October 16, 2024 • 53 mins
Golfin' Around host Randy Tantlinger joins RIch in-studio to discuss the next edition of The Match coming up between Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler of the PGA Tour, and Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka of the LIV Tour. Could this be an "olive branch" kind of moment between the two tours? Will this catch the interest of casual golf fans? All that, and more, are discussed. Also, Rich's son joins the show with interesting insight on the PGA Tour.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the rich Conwell Golf Show. It is a gorgeous,
gorgeous October weekend all across the Northeast, and we are
going to talk about a bunch of different topics today
in the world of golf, and most of them are
about the world of golf at large. Obviously, if you've been,
(00:24):
I know everybody's following the show weekly, but I've had
some pretty good guests on lately, and most of it
has been kind of regionally located in our region. Obviously,
if it's regionally located, has to be in western Pennsylvania
West Virginia. But we are going to spend a considerable
amount of our time talking about the world of golf
(00:46):
at large, and we are going to start It's gonna
involve the PGA Tour, it's gonna involve live golf, it's
going to involve the Australian Tour, It's going to involve
a lot of different things. And so to help me
navigate through this very large world of golf, I'm joined
by Randy Tantlinger today, who has his own golf show
(01:09):
and has his own take on the world of golf
and takes on the world of golf and Randy is
a Pittsburgh guy through and through, but he is a huge,
huge sports fan and a really, really, really knowledgeable individual
about the world of golf. So, Randy, I just want
to say thanks for coming on today.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
You forced me. I was going to go golfing at
the Wheeling Country Club. I got my bags in a
parking lot. Richie goes, you're coming with me. I figure
we're going to get donuts at the Dunkin Donut. Next thing,
you know, you put on a head fit. You want
me to talk on radio.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
You're just going to keep going like this, aren't you.
Huh Yeah. So you're seeing a whole team a psychiatrists
or just like, do they talk to each other or not?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, they don't talk to me, which is so unusual.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Actually that's not true. They do talk to you. They
don't talk to each others. They can't get a treatment plan.
That's the problem.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Row me in a room with a banana and they
say play with a tire and I do that for
about two hours.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Then they make it an analysis.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Okay, So moving past your psychological issues control, I mean,
difficulties and hurdles. The biggest topic right now is what
just came out two days ago, which is the showdown.
For those of you who have did not see this news,
the showdown is going to be held on twelve December
seventeenth of this year, twenty twenty four, and it's going
(02:29):
to feature Rory McElroy and Scottie Scheffler versus Brooks Koepka
and Bryson D. Chambeau. Now, this is really really, really
big for a couple of different reasons, and it's going
to be a larger world golf conversation when we get
into it because but on its face, it's fascinating because
(02:54):
Bryson D. Chambeau will will be the defending US It
will be the current US Open champion. He plays this.
Scotti Scheffler has has won a major in the last
two years, and Brooks Koepka won the PGA in twenty
twenty three. Uh and then and Rory McElroy, although he
(03:16):
has not had success, been ultimately successful and went won
a major in the past couple of years. He did
finish second in the US Open, and he is a
has been a top five to seven player in the world,
if not top two or three, for the last ten years.
So this is a massively cool. And I say that
we're I don't say that word easily massively cool. Event So,
(03:42):
having said all that, first off, Randy like, this is
pretty cool to have these four guys.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I mean, it's really cool, unbelievable Richie. My mind immediately
went to this thought, Okay, what if I told you,
uhber seventeenth, I'm pairing Ben Hegan and Arnold Palmer against
Gary Player and Jack Nicholas, You'd be like, oh my god,
I can't wait to see this. Who they are? This
(04:13):
is remarkable. I mean huge, As you know, I love
Ireland golf, I love Links golf huge. Rory fan, who
amongst us doesn't love Scottie after the incredible, turbulent, successful
year he's had. I love chef man who doesn't.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
I mean, I'm a Scotty chef.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
There's the crust of everything else off really really good
Scotty he likes.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
I don't have anything like you. I don't have anything
against him. I think that I think Scotty Scheffler is
in my opinion, it's just one guy's opinion. In my opinion,
he is the reason that we talk about people we
shouldn't talk about in sports Hall of fames across the board.
I'm not saying he's not a really good player, but
(05:02):
he is not going to be unless he has at
least four more years of this, not going to be
a top fifteen player of all time. And the way
the world, the way the world ranks, the way the
world works now, Okay, because of the social media and
because of the latest greatest is the bestest, bestest, he
(05:23):
is viewed in a completely different light, and it's not
not a historically correct light.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
See that's what I don't like about modern sports talk.
You pilled the onion back from me. Okay, So it's
the day after the National Championship. Alabama has won their
twenty ninth out. In the next day, ESPN and all
the sports affiliates are talking about, well, you know, Bama's
(05:50):
loaded next year, blah blah blah, this and blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah. Everybody is in this grinder
of the next you know, dope me and rush TikTok moment,
Facebook moment. Dude, step back and just put it in
what he did. I called you, duke, cupcake, Yes I did.
(06:11):
Just look at it. I think what you have to
do is just enjoy.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Oh, I do enjoy this. I do enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
No putting undue pressure on him, for oh, he'll never
be in the top fifteen of greatest, He'll never do this.
What this gentleman has done is remarkable. And I'm going
to put in another and I know you know this story,
and so quickly it became a back burner story and
(06:40):
it's one of the greatest stories in the history of golf.
Forgive the year, Richie, you'll know better than I do.
Let's call it twenty twelve. VJ. Sing goes on this
unprecedented win of PGA events. What do you do? Twelve
thirteen events? It was remarkable, including the nemicole and events,
(07:03):
and it was remarkable, remarkable, one of the most incredible
things to ever happen in professional golf. And just oh well,
moving on to next year. So for sorry to jump
on you with the chef thing, but again, it's just
one of those things that bothers me with modern sports talk,
modern sports media. It's immediately on a guy could throw
(07:27):
a no hitter in Game seven of the World Series.
I kind of chuckle when I say this. But for
the Cincinnati whatever their name is, Reds, and the next
morning ESPN would be talking about, well, the mascot for
the Phillies, and it just bothers me very greatly.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Okay, well, all right, obviously for an hour I didn't
mean watch out.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I've had my cappuccino, eight cappuccinos, Brazilian cappuccino.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
So let's figure this out, all right, So let's talk
about this. Okay, So a couple of things about this event. Obviously,
it's awesome to have these four players in there, and
it's awesome to have that level of talent. But I
think the interesting thing is is I think it's really
really big because I think it's the first step towards
(08:20):
I guess maybe mending would be the word, mending the
bridge between the Live Tour and the PGA Tour, because
obviously anybody who pays attention knows that Kopka and Bryson d.
Chambeau play on the Live Tour and Scottie Scheffler and
Rriy McIlroy playing the PGA Tour, and this big divide
and us versus them and them versus Austin who's better
(08:41):
and who's that? But now this is the first all
of branch between those two.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Well, I get it between the live and the PGA,
But wait a minute, there's a bigger tiger in the
room here. I mean, it ain't like these two are
best friends playing weekend golf of Oakland together.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, but you know, I.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Take that. That's why I don't know who the heck
here at. iHeart put us on the same air today,
in the same room. I don't like you.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
I don't. I don't. I don't take I don't. Okay,
So I'm not even gonna think about that. So I don't.
I think they actually are better friends than you think
they are, all four of them. I do. I think
they're better. Now, do I think that they like they're
gonna watch a football game or a soccer game or
a baseball or whatever and they call each other. No,
(09:34):
I'm not saying that, but I'm telling you those guys,
those guys all and I think there's a certain amount
of actually a high level of respect between all four
of them. And I think that they also know that
they represent they represent the game, and they are actually
at a position in the game to make a very
(09:55):
positive impact. So petty junk aside, we got to do
this for the good of the game.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Look, and I agree with you to arc to it.
I'm thrilled to be out of the Tiger era. I'm
done with him at just I'm so glad. Oh yeah,
you and I have talked about Tiger before. I can't
stand him.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I guess we're not going to call him a little while.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Wow, I'm talking about Tiger Jones. He's the president of
the Elks Club. I can't stand that guy. You don't
know Tiger Jones, you know I this is a way
to get away from the Tiger era. This is the
current just for twenty twenty four. Can we say this
is the twenty twenty four Mount rushmore of faces in
(10:46):
the PGA and the list.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Oh, there's no doubt.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
To me, it's just wonderful. You gotta think I know you're.
Rich does a wonderful program with the junior golfers at
Wheeling Country Club. If you're young, lady or gentleman wants
to learn the game of golf, not only the techniques
of golf, but the mannerisms and the etiquette of golf,
go see Rich up at Wheeling Country Club. And I
(11:13):
mean that truly. Thanks, But know that I love the
fact that this is a way to put the marquee
faces of twenty twenty four on display for the world
of golf. And I totally get it with the arcing,
there's got the Live and the PGA have to come together.
There ain't no way they're going to keep living like this.
(11:35):
It's two trains that are gonna run.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Into each other, right, yeah, and then and I don't
think and see, I now what you just said. It's
a really good analogy. They're not going to run into
each other. See, events like this will actually help them
run side by side because the game of golf cannot stand.
And I'm telling you, I realized that I'm the biggest
(11:57):
I'm the biggest advocate, the biggest advocate of Every successful
person has their opponent, real or imagined, real or imagined.
The interesting thing is is when you look at a guy, Okay,
you brought Tiger. I'll take Tiger. I'll take mister Hogan. Okay,
both of them had their biggest opponent. Now, unique to
(12:22):
what I believe to be only those two is their
biggest opponent was themselves. So that's a hard guy to
compete against when you have standards like that. But this
actually allows these two organizations to run side by side,
and there's got to be a way they have to
work together. And if this kind of this kind of format,
(12:45):
this kind of event, this is team golf. This is
I know it's two person team and not multiple person team.
I mean many much larger teams than this, like the
Live Toward does. But the fact of the matter is
this is actually a serious step in the right direction
towards handle or solving or bridging the gap or fixing
(13:06):
the hole in the game of golf.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
There's no doubt.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
And and the other thing is I think the interesting
thing is is this event, as it's been described in
all the news stories associated with it, they will not
play for prize money. They will be given appearance fees,
which is exactly what everybody complained about with the Live Tour.
It was guaranteed money to show up. Now you could
(13:31):
get it. You could win some war if you did,
but well when you did, but it's it's it's appearance fee.
So now it's about the golf. It's not about the
money they make. See you, you said something before about
Sports Center the next day stuff like that. Invariably, every
Tour event that is played, with the exception of the
(13:52):
Live Tour, Australian Tour, which we'll talk about later, the
European Tour, all those fun things. They all will mention
how much money they made. They will live that they live,
never mentions it. And and that actually turned that makes
people sick when they hear that. I mean a guy
you know Brooks, I mean Bryce and d Chambeau hits
(14:16):
a hits a bunker shot to from forty yards to
two feet and makes part to win the US Open,
and within one commercial segment of network television we hear
he just made two point one million dollars. That guy
hit a shot that will go down in history history
(14:36):
rivaling not quite as good as, but rivaling mister Hogan's
one iron fifty eight Marion so or Nicholas's one arn
one iron at Pebble Beach on seventeen and nineteen seventy
two seventy one. So I'm sorry, so, but now we
want to talk about what money he made. This allows
(14:56):
us to focus on golf and not the money. Because
everybody always said that the Live Tour was going to
sport wash and ruin it with money. PGA Tour does
that every day. PGA Tour does that every week they
talk about how much money they made, They talk about
how much how much they gave to charity, this, that
(15:16):
and the other thing, and they call the money into
play instead of calling the golf into play. This is
why the PGA Tour has an image problem, because guys
are winning money and nobody knows who the heck they are.
But the live players, people know who they are now.
They know who Scotti Scheffler has no doubt, and they
(15:37):
know who who Ry McRoy is. But after that, who's
top five player on the PGA Tour. You can't tell me.
You can't tell me, you know, you.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Tell me about this year's US Open that is golf.
Was that not just the most wonderful final round experience
we've had in a long time?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah. The only problem I had with it is is
that that was no golf course that was set up
for US Open.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Yeah, well, Mike's gone. You know. Mike was Davis as
a Pittsburgh, Western PA guy who was longtime setting up
the course, and he prided himself on making golf courses tough.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Yeah, I know he did, all right. So when we
come back, we are going to talk about two things.
We were talking about the impact that the showdown is
going to have, and we're also going to talk about,
for some an unknown reason, I'll explain it to you,
there's something going on on the Australian tour that we
need to talk about. This is the Rich Konwall Golf Show.
Welcome back to the Rich Konwall Golf Show, joined by
(16:39):
Randy Tantlier today. Randy is a very very knowledgeable person
in the world of golf, and Randy is kind enough
to jump in with me today. So we were talking
about the showdown, which is Brooks Koepka and Bryson d.
Chambeau versus Rory McElroy and Scottie Scheffler. I wanted to
talk a little bit larger, larger scale issue here or
(17:00):
big picture thirty mile view or whatever they whatever that
fancy term is. And I think this is really, really
really good for golf. And I think there's a couple
of reasons for this that is really good for golf.
Number one, it's always good, especially in the middle of December,
to see what I perceived to be probably a very
very very competitive, intriguing event. I'm quite sure they'll put
(17:23):
microphones on them. I hope they put microphones on them
and let them air their talk out. Obviously, you know
they're they're PGA Tour players and live tour players, and
they probably use language that you know, Grandmama might not
like a lot. But if you can hear them talk
(17:43):
their way through shots, it's fascinating, it's fascinating. But but
larger picture, bigger picture, This can only help the world
of golf.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Correct, Randy Oh, I agree, and I'm with you on
the on the dialogue on the course. I mean the
rare times you get that input between the caddy and
the golfer on crucial shots. I love that moment, Richie
in golf coverage. So I agree with you. I didn't
even thought about that. If they mic these guys up
(18:16):
and you just get inside the inner workings of their
head on certain shots, the caddies. What I'm looking forward
to is the fan engagement of it all, Just dealing
with the fans, talking with the fans, being around the fans.
I don't see any downside of this. I love it.
(18:38):
You mentioned in the first segment about an olive branch
between the live and the PGA Tour. I love this.
This is wonderful. I mean, it's got to happen. This
is one way to do it. Take your current superstars
and let them go have some fun. And I agree
that December period of time to play it.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
No kidding. The interesting thing is is, you know, it's
funny you talk about the interaction between caddy and player.
Sometimes they do actually let them play. I teach a yuh.
I teach a young lady that, oh it's getting pretty good.
And she said to me, she goes, I watched that
the other day and she goes, what are they covering?
And I was like, what do you mean? She goes,
The caddy kept saying like a number to cover, and
(19:23):
it was really interesting. On seventeen it was like one
sixty one to cover and one eighty one to the whole.
I'm like, she didn't understand what they mean. But what
that means is what it takes to get to the
front edge of the grain, what they have to cover.
And she's like, oh, that does that makes sense now?
So it's interesting because like they do speak a little
bit of a different language. They really do. When you
(19:44):
start talking to them, especially if you can listen to
him talk to each other, it's really strange, like it's
like a it's like a uh like code speak, Yeah,
say code speak all right, So hopefully it's an olive
branch and hopefully they actually allow allow this to expand
(20:08):
and to include some team concepts to the PGA Tour
and the PGA Tour obviously infiltrate the Lift Tour to
get some more individual going on. But one of the
things that has happened as a result of the divide
between Live and the PGA Tour is what's going on
(20:30):
in the Australian Tour. For anybody who doesn't know who
Cam Smith is, camp Smith is a former British former
Open winner. It's called the Open. Actually the United States
Open is the United States Open. The Open is what
we call it a British Open as kids. Camp Smith
is a former winner of that event. And Cam Smith
has committed to playing five Australian Tour events in order
(20:53):
to gain official World Golf ranking points. This guy is
a former major winner. He is also an active live player,
so he plays I think they have sixteen events or
fourteen events, and he is not resorting, but he is
(21:14):
coerced forced into playing the Australian Tour events to gain
World Golf rankings. So he can be eligible for the
President's Cup or you and to get into major championships.
And that to me is the biggest force in the
(21:37):
world of golf that the World Golf Rankings will not
recognize live events. And you're forcing guys, forcing and and
now I'm going to use the word forcing. You're hosing guys,
putting him into a corner and saying you better find
an event. Now here's the thing. This is the funny thing.
Compare in contrast. Now, I don't know what events he's
playing in in Australia. I don't, but I'm just gonna
(21:58):
pick that he's playing the Quinn. He's gonna play the
Queensland Open and try to finish in the top five
to get World Golf rankings. So you're telling me that
the Queensland Open is a more prominent rankable event than
the four live the two live events in London and
the one in West Virginia and the one in Chicago
(22:19):
and the one in Atlanta. That's absolutely beat in l
a and wherever okay they go. Is absolutely an insult
to the integrity of the game of golf, and it's
an insult to the players who are subjected to that reasoning,
that's just that's just you know, my dad just say,
that's just you gotta work to be that dump. You
(22:40):
gotta work to be that dump to tell a guy literally, oh,
by the way, you're you're you're ranked well at the
one time he's ranked third in the world, but you're
now falling because those events you play don't meet our
criteria for real events. But by by the way, the
Queensland Open in Australia will that's just dumb. Yeah, it
(23:07):
just seems to me that that move right there literally
creates a larger gap between the PGA Tour and the
live tour and the world of golf.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
That's the corrosion that is there between live and between
the PGA, these little uh insults, not recognizing and just
and that's the friction that the showdown can smooth over.
(23:42):
It's insane. He's one of the best golfers in the world.
Needs a different barber, no doubt about that. But that
is the insanity and corrosion, the friction.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Because you just may a comment about Kempsmith's hairstyle.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Have you seen his hair? He looks like he's uh
Joe dirt Corey. You've seen Joe Dirt the movie. He
looks like he's Joe Dirt.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Okay, first of all, I have not seen that movie.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Well, now you get an idea what the main character
looks like.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Second of all, Okay, what concerns me about this, now
that we're on this topic, is the fact that that
that you, you folk, you fixated on Cam Smith's hair.
Who wouldn't have you ever seen Cam Smith in person?
Speaker 2 (24:27):
No? Oh my god, he has not seen me. I
have And how long is his hair? It's down to
his should. Look if I saw him, I go, hey, Stephanie,
how are you?
Speaker 1 (24:37):
No, you wouldn't. That's the other thing. That's the other
thing about you. You know, you act like you You're
like you, oh, bow up on these guys.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
You don't know, you wouldn't. He don't forget. I'm the
guy that did an interview with Jack Nicholas. God's been
Grady's blessed me twice to interview Jack twice, So Cory.
The second time. We're down in Mexico and I'm the
only American journalist with a TV cam. There's five hundred
locals at the course, and I'm thinking, what can I
ask Jack Nicholas he's never been asked before. Camera goes hot,
(25:09):
I go, we werelling? He goes yeah. So I look
at Jack Nicholas and he's got these beautiful blue eyes.
He just goes swimming in them. They're gorgeous. And I
look at Jack Nicholas and I say, do you want
to wrestle? And Jack goes, what Randy? I go, do
you want to wrestle me? And Jack Nicholas, who has
won eighteen major championships, looked at me. He said no,
You're the only guy here that's fatter than me. And
(25:30):
I said, I just beat Jack Nicholas, So I would
have no problems asking Jimsy.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yeah you would, Yeah, yeah, I think you will. A
matter of fact, I actually know you would.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
Let me talk, go with you to the list Greenbrier
and know we'd be talking facial features this way.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yeah, I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
I'm sweet.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Con I'm greatly concerned right now golf and cosmetic. But
so back to the bigger problem at hand, or the
larger issue here is that they are the world of
golf is the world of golf is trying to figure
out how to punish people for not eating their vegetables.
And my whole thing is like, that is just foolish,
(26:09):
That is just that hurts the game of golf. Now,
I'm a member of an association, the PGA of America,
that is all about growing the game of golf. Okay,
And I know I have a couple of friends that
are on the in the European PGA, and they are
all they grow the game better than the pg of
America does. Sorry, fellas. And and I know guys that
(26:31):
are in the PGA of America, and I know I
know Jay Karns, the president of the Golf Course Owners
Association of America or is the CEO. And my whole
thing is they're all about growing the game. So then
we turn around and we see these people doing this
in order to limit the game. So why why why
(26:53):
don't why don't we just infuse some common sense into this.
Just give the live players official golf rankings for their events.
If you want to calibrate them that they're fifty four
holes instead of seventy two, go ahead, you know, make them,
make them We're seventy five percent of the amount of
of of points that a PGA Tour event is its
seventy two holes. I don't care how you do it.
(27:14):
But why in the world are you kicking people in
the shins because they play someplace that you don't quote
unquote like you know it is. It's just beyond me.
I don't know. It just blows my mind that people
are willing to to be so petty, to turn the game,
(27:36):
to weaponize the game of golf against player the top
two hundred players.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
In the world, Richie being played at what this is
a showdown?
Speaker 1 (27:45):
It's in Shadow Creek, That's what I thought in Shadow Creek.
So but yeah, so but anyway, so that's that. That's
just it just blows my mind that we have to
we have to do that. We have to do that.
Now let's talk about let's go back to the shootout,
because I do think of the showdown, excuse me, I
do think it is an intriguing event. I also think
(28:10):
that it could be and I want to explore this
a little bit more a vehicle to him to fix
the world of golf. It has to because I think, unfortunately,
two things can be true, one in this particular instance
not unfortunately in this particular instance they are. One, it's
a really really watchable event, it's really cool. Two it
(28:32):
can fix the game of golf at the same time,
or actually put a big band aid on it. And
I need I need, I need that, we need that,
the world golf needs that to happen.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
There's an old saying, hands across the water, hands across
the water, to work out your differences, to work out
your differences against warring nations. I bet this is what's
going to happen here. They've created this event as as
a way to get rid of some of that corrosion.
There's gonna be jets flying in from Saudi, There's gonna
(29:09):
be jets flying in from PGA headquarters. You're gonna have
major sponsors. They're gonna all go play around to golf.
They're gonna sit down and they're gonna say, all right, guys,
enough is enough. How do we get to the next
level and coexist together?
Speaker 1 (29:28):
But here's the problem with that, and that's gonna and
that's gonna be. You know, Bob Knight used to have
a saying, it's not what's it's not who's right, it's
what's right?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Is that before or after he threw the chair.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
That was actually long before he learned that. In the
United States Military Academy actually learned from Fred Taillory was.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Behind me in a Steelers press box once and he's
sitting watching No no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
He had nice hair, he had very nice We are
gonna talk.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Uh. I was intimidated by the man, just and I'm
not intimidating by anybody. I like enjoy that kind of
And I just kept looking at him going high coach.
He is the only celebrity I've ever been around that
I couldn't engage. He just has an had God rest
his soul, an aura about him. And I admired the
(30:16):
man greatly. I don't care how you produce winners. I
don't care if you do it with the kid glove
or you do it by throwing chairs. Uh.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
We're going to have a conversation about that a different day,
because that's just that's just. You don't have to throw furniture.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Trust me, you like walnuts or peanuts. You know you
like walnuts or peanuts. Peanut guy, Yeah, me too.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
So So I do think that it can help. It
has to help, because it can't hurt the game of golf.
But it has to fix, it has to fix the break.
It has to fix the divide between these two organizations
because I will tell you this. There are people that
(31:01):
are There are kids today that now say I want
to play on TV. They don't care about what tour
they're playing, and that's where we have to now. That
means the PGA Tour has lost or luster as the
number the only place to go. You know, a lot
of kids, a lot of guys can play a lot
of hockey, but unless you're playing in the National Hockey League,
(31:23):
you're not at the highest level. Now we've given them
an opportunity, given a lot of people the opportunity to
play at the highest level on several different tours. But
now what we have to do is we have to
get back to acknowledging what the best tour is. And
I don't care if you call it live, PGA or
PGA Live. I don't care what you call it. But
we can't divide people and say, well, he's not on
(31:45):
this tour, so he's not the best in the world,
but he can't get on our tour because he's not
that we have to infuse common sense into this for
the good of the game.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
For the good of the game, we have to well,
you know, I related a personal business story to you
two three years ago now that I got caught in
the ugly washing machine. Yeah, remember the story. I told
you I got caught in that washing machine. Because from
my viewpoint, it's golf, it doesn't matter. It was business.
(32:18):
And once attorneys get involved with.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Things, and they are and they are, you know, I
you know.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
I won't get into it here on the air, but
it was a heck of a washing machine and I lost.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
I lost right and right now. Unless they can fix this,
the game of golf is going to lose.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Yeah. Yeah, And you can't have this. I mean, we've
seen the exponential growth since COVID with a twenty seven
percent increase, which is great for revenue taxes, everybody keeping
courses open. We've seen an uptick in junior golf programs
like you do at Wheeling Country Club. Our game is growing.
(32:56):
It's not a dying sport at this time. And that
momentum a lot of times, and you've seen it more
than I have. Rich comes from the top down. Like
I can tell you how I got involved in golf.
I had a job in Cleveland. I hated it, Happy
Giglmore came out and Tiger Woods hit the scene and
I went, wow, golf looks like fun. It looks like fun,
(33:18):
and I hate this job in Cleveland. And that's how
I so. It comes from the top down. And I
agree with you the corrosiveness making Cam Smith go playing
a bisbane crocodile open. By the way, did you notice
there's a koala bear?
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Look?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Put on your mic stand right, no, go up?
Speaker 1 (33:36):
You see what do they call that?
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Aus? There's a Saren dippitts.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Okay, that's awesome, that's what that is. Okay, we come
back from this break. We are going to talk about
the marketing that we have that is going on today
for the game of golf and actually how it's not
only not really helping the PGA Tour, that it's actually
helping grow the game of golf in spite of the
(34:05):
PGA Tour.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Do you like bears?
Speaker 1 (34:06):
This is the Rich Komwoll Golf Show. Welcome back to
the Rich kalm Woll Golf Show. We we spent the
first two segments talking about how how ludicrous it is
that that well, actually how wonderful the showdown is going
to be with uh Koepka and DeChambeau versus McElroy and
Scottie Scheffler. We also talked about how ridiculous it is
(34:30):
that Cam Smith and chasing not chasing but seeking official
World Golf ranking points, has to go play the Australian
Tour after his his season and literally it's the season
is over on the on a live tour. So but
that brought a larger point to to to question or
(34:50):
point to bear, and that's the fact that there is
an entirely different world of golf marketing that's going.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
On right now.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
That is I believe caused by the fact that the
PGA Tour and the powers that be are eliminating the
world Golf rankings from players and so and actually turning
off the general consumer of the game of golf and
the end user and the viewer. So what has happened
is YouTube has become massively important to actually get information
(35:25):
and to grow the game of golf with viewers. And
I've decided to this week to bring on my son Drew.
Drew Conwell is a senior at the Ohio State University
and Drew's my kind of my marketing expert when it
comes to these things. As we had him on to
talk about the live tour and the interesting marketing that
goes on on the Lift tour in Europe because he's
(35:48):
spent some time in London. But this week I just
want to kind of talk to him about this segment.
I want to talk to him about how important it
is for the game of golf and how the PGA
Tour is kind of being left behind with this movement
of YouTube and direct consumer marketing. So, Drew, first off,
thanks for jumping on. I realize you're own fall break
(36:09):
and you're a college kid, and it's before two o'clock
in the afternoon, so it's kind of hard for you
to get going.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
I mean, I've been up for plenty of hours. I
take a little bit of offense to that, but no pleasure.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
To be on. Well that's that's okay, that's you knew
it was coming anyway. So so tell me, Okay, you
know your obviously I already outlined it. You're a college kid.
Tell me how impactful YouTube and you know the Good
Good YouTube channel and the the the Brooks channel to
(36:41):
with President Trump, how how how big of an impact
is it in in the golf world to a college
kid that is interested in golf.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Well, I mean you're seeing it across really every major
aspect of media. Now, I mean really all sports. I
mean you just have to say, I mean ESPN paid
Pat Maxee thirty million dollars not for his TV ratings,
but for his Twitter interactions. You see political candidates going
on podcasts because they'll get those get more views than
mainstream media. And you're seeing it with golf as well.
(37:14):
And it's huge from inherently with the PGA Tour where
they don't allow their players to do this without revenue
sharing with the tour, which is ridiculous. And you see
it with the Shambeau. His eighteen breaking fifty series with
President Trump, for example, that got ten million views. The
one he did with John Daily a little bit after
(37:35):
that five point seven million views, and both of those
numbers are higher than any viewed major this year in
all of golf. And he has one point six million subscribers.
Grant Horbett, who's a good friend of his, he's around
my age, he has one point five million subscribers. Good
(37:56):
good as I believe one point two and the first two,
as I mentioned, are right near identical ratings that pretty
much every elevated event got. The numbers of the subscribers
that they have are the same number of viewerships that
every elevated event got with the PGA Tour because no
one's watching television anymore. And the problem is the PGA
won't grasp that they did a content creator's tournament which
(38:20):
they didn't even put on television, which again makes no
sense to me. But I mean these numbers, I mean
across sports, politics, all of it. I mean it's a
huge opportunity. I think the tour is just missing. And granted,
TV numbers don't mean anything anymore, I won't deny that.
But at the same time, less people are watching the
product as a whole, and they're instead watching these content creators.
Like I'm willing to bet you there's a large population
(38:43):
of people who likely know Deshambo more from YouTube than
they do winning the US Open this year, and that
is how he wanted it. That is the direction he's taken.
But at the same time, you know, no one else
on the tour seems to grasp this idea.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Yeah, that's actually those those numbers are not alarming, they're shocking.
They're shocking. And the fact that the fact that you
followed up with with you your belief is that there's
a larger portion of people that know d Chambeau for
playing with President Trump or playing with John Daily than
they do for actually the forty yard bunker shot that
(39:21):
he hit to win the US Open. That's fascinating.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
It's a problem with I mean, just the whole idea.
I remember I saw a great tweet from Colin Coward once.
I think it was rom He got hot micd at
a major once and he tweeted, I think they should
hot mic them all the time. I appreciate the authenticity
instead of trying to act like you're still this holier
than now brand. Right, And you see John Day making
(39:45):
these wildly inappropriate jokes with choice of the Shambeau. You
see President Trump bagging on political opponents like that's funny
stuff that people want to see, and that for just
again runs from it. And and you wonder why no
one watches your product when you had a historical year
from the face of your tour. I mean, a dude
(40:06):
got arrested. This was a lead story on every major
news network the next morning, in the midst of an
election season, and yet still nobody.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Watched, right, I know, I know, you're exactly right. It
was the perfect story to have that front and Center
for four days after the first day when he had
the run in with the low and Scotty Chef running
with the law, and then they just they don't mention it,
they don't capitalize on it. They just say, well, we've
done this this way since nineteen sixty eight, so we're
(40:36):
going to keep doing it this way since nineteen sixty
eight because wait, we're smarter than you. That's I think
what really, really really is the problem here is Drew,
is that they think they're they being the PGA Tour.
They act like they're smarter than everybody else.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
I mean, yeah, it's true. I mean, in all seriousness,
this is something that they can't really get over. I mean, like,
if you still ask the PGA Tour, i mean actually
golf as a whole, because obviously there's separate tours now,
but who's the face of your game, they'll they'll still
say Tiger Woods, just like just like at the same time,
(41:12):
you know, if you go ask someone who works at
a major media company who's the face of news now,
they'd still say Lesster a whole Like that's just simply
not true anymore, right, And you know, because there's so
many alternative means of media that people are watching far more.
And I think it still boils down to ESPN didn't
pay Pat McAfee for ratings between one and three. They
(41:34):
paid him because his after clips on TikTok will generate
more views than the hourly segments he'll get, and they
make more revenue off that than they do the ads
they sell between one and three, right, So.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
That one o'clock to three o'clock is basically seed money
for their money. It's it's seed for their money, that's
all it is.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
Yeah, I mean it's Twitter and YouTuber and podcast listens
are absolutely dominating the sphere of media now, and that's
something I think the Tour really can't get behind. I mean,
they have two podcasts in specific that I think are
just kind of there bias cronies, I guess. I mean,
(42:15):
you have four Play with Barstool, which I don't not
a fan of at all, and you have No Laying Up,
which is another just essentially propaganda machine where it's four
segments about Scotti Schefler then they shut it down and
you know, how much do I have to hear about
this dude? But yeah, they're just missing the mark pretty violently.
(42:37):
And the entire sport is and I think you see
basketball for example, I mean there's almost too many podcasts.
I mean, I'm at a point now where you should
regulate the podcast equipment, but far too accessible. But they
like every player has alternative media now in basketball, so
many different alternative alternative media. Means in football, hockey's still
(43:00):
a million years behind even golf. But I mean, you know,
and yet nothing with the PGA Tour, and a lot
of it has to do with the independent contracting agreement
where the money they make to that. It's kind of
like college football before nil. They either have to give
the money completely with a tour or not have one,
and so in turn you don't see any of this,
(43:22):
and the marketing is horrific.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Right, So right, So if I'm so, if I'm Joe
Jones from Chicago, I'm a PGA Tour player, why would
I try to grow my brand because I'm gonna have
to give them the money.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
If Klin Morical wants to have a really cool show
where we'll have a different player on every week, which
would probably be pretty fun, he would have to give
that money back to the PGA Tour for the revenue
sharing system or not have it at all and or
demonetize it. I messed out that route too, right, which
(43:53):
is absolutely ridiculous. And you know that's why you never
saw any public appearance, which is from I mean, granted
it was a much different time, but like you know,
that's why the only time you ever SEWT Tiger Woods
on TV would be on like Jay Leno, where that
would not have to be regulated and stuff like that.
And they're just violently missing the mark on a very
(44:14):
very very high level. And it's something to be alarmed about.
And it's especially alarming when you don't have really, with
all due respect, any charismatic guys left on tour, you know.
I mean, Minwu Lee was on the cover of Golf
Digest this week. That guy hasn't won a singular PGA
Tour event in three years, and I believe miss cuts
at three of the four majors. But he's got a
(44:35):
couple hundred thousand on tiktoks. They throw him on a magazine.
It's that little that takes to create a star, and
yet they just run from it.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Yeah, yeah, that is funny. That's an awesome, awesome, awesome
analogy right there. Not on now, it's just an awesome
fact that that that it doesn't take much to create
a star on social media, but they just won't They
just won't embrace it. It's almost it's almost like they think
it's going to go away, like color television is going
to go away.
Speaker 3 (45:04):
I mean, marketing is at a spot now on Granted
I'm not a marketing major, but I also don't think
it takes an absolute genius to just have a general strategy.
It's really hard to execute it, which is general idea,
and I mean it's just baffling to me. Where I
think the PGA. I think there's probably a good chance
it is like hockey, where it's like you have wonderful
(45:26):
personalities in this sport, but you just have no means
to put them in the front. And the only guy
who I think is could be if TV ratings still
meant something and there weren't this alternative means. To me,
I think Bryson to Shamba could be a Tiger level star.
He's gotta win more. But he's the only guy I
think he got who does have that next level juice,
(45:47):
and you ran him out of the tour because you
didn't let him have a YouTube channel with one hundred
thousand subscribers, so it wasn't like he was making crazy
ad revenue off that. Now I'm willing to bet you
vet video with President Trump he's probably made a couple
million dollars off of because the ten million views. You
can do the ad algorithm on that, right, I mean,
well you can't.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
I can't strange you can do the you can you
can do the algorithm, buddy, I can't. You're the finance
major at the Ohio State University, not May. I can't
do that algorithm.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
Taxt amount of money off every ten thousand viewers.
Speaker 1 (46:18):
So I mean I appreciate that. Okay, thanks, thanks for
making me feel dumber than I did before you said that.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
So anover problem.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Leave your dad alone like that one. So so okay,
So all right, obviously I'm going to I'm gonna ask
you for a solution. Now, if you're if you're, if
you are the commissioner of the PGA tour.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Well, I mean this is a multi step problem. First
of all, if I'm Jamahanahan, the first thing I would
do is buy a beach house after I resign. But
he's obviously not going to do that. So if you
if he sticks around, which he's obviously not going anywhere.
First step is you have to completely rip apart your CBA.
(47:07):
Second step is and again he's a bit put into
a corner because what I'm going to get to is
the first step he has to do is he has
to stop the Cold War immediately because with all due respect,
they have more money and the biggest asset player wise.
So I mean, he had the highest rated Major by
(47:28):
I think double this entire year that he won. Granted,
Rory has a lot to do with that too, I'll
give him his flowers. But so that's the first step.
Then the next step is this is gonna sound crazy,
and I know a lot of golfers passed or rolling
over in their graves or you're Jack Nicholas, You're I right,
you have to unionize. And then the addition of that,
(47:50):
you have to complete you're too big of an entity
to not every other major sports league has it. And
then the next step after that is you essentially have
to rip off this idea of no money off content creation.
I think that's what's leaving a lot of guys behind.
I think if you listen to Deshambeau talk now, I
think the money now is nice. I don't think he
ever started that YouTube channel for money. You can listen
(48:12):
to him talk about it. He was like, I think
there are a lot of people curious to see what
goes into my life as a high level PGA tour player.
I think Minwu lead's kind of the same way. So
I think they all do it for valid reasons, and
they all have PR teams. Now it's all just about
ripping up your current CBA, basically unionizing and ending the
Cold War. I obviously reverse those steps, but yeah, it's
(48:34):
not Again, this is not a I said earlier. Marketing
inherently from a big picture is not difficult. On the
ground game is incredibly hard, but this big picture strategy,
it's really not that difficult. You have to end the
Cold War, you have to completely you have to let
them unionize. And then after that because then your persons
(48:56):
could explode too, because now you have to so any
money they need to get over that right. Then after
that you just completely rip up your CBA and basically
let them do what they want.
Speaker 2 (49:07):
Let me.
Speaker 1 (49:08):
But it's it's interesting you say all that because you know,
you and I have these conversations about you know, other
commissioners and other sports. They all work for the owners.
Roger Goodell works for the owners. See, I don't know
if anybody knows who Monahan works for, right.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (49:23):
I mean, doesn't he work for the corporate sponsors or Yeah?
Speaker 1 (49:26):
I think I think that's the problem. I think that
they're there in lies the problem. Okay, so so like
so Goodell. See, Goodell works for the owners, as you know,
but he doesn't care that the players can can can
make content and make money and endorse things and all
that fun stuff because he's making his owners, his boss's money.
(49:47):
The problem is is that Monahan is working for AT
and T or whoever sponsoring this week's event, and he's
not making them any money. They're spending money.
Speaker 3 (49:58):
I'm right. I think the other thing you have to
look at is, like, you know, if you allow this
to happen. So that's fine, Jay mo Onahan, I think
I hit that nail on the head. Yeah, he works
for RBC is a huge one. I don't know why
I'm blanking on elevated events, but like RBC is a
big one. I know that TP, not TC waste management again, Phoenix, Yeah,
(50:21):
you know, it's not like the old days. Where Buick
sponsored every other event, but uh no, I mean, at
the end of the day, it's like, you know, you
have to let them unionize. Rory would probably win that
PA election or like us G A p A or
whatever it would be called. I don't know, but and
Roy would probably win that or a guy like that.
And at the end of the day, it's like these
(50:42):
sponsors are like, shoot, I mean, I'm gonna pony up
a lot of money for the chance to put the
shamba on the first t And the other thing you
have to look at too, is you know you would
see a little bit of a tiger effects again, where
you would get guys like a Chris Smith who you
had on who would be like, oh, shoot, I'm trying
(51:03):
to play really really really well Thursday and Friday because
I'm trying to be in that Tiger group because cameras
are only following him, right, And man, if I beat
him on Saturday, I'll probably lose him on Sunday. Like
I don't know, I don't know what comes of it.
And now I got a podcast story forever. So I mean,
you would you would see stuff like that. It's just
(51:23):
it's really difficult on a ground game level as marketing is,
I think people really too confuse that. But on a
big picture level, it's really not difficult. It's just it's
awfully confusing. It's like the idea of like NC double
A not paying their players before nil, where all it
was was legitimately the NC double A makes six point
(51:43):
seven billion dollars and players make none of it. That
never made any sense. So and again the big strategy
is we have to pay these kids. The ground game
has been really fumbled by the NC double A. But
that's the hard part. But it's it's just like the PGA,
where it's like, you know, you don't allow these guys
to make money off this what like that? That's a
(52:03):
anti capitalism.
Speaker 2 (52:05):
Can I make an analogy? And Drew, I think you're
brilliant and spot on. You've defined that corrosiveness between Live
and the PGA. Here's the analogy, Rich if you think
this is a good analogy, The PGA tour is the
purchase gutter ball and the Live is the pro v one.
(52:28):
I mean, they've got to come out of the past.
I agree with you, Drew Monahan hit the road Jack,
they need a young Well, actually, are you available for
the job. I think I think you're well qualified to
run the tour.
Speaker 1 (52:39):
Actually, actually already he got a job. He got a job.
He's good to go.
Speaker 3 (52:44):
I don't have the Ivy League law degree like uh
like like little j does.
Speaker 2 (52:49):
That's that's all right. We'll just get you a nice
blue blazer with some you know, patch on on on
the left breast.
Speaker 1 (52:55):
Drew, I gotta tell you, I can't tell how much
I appreciate you coming on. I really can't.
Speaker 3 (53:01):
Oh glad to take time out of my busy schedule.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Yeah, yeah, I hear you.
Speaker 3 (53:05):
Man.
Speaker 2 (53:06):
All right, he's going this afternoon.
Speaker 1 (53:09):
He better unless he's taking his mother. He's not all right.
So this has been the rich Conwell Drew Comwall, thank
you so very much, Randy, thanks for joining me this week. Corey, Corey,
great job as always, and good luck on that Solitaire
game in there. This is the rich Comewell Golf Show.
Welcome to the rich Conwell Golf Show. It is a gorgeous,
gorgeous October weekend all across the Northeast, and we are
going to talk about a bunch of different topics today
in the world of golf, and most of them are
about the world of golf at large. Obviously, if you've been,
(00:24):
I know everybody's following the show weekly, but I've had
some pretty good guests on lately, and most of it
has been kind of regionally located in our region. Obviously,
if it's regionally located, has to be in western Pennsylvania
West Virginia. But we are going to spend a considerable
amount of our time talking about the world of golf
(00:46):
at large, and we are going to start It's gonna
involve the PGA Tour, it's gonna involve live golf, it's
going to involve the Australian Tour, It's going to involve
a lot of different things. And so to help me
navigate through this very large world of golf, I'm joined
by Randy Tantlinger today, who has his own golf show
(01:09):
and has his own take on the world of golf
and takes on the world of golf and Randy is
a Pittsburgh guy through and through, but he is a huge,
huge sports fan and a really, really, really knowledgeable individual
about the world of golf. So, Randy, I just want
to say thanks for coming on today.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
You forced me. I was going to go golfing at
the Wheeling Country Club. I got my bags in a
parking lot. Richie goes, you're coming with me. I figure
we're going to get donuts at the Dunkin Donut. Next thing,
you know, you put on a head fit. You want
me to talk on radio.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
You're just going to keep going like this, aren't you.
Huh Yeah. So you're seeing a whole team a psychiatrists
or just like, do they talk to each other or not?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, they don't talk to me, which is so unusual.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Actually that's not true. They do talk to you. They
don't talk to each others. They can't get a treatment plan.
That's the problem.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Row me in a room with a banana and they
say play with a tire and I do that for
about two hours.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Then they make it an analysis.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Okay, So moving past your psychological issues control, I mean,
difficulties and hurdles. The biggest topic right now is what
just came out two days ago, which is the showdown.
For those of you who have did not see this news,
the showdown is going to be held on twelve December
seventeenth of this year, twenty twenty four, and it's going
(02:29):
to feature Rory McElroy and Scottie Scheffler versus Brooks Koepka
and Bryson D. Chambeau. Now, this is really really, really
big for a couple of different reasons, and it's going
to be a larger world golf conversation when we get
into it because but on its face, it's fascinating because
(02:54):
Bryson D. Chambeau will will be the defending US It
will be the current US Open champion. He plays this.
Scotti Scheffler has has won a major in the last
two years, and Brooks Koepka won the PGA in twenty
twenty three. Uh and then and Rory McElroy, although he
(03:16):
has not had success, been ultimately successful and went won
a major in the past couple of years. He did
finish second in the US Open, and he is a
has been a top five to seven player in the world,
if not top two or three, for the last ten years.
So this is a massively cool. And I say that
we're I don't say that word easily massively cool. Event So,
(03:42):
having said all that, first off, Randy like, this is
pretty cool to have these four guys.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
I mean, it's really cool, unbelievable Richie. My mind immediately
went to this thought, Okay, what if I told you,
uhber seventeenth, I'm pairing Ben Hegan and Arnold Palmer against
Gary Player and Jack Nicholas, You'd be like, oh my god,
I can't wait to see this. Who they are? This
(04:13):
is remarkable. I mean huge, As you know, I love
Ireland golf, I love Links golf huge. Rory fan, who
amongst us doesn't love Scottie after the incredible, turbulent, successful
year he's had. I love chef man who doesn't.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
I mean, I'm a Scotty chef.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
There's the crust of everything else off really really good
Scotty he likes.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
I don't have anything like you. I don't have anything
against him. I think that I think Scotty Scheffler is
in my opinion, it's just one guy's opinion. In my opinion,
he is the reason that we talk about people we
shouldn't talk about in sports Hall of fames across the board.
I'm not saying he's not a really good player, but
(05:02):
he is not going to be unless he has at
least four more years of this, not going to be
a top fifteen player of all time. And the way
the world, the way the world ranks, the way the
world works now, Okay, because of the social media and
because of the latest greatest is the bestest, bestest, he
(05:23):
is viewed in a completely different light, and it's not
not a historically correct light.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
See that's what I don't like about modern sports talk.
You pilled the onion back from me. Okay, So it's
the day after the National Championship. Alabama has won their
twenty ninth out. In the next day, ESPN and all
the sports affiliates are talking about, well, you know, Bama's
(05:50):
loaded next year, blah blah blah, this and blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah. Everybody is in this grinder
of the next you know, dope me and rush TikTok moment,
Facebook moment. Dude, step back and just put it in
what he did. I called you, duke, cupcake, Yes I did.
(06:11):
Just look at it. I think what you have to
do is just enjoy.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Oh, I do enjoy this. I do enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
No putting undue pressure on him, for oh, he'll never
be in the top fifteen of greatest, He'll never do this.
What this gentleman has done is remarkable. And I'm going
to put in another and I know you know this story,
and so quickly it became a back burner story and
(06:40):
it's one of the greatest stories in the history of golf.
Forgive the year, Richie, you'll know better than I do.
Let's call it twenty twelve. VJ. Sing goes on this
unprecedented win of PGA events. What do you do? Twelve
thirteen events? It was remarkable, including the nemicole and events,
(07:03):
and it was remarkable, remarkable, one of the most incredible
things to ever happen in professional golf. And just oh well,
moving on to next year. So for sorry to jump
on you with the chef thing, but again, it's just
one of those things that bothers me with modern sports talk,
modern sports media. It's immediately on a guy could throw
(07:27):
a no hitter in Game seven of the World Series.
I kind of chuckle when I say this. But for
the Cincinnati whatever their name is, Reds, and the next
morning ESPN would be talking about, well, the mascot for
the Phillies, and it just bothers me very greatly.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Okay, well, all right, obviously for an hour I didn't
mean watch out.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I've had my cappuccino, eight cappuccinos, Brazilian cappuccino.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
So let's figure this out, all right, So let's talk
about this. Okay, So a couple of things about this event. Obviously,
it's awesome to have these four players in there, and
it's awesome to have that level of talent. But I
think the interesting thing is is I think it's really
really big because I think it's the first step towards
(08:20):
I guess maybe mending would be the word, mending the
bridge between the Live Tour and the PGA Tour, because
obviously anybody who pays attention knows that Kopka and Bryson d.
Chambeau play on the Live Tour and Scottie Scheffler and
Rriy McIlroy playing the PGA Tour, and this big divide
and us versus them and them versus Austin who's better
(08:41):
and who's that? But now this is the first all
of branch between those two.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Well, I get it between the live and the PGA,
But wait a minute, there's a bigger tiger in the
room here. I mean, it ain't like these two are
best friends playing weekend golf of Oakland together.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, but you know, I.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Take that. That's why I don't know who the heck
here at. iHeart put us on the same air today,
in the same room. I don't like you.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
I don't. I don't. I don't take I don't. Okay,
So I'm not even gonna think about that. So I don't.
I think they actually are better friends than you think
they are, all four of them. I do. I think
they're better. Now, do I think that they like they're
gonna watch a football game or a soccer game or
a baseball or whatever and they call each other. No,
(09:34):
I'm not saying that, but I'm telling you those guys,
those guys all and I think there's a certain amount
of actually a high level of respect between all four
of them. And I think that they also know that
they represent they represent the game, and they are actually
at a position in the game to make a very
(09:55):
positive impact. So petty junk aside, we got to do
this for the good of the game.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Look, and I agree with you to arc to it.
I'm thrilled to be out of the Tiger era. I'm
done with him at just I'm so glad. Oh yeah,
you and I have talked about Tiger before. I can't
stand him.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I guess we're not going to call him a little while.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Wow, I'm talking about Tiger Jones. He's the president of
the Elks Club. I can't stand that guy. You don't
know Tiger Jones, you know I this is a way
to get away from the Tiger era. This is the
current just for twenty twenty four. Can we say this
is the twenty twenty four Mount rushmore of faces in
(10:46):
the PGA and the list.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Oh, there's no doubt.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
To me, it's just wonderful. You gotta think I know you're.
Rich does a wonderful program with the junior golfers at
Wheeling Country Club. If you're young, lady or gentleman wants
to learn the game of golf, not only the techniques
of golf, but the mannerisms and the etiquette of golf,
go see Rich up at Wheeling Country Club. And I
(11:13):
mean that truly. Thanks, But know that I love the
fact that this is a way to put the marquee
faces of twenty twenty four on display for the world
of golf. And I totally get it with the arcing,
there's got the Live and the PGA have to come together.
There ain't no way they're going to keep living like this.
(11:35):
It's two trains that are gonna run.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Into each other, right, yeah, and then and I don't
think and see, I now what you just said. It's
a really good analogy. They're not going to run into
each other. See, events like this will actually help them
run side by side because the game of golf cannot stand.
And I'm telling you, I realized that I'm the biggest
(11:57):
I'm the biggest advocate, the biggest advocate of Every successful
person has their opponent, real or imagined, real or imagined.
The interesting thing is is when you look at a guy, Okay,
you brought Tiger. I'll take Tiger. I'll take mister Hogan. Okay,
both of them had their biggest opponent. Now, unique to
(12:22):
what I believe to be only those two is their
biggest opponent was themselves. So that's a hard guy to
compete against when you have standards like that. But this
actually allows these two organizations to run side by side,
and there's got to be a way they have to
work together. And if this kind of this kind of format,
(12:45):
this kind of event, this is team golf. This is
I know it's two person team and not multiple person team.
I mean many much larger teams than this, like the
Live Toward does. But the fact of the matter is
this is actually a serious step in the right direction
towards handle or solving or bridging the gap or fixing
(13:06):
the hole in the game of golf.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
There's no doubt.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
And and the other thing is I think the interesting
thing is is this event, as it's been described in
all the news stories associated with it, they will not
play for prize money. They will be given appearance fees,
which is exactly what everybody complained about with the Live Tour.
It was guaranteed money to show up. Now you could
(13:31):
get it. You could win some war if you did,
but well when you did, but it's it's it's appearance fee.
So now it's about the golf. It's not about the
money they make. See you, you said something before about
Sports Center the next day stuff like that. Invariably, every
Tour event that is played, with the exception of the
(13:52):
Live Tour, Australian Tour, which we'll talk about later, the
European Tour, all those fun things. They all will mention
how much money they made. They will live that they live,
never mentions it. And and that actually turned that makes
people sick when they hear that. I mean a guy
you know Brooks, I mean Bryce and d Chambeau hits
(14:16):
a hits a bunker shot to from forty yards to
two feet and makes part to win the US Open,
and within one commercial segment of network television we hear
he just made two point one million dollars. That guy
hit a shot that will go down in history history
(14:36):
rivaling not quite as good as, but rivaling mister Hogan's
one iron fifty eight Marion so or Nicholas's one arn
one iron at Pebble Beach on seventeen and nineteen seventy
two seventy one. So I'm sorry, so, but now we
want to talk about what money he made. This allows
(14:56):
us to focus on golf and not the money. Because
everybody always said that the Live Tour was going to
sport wash and ruin it with money. PGA Tour does
that every day. PGA Tour does that every week they
talk about how much money they made, They talk about
how much how much they gave to charity, this, that
(15:16):
and the other thing, and they call the money into
play instead of calling the golf into play. This is
why the PGA Tour has an image problem, because guys
are winning money and nobody knows who the heck they are.
But the live players, people know who they are now.
They know who Scotti Scheffler has no doubt, and they
(15:37):
know who who Ry McRoy is. But after that, who's
top five player on the PGA Tour. You can't tell me.
You can't tell me, you know, you.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Tell me about this year's US Open that is golf.
Was that not just the most wonderful final round experience
we've had in a long time?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah. The only problem I had with it is is
that that was no golf course that was set up
for US Open.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Yeah, well, Mike's gone. You know. Mike was Davis as
a Pittsburgh, Western PA guy who was longtime setting up
the course, and he prided himself on making golf courses tough.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Yeah, I know he did, all right. So when we
come back, we are going to talk about two things.
We were talking about the impact that the showdown is
going to have, and we're also going to talk about,
for some an unknown reason, I'll explain it to you,
there's something going on on the Australian tour that we
need to talk about. This is the Rich Konwall Golf Show.
Welcome back to the Rich Konwall Golf Show, joined by
(16:39):
Randy Tantlier today. Randy is a very very knowledgeable person
in the world of golf, and Randy is kind enough
to jump in with me today. So we were talking
about the showdown, which is Brooks Koepka and Bryson d.
Chambeau versus Rory McElroy and Scottie Scheffler. I wanted to
talk a little bit larger, larger scale issue here or
(17:00):
big picture thirty mile view or whatever they whatever that
fancy term is. And I think this is really, really
really good for golf. And I think there's a couple
of reasons for this that is really good for golf.
Number one, it's always good, especially in the middle of December,
to see what I perceived to be probably a very
very very competitive, intriguing event. I'm quite sure they'll put
(17:23):
microphones on them. I hope they put microphones on them
and let them air their talk out. Obviously, you know
they're they're PGA Tour players and live tour players, and
they probably use language that you know, Grandmama might not
like a lot. But if you can hear them talk
(17:43):
their way through shots, it's fascinating, it's fascinating. But but
larger picture, bigger picture, This can only help the world
of golf.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Correct, Randy Oh, I agree, and I'm with you on
the on the dialogue on the course. I mean the
rare times you get that input between the caddy and
the golfer on crucial shots. I love that moment, Richie
in golf coverage. So I agree with you. I didn't
even thought about that. If they mic these guys up
(18:16):
and you just get inside the inner workings of their
head on certain shots, the caddies. What I'm looking forward
to is the fan engagement of it all, Just dealing
with the fans, talking with the fans, being around the fans.
I don't see any downside of this. I love it.
(18:38):
You mentioned in the first segment about an olive branch
between the live and the PGA Tour. I love this.
This is wonderful. I mean, it's got to happen. This
is one way to do it. Take your current superstars
and let them go have some fun. And I agree
that December period of time to play it.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
No kidding. The interesting thing is is, you know, it's
funny you talk about the interaction between caddy and player.
Sometimes they do actually let them play. I teach a yuh.
I teach a young lady that, oh it's getting pretty good.
And she said to me, she goes, I watched that
the other day and she goes, what are they covering?
And I was like, what do you mean? She goes,
The caddy kept saying like a number to cover, and
(19:23):
it was really interesting. On seventeen it was like one
sixty one to cover and one eighty one to the whole.
I'm like, she didn't understand what they mean. But what
that means is what it takes to get to the
front edge of the grain, what they have to cover.
And she's like, oh, that does that makes sense now?
So it's interesting because like they do speak a little
bit of a different language. They really do. When you
(19:44):
start talking to them, especially if you can listen to
him talk to each other, it's really strange, like it's
like a it's like a uh like code speak, Yeah,
say code speak all right, So hopefully it's an olive
branch and hopefully they actually allow allow this to expand
(20:08):
and to include some team concepts to the PGA Tour
and the PGA Tour obviously infiltrate the Lift Tour to
get some more individual going on. But one of the
things that has happened as a result of the divide
between Live and the PGA Tour is what's going on
(20:30):
in the Australian Tour. For anybody who doesn't know who
Cam Smith is, camp Smith is a former British former
Open winner. It's called the Open. Actually the United States
Open is the United States Open. The Open is what
we call it a British Open as kids. Camp Smith
is a former winner of that event. And Cam Smith
has committed to playing five Australian Tour events in order
(20:53):
to gain official World Golf ranking points. This guy is
a former major winner. He is also an active live player,
so he plays I think they have sixteen events or
fourteen events, and he is not resorting, but he is
(21:14):
coerced forced into playing the Australian Tour events to gain
World Golf rankings. So he can be eligible for the
President's Cup or you and to get into major championships.
And that to me is the biggest force in the
(21:37):
world of golf that the World Golf Rankings will not
recognize live events. And you're forcing guys, forcing and and
now I'm going to use the word forcing. You're hosing guys,
putting him into a corner and saying you better find
an event. Now here's the thing. This is the funny thing.
Compare in contrast. Now, I don't know what events he's
playing in in Australia. I don't, but I'm just gonna
(21:58):
pick that he's playing the Quinn. He's gonna play the
Queensland Open and try to finish in the top five
to get World Golf rankings. So you're telling me that
the Queensland Open is a more prominent rankable event than
the four live the two live events in London and
the one in West Virginia and the one in Chicago
(22:19):
and the one in Atlanta. That's absolutely beat in l
a and wherever okay they go. Is absolutely an insult
to the integrity of the game of golf, and it's
an insult to the players who are subjected to that reasoning,
that's just that's just you know, my dad just say,
that's just you gotta work to be that dump. You
(22:40):
gotta work to be that dump to tell a guy literally, oh,
by the way, you're you're you're ranked well at the
one time he's ranked third in the world, but you're
now falling because those events you play don't meet our
criteria for real events. But by by the way, the
Queensland Open in Australia will that's just dumb. Yeah, it
(23:07):
just seems to me that that move right there literally
creates a larger gap between the PGA Tour and the
live tour and the world of golf.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
That's the corrosion that is there between live and between
the PGA, these little uh insults, not recognizing and just
and that's the friction that the showdown can smooth over.
(23:42):
It's insane. He's one of the best golfers in the world.
Needs a different barber, no doubt about that. But that
is the insanity and corrosion, the friction.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Because you just may a comment about Kempsmith's hairstyle.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Have you seen his hair? He looks like he's uh
Joe dirt Corey. You've seen Joe Dirt the movie. He
looks like he's Joe Dirt.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Okay, first of all, I have not seen that movie.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Well, now you get an idea what the main character
looks like.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Second of all, Okay, what concerns me about this, now
that we're on this topic, is the fact that that
that you, you folk, you fixated on Cam Smith's hair.
Who wouldn't have you ever seen Cam Smith in person?
Speaker 2 (24:27):
No? Oh my god, he has not seen me. I
have And how long is his hair? It's down to
his should. Look if I saw him, I go, hey, Stephanie,
how are you?
Speaker 1 (24:37):
No, you wouldn't. That's the other thing. That's the other
thing about you. You know, you act like you You're
like you, oh, bow up on these guys.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
You don't know, you wouldn't. He don't forget. I'm the
guy that did an interview with Jack Nicholas. God's been
Grady's blessed me twice to interview Jack twice, So Cory.
The second time. We're down in Mexico and I'm the
only American journalist with a TV cam. There's five hundred
locals at the course, and I'm thinking, what can I
ask Jack Nicholas he's never been asked before. Camera goes hot,
(25:09):
I go, we werelling? He goes yeah. So I look
at Jack Nicholas and he's got these beautiful blue eyes.
He just goes swimming in them. They're gorgeous. And I
look at Jack Nicholas and I say, do you want
to wrestle? And Jack goes, what Randy? I go, do
you want to wrestle me? And Jack Nicholas, who has
won eighteen major championships, looked at me. He said no,
You're the only guy here that's fatter than me. And
(25:30):
I said, I just beat Jack Nicholas, So I would
have no problems asking Jimsy.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Yeah you would, Yeah, yeah, I think you will. A
matter of fact, I actually know you would.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
Let me talk, go with you to the list Greenbrier
and know we'd be talking facial features this way.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Yeah, I know, I know.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
I'm sweet.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Con I'm greatly concerned right now golf and cosmetic. But
so back to the bigger problem at hand, or the
larger issue here is that they are the world of
golf is the world of golf is trying to figure
out how to punish people for not eating their vegetables.
And my whole thing is like, that is just foolish,
(26:09):
That is just that hurts the game of golf. Now,
I'm a member of an association, the PGA of America,
that is all about growing the game of golf. Okay,
And I know I have a couple of friends that
are on the in the European PGA, and they are
all they grow the game better than the pg of
America does. Sorry, fellas. And and I know guys that
(26:31):
are in the PGA of America, and I know I
know Jay Karns, the president of the Golf Course Owners
Association of America or is the CEO. And my whole
thing is they're all about growing the game. So then
we turn around and we see these people doing this
in order to limit the game. So why why why
(26:53):
don't why don't we just infuse some common sense into this.
Just give the live players official golf rankings for their events.
If you want to calibrate them that they're fifty four
holes instead of seventy two, go ahead, you know, make them,
make them We're seventy five percent of the amount of
of of points that a PGA Tour event is its
seventy two holes. I don't care how you do it.
(27:14):
But why in the world are you kicking people in
the shins because they play someplace that you don't quote
unquote like you know it is. It's just beyond me.
I don't know. It just blows my mind that people
are willing to to be so petty, to turn the game,
(27:36):
to weaponize the game of golf against player the top
two hundred players.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
In the world, Richie being played at what this is
a showdown?
Speaker 1 (27:45):
It's in Shadow Creek, That's what I thought in Shadow Creek.
So but yeah, so but anyway, so that's that. That's
just it just blows my mind that we have to
we have to do that. We have to do that.
Now let's talk about let's go back to the shootout,
because I do think of the showdown, excuse me, I
do think it is an intriguing event. I also think
(28:10):
that it could be and I want to explore this
a little bit more a vehicle to him to fix
the world of golf. It has to because I think, unfortunately,
two things can be true, one in this particular instance
not unfortunately in this particular instance they are. One, it's
a really really watchable event, it's really cool. Two it
(28:32):
can fix the game of golf at the same time,
or actually put a big band aid on it. And
I need I need, I need that, we need that,
the world golf needs that to happen.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
There's an old saying, hands across the water, hands across
the water, to work out your differences, to work out
your differences against warring nations. I bet this is what's
going to happen here. They've created this event as as
a way to get rid of some of that corrosion.
There's gonna be jets flying in from Saudi, There's gonna
(29:09):
be jets flying in from PGA headquarters. You're gonna have
major sponsors. They're gonna all go play around to golf.
They're gonna sit down and they're gonna say, all right, guys,
enough is enough. How do we get to the next
level and coexist together?
Speaker 1 (29:28):
But here's the problem with that, and that's gonna and
that's gonna be. You know, Bob Knight used to have
a saying, it's not what's it's not who's right, it's
what's right?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Is that before or after he threw the chair.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
That was actually long before he learned that. In the
United States Military Academy actually learned from Fred Taillory was.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Behind me in a Steelers press box once and he's
sitting watching No no, no, no.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
He had nice hair, he had very nice We are
gonna talk.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Uh. I was intimidated by the man, just and I'm
not intimidating by anybody. I like enjoy that kind of
And I just kept looking at him going high coach.
He is the only celebrity I've ever been around that
I couldn't engage. He just has an had God rest
his soul, an aura about him. And I admired the
(30:16):
man greatly. I don't care how you produce winners. I
don't care if you do it with the kid glove
or you do it by throwing chairs. Uh.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
We're going to have a conversation about that a different day,
because that's just that's just. You don't have to throw furniture.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Trust me, you like walnuts or peanuts. You know you
like walnuts or peanuts. Peanut guy, Yeah, me too.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
So So I do think that it can help. It
has to help, because it can't hurt the game of golf.
But it has to fix, it has to fix the break.
It has to fix the divide between these two organizations
because I will tell you this. There are people that
(31:01):
are There are kids today that now say I want
to play on TV. They don't care about what tour
they're playing, and that's where we have to now. That
means the PGA Tour has lost or luster as the
number the only place to go. You know, a lot
of kids, a lot of guys can play a lot
of hockey, but unless you're playing in the National Hockey League,
(31:23):
you're not at the highest level. Now we've given them
an opportunity, given a lot of people the opportunity to
play at the highest level on several different tours. But
now what we have to do is we have to
get back to acknowledging what the best tour is. And
I don't care if you call it live, PGA or
PGA Live. I don't care what you call it. But
we can't divide people and say, well, he's not on
(31:45):
this tour, so he's not the best in the world,
but he can't get on our tour because he's not
that we have to infuse common sense into this for
the good of the game.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
For the good of the game, we have to well,
you know, I related a personal business story to you
two three years ago now that I got caught in
the ugly washing machine. Yeah, remember the story. I told
you I got caught in that washing machine. Because from
my viewpoint, it's golf, it doesn't matter. It was business.
(32:18):
And once attorneys get involved with.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Things, and they are and they are, you know, I
you know.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
I won't get into it here on the air, but
it was a heck of a washing machine and I lost.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
I lost right and right now. Unless they can fix this,
the game of golf is going to lose.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Yeah. Yeah, And you can't have this. I mean, we've
seen the exponential growth since COVID with a twenty seven
percent increase, which is great for revenue taxes, everybody keeping
courses open. We've seen an uptick in junior golf programs
like you do at Wheeling Country Club. Our game is growing.
(32:56):
It's not a dying sport at this time. And that
momentum a lot of times, and you've seen it more
than I have. Rich comes from the top down. Like
I can tell you how I got involved in golf.
I had a job in Cleveland. I hated it, Happy
Giglmore came out and Tiger Woods hit the scene and
I went, wow, golf looks like fun. It looks like fun,
(33:18):
and I hate this job in Cleveland. And that's how
I so. It comes from the top down. And I
agree with you the corrosiveness making Cam Smith go playing
a bisbane crocodile open. By the way, did you notice
there's a koala bear?
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Look?
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Put on your mic stand right, no, go up?
Speaker 1 (33:36):
You see what do they call that?
Speaker 2 (33:39):
Aus? There's a Saren dippitts.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Okay, that's awesome, that's what that is. Okay, we come
back from this break. We are going to talk about
the marketing that we have that is going on today
for the game of golf and actually how it's not
only not really helping the PGA Tour, that it's actually
helping grow the game of golf in spite of the
(34:05):
PGA Tour.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Do you like bears?
Speaker 1 (34:06):
This is the Rich Komwoll Golf Show. Welcome back to
the Rich kalm Woll Golf Show. We we spent the
first two segments talking about how how ludicrous it is
that that well, actually how wonderful the showdown is going
to be with uh Koepka and DeChambeau versus McElroy and
Scottie Scheffler. We also talked about how ridiculous it is
(34:30):
that Cam Smith and chasing not chasing but seeking official
World Golf ranking points, has to go play the Australian
Tour after his his season and literally it's the season
is over on the on a live tour. So but
that brought a larger point to to to question or
(34:50):
point to bear, and that's the fact that there is
an entirely different world of golf marketing that's going.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
On right now.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
That is I believe caused by the fact that the
PGA Tour and the powers that be are eliminating the
world Golf rankings from players and so and actually turning
off the general consumer of the game of golf and
the end user and the viewer. So what has happened
is YouTube has become massively important to actually get information
(35:25):
and to grow the game of golf with viewers. And
I've decided to this week to bring on my son Drew.
Drew Conwell is a senior at the Ohio State University
and Drew's my kind of my marketing expert when it
comes to these things. As we had him on to
talk about the live tour and the interesting marketing that
goes on on the Lift tour in Europe because he's
(35:48):
spent some time in London. But this week I just
want to kind of talk to him about this segment.
I want to talk to him about how important it
is for the game of golf and how the PGA
Tour is kind of being left behind with this movement
of YouTube and direct consumer marketing. So, Drew, first off,
thanks for jumping on. I realize you're own fall break
(36:09):
and you're a college kid, and it's before two o'clock
in the afternoon, so it's kind of hard for you
to get going.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
I mean, I've been up for plenty of hours. I
take a little bit of offense to that, but no pleasure.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
To be on. Well that's that's okay, that's you knew
it was coming anyway. So so tell me, Okay, you
know your obviously I already outlined it. You're a college kid.
Tell me how impactful YouTube and you know the Good
Good YouTube channel and the the the Brooks channel to
(36:41):
with President Trump, how how how big of an impact
is it in in the golf world to a college
kid that is interested in golf.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Well, I mean you're seeing it across really every major
aspect of media. Now, I mean really all sports. I
mean you just have to say, I mean ESPN paid
Pat Maxee thirty million dollars not for his TV ratings,
but for his Twitter interactions. You see political candidates going
on podcasts because they'll get those get more views than
mainstream media. And you're seeing it with golf as well.
(37:14):
And it's huge from inherently with the PGA Tour where
they don't allow their players to do this without revenue
sharing with the tour, which is ridiculous. And you see
it with the Shambeau. His eighteen breaking fifty series with
President Trump, for example, that got ten million views. The
one he did with John Daily a little bit after
(37:35):
that five point seven million views, and both of those
numbers are higher than any viewed major this year in
all of golf. And he has one point six million subscribers.
Grant Horbett, who's a good friend of his, he's around
my age, he has one point five million subscribers. Good
(37:56):
good as I believe one point two and the first two,
as I mentioned, are right near identical ratings that pretty
much every elevated event got. The numbers of the subscribers
that they have are the same number of viewerships that
every elevated event got with the PGA Tour because no
one's watching television anymore. And the problem is the PGA
won't grasp that they did a content creator's tournament which
(38:20):
they didn't even put on television, which again makes no
sense to me. But I mean these numbers, I mean
across sports, politics, all of it. I mean it's a
huge opportunity. I think the tour is just missing. And granted,
TV numbers don't mean anything anymore, I won't deny that.
But at the same time, less people are watching the
product as a whole, and they're instead watching these content creators.
Like I'm willing to bet you there's a large population
(38:43):
of people who likely know Deshambo more from YouTube than
they do winning the US Open this year, and that
is how he wanted it. That is the direction he's taken.
But at the same time, you know, no one else
on the tour seems to grasp this idea.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Yeah, that's actually those those numbers are not alarming, they're shocking.
They're shocking. And the fact that the fact that you
followed up with with you your belief is that there's
a larger portion of people that know d Chambeau for
playing with President Trump or playing with John Daily than
they do for actually the forty yard bunker shot that
(39:21):
he hit to win the US Open. That's fascinating.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
It's a problem with I mean, just the whole idea.
I remember I saw a great tweet from Colin Coward once.
I think it was rom He got hot micd at
a major once and he tweeted, I think they should
hot mic them all the time. I appreciate the authenticity
instead of trying to act like you're still this holier
than now brand. Right, And you see John Day making
(39:45):
these wildly inappropriate jokes with choice of the Shambeau. You
see President Trump bagging on political opponents like that's funny
stuff that people want to see, and that for just
again runs from it. And and you wonder why no
one watches your product when you had a historical year
from the face of your tour. I mean, a dude
(40:06):
got arrested. This was a lead story on every major
news network the next morning, in the midst of an
election season, and yet still nobody.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Watched, right, I know, I know, you're exactly right. It
was the perfect story to have that front and Center
for four days after the first day when he had
the run in with the low and Scotty Chef running
with the law, and then they just they don't mention it,
they don't capitalize on it. They just say, well, we've
done this this way since nineteen sixty eight, so we're
(40:36):
going to keep doing it this way since nineteen sixty
eight because wait, we're smarter than you. That's I think
what really, really really is the problem here is Drew,
is that they think they're they being the PGA Tour.
They act like they're smarter than everybody else.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
I mean, yeah, it's true. I mean, in all seriousness,
this is something that they can't really get over. I mean, like,
if you still ask the PGA Tour, i mean actually
golf as a whole, because obviously there's separate tours now,
but who's the face of your game, they'll they'll still
say Tiger Woods, just like just like at the same time,
(41:12):
you know, if you go ask someone who works at
a major media company who's the face of news now,
they'd still say Lesster a whole Like that's just simply
not true anymore, right, And you know, because there's so
many alternative means of media that people are watching far more.
And I think it still boils down to ESPN didn't
pay Pat McAfee for ratings between one and three. They
(41:34):
paid him because his after clips on TikTok will generate
more views than the hourly segments he'll get, and they
make more revenue off that than they do the ads
they sell between one and three, right, So.
Speaker 1 (41:46):
That one o'clock to three o'clock is basically seed money
for their money. It's it's seed for their money, that's
all it is.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
Yeah, I mean it's Twitter and YouTuber and podcast listens
are absolutely dominating the sphere of media now, and that's
something I think the Tour really can't get behind. I mean,
they have two podcasts in specific that I think are
just kind of there bias cronies, I guess. I mean,
(42:15):
you have four Play with Barstool, which I don't not
a fan of at all, and you have No Laying Up,
which is another just essentially propaganda machine where it's four
segments about Scotti Schefler then they shut it down and
you know, how much do I have to hear about
this dude? But yeah, they're just missing the mark pretty violently.
(42:37):
And the entire sport is and I think you see
basketball for example, I mean there's almost too many podcasts.
I mean, I'm at a point now where you should
regulate the podcast equipment, but far too accessible. But they
like every player has alternative media now in basketball, so
many different alternative alternative media. Means in football, hockey's still
(43:00):
a million years behind even golf. But I mean, you know,
and yet nothing with the PGA Tour, and a lot
of it has to do with the independent contracting agreement
where the money they make to that. It's kind of
like college football before nil. They either have to give
the money completely with a tour or not have one,
and so in turn you don't see any of this,
(43:22):
and the marketing is horrific.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
Right, So right, So if I'm so, if I'm Joe
Jones from Chicago, I'm a PGA Tour player, why would
I try to grow my brand because I'm gonna have
to give them the money.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
If Klin Morical wants to have a really cool show
where we'll have a different player on every week, which
would probably be pretty fun, he would have to give
that money back to the PGA Tour for the revenue
sharing system or not have it at all and or
demonetize it. I messed out that route too, right, which
(43:53):
is absolutely ridiculous. And you know that's why you never
saw any public appearance, which is from I mean, granted
it was a much different time, but like you know,
that's why the only time you ever SEWT Tiger Woods
on TV would be on like Jay Leno, where that
would not have to be regulated and stuff like that.
And they're just violently missing the mark on a very
(44:14):
very very high level. And it's something to be alarmed about.
And it's especially alarming when you don't have really, with
all due respect, any charismatic guys left on tour, you know.
I mean, Minwu Lee was on the cover of Golf
Digest this week. That guy hasn't won a singular PGA
Tour event in three years, and I believe miss cuts
at three of the four majors. But he's got a
(44:35):
couple hundred thousand on tiktoks. They throw him on a magazine.
It's that little that takes to create a star, and
yet they just run from it.
Speaker 1 (44:43):
Yeah, yeah, that is funny. That's an awesome, awesome, awesome
analogy right there. Not on now, it's just an awesome
fact that that that it doesn't take much to create
a star on social media, but they just won't They
just won't embrace it. It's almost it's almost like they think
it's going to go away, like color television is going
to go away.
Speaker 3 (45:04):
I mean, marketing is at a spot now on Granted
I'm not a marketing major, but I also don't think
it takes an absolute genius to just have a general strategy.
It's really hard to execute it, which is general idea,
and I mean it's just baffling to me. Where I
think the PGA. I think there's probably a good chance
it is like hockey, where it's like you have wonderful
(45:26):
personalities in this sport, but you just have no means
to put them in the front. And the only guy
who I think is could be if TV ratings still
meant something and there weren't this alternative means. To me,
I think Bryson to Shamba could be a Tiger level star.
He's gotta win more. But he's the only guy I
think he got who does have that next level juice,
(45:47):
and you ran him out of the tour because you
didn't let him have a YouTube channel with one hundred
thousand subscribers, so it wasn't like he was making crazy
ad revenue off that. Now I'm willing to bet you
vet video with President Trump he's probably made a couple
million dollars off of because the ten million views. You
can do the ad algorithm on that, right, I mean,
well you can't.
Speaker 1 (46:07):
I can't strange you can do the you can you
can do the algorithm, buddy, I can't. You're the finance
major at the Ohio State University, not May. I can't
do that algorithm.
Speaker 3 (46:16):
Taxt amount of money off every ten thousand viewers.
Speaker 1 (46:18):
So I mean I appreciate that. Okay, thanks, thanks for
making me feel dumber than I did before you said that.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
So anover problem.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Leave your dad alone like that one. So so okay,
So all right, obviously I'm going to I'm gonna ask
you for a solution. Now, if you're if you're, if
you are the commissioner of the PGA tour.
Speaker 3 (46:45):
Well, I mean this is a multi step problem. First
of all, if I'm Jamahanahan, the first thing I would
do is buy a beach house after I resign. But
he's obviously not going to do that. So if you
if he sticks around, which he's obviously not going anywhere.
First step is you have to completely rip apart your CBA.
(47:07):
Second step is and again he's a bit put into
a corner because what I'm going to get to is
the first step he has to do is he has
to stop the Cold War immediately because with all due respect,
they have more money and the biggest asset player wise.
So I mean, he had the highest rated Major by
(47:28):
I think double this entire year that he won. Granted,
Rory has a lot to do with that too, I'll
give him his flowers. But so that's the first step.
Then the next step is this is gonna sound crazy,
and I know a lot of golfers passed or rolling
over in their graves or you're Jack Nicholas, You're I right,
you have to unionize. And then the addition of that,
(47:50):
you have to complete you're too big of an entity
to not every other major sports league has it. And
then the next step after that is you essentially have
to rip off this idea of no money off content creation.
I think that's what's leaving a lot of guys behind.
I think if you listen to Deshambeau talk now, I
think the money now is nice. I don't think he
ever started that YouTube channel for money. You can listen
(48:12):
to him talk about it. He was like, I think
there are a lot of people curious to see what
goes into my life as a high level PGA tour player.
I think Minwu lead's kind of the same way. So
I think they all do it for valid reasons, and
they all have PR teams. Now it's all just about
ripping up your current CBA, basically unionizing and ending the
Cold War. I obviously reverse those steps, but yeah, it's
(48:34):
not Again, this is not a I said earlier. Marketing
inherently from a big picture is not difficult. On the
ground game is incredibly hard, but this big picture strategy,
it's really not that difficult. You have to end the
Cold War, you have to completely you have to let
them unionize. And then after that because then your persons
(48:56):
could explode too, because now you have to so any
money they need to get over that right. Then after
that you just completely rip up your CBA and basically
let them do what they want.
Speaker 2 (49:07):
Let me.
Speaker 1 (49:08):
But it's it's interesting you say all that because you know,
you and I have these conversations about you know, other
commissioners and other sports. They all work for the owners.
Roger Goodell works for the owners. See, I don't know
if anybody knows who Monahan works for, right.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (49:23):
I mean, doesn't he work for the corporate sponsors or Yeah?
Speaker 1 (49:26):
I think I think that's the problem. I think that
they're there in lies the problem. Okay, so so like
so Goodell. See, Goodell works for the owners, as you know,
but he doesn't care that the players can can can
make content and make money and endorse things and all
that fun stuff because he's making his owners, his boss's money.
(49:47):
The problem is is that Monahan is working for AT
and T or whoever sponsoring this week's event, and he's
not making them any money. They're spending money.
Speaker 3 (49:58):
I'm right. I think the other thing you have to
look at is, like, you know, if you allow this
to happen. So that's fine, Jay mo Onahan, I think
I hit that nail on the head. Yeah, he works
for RBC is a huge one. I don't know why
I'm blanking on elevated events, but like RBC is a
big one. I know that TP, not TC waste management again, Phoenix, Yeah,
(50:21):
you know, it's not like the old days. Where Buick
sponsored every other event, but uh no, I mean, at
the end of the day, it's like, you know, you
have to let them unionize. Rory would probably win that
PA election or like us G A p A or
whatever it would be called. I don't know, but and
Roy would probably win that or a guy like that.
And at the end of the day, it's like these
(50:42):
sponsors are like, shoot, I mean, I'm gonna pony up
a lot of money for the chance to put the
shamba on the first t And the other thing you
have to look at too, is you know you would
see a little bit of a tiger effects again, where
you would get guys like a Chris Smith who you
had on who would be like, oh, shoot, I'm trying
(51:03):
to play really really really well Thursday and Friday because
I'm trying to be in that Tiger group because cameras
are only following him, right, And man, if I beat
him on Saturday, I'll probably lose him on Sunday. Like
I don't know, I don't know what comes of it.
And now I got a podcast story forever. So I mean,
you would you would see stuff like that. It's just
(51:23):
it's really difficult on a ground game level as marketing is,
I think people really too confuse that. But on a
big picture level, it's really not difficult. It's just it's
awfully confusing. It's like the idea of like NC double
A not paying their players before nil, where all it
was was legitimately the NC double A makes six point
(51:43):
seven billion dollars and players make none of it. That
never made any sense. So and again the big strategy
is we have to pay these kids. The ground game
has been really fumbled by the NC double A. But
that's the hard part. But it's it's just like the PGA,
where it's like, you know, you don't allow these guys
to make money off this what like that? That's a
(52:03):
anti capitalism.
Speaker 2 (52:05):
Can I make an analogy? And Drew, I think you're
brilliant and spot on. You've defined that corrosiveness between Live
and the PGA. Here's the analogy, Rich if you think
this is a good analogy, The PGA tour is the
purchase gutter ball and the Live is the pro v one.
(52:28):
I mean, they've got to come out of the past.
I agree with you, Drew Monahan hit the road Jack,
they need a young Well, actually, are you available for
the job. I think I think you're well qualified to
run the tour.
Speaker 1 (52:39):
Actually, actually already he got a job. He got a job.
He's good to go.
Speaker 3 (52:44):
I don't have the Ivy League law degree like uh
like like little j does.
Speaker 2 (52:49):
That's that's all right. We'll just get you a nice
blue blazer with some you know, patch on on on
the left breast.
Speaker 1 (52:55):
Drew, I gotta tell you, I can't tell how much
I appreciate you coming on. I really can't.
Speaker 3 (53:01):
Oh glad to take time out of my busy schedule.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Yeah, yeah, I hear you.
Speaker 3 (53:05):
Man.
Speaker 2 (53:06):
All right, he's going this afternoon.
Speaker 1 (53:09):
He better unless he's taking his mother. He's not all right.
So this has been the rich Conwell Drew Comwall, thank
you so very much, Randy, thanks for joining me this week. Corey, Corey,
great job as always, and good luck on that Solitaire
game in there. This is the rich Comewell Golf Show.
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