The Shotgun Start

As LIV prepares for a potential bankruptcy filing, reports are flying that Jon Rahm will be one of the biggest creditors in such a move with a hefty portion of his contract still outstanding. Andy and Brendan bat around the latest round of ominous LIV unwinding news and debate the three-year folly that has been Rahm’s stay on LIV: what it’s meant for his golf career, his image, and his bank account, even if he doesn’t get the full amount. Then they move to the Wyndham Championship, the last regular season event on the PGA Tour and how the playoffs have “ruined” August for the rest of golf. They spotlight some bubble boys in a generally weak field with many top players already locking up playoffs status. Can Jackson Koivun get across the line and into the postseason? News hits on the daily drip of “Championship Series” events announcements by the PGA Tour, with Doral joining the party as the fifth confirmed event. They revisit the potential massive news that Riviera may no longer be an annual PGA Tour stop and what it means for pro golf in LA.  They also discuss some reporting on the Challengers Series and the potential price tag for those events, in addition to news that there may be an overall umbrella sponsor for the tour, or series, itself.

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The first Victory Monday of August belongs to the Ballfrogs! Andy, Noah Kahan, and Niall Horan are all celebrating today after Boston Common star Michael Thorbjornsen won the Rocket Classic for his first PGA Tour win. Brendan and Andy discuss the final event at Detroit Golf Club, which looked great on television following a renovation... just in time for the event to no longer exist! They take a look at the FedEx Cup standings heading into the final week of the regular season and try to put a stop to the "new era of American golf" talking points circulating after back-to-back wins by young stars. The two recap the final major of 2026, the AIG Women's Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes. Shiho Kuwaki took down Esther Henseleit in a playoff. After another major win by a Japanese player, Andy wonders why the LPGA does not spend more time or even move one of the five majors to Japan in order to capitalize on the country's growing dominance within the sport. PJ chimes in with a brief Champions Tour Minute to discuss Zatch's win at Ernie's Place before Andy recaps the weekend at the Western Am, including another stint on the bag for match play. In news, the Arnold Palmer Invitational has announced that it will be a Championship Series event in 2028, making Andy and Brendan wonder why the Tour is rolling out these announcements one by one on each different business day. Which event will be tapped for Championship status next? We'll have to wait and see!

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A good old-fashioned Summer Friday episode has graced your feeds. Brendan is especially giddy after a 61(!) from Peppy Peter Malnati kicked off the final Rocket Classic. He and Andy discuss the PGA Tour’s new “silent feed” and other early returns from a new-look Detroit Golf Club. There is a bit of golf news to discuss, as the New York Post has reported that LIV will receive an investment of $250m at some point in September to keep the league afloat. Andy compares this number to the reported asks and offers to Bryson DeChambeau earlier this year and wonders if it’ll be enough sustain whatever “LIV 2.0” may be. After “Caddie Minute” on Wednesday’s episode, Andy was called into duty by an Illini star at the Western Am. He takes Brendan through his day on the bag and implores anyone in the area to attend the final days of the event this weekend. Speaking of caddies, Charley Hull proudly pranked her looper into thinking he won $100,000 on a scratch-off. Brendan and PJ can’t believe that she’d proudly discuss this with anyone, much less during a major-week press conference, but Andy claims the world needs more pranks. There are no pranks discussed in a lengthy Golf Advice segment to round out this week of shows, but Andy and Brendan do answer questions about golf travel, bookies, and more!

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With the Western Am at one of his favorite spots in Chicago, Andy is in a great mood for this Wednesday recording. To start things off, he gets Brendan going on the wonders of growing up as caddies and the lessons they learned at a young age that today's kids are missing out on due to their "silly apps." Eventually they get to pro golf, beginning with the latest news from what looks like LIV Golf's last stand. Flushing It has reported that the league will cancel its season-ending team championship in Michigan, leaving just two events left on the schedule. Andy compares these constant updates to the "world's longest funeral procession" as the reported September 1st deadline for new investors gets closer and closer. Brendan spent the morning looking at the rest of the year's calendar and tasked Andy and PJ with making lists of the five events they're most looking forward to after this week. There's plenty of Presidents Cup excitement, but a Solheim Cup, Walker Cup, and the U.S. Am at Merion are also reasons to stay tuned in through the fall. In this discussion, Brendan submits a new strategy for the International Team that may throw the Americans off at Medinah. As for this week's schedule, the Rocket Classic puts on its grand finale at a newly-renovated Detroit Golf Club, the AIG Women's Open rounds out another major season, and the Champions Tour is hanging at Ernie's Place in Portugal. The two wrap with news of the first two Championship Series sponsorships beginning in 2028 and the very hefty price tags that come with these naming rights.

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Has the PGA Tour's newest star finally arrived? Andy and Brendan went LIVE on YouTube on Sunday night for a lengthy recap of the 3M Open following Jackson Koivun's first PGA Tour win. Koivun held off a charging Scottie Scheffler at TPC Sod Farm, never allowing the lead to be closer than two shots during the final round. Andy and Brendan discuss what this victory means not only for Koivun's early career, but also for the future of the PGA Tour as they may have a new star to build around with the massive schedule changes coming in just two years. Andy highlights Koivun's competitiveness and poses that his mentality is the reason why he'll be different from past "young stars" like Matthew Wolff, Nick Dunlap, and Luke Clanton. Brendan then stops to give Scottie Scheffler his flowers after yet another runner-up finish, his fourth of this season. Koivun's Presidents Cup chances immediately became a topic of online conversation, so Andy and Brendan run through the U.S. standings and wonder if the "Boys Club" mentality will win out again for this year's event at Medinah. Other 3M amusements include a big week from Muzzy Donohue, an amazing visual from Lucas Glover, and a strong Sunday round from Jake Knapp. Elsewhere in results, Big Tom Morrison's hot streak on the Korn Ferry Tour led to a win, Jerry Kelly's "hockey brain" captured the senior Claret Jug, and Lucas Herbert made up for a Birkdale loss by winning LIV U.K. A Sports Minute focusing on LeBron James and Pete Crow-Armstrong closes out this episode, but Brendan tosses in a much-needed Nico Echavarria update for all those clamoring for one!

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Brendan has been off the golf grid while traveling back from England, and he brings on The Boys to share Porath family London tales and a few stray Open Championship thoughts. They cover the news of the day, substantial reporting out of LIV Golf U.K. about LIV's future and the potential cancellation of LIV's season-ending finale. Also covered in this wide-ranging, rambling episode: why Brendan will not see The Odyssey, Rory Sabbatini's scripting for the Senior Open Championship, Lane Kiffin's yoga habits, an update to the Jackson Suber Tracker wars, and rolling back calling every golf course under the sun a "second-shot golf course."

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Champion Golfer of the Year Ryan Fox joins Andy and The Boys to discuss his Open win, his mindset down the closing stretch, the best text messages he received, and more. Andy, PJ, and Joseph also discuss Bryson DeChambeau reportedly asking to phone U.S. President Donald Trump during last Friday's rules controversy, winners and losers from the Open Championship, Presidents Cup hopefuls in the field at TPC Sod Farm, and picks for the Senior Open Championship. Additionally, on Tuesday, Golf Digest reported that the Asian Tour has struck a deal to partner with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Andy and The Boys react to the news and what it means for the future of LIV Golf.

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This is a Proper Victory Monday episode following Ryan Fox's first major championship win! Andy and Brendan went LIVE on YouTube on Sunday afternoon to recap a whirlwind of a final round at Royal Birkdale. Of course, they begin with the 2026 Champion Golfer of the Year, Ryan Fox, who birdied the 18th hole to win in regulation and avoid a playoff with Cameron Young. Kevin Van Valkenburg stops by from the Open Media Center to share some notes from his afternoon following the final group, setting the scene for one of the best major finishes in recent memory. Brendan spent his time on the course with local hero Tommy Fleetwood and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, latter of whom found himself in a rules situation with the same walking official as Bryson's group on Friday. Brendan was front-and-center for one of the great TIO debates of our time and provides a bevy of information as to what was happening in the moment. He then gets Andy going on his thoughts on Royal Birkdale and the course's recent renovations that prepared it for this Open Championship before Andy continues on with some critiques of NBC's coverage throughout the weekend. There are plenty Storylines Nobody's Talking About to wrap the week, covering all-important Wikipedia Top Tens, Rory's work as a lead negotiator, and what was going down on Twitter during the Sunday broadcast. PJ gets tapped to share his thoughts on a runner-up finish for Cameron Young, whose score of -9 looked like it may hold up for the last 2.5 hours of the tournament. Thank you for following along during another year of daily major podcasts, and we look forward to doing it again in 2027!

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Andy returned to join Brendan! for this beefy recap of moving day at Royal Birkdale. The two went LIVE on YouTube right after play ended to discuss the fallout from Bryson's two-stroke penalty, Rory McIlroy's response, and the actual golf tournament that's unfolding. Andy gives his take on the Bryson situation and the two-time major champion's impressive Saturday round that still has him in contention for his first Claret Jug. Rory McIlroy, pending insanity, is not in contention to win, but did offer some pointed thoughts about the penalty and the penalized player in his post-round press conference. Kevin Van Valkenburg stops in to share more thoughts from the ground, including some comments from other players about the penalty and how it was handled by the R&A. Brendan spent the day following the tournament's leader, Sam Burns, who looks to move past the heartbreak of Oakmont, Augusta, and Shinnecock and secure his first major on Sunday afternoon. Andy and Brendan play a lengthy game of Contender or Pretender, highlighting a strong top of the leaderboard after big Saturday rounds from Si Woo Kim and Ludvig Åberg. PJ is called to the carpet to explain Cameron Young's failure to launch despite his place in the penultimate group on Saturday and provides some context for Kevin Kisner's mid-day tweet-spree. To close things out, Brendan once again quizzes Andy on some of the insane official slogans of the Open Championship, found in various places around the golf course this week. We will return on Sunday evening with a comprehensive recap of the 2026 Open Championship and continued coverage of Bryson DeChambeau's latest exploits!

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Despite two record-tying rounds of 62 on Friday at Royal Birkdale, Bryson DeChambeau remains the lead story yet again. Brendan, Kevin Van Valkenburg, and Joseph LaMagna went LIVE on YouTube to recap the second round of the 2026 Open Championship, only to have a two-shot penalty assessed to DeChambeau, then in second place, derail the entire show. The three reacted in real-time to the theatrics playing out on the fifth hole, where DeChambeau re-enacted his movements from earlier in the day in front of rules officials from the R&A. Kevin went to go scout out the scene on the ground, leaving Joseph and Brendan to make sense of what was unfolding. The two-shot penalty moved DeChambeau from solo second, just one shot back of Lucas Herbert, down to a tie for fifth alongside Sam Burns and Si Woo Kim. Joseph, Brendan, and PJ do highlight standout the two 62s from Burns and Herbert, as well as the continued strong play of Cameron Young and Ryan Gerard, but the majority of this episode is spent on Bryson and the ensuing ruling that could cost him his third major championship. The three mention notable missed cuts before setting the scene for a weekend at Royal Birkdale that is sure to deliver, even more than we originally thought!

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