The Shotgun Start

Andy and Brendan deliver some instant reactions from the first day of matches in Paris. They critique some puzzling lineup decisions from USA captain Jim Furyk that played at least some part in the biggest blowout session in Ryder Cup history. Bubba and Phil are called onto the carpet. Then they review some of the positive from the morning session, as well as the European fan behavior. Finally, they look forward to Saturday’s lineups and discuss who they would like to see try and stop this alternate shot disaster.

Andy and Brendan discuss some of the apparent US pairings taking shape, including a Tiger and Pat Reed duo. They also review Rick Reilly’s flub of a question to Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson becoming the unsung hero of the team, and wonder what Zach Johnson’s caddie is doing at this event? Then they go into Team Europe, its strengths and weaknesses, and what pairings they’d like to see from Thomas Bjorn. Official predictions are made to close it out before Friday’s opening session.

Andy and Brendan digest the first couple days of Ryder Cup week. It’s been an ugly week for golf media, from softball press conference “questions” to a failure to do the most basic vetting of an Anthony Kim swing video, setting off false alarms everywhere. They speculate on some of the American pairings based on what we saw on the first practice day, giving Andy a reason to bash Phil and Bubba. Then they get into the scripting for this week and the practicality of having a 7,000-seat grandstand on the first tee at a golf course.

Brendan and Andy crack open some Monsters and go long to discuss all things Tiger. They review their favorite moments, some obvious and others random, from Tiger’s weekend at the Tour Championship. They reflect on what the win meant to the golf world and personally to them, and assess what it might mean for Tiger’s future. Then they hit on a recent retiree looking to get his amateur status back and a few players stumbling into the Ryder Cup in the Sunday scaries segment.

It’s Friday! Andy and Brendan review Tiger’s opening 65 that put him in a share of the Tour Championship lead. Then they take a moment discussing Big Boi, who performed for the PGA Tour this week in ATL. We finish with a Flashback Friday segment showcasing two of the great moments in Tour Championship history: Bill Haas’ win in 2011 and the infamous 2013 FedExCup Rap, the lyrics of which get a dramatic reading.

The PGA Tour is completely overhauling its FedExCup Playoffs format and Andy and Brendan have some strong opinions about the dramatic changes. There’s more money, some hotel rewards, and a staggered scoring system. Can we even call it a playoffs anymore? Does Andy’s PGA Tour x WWE analogy look better each day? They discuss the new format and also preview this week’s Tour Championship. Finally, they wrap with a few thoughts on Congressional tying the knot with the PGA of America.

ESPN's Kevin Van Valkenburg fills in for Brendan to discuss the weekend in golf. KVV and Andy discuss the LPGA's final major of the year, Sangmoon Bae's Web Finals win, Phil's outfit and the Ryder Cup.

There’s no PGA Tour event this weekend, and that’s a space where Andy and Brendan operate most comfortably. They run through 3 sets of newsworthy Ryder Cup quotes -- one de-escalating, one deflating, and one denigrating. Then they hit on the Web Tour finals, explain the process, names to track, and why it feels higher-states than the FedExCup. They wrap with what to watch this weekend, which was basically an excuse to bow down and praise Hosung Choi for a few more minutes.

The last man into the Ryder Cup is Tony Finau, and we’re joined by Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner, who has chronicled Finau’s improbable rise from a low-income household to making the most elite team competition in golf. It’s one of the best stories going and Lav has all the details from the challenges of his childhood to now that illuminate why. We also get into the BMW final round, which featured Keegan’s comeback, Rose’s rise to No. 1, an idiot pouring beer on himself that had Brendan upset, and grandstands too close to the green that had Andy upset.

In this episode, Andy and Brendan talk about the rain at the BMW, how Aronimink held up to the world’s best, and how it felt for Brendan for the Browns to break their winless streak with a tie.