Cameron Young sheds his winless label – and gets hot at the perfect time | Golf Channel Podcast

In this week’s edition, the guys discuss Cam Young’s breakthrough and breakout performance at the Wyndham Championship and what it might mean for his Ryder Cup candidacy, plus dive into the top-70 bubble and playoff picture with insider Todd Lewis. #GolfChannel #GolfChannelPodcast #HappyGilmore2 #FedExCup

Chapters:
0:00: At long last, Cameron Young is a PGA Tour winner
09:00: The best players without a PGA Tour win now are …
11:30: Has Young done enough to warrant Ryder Cup consideration? A debate ensues!
20:30: Top-70 bubble watch yielded some decent drama – with more to come
25:30: Golf Channel insider Todd Lewis joins the show!
45:00: Love It or Lav It: Rory skips playoff opener and ‘not much happening’ between Tour/PIF
50:00: YOUR final thoughts on “Happy Gilmore 2”
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Cameron Young sheds his winless label – and gets hot at the perfect time | Golf Channel Podcast
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[Music] Hello and welcome into this edition of the Golf Channel podcast with Rex and Lav. Well, our long national nightmare is over. Cameron Young is now finally a winner on the PJ tour. He didn’t just win Rex the Windham championship. He obliterated the field at Sedfield Country Club. Couple late bogeies and only tied the tournament scoring record. And so I ask, as the CBS broadcast did all Sunday, is Cam Young about to go on a tear? There was so much emotion on this Sunday. You look at Ian Baker French. We’re going to talk about him in his last telecast with CBS Sports. We’re going to talk about all the guys who are battling trying to get inside the top 70s. Some made it, some didn’t. There was a lot of emotion there. Not much uh much emotion at all when it comes to Cameron Young, but that’s who he is. I’m not even being critical on that front. when you watched how he performed coming down the stretch, that’s the player he’s always been. It was curious. There was a part of me, maybe the the cynical side of me, that wanted to see a one or two stroke lead coming down the stretch with two or three holes to play because I wanted to see, okay, what what’s been this what’s been separating him after seven runner-up finishes in his career and being close so many times. I wanted to see him coming down the stretch and maybe have to feel the nerves a little bit. Maybe have to feel the stress that comes with winning on the first time with on the PGA Tour with an eight or nine shot lead. That’s not going to happen. It turned into very much a victory lap. And man, all credit to him. He he putted well. He’s been putting well for a long time now. It seems to It seems to me he kind of figured out his Tree G T Green game. He was fourth in the field and strokes gain Ted Green. That’s the area where he’d really been hurting. Been ranked well outside the top 100 so far this season. But it was his lack of emotions. I think that impressed me the most. Winning on the first time on the PGA Tour is not easy. We talk about it all the time. And yet he looked as calm as you could possibly be for a guy who had never been in this position before, at least not in that sort of commanding position before. I I did enjoy the conversations and there was probably a lot more room to talk during the CBS final round telecast just because he was running away with it. But I did enjoy the conversations about does this open up the floodgates and I understand the immediate jump is going to be to David Dval what he did in the early 2000s when he finally broke through and won for the first time and and went on that tear. Now there’s the other side of David Duval which is another conversations that we’ve had as well recently more as it applies to Scotty Sheffller and sort of getting to the top of the mountain and realizing that huh maybe this isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I certainly think Cameron Young has all the tools to go on that type of tear. I think we’ve known that since he joined the PGA Tour. You look at his amateur record. You look at what he does well. He kind of looked like a golfing robot from the very beginning and there weren’t a lot of really clear reasons as to why can’t he break through. Why can’t he win for the first time on the PGA Tour other than maybe he got in his own way a couple of times. I know there there was some thought that I think in his mind, and this is probably the healthiest way to look at it, was he never really felt like he lost any of those seven runner-up finishes. He always felt like he got beat. And it’s always an interesting distinction certainly when the athlete is making that distinction because in their mind what else was I supposed to do? Well, in this particular case, he didn’t give anybody an opportunity to do that. Yes, all the tools are there, but that’s one of the we’re going to have to wait and see. That’s the worst analysis I could possibly give, but I’m not willing to ride off and say he’s going to be this generation’s David Duval just yet because it took him almost a hundred starts to get to this point. So, I’m going to wait to see how far we get until he gets to that next one before I’m willing to annoy him the next David Duval. Oh, Rex, Rex, Rex, you’re you’re never going to make it as a as a hot take artist. You don’t tell me right now that that that Cam Young is all of a sudden going to win 10 major championships. I will say that this did feel like validation. Anyone who watched Cam Young in the summer of 2022 and saw him at the major championships, at the PJ Championship, at the Open Championship where he took Cam Smith all the way to the end at the Old Course. Anyone who has backed Cam Young, if you’re a part of Gambling Golf Twitter, who has been backing this guy seemingly endlessly over the past three years, I I do think that this felt like validation because this is what we’ve been waiting for. Like this dude is so talented. He hits missiles off the tea. He’s so creative, varying his trajectory and shot shapes with his approach play. He has such a great championship and golfing pedigree. He’s strong. He’s everything you want in a modern player, just 28 years old. And now, as you mentioned, he has become a strong putter uh on the PJ tour, turning what had been sort of his chief weakness really into his strength. He was already 10th on the PJ tour heading into the winter championship. Can’t wait to see where he vaults because this wasn’t Rex just Cam Young’s best putting week of his career. It was Cam Young’s best putting week of his career by a mile. More than 10 shots gained on the field on the greens. You mentioned the opening bogey. Was he going to slip up? No. He ran off five consecutive uh birdies to to open this thing up and turn it into a route. I am probably more on the side that I think this could really free him up, but when you look at what he has done over the past three years, it’s not like he has lost them. And you can point to the runner-up finishes and the seven of them, the most uh since the PG tour began keeping stats in 1983. Not all those were created equal. This was still a player who was averaging in the final round a shade under 68. oftentimes he was just getting beat. I think he probably learned some very valuable lessons that he can now take not just for the rest of the fattest Cup playoffs, potentially the US Rder Cup team, I think in the major championships and signature events as well. I think this will be a very beneficial learning experience for Cam Young in in particular in 2025. And if you’re Cam Young and you’ve heard this and like we’ve had this conversation before on this podcast about was Cam Young the best player without a PGA tour title. I think both of us sort of lean more in the Tommy Fleetwood direction, but certainly Cam Young is going to be on that short list when you were having that conversation before this week. If you were going to have your first victory though, I can’t imagine a best case scenario, a better case scenario than what he ran into. He was clearly comfortable on the greens. His ball striking had come around. You’re right, the early bogey, maybe a little bit of nerves coming out of the gate, but then to rattle off those birdies like he did just to essentially pull away from the field and really enjoy yourself. don’t get the opportunity to do that very much on the PGA tour. Even Scotty Sheffller doesn’t get that opportunity very often. It was a perfect scenario for him. You mentioned like who was the best player without a win? Was it Cam Young or was it Tommy Fleetwood? I actually think it was Cam Young when you look at sort of his major championship record, the other top 10s he’s had. Like Tommy Fleetwood hasn’t done a lot of winning worldwide over the past six or seven years. I think he’s just won twice uh since 2017. Cameron Young has put himself in position and played better golf on Sunday. Tommy Fleetwood has been more prone uh to heartbreak. And I understand that not all runner-up finishes are created equal. Sometimes you just get beat, sometimes you back door into them. But I thought Cameron Cameron Young’s overall body of work, particularly since 2022 when he burst onto the scene, uh was was more impressive than Tommy Fleetwood’s. I think I’m I think I’m most curious like what was the biggest difference at the Windom versus what he had done primarily in in 2025 which you know sort of using his own words against him was was pretty disappointing for at least the first couple months of the season. He mentioned uh in some of his uh post round remarks in Greensboro that last week in practice in South Florida he went back to just hitting one shape. And if you’ve ever watched Cameron Young play golf, it is a really hard hammer draw. And Cameron Young for the majority of the season had really struggled off the tea. He was missing both ways off the tea pretty equally. He was 165th in driving accuracy on the PJ tour. He had huge misses. There’s a stat distance from the edge of the fairway, which is essentially like how far are you missing it by? He was 124. So he wasn’t just missing. He wasn’t just missing into the first cut. He wasn’t just barely trickling into the second cut. Like he was in trouble behind trees making bogeies that way. 70th on the PJ tour was Cameron Ning. That was easily the worst position off the te that he has been in his entire career. You think back to 2022 when he had the chances to win two major championships. He was second that season on the PJ tour. Having and wielding the driver as a weapon as he did in Greensboro where you had some pretty tricky Bermuda. uh if you did find if you did find the rough off the tea I think was the most impressive part of Cameron Young because when he is dialed with that club in particular everything else is sort of predicated on that best player without a PGA Tour victory. Thank you very much for asking. I actually came up with a list just out of curiosity because I was I did think we were going to go down this road. I do think it’s Tommy Fleetwood and you’re right maybe not all runner up finishes are created equal. I look more at the idea that in 161 PGA Tour starts, he’s only missed 24 cuts. That he may not be the best player without a PGA Tour victory, but he is by far, in my mind, the most consistent. The other one that stood out to me, both these guys actually were in the hump this weekend as well, was Alex Norn. He has 26 top 10s in his career. Five top threes. You look at what he’s done well. Again, a very consistent player. Just very rarely misses the cut. Always is around in the weekend. Usually finishing somewhere around the middle of the pack. The one that probably surprised me the most was Patrick Rogers. 305 starts, 28 top 10 and four runner-up finishes. He’s kind of done it quietly, and it’s not as though I mean, ever since he’s left college, that was the last time he was ever compared to Tiger Woods, but he has been surprisingly consistent. Uh Patrick Rogers has been a very consistent Pidge Tour player. I’ll never forget, I was working for Golf Week magazine at the time, and Patrick Rogers was part of that high school class of of 2011. And and when you look sort of exiting junior golf going into college and this is of course the class with with speed, Justin Thomas, Daniel Burgerer, Xander Schoffley actually wasn’t even that thought of at that time. Ali Schneider Jans was in that class. I actually had Patrick Rogers as a number one player in the high school class of 2011. Decorated college career. Hasn’t quite translated to PJ tour success. Certainly time for him to do so. I would put Danny McCarthy also on that short list of players. uh yet to win on the PGA Tour. It is a very interesting time of year though, Rex, for Cameron Young to notch his first victory. Look, he had the close call in Canada. Remember, he flushed on the 72nd hole, hit it too good, hit it long, ended up making bogey and missed out uh on a chance of victory, eventually won by Ryan Fox. He had another close call at Oakmont for the US Open. tied for fourth uh in our national championship and now wins the final regular season event of the Pidgeour. Only three weeks uh remaining of the Pugetour schedule and then US Router Cup captain Keegan Bradley is going to have some very difficult decisions to make. Cameron Young said it is a stated goal in 2025 that he wants to be on that team. Do you think at this point he has done enough or do you think it’s really going to come down to his postseason performance? We’re gonna have Todd Lewis later on the show, a boots on the ground segment. I’m looking forward to hear what he has to say about that, having been there, knowing sort of the dynamics. No, I don’t think he has done everything he needs to do up to this point. Very impressive victory and you you can lay out a very compelling case. The idea that he grew up in Westchester County, the fact that he won as an amateur, won the New York State Open at Beth Paige Black, it’s obviously he called it his favorite golf course in the world. If the crowd is going to get behind anyone, it’s going to be Cameron Young. All of those things factor and I don’t think they’re going to get behind anyone. But yeah, if they’re going to get behind anyone, it’s going to be Cameron Young. All of those are really good reasons, but I’m not 100% sure that he’s done enough quite yet. Why not? I think it has more to do with the conversation we just had. And I am going, this is going to be a little counterintuitive because I would also argue that yes, Tommy Fleetwood probably has done enough to make the European team. and we just had a conversation about is he the best player now not having won on the PGA Tour. But there is something to be said for the idea that we always compare playing in a Ryder Cup every match feels like you’re trying to win on the PGA Tour in a major championship on a Sunday afternoon. That’s the pressure that comes with you. And I would probably turn the question back on you or anyone else that wants to have this conversation. And how comfortable are you going to be coming down the stretch on Sunday afternoon and it’s Cameron Young that has to win that match to win the RDER Cup for the United States with Beth Paige hanging over his head with all of the things we know about. And I’m not going to say he’s not going to compete. He could do what he ended up doing today and blow someone out. But the only litmus test we have now outside of the Junior Ryder Cup, which is something that the CBS broadcast wanted to get into, which I didn’t quite understand. But the only thing we have to go on is the 2022 President’s Cup, which he played on. He was a he was a captain’s pick on that team. He wasn’t particularly great. He went one two and one. He lost a singles match to Sunjm. I’m not sure. He was very impressive in that as well. I just don’t know how comfortable I would be in the situation. If I’m Keegan Bradley, I have to put myself in the seat where I’m watching him come down the stretch on Sunday with the cup on the line. Give me Cam Young verse Tommy Fleetwood in the anchor match for Sunday’s single. We can determine once and for all who the best player without a win is. He is an interesting case, I will say, because when you think back to 2023 when Zack Johnson was the captain, Cam Young was ninth in the US team standings and actually got bypassed for a pick. He said that one really hurt. Thought he had done enough uh to to warrant a spot on that team. It makes you sort of wonder if at least two years ago Cam Young was not part of the in crowd and if that hurt him. That was sort of the defense that Keegan Bradley has as well when he got bypassed. You would think having been through the exact same experience himself, he might have a little bit of a soft spot for someone who might not be in sort of the quote unquote in crowd. He wanted to give Cam Young did the captain no choice but to take him this time around. It seems very unlikely, barring some sort of playoff surge that he is going to be among the top six automatic qualifiers. However, I do think he is certainly give Keegan Bradley a lot to think about. But I think it overall though, Rex, like if you look back at our podcast and our show after the Travelers Championship, this is why I thought it was so silly to crown Keegan Bradley after he won that signature event of course over your boy Tommy Fleetwood because at that point there were still three months to go in the process and claiming just because Keegan Bradley moved inside the top 10 the world ranking, claiming just because Keegan Bradley not moved inside the top 10 in the US team standings, just because he won a signature event should not have automatically put him on that team and then in a position to be a playing captain because think about what has happened in those three months since then. Since then, Chris Gddup has arrived. He won the second strongest regular season event on the PJ tour, the Genesis Scottish Open. Followed that up with a third place finish in his very first Open Championship. Uh also had an opportunity to win at 3M. Windham Clark uh after bashing the locker at Oakmont has certainly played better of late to at least get himself in the conversation if he can play well in the playoffs. And now you have Cam Young winning the Windham championship again after the close call in Canada and another good finish at the US Open. I think there’s probably 10 players on that US team who are all but locks. you know, barring some sort of injury, balling, you know, barring their form completely falling off the face of the earth in the munch of August, I would put 10 players on that team. And then you have a conversation where it’s a Cam Young, it’s a Chris Goddup, it’s a Jordan Speath, it’s a Sam Burns, it’s Keegan Bradley himself. Is Keegan Bradley that much of a differencemaker that you have to put him on that team? I would argue no. And I think Chris Godup in addition to now a resurgent Cam Young, I I think really makes the the decision actually easier for Keegan Bradley to step away, be the captain, and let some of these other players sort of assume the playing role fully, full stop, and let Keegan Bradley be the captain. Well, Keegan Bradley is 10th on the US points list right now. So, he’s clearly one of the top the numbers prove he’s not in the top six and he said only in the top six, but you’re willing to give at least four of those people who aren’t in the top six automatic spots on the team right now. And I would argue that Keegan should be among those four right now. We can probably make a different argument in two weeks from now, but right now he’s 10th. And I’ve also made this argument and I truly believe it that it’s really not going to come down to Keegan. at least not when they not when he sits down in the team room with the players who do those six automatic qualifiers who are going to be led by Scotty Sheffler. He’s already locked up a spot. I truly believe they’re going to walk in and tell him he’s one of the top 12 Americans that they need him on that team. Whether he wants to be a playing captain or just a playing, it’s up to him. But they I think they’re going to end up making the decision on him. And you’re assuming that what he’s going to drop to 12th, 13th, 14th over the next two weeks? I I can’t imagine that happens. It’s certainly possible. I mean, he hasn’t been better than 30th. Anything is possible to happen with with Keegan Brother. I mean, he’s not followed up his success at the Travelers. I think he has to play. Who are you knocking out, I guess, would be my question. All right. So, if Keegan is 10th right now, are you moving? Well, I I’ve got the top I’ve got the top nine secure and I have Patrick Kentlay on that US Rder Cup team, which would then Why would you jump all the way to 14th? What Patrick Kentlay has done versus 10th, which based on what Keegan Bradley has done? Like, that makes no sense to me. I think Patrick Kentley has had a solid if unspectacular season. He’s certainly been fine in the signature events. And you look at what he has done in the team events in particular. I mean, he was the he was the the MVP of that squad in Rome. Him and Max were the very best players on that team. Overall, his matchplay record is phenomenal. I think Patrick Hanley is on that team. I don’t see any way that he has left home even if he does not have a victory in 2025. So those so it’s so I I just don’t know that I would kick Keegan off that team for right now you’re kicking Keegan off the team in in place of Patrick Kentlay who who is not among the top 12 according to the metrics. Yeah. So I would have Patrick Kentley would be among my 10 and then I would fill out my team with a Chris Gddard up a Jordan Speed a Cam Young a Sam Burns players of that ilk and leaving out Keegan Bradley. That’s how I would form my US team. Again, I think two of those spots are probably up for grabs as we get into the postseason. And whoever continues sort of the run of form that we’ve seen over the past couple months, I think deserves those those positions. See, cuz I’ve already written off Keegan being on the team. And I guess a lot I guess a lot could change over the next two or three weeks by the time we get through East Lake and the selections are expected to be made in either direction. He could have two or three great weeks or two or three really bad weeks, but in my mind, he’s already on the team because I feel like they probably needed to already make this decision because there’s some logistic things that go into it that normally you wouldn’t be dealing with under these circumstances. But the PG of America along with the European tour need to figure out how is this going to work fundamentally? How are you going to have a playing captain? So, my guess is they’ve already started to move in that direction. I certainly hope not. That’s why you have the automatic qualifying positions which are solidified after the BMJ. I I I certainly understand what you’re saying in terms of logistic, making sure everything’s squared away, the captain’s agreement, so on and so forth, having, you know, various contingency plans. I totally get it, but there’s a reason why you’re supposed to wait till after the tour championship to make those picks. It still gives you plenty of time. You can still have a deacto team outing in Napa and get everybody sort of playing together so you’re not going to be rusty for the matches at Beth Paige Black. I just feel like it would be a mistake if you were crowning him in June and then sort of hesitant to move off of that. Real quickly, Rex, since it ended up being not much of a factor on Sunday at the Windom Championship, was the race for the top 70 and getting into the FedEx St. Jude Championship for the top 70. Technically, it was just one player, Chris Kirk, who tied for fifth in Greensboro to move from 73rd to 61st. Ben an was the player who missed the cut and fell outside of the top 70. There was a couple other heartbreaks and various triumphs although I I know that had your attention on Sunday and No, it really did because I think it’s these secondary storylines that are going to carry us certainly through the fall and as we get closer into the playoffs and and I would argue that going back to Friday and because of the weather delays, they didn’t finish up the second round until Friday morning. I find I found the early coverage on Saturday morning to be some of the most compelling I’ve seen all season long simply because of these numbers because players were finishing up their second rounds and essentially their seasons were over. And there is there was an element of of intrigue. There was an element of storytelling involved and I think I will give the tour credit. I don’t under necessarily understand the numbers. I feel like going from 100 fully exempt cards to 12 from 125 to 100 it just seemed very arbitrary to me. 70, 50, 30. We can sit and have conversations about what the numbers should be. But that does not take away from I I think the conversation you pointed out just one player played the way in, one player played their way out. But as the afternoon wore on on Sunday at the Windham championship, you had three going in and out with another one or two, Gary Woodland being the primary example who were really grinding coming down the stretch. Needed to do something special, but still had an opportunity. I would argue that that’s some of the most emotion I’ve ever seen from Davis Thompson, both good and bad. Coming down the stretch, he makes a 48-footer for birdie on the 15th hole to essentially move to 68th from 71st on the list and qualify for next week, the first playoff event in Memphis. And then he makes a mess of the final home and bogeies it. I I found that compelling TV. Yeah, I mean there will certainly be I think in particular if the players who just snuck inside the top 70 over the past couple of weeks, if they make a run in the playoffs, there’s certainly little moments that you can look back on. like Cam Davis, he made a triple early on in his backdown on Sunday, then made three birdies in his last seven holes, ended up finishing 69th in the standings. Matty Schmid uh had a pretty forgettable week in Greensboro, but yet he birdied his last three holes and finished on the number 70. You mentioned Davis Thompson, the long putt that he made midway through the back nine. Well, he also three putted the last hole, then finished 71. And Gary Wooden three bogeies in his last seven holes, ends up finishing 72nd. Look, it’s it’s not my favorite cutdown because these players, their playing status is still going to be secure for 2026. You know, Gary Woodland, who met with reporters afterward on Sunday in Greensboro, said, “Look, I’m looking forward to having about a month off. I need the rest. I’ve been playing a lot. I’ve been grinding trying to make it.” Was he disappointed? Sure, you can’t win the FedEx Cup if you don’t make the the but the postseason. But those players 71 through 80 are going to be exempt on the PG tour and their playing status is secure. To me, the top 50 which are going to be pairing down from Memphis uh to BMW, that is far more significant and consequential for a player’s career. You always cover the RSM, which I would argue the final regular, the final event of the Fed Cup fall, the final event period on the PJ tour. Like that’s always great drama. That always delivers. Those guys are vying for their playing privileges. If you finish outside the top 100, then you just have conditional status. To me, that’s my favorite cut down of the year. This is basically just playing for some funny money in the postseason. Was it fun to watch in the Windom Championship? For sure. I think the fact that that Cameron Young was was routing the field gave you something else to want to watch. But I actually think this coming week that cut down from 70 to 50 and all that goes into it, that’s when I’m going to have keen keen attention paid to. Well, and I will counter a little bit and say Davis Thompson is actually exempt through 2026. So, he wasn’t even necessarily playing playing for his job. That wasn’t the emotion you saw on his face. I think the emotion you saw on his face is just trying to give himself an opportunity to get to Memphis to crack the top 50. And we all know that’s the magic number. right now if you’re going to fixate on any number and even more so than the top 100 because 10 101 to 125 still are going to get x number of starts next year there are still these sort of escape hatches that players have that they can still get some sort of status going into next season but the real number is top 50 because we all know getting into the signature events having the opportunity to play the major championships that sets your schedule up so much and I’ll also point out I thought Patrick Rogers who finished that pretty early on Sunday but I was watching his round in the early coverage was really compelling cuz I went back to June just to look. He was well inside that top 50. That magic number really towards the end of June. He missed Yeah, he missed six consecutive cuts. Really fell off the map. Really couldn’t find anything. So, I thought that was a compelling story line as well. Patrick Rogers finished with a birdie uh barrage in his second round just to make the cut to give himself a chance to finish inside the top 70. Good on Patrick Rogers. More bubble talk, more Windom talk, more Cam Young, potential US RDER Cup talk with Golf Channel insider Todd Lewis on the other side of this short break. [Music] And for this Boots on the Ground segment, we’re pleased to be joined by Golf Channel insider Todd Lewis, who’s on site at the Windham Championship. Tieu, it’s a home game for you. You just got done interviewing tournament champion Cameron Young. What did you ask him and why? Well, first off, he was um he he didn’t show a lot of emotion. I thought he’d be, you know, very jubilant, you know, victor. Um you thought that, did you? Yeah, I did. I did. Uh but that’s fine. He’s a stoic guy. I felt like he had his emotions in control. I did ask him about that opening bogey and then he runs off five consecutive birdies. that bogey made him mad early in his route. Uh but yeah, I I I think the bigger question was did he have doubt going through those close calls of seven runner-up finishes that, you know, maybe it’s just not meant to be? And he said no. You know, I’m paraphrasing, but he felt like this was inevitable. He felt like he’s just been beaten on the PGA Tour. He didn’t lose a tournament. Um, and I can tell you this week, guys, after every round, whether it was the 63 on Thursday, the 62 Friday, the 65 Saturday, and what he shot today, he had he seemed composed, comfortable, confident. I mean, he feel he feels as if he has grown mentally and mechanically and and it really showed this week through the Windom Championship. And to be fair, I think you look back at those seven runner-up finishes, you can probably make an argument for what he said where he got beat. He didn’t lose each one of those. However, I would be curious from your perspective. What do you think had been holding him back? Maybe he was just on the wrong side of history for most of these, but was there something else? Was there a part of his game that maybe he found not just this week, but recently? I I do think it is mental and emotional growth. I I think that it’s interesting this week he you know, you hear guys talk about on the PGA tour that, hey, I want to live in the moment. I want to go through the process. I don’t want to look too far ahead. He’s actually doing the opposite of that. I mean, he is right now focused on getting to East Lake and being on the United States Rder Cup team and the other things that happened on that journey, the collateral beauty like winning the Windom Championship. Well, that’s just part of the process. But he is looking way ahead. Um, and I I find that to be interesting because he’s saying, you know, if I get a bad break here, let just don’t worry about it. Let’s continue to focus on again getting to the Tour Championship and trying to be on that US RER team. Um, and it and it it’s worked for him. I I really have I really have seen a lot of growth from him um from this year compared to the previous years for sure and and he really handled the moment well today. TLO, I asked you about the postrun interview, but you actually did a pre-round interview on the first TE with the leader, which is sort of pretty extraordinary in its own right given the lead that he had in the position he was trying to win the PJ tour for the very first time. What did you sense from Cameron Young before he teed off? And how did that sort of differ, if at all, from some of the other experiences you’ve had this year interviewing players who were trying to to knock on the door and and pick off a PJ tour win? Well, even though he’s come close seven times a runner up on the PGA Tour, he’s never had a 54hole lead. Uh so he slept on the lead and woke up with the lead this morning for the very first time. And especially if you have a pretty significant lead, that can be heavy because then you’re thinking about, oh man, this is my tournament to lose and fear of failing gets into your head. And and my first question I asked him was, you know, how do how have you been able to calm your mind, make sure that you’re mentally and emotionally focused for the opportunity ahead? And he just kind of blew the question off. He’s like, yeah, you know, got up this morning just like any other morning. you know, I went through my routine, came here, hit some balls, ready to go. Um, so he he didn’t really make this bigger than maybe what it is. And I found I found that to be very uh again mature on his end and then and he seemed, like I said, calm and and cool and comfortable and all the way through all 18 holes today. There was a lot of talk on the telecast as he was essentially taking the victory lap coming down the stretch with that commanding lead about this could possibly open up the floodgates and the comparison of course is David Duval in the early 2000s. Do you see that as a viable option? Uh yeah, absolutely. I mean we have talked about him for a long time being a great player. I mean he was a great junior player. Uh he was a great amer before he got to Wake Forest. is a great collegiate player and it just seemed like inevitable inevitably he was going to be maybe not an elite player immediately but a very good to/g great player on the first few years on the PGA tour. All right. It took him a while to finally win. Um but yeah, I think that that that slight injection of belief by finally holding a trophy is going to make him again even more I keep using this word comfortable even more comfortable when he gets into these environments once again. And I I think yeah I I see him winning multiple multiple times under PJ TU he had a close call Cam Young did in Canada. Another close call at the US Open now a blowout win in the final regular season event on the PGA Tour. Would you put him on the US RER Cup team? Oh, that’s a good question. That’s a very good question. I did ask Gary Woodland who was an assistant captain for the United States Rder Cup team after his round when he came so close to making the playoffs about Cam Young. Uh and he said everybody knows he’s a good player. He’s such a great ball striker and this win would just seems like he’s going to be inevitable. A win on the PJ tour is going to be inevitable for him. Look, I I would there there’s certain criteria that that that Keegan Bradley and his vice captains are looking for. Uh one is form. Obviously, he’s playing well. Uh, and if he continues to play well and has a run through the playoffs, then yes, you very much have to consider him. Another thing that they are considering in in picking players at least is how their game sets up at Beth Page. Of course, he grew up just outside of New York. He Yes, that’s right. He’s played Beth Page quite a bit. As a matter of fact, he won the New York State Open and was the first amateur to do that. And where was that? uh prestigious tournament through the Met Golf Association at Beth Paige Black. So, his game obviously does fit there. Um so, yes, I mean, if he continues to show this form, I’m not saying he has to win an event, but at least put himself in the mix a couple of times, he very well could be on that team. Now, you mentioned talking with Carrie Woodland, and I’m sure you had a chance to keep an eye on. Can you just talk about the dynamic this week with sort of the changing landscape in golf where top 100 now you keep your card obviously top 70 is so important that’s where the focus was this week looking ahead to next week it’s top 50 Gary Woodland was right there all afternoon I’d be curious what his emotions were did you have a chance to talk with Patrick Rogers did you have a chance to talk with Davis Thompson because there were some really compelling storylines yeah there were and and at this championship it’s always that way as many of as five players have historically jumped in to the playoffs here and there have been times when no player has jumped in, but this time you got a couple that have jumped in. Chris Kirk is is obviously excited. He played himself into um to the FedEx Cup playoffs and um you know he’s going to go back home to see Island State. He’s going to drive home from Greensboro, rest and then get to Memphis and he’s had a lot of uh success at Memphis too. He likes that that golf course. But yeah, I mean look Gary, I talked to Gary um he he’s disappointed that he didn’t quite get get the job done. He said he flat out ran out of gas. Um, and you know, he’s battled some health issues, but he’s very proud of what he has done this year working again with Randy Smith. Um, but yeah, it’s I mean, it’s tough. It’s tough for these guys coming so close and fighting so hard at the at the beginning of the season. It all comes down to one putt like it did for Davis Thompson and and then suddenly you’re out in the playoffs. But I’m gonna jump ahead to next week. I’m telling you guys, you probably heard this too. It seems like the goalposts have shifted a bit as the importance uh as you of of being in in the BMW championship is for some players is is more important or at least as important as getting to the tour championship because then you’re in the signature events for next season. Um and if you make it to the tour championship, that’s gravy. That’s positive. But getting into those signature events, being able to play any event in 2026 is huge. So, next week is going to be a very, very big week at Memphis. I was just going to ask you that, Todd, because you’ve covered the Windham Championship for a number of years now. I’m curious about like the actual level of drama on site and the saltiness of the players who don’t make it. We’ve all covered the match play and those players typically blow off the media when they lose because, you know, that’s sort of monoemano. They don’t like to be in that situation. We’ve covered the Windom. We’ve covered the BMW championship, the cut down to the tour championship. We’ve covered Memphis cutting down now the top 50. Rex’s fifth major is the RSM Classic. The cut down for now PJ tour status. Where does the Windham fall because there are so many other sort of checkpoints for status throughout the PJ tour season. Is the regular season and just getting into the big money playoffs almost reduced in importance or is not as dramatic as maybe even some of these other cut off points? Uh, no. Oh, and I’ll go back to what I said. I think this, you know, obviously you want to get into the top 50 because that’s a very significant number and making it to the BMW championship. And obviously, you can’t get to the BMW Championship if you don’t make it to Memphis. And to get there, you got to go through Greensboro. Uh, so it’s interesting. Mark Brazzle, who’s the tournament director, longtime tournament director for this uh tournament here, the Winter Championship, when the when the schedule came out and his tournament was right before the FedEx Cup playoffs, initially he wasn’t very happy uh with that. But you’ve seen the progression of this tournament and the importance of this tournament, this championship and getting players into the playoffs and all the drama surrounding it. I mean, it’s really really a a great tournament and Brazil is very happy with where he is. I mean, look at look at the players that showed up this week. I mean, he had 22 of the top 50 were scheduled to play. Windham Park pulled out. It’s it’s the best field that they’ve had here at the Windom Championship since the FedEx uh Cup era. So, yeah, this is a very important tournament. players are actually putting everything on the line. The worst day of my year at the Golf Channel is Tuesday of the Windom Championship because I gota ask those guys 60 through 80. What’s it like knowing that you may not be in the playoffs? Your thoughts, you know. So that’s that’s ch and I and before I ask them anything about it, I tell the players like, I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to ask you. But they’re off obviously very um they’re great sports about it. They’re they’re wonderful professionals. But yeah, it’s it’s there’s a lot of drama here. No doubt. Now, and I think we’ve talked about this, the idea that Brazzle has turned the Windom essentially into the default fourth playoff of it. You’re right. I think it’s become such an interesting part on the schedule because you’re right, in your mind, it would you would think it would be easy for players to skip and that really hasn’t been the case at all. I think it’s actually only improving as the year goes by. It’s also a big week for you. This is a home game, as Lav said. Do you love the home game or you loving it? [Laughter] Um, I’ll go with the loving it. Uh yeah, I get I get to see my family. I get to see my friends and uh you know, it’s it’s really cool to walk around the grounds and you know, run into people that sometimes you don’t recognize because you haven’t seen them in a long time and it’s like, “Oh, remember me?” No. Oh, yeah. You know, and sometimes you kind of have to fake it. I was like, “No, I’m kidding. I don’t I don’t fake it.” But of course, but it’s really cool. It’s fun. Uh come eat a lot of uh food that is very unhealthy. It’s probably the one week I drink sweet tea. Um, and yeah, I have a great time here. T, on a slightly more serious note, the Windham Championship wasn’t just a home game for you. It was also the farewell, the final broadcast for CBS broadcaster Ian Baker Finch. Uh, CBS had a great shot of him at the end, his lips, uh, trembling, uh, tears streaming down his face. What do you think will be Finch’s legacy as a player turn broadcaster? I I think that um I you would be hardressed to to find a broadcaster uh that loves golf more than him. I mean, he played golf a couple times here this week. Uh he loves the game. I think he has a tremendous spirit of service for the viewers uh to making to make sure that they are informed and entertained because sports is entertainment. Um and I think he’s very passionate about that. Um, I mean, he does his homework. He’s he’s up there with Brando Shambbley as far as like doing his homework and taking notes and making sure that he is fully prepared. Um, so yeah. So, um, whenever Ian Baker Finch talked, you knew that you were going to get some quality information about a player, about a golf course, about a golf tournament. For sure. Now, you had the opportunity to sit down this week and talk with Ian Baker Finch. You’re watching him on Sunday and Lav’s right. The emotions were clear. It was tough for him to do it and it was really cool to watch how everybody in the booth just gave him his moment. But in that interview when you sat down with him, what were some of his reflections and how would you characterize his emotions? Well, he was sitting down with me and I don’t work with him as intimately as the CBS guys uh do and and he was he was tearing up with me. Uh and so uh I I I knew this was going to be an emotional day. Uh I you know I I think going back to the legacy question you asked me Ryan I kind of asked it in a different way about you know what do you hope that the viewer took from you? Um, and I think that was, you know, that I think he realized at least through that question and that answer about how how special it was to give to the viewer. Uh, and the and the beautiful responsibility that you have as a former player, as a major champion, uh, to make sure that the viewer loves the game as much as you do. And I think that that’s exactly, you know, his spirit. Um, and we did get a little bit into, you know, how when he started, how he started. Um, and how if he was nervous and and he said, “No, it was pretty natural.” Uh, you know, and and all of us have been on TV, you know, it it’s it’s not that easy. It’s not that natural. Yeah. It’s a learned quality. Uh, sometimes uh it was for me. I know you two are are just beautiful, natural people on camera. Um, but yeah. So, so yeah, it was it was really cool for him to reminisce and go down memory lane, you know, two decades ago when he said, “My game is is is falling apart. I need to find something else to do and and and think he’s he’s turned that opportunity into into something wonderful.” So, goodbye to CBS for the 2025 golf season. Hello to Golf Channel and NBC, which has the remaining three events of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Tou, you’re actually heading to Memphis as well. Another iteration of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Staggered start is no more at the Tour Championship. Everyone is starting from scratch. Winner take all. What is your take on this version of the playoff that gets underway in Memphis this week? Yeah, it’ll be interesting. Uh, you know, I mean, Rory Mroy is not playing in Memphis next week. Um, and you know, he’s he compared to years past, if he wins the next two events, he wouldn’t have an advantage at East Lake. Um, so really, you know, I was a little concerned that this might happen that players who know that they’re going to be at East Lake because there’s no advantage if you’re 30th at first when you show up for the tour championship. They might just say, “Hey, I’m going to take an event or two off and rest and get ready for the tour championship.” And, you know, obviously Rory’s doing that. Um, so it’ll be a little more of a wild west shootout at at East Lake. It’ll obviously be a lot more simpler. So, uh, but you know, at the same time, I I think the FedEx Cup playoffs, I my opinion is they’re a lot of fun. It’s a three-week, uh, dash for a prestigious title than a lot of money. So, I enjoy it. Yeah, less math. We We always want less math. We want less Steve Sands at the whiteboard. We just need less having to think about not only is how this person is going to win, but give me the math behind it. I don’t think any of us want that. To go back to the Rory equation, I’m kind of with you. Roy made the point earlier this year that last year he didn’t play well at all in Memphis and I think he only dropped one spot and his point was why am I doing this especially now that they’ve gotten rid of the starting strokes at East Lake. I was actually kind of surprised and I’d be curious your take on this. I would have thought more players might have skipped given the opportunity to get a week of rests to maybe not go through that heat and everything that we know about Memphis. Yeah, I I I agree with you. I’m actually surprised that um right now it’s just Floyd Maroy that is not playing. I I I think it is though, you know, if you pull out of that tournament given that it is the FedEx Cup and FedEx is the sponsor of this championship and you’re playing in FedEx’s hometown. The check’s still cash, Too. The check’s still cash. True. But that, you know, that’s the PG tour is obviously not very happy if you step away from that tournament. Uh but, you know, we’ll see. We’ll we’ll we’ll see how many people are going to tee I hope I hope 69 players going to tee it up on Thursday, but we shall see. One final question for you before we get out of here on this boots on the ground segment. Too, what’s what’s like your biggest storyline heading into the playoffs? It seems I think even if Roy Moy sweeps his two starts in the playoffs, Scotty Shler is still going to be the PJ tour player of the year in 2025. But what sort of storyline are you monitoring as the postseason gets underway? Well, I do think it is Scotty Sheffller. I think, you know, can he back up that incredible uh major championship run that he that he had this year, winning two majors and of course what he did at Fort Rush. uh can he continue that momentum uh throughout the playoffs and and win the FedEx Cup and again continue to cement himself as a player that we are going to if he does that then the Tiger comparisons and the Jack comparisons are going to continue to roll out. Um and it’s and he will creep closer to being one of the all-time greats. Uh, I mean, look, I know he’s got a lot of golf left, and I know we may be, you know, like you guys like to say, a prisoner of the moment, but I I mean, I don’t see him going backwards. Uh, obviously golf, it’s golf, and you can uh just ask the MB or Baker Finch, but um but I I think that, you know, I want to see if this momentum continues all the way through the FedEx playoffs. Well, you can see Scotty, you can see Todd Lewis all week in Memphis. Too, we appreciate you joining us. I know you need to get back to your autograph signing on Sunday night in Greensbow, but we certainly appreciate you taking the time with us. Thank you for that ridiculous comment, Ryan. I appreciate it. All right, more of the Golf Show podcast with Rex and Lav after this short break. We’re loving it or loving it right after this break. [Music] Okay, Rex, it’s time for the world famous love it or love it segment. You know the drill. You either love something or you laugh it. You hate on it. Let’s start with Roy Moy, the world number two, who is skipping the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Championship. Are you loving or laughing Roy missing out on playoff stop number one? I mean, I don’t love it. You always want to see more Rory Mroy playing golf. you want to see the world stop playing. I’m going to It’s a very tricky question. Uh I guess I would have to lav it with a caveat because you certainly understand it where and we just had this conversation with Todd so I’m not going to completely rehash it but the idea being that with the change to East Lake to the tour championship that you’re not going to have to deal with starting strokes anymore that regardless of where you are one through 30 on the list, you’re not coming in with any advantage whatsoever. The big payout’s just going to come whoever wins that week. It makes no sense. He’s so safely inside that top 30 mark. As a matter of fact, I’m kind of surprised he’s even playing the BMW at this point in time because there’s nothing to be gained there for him either. And as we just had a conversation with Todd, I’m actually surprised more players didn’t decide to skip. That’s why I’m loving it. First of all, I love Anarchy, but I’m I’m also loving the decision that he’s made and I’m surprised that more players aren’t following suit, you know, especially being, you know, secured into the tour championship, the winner take all format. There’s really not much to be gained other than more money. I know there’s going to be another payoff uh for the players in the FedEx Cup uh prize distribution. I totally get that. Rory has shown at least in 2025 that he is not afraid to miss big events. He missed Kapalua. Uh he missed the RBC Heritage. He missed the Memorial. Now he’s missing a playoff event. He does have Rex a busy post Rder Cup schedule and so I think that is um that’s noteworthy as well. He has mentioned late last year that he was going to be scaling down his schedule uh in the states. This is a bridge year by all accounts for the FedEx Cup playoffs. I understand the idea of a first round buy and Rory essentially would be getting a first round buy and then can skip Memphis, but there has to be a way if you’re the PJ tour and these are your big money playoffs to ensure participation among all of the best players. I’d love to see something done to actually have sort of a real playoff and these guys have to play in all three playoff events. All right, second topic for the love it or love it. Adam Scott’s assessment speaking to reporters at the Windham Championship that quote there is not much happening between representatives from the PJ tour and the Saudi public investment fund as it relates to a potential deal. Are you loving or laughing the progress that has been made or lack thereof? I think every fan should laugh it because I think that the split, the divide in the game isn’t good for anyone except for a handful of pros who are getting paid very very well because they decided to take a lot of money. Certainly understand it. However, I’m not exactly sure why this is even a headline. I had this conversation with Adam Scott at the Scottish Open that as as best we can anyone can tell, there have been no meetings between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia since the second White House meeting. So clearly that meeting we know now did not go well. Clearly, there were some things that came up in that meeting that both sides seem entrenched on and they’re not going to negotiate. And I don’t think at the rate we’re going now, either side gets to a point where they’re willing to come back to the table and negotiate. I’ve said this on numerous occasions that I don’t know much about business, but I know that in a negotiation, two sides can’t have the upper hand. And it really feels like every time you hear comments from both camps that both sides feels like they have the upper hand, that they have all the leverage they need and that they don’t need to negotiate. I don’t believe that’s true. I think both sides suffer from the divide in golf. The PGA that the fans themselves told the PGA Tour in the fan forward initiative that one of the most important things facing the game is they want to see the best players playing together more often. Right now it’s just the four majors and we’ll see a handful of them at the RDER Cup. But I don’t think that’s compelling for anyone. So I laugh that. Yeah, I’m laughing it as well. Remember that Tiger Woods visit to the booth at the Genesis Invitational was played at Tory Pines and you spoke so optimistically and all the best players going to be back and Jim Nance sort of pressed on. He’s like, “Yeah, this that’s going to happen this summer.” Uh, I think that’s that that clip is going to be living in infamy. It’s pretty clear at this point that both the PG Tour and Live Golf are going down parallel tracks and this week is a perfect example. We just spent time talking about the FedEx St. Championship, the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Well, this week you have Liv Chicago up against that playoff event and that’s going to continue each of the next three weeks as Liv closes out its season just as the PJ tour does as well. Does that benefit these tours? I would argue no because having those two events running concurrently on opposing networks sort of sort of divides attention among golf fans. I don’t think the the new CEOs who are in place, whether it’s Brian Rolap or Scott O’Neal, they might not be able to help consummate a deal for Saudi funding, but I do think increased cooperation between both sides would benefit everybody, in particular the fans. I understand that right now that’s not the tour’s mantra. Tour’s mantra right now is to ignore Liv, focus on what you’re doing. You feel like you have momentum, you feel like they have the upper hand, and forge ahead. I I think certainly if Liv has a less of a quiet offseason that they’ve had over the past couple years, things could be a little bit of a different story. Rex, you and I spent plenty of time on the Wednesday show uh reviewing, critiquing Happy Gilmore 2, which landed on Netflix about a week or so ago. I asked listener questions and comments. We got them. Jangles said it was a decent movie. Laughed a bit. But what sequel has been good since Godfather 2? Christopher Nelson says he was disinterested after 20 to 30 minutes. Elvand 555 says happy Gilmore was terrible. Full stop. Too much focus on his alcoholism. The story could have been so much more with Shooter. Has anything over the past week changed your mind about what you glimpsed? Uh, no. I watched it again just to to see, you know, maybe I missed something. Maybe because I just wanted to see and there’s not a lot going on right now in the sports world. So, I I watched it again and I’ll say the same thing I said before where I laughed quite a bit like I’m I’m laughing out loud and just to correct I forget which person said it there. Oceans 12 is a very good movie. Not as good as Oceans 11 may probably, but Oceans 12 is a very good movie. So, there are good sequels. I’ll just come out and say it. And there were certainly parts where I think uh it was one of my sons Trevor told me that maybe you know um maybe the acting drug a little bit. I’m not talking about with the athletes. I’m talking with about Adam Sandler. didn’t seem to have his best stuff for this movie. But I like the cameos. I liked some of the writing. I like the storylines. I thought it was, you know, the whole Maxi Goth thing seemed a little flimsy to me, but I found it entertaining. I just didn’t have very high expectations. Uh, I didn’t watch it again. I won’t watch it again. I thought it was too long. I thought the plot was absurd. I thought there was way too many cameos because there were so many non-acctors that made the overall acting terrible. People that say, “What did you expect?” Well, I expected 30 years after the original to not waste my time on a movie that was not quotable, did not have any memorable moments like you had in the first. That’s enough. That’s what she said. Talk about Hebie Gilmore, too, ever again. All right, that’s going to do it for this edition of Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav. Rex and I will be back on Wednesday for a full preview edition of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. In the meantime, you guys know the drill. mcports.com/golf akaolfch channel.com. We’ll talk to you guys a couple days. [Music]