The Shotgun Start

We return from the weekend with a smorgasbord of golf news to assess. We go long on the WGC Match Play, which delivered the best day of golf so far this year. We start with a dramatic reading of an essay that appeared on TV on the unthinkable upset of Lucas Bjerregaard beating Tiger Woods. After having some fun with that, we get to Tiger’s actual play and Rory booting it against him. Then we get into Lee Westwood’s taunt of the American Ryder Cup operation, as well as the Tour attempting to cage the highlight of his ace because he endorses the wrong courier service. Then we give the Sergio-Kuchar concession drama a full reading. We examine how both are wrong and the reactions to the mess. We also discuss Brandel’s position that this Match Play event was not advancing the players who played the best golf, as well as the notion that success here means you should be on the team for the Cup events. We also quickly hit on Nick Faldo’s work, a source sending a nugget on some more Bryson match play antics at the Ryder Cup, and the “browning out” of Louis Oosthuizen’s shirt logo. We wrap with a Masters fact of the day and some Sunday scaries.

We begin this Friday edition with a personal story about the hazards of Los Angeles sidewalks. Then we get to the golf and Andy is not happy at all with how convoluted the PGA Tour has made such a simple, beautiful format of the game. We check in on some of the early match play results, lament Bryson’s actions from each of his first two matches, and critique the response to Tiger’s incredible shot from the bushes. Then we head to Puntacana to hail the Bitcoin Boy, aka Charlie Beljan, who returned to the PGA Tour living under par and inside the top 25. Also from Puntacana, we ponder the true amateur status of Tony Romo. In Flashback Friday, we celebrate a tournament that’s now extinct but is highly relevant for our modern moment. Our Masters fact of the day gets into some trademarking practices from the grounds at Augusta National.

The Shotgun Start content cup runneth over for this Wednesday edition. We begin with Tiger Woods’ perfect take on how equipment, not talent, has made fields more competitive compared to 10 years ago. We ponder who he might be referring to and who it has hurt most among the elite players. Then we get to the Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club, appreciating all the “ambient light,” rock outcroppings, waterfalls, and foam bunker faces that it has to offer. We also run through the tee sheet at the Corales DR event, which takes a lot longer than expected as we marvel at the field make-up of yet another opposite field championship. Eventually, we get to the WGC Match Play, where we make some picks, argue about the current format stinking, and review some of the features of the Austin course. In news, we update on the Reeds, both of them, enlisting David Leadbetter and the nugget that Justine’s swing analysis lined up with the famed instructor. We wrap with a Masters Fact of the Day on a forgotten champion who vehemently argued Augusta National conspired against him in an attempt to prevent him from winning over a favorite son.

Andy and Brendan return from the weekend to dissect the results from the various tours around the world. They begin with the Valspar and Paul Casey’s defense as Dustin Johnson quietly faded. They also address what could possibly be the most useless FedExCup graphic in the history of useless FEC graphics. Then they get to the biggest news of the weekend in Tampa -- Patrick and Justine Reed’s new swing coach. Skipping over to the European Tour, they hit on Scott Hend, the eventual Maybank winner, deliberately punching a shot off the grandstands, the ethics of it, and if we’ll see more of these backboard plays in the future. In news, we address the harsh Robert Garrigus suspension, which somehow diverts into a apoplectic shouting about Jason Gore and a new five-man player relations council at the USGA. Why are five people required for this? We wrap with a Masters Fact of the Day on the origins of the Pinkerton guards being enlisted at Augusta National.

This is the Friday episode that almost wasn’t. After some scheduling trouble, Andy and Brendan whip around the world of golf quickly to get you to the weekend. We discuss the eclectic leaderboard at the Valspar, which leads to a diversion on Kenny Perry. We also get into the possibility that Pat Reed now stinks. Then we relay some intel we’ve received from a source on the ground at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, which is now a must-visit event. The learning continues with our Fan Vote Friday Junior segment, where we deliver some fascinating background on Brian Gay and Alex Cejka. If you’re not into learning facts about the Louisiana Open and journeymen PGA Tour pros, then this is not the episode for you. We wrap with a Flashback Friday on yet another instance of Ernie Els breaking Andy’s heart.

After some concentrated weeks, the world of golf is spread far and wide again with the LPGA and Web Tours returning to action in the United States. We get into the Chitimacha Louisiana Open to start, pondering the local scene in Broussard, La. and about one day making the trip there. Lee Westwood, the king of the Maybank Championship, is skipping the event and Andy comes close to critiquing his scheduling practices. Then we get into the Valspar, examining some of the journeymen names for our Fan Vote Friday Jr. poll, and even a few that made it onto a truly puzzling ballot for the PGA Tour’s version of Fan Vote Friday. Also on the Valspar, we asses the Copperhead course and its general obsession with the snake motif. Matt Wolff’s win, and Rickie’s on-the-spot trophy presentation, get some love. Then we rant a little bit about the PGA Tour deleting the video of Jon Rahm’s captivating discussion with his caddie in the final round of the Players. Why the Orwellian wiping of the records? We contrast this with some of the other PGA Tour social media posts. We wrap with a Masters fact of the day and some quick picks for the Valspar.

Rory McIlroy wins the game’s “fifth major” but more important, at least for Andy, is his new status as the king of the world atop the FedExCup Standings. We react to Rory’s finish on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass and a manic final round that saw constant leaderboard shuffling. Andy reveals why he was rooting for Jim Furyk, and we give a verdict on the move to March. Then we get into Jon Rahm’s wild decision to go for the green against his caddie’s wishes, a mental mistake that was getting compared to Jean van de Velde’s by the end of Sunday night. After a lengthy Players review, we then get to the Magical Kenya Open, which featured an upstart Italian champion and maybe the new best trophy in golf. We close with a crazy story about Brooks Koepka losing weight and power for some mysterious (but not-so-mysterious) reason.

Andy and Brendan begin this Friday edition with a word of thanks to the greater golf community, from our friends in media to the audience, for coming out and keeping the world safe for democracy. We recall the pins and needles of Friday Jr. as election returns came in, and then the moment of triumph when all your get out the vote efforts came to fruition. We explain why Stenson-Kaymer-Scott beating the heavily favored Spieth-Fowler-Koepka is good for The Players and why it was a demonstration of the internet at its very dumb best. Then we get to the tournament at hand, discussing the pillow soft benign conditions, some early low scores from the two Rorys (Holywood and Bratislava), and the obscene Harold Varner III penalty. We also touch on Tiger’s day and react to Phil’s denial that he was not involved in the college admissions scandal. Flashback Friday focuses on the turmoil of 2011, when highly ranked European stars had a war of words with the Tour and decided to skip The Players. The Masters fact of the day explains how ANGC was a precursor to the jumbotron now ubiquitous at sporting events. And before we sign off, we have a few words about Sergio aiding a marriage proposal and whether it was a false flag setup.

This Wednesday episode goes long on the Gold Standard but not without some debate over what gets Andy’s “event of the week.” The Magical Kenya Open makes a strong bid. We review the Fan Vote choices and decide to make an official endorsement for Friday in a bid to upset the best laid plans for the heavy favorites. Then we get into some the comments from Tiger, bad press conference questions, the “brand equity” of the new trophy, and Justin Rose insisting the new March date makes this target golf. Then we embrace debate on the pros and cons of the schedule change, discussing firm and fast vs. increased winds. We discuss our favorite holes at Sawgrass, our favorite Players champions, and our favorite controversy. We recall that time cows grazed on Augusta National in our Masters fact of the day before wrapping with Paulie’s picks and fantasy intel for the richest purse of the season.

We return from the weekend surly and ready to air some grievances. We start with the Sunday leaderboard shuffle at Bay Hill, where Rory sputtered and Francesco Molinari got hot. We lament some of the troubling FedExCup facts crowbarred into the broadcast and Paul Azinger’s contention that it was the biggest moment of Molinari’s career. We also address the matter of the instant contest at Bay Hill being interrupted with players arriving to the range and practicing at TPC Sawgrass, site of the gold standard. We review some of the featured groups for The Players and a couple competitors already calling it the first major of the year. Reports of soft conditions also have Andy hot and bothered as we get into some early Players discussion. Then we marvel at Ernie Els’ refreshingly candid comments about his relationship with Augusta before parting with a Masters fact of the day and some thoughts on the Jacksonville food scene.