really on the last few holds of their career.
I mean, sure they could win somewhere, but I just
think it's a it's at that point in there in
(28:09):
their age where when you're playing a full, full slated tournaments. Man,
even when Tiger Donald's back the way he did, um,
you know, not play a lot throughout the course of
the year, it's still a tough ask for these guys.
And uh, you know, I think that's where we're I
was still so again, I don't know that we'll see
Phil ever win again on the PGA Tour. Maybe, yeah.
I think his best shot is probably Augusta as well,
(28:32):
just like it's Tigers. And speaking of social media, video
has surfaced just in the last twelve to twenty four
hours of oh Boy Sergio hitting a bad tea shot
at the Open Championship, walking off a tea box and
literally throwing his driver at the caddy who happens to
be his brother. Yeah, that's Look, what can I say?
This is this is Sergio. You know, we thought we've
(28:54):
heard him talk uh go on I'm teen apology tours,
you know, trying to get better and and this sort
of thing. But look, he's forty years old at this
point and he hasn't changed. He's not going You're not
going to change at forty. Um, you're really not going
to change traffically when you're forties. So now look, we
don't know the context behind the club toss. It wasn't
(29:15):
some violence, let's not let's for those who have yet
to see it, I would encourage you to go go
check it out online. You can see it on golf
Dodges dot com. We had a story posted about it,
and you can certainly find it on the internet on Twitter. Um,
so we don't really know the context of it. It
wasn't sort of a helicopter toss, or it wasn't a
club break or anything like that, but there was clearly
(29:36):
a level of discussed with it. And look, this is
just Sergio being Sergio. He runs hot. Uh. He's there's
a certain level of immaturity to him when it comes
to this stuff, and I can't say I'm surprised, it's
it's disappointing. You'd like to see him change at some point,
but you know, this is this is Sergion Whacker. Thanks
so much for your time. So here we go. You
are off to the airport and headed to Memphis. You've
(29:57):
got the FedEx St. Jude this week, the w GC event,
so you'll go there and then actually we're gonna be back. Uh.
Spoke with George Gengis last night. George Is, you know,
kind of been a hot topic on tour, but his
pupil uh and Oklahoma state phenomen Matt wolf Once a
couple of weeks ago. We're going to talk to George.
Want to get the breakdown on exactly Matt Wolfe, whether
(30:19):
it's the pre shot routine that he does with the
hip turn or exactly how the swing works. And George
is also launching a website, so we will talk to him.
Next week. We will recap the w g C event
and get ready for the playoffs and maybe by then,
I guess we'll know whether we'll see Tiger. He will
have had to commit to the first playoff of it
by then, correct, he will. Yeah, so we'll know, you know,
(30:43):
at the latest. I guess we'll know the Friday before,
which I don't expect a big announcement from Tiger too
much further in advanced than that, because but but he did. Look,
he did make mention of the playoffs when he was
at the Open, so that seemed to indicate the likelihood
of him playing there. But again, it wouldn't shocked me
either way if you didn't decided not to play the
(31:03):
first event. So we'll just wait and see the Tiger,
and away we go. We've got a month ago in
the season and we'll wrap it up. Thank you so
much for listening to the Playing Through podcast. I think
you've had enough now, you've had enough with frog Ian
lacquer bitch
Don't mind us where playing through as Froggy and welcome
to a long overdue addition, I'll be playing through podcast Whacker.
Finally back from the Open Championship. That really was. I mean,
it may not be exactly what we thought we were
going to get, but I'm extremely happy with the way
(00:24):
Open Championship turned out. I know getting home, Whacker, was
not the easiest thing you've ever done. Correct, Well, look,
I don't expect anybody to have sympathy when you're coming
back from one of the most incredible places on the
planet in Ireland. And you're right that Open. We'll get
to that in a second, but you're right. The travel
troubles uh took about I was a week for about
(00:45):
twenty four hours, given some delays on Delta as usual.
So to have witnessed that the Open, to see it
not only um, you know, the Open, going back to
Northern Ireland for the first time in sixty years and
then having an irishman win there. Man, it was an
incredible scene. We got some great golf, fantastic, fantastic golf course,
(01:07):
one of the one of the best courses in the world. Really,
I mean, you can make an argument that it's it
belongs you know, one, two, three, somewhere in that range. Uh.
Royal Port Rush is absolutely terrific. I think we're gonna
see it go back there. We'll get into that in
a little while, but just a terrific open with Shane
Lowry and man, how good? How could does that? I mean,
(01:28):
you know he was true from this week's w g
C and event in Memphis, which sort of foregone conclusion,
and one of my colleagues tweeted it would have been
great if he'd given hungover as the official reason. I
responded back and said's still drunk. I think the party's
still going on in Ireland as it should. Man, that was.
That was an incredible performance. Yeah, I'm not sure what
Shane's better at. Is he better at golfer? Is he
(01:49):
better at drinking and singing karaoke on the stage? Well,
his golf was pretty damn good, especially that Saturday sixties three.
Man that was. I was actually in a pub in
in Northern Ireland watching Now. That was one of the
best ball striking rounds you know, a year, probably by anybody,
and or maybe the best ball striking round of the year.
That was just fantastic stuff. From him, and uh, you know,
(02:12):
good on him for this is a guy who obviously
wouldn't have been on a lot of people's radar, but uh,
certainly a world class player and really really talented. And
to do it in Ireland, man, that's just living up
to the pressure or just you know, letting the that
atmosphere carrying him probably just an incredible, incredible moment for him. Yeah.
I thought the fans in Northern Ireland were awesome. They
(02:35):
were really into golf, They understand it, they love it
h and Shane was really eating it up. As much
as I want to congratulate Shane, I was very sad
and it's something that I do want to get into.
It was sad to see Rory start the way he did.
Whether I agree or disagree, and I'll be honest, I
disagree with the out of bounds on the first hole.
I didn't think it was necessary um and I know
(02:57):
plenty of other people felt that way too. But to
see Rory start the way he did with a quadruple
boggy on the first hole at eight and basically take
himself not only out of the tournament, but really even
making the cut on the very first hole was sad
because I know a lot of those fans are hoping
to see a great performance on Roy McElroy. But that
takes nothing away from the performance that Shane Lowry was
(03:19):
able to put on at the Open Championship, right, And
you know, we'll get into this, but Rory, um, he's had,
He's got a little bit of a body of work
now when he's been in various positions that you know,
the pressure is really on the really highest and not delivering. Look,
I mean he's got four major championships and a bevy
of other impressive victories and and really when he's playing
(03:42):
his best, I mean, there are a few people, if anybody,
who's better than than Rory on the golf course. But
this is just another example of we've seen him not
necessarily handle the pressure very well. I mean, how how
do you hit an iron how pounds on that first
hole in the first hole of the tournament, and then
he goes on to make a snowman there, And look,
(04:03):
I actually gave him a lot of credit, but the
way he bounced back the rest of that round, it
was pretty good. He didn't play great, but sort of
pieced it together and and sort of hung on really yeah,
until eighteen to really not shoot himself out and then
he tripled the team. Just inexplicably had the bogey putt.
I'm sorry that the putty missed on sixteen from a foot.
(04:25):
I mean, these are the kinds of things that just
um are inexplicable almost for a guy of that talent level.
And clearly, um, it's got to be in his head
at this point. Uh, some of these opportunities and and
some of these missteps, there's there's some mental scarts issue
that he's trying to work through. So but you're right,
amazing performance by Shane Lowry that that's sixty three on
(04:48):
Saturday and then holding it together on Sunday when he
needed to um squirrely. The weather was not good on Sunday,
he started going on a little bit of he started
with a bogey, the opening t shot was not good
and and kind of went out a little bogie run
there on the back nine after really getting a big lead.
And there was a time Tommy Fleetwood had a couple
of puts he could have made things close, but he
(05:09):
didn't either. But Shane did hang on an amazing round
of golf. He put together really the body worked for
all four days. It's not like he played bad any
one day. But once again we have a major championship
that Brooks Kepta finished in the top five. Again, had
Brooks been able to put, he would have had something
to say about the end of this golf tournament for sure. Look,
(05:32):
I tweeted this out last week and and not a
lot of people are gonna maybe agree but or it
could be polarizing. But you know, Brooks, to me, is
the closest thing we've seen, the closest thing to Tiger
we've seen since Tiger meeting Tiger's prime. Now, look, I
get it that Brooks doesn't do it on a week
to week basis, That's not what I'm saying. What I'm
saying is, you know, major championships the ultimate measuring stick
(05:55):
and golf. I mean, this is the guy who steps
up every single time right now, and it doesn't appear
that that's going to change. He's motivated, he doesn't seem
to have any other distractions off the course that have
affected him negatively. So this is a guy who when
the pressure is at its highest and when the golf
(06:17):
is at the toughest, and that's Major championship golf. He
tends to play better than anybody. Um. Now, look, he
didn't win, obviously, and he's but you look at the
last couple of years worth of majors and really a
guy who has been better than Brooks consistently from one
Major to the next, I mean the last four Majors
(06:39):
prior to this, the Open he went first, second, for
a second. So this is a guy who's got that
killer instinct the Tiger had. This is a guy who
steps up and plays his best golf when the sport
demands it, when it when it. You know, Major championship
golf is a whole other level than week to week
(06:59):
tour golf, right, And I don't know. Look, I'm sure
Brooks's board on a week two week basis, it's hard
to get motivated. Um, he had that taste of the
success and majors obviously loves it and and and thrives
on it and find ways to motivate himself and to perform.
And to me, that's the closest thing we've seen to
Tiger since Tiger. True. And you know, something else you
(07:20):
didn't bring up is that the Major's other than the Masters,
moves to a different venue every year. So it's not
like he's continually performing at the same golf courses that
are playing in his wheelhouse. He's able to take his
game and adapt it to no matter where these majors go,
he still shows up on the leaderboard. And like you said,
this year alone, let's go ahead. Look at Masters. He
(07:43):
finished his second. Yes, they played Augusta every year. He
didn't play the year before because he was injured. Masters,
he's second, right behind Tiger, only one shot back. P
g A runs away with it. The US Open, he
said it. Gary Woodland just flat outbeat him. Gary Woodland
caught lightning in a bottle, played very well. Brooks finished
second there, and then the Open Championship he's fourth. I mean,
it really is amazing what he's able to do. You
(08:04):
go back to last year he won the US Open,
in the PGA Championship, did not play the Masters, did
not finish great at the Open Championship. But Brooks really
has been on a run. And speaking of Brooks, I
know you were there. You saw her. He walked off
the green getting a little frustrated with jab Holmes pointed
to his imaginary wristwatch, like, hey, this guy's taken too long,
(08:25):
and when asked about it, he said that, you know, listen,
he knows that Holmes played slow. But his problem is that,
Brooks says, when it's when somebody else is playing, he's
at least getting his glove on and at least going
through his preshot routine and kind of getting ready. His
problem is that while somebody else is playing a shot, JB.
Holmes isn't putting his glove on, He's not getting ready.
(08:46):
He doesn't start until it's his turn. That's his issue,
and I think personally Brooks makes a great point. Yeah, look,
everybody knows the JB. Holmes, you know, moveing the snail's pace,
and and those are all valid points that look springs up.
I mean, look this team up during holmes victory at Riviera.
I was there for that as well. I mean he
(09:08):
just now, look, there are two ways you can go
about this, and I don't necessarily blame JB. Home Sure,
I'd love to see the guy move faster. I think
he needs to move faster. He should move faster, Okay,
but the rules makers have got to put their foot
down and they need to start penalizing guys. That's the
only way. It's going to change, right does anybody with
(09:30):
a child that's the same thing as you. You you
can threaten a child to continue to do something as
long until you punish them and actually go through with
what you say you're gonna do. The rules mean nothing. Yeah,
I mean, look, you've got a teenager. Tell me how
that works if if you try to get him to
do something without the threat of real punishment, right, I mean,
how is that going to work out? Right? It doesn't work.
And that's the problem is they keep saying that they're
(09:52):
going to you know, listen, I know he's been on
the clock ump team times until they dock somebody's shots
and somebody's slow play, whether it's JB ms are, it's
anybody else, until the slow play cost them a tournament
and they're literally taking away strokes. There is not going
to be any change on the tour. No, It's just
that simple. You can find guys all you want, You
(10:12):
can talk about it, you know, when it comes from
the top down. I mean the tour sort of views
it as slow play is not an issue. It's because
it's this is something that just gets talked about by
a few could last, you know, thirty years forty years.
But the fact is, you know, we are in a
time where other sports are making strides to try to
speed up play, and you know their golf is a
(10:34):
little more complicated that way. Look, if you're playing a
seventy eight hundred yard golf course, uh, it's hard to
be fast, right because you've got long walks from teas
to greens and so forth, and you're walking seventy hundred yards.
So there's all sorts of reasons why golf is slow.
But to get guys to speed up, to your point,
the only way it's going to happen again is if
(10:56):
it's in force, and that comes from the top down.
It's not viewed as as a problem though, And and
because sponsors don't view it as a problem, because the
tour is not going to view it as a problem,
players buy and large view it as as a problem,
but not a real problem. I don't think the majority
of players would say it's killing the game. Shut Brooks
(11:17):
was adamant about it. Other other players took exception with
what Jason Day said a couple of years ago about, Hey, look,
I'm gonna take as much time as I need. I
don't really care if people think I'm slow or if
I am slow, because the only way a guy considers
himself slow is if an official is putting him on
the clock docte ultimately docking him strokes, and ultimately that's
(11:40):
costing him down the line, you know, in a tournament,
in a season, et cetera. But finding guys, look, that's
just that's just laughable. It's not going to accomplish anything
in terms of getting guys to speed up. Right, And
speaking to J. B. Holmes, talk about a bad Sunday
that was rough. What do you shoot on Sunday? He
needs to Yeah, it was a rough Sunday. He definitely, Uh,
(12:03):
I think I saw he gave I forget how many
how much money he gave up on Sunday, but it
was bad. He went from tied for fourth when he
teed off. I think he only beat three guys that
played on the weekend and made the cut. So, you know,
it wouldn't be a podcast if we don't bring up
Tiger Woods and and and Whacker. I really, you know,
there's no bigger Tiger fan than I am, But I
(12:24):
really don't know what to expect. Like, I mean, let's
go over the year we started out the year, he
said he was gonna play a lot less. He played
a lot more last year than he has this year.
He looked like a completely different person last year. Last
year at the Masters, he was never really was not
really a factor, but it was not and I think
he missed the cut at the US Open, but at
(12:46):
the PGA Championship. He finished second at the US Open,
At the British Open, he was leading on Sunday. I
know Francesco molinary One, but he was a factor this year. Yes,
we do have a major victory at the Masters, but
you're talking about Ms the cut oft the PGA Championship,
At the US Open at Pebble Beach, he was never
really a factor, and then Ms the cut at the
(13:09):
Open Championship. What should we expect moving forward? I've got
my own opinion of what we should expect, but you
know much more than I do. What should we expect
from Tiger Woods moving further, whether it's the rest of
this year, in the next year and the Majors. Is
he injured, is there something going on? What do you
put it on? Well, Well, let's start with what we
(13:32):
should expect the rest of this year, and I would
say that's not a lot of golf. You know, he's
not playing this week's w g C event in Memphis.
He'll play the playoffs, which there's been some speculation is
in wonder or question whether he'll even skip the first
playoff event in New York because at Liberty National, because
he's in a good enough position that he can just
(13:54):
play the following week and if he plays the following
week well in Chicago, then know that could get into
Tour Championship at east Lake. Now, look, ultimately, does that
stuff matter to Tiger Woods. Um No, in the grand
scheme of things, it really doesn't. So um that said, look,
(14:14):
we don't know if he's injured, okay, but we do
know that he's forty three years old, had all these surgeries.
We saw what the Masters, you know, the the the
hangover from the Masters was like for him. I think
he put so much into that physically and mentally, and
then the the outpouring afterward it was incredible. So, you know,
(14:38):
not a surprise. And he didn't play again into the
p g I and didn't play well. And then you
look at the schedule with the Major every four weeks,
and if guys like Justin Rose are talking about how
difficult that is. What does that mean for Tiger Woods?
This is this is a guy who's again, you know,
deal with all these injuries. Forty three years old. Doesn't
seem like he's got a lot of years left in
front of him. So to me, you know, what do
(15:01):
we expect the rest of this year? I think a
little bit of golf. You know, we've hurt and talk
about the exhibition he'll play overseas, We've we'll see him
in the playoffs, will presumably presumably see him play his
event in the Bahamas or at least hosted if he
doesn't play it. Sort of I think maybe depends on
whether he makes the President's Cup team. I don't think
(15:22):
he would put himself on the team as a captain's pick.
So I don't think we'll see Tiger play a lot
of golf the rest of the year. And then moving forward,
you know, look Augusta again as a tournament he can
ramp up too. We saw this year, didn't play a
lot of tournament golf going into it, made a few starts,
but really spent you know, six months in essence preparing
(15:42):
for that event. Well, he's not going to get six
weeks preparing for majors the rest of the you know,
after Augustus, So, um, I think this is the new
normal for Tiger. And then you throw in I know
we talked about this before the podcast. You throw in
the weather at the last three majors, right, the final
three majors of the year. It was cold at all
(16:03):
three of them. And again, this is a guy who's
forty three, needs a lot of maintenance on his body,
and when you have cold weather, that can make it
that much more difficult. Uh. Then you add in the
fact that obviously the fields are bigger than the Masters,
so it's a bit tougher. There's a larger pool of
players he's got to deal with and try to contend.
(16:24):
So where as Augusta, you're talking smaller fields, less you know,
fewer people to beat. So you know, what, what are
we expecting for? I don't really know, but I do wonder.
You know, afterward, there was all this talk of look,
start to count for you know, we can resume this
count on eighteen and again, and and maybe we can.
Who knows. Um, I think there's just so many unknowns.
(16:47):
But the flip style of that argument is maybe this,
you know, this past year at the Master's will be
uh Tiger's version of what Jack did in any six um.
And that's what NBC analysts as that he doesn't think
Tiger wins again. And the reason he doesn't think he'll
win again is because he said there was a couple
(17:07):
of different reasons. He said that, look how much he
enjoyed this victory. You know, usually he wins, He enjoys
it for one day, he moves on, he's preparing for
the next one. This one was different. Then he also says,
like the same thing is he doesn't have the time.
With the major's now all being every four weeks there's
a new major, he doesn't have the time to put
(17:28):
in and prepare. The most he has to prepare the
most time is Augusta, and it's played at the same
place every single year, place he knows better than he
knows anywhere else. And that, yes, that is his best chance.
And I do believe that moving forward, if he does
win another major, it will have to be Augusta for
these reasons that he doesn't have the time to prepare,
(17:50):
nor does he Look, I don't listen. I'll never say
that he doesn't care because I think he does carries
a competitor um. He loves to compete. That's been that's
been made very clear. I just don't see him preparing,
Like after the US Open he went to Thailand for
a couple of weeks, and listen, he's got the right
to take his kids on vacation. I get it, but
(18:10):
he's not preparing the way he did for major championships.
He even admitted before he got to the Open Championship,
before they teed off on Thursday, he said, my game
is not where it needs to be. I just don't
think we can expect to see I think the best golf.
We're going to see how the Tiger is every year
at Augusta. And you might be right about that. I
mean you also you know at your point about motivation,
(18:31):
I mean, look, I'm not having to question Tiger's motivation
when it comes to trying to win major championships. But
I do think you can maybe question or wonder at
least what the motivation will be for him to go
through all the work and all the effort it takes
for him to get in that position where he can
contend to majors. Now, look again, I think if we
(18:54):
look at it. I really think the cold weather plays
a factor with him. He's never played well historically in
cold weather. Uh, and now he's forty three and that
really can zap you. I mean, you look at the
conditions at the Open. They weren't by any means difficult
the first two days in terms of um. You know,
we didn't get that classic British Open weather that we
(19:17):
so often see where there were it's howling and it's
very cold. But you saw the grimaces off the tea,
You saw the facial expressions. We didn't see any of
those last year. As much golf as Tiger Woods played
in two thousand and eighteen, we didn't see any of
those grimaces. He's played a lot less, given his body
much more time to heal in between tournaments. He's not
(19:40):
practicing as much, he's not playing as much. But we're
seeing grimaces this year we didn't see last year. Right,
And you know, I'll even go back to something I
heard going into the Open. I was over there a
few days early and there was speculation amongst some people
there who I would I would say, I trust that
the question or wondered whether Tiger would even play. They
(20:02):
believed that there might have been an injury that he
was he was not disclosing, or you know, maybe battling
some injuries. So again, this is the guy who is very,
very old. You know, years are measured in dog years,
given all he's putting itself through physically, so you know,
who knows. But I I just don't know what it
means going forward. I mean, we could see, I could
(20:24):
see a scenario where, yeah, maybe this was that moment,
that Jack moment. He he could go back and two
years ago he said fifteen, meaning the fifteenth major is
always going to be the hardest for him to win
out of any of this major. So you know, once
he accomplished that, well it's like you just scaled Everest
in his eyes again, So where's the motivation to do
(20:47):
it once again? At some point everybody loses that sort
of motivation or at least the ability to do that.
So I don't know what we'll see from him going forward,
but obviously disappointing year from him sort of post Masters,
but I think overall, you know, not a disappointing year
because again he did something that I think not even
(21:08):
he thought he would ever be able to do again.
And that's of course, win a major championship, and uh,
you know when of Augustus. So you just read my mind. Actually,
I was going to ask you, is this year if
he does not win another tournament? Is this year with
a victory to missed cuts and kind of just a
mid mid finished Listen, he finished a little higher at
(21:29):
the Open at Pebble because he had a really good
run at the end on Sunday. So is this year
a success for Tiger Woods? Yeah, there's no way you
can say it's not a success for Tiger this year. Yeah.
I mean nobody, nobody would have imagined this scenario two
years ago. So success. Okay, I'm gonna ask you another question.
(21:51):
I want you to tell me in in in order.
How do you rank this year's major? So this year's
major's we've got Tiger at the Masters, We've got Brooks
at the PGA Championship. That was the best page. We've
got Gary Woodland wins the US Open at Pebble Beach,
and Shane Lowry wins the Open Championship at Royal Port Rush.
How do you rank this season's four majors? Well, look,
(22:13):
I think, um, if I'm ranking the majors themselves and
sort of what was the most memorable historic prominent however
you want to put it, Tiger at the Master's Um,
you know, tops them all, because again, this is something
we thought we'd never see again. You go back to
where he was two years ago when the police find
(22:33):
him on the side of the road, passed out in
his vehicle at two o'clock in the morning, and and
everything that came out of that, that seems so so
far he seems so far removed from that, and that
seems so long ago to be to do what he
did at the Masters. Uh, in the way that unfolded, um,
you know, he held off some guys that were chasing him.
(22:54):
It was pretty pretty open there with handful of holes
or so. The birdies on fifteen and sixteen definitely put
it away for him. Yeah, and just the scene, the atmosphere,
I mean, it was incredible. I've I've covered probably ten
or twelve Masters now and that scene. I've seen some
some memorable ones in those over the years. But that
(23:14):
scene behind the gust the clubhouse tried to coming out of,
you know, in their green jackets on the veranda, just
just all of it was. It was incredible. What do
you rank his number two. You know, I'd put Brooks
in their number two because to me, now, if you're
talking about the most impressive golf me, it's kept it
because it goes back to what you said earlier about
(23:35):
his play really in all the majors um effectively was
that he was in contention almost for every major this year.
So that's to me, that is his play is the
most if we're just bringing it down to play, and
what stood out to me, it's it's Brooks kept in
(23:56):
the majors because this guy has established himself as the
player every time a major rolls around, he is the
favorite or a co favorite because look at it. Look
we've seen. You know, Rory McRoy has had a fantastic year,
terrific year. He's won twice, he's he's barely finished outside
the top ten save for a few events. You know,
(24:18):
he's had a terrific year. But when we go into
a major championships, one guy that first guy that comes
to mind every single time, and to me, it's Brooks
and deserves it. So right, I agree, So what do
you make his number three? Well, yeah, Shane Lowry, Uh
that performance uh in the atmosphere and going back to Ireland.
I mean, that's and the great thing about it is
(24:38):
I think we'll see the Open return there, maybe as
soon as five or six years from now. It's been
a long time in the making. It's a fantastic golf course.
The town was incredible. Uh, there's some logistical issues there
that are a little bit difficult. It might be a
couple of course changes that we see the next time
it rolls around there. But I do think we'll absolutely
(24:59):
see the Open head back to Port Rush. Um. It's
a fantastic fantastic men. You should be part of the
ROTA and Shane Lawry's performance there in front of the
home fans really was something special. I mean it was
one of the most memorable majors I think I've ever
been a part of right, which unfortunately leaves Gary Woodland
in fourth place, but yet was still an amazing performance
(25:22):
he put on at the US Open at Pebble. Yeah,
that was a top top NOZ performance. I mean, go back,
go again. This brings me back to my point about Brooks.
It's almost Garry's win. There was almost you know, Brooks's.
Brooks's performance is almost as memorable as Gary's win. I
mean you come away with that thinking that you know,
(25:43):
at some point on Sunday, right, I'm sure everybody thought
that Brooks was going to win. Right, it's sort of
I mean, you're sitting at home and take nothing away
from the performance. It was spectacular. You got back to
that chip that Gary hit on. I'm seventeen there from
on the putting Green. Look it was. It was nothing
(26:05):
short of a of an absolutely a plus performance. But
again it goes back to me, Brooks again has himself
in the mix, has himself in the conversation, and the
way he is doing that time in and time out.
To me, that's the most Tiger like performance I've seen
in a major since the Primate Tiger. Yeah, I would agree.
And real quick, I know you've got to get going
(26:26):
to the head of the airport. You've got Memphis headed
to the w GC event this week, fed x UM
real quick. Two things I want to ask you. Phil
Mickelson took some time off, came off of social media,
said that he did a fast lossome weight, tried to
do a hard reset, did not appear to get the
results that he was looking forward the Open Championship for
(26:46):
the very this was a crazy stat for the very
first time since Phil and Tiger have started playing majors,
it's the first time they've ever both missed the cut
in the same major. That's a pretty amazing stat What
is going on with Phil? Well, again, I think we
have to remember this Phil is forty nine years old.
He's forty nine. Like, how many guys are in contention,
you know, or even playing or even relevant or even
(27:06):
have a tour card at forty nine. Um, this guy's
you know, a year listening, a year away from the
Champions Tour eligibility. So to me, look what's going on
with him? Again, it's it's a matter of age, you know.
Some of these any stuff going on in social media,
I don't like, I get it, but it's I'm not
a Phil I'm not a huge Phil fan, and I
love these fireside chats with Phil. I think they're hilarious. Look,
(27:27):
it's it's certain one thing Phil will never be is
dull and uh uh. He is always entertaining in that respect,
in a good way or or a negative way. So
you can never take that away from But again, I
think you have to remember that this guy is forty nine. Um,
he's getting up there. He's played a ton, a ton
of golf. He's been relatively healthy throughout his career. But again,
(27:49):
you know, at some point this stuff just catches up
to you and clearly the best days of filmer behind him.
You know, Does he ever win again on tour? I
don't know. I mean he I would put him in
the same boat Tiger in terms of Look, these guys
are really on the last few holds of their career.
I mean, sure they could win somewhere, but I just
think it's a it's at that point in there in
(28:09):
their age where when you're playing a full, full slated tournaments. Man,
even when Tiger Donald's back the way he did, um,
you know, not play a lot throughout the course of
the year, it's still a tough ask for these guys.
And uh, you know, I think that's where we're I
was still so again, I don't know that we'll see
Phil ever win again on the PGA Tour. Maybe, yeah.
I think his best shot is probably Augusta as well,
(28:32):
just like it's Tigers. And speaking of social media, video
has surfaced just in the last twelve to twenty four
hours of oh Boy Sergio hitting a bad tea shot
at the Open Championship, walking off a tea box and
literally throwing his driver at the caddy who happens to
be his brother. Yeah, that's Look, what can I say?
This is this is Sergio. You know, we thought we've
(28:54):
heard him talk uh go on I'm teen apology tours,
you know, trying to get better and and this sort
of thing. But look, he's forty years old at this
point and he hasn't changed. He's not going You're not
going to change at forty. Um, you're really not going
to change traffically when you're forties. So now look, we
don't know the context behind the club toss. It wasn't
(29:15):
some violence, let's not let's for those who have yet
to see it, I would encourage you to go go
check it out online. You can see it on golf
Dodges dot com. We had a story posted about it,
and you can certainly find it on the internet on Twitter. Um,
so we don't really know the context of it. It
wasn't sort of a helicopter toss, or it wasn't a
club break or anything like that, but there was clearly
(29:36):
a level of discussed with it. And look, this is
just Sergio being Sergio. He runs hot. Uh. He's there's
a certain level of immaturity to him when it comes
to this stuff, and I can't say I'm surprised, it's
it's disappointing. You'd like to see him change at some point,
but you know, this is this is Sergion Whacker. Thanks
so much for your time. So here we go. You
are off to the airport and headed to Memphis. You've
(29:57):
got the FedEx St. Jude this week, the w GC event,
so you'll go there and then actually we're gonna be back. Uh.
Spoke with George Gengis last night. George Is, you know,
kind of been a hot topic on tour, but his
pupil uh and Oklahoma state phenomen Matt wolf Once a
couple of weeks ago. We're going to talk to George.
Want to get the breakdown on exactly Matt Wolfe, whether
(30:19):
it's the pre shot routine that he does with the
hip turn or exactly how the swing works. And George
is also launching a website, so we will talk to him.
Next week. We will recap the w g C event
and get ready for the playoffs and maybe by then,
I guess we'll know whether we'll see Tiger. He will
have had to commit to the first playoff of it
by then, correct, he will. Yeah, so we'll know, you know,
(30:43):
at the latest. I guess we'll know the Friday before,
which I don't expect a big announcement from Tiger too
much further in advanced than that, because but but he did. Look,
he did make mention of the playoffs when he was
at the Open, so that seemed to indicate the likelihood
of him playing there. But again, it wouldn't shocked me
either way if you didn't decided not to play the
(31:03):
first event. So we'll just wait and see the Tiger,
and away we go. We've got a month ago in
the season and we'll wrap it up. Thank you so
much for listening to the Playing Through podcast. I think
you've had enough now, you've had enough with frog Ian
lacquer bitch
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