The Shotgun Start

What another great, weird weekend in golf. Andy and Brendan convene to cover it all, from Scottie Scheffler’s sixth win of the year, the wild protest scene on the 18th green, Tom Kim’s charge, and the disgrace that is TPC River Highlands and the changes that were done to make it harder. At the Women’s PGA, they hail the very cool story of Amy Yang getting her first major a full 17 years into her career, Nelly Korda’s missed cut and curious majors record, and the claustrophobic Sahallee. LIV Nashville is covered as Magicsticks season might be upon us, Jon Rahm is shouting at drones and the sky, and is playing a week after being unable to at a major. The DPWT coverage leads to Joe Dean minute, as in, who is he? Finally they bring in new producer PJ Clark for Champions Tour coverage to understand more of what was said and what happened at the Dick’s Open.

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Summer Friday rambles are back in session for this episode. Andy and Brendan begin with a keyboard malfunction, a conspiracy about vowel-less hats, and the latest Sun Day Red collection. There’s a power ranking of Joe West, Joey Crawford, and Ed Hochuli spurred on by the “Travelers” alternate logo that SGS created. Then they get to a round of unsubstantiated rumors about sponsor’s exemptions into signature events, a yippy superstar, and Boomer-confusion. Scottie Scheffler's comments about the wiregrass last week prompt further discussion on variety of course setups and skills, as well as the longevity needed to be one of the greats. News hits on Jay Monahan speaking to media at TPC River Highlands and if anything matters from it. They close with an SGS Golf Advice with some Tommy Tolles follow up, getting a motorized push cart, and getting your kids into golf.

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Andy and Brendan are back home after an exhilarating week at Pinehurst. They begin with news of the Olympics field announcement and the global conspiracy to blackball Rory Sabbatini and Slovakia from a silver medal defense. Then they get to the other Rory, who withdrew from the Travelers Championship following his brutal loss at the U.S. Open. They do some USO cleanup, both on Rory, his future, his caddie choice, and also whether the venue truly mattered to the success of the ratings. They get into some fixes for the PGA Tour’s signature series and the Travelers, which has the unenviable task of following THAT and trying to convince us it matters. The schedule for the week also covers the Women’s PGA Championship, which bounces up to Sahalee, the Dick Open on the Champs Tour, the amateur circuit, and more. News hits on a new Ballfrog, a push for Tosti at the Olympics, and John Daly II making his pro debut.

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An all-time U.S. Open finish, one where Andy and Brendan spent the whole afternoon chasing the final two groups, demanded the beefiest of episodes. The two jump right into it, going in-depth on watching Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, and all that Pinehurst provided both as a course and venue for this epic championship. They discuss Bryson’s incredible day, his crazy finish, his amusing quotes about trophy-sharing and chocolate milk, and his future majors ceiling. They discuss Rory’s rough finish, whether or not he choked, how he comes back from it if he even does, and if his exit could be excused. Then they empty out the rest of their notes on Pinehurst maybe affirming its status as an “anchor” site, Pat Cantlay’s actual close call, the NBC broadcast, and more. Thanks to all for your continued support of this podcast that allows us to get out on the road during these major weeks.

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Andy and Brendan are in after a full afternoon chasing the contenders at the U.S. Open and they empty the notebook with 18 more holes to play. They run through some contenders, pretenders, and recount their days following Bryson, Rory, Pavon!, and more. They discuss how the course played and if it will be harder, easier, or the same for the final round. Is this a two-horse race now and is it better that Rory is not in the final group with Bryson? There is an amusing aside on port-o-john minute that leaves both unable to speak for a few seconds. They close it with a few more thoughts and predictions for the final 18 holes of what has been, so far, a great U.S. Open.

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We’re at the midpoint of the U.S. Open and Andy and Brendan are bouncing into the weekend with delight at how Pinehurst has played, the status of their games within the game, an improved parking situation, and a strong leaderboard. They discuss their days following some balling superstars (Rory, Bryson) and struggling superstars (Scottie), and how the course is making some more uncomfortable than others. They discuss some missed cut casualties and wonder about JT, DJ, Tiger, Phil, and several more. Lastly, they preview the weekend to come and what to expect from the course and he leaderboard.

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Andy and Brendan are giddy after a day shuffling through the sandhills of Pinehurst at the U.S. Open. They get back to the Ecco House to recount all their observations on how the course was playing, a stacked leaderboard, a coach inserting himself into the championship, Rory and Cantlay's 65s, some grumpy players bombing, and much more. There are multiple apologies issued for mis-takes and a fabulous Blockie story from the ground to close it out as we quickly turn around to Friday.

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Andy and Brendan are together again, this time in the Sandhills of North Carolina for the 2024 U.S. Open. They are posted up at the Ecco House after a full day walking around Pinehurst No. 2, acquiring scuttlebutt about the course, USGA, conditions, and other miscellany. They discuss some early-week alarmist comments from the players about the course already being “borderline” and players shooting over 80 en masse. They wonder if Putterboy needs to be canceled. As per usual for these preview episodes, they pick out their “favorite” and worst tee times for the first rounds. They react to comments from Scottie, Bryson, Tiger, Rory, Viktor, Rahm, and more. There are multiple games-within-the-games proposed. There is some angst about ample paywalled Peacock coverage. They close with some “smoking gun” reporting on the Sandhills Screwjob that had people falling out of their seats in the media center. Finally, some picks are made, both for winners and darkhorses.

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This Monday episode is full of life as U.S. Open week at Pinehurst arrives. It’s victory Monday for Brendan and the Cleeks as well as for Andy, who revels in Ernie going back-to-back on the Champs Tour and putting Steve Stricker in a body bag in front of his home crowd. They are also joined by Joseph LaMagna, which is cause to talk about their own first experiences covering a major as Joseph gets set for his. There are some early rumors from Pinehurst about the USGA putting their thumb on the scale, and other scuttlebutt from the ground. Eventually, they get to Scottie Scheffler’s win at Memorial, what it changes about how we view him if at all, and perhaps most importantly, how it might continue to change and wear on all his competitors especially for Pinehurst. They also discuss Jon Rahm and where he’s fallen given how close he battled Scheffler just a year ago and now comes to the U.S. Open with an injury and minimal form. There’s a fun KFT nugget about PGA Tour players taking exemptions, some reaction to a cruel LPGA DQ, and empathy for a catastrophic chokejob on the DP World Tour.

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It is Friday! Summer Friday hours are back. Andy and Brendan begin with an unplanned chat on the Memorial Tournament, where it falls in the schedule, if it’s lost luster, and what the ideal scenario is for it going forward as all they want to do is turn their eyes to Pinehurst. Then they get to some random cleanup, on recent drone disturbances at pro golf events, a New York Times report of a big NYC meeting between the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF, and the subject of Jason Day sleeping on a bus parked in his driveway for his hometown event. Then they get back to some SGS roots with an old “Flashlight” on Tommy Tolles. How did he get into golf? Where is he now? And how in the world did he never win? 

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