The Shotgun Start

The best event on the PGA Tour schedule gives Andy and Brendan the occasion to swoon about Riviera and the field for the Genesis Open. They re-hash their experience walking inside the ropes last year at the Genesis and Andy breaks down some of the best holes and features of this top venue. Then they review some of the featured groups for this week, giving Andy the opportunity to question Cam Champ’s profile alongside some of the more established stars and Hall-of-Famers. A news segment (that becomes a debate) focuses on the report from Michael Bamberger confirming the paltry sum Matt Kuchar paid to his local caddie, El Tucan, after winning $1.3 million at Mayakoba. They also hit on Sergio re-emerging to public life with an apology before wrapping with the weekly Paulie’s Picks segment from @FriedEggPaulie.

We return from the weekend without a winner at Pebble Beach but with plenty of drama to discuss from the sundown debate between Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey. We get into Mickelson’s unbridled attempt to keep playing deep into the darkness, Casey standing his ground, Mark Russell and Jay Monahan mediating, Jim Nantz and Clint Eastwood presiding, and the fantastic TV it made after what had been a rough watch all afternoon. Andy also digs his heels in on his ProTracer panning and the Tour’s Dru Love problem. Brendan applauds Scott Stallings’ fantastic interview about his health, which gives Andy the occasion to drop some explosive intel from on the ground in Jupiter about a Joey D workout client. Then we react to golf’s new “Season of Championships” that, per Jay Monahan, begins next month at The Players. We finish with some troubling quotes on Gary Nicklaus’ PGA Tour Champions debut.

Andy and Brendan close out the week with some quick reactions to the play at Pebble and the Vic Open. They review Phil’s improved accuracy, Hosung’s struggles, and Ted Potter’s complete implosion. Then they discuss the idea of Dru Love as “America’s Guest” (hat tip Lou Brown) and Andy puts it on him to find another Tour to train as a professional. They reveal their disappointment at the widespread, almost incomprehensible voter apathy for “Fan Vote Friday.” They dismiss the alleged tee box inequities scandal between the Euro Tour and LPGA Tour competitions at the Vic Open. A news segment covers the new Players trophy and tries to come up with a name for the gold fella, while Andy gets confused and angry around the promotional wording of it. They close with a Flashback Friday on Gene Littler and that time some sand vandals ruined CBS’ blimp shot of Pebble Beach.

We’ve calmed down a bit from Monday’s Sergio rantings and ravings to assess the new week of events across the globe. We begin with the Vic Open, a concurrent European Tour and LPGA Tour event with alternating tee times on the same courses and for the same size purses. Andy highlights the best way this unique event could be broadcast and showcased. Then we move to Pebble Beach, where we celebrate Ted Potter Jr. getting a press conference and lament the mainstreaming of Hosung, while staying happy to see him on the main stage. We also ponder some of he worst celebrities you could get paired with at Pebble. In news, we revel in the big story of the day -- Brooks Koepka saying Sergio’s actions were that of a “child” and disrespectful to the rest of the field. We wrap with Paulie’s picks for Pebble Beach and some late breaking news on Fan Vote Friday!

Brendan and Andy return from the weekend and the content bounty is plentiful. They react first to Rickie Fowler’s win at the Phoenix Open, where he hung on during a day of ugly play all over the course. They assess what it might mean for the future and whether his underwhelming play on Sunday does anything to bury the narrative that he has trouble closing. Then they get to Sergio Garcia’s shameful weekend in Saudi Arabia, where he damaged at least five greens during a temper tantrum unprecedented at the highest pro level. They discuss what the punishment should be for Sergio and why the tapes and story have been buried. Other topics hit are Pat Reed’s bizarre honorary lifetime membership from the European Tour, the alignment rule fiasco and the rescinding of Denny McCarthy’s penalty, and Johnny Miller’s farewell broadcast.

Following Thursday’s interview with legendary caddie Andy Martinez that served as Johnny Miller send-off homage, Brendan and Andy close out the week discussing the early action from Phoenix and Saudi Arabia. In Phoenix, they hit on Matthew Wolff stealing the show for the golf nut crowd. They ponder Wolff’s ceiling and how he’s the start of a new way elite prospects are recruited and prepped for the big leagues. They also spend time lamenting another blowout Fan Vote Friday. Then they swing over to Saudi Arabia for a segment of scorn directed at Bryson DeChambeau, who came off as a dunce lauding the beauty of Saudi Arabia and the “grow the game” potential of this event. The lengthening of Augusta’s 5th hole gets a cursory review before they close with a Flashback Friday focused on some ignominious moments from Tiger and Bubba at TPC Scottsdale.

We go off schedule for this Shotgun Start special edition, a Friday Jr. treat. Johnny Miller’s last broadcast this week at the Phoenix Open is the public end of a Hall of Fame career in golf, both as a player and broadcaster. With that occasion, we brought on Andy Martinez, a Hall of Fame caddie and legend in his own right, to discuss his time as Johnny’s looper. Martinez caddied for almost 50 years around the globe and for eight different winners on the PGA Tour. He worked for Johnny during the peak of Miller’s powers in the 1970s and is loaded with anecdotes and stories about Johnny’s career and the pro game across multiple eras. He discusses his first ever encounter with Johnny, what it was like to be on the bag for a Johnny heater, why Johnny never won a Masters, and how the game has changed for better or worse over the decades. Thanks again to Andy Martinez for his time and regaling us with so many incredible first-hand stories.

We run through the schedule on this Wednesday edition, spotlighting the PGA Tour’s annual stop in Phoenix and the Euro Tour’s inaugural stop in Saudi Arabia. In keeping with tradition, neither of these make the cut for Andy’s “event of the week.” For Phoenix, we discuss Matt Wolff’s debut, the TPC Scottsdale finish, and laugh about those odd PXG ads that emerged. For Saudi Arabia, the tone is a bit more serious and somber as we discuss the players’ decisions to patronize and the Euro Tour’s decision to even hold an event in a country with such a horrible human rights record. In news, we champion Brooks Koepka’s fiery quotes about his peers inability to keep pace, discuss the new distance report from the USGA and R&A, and some schedule choices from high-profile players. We cap it off with Paulie’s pick for an overwhelming favorite for any one-and-done pools as well as some preferred player types for Phoenix.

We return from the weekend to discuss Justin Rose’s dominant win at Torrey Pines and Bryson DeChambeau’s dominant win in Dubai. Andy argues that Rose’s win confirms his belief that clubs don’t matter. Also from the Farmers, we review Tiger’s impressive week, the theatrics of the Reed-Spieth hug, and the aspirational vibe of Adam Scott. Then we swing out to Dubai, where Andy has some strong feelings on pace-of-play enforcement when it comes to Bryson. We also get worked up about the egregious Haotong Li penalty. After results, we run through the reader submissions of some of the useless, inane, and amusing products from the PGA Merchandise show. We wrap up with a whiparound news segment on the The Players (aka The First Major) re-taking the game’s richest purse throne, Steve Wheatcroft’s tweet on Tour travel price-gouging, and former-reinstated-amateur-turned-pro-again Gary Nicklaus doing damage on Andy’s beloved the Minor League Golf Tour.

Golf Magazine Senior Writer Alan Shipnuck joins Brendan and Andy on this Friday edition. Alan was generous with his time as we discussed two of his incredible 2019 stories on José de Jesús Rodríguez and the murder of Celia Barquín Arozamena. We get into the process of how he crafted both pieces and the reception of each. Then we freelance on Tiger and his prospects for 2019, Andy’s obsession with the Ernie vs. Phil debate, and stories from his life in golf writing, including a Masters when Billy Payne chased him out of Augusta National. Before the interview with Alan, we do our usual Friday roundup, hitting on some amusing inanities from the Farmers, Tiger’s first round of 2019, Lee Westwood’s change in attitude, and Rory McIlroy’s comments on Hosung Choi. This Friday episode runs longer than normal but we think it will be worth the time.