The Shotgun Start

A Monday episode begins with news that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will forfeit his salary as golf is suspended. We briefly discuss this and also some of the numbers of positive tests coming out of Florida about 10 days after The Players went on at TPC Sawgrass. One person reportedly likely positive for Covid-19 is Pete Cowen, world-renowned coach who was on the range at TPC Sawgrass and undoubtedly interacting with a number of players and staff. We also hit on the uncertain future of the Olympics despite organizers saying it’s not postponed or canceled yet. The new USGA rules adjusted for the new realities of playing golf are also mentioned before we transition to some angst about the lack of classic programming during these golf-less days. The SGS Spotlight for this episode focuses on Mark O’Meara. We highlight his U.S. Amateur win as an underdog, his penchant for winning “B” events, his Tiger friendship that went south, and his amazing late career run at the majors in 1998. Some amusing anecdotes about Johnny Miller playing at Cypress in the Bing Crosby, ‘98 Open runner-up Brian Watts losing it on the Japan Tour, and the Mark-it-Nearer nickname are also included.

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This Friday episode begins with a reader submission on how a relatively middling player could use this layoff to then make a #brandactivation splash when golf does resume. Then we discuss the fact there are now odds for our beloved Minor League Golf Tour and the potential for fixing down on that Tour. We discuss the current range of golf course operations and adjustments across the country, from outright closures to pared down staffs, and what we think maybe should be the appropriate solution. A truncated Flashback segment focuses on K.J. Choi’s Tampa win wielding a Sasquatch just a week after he put the quadrilateral driver in the bag. Our SGS Spotlight features focuses on Hal Sutton, aka Halimony aka The Bear Apparent aka Prince Hal aka Popeye Arms. We hit on Hal’s outrageous run as an amateur out of Shreveport, his amazing success in his first two years as a pro, his game falling off a cliff in his prime for “many reasons,” and the resurgence at the turn of the century, including his staredown of 2000 Tiger Woods at the Players. We also hit on, uh, his propensity for marriages (failed ones), his off-the-course cash haul and spending habits, and his Ryder Cup dustup with Phil Mickelson. It’s a long one with many entertaining quotes and excerpts from a sui generis career.

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We begin this Wednesday episode with an update from our social distancing lives before proceeding to the major wave of upcoming schedule cancellations and changes. We discuss the PGA’s postponement, the report of a Ryder Cup move to 2021, and the likelihood of a U.S. Open happening on time. We ponder who is taking the biggest hit in all of this and the many concessions the PGA Tour has and will have to make. Some new schedule proposals and ideas based on the many rumors and reports are discussed, from a new Masters date to a new PGA date and why it might then make sense for the Ryder Cup to bail on 2020. Some Bears and Browns free agency talk sneaks its way in as well. On the occasion of Bobby Jones’ birthday, we present one listener’s argument for why he is the one true GOAT. Then, in our second installment of SGS Spotlight, Corey Pavin’s career is put under consideration. We discuss his slap hitter ways, media constantly talking about his height, the ‘95 U.S. Open win in brutal conditions, and a hilarious Rick Reilly description of Pavin and that win. On the Ryder Cup disasters of 2010, we hit on the rain suit malfunction, Lisa Pavin as “The Captainess,” a blow-up fight with Jim Gray, and the conspiracy theory that Pavin stacked his captain’s picks with born-again Christians as a convert himself. We contemplate his legacy and wonder whether he is “Boomer Rickie” and should be left out of our hypothetical Hall of Fame.

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This Monday episode will be the first of many with no golf results to discuss or recap. So first, we begin by revisiting the conclusion of The Players, reviewing Jay Monahan’s last press conference of the week, and pushing back on some of the apologia touting how they made the “right” decision when in fact it was the only decision after a series of wrong ones. The Masters postponement and the new CDC recommendations leaves us wondering if this will be an entirely lost year. What would a fall Masters look like and what are the options? The Premier Golf League’s chances of getting off the ground took on another blow Sunday with Brooks Koepka coming out against it with some cogent remarks on the foundations and guts of the PGA Tour, before Jon Rahm then also joined him later in the night. We conclude with a lengthy new segment called the SGS Spotlight, in which we will pick an era and drill down on a handful of marquee names and characters from that era. First up is the OWGR era and Colin Montgomerie. We spend probably too much time reviewing Monty’s body of work, from the dominance on the European Tour, some majors he thought he’d won, his marital troubles, his troubles with American fans, and the Jakartagate incident that led to a feud with fellow Scot Sandy Lyle. We close with some discussion of the brutal missed opportunity at Winged Foot that has become overshadowed by Phil Mickelson’s choke job, and debate Monty’s legacy in the game.

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We recorded this episode prior to news of the Players Championship cancellation, so there’s a 7-minute addendum at the front of it talking about the final decision to pull the plug on the remaining three rounds. The rest of it still stands and applies regardless of the Tour reaching that final decision, and the rest of it covers their obstinance all week from refusing to pass on the media tour with markets in freefall to being one of the last sports on the island to cancel events. The decision to have fans on Thursday is also panned in the week of Ponte Vedra feet dragging. There is a certain level of empathy expressed for the truly crap hand they were dealt, but it’s the process of how they played that hand is why the Tour showed some ways in which its come unmoored. A short discussion on the actual golf on Thursday focuses on Hideki’s course record round, how in the world they didn’t get done before darkness, the bunker cam impediment, and how a relatively dry few weeks produced a round rife with mudballs. Flashback Friday hones in on a Players and Sawgrass record that may never be matched as well as some colorful writing about Fuzzy Zoeller.

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Finally, major championship season has arrived. This Wednesday episode will be a rollercoaster of a preview without much nuts-and-bolts preview-y discussion. We start with Andy’s big debut as a walking reporter for a broadcast and some of the technical difficulties of his maiden voyage. Also, did a mistake he made on the first tee impact a play?! Then we get to Jay Monahan’s rough media tour to announce his new rights deal on Monday morning and the tough spot he never should have been in on live TV. The Tour’s initial response to coronavirus is also reviewed. A new sponsor read somehow leads to a panning of the latest Scott McCarron anchoring footage. We make one-and-done picks and also lament the reported soft conditions this week that will be a changeup from the prior two legs of the Florida swing. What’s the best grass for demonstrating short game skill and, setting aside the marketing, do we actually love the golf product of The Players? Why will Carson be there again on Wednesday? Lots of questions before Rory and Brandel’s comments on the PGL are discussed and a closing with a Masters fact of the day on Augusta National’s original 19th hole.

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This Monday episode begins with a discussion on the Florida swing brutalizing the best players in the world over the last two weeks. It got even harder over the weekend at Bay Hill, and we discuss some of the eye-opening numbers as well as our opinions on if it’s been a fun product to watch. We praise the flammable Tyrrell Hatton and express our surprise that he was able to keep it together on a tough scoring day, and Andy ponders if he’s better than Thomas Fleetwood. Some concern is shown for Brooksy’s newfound love for rigorous practice habits, as well as the “golf bender” he’s currently on with the schedule. The return of the Masters Fact of the Day (thanks to @BamaBearcat) focuses on the quirky necktie proclivities of Clifford Roberts. Andy tells us why he’s in Bandon and what might be coming this week as a result. Jorge Campillo and Ernie Els get their time as winners on the Euro and Champions tours before a transition to some Players matters. Did NBC and the Tour disrespect Mr. Palmer with coverage of featured groups for next week and live shots of an empty 17th hole? Is Tiger taking a pass proof of a concerning injury? Why is Jordan Spieth in a featured group? We run through all the featured groups to close it out before a full-on TOUR assault from PVB the rest of the week.

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Out of respect for Arnold’s event this weekend, there will be no official comment or notes for this Friday episode.

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This Wednesday episode begins with the schedule for the week and a discussion on the evolution of Bay Hill. But first, an Andy digression on how the hole-in-one is now overrated. We discuss how Bay Hill stands out on the Tour schedule as a long-iron test and Arnold’s affinity for the place, as well as putting home sites around the holes. Francesco Molinari’s tailspin is spotlighted since his win at API last year. The PGL featured group of Reed, Bryson, and Phil segues into a tidbit Andy got about the long con Bryson was playing with his comment about figuring out how shafts work. Rickie’s uniform scripting activation-happy ways are discussed. Brendan complains about the spelling of Tucson while Andy rants about how people pronounce “catch.” On the European Tour, we discuss the Education City GC where the Qatar Masters is being held and on the Champions Tour, we make a plea for Bo Hoag to get an exemption into the Hoag Classic. News focuses on DJ taking a pass on Tokyo and the crazy new gauntlet of a schedule next year with the Honda Classic moving after The Players, featuring a tip about a potential venue change coming for the Honda.

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This is March. It’s a new month and our first episode of the month goes into the Sunday shenanigans at the Honda Classic. We praise the extremely aggressive approach of Sungjae Im that paid off at a PGA National that did not yield many mid-60s rounds. Im continues his climb up the world rankings and will almost certainly be at the Olympics, where he can play his way out of military service. Also from the Honda, we discuss Paul Azinger really twisting the knife on the European Tour and the significance of winning anywhere but the PGA Tour. Mac Hughes’ hard tug left and Tommy Fleetwood’s balloon ball into the drink provide another referendum and disagreement on protracer. The logic of the Bear Trap name is questioned by Brendan while Andy is apoplectic about someone on TV calling it “the best three-hole stretch in all of golf.” Ads with an anthropomorphic Cologuard box provide a natural segue into Bernhard Langer’s win in Tucson. Are we fully appreciating what he’s done in a Champions Tour career that’s longer than most would dream of on any Tour? In news, we discuss the USGA’s new brand campaign for the U.S. Open as well as David Feherty not holding back when asked about the “oblivious” Patrick Reed.

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