The Shotgun Start

A punchy Andy and Brendan take you into the weekend with an avalanche of informative segments, some more useful than others. They start with a quick scan of the early action from Bay Hill, where Cam Champ and Andrew Landry, the rules renegade from Wednesday’s episode, posted big numbers. Andy also attempts an impression of Carson Daly, who has popped up in Orlando and hijacked some of the week so far. Then we get to the little matter of The Players theme music and ponder the cost of this project -- was it more or less than a Web Tour purse? Fan Vote Friday Jr. takes us down the winding road of Rod Perry’s North Florida PGA achievements, Viktor Hovland’s bland hobbies, and something called BAW golf.

Eamon Lynch then graces us with his presence and discusses some early storylines from on the ground at Bay Hill, the golf and personal life of Arnold Palmer, the reduction of player access on the PGA Tour, Rory’s current state, and defends the idea of The Players as a major. Eamon is one of the most insightful and quick-witted mouths in golf and this interview corroborated that. Flashback Friday hits on Bubba’s allergies and a fascinating gripe from a former Bay Hill champion (and a call to action to take up his cause). Then we wrap with a Masters fact of the day that focuses on the rules drama from Arnold Palmer’s first green jacket that would have caused golf Twitter to self-destruct in modern times.

Andy and Brendan begin this Wednesday episode with a preview of the schedule of the week and the event of the week. This leads to a diversion on the use of Champions Tour sponsor’s exemptions. Then they get to the biggest news of the week -- Tiger Woods’ withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational. They attempt to piece together a timeline for what happened and why he played Mexico at all, while dodging the press the last two days there. Then we update the Justin Thomas vs. USGA contretemps with the latest statements from both the PGA Tour and USGA. It would appear there is a momentary hold on the conflict but that doesn’t stop us from reviewing some of the truly idiotic player statements positing for a separate set of PGA Tour rules. Then we narrow the ballot for Fan Vote Friday Jr. nominees before wrapping with some Masters facts of the day and Paulie’s picks for API.

We return from the weekend ready to discuss the Honda Classic, which, despite the weakened field, managed to entertain us as much as any final round this season. We get into the Keith Mitchell story and why his win makes the PGA Tour great. We also hit on Brooksy’s close call, Rickie’s macho finish, and Vijay turning back the clock. Then we get into a lengthy discussion on the USGA vs. Justin Thomas, and really the PGA Tour at large. We try to sort out the timeline and analyze a complicated issue, picking where both sides are wrong and where they might have a point. We go down a path that has us falling more on the side of the USGA and concluding that JT may be a little whiny. In the Masters “Fact of the Day” segment, we get into some of the origins of Augusta National during the 1930s building phase of the course. Finally, we wrap with a call to action for a friend and some quick thoughts on the tee sheet at the Seminole Pro-Member.

Brendan and Andy take you into the weekend with a check-in from early action at the Honda, where Andy’s hero Ernie Els has come to dance. They discuss Alex Cejka’s amusing DQ for using a non-conforming greens book that was also obsolete. Rickie’s “dump drop” gets a grade. Given the Bear Trap setting this week, there is an extremely naive digression on the bear population of the United States. They praise Brooks Koepka’s acknowledgement that he’s stopped being polite and started getting real. The winners of the first ever Fan Vote Friday Junior -- Bud Cauley, Shawn Stefani, and Morgan Hoffmann -- are given some love, even if it comes at the expense of Stefani’s published “bucket list.” A new segment on the Masters fact of the day focuses on Augusta National’s Clifford Roberts and where he left his fortune after his death. We wrap with Flashback Fridays on the Boy from Bratislava, Rory’s wisdom teeth, and Shane Lowry’s foul mouth.

Brendan and Andy run through the weekly schedule to begin this Wednesday episode and learn about the Greg Norman course hosting the Oman Open and the Dump-in-a-Box Classic in the process. After running through the featured groups for the Honda, they get to the primary discussion topic of the week -- the diminished field at PGA National. They review how low the strength of field has dipped, why it went that way, and prescriptions for what is an incredibly cramped five-week stretch running into the Gold Standard. In news, they hit on Tiger blowing off his usual chat with the press two straight days to opt for his sit-down with State Run Media. Then they get to some more big commitments for Bay Hill, the Open locking in another future site, and Marty Sleeps taking a dramatically different tone than Mike Davis on the rules changes. The inaugural Shotgun Start Fan Vote Friday Junior nominees are announced and the ballot is trimmed to four options. They wrap with Paulie’s Picks for the Honda.

We return from the weekend worse for the wear but ready to praise Dustin Johnson, now a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour. We review DJ’s style of play and how it worked to dominate at Chapultepec, the company he joins in the 20-win club, and if those lofty achievements set against his major record make his career a disappointment in a way. We also hit on Rory’s continued run of top 5s and Brandel’s pointed critique that Tiger played in a conservative way that he had to know could not get him a win. Then Andy gets all worked up about the embarrassing penalty on Rickie Fowler’s shoulder-height drop. Bryson’s hollow Twitter apology gets an assessment and we ponder if enraged needless course damage should be a DQ. In further rules drama, we also discuss the LPGA backstopping controversy and whether that rises to the level using the word “cheating.” Andy provides an important update on the bottom of the Puerto Rico leaderboard before we wrap with news, which includes the disturbance to #JupLife that busted Bob Kraft. Finally, we end with an announcement on a new Shotgun Start Fan Vote initiative.

It’s Friday and after a diversion discussing the career achievements of Daniel Chopra and the use of exclamation points in emails, Brendan and Andy get to the matters at hand in Mexico. They discuss Rory McIlroy’s opening 63, his current run of contention, and whether or not he has to win to validate anything. They also discuss the drivable par-4s on the Chapultepec setup, Tiger’s opening round, and another Bryson temper tantrum that led to more course damage just a week after he took a chunk out of a Riviera bunker edge. The occasion of Zion Williamson’s high-profile shoe blowout also has them trying to recall some of the most notorious equipment failures in golf. Then they get to the news of future U.S. Amateur sites, some wrinkles from the Steve Stricker Ryder Cup announcement, and Tiger’s decision to skip the Honda Classic. We wrap with Flashback Friday on some beefs from old WGC Doral days that included Sergio vs. Brandel and Poulter vs. Hideki as well as Michael Bradley’s Puerto Rico Open dominance.

The first WGC of 2019 is here and the field, as you’d expect, is loaded in Mexico City. So naturally, we lead off with a list of pressing and amusing questions about the field at the Puerto Rico Open, where a cadre of Champions Tour talents and unknowns will populate Coco Beach. Then we move to the WGC Mexico Championship and discuss the Chapultepec course, featured groups, Fan Vote options, and Trackman making adjusting to altitude a lost skill. In news, we salute the new shorts rule, review the expected announcement that Steve Stricker will be the next USA Ryder Cup captain, and react to Tony Romo’s exemption at the Byron Nelson. We wrap with some intel from Paulie with picks for both Puerto Rico and WGC Mexico.

Andy and Brendan return to discuss all things Genesis Open, but first get to shoutouts and just credit for Ryan Fox, Nelly Korda, and Mark Hubbard on their big wins Sunday. Then we get to the matter of J.B. Holmes, who made more news for his pace of play at Riviera than his victory over Justin Thomas. We discuss the slow play pandemic, what could actually force change, where JB falls on the spectrum of offenders (he’s the worst), and the ultimate nightmare slow-play foursome. The “season of championships” is now officially a thing, with graphics weaved into the broadcast, so we address that. We also discuss Tiger’s charge and future prospects as well as Jordan Spieth’s big implosion that led to his worst PGA Tour round. Andy gets angry about the Genesis Open’s new elevated status sweeping aside the event’s illustrious history. Then we wrap with a news segment on Matt Kuchar trying to make good with El Tucan, Bryson’s enraged vandalism of a Riviera bunker, and the architect of the “Live Under Par” campaign leaving the PGA Tour.

We lead off the show marveling at the tredecuple bogey 17 made by Ben DeArmond on the Web Tour and commend him for his response to the implosion. Then we move to the Genesis Open, where we lament the decision to wipe out scores and also make it hard to watch in primetime. Andy delights in Phil Mickelson’s decision to lead the #resistance against The Players “First Major” campaign. Brendan applauds Adam Scott saying the the game is becoming a “laughingstock” from the new rules and dismisses Sergio’s hollow apology. Matt Kuchar’s quotes are given a review, and it’s not particularly kind on Mr. Kuchar or his agent’s ability to manage PR crises. Then we get to some fantastic lines from Bubba Watson, who says he’d quit golf to be an actor while also saying he’d be bad at it. We end with some amusing and memory-jogging flashback Fridays from L.A. Opens past.