The Shotgun Start

A long-awaited piece of news broke just before we hit record on this episode: the Utah Jazz have added to the Great Young Core! Andy is jubilant after the Jazz traded for Jaren Jackson Jr. on Tuesday afternoon and shows up to record in what Brendan calls a "murdered-out Utah Jazz ensemble." After a Sports Minute focusing on the Great Young Core and Andy's upcoming Super Bowl experience in the Bay Area, the two discuss the actual big news of the day, LIV Golf receiving OWGR points for the 2026 season. The top 10 finishers at each LIV event will receive points, with nothing going to those finishing 11th or worse. This has already led to complaints from the league and comparisons to the full field receiving points at a non-Tour event like the Hero World Challenge. Andy believes LIV's complaints don't have a leg to stand on given that the league does not abide by some of the usual OWGR guidelines to begin with. Brendan dove into the 2026 LIV media guide to learn more about this year's teams and found some great nuggets while researching this week's fourth Ace. LIV will start its season in Riyadh, with the Saturday finish ending up on FOX Business. On the PGA Tour, the WM Phoenix Open looks to NOT finish in a playoff that runs into the Super Bowl. Andy's list of "5 Guys to Monitor This Week (For Various Reasons)" features a sponsored legend, a three-time major champion, and one of Brooks Koepka's mules! We also spend PLENTY of time learning about the second mule Brooks will be bringing along with him into the field this week. There's a hilarious list of DPWT notables in Qatar to round out this week's schedule before Andy and Brendan read the latest statement from the LPGA regarding Sunday's disaster in Florida. We'll see you on Friday for more!

Join us in Chicagoland for an SGS Live Show on Thursday, February 12! We'll be hanging out at SPACE in Evanston, Illinois for a night of Q&A, Champs Tour Minute, and plenty of Bears chatter. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ticketweb.com/event/the-shotgun-start-space-tickets/14054084?pl=space⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more details.

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It was a historic weekend of professional golf as one of the game's greatest achievements finally came to an end. Andy begins this episode on a somber note as Xander Schauffele's "made cut streak" was snapped on Friday at the Farmers Insurance Open. Brendan joins in, remembering other iconic streaks such as Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive games played record and comparing them to Xander's totally-not-made-up mark. Justin Rose did make the cut and ran away with his second win at Torrey Pines, defeating a trio of players by seven shots. The 45-year-old is now ranked third in the OWGR and has played some of the best golf of his career in the last 12 months. Andy and Brendan wonder how much gas he has left in the tank, with Brendan predicting that Rose will compete in majors into his fifties. In other notes from the Farmers, Brooks Koepka finished t56 and had plenty of time on the broadcast on ESPN, Golf Channel, and CBS despite never being competitive. One of the two mules that Brooks brought onto the "ark" this week did make some money, kicking off our yearlong game of Brooks vs. Mules. Johnson Wagner also made his long-awaited CBS debut and did not disappoint, recreating shots while the tournament was still going on! The two also discuss Michael Brennan's DQ thanks to a Data Boy and strong weeks from Si Woo Kim, Joel Dahmen, and Ryo Hisatsune. The DP World Tour event in Bahrain ended in a playoff featuring Patrick Reed and ended in a wild concession that no one had ever seen before. The main event of this podcast is Andy and Brendan's recap of what went on at the LPGA's Tournament of Champions on Sunday. The event was shortened into a 54-hole event due to the course not being an "optimal competitive environment" for "competitive competition" according to some statements from the tour. Andy and Brendan tee off as they're astounded by the celebrity pro-am still being played on the very same course rather than the actual tournament. For those with tinfoil hats, Nelly Korda won for the first time in over 440 days as a result of the shortened event. There's also plenty of Illinois basketball talk at the end of this episode, as well as more invites from colleges across the country who want Andy, Brendan, and PJ to inspire the youth of America.

Join us in Chicagoland for an SGS Live Show on Thursday, February 12! We'll be hanging out at SPACE in Evanston, Illinois for a night of Q&A, Champs Tour Minute, and plenty of Bears chatter. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ticketweb.com/event/the-shotgun-start-space-tickets/14054084?pl=space⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more details.

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The hits just keep on coming early in this 2026 golf season: Patrick Reed is BACK on the PGA Tour... in August. Andy and Brendan begin this episode with some other breaking news regarding a beloved recurring bit possibly coming to an end and some more details about the SGS Live Show coming to Evanston on Thursday, February 12. They then dive into the biggest news of Thursday: Tony Finau's new Jordan Brand clothing. After a conversation about fashion, Andy and Brendan discuss Patrick Reed's decision to leave LIV Golf and play the DP World Tour in 2026 before returning to the PGA Tour in 2027. They debate whether "LIV is dead," as reported by many, and wonder whether any other LIV players will reassess their allegiances after Brian Rolapp removed another hurdle towards a PGA Tour return for Reed. Andy deems that LIV deserves this outcome of losing its stars following a FOX Sports graphic promoting the season opener that misspelled the names of Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Martin Kaymer (henceforth known as Martin Kraymer on this podcast). Brendan reads Patrick Reed's statement, in which he claims he was "born to play on the PGA Tour," even though he voluntarily left said Tour years ago to play on LIV. The real winners in all of this? Guys like Laurie Canter and Victor Perez, who now have one less player to compete against for these big purses. Speaking of returning players, Brooks Koepka played his first round back on the PGA Tour on ESPN, carding a 73 on the South Course at Torrey Pines. Andy compares his "re-debut" to what it's like when Tiger returns from an injury, leading to massive over-analysis of every little thing in one round or tournament. Koepka played with Ludvig Åberg - always comfortable going to and from the course - and Max Homa, both of whom struggled mightily on Thursday. Justin Lower and Justin Rose are atop the leaderboard at Farmers. We end the show with the return of Golf Advice, featuring an Andy-submitted question for Brendan and a listener question that BP deems "human advice."

Join us in Chicagoland for an SGS Live Show on Thursday, February 12! We'll be hanging out at SPACE in Evanston, Illinois for a night of Q&A, Champs Tour Minute, and plenty of Bears chatter. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ticketweb.com/event/the-shotgun-start-space-tickets/14054084?pl=space⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more details.

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Not sure if you've heard about it, but Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour this week! Andy joins Brendan for this Farmers Insurance Open preview coming off a big Ballfrogs win on Monday night. He's giddy about the Frogs continuing to earn the top spot in our TGL Power Rankings and makes a pitch for Michael Thorbjornsen to become a permanent member of the team. Brooks Koepka has not yet joined a TGL team, but he did join some assembled media for a pre-tournament press conference at Torrey Pines on Tuesday. He spoke about his nerves returning to the PGA Tour and seemed a little emotional discussing the path that led him back to the Farmers. Andy and Brendan unpack the half-hour presser before Brendan offers up some over/unders for Koepka's 2026 season. How many Signature Events will he play? Will he return to Bellerive for the BMW Championship in August? Will he ever suit up for Jupiter Links after all? Koepka will be in a featured group at the Farmers for Thursday and Friday which will be broadcast on linear TV thanks to ESPN. Brendan wonders if this is the PGA Tour showing off to Bryson and Rahm that they could also be prominently featured on the Worldwide Leader in Sports if they were to return before their approaching deadline. Could Patrick Reed also be part of this conspiracy? We'll have to find out. Andy shares his "5 Guys to Monitor (For Various Reasons)" ahead of this week's festivities at Torrey, keeping an eye on a horse for the course and a major champion that could be on the trade block. One-and-done picks are made for the Farmers with PJ's pick prompting a fun Medinah story from Andy. Elsewhere on the schedule, LPGA season kicks off this week at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and Patrick Reed looks to stay hot on the DP World Tour in Bahrain. In news, the 2026 PGA Tour Player Advisory Council was announced and has a distinctly American feel, Nelly Korda has some *takes* about WTGL, and a DP World Tour player goes down for a performance-enhancing drug suspension.

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Scottie Scheffler is one-for-one in 2026! Andy and Brendan return to recap yet another victory by the best player in the world, his 20th on the PGA Tour and first at The American Express in Palm Springs. Andy immediately wonders if Brendan and PJ regret "fading Scottie" by taking the under on 6.5 wins this year. Neither of them relent, but they do admit that the over is off to a hot start. Andy and Brendan highlight Scheffler's ability to win both birdie-fests and hard-fought events, as well as his ability to never hurt himself, putting pressure on those playing in the same group as him on Sunday. One such example was Blades Brown, the 18-year-old phenom who entered Sunday tied with Scottie in second place. He had one of the few over-par rounds on Sunday playing alongside the World No. 1, pushing the Korn Ferry Tour member out of the top ten with a t18 finish. In Dubai, Patrick Reed won again on the DP World Tour during some rainy coffee golf. Afterwards, he revealed that he's not currently signed with LIV for 2026 and is contemplating playing a DPWT schedule to try to earn a PGA Tour card for 2027. Andy and Brendan wonder whether he'll actually do this and give Reed some props for being a golf sicko and world player. Stew Cink continued his reign over the Champions Tour, winning the season opener in Hawaii. Adam Schupak wrote up an article detailing the struggles of Zinger, Papa, and Peter Jacobsen calling Champs Tour action from PGA Tour Studios, sending Andy and Brendan over the edge with how serious they were. Peter Jacobsen just wants to see if Tommy Two Gloves is using the same gloves every week, and he can't do that from inside the moat! To end the show, Brendan runs through the LIV Awards results, including Jon Rahm winning Clutch Player of the Year, as predicted by Andy on Thursday afternoon. Andy then slightly amends his northeast snow take from last week after hearing from many listeners. For those wondering, yes, there are plenty of Football Minutes within this episode as well!

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Some of the of things discussed on this Friday episode by a combination of Andy, Brendan, PJ, and KVV:

• Rory McIlroy's belief that Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton should just pay their DP World Tour fines
• Alejandro Tosti flying planes
• The Navy Pier Ferris Wheel
• New Mets ace Freddy Peralta
• The "Under the Influence" Award
• Bob MacIntyre's youth golf career
• Country music star Riley Green
• Comparing Angel Cabrera to Brooks Koepka
• Comparing Brooks Koepka to Eli Manning
• The TGL hole "Cenote"
• Scottie Scheffler's lack of "fire emoji" on the PGA Tour app
• Colin Montgomerie's 17th hole on Sunday of the 2006 U.S. Open
• Jeremy Schaap
• The 2010 Billboard No. 1 hit "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz (ft. Ludacris)
• Champaign, Illinois
• "Hoop Dreams"
• Kevin Kisner's ball speed
• Garrett Popcorn of Chicago
• TGL Power Rankings
• Virtual Bob Parsons

Enjoy, and stay safe if you're in the path of snow this weekend!

Join us in Chicagoland for an SGS Live Show on Thursday, February 12! We'll be hanging out at SPACE in Evanston, Illinois for a night of Q&A, Champs Tour Minute, and plenty of Bears chatter. Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.ticketweb.com/event/the-shotgun-start-space-tickets/14054084?pl=space⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more details.

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This Wednesday episode was recorded early on Tuesday due to Keegan Bradley Bobblehead Night at Madison Square Garden demanding PJ's attendance. Andy and Brendan wonder what other St. John's legends have bobbleheads available, but PJ is most excited to see a Boston sports icon get honored at the World's Most Famous Arena. With a lack of press conference quotes from Palm Springs to discuss, Brendan immediately begins with the Schedule for the Week, beginning with the American Express. This event has a loaded field with many top players beginning their seasons including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Andy believes that the Signature Event model has actually enhanced the non-Signature Events as more top-tier players are in need of FedEx Cup points. One-and-done picks are made as Brendan looks to stay hot off a runner-up finish at the Sony. Andy debuts a new segment, "5 Guys to Watch (For Reasons)" and highlights some players to keep an eye on this week. Attention then turns to the Dubai Desert Classic where European Ryder Cup stars will compete this weekend. After discussing some notables for this event, the two continue on and chat through this week's KFT stop at The Abaco Club and the return of the Champions Tour at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. In news, NCAA Individual Champion Michael La Sasso has signed with the HyFlyers for the 2026 season. Andy and Brendan debate whether yet another young player taking a contract from LIV is the proper way to go vs. playing through a college season and trying to qualify through PGA Tour U. WTGL has also announced some of its initial rosters... including a retired Lexi Thompson. Finally, there's rumblings that the proposed rollback will no longer be going into effect in 2028, as the USGA and R&A are discussing a delay until 2030.

Join us in Chicagoland for an SGS Live Show on Thursday, February 12! We'll be hanging out at SPACE in Evanston, Illinois for a night of Q&A, Champs Tour Minute, and plenty of Bears chatter. Check out ⁠⁠⁠https://www.ticketweb.com/event/the-shotgun-start-space-tickets/14054084?pl=space⁠⁠⁠ for more details.

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Despite a heartbreaking Bears loss to end their season in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, Andy joins Brendan for what is still a Victory Monday episode of The Shotgun Start. Andy can't believe that Vijay Singh made the cut at the Sony Open and immediately takes a victory lap about hitting the Over-Under of 0.5 Vijay made cuts for the season. There is a brief Football Minute at the start of this episode commemorating a historic Bears season, but the conversation soon shifts to the PGA Tour's Opening Drive, which is now closed after just one event. Chris Gotterup won the Sony Open for his third win in as many seasons and perhaps further exemplifying why he was a Ryder Cup snub at Bethpage. Andy and Brendan discuss Gotterup's advantage off-the-tee that set him up for success at Waialae Country Club and his continued ascendence into the upper tier of pro golfers. The two then unpack other storylines from the first PGA Tour event of the year, such as a top 25 from Jordan Spieth, a made cut from Vijay, a Sunday stumble by 54-hole leader Davis Riley, and a Collin Morikawa missed cut. Andy also brings up Big Shot Bob MacIntyre's comments about his attitude costing him a win at the Sony and wonders if Bob gets a bit too much leeway from fans based on his on-course actions. Nacho Elvira took home the win in Dubai on the DP World Tour after a Shane Lowry collapse on the 72nd hole. Andy and Brendan are thrilled about a win for Nacho and give some props to Lowry for speaking to the media after a tough finish. After touching on the Latin America Am, Brendan shares some of Michael Block's latest comments... about Tiger Woods. Andy cannot believe that Blockie has a platform to throw out a gauntlet to Tiger Woods on the Champions Tour, and Brendan also can't believe Greg Norman is still being platformed to discuss his "loyalty to the PGA Tour." Speaking of loyalty to the PGA Tour, Patrick Reed has said that he'd be open to a return if he was offered the same deal as Brooks Koepka. This episode wraps up with another Football Minute as we put a bow on the Bears and look ahead to a loaded week of pro golf with the 2026 season now underway.

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Andy did not declare this a Victory Friday episode, but is looking ahead to another potential Victory Monday coming soon! He opens the show by telling Brendan how nice it is to have a franchise quarterback that can lead a team into meaningful January football and is downright giddy about Sunday's matchup against the Rams. Andy wishes that Brendan and PJ may one day get to experience having a long-term answer at QB, but for now, they all get to watch the PGA Tour's Opening Drive at the 2026 Sony Open! Brendan confirms that the Opening Drive is, in fact, just this one event and the branding will be removed by the time we get to Palm Springs, but it's great to have professional golf back nonetheless. There's some new internal OB at Waialae Country Club and some literal walls built to prevent alternate routes being taken off the tee, the fairways have "no fire," and the course was as soft as a dartboard on Thursday morning. A new year means new equipment sponsorships and Andy and Brendan are delighted to share that a burly podcast favorite is officially a PXG troop! Andy waxes poetic about his time with Dr. Bob before PJ pops the bubble and confirms that he is also an honorary doctor, much to Brendan's dismay. Rory McIlroy is in the early lead in Dubai and made headlines by playing with cavity-back irons. Andy breaks out a take that all pros should have to play blades and leads Brendan into an "Equipment Minute." Tuesday's TGL match is very briefly discussed as Andy and PJ walk Brendan through what he missed skipping out on another Jup Stinks loss. Brendan rounds up some quotes from PGA Tour players (such as Will Zalatoris, this week's guest on The Fried Egg Golf Podcast) about Brooks Koepka's return and it seems like many are happy to have him back. Wyndham Clark is not necessarily among them, saying that the penalty is like Brooks having his cake and eating it too. Speaking of Brooks, Kevin Van Valkenburg comes in from the bullpen to close the show with a Flashback Friday segment on the Top 10 Brooks Koepka moments from his first PGA Tour stint. KVV covers Koepka's feud with Bryson, his beef with a horse, and repeated media slights that offended the five-time major champion.

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To paraphrase Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour's Opening Drive is *finally* just about underway! Andy and Brendan are beyond happy to have actual golf back on the Schedule for the Week, even if this is still a Victory Wednesday episode for the Bears. It could also be a Victory Wednesday episode for the PGA Tour, as Brian Rolapp's new Returning Member Program has enabled Brooks Koepka's return at the Farmers Open in just two weeks. Andy and Brendan discuss all the details of the new pathway, open to just four LIV golfers for the next three weeks before LIV's season begins in Riyadh. The two wonder if the financial penalty of "equity coupons" and a donation to charity was enough of a punishment for Brooks, but see this move as an overwhelmingly positive for the Tour and Brian Rolapp's tenure. Things seemingly moved quickly over the weekend and Rolapp gets props from Andy and Brendan for decisively striking while the iron is hot. PJ makes a change to his major picks, awarding Brooks with a fourth PGA Championship, but Brendan is skeptical that Koepka will find himself in major shape in 2026. Brooks will not be at the Sony Open this week, but many PGA Tour stars will be to start the season. This gambling pod makes some picks for the first event of the year, riding with two big names and a podcast favorite. Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy and other European Ryder Cup heroes are in Dubai this week for a DP World Tour event as a tune-up before coming back to the states. Brendan comes in with a real winner for the Event of the Week, Tiger's 50th birthday at the Breakers in Palm Beach. Andy and Brendan toss out some musical acts that would fit the vibe before realizing that Jon Bon Jovi is already enlisted to perform. Lastly, some major LIV news came across the desk on Tuesday morning as the Ironheads and Stingers GC have re-branded! This podcast will continue using the Stingers name, but some potentially-AI press releases reveal the new country-based names of these teams. There's also some LIV hot stove news with a former U.S. Amateur winner seemingly making the jump from the PGA Tour.

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