Major Mike's Masters Preview

Mike tells you the ONE name you need to know! 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is a downbeat on ninety sevento one The freak sar Good morning,
seven o'clock Wednesday, April ten,twenty twenty four. You believe it's twenty
twenty four. People made it.We're doing good. It's a down but
it's Danny. It's no, it'sin April. Yes, it's been twenty

(00:23):
twenty four for over three months now. But sometimes when you say the year,
you're like, jeez, look atus again. You broke me yesterday
when you said twenty forty five.I'm like, boy, that's right on
my line. Twenty one years fromnow. Yeah, your line, that's
right on your line definitely online.You should be, okay, should be.

(00:46):
I looked at myself in the mirrorthis morning and I just kind of
whispered, you're really not taking goodcare of yourself. Yeah, it's good
to give yourself that good self willthen be hard on yourself a little bit.
As I've said many times, atleast once a year, I just
stare at my fully nude body inthe mirror for a good five minutes and
just kind of reassess where I amin the world. There you go.

(01:07):
When I'd kick the Masters week offwith a little self reflection. That's what
I've been doing, and that workedout. Not well, I'm okay.
It's amazing because I look at myselfand I looked the same. And then
when I get back from the gym, I'll be like, oh yeah,
I think I might have tightened upa little bit, and that's just not
how it works. You just feelbetter about it. Yeah, that's true.
No one trip to the gym everdoes anything. I like when you

(01:29):
get back into the gym and aboutfive days later, you're like, okay,
you start to see a little bitof stuff. I think I'm trying
to see all something you're not.You're not you're not saying anything. Do
you ever think this? What ifI could just press a button and just
for an instant look, however,I looked the absolute best day I ever
looked in my life. Because ifyou are consistently on the gym or you're
eating well, losing some weight,like, you don't know what that day

(01:53):
is. And when you see yourselfevery day, you're like, all right,
you know, I don't know,Okay, I'm fine, Like I'm
fine. Yeah. I don't thinkanyone one of us are ones that have
documented our fitness careers with mirror selfies. Yeah, yeah, and you can
take mirrors. I mean, obviouslynot for sharing, no one wants to
see that, but just to assesswhere you stand. You know, it's

(02:15):
probably not a bad idea to takea maybe underwear selfie on January first every
year or something like that. Letit hang. That'd be sort of interesting,
you know. But I wonder whatI look like on my best day,
and maybe it's today. April tenth, twenty twenty four, the day
before the Masters begins. We aregambling, we're betting, we're fired up.

(02:38):
Our heroes descend on Augusta, Georgiafor the big one. Yeah,
for the Masters, the Masters.Danny's the Masters, the Masters. Kevin
say it. It's the Masters.Maddie, it's the Masters. It's the

(03:00):
Master. It is the Masters.She's right, it's the Masters. It's
the Masters. Master, it's theMasters, the Masters, the Masters.
Twenty twenty four, Masters, theMasters. That's good, Augusta, Georgia.
Danny is number one, Maddi's numbertwo. I'm three, Kevin's four.
Albert Robert duvall is five for thenew new Hire. For the Master's

(03:23):
voiceover, Guy, do it moretime, Dany. That was good.
Welcome to the Masters. That's allI've got. That's really good, though.
That is look out in Nancy.Welcome No, I already hated it.

(03:43):
Welcome No, put a little littleair, a little whisper behind your
voice. Welcome to the Masters,speaking list, Trump gravelly r at the
list. Welcome to the Masters.A better time, one of the best.
It's definitely named the best. That'sname a US open. We like

(04:05):
open, not even gonna say it. Democrats love open, like the borders
anyway, and then Howard Biden doit. It's no one can do it.
It's the Masters. And at nineo'clock today we got a big stupid
Master's bet. It's very convoluted.Lee Elder ruined everything. Lee Elder ruined

(04:34):
everything just jokes. Yeah, we'rehaving fun. We are having fun.
Look, there's a lot of peoplelistening. There's some that don't care about
this, and that's fine, butthere are many who are going to be
betting a lot of weird stuff.This is if you're in a golf majors
thing. It all starts tomorrow,like you, This is how you set

(04:55):
up your whole year a pool.Go ahead, you definitely the elder ruined,
everyth ruined every the other's like,man, I'm just over here.
Well he's not with us anymore.Oh boy, I'm sorry, dude,
I trust me. It's showtime.Yeah. First things first, is this

(05:15):
one at least I readd Augusta,Georgia to my weather app and I have
are we looking We're looking like sbutt City tomorrow? How are we looking
there? Sec delcas, We arelooking like s butt City. It does
look like s butt City. Tomorrowis going to be terrible. And there's

(05:38):
a chance we don't even have fand golf tomorrow. I'm not gonna lie
to you guys, dude. Thatis that where it's trajected towards I saw.
I don't know. That's probably alittle expect a little dramatic, Yeah,
a little dramatic. But if youjust look at the basics, it's
Thursday, ninety chance of rain,and it kicks off at three am,
four or five, six, seveneight, and plays supposed to start at

(06:02):
six am here, seven am theretomorrow, So there's a good chance that
it's a very delayed start tomorrow andthen maybe even bunched up into Friday morning
where they finish the first round andjust turn it into a damn mess.
Win gust forty to forty five milesper hour no way between seven am and
one pm tomorrow, Oh my god. Forty Yeah, at a minimum,

(06:25):
that's just gust, you know,it doesn't matter. Steady one would be
twenty to twenty five. Yeah,dude, that's still a lot. It's
a lot. But that only ifthat only happens while it's raining. They're
not gonna be out there playing anyway. So course wise, the guys were
sitting in the practice round that itwas. It's brutal the last couple of
days, like the hardest, firmest, like good shots are bouncing off the
green. But they are budgeting forthis rain that's gonna come and soften the

(06:48):
course. And if it is softand wet, even if you play tomorrow
afternoon, you know, delayed roundsor even into Friday, the thought is
that bomber's paradise, right, Imean, if it's wet and the greens
are fairly receptive, that it's gonnayour long player's advantage. That's the thought
at least. And no course inAmerica is set up better to drain a

(07:11):
bunch of rain than the masters sothey can get them on maybe. Yeah.
I saw a ninety percent chance ofrain at one pm tomorrow though,
so and that gets down to likea thirty percent chance by four pm.
So maybe some of those guys theydo get out just to get some play
in so they can finish on Sunday. There's only eighty eight people in the
field though, too, so it'slike it's a huge tournament. There's a
chance they could they could get ninein tomorrow, right, Yeah, they

(07:35):
can't get more than that. Theycould start them rain pull them off,
yeah, and they will run backout and yeah, I mean they'll start
them in the rain. Yeah,depending on how much will they double up
or let's say they get nine intomorrow, would they do a round and
a half on Thursday? Yeah,I mean they'll they will start jamming it
in so they don't want this bleedingover on a Monday. No, no,

(07:57):
no, no. If it onlyrains tomorrow for the first half of
the they will manage it and makeit work and we'll have a normal master's
finish on Sunday and weather it's agreat Saturday and Sunday, yeah, that's
supposed to beautiful, and Friday prettygood. Too, but I wonder if
they've pushed back. No, no, so I mean right now they're planning
to play on schedule, but weshall see injury updates real quick for people

(08:22):
if you're putting fantasy lineups in thatsort of thing. Again, if you're
in some big pool. We'll startwith Jordan Speith, hometown hero, twenty
fifteen Masters Champion, Bubba Wallace,Bubba Watson before him, Danny Willett after
him, apparently aggravated a left wristinjury last week at the Valero Texas Open.

(08:46):
He's been dealing with the risk injuriesfor a while, dating back last
season. He aggravated it prior tothe Century in January and he finished in
third place, so it's not buggedhim before. But then he said he
also reaggravated it right before the playersand he missed the cut there. So
he says, when his wrist flaresup, I can't do anything that day,

(09:07):
So damn. I mean, asprobably the person that most people listening
to this are cheering for fighting awrist injury, how much will it impact
things? Kevin Turner, I thinkthat impacts things a lot, But I
also think the way he's been playingimpacts things a little more than that.
I don't think he's been playing verywell, and like he's probably a good
fit for the course because he's decentwith his irons, he can scramble around

(09:30):
the greens all that stuff. Istill don't think he ever has any idea
whereas his drives are going. That'swhy people like him so much, because
he's just a wild man. Yeah, he is the antithesis of Scottie Shuffler
for as basic as he seems offthe course. Yeah he is a wing
nut. Yeah he'll yell, buthe's also really good at Augusta. Oh,

(09:52):
he's one of the best. He'sjust one of these dudes who is
just their game is geared to thiscourse. I will retell it because I've
told it many times. With theone Masters I went to was twenty fifteen,
the Sunday that Jordan Speath won,and we were right at the beginning
of Amen Corner, the eleventh hole, part four, maybe the hardest on
the course, I don't know,a very difficult part four. And he

(10:13):
sprayed his driveway right and I heard, I knew the group that was coming
through, and I heard the treesand I look down and bounding is Jordan
Speed's golf ball. I am amway right, and I sprint to his
golf ball and I straddle it becauseI've been in enough tournaments. And do
you want to see burst Watch aforty something year old person see a golf
ball that they can get closer tothan anyone else. Boom gone. If

(10:37):
you weren't head on a swivel,you'd have lost me. I straddle his
golf ball and moments later he walksup, Michael Greller walks up, CBS
cameras walk up, and right whenthey get there, I kind of put
my arms on, like, hey, give him some space. Oh he
went to bodyguarden moments back. Yes, And I'm then I know I'm going
to be front of the line,right. I kind of just make sure

(10:58):
everyone backs up. And I couldnot have been. I was closer than
you and I are right now,Dannie, the Jordan Greller, the CBS
camera. I mean, I'm onthe right side of amen quarter. I'm
in it. I'm in the ass. I'm part of the masters. You
did the noble thing there too.Did you kind of tell him? I,
Hey, Jordan, I not letanything happen to you. MANA from
Dallas. His head was in thegame, but Greller and I looked at

(11:20):
each other and I gave him anod that I had this. You're now
for the remainder of this hole undermy protection. Did you give him some
tips on his approach from the previousshots i'd seen? Yeah? Oh,
like, yeah, you want tokeep it under these trees and get it
up maybe off to the right ofthe green. Nice up and down.
I'll start invoking how masters winners ofages ages ago did it. Yeah,

(11:41):
he's telling me if he really finisheshis swing, the ball won't be leaking
out to the right like that alittle bit too. You have a couple
to avoid the place he's in allArno Palmer had their shot in nineteen fifty
eight, the year he won hisfirst Masters, proceeding a second in nineteen
sixties, third in nineteen sixty twoand his final fourth Master's victory in nineteen
sixty four. He had this shot. Listen to me, Michael, did

(12:03):
you make TV? Yeah? Absolutely, and you have it saved. Oh
yeah, I have two of thegreat greatest pictures ever from that day,
and obviously I didn't. Do youhave video of you like standing over the
ball. No, No, thecameras weren't there then, okay, but
the camera gets there. And it'salso those camera follows the ball and where
it ends up, not when hehit, not in the trees like that,

(12:26):
and they're just you can see ascramble of people. Now that's a
good question, because no, Idon't think they saw the ball come to
rest. I think it was throughtrees. But then the camera guy comes
up. He's right behind it.It's also much closer than you think too,
especially when you missed the fairway likethat. I mean, the camera
guy's right behind Speed. There's nomore in a couple maybe a few feet
of swinging room that he has.And I was right there to the right

(12:48):
anyway. But what the point Ibrought that up is because Speith is a
wild man, and I got tosee firsthand Jordan Speed back nine of the
masters that he's leading, doing themental gymnastics of what needs to happen in
this shot and talking to Michael Greller. I've never seen someone I mean I
would if he didn't gone to win, I would have said he was melting

(13:09):
down. Yeah, because he's mutteringto himself, he's talking to the trees,
he's talking to Michael, he's talkingto nobody in particular. He walks
one hundred yards up to go takea look at what's under the trees.
Then he walks back, still mutteringthe whole time. I mean, head
case, as maybe everyone is whenyou're trying to win the effing Masters on
a Sunday on Amen corner, likeI don't, I don't know, but

(13:30):
he shows it more than those otherguys though. You never saw Koepka or
any of those guys do that,true, Bill, And that's that's a
lot like wing and I think peoplelike that. Yeah, that's real.
He's a wing nut. The wayhe hits the ball, it's fun.
Do some people wonder if his gamehas ever or his game has suffered because
of what happened in twenty sixteen waychoked? Yeah, I mean probably,

(13:54):
but didn't he he's never been thesame, right, Well, no,
he won the Open after that,right, I don't know. I hate
that's when Dustin Johnson choked and uhin Chambers Bay, right, I think
that was twenty seventeen, right,Yeah, Dustin Johnson three jacked the eighteenth
hole to sort of hand speak theChambers Bay US Open and then he won

(14:15):
in twenty seventeen in the Open Championship. So no, his downfall didn't didn't
start right though. It's a demonthough, dude, for sure. And
he but he's just so consistently goodat AUGUSTA six top four finishes at Augusta,
like he's just always kind of around. But will this risk injury affect
things. I'm staying away from him. I'm staying with my betting circles.

(14:37):
I'm not playing him at all.I'm not either. I don't trust him.
I trusted him for a long timewell because he's hard to trust because
he's nuts. But when I watchhim play, I'm pulling for him too.
And it is weird that he issuch a local favorite. And we've
said it before, it's odd thatScotti Scheffler doesn't even doesn't really have that
level of like passionate support here inDallas that speak. And I don't know

(15:01):
why you think of you think ofJordan, you think of Dallas. You
know, he's always felt rooted andconnected here. I don't Scotty Scheffler is
so nondescript. I don't think ofhim as being connected to the city in
any way whatsoever. I have atheory on this. It's that Jordan looks
like a kid. Scotty Scheffler,despite being super young, has always looked

(15:22):
like a big grown man. It'sjust like, oh yeah, it's just
kind of basic guide speeth. Atleast we saw him as a kid.
Yeah, it was excited babyface.Yeah. And Danny said, Scotty Scheffler's
head looks like a football. Itdoes a little bit more like a rugby
ball. And Scheffler is born inNew Jersey, but he's definitely a Dallas

(15:43):
dude. Scheffler is four to oneto win this tournament. Scheffler and Luca
are and there's not even argument foranyone else. Are the two most dominant
athletes in DFW by far, andnow it's him or the field with all
these people. I mean, ifyou ask anyone who the greatest, the

(16:03):
best golfer currently on Earth right nowis, you will get no blowback that
it's Scottie Shuffler. And how manypeople have had that and you Tiger Kepka
had it for a little bit.Yeah, Phil didn't even have that title
ever. You know, like justundoubtedly the top guy. He four to
one. That's Tiger numbers You don'tput a golfer at four to one to

(16:27):
win a tournament like that's crazy.Seven to one, eight to one,
those are solid favorite numbers. Idon't know if I've ever seen a four
to one. I think Tiger was. They've had him at like three to
one one or two of those yearsin the Masters. Yeah, I think
so. So listen to this.Since twenty sixteen, the favorite to win
a golf tournament, all golf tournaments, golf betting favorites have won forty one

(16:49):
times in five hundred and three events. That's good for eight just over eight
percent of the time, which isabout an eleven percent win rate. So
if you have someone four to one, it just doesn't really make sense to
bet him, man. I mean, he could trounce him, just like
he did the players. You know, he was the favorite there and you

(17:10):
knew it's probably gonna win, andhe went off and won. But you
just can't bet someone at four percent. The other thing was Scheffler wife Meredith
Prager's their first kid not due forabout two weeks, but the window is
a jar, and they already askedhim and Scotti. Scheffler says, if
I get the call, I amleaving immediately. I'm out, And some

(17:33):
golfers say that, and then theyhave a debate. I think if it's
Saturday afternoon and Scotti Shuffler is afive stroke lead and he gets that call,
I think he's on the plane.He's at least asking to speak with
the doctor. Yeah, what iswhat's really happening here? Doc? Yeah?
Was it go time? Or isshe just freaking? I mean,
how far four centimeters? Okay,I'm good, I can finish this.

(17:56):
So there is a chance that Imean, you know, it never really
seems to happen. Can you imagineif you's leading the Masters though, and
he says, uh, the officialcomes over and he says, I withdraw.
It's crazy anyway, Scotti Scheffler isthe heavy favorite. John Rahm would
be the other guy in the argument. For John Rahm, he is really
good. He is on live,So we're back to this argument of unsure

(18:21):
if he's been forged in the fivehis game is sharp. But they all
proved it last year that they're allsharp. I mean, Kepko was second
last year and pat Reeve was topfive. Ram has been good, kept
Goa won a major like it seemsalready debunked that not playing on the PGA
Tour has zero impact on your abilityto win major. But I will say

(18:42):
this, Ron good well, especiallyhere too. Yeah, but there's something
weird with Rom because he's almost likehe's got this the mantle that Rory has
had for the last few years,which is just a bunch of crap I
have to deal with. And hekeeps saying, you know, like he's
maybe at the forefront of maybe let'sbring this thing back together, Like it's
all this weight that Rory has beendealing with that I feel like kind of

(19:03):
has been transferred to John Rahm.Plus he has all the obligations of a
defending champion. There's only been threepeople to ever defend, defend the Masters
and win it two years in arow. It's being Jack Nicholas in nineteen
sixty five and nineteen sixty six.Is oppressive, Sure are the others.
Nick Faldo in nineteen ninety nine ornineteen eighty nine and nineteen ninety Tiger Woods

(19:27):
in two thousand and one, intwo thousand and two, that's Mike Siroy.
I'm Mike Siroy. That's say Baylist. Maddie's in with us today.
Who's that Kevin Hello? Kevin Hireally hard to defend and I just don't
think Rom's gonna do it. Soif I'm fading one of the big dogs,
fad genre, he's fading gen RANG, Fading GENRENG. You heard it

(19:48):
right here. I know eighty sevenwon the Freak I mean, tied for
fourth last week in Miami on thelive tour. Fading GENRENG been in top
ten in every live event. FadingJohn Row, Wow, he's fighting John
Rock. And I said, theweight that John Rahm is carrying, it's
taken off of someone else. Anotherman. Oh, I have one name

(20:14):
that's gonna win the twenty twenty fourMasters on Monday. We're gonna come in
here and talk about how it finallyhappened. You did this last year and
you were right, thank you,How he's achieved the career Grand Slam.
Northern Ireland's Rory McElroy. What isgoing to win the Masters in five days

(20:37):
time? Let's see you put yourmoney where your mouth is at nine o'clock.
Rory McElroy. Wow, see whohe picks? Begins up getting the
number one pick. Put that greenjacket over your muscular shoulders. You've done
it son mister cut last year,Danny, congratulations. Yeah, top ten
and eight of the last nine majors. He has missed two out of the

(21:00):
last three Master's cuts. But everythingother than that is essentially a top ten.
And to think, oh, hecan't win the green jacket, that's
stupid what he did this year.He showed up yesterday like half an hour
before his press conference. He's like, the only change I'm not. I'm
doing it like I do every otherweek. I'm sick of going early,
I'm sick of the weight I've beencarrying. I'm treating this like every other

(21:21):
week. And I think just enoughof the shine is off Rory this year
to where it's not at what everyone'stalking about the last few years. Yeah,
that's one of the biggest stories.Y R R Rory. I think
enough of it's off and he mightjust have a bucket a e F fitt.
Oh yes, and he's gonna remindyou that he's the number one player
in the world and his name isRory maclroy. The one club that has

(21:42):
been giving him a lot of problemproblems because the putter can come and go
for these guys. I mean,some guys are notoriously bad putters, but
especially here at Augusta, where it'syou're putting on glass, it's a little
different like the bullpen and basically likele Clerk. Yeah, he can be
good sometimes, but like it's theapproach play all right, the irons and

(22:03):
all that stuff. And he hadhis best week in a long time last
week and his third place finish hitthe Valerio Texas Open. I'm with you,
Mike. No, that's not mypick, but that's Do you have
one name to win the Masters?Kevin Turner. I'm a big pe you
know who. I think he hasnot been playing well, but no one's
talking about and I think he's gonnabe awesome and I think he might win

(22:26):
it. Victor Hoveland, which everyone'sa little He has not been playing well,
and I know it's probably not thecourse, like if you're not playing
well to go oh and all ofa sudden, you're just gonna start kicking
ass. But Victor Hoveland has everythingyou need to win here, absolutely,
and his odds are gonna be good. I mean it's he's a long shot
or anything. He's probably the sixor seventh favorite to win. But dude,

(22:49):
I'm a little drunk on Victor Hovelind. I kind of love it because
it's so not sexy. It's nice. He was seventh last year. I
think he can do it, andmaybe I love him and maybe that's part
of the problem too. The onesthat I saw on him was he does
not have a top fifteen finish sofar in twenty twenty four. Oh uh

(23:10):
oh, change it. Hideki Matsumacan't go wrong. My friend Hideki absolutely
could be the guy. He couldbe the danger man this week. That's
the one name you need to know. Mike Hi Deki changed it.