July 17, 2025 • 36 mins
Golf provides extraordinary moments of courage and unexpected triumph, as demonstrated in three exciting tournaments from this past weekend.
• Grace Kim's incredible "never give up" mindset led to an eagle-birdie-eagle finish to win her first major championship at the Amundi Evian event
• 25-year-old Chris Goderup surprises everyone by holding off Rory McIlroy to win the Scottish Open, securing spots in The Open and next year's Masters
• The American Century Golf Tournament showcases that even elite athletes find golf humbling when cameras are rolling
• Questions about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America need more detailed economic analysis with 7.8 million jobs already unfilled
• E-bikes present safety concerns as teenagers ride recklessly, leading to new restrictions from local municipalities
• The mysterious conclusion to the Epstein case leaves many questions about why buyers of trafficked minors were never charged
Join me next time for more tales from beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
you're tuned in to another episode of tales from
the first tee.
I'm rich easton telling talesfrom beautiful charleston, south
carolina.
One of the challenges of makinga podcast topical is that if
(00:31):
I'm talking about current eventsand I don't get to produce this
episode, then you're listeningto things that might have
happened weeks ago.
It gets boring.
Yeah, so I'm going to challengemyself.
This week I'm going to talkabout golf from last weekend.
The televised golf, like theAmundi Evian LPGA event in
(00:52):
France, the Genesis ScottishOpen, and what kind of bullshit
weather was that.
It was perfect.
I'm watching it on TV.
I'm flicking back and forthbetween the American Century
Golf Tournament, one of myfavorite celebrity golf
tournaments.
I like watching it as much asalmost any PGA event.
But I'm watching the ScottishOpen and people on the other
(01:19):
side of the ropes are wearingshorts and t-shirts and I had
had to be reminded.
Yeah, rich, the weather getsnice in Scotland as well, but I
was looking to see likeblistering wind, storms and rain
and people wearing parkas andumbrellas getting flown all over
(01:39):
the place and, you know, itlooked like almost any golf
course anywhere in the world.
So anyway, I'm going to talkabout those golf events because
they were fun to watch.
Also, some other topics likebringing jobs back to the good
old USA, e bikes.
I mean really, let's get thekids out of the house.
(02:01):
What could go wrong?
And then the Epstein files, orwhat files?
Or hocus, fucking pocus, whathappened?
Yeah, let me start with mythoughts about the telecast from
(02:26):
the LPGA in France this weekend, the Evian event, I think.
To sum it up, the phrase nevergive up, never propelled
Australian Grace Kim to thewinner's circle in as dramatic a
fashion as you can imagine.
So, without totally boring you,let's take it to Sunday, the
(02:53):
18th tee box.
Grace is two shots behind andshe needs a miracle to finish
off strong and at least take aplaying competitor, Gino from
Thailand, into a playoff.
She eagles the 18th hole,exciting.
Right Now the two of them haveto go back to the tee box and,
(03:17):
by the way, gino from Thailandis playing great.
So they both tee off.
Great, so they both tee off.
And now Grace, after justeagling the 18th hole, is going
for it again.
She had a good drive, they bothdid.
(03:39):
She hits her ball.
It's heading towards the green,but it's veering off.
It hits some land, some rocks,goes in the water.
She's got to pull it out of thewater.
And now she's got a penaltystroke and then she's got what
looks like a 40 or 50 yard shotup to the green.
Meanwhile Gino, from Thailand,hits her second shot up right
(03:59):
next to the green.
It's before a bunker.
All she's got to do is chip itup and putt.
Birdie wins.
Now it's Grace's turn.
She drops and, by the way youare watching, she's there with a
rules official and they'regoing back and forth.
Where can I drop it?
Where'd the ball go?
In the water?
And you know her heart ispumping and it's like, okay, I
(04:20):
just want to get out of here.
And it's like, okay, I justwant to get out of here.
That's not what she's thinking.
She drops her ball, she chipsit up, ball hits the green, it
rolls, it goes in Birdie.
Now it's up to Gino.
Gino chips the ball up, has tomake a long putt to tie Birdie.
(04:41):
She does it.
Crowds, announcers go wild.
They've got to go back to the18th tee box.
So now they go back to the 18thtee box.
Both drive their balls almostin the same spots.
Beautiful drives right down thefairway.
(05:04):
Now it's Grace's turn.
She again.
She eagled this hole inregulation.
She just birdied it.
She hits an approach shot goespast the pin.
She has got a long eagle putt.
Gino hits almost the exact sameshot that she hit in the first
playoff hole to the side.
She's now got to chip it up andthen putt for birdie again to
hopefully tie.
I mean, you can't imagine Gracehitting another eagle.
(05:26):
So she hits her shot up.
She's got a long birdie putt.
Grace dunks her putt.
Eagle wins a major championship, her first major championship.
And there's Gino thinkingchampionship.
(05:51):
And there's Gino thinking howdo you beat somebody who goes
eagle, birdie eagle?
It's hard.
Like I said, never give up,never.
Yeah.
So back to the Scottish Open,where the small brain of mine
just couldn't imagine theweather being that nice in
(06:13):
Scotland.
So but the headlines are that25-year-old American, chris
Goderup, held off Rory McIlroyby shooting four under on Sunday
to not only win the biggestpurse of his pro career I mean,
come on, he's 25.
Of course it's probably thebiggest purse.
(06:42):
It also qualifies him for theOpen this weekend as well as the
Masters next year.
Man, that's big.
So I kept asking myself who isthis kid wearing all black on
Sunday?
Chris, a North Easternerbrought up in Easton, maryland
maybe that's why I like him andgalvanized in New Jersey, where
he played for Rutgers until thedraw of the University of
(07:06):
Oklahoma was just too strong.
His senior year.
He earns the Big 12 Player ofthe Year and the Jack Nicklaus
and Fred Haskins Awards.
He was the Myrtle Beach Classicwinner in 2024 and earned a
two-year exemption on the tour.
(07:27):
Why is this guy not on my radar?
I mean, can you imagine whatit's like to compete on Sunday
in Scotland with Rory McIlroy,penji and Fitzpatrick breathing
down your back?
You're 25 years old, mostseasoned golfers.
(07:49):
Let the pressure get to them onSundays.
I mean, we see it every weekend.
These guys are on the tour.
These guys have hitting coaches, mental coaches, diet coaches,
fitness coaches, putting coaches, driving coaches they have
everything.
And these guys are reallytalented and they've been
playing since college and somecame right out of high school,
(08:13):
like Rose, to go right to thepros.
These guys are vets.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, what wetend to see and it happens
almost every weekend you getsomebody that's leading the pack
.
They're the overnight leadercoming into Sunday, or maybe
they've held the lead on Fridayand Saturday coming into Sunday
(08:36):
and you think to yourself okay,these guys have never won before
.
It's likely that these guys aregoing to fizzle out.
The pressure is too much.
And imagine being on the otherside of the pond where Rory is
playing really well.
The crowds are yelling his nameGo Rory, go Rory.
(08:56):
Every drive they yell somethingwhich I think is stupid.
Anyway, you know what I mean.
Why do people yell shit afterpros drive the ball?
Ham and eggs.
You know what?
You know?
Bop-booey.
Well, maybe just because Idon't do it, it's stupid, but I
think most of you agree.
Just go watch clap yell foryour favorite player.
(09:17):
But you know getting on cameraor getting a soundbite so you
could tell your friends listen,I was on TV.
It's ludicrous.
Anyway, we're watching Chris onSunday.
He doesn't seem to be affectedby the things that affect other
competitors in the celebritygolf tournament.
(09:54):
And they said that early on inher career, when she was
probably teenager, maybe earlytwenties, she said that she'd
come into Sunday and purposelyblow the lead because she was
deathly afraid of publicspeaking, which comes along with
winning.
I mean, could you imagine that?
But I think there are a lot ofother golfers.
(10:14):
They might not be deathlyafraid because media is so
important now and the playersthat are on top of the
leaderboard are typically doinginterviews right after their
rounds.
So and they probably have youknow speech coaches, probably
have you know speech coaches butthis kid Chris, he doesn't get
affected and they are breathingdown his neck.
(10:42):
He actually bogeys one of thelast holes and turns around and
goes birdie, birdie.
So I mean it was.
It was really fantasticwatching new blood come into the
sport and do the kind of thingsthat we expected Tiger Woods to
do.
(11:04):
And the last of the threetelevised events this weekend
was again one of my favoritesthe American Century Golf
Tournament in beautiful LakeTahoe, california.
The production value, I think,is excellent.
Great commentators.
Peter Jacobson, one of myfavorites I used to follow him
(11:25):
when he played golf, actuallywent to one of his tournaments
up in Portland, oregon and got achance to watch John Daly doing
a demonstration hitting golfballs.
And then he turns around with adriver aiming it right over the
stands where people are sittingand hits the ball up and over
(11:47):
their heads.
And I think that was the lasttime John was invited to that
event and I think Peter Jacobsonalmost shit his pants on that
one and might not have done it ayear after that, but it was a
great event.
He is a total entertainer.
Peter Jacobson used to whenhe'd entertain at his event he
(12:08):
would do imitations ofprofessional golfers.
You know the way Arnold Palmerfinishes his swing and the
Walrus and a bunch of others andhe's funny and he's a pretty
good guitar player.
I think he's in a band as well,but he's entertaining.
And there's some otherannouncers as well.
But they also get a chance totell you a little bit about the
(12:31):
celebs, a little bit about theathletes.
And you know they've beentalking to them all week.
They've been interviewing themso they know where their golf
game is and it's fun.
They get to the 17th hole andevery once in a while they pull
one from the fray, sit down andSmiley Kaufman will interview
them and it's always casual,it's light, of course.
(12:53):
Charles Barkley is there and hadhis career day on Friday.
I think he shot an 81.
And I think it translated tonine points because they use the
Stableford system and that washis best ever, probably in his
life, because Saturday andSunday came and it was the
Charles that he knew to be thegolfer, which is not a great
(13:17):
golfer.
Now he is.
He has finally gotten thathitch out of his swing so it's
not as ugly.
You don't have to turn awaywhen he swings.
You know he would say this he'sjust look, he was a
professional basketball playerand now he's not in the best of
shape and every once in a whilehe'll tag a ball and it'll be a
(13:41):
great drive.
But for the most part he saidhe's there for two things he's
there to drink and party.
And then there's golf and hesaid hey, by the way, there are
only like six or seven reallygood golfers here that are
playing to win.
Everybody else is coming hereto play, and when he says play,
(14:04):
he doesn't mean golf.
So it's fun to watch.
And what's great to see isprofessional football players
that are top of their game infootball, great athletes that
could hit a golf ball and theiregos have to be 20 miles long.
To be a professional athlete inmost anything, you really have
(14:28):
to believe in yourself andyou've got to believe you're
better than the other guy.
But when they tee it up andplay golf, when they're playing
off season and they're playingwith their buddies, that's one
thing.
But now there's a competition,it's televised and it's a
different type of pressure.
They all say the same thing.
They all say, hey, we areprofessional football players,
(14:51):
soccer, whatever that is.
When it comes to golf, it is awhole different thing.
As big as their ego is, theyknow that when they tee it up,
golf happens and everybody wantsto do well and they want to do
well for themselves, for theirpeers, because these are the
(15:12):
guys they compete against forthe gallery and, of course, for
the cameras.
Every one of these celebritieshad visions of greatness before
they came to Lake Tahoe and teedit up on Friday morning.
But then golf happens Littlethings, creeping your head
somewhere between the setup andshot execution.
(15:34):
The club takes the wrong pathon the backswing.
They might go too far on theinside in their backswing and
dip that lead shoulder.
They might cast the club on thedownswing because they are out
of alignment in their backswing.
Cast the club on the downswingbecause they are out of
alignment in their backswing andit was the only way they were
going to get the club head tothe ball without jamming it 10
(15:56):
feet into the ground, a footbehind the ball.
Maybe they lifted their headbefore they made contact with
the ball and we know what thattranslates to Tops, hooks,
slices, but none of this wastheir intended outcome.
But sometimes golf happens.
(16:16):
So when you see a celebritygolfer not hit their career shot
, it wasn't because they suck atgolf, although I'd agree with
Barkley, he does suck at golf.
It's because whenever they teeit off does suck at golf.
It's because whenever they teeit off, golf happens.
(16:37):
But watching Joe Pavelski playgolf this weekend was
entertaining and proof thattalent, hard work, dedication
and retirement all work wondersfor the game of golf.
(16:58):
Bringing jobs back to the goodold USA.
All right, raise your hands ifyou don't want to create more
job opportunities here in theUnited States and for most in
the state that they were raisedin, in most rooms you're not
going to see one hand raisedwhen I ask that question.
(17:18):
Most everybody wants options toelevate their lifestyle and,
for some, to surpass thelifestyle afforded to them from
their parents.
Now let's park the subject ofjobs for a minute.
The reason we want jobs is toafford housing, utilities, food,
clothing, medical care,transportation, a connection to
(17:43):
the internet and cell service.
And if you plan on raising afamily, I want you to add all of
their needs and their demandsto yours.
And of course, you're going toneed savings to pay for the
unexpected and plan for yourfuture.
So now you have these needs.
(18:04):
The cost of housing has risenso far ahead of adjusted income
that for most people they can'tafford a house, particularly on
one income.
Okay, so now you need twoincomes.
Oh and, by the way, you needchild care.
It just doesn't end.
And to add cement shoes to thatscenario, the cost of higher
(18:28):
education far exceeded thegrowth of housing prices.
Post-covid, pricing on mosteverything skyrocketed and
comedically it seems that eggshave taken the place of the gold
standard.
You know, and I love whenpoliticians talk about how
inflation is slowing to asnail's pace.
(18:49):
I mean that doesn't seem tomake me feel much better because
for me the cost of almosteverything that I purchased is
higher.
So the fact that inflation isslowing just means that it is
ridiculously high and it's notgoing to grow at the same rate
(19:10):
as it did between 20 and 23,.
But it's not going backwards.
And economists would say well,salaries will eventually catch
up to inflation.
And it hasn't happened to thispoint.
I don't see it happening.
It hasn't happened to thispoint, I don't see it happening.
(19:32):
So how do we afford the newnormal.
Bring jobs back to America.
And here's a newsflash thereare 7.8 million open jobs as of
2025.
Does that mean they're shittyjobs?
I don't know.
What it means is there are 7.8million jobs that either people
don't want to do or that theycan't match up with people's
(19:52):
skills.
So now you're going to bringthese jobs back to America, and
a lot of these jobs are beingdone in Southeast Asia, where
people are getting paid far lessand want to work, paid far less
and want to work.
I would say generally, the newgeneration of Americans are not
(20:14):
enthused by the idea of working.
So these are the questions I'dask.
When a politician says we'rejust going to bring jobs back to
America, first, what are wedoing about the 7.8 million jobs
that are unfilled?
Then look at the jobs that theywant to bring back to the
United States.
I would venture to guess thatmost of these are manufacturing
(20:36):
jobs that are currently beingoutsourced to lower cost labor
markets.
Who's picking up the bill tokeep the increased cost of labor
from affecting higher prices?
So let me explain.
If a company is making a widgetin China, vietnam or India and
(20:57):
paying lower wages to make thatwidget, a US laborer is going to
demand the going rate, thehigher rate, and if it's union,
it's going to be a much higherrate in the United States, which
is much higher than SoutheastAsia.
How will that company that'sbringing jobs to America and
(21:19):
paying higher prices pay thehigher wages to make that widget
in the United States withoutthe higher cost in their selling
price?
Or will automation be a bigpart of the strategy?
Or will the governmentsubsidize the higher labor costs
, just like the US farmsubsidies?
(21:41):
Obviously, I'm uninformed, somaybe the decisions that are
made up in the White House are,maybe they're playing 3D chess,
where tariff threatening, laborsubsidies, tax reductions,
automation and ribbing cuttingceremonies make us all feel
(22:03):
better about the fact that we'regoing to be spending more on
education to land that job thatwill help us pay for the
unreasonably priced home andinflated prices.
Hey look, and while we'retalking about hope as a strategy
, maybe, I don't know maybe theBuffalo Bills will win their
first Super Bowl and 250,000 oftheir fans won't care about jobs
(22:28):
in America because the BuffaloBills just won the Super Bowl.
Okay, enough of the fantasysegment.
Look, bringing jobs back toAmerica seems like a great
statement.
It gives people hope, but whenyou sit down and start doing the
math.
It doesn't make sense in termsof solving the problems that we
(22:52):
have in the cost of life.
Life costs way more than itused to, and bringing jobs back
to America is not going to makelife any cheaper.
(23:16):
Hey, e-bikes, what couldpossibly go wrong?
I'm not going to bore you withmy history with motorized bikes.
It's sufficient to say I likethem more than they like me.
For anyone who enjoysconventional bicycling, imagine
(23:42):
that you can go just as far andjust as fast, maybe even faster,
with a lot less effort.
I mean, I love the technologyBattery powered, love it Rider
assist to help you get to yourcomfortable speed without the
heavy lifting.
(24:02):
Now, certainly for you hard,healthy workhorses or
traditionalists, I mean, whoneeds a reason to work less hard
?
But for the other 98%, it's acool way to get from point A to
point B without any excuses oflook, I've already done my
10,000 steps today.
(24:23):
I don't need a bike as well.
It's like.
I'm not sure anybody's eversaid that, but I think you know
what I mean.
But as my partner always says,if you keep fooling around like
that, somebody's going to losean eye.
And I say that because e-bikeshave made their way into the
hands of teenagers and I thinkit's screwing it up for all of
(24:48):
us adults.
I mean, recently the barrierislands of Charleston have
enacted zero tolerance fore-bikes on the beaches.
I mean, there just been toomany incidents with young riders
flying through crowded beaches,risking accidents with families
or slower moving humans.
Riding the beaches at low tidehas to be a vacation highlight.
(25:12):
Not to mention, one of myfriends living on Sullivan's
Island used to go out weekly onsunrise and sunset and ride his
e-bike and have adventures onthe beach.
These are the things you lookforward to in retirement.
But what happens when you give ateenager a motorized bike?
(25:35):
I mean, what do you thinkhappens?
Parents of teenage children?
I mean, weren't you a teenageronce?
When I was 16 and could driveat night?
I used to play games with mybuddies and it was who can drive
(25:56):
in the dark down a country roadand turn off the lights in the
car and see how long you couldride before you're freaked out
and pull the lights back on.
I think the record was 20seconds, not done by me.
I mean, if I hit three to fiveseconds I'd freak out.
(26:17):
It was done by one of mylacrosse bros, whose name I'll
conceal.
This guy had that crazy look inhis eyes on and off the field.
I think you know people likethat.
Once he hit 20 seconds, weyelled at him and I think some
of us might've even pulled thelights back on.
He could have gone longer andperhaps I wouldn't be telling
(26:39):
this story.
My point is, teenagers do stupidthings, particularly guys.
Look, but I don't want to besexist.
I'm sure there are a lot offemales, a lot of Riverdale,
euphoria, panic and PrettyLittle Liar co-eds doing
unsupervised stupid shit as well.
(27:00):
So why is it that we, asparents, provide e-bikes for our
teens?
Parents provide e-bikes for ourteens Keeping up with the
Joneses?
I mean, some parents are givingtheir kids cell phones before
nine years old and theirsmartphones it's just not a flip
phone to tell them where theyare.
Are they doing it just to getthe kids away from Game Boy?
(27:25):
Or kids away from Game Boy orPlayStation, xbox.
I mean, some of these games areaddicting, yeah, so I could
understand why a parent would belike I got to get my kid out of
the house.
And, by the way, johnny downthe street has one of these and
(27:46):
his friends have it and maybe ifI get him a regular bicycle,
there's no way he's riding it.
But if I get him a very coole-bike and his buddies down the
street have one man, that'llsolve all these problems with
them staying inside, and if I dothat, maybe I'll be a cool
parent.
If I'm coming off as judgmental, trust me.
(28:06):
I think I might have done thesame thing for my son if we
lived in an area where thestreets were less traffic-y, or
maybe just because they hadn'tbeen invented yet.
I sold my Heritage Classic Hogwhen my son turned 16.
I projected myself on him andthought no way he's not taking
(28:28):
that bike out for a ride whenI'm traveling.
So now take it to current times.
Most of us see these littleevil Knievel daredevils flying
down the road doing wheelies fora hundred yards.
Now, I'm not certain what typeof bikes those are, but I know
(28:48):
this.
Moms with strollers, seniorcitizens and dog walkers are all
worried.
A dog walker lost her dog to ane-bike incident a few months
ago.
I mean, that's where I lose myshit.
There's just no coming backfrom that.
Now all the localmunicipalities are enacting some
(29:10):
type of restriction onmotorized bike usage.
Now enforcement.
That's an entirely differentchallenge.
The Jeffrey Epstein list Finally, we're going to see it.
(29:34):
What's that?
What'd you say?
There is no list.
Well, hocus fucking pocus.
(29:54):
In 2008, jeffrey Epstein isconvicted of procuring children
for prostitution.
He takes a plea deal and gets18 months in jail, but only
serves 13 months in a countyfacility, with daily work,
release and a bill for $128,000to Palm Beach County Sheriff's
(30:18):
Department.
Not because the court orderedit, it was for extra services
that he required during his stay, $128,000 in extra services.
He didn't pay a dime in penaltyto the state or to his victim.
Say what that's right.
(30:41):
You heard me Now.
If Joe Blow did the same crimein the state of Florida, he'd
still be serving time if hewasn't beaten to death by the
general population in the prison.
Now, fast forward 10 years.
The federal government nowaccuses Jeffrey and his
(31:01):
accomplice, giselle MaxwellGislaine I can't pronounce her
freaking name, call her Gislaine, gislaine.
They accuse them on five countsof sex trafficking minors,
conspiracy to commit sextrafficking, enticement of
(31:22):
minors to travel to have sex,conspiracy to entice minors to
travel to have sex and thentransportation of minors to have
sex.
So I guess there's separatecharges for planning a felony
and executing one, a felony andexecuting one.
(31:46):
But Jeffrey never made it tothe federal trial after being
found dead in his prison cellGhislaine is serving time for
the crimes.
For the last six years there'sbeen an investigation on
Jeffrey's death, suicide orhomicide, as well as the list of
Johns that had sex with thetrafficked underage girls.
(32:09):
Jeffrey's been known toassociate with high-profile,
very wealthy individuals that ifdiscovered in a disclosed
evidentiary document, would beruined and would have stink on
themselves, their families andtheir associates.
So everyone who is not on thatsupposed list was eager to learn
(32:29):
the names.
Those on the alleged list notso much.
And why do you think I thinkthere was a list?
Well, probably because ourAttorney General, pam Biondi,
mentioned that she had thisbinder on her desk and that the
list was as deep as 250, and shecorrects herself no, 260 people
(32:56):
deep.
But in a dramatic turnaround ofevents last week she announces
the case is closed.
Nothing to see here, peoplewhich pleased at least 260
people.
So there is no list.
Hocus, fucking pocus.
I'm a little confused.
(33:18):
Well, I'm always a littleconfused, but hear me out on
this.
I think of arms trafficking,drug trafficking and sex
trafficking as similar instructure.
They're the masterminds or theplanners.
The feds call that conspiring.
They're the sellers.
You know they are the marketingand sales function of the
operation.
You know they are the marketingand sales function of the
(33:41):
operation.
There are the distributors.
They're the logistics groupthat gets merchandise from point
A to point B.
And then there are the buyers.
They possess the said goodsafter the transaction Got it.
Planners, sellers, distributors, buyers In most federal cases,
(34:13):
all of them are culpable forcrimes.
If you buy a weapon, fentanyl oran underage girl to make sex
with, you're most likely goingto be charged with a crime.
So now let's get back to theEpstein case.
He and Giselle were chargedwith planning, selling and
distribution.
Who was charged with buying?
(34:34):
You'd think there have to bebuyers on the other end of these
charges.
Who were the buyers?
Well, I think we all have apretty good idea of who they
were, and if you've ever watchedany movie that involved
conspiracy at the highest levels, then you'd know that rich and
(34:56):
powerful people don't like to beexposed or fucked with.
So, pam, I don't know whatinfluenced you to go on national
television and say you have abinder on your desk with 260
names.
I guess she doesn't watch thesame movies that we do.
(35:17):
Thanks for staying to the end.
You've been listening toanother episode Of Tales from
the First Tee.
I'm your host, Rich Easton,telling tales From beautiful
(35:39):
Charleston, south Carolina.
Talk to you soon, thank you.
you're tuned in to another episode of tales from
the first tee.
I'm rich easton telling talesfrom beautiful charleston, south
carolina.
One of the challenges of makinga podcast topical is that if
(00:31):
I'm talking about current eventsand I don't get to produce this
episode, then you're listeningto things that might have
happened weeks ago.
It gets boring.
Yeah, so I'm going to challengemyself.
This week I'm going to talkabout golf from last weekend.
The televised golf, like theAmundi Evian LPGA event in
(00:52):
France, the Genesis ScottishOpen, and what kind of bullshit
weather was that.
It was perfect.
I'm watching it on TV.
I'm flicking back and forthbetween the American Century
Golf Tournament, one of myfavorite celebrity golf
tournaments.
I like watching it as much asalmost any PGA event.
But I'm watching the ScottishOpen and people on the other
(01:19):
side of the ropes are wearingshorts and t-shirts and I had
had to be reminded.
Yeah, rich, the weather getsnice in Scotland as well, but I
was looking to see likeblistering wind, storms and rain
and people wearing parkas andumbrellas getting flown all over
(01:39):
the place and, you know, itlooked like almost any golf
course anywhere in the world.
So anyway, I'm going to talkabout those golf events because
they were fun to watch.
Also, some other topics likebringing jobs back to the good
old USA, e bikes.
I mean really, let's get thekids out of the house.
(02:01):
What could go wrong?
And then the Epstein files, orwhat files?
Or hocus, fucking pocus, whathappened?
Yeah, let me start with mythoughts about the telecast from
(02:26):
the LPGA in France this weekend, the Evian event, I think.
To sum it up, the phrase nevergive up, never propelled
Australian Grace Kim to thewinner's circle in as dramatic a
fashion as you can imagine.
So, without totally boring you,let's take it to Sunday, the
(02:53):
18th tee box.
Grace is two shots behind andshe needs a miracle to finish
off strong and at least take aplaying competitor, Gino from
Thailand, into a playoff.
She eagles the 18th hole,exciting.
Right Now the two of them haveto go back to the tee box and,
(03:17):
by the way, gino from Thailandis playing great.
So they both tee off.
Great, so they both tee off.
And now Grace, after justeagling the 18th hole, is going
for it again.
She had a good drive, they bothdid.
(03:39):
She hits her ball.
It's heading towards the green,but it's veering off.
It hits some land, some rocks,goes in the water.
She's got to pull it out of thewater.
And now she's got a penaltystroke and then she's got what
looks like a 40 or 50 yard shotup to the green.
Meanwhile Gino, from Thailand,hits her second shot up right
(03:59):
next to the green.
It's before a bunker.
All she's got to do is chip itup and putt.
Birdie wins.
Now it's Grace's turn.
She drops and, by the way youare watching, she's there with a
rules official and they'regoing back and forth.
Where can I drop it?
Where'd the ball go?
In the water?
And you know her heart ispumping and it's like, okay, I
(04:20):
just want to get out of here.
And it's like, okay, I justwant to get out of here.
That's not what she's thinking.
She drops her ball, she chipsit up, ball hits the green, it
rolls, it goes in Birdie.
Now it's up to Gino.
Gino chips the ball up, has tomake a long putt to tie Birdie.
(04:41):
She does it.
Crowds, announcers go wild.
They've got to go back to the18th tee box.
So now they go back to the 18thtee box.
Both drive their balls almostin the same spots.
Beautiful drives right down thefairway.
(05:04):
Now it's Grace's turn.
She again.
She eagled this hole inregulation.
She just birdied it.
She hits an approach shot goespast the pin.
She has got a long eagle putt.
Gino hits almost the exact sameshot that she hit in the first
playoff hole to the side.
She's now got to chip it up andthen putt for birdie again to
hopefully tie.
I mean, you can't imagine Gracehitting another eagle.
(05:26):
So she hits her shot up.
She's got a long birdie putt.
Grace dunks her putt.
Eagle wins a major championship, her first major championship.
And there's Gino thinkingchampionship.
(05:51):
And there's Gino thinking howdo you beat somebody who goes
eagle, birdie eagle?
It's hard.
Like I said, never give up,never.
Yeah.
So back to the Scottish Open,where the small brain of mine
just couldn't imagine theweather being that nice in
(06:13):
Scotland.
So but the headlines are that25-year-old American, chris
Goderup, held off Rory McIlroyby shooting four under on Sunday
to not only win the biggestpurse of his pro career I mean,
come on, he's 25.
Of course it's probably thebiggest purse.
(06:42):
It also qualifies him for theOpen this weekend as well as the
Masters next year.
Man, that's big.
So I kept asking myself who isthis kid wearing all black on
Sunday?
Chris, a North Easternerbrought up in Easton, maryland
maybe that's why I like him andgalvanized in New Jersey, where
he played for Rutgers until thedraw of the University of
(07:06):
Oklahoma was just too strong.
His senior year.
He earns the Big 12 Player ofthe Year and the Jack Nicklaus
and Fred Haskins Awards.
He was the Myrtle Beach Classicwinner in 2024 and earned a
two-year exemption on the tour.
(07:27):
Why is this guy not on my radar?
I mean, can you imagine whatit's like to compete on Sunday
in Scotland with Rory McIlroy,penji and Fitzpatrick breathing
down your back?
You're 25 years old, mostseasoned golfers.
(07:49):
Let the pressure get to them onSundays.
I mean, we see it every weekend.
These guys are on the tour.
These guys have hitting coaches, mental coaches, diet coaches,
fitness coaches, putting coaches, driving coaches they have
everything.
And these guys are reallytalented and they've been
playing since college and somecame right out of high school,
(08:13):
like Rose, to go right to thepros.
These guys are vets.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, what wetend to see and it happens
almost every weekend you getsomebody that's leading the pack
.
They're the overnight leadercoming into Sunday, or maybe
they've held the lead on Fridayand Saturday coming into Sunday
(08:36):
and you think to yourself okay,these guys have never won before
.
It's likely that these guys aregoing to fizzle out.
The pressure is too much.
And imagine being on the otherside of the pond where Rory is
playing really well.
The crowds are yelling his nameGo Rory, go Rory.
(08:56):
Every drive they yell somethingwhich I think is stupid.
Anyway, you know what I mean.
Why do people yell shit afterpros drive the ball?
Ham and eggs.
You know what?
You know?
Bop-booey.
Well, maybe just because Idon't do it, it's stupid, but I
think most of you agree.
Just go watch clap yell foryour favorite player.
(09:17):
But you know getting on cameraor getting a soundbite so you
could tell your friends listen,I was on TV.
It's ludicrous.
Anyway, we're watching Chris onSunday.
He doesn't seem to be affectedby the things that affect other
competitors in the celebritygolf tournament.
(09:54):
And they said that early on inher career, when she was
probably teenager, maybe earlytwenties, she said that she'd
come into Sunday and purposelyblow the lead because she was
deathly afraid of publicspeaking, which comes along with
winning.
I mean, could you imagine that?
But I think there are a lot ofother golfers.
(10:14):
They might not be deathlyafraid because media is so
important now and the playersthat are on top of the
leaderboard are typically doinginterviews right after their
rounds.
So and they probably have youknow speech coaches, probably
have you know speech coaches butthis kid Chris, he doesn't get
affected and they are breathingdown his neck.
(10:42):
He actually bogeys one of thelast holes and turns around and
goes birdie, birdie.
So I mean it was.
It was really fantasticwatching new blood come into the
sport and do the kind of thingsthat we expected Tiger Woods to
do.
(11:04):
And the last of the threetelevised events this weekend
was again one of my favoritesthe American Century Golf
Tournament in beautiful LakeTahoe, california.
The production value, I think,is excellent.
Great commentators.
Peter Jacobson, one of myfavorites I used to follow him
(11:25):
when he played golf, actuallywent to one of his tournaments
up in Portland, oregon and got achance to watch John Daly doing
a demonstration hitting golfballs.
And then he turns around with adriver aiming it right over the
stands where people are sittingand hits the ball up and over
(11:47):
their heads.
And I think that was the lasttime John was invited to that
event and I think Peter Jacobsonalmost shit his pants on that
one and might not have done it ayear after that, but it was a
great event.
He is a total entertainer.
Peter Jacobson used to whenhe'd entertain at his event he
(12:08):
would do imitations ofprofessional golfers.
You know the way Arnold Palmerfinishes his swing and the
Walrus and a bunch of others andhe's funny and he's a pretty
good guitar player.
I think he's in a band as well,but he's entertaining.
And there's some otherannouncers as well.
But they also get a chance totell you a little bit about the
(12:31):
celebs, a little bit about theathletes.
And you know they've beentalking to them all week.
They've been interviewing themso they know where their golf
game is and it's fun.
They get to the 17th hole andevery once in a while they pull
one from the fray, sit down andSmiley Kaufman will interview
them and it's always casual,it's light, of course.
(12:53):
Charles Barkley is there and hadhis career day on Friday.
I think he shot an 81.
And I think it translated tonine points because they use the
Stableford system and that washis best ever, probably in his
life, because Saturday andSunday came and it was the
Charles that he knew to be thegolfer, which is not a great
(13:17):
golfer.
Now he is.
He has finally gotten thathitch out of his swing so it's
not as ugly.
You don't have to turn awaywhen he swings.
You know he would say this he'sjust look, he was a
professional basketball playerand now he's not in the best of
shape and every once in a whilehe'll tag a ball and it'll be a
(13:41):
great drive.
But for the most part he saidhe's there for two things he's
there to drink and party.
And then there's golf and hesaid hey, by the way, there are
only like six or seven reallygood golfers here that are
playing to win.
Everybody else is coming hereto play, and when he says play,
(14:04):
he doesn't mean golf.
So it's fun to watch.
And what's great to see isprofessional football players
that are top of their game infootball, great athletes that
could hit a golf ball and theiregos have to be 20 miles long.
To be a professional athlete inmost anything, you really have
(14:28):
to believe in yourself andyou've got to believe you're
better than the other guy.
But when they tee it up andplay golf, when they're playing
off season and they're playingwith their buddies, that's one
thing.
But now there's a competition,it's televised and it's a
different type of pressure.
They all say the same thing.
They all say, hey, we areprofessional football players,
(14:51):
soccer, whatever that is.
When it comes to golf, it is awhole different thing.
As big as their ego is, theyknow that when they tee it up,
golf happens and everybody wantsto do well and they want to do
well for themselves, for theirpeers, because these are the
(15:12):
guys they compete against forthe gallery and, of course, for
the cameras.
Every one of these celebritieshad visions of greatness before
they came to Lake Tahoe and teedit up on Friday morning.
But then golf happens Littlethings, creeping your head
somewhere between the setup andshot execution.
(15:34):
The club takes the wrong pathon the backswing.
They might go too far on theinside in their backswing and
dip that lead shoulder.
They might cast the club on thedownswing because they are out
of alignment in their backswing.
Cast the club on the downswingbecause they are out of
alignment in their backswing andit was the only way they were
going to get the club head tothe ball without jamming it 10
(15:56):
feet into the ground, a footbehind the ball.
Maybe they lifted their headbefore they made contact with
the ball and we know what thattranslates to Tops, hooks,
slices, but none of this wastheir intended outcome.
But sometimes golf happens.
(16:16):
So when you see a celebritygolfer not hit their career shot
, it wasn't because they suck atgolf, although I'd agree with
Barkley, he does suck at golf.
It's because whenever they teeit off does suck at golf.
It's because whenever they teeit off, golf happens.
(16:37):
But watching Joe Pavelski playgolf this weekend was
entertaining and proof thattalent, hard work, dedication
and retirement all work wondersfor the game of golf.
(16:58):
Bringing jobs back to the goodold USA.
All right, raise your hands ifyou don't want to create more
job opportunities here in theUnited States and for most in
the state that they were raisedin, in most rooms you're not
going to see one hand raisedwhen I ask that question.
(17:18):
Most everybody wants options toelevate their lifestyle and,
for some, to surpass thelifestyle afforded to them from
their parents.
Now let's park the subject ofjobs for a minute.
The reason we want jobs is toafford housing, utilities, food,
clothing, medical care,transportation, a connection to
(17:43):
the internet and cell service.
And if you plan on raising afamily, I want you to add all of
their needs and their demandsto yours.
And of course, you're going toneed savings to pay for the
unexpected and plan for yourfuture.
So now you have these needs.
(18:04):
The cost of housing has risenso far ahead of adjusted income
that for most people they can'tafford a house, particularly on
one income.
Okay, so now you need twoincomes.
Oh and, by the way, you needchild care.
It just doesn't end.
And to add cement shoes to thatscenario, the cost of higher
(18:28):
education far exceeded thegrowth of housing prices.
Post-covid, pricing on mosteverything skyrocketed and
comedically it seems that eggshave taken the place of the gold
standard.
You know, and I love whenpoliticians talk about how
inflation is slowing to asnail's pace.
(18:49):
I mean that doesn't seem tomake me feel much better because
for me the cost of almosteverything that I purchased is
higher.
So the fact that inflation isslowing just means that it is
ridiculously high and it's notgoing to grow at the same rate
(19:10):
as it did between 20 and 23,.
But it's not going backwards.
And economists would say well,salaries will eventually catch
up to inflation.
And it hasn't happened to thispoint.
I don't see it happening.
It hasn't happened to thispoint, I don't see it happening.
(19:32):
So how do we afford the newnormal.
Bring jobs back to America.
And here's a newsflash thereare 7.8 million open jobs as of
2025.
Does that mean they're shittyjobs?
I don't know.
What it means is there are 7.8million jobs that either people
don't want to do or that theycan't match up with people's
(19:52):
skills.
So now you're going to bringthese jobs back to America, and
a lot of these jobs are beingdone in Southeast Asia, where
people are getting paid far lessand want to work, paid far less
and want to work.
I would say generally, the newgeneration of Americans are not
(20:14):
enthused by the idea of working.
So these are the questions I'dask.
When a politician says we'rejust going to bring jobs back to
America, first, what are wedoing about the 7.8 million jobs
that are unfilled?
Then look at the jobs that theywant to bring back to the
United States.
I would venture to guess thatmost of these are manufacturing
(20:36):
jobs that are currently beingoutsourced to lower cost labor
markets.
Who's picking up the bill tokeep the increased cost of labor
from affecting higher prices?
So let me explain.
If a company is making a widgetin China, vietnam or India and
(20:57):
paying lower wages to make thatwidget, a US laborer is going to
demand the going rate, thehigher rate, and if it's union,
it's going to be a much higherrate in the United States, which
is much higher than SoutheastAsia.
How will that company that'sbringing jobs to America and
(21:19):
paying higher prices pay thehigher wages to make that widget
in the United States withoutthe higher cost in their selling
price?
Or will automation be a bigpart of the strategy?
Or will the governmentsubsidize the higher labor costs
, just like the US farmsubsidies?
(21:41):
Obviously, I'm uninformed, somaybe the decisions that are
made up in the White House are,maybe they're playing 3D chess,
where tariff threatening, laborsubsidies, tax reductions,
automation and ribbing cuttingceremonies make us all feel
(22:03):
better about the fact that we'regoing to be spending more on
education to land that job thatwill help us pay for the
unreasonably priced home andinflated prices.
Hey look, and while we'retalking about hope as a strategy
, maybe, I don't know maybe theBuffalo Bills will win their
first Super Bowl and 250,000 oftheir fans won't care about jobs
(22:28):
in America because the BuffaloBills just won the Super Bowl.
Okay, enough of the fantasysegment.
Look, bringing jobs back toAmerica seems like a great
statement.
It gives people hope, but whenyou sit down and start doing the
math.
It doesn't make sense in termsof solving the problems that we
(22:52):
have in the cost of life.
Life costs way more than itused to, and bringing jobs back
to America is not going to makelife any cheaper.
(23:16):
Hey, e-bikes, what couldpossibly go wrong?
I'm not going to bore you withmy history with motorized bikes.
It's sufficient to say I likethem more than they like me.
For anyone who enjoysconventional bicycling, imagine
(23:42):
that you can go just as far andjust as fast, maybe even faster,
with a lot less effort.
I mean, I love the technologyBattery powered, love it Rider
assist to help you get to yourcomfortable speed without the
heavy lifting.
(24:02):
Now, certainly for you hard,healthy workhorses or
traditionalists, I mean, whoneeds a reason to work less hard
?
But for the other 98%, it's acool way to get from point A to
point B without any excuses oflook, I've already done my
10,000 steps today.
(24:23):
I don't need a bike as well.
It's like.
I'm not sure anybody's eversaid that, but I think you know
what I mean.
But as my partner always says,if you keep fooling around like
that, somebody's going to losean eye.
And I say that because e-bikeshave made their way into the
hands of teenagers and I thinkit's screwing it up for all of
(24:48):
us adults.
I mean, recently the barrierislands of Charleston have
enacted zero tolerance fore-bikes on the beaches.
I mean, there just been toomany incidents with young riders
flying through crowded beaches,risking accidents with families
or slower moving humans.
Riding the beaches at low tidehas to be a vacation highlight.
(25:12):
Not to mention, one of myfriends living on Sullivan's
Island used to go out weekly onsunrise and sunset and ride his
e-bike and have adventures onthe beach.
These are the things you lookforward to in retirement.
But what happens when you give ateenager a motorized bike?
(25:35):
I mean, what do you thinkhappens?
Parents of teenage children?
I mean, weren't you a teenageronce?
When I was 16 and could driveat night?
I used to play games with mybuddies and it was who can drive
(25:56):
in the dark down a country roadand turn off the lights in the
car and see how long you couldride before you're freaked out
and pull the lights back on.
I think the record was 20seconds, not done by me.
I mean, if I hit three to fiveseconds I'd freak out.
(26:17):
It was done by one of mylacrosse bros, whose name I'll
conceal.
This guy had that crazy look inhis eyes on and off the field.
I think you know people likethat.
Once he hit 20 seconds, weyelled at him and I think some
of us might've even pulled thelights back on.
He could have gone longer andperhaps I wouldn't be telling
(26:39):
this story.
My point is, teenagers do stupidthings, particularly guys.
Look, but I don't want to besexist.
I'm sure there are a lot offemales, a lot of Riverdale,
euphoria, panic and PrettyLittle Liar co-eds doing
unsupervised stupid shit as well.
(27:00):
So why is it that we, asparents, provide e-bikes for our
teens?
Parents provide e-bikes for ourteens Keeping up with the
Joneses?
I mean, some parents are givingtheir kids cell phones before
nine years old and theirsmartphones it's just not a flip
phone to tell them where theyare.
Are they doing it just to getthe kids away from Game Boy?
(27:25):
Or kids away from Game Boy orPlayStation, xbox.
I mean, some of these games areaddicting, yeah, so I could
understand why a parent would belike I got to get my kid out of
the house.
And, by the way, johnny downthe street has one of these and
(27:46):
his friends have it and maybe ifI get him a regular bicycle,
there's no way he's riding it.
But if I get him a very coole-bike and his buddies down the
street have one man, that'llsolve all these problems with
them staying inside, and if I dothat, maybe I'll be a cool
parent.
If I'm coming off as judgmental, trust me.
(28:06):
I think I might have done thesame thing for my son if we
lived in an area where thestreets were less traffic-y, or
maybe just because they hadn'tbeen invented yet.
I sold my Heritage Classic Hogwhen my son turned 16.
I projected myself on him andthought no way he's not taking
(28:28):
that bike out for a ride whenI'm traveling.
So now take it to current times.
Most of us see these littleevil Knievel daredevils flying
down the road doing wheelies fora hundred yards.
Now, I'm not certain what typeof bikes those are, but I know
(28:48):
this.
Moms with strollers, seniorcitizens and dog walkers are all
worried.
A dog walker lost her dog to ane-bike incident a few months
ago.
I mean, that's where I lose myshit.
There's just no coming backfrom that.
Now all the localmunicipalities are enacting some
(29:10):
type of restriction onmotorized bike usage.
Now enforcement.
That's an entirely differentchallenge.
The Jeffrey Epstein list Finally, we're going to see it.
(29:34):
What's that?
What'd you say?
There is no list.
Well, hocus fucking pocus.
(29:54):
In 2008, jeffrey Epstein isconvicted of procuring children
for prostitution.
He takes a plea deal and gets18 months in jail, but only
serves 13 months in a countyfacility, with daily work,
release and a bill for $128,000to Palm Beach County Sheriff's
(30:18):
Department.
Not because the court orderedit, it was for extra services
that he required during his stay, $128,000 in extra services.
He didn't pay a dime in penaltyto the state or to his victim.
Say what that's right.
(30:41):
You heard me Now.
If Joe Blow did the same crimein the state of Florida, he'd
still be serving time if hewasn't beaten to death by the
general population in the prison.
Now, fast forward 10 years.
The federal government nowaccuses Jeffrey and his
(31:01):
accomplice, giselle MaxwellGislaine I can't pronounce her
freaking name, call her Gislaine, gislaine.
They accuse them on five countsof sex trafficking minors,
conspiracy to commit sextrafficking, enticement of
(31:22):
minors to travel to have sex,conspiracy to entice minors to
travel to have sex and thentransportation of minors to have
sex.
So I guess there's separatecharges for planning a felony
and executing one, a felony andexecuting one.
(31:46):
But Jeffrey never made it tothe federal trial after being
found dead in his prison cellGhislaine is serving time for
the crimes.
For the last six years there'sbeen an investigation on
Jeffrey's death, suicide orhomicide, as well as the list of
Johns that had sex with thetrafficked underage girls.
(32:09):
Jeffrey's been known toassociate with high-profile,
very wealthy individuals that ifdiscovered in a disclosed
evidentiary document, would beruined and would have stink on
themselves, their families andtheir associates.
So everyone who is not on thatsupposed list was eager to learn
(32:29):
the names.
Those on the alleged list notso much.
And why do you think I thinkthere was a list?
Well, probably because ourAttorney General, pam Biondi,
mentioned that she had thisbinder on her desk and that the
list was as deep as 250, and shecorrects herself no, 260 people
(32:56):
deep.
But in a dramatic turnaround ofevents last week she announces
the case is closed.
Nothing to see here, peoplewhich pleased at least 260
people.
So there is no list.
Hocus, fucking pocus.
I'm a little confused.
(33:18):
Well, I'm always a littleconfused, but hear me out on
this.
I think of arms trafficking,drug trafficking and sex
trafficking as similar instructure.
They're the masterminds or theplanners.
The feds call that conspiring.
They're the sellers.
You know they are the marketingand sales function of the
operation.
You know they are the marketingand sales function of the
(33:41):
operation.
There are the distributors.
They're the logistics groupthat gets merchandise from point
A to point B.
And then there are the buyers.
They possess the said goodsafter the transaction Got it.
Planners, sellers, distributors, buyers In most federal cases,
(34:13):
all of them are culpable forcrimes.
If you buy a weapon, fentanyl oran underage girl to make sex
with, you're most likely goingto be charged with a crime.
So now let's get back to theEpstein case.
He and Giselle were chargedwith planning, selling and
distribution.
Who was charged with buying?
(34:34):
You'd think there have to bebuyers on the other end of these
charges.
Who were the buyers?
Well, I think we all have apretty good idea of who they
were, and if you've ever watchedany movie that involved
conspiracy at the highest levels, then you'd know that rich and
(34:56):
powerful people don't like to beexposed or fucked with.
So, pam, I don't know whatinfluenced you to go on national
television and say you have abinder on your desk with 260
names.
I guess she doesn't watch thesame movies that we do.
(35:17):
Thanks for staying to the end.
You've been listening toanother episode Of Tales from
the First Tee.
I'm your host, Rich Easton,telling tales From beautiful
(35:39):
Charleston, south Carolina.
Talk to you soon, thank you.
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