LIVE IN BETHPAGE: Analyzing Ryder Cup Pairings & Ian Poulter Joins

We’re live in Bethpage on the eve of the Ryder Cup. Pairings are out & we dissect them all. Ian Poulter joins & we feature fan predictions for Bethpage.

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Intro – 00:00 – 4:27
Ryder Cup Storylines – 4:28 – 20:45
Friday Pairings – 20:46 – 31:00
Friday Preview – 31:01 – 38:11
Ian Poulter Interview – 38:12 – 50:56
Funny Stuff – 50:57 – 1:04:28

[Music] All right, we’re live. I think we’re live. I don’t hear the show, but we don’t we usually don’t hear that. We’re part, do we? I don’t know. We’re live. We are live in Beth Page. I can say that uh with my chest. We are live in Beth Page ahead of the Ryder Cup. the 45th, I believe, Ryder Cup. I’m joined by Alan Shipnook. I’m joined by Ben Bosovich. Uh we’re going to talk about why we’re in this house in a second. You did not think you were going to avoid that. But you wasted no time. I’m going to start uh with a little bit of a hype message because I think we’re finally going to get a classic RDER Cup. I really do. I think the last couple ones have been uh a little bit of duds because it’s just been home team uh holding serve. I think we are in for a spectacle like golf has not seen uh this weekend at Beth Page Black. And yeah, there there’s a little bit of star power that’s missing from the American team. You know, Tony Fenau is not here. I don’t know why that’s the first thing that popped into my head. Allan’s like, where’s the missing star power? Tony Feno is not here. You know, Jordan Speed is not here. But five of the 12 Americans are are multiple major winners. So you’ve got Sheffller, you’ve got Morawa, you’ve got Justin Thomas, you’ve got Bryson Dashambo, and I think there’s one more whose name escapes me. This European side, I think, is one of those teams that we’re going to look back on in Wikipedia in 15 years and be like, that was one hell of a European. They’re intimidating to look at on paper, especially their top eight. We’re going to get into the pairings. The pairings are out. We’re going to we’re going to wait a second. We’re going to we’re going to dissect those. But, you know, I think Rory at this point in his career, the gray hairs are in, but he’s he’s it’s the same year that he won the Masters. You know, the new cycle moves so fast. But let’s not forget that the beginning of this year, it was Rory Nakura. Before it was Scotty Sheffler. He won at Pebble Beach. He won the players championship. He won the Masters. They’ve got 11 of the 12 coming back. Only one rookie and he was riding around with his brother. It’s the same DNA as Rory said. I really think we’re in and and and then you add the Beth Page factor. You add the crowd factor. to add Beth Page itself is a really iconic place. It’s been really fun hanging out there for a couple days. It’s only my second time there. I played the black once a couple years ago, but you know, when you have it at a course like that, it’s like everyone’s home course. All the all the fans who are from this area feel a piece of ownership of that place. You know, they know where they hit it and they can compare it to where Rory hit it and they can say, “Oh, this putt is really fast.” Or and you know, usually there’s a small group of members who can say that. There’s a lot of people who have played Beth Paige Black. So, I think we are in for an absolute show this week. Europe is looking incredibly strong. That’s kind of the first place I want to start. Allan, uh, what do you make of of the European side coming into this? Because it feels like from an energy perspective, from from a buying perspective, uh, it couldn’t have gone much better. So much swagger. Like these guys know they’re going to win. They’re not hoping to. So, you’re you’re thinking they’re going to win for sure. I think that and they think that more importantly, I mean, the quiet confidence, they they they just they ooze it. They’re sweating it. Like these guys are so rock solid. They’ve had basically this has been a three-year runup for them. All the dinners, all the European tour pairing, same squad. Same squad. Like they are so dialed. They have no question marks. They know every pairing of every session. They they have such a comfort level. Like it’s frightening squad. Like you said, if they do this, they will go down as one of the greatest RDER Cup teams ever. I think doing it in New York, doing it against, you know, I I think back to the last RDER Cup that was on US soil and there was such a different energy because not just the pandemic, but that was the last goound for the for the old guard. Remember Lee Westwood was there? I want to say was, you know, was Palter there maybe? It was all those guys were still playing I think you know and that they’re all gone and they’ve been replaced by the Victor Havlins by the Ludvig Obergs by you know the Bob McIntyre’s they’ve they’ve I remember it when the US won I think that’s is that when you wrote your article being like or was that before that that was I wrote that in 17 you wrote that in 17 but I think there was a similar thing after 21 it was like the Americans just dominated at home and the Europeans all this old guard that would was their core is gone and and if you would fast forward four years, it’s it’s hard to believe how well it’s gone for them. So, we’re going to we’re going to jump into the pairings eventually, but I want to talk a little bit about some of the storylines that have been permeating around the grounds this week. And the first one is this payment situation. So obviously this conversation started uh very very loudly at Saturday of the last RDER Cup when Jamie Weir tweeted that the reason that Patrick Kentlay wasn’t wearing a hat was because uh it was a protest basically. They wanted to be paid for the RDER Cup and this the the PG of America tried to slip this in pretty quietly. I think they they didn’t want it to be a story ob for obvious reasons. It’s not it’s not the easiest thing to talk about, but the US team is receiving uh each player will receive $300,000 that is like earmarked for charity and then they have $200,000 of a stipent, which is an interesting word. It basically means money that you can do whatever you want with. A lot of those guys will donate it. I suspect some won’t. I’m not sure. The European team, on the other hand, according to their captain, Luke Donald, was offered the chance to be paid. And here’s what Luke said about his side and how they approached that. This came up and I wanted to get ahead of it and um you know talked to the 12 guys in Rome you know when when it looked like that the US were going to do something different with payments and you know every one of them was just like no we we don’t want to play pay get this isn’t a week to get paid. um you know we have such um a strong purpose in this team and what we play for and you know to be honest we reinvest that some of that money back into the experience of these guys you know and I feel like if you have those experiences that you remember for the rest of your life that’s worth more than a couple hundred,000 in the back of your pocket so you know for me uh I was very proud of the guys you know I think um the the ideals of you know how this Ryder Cup was set up back in the 20s by Samuel Ryder I think he would have been proud now too. I like Luke Donald. He’s a fellow Northwestern Wildcat. I think this whole, you know, we’re playing for something bigger is very holier than now. I think it’s a little sanctimonious. He said there, you know, these lifelong memories are worth more than a couple hundred thousand in your pocket. Why? First of all, why are those things mutually exclusive? Yeah. Like, I don’t understand this notion that if you’re getting compensated, and the Ryder Cup is massive business, massive, massive, massive business. I don’t understand how making $200,000 that they’re probably going to donate anyway. It’s a principal thing. It doesn’t mean they’re going to try any less hard. It doesn’t mean those memories are are are soured or any less pure. I think it’s a very uh sort of insight into cultural differences between the way the Europeans uh and the Americans view capitalism and view money-making as though if you’re making money, it it somehow takes away from the experience. Um, and I also think like European journalists are usually not like fierce capitalists. And then you add European journalists. There’s a little bit of like, oh, if someone’s making money, it’s somehow a bad thing. I have absolutely no problem with them making $200,000 or whatever it is for the week. If you’re playing in the RDER Cup, it’s not like, oh, $200,000 is going to make a huge difference in your life. It’s a principle. These guys are seeing everyone make money around them, and they want to feel whether they want to give it to charity or what, it’s up to them. They want to feel like they’re getting their piece of the pie. And I don’t think that it means the Americans will play any less hard. I don’t think it means that they care about their team any less. And I think the European team is trying to drive a wedge. They’re trying to use this as a rallying cry when I think it’s like it’s just not a real thing. It actually surprised me that they continued this narrative and it became like their bullet in all of this because like Allan said like it this feels more like Rocky versus Ivan Drago than any other sort of Ryder Cup in the past or in the past 10 years. And they’re coming through with such a quiet confidence. They don’t need to have like that talking point. You know what I mean? And the American team feels like they’re searching for something like that shared camaraderie almost beyond like the flag. I’m curious, Alan, what do you think about the players getting paid? Well, the real story is that Europe hates charity. These guys are so selfish they won’t give a dollar to charity. That should be the story. Um, I mean, the money that the that that the European side makes, it all goes to the the European tour. They’re taking that money, putting it right into their purses. You the Ryder Cup has kept the European tour afloat for decades. So, this whole notion of, oh, we’re playing for free. No, you’re not. You’re you’re paying for the purse of next year’s Irish Open. I mean, that’s what you’re playing for. And um yeah, it never sat well with me in college football when the coach was making $10 million and the players were playing for free and that’s been rectified. And also, let me let me for one second. Has there ever been an American who boycotted the Ryder Cup because they weren’t getting paid? I can’t remember. Yeah. You know who got banned was Sebie Bisteros because he wanted to get paid through the European tour. Not just for the Ryder Cup, but for appearance fees in general. He sat out a writer cup over money. Is that right? Yeah. He played chicken to like the last minute. Right. the seb that is like the god the god of European Rder Cup. That’s incredible. I didn’t know that. I mean because it’s I there’s I cannot think of one American who has ever boycotted the RED Cup because they weren’t getting paid. So it’s not like they put a stand and if they weren’t getting paid then none of the guys would have even showed up to Beth Page. Why can’t the PG of America do a nice thing, everyone feels better about it and we move on. It’s just this weird fascination with these guys pockets and whether they’re being paid or not and it’s like I just think it’s it’s a it’s a total non-issue for me. I mean look at the corporate build out here. It’s obscene. It’s so over the top. Look at Rayo is charging 2500 bucks for one dinner. Like everybody is slurping up the money and for the players to not get any of it. It’s just weird. It’s a principal thing. And I think it’s lame to demonize success. Yeah. You know, it’s lame to demonize these guys because they are the engine that is driving this entire windfall of money and they shouldn’t see any of it. Yeah. It it doesn’t it doesn’t hold up. And I agree, you know, what you said, Ben, like Europe’s trying so hard, it might actually blow up on them because they’re helping the eur the Americans rally around like if I’m the American team, I make a birdie on the first tea, I’m going like this. I’m I’m going throwing money in the air, honestly. So, you guys talked about the Europeans are trying to use this as a thing. We have this clip of Luke Donald. This is from the opening ceremony. Let’s run this. Uh Andy, it is not about prize money or world ranking points. It’s about pride. He doesn’t even sound like he believes that he’s saying that genuinely. I disagree because he kind of goes and then people start clapping and then he kind of leans back and smiles a little bit. I think he knew exactly what he was saying. And I I I do I think you’re right, Alan. I think this is going to light a fire in the American side. Like these [ __ ] think that just because we’re getting $200,000 stipen that I’m going to donate to my local Boys and Girls Club that I care about the Team USA any less. How many endorsement and appearance fees has Luke Donald cashed over these last few years as a Ryder Cup captain? I he was done as a player. Like he’s has a whole second career now because of the Rder Cup. Has he turned that money down? No. Like it just intellectually does not hold up. This whole argument that Europe’s trying to sell. And yeah, I I think I think this might be the thing that rallies the American team to your point. Like screw these guys, man. They’re trying to make us look greed. Like we’re just we’re just trying to get a little for charity. What’s so bad about that? the the messaging has been so off and it’s the whole thing’s an eye roll. Yeah, it is an eye roll. I I think it probably would have been a little cleaner if they either made like all 500,000 a stipend or all 500,000 for charity, but this like 60% of it is for charity and then 40% is to your discretion. Uh it’s a little bit imperfect. So Patrick Kentlay, he was the one who was at the center of this controversy. He’s wearing a hat this week. He’s been wearing a hat all week. Andy, we can pull it up. He said the reason that he didn’t wear a hat, and this was this was the official team Kentlay line was that it was because it didn’t fit his head. and he said, “Like I’ve said a million times, the hat didn’t fit last year, and this year we worked with them to make sure we had one, and we got one, so we’re good.” I’m not saying that I believe that. Yeah. What was the R&D process like with Patrick Hley’s head? I’m not saying I believe that, but I got to say he has a big head and as a guy who has struggled in the past to find a hat that fits. I I I don’t think that that’s the reason why he didn’t wear the hat, but I I do empathize with the hat struggle. They did come up with a perfect hat for big heads this year. So, as a small head guy, like I can’t wear that hat. It looks really good on him. Yeah. So, uh, the the patriotism is is starting in earnest. It was kind of a a wash out today. It was pretty rainy. If you spent a lot of money to come to a RDER Cup practice day, I think you might need your head examined. I’ve been saying that all week. They only play nine holes. There’s only 24 players. They’re on the golf course for like a total of 3 hours. I saw a bunch of people yesterday walking in at like 11:30. I’m like, players are all gone. Like I I don’t know if you paid like $800 to watch a rain session, but like um but yeah, there was we had this clip uh today of Keegan Bradley running with the flag, and I want to ask you, Alan, about uh your thoughts. Yeah, here it is. [Music] So, you wrote a piece on Scratch about Keegan Bradley. If if I showed Keegan Bradley that clip in 2013, he probably would have cringed like out of his skin. Well, he was still in his RER Cup heyday as a player back then. So any other player, you know, if Bryson does it, it’s an eye roll. But Keegan, it really is from the heart. And this is the greatest honor of his life being the captain. He’s I think he’s overwhelmed by the whole thing. You know, when he he said Justin Rose made the putt at Brooklyn, that just shows like how nervous in his head he is about the whole thing. I think these these acts of patriotism slightly over the top. It’s like a release for him. And I mean, I’m buying what he’s selling. anybody else on either team. It’s a little cringey, but we have to give Keegan this. I mean, he Zack Johnson is gonna cost him two spots on a RDER Cup team. Like, the poor guy has been to Helen back. If it was, if he wants to carry a flag, let him do it. If the captain was any other human being besides Keegan Bradley, he would be playing this week. Yeah, but it’s the trickle down effect from getting left off two years ago. Yeah, it’s definitely the trickle down effect. And uh what do you say? I just we I know we’re going to talk about pairings in a bit, but his demeanor, his disposition during the pairings was like he almost clicked into a new mode where it was like you said it, he was like getting chirpy. He was Yeah, he was a little edgy. So, we were we were watching the Golf Channel when they made the picks live and and Brandle obviously said earlier this week that Bryson is a captain’s nightmare and Keegan was like, “Bryson’s been an unbelievable teammate all week.” and he kind of looks over and then Paul McInley says to him, you know, uh, you know, the locals will be thinking that the rough was longer, you know, when they played themselves, you know, kind of complaining and he’s like, I think they want us to win. I don’t think they really care about the course setup. Like he he he had a little bit of bite to him. I like it. I think it shows that he is not letting this moment pass him by. Like he is completely in the way that he needs to be, too. Like not as just like, oh, this is cool. He’s like, no, I’m the [ __ ] captain. Let’s lock in. Captain Keegan. So the European team, we talked a little bit about this. their their team building is uh has been pretty pretty uh impressive effort and they have these hype videos and they released this six-inute hype video. It was all about winning on the road. I think they’ve done it four times uh most recently 2012 at Madina. I watched this video. It was a very good video, very highly produced, but there was one line in it that stopped me in my tracks. Let’s roll in Andy. From Broadway to Beth Page Black, New York was built on the backs of Europeans. It’s a place that we all belong. I just haven’t thought of this whole video. It was built on the backs of Europeans who left for a better country, for a better experience. That is that’s a also do we really want to play that game about like how European cities were built and and who built them like you know you guys did a little colonization back in the day. You know what I mean? I don’t think we want to say was every country then built by Europeans that I mean it continues to this day. They’re leaving Europe to complete the PJ tour. They they’ve colonized Florida. But um no, I thought that video was awful. It was so staged, so canned. Those guys are trying to read these fancy lines that some screenwriter wrote. It’s terrible. Like just let them talk about the writer cup. The whole thing was cringe. And that people online are like, “Oh, the European chills. They they did it again.” No, that was a huge swinging a miss. Swinging a miss for Allan. That line uh built on the backs of Europeans. No, it wasn’t. You know what I mean? I it’s that like flies in the face of everything we stand for as a country. I mean, we take give us your poor huddled masses, not give us your happy Europeans who just want to build a city. That’s not how it went. They left for a reason, you know? Wasn’t just like, oh, let’s go build New York and then we’ll go back to, you know, our shanty. Give us your best architects. Yeah. Your best civil engineers. So, I talked a little bit earlier about adolescence, uh, the show this week, and you watched it, right? Some of it. I didn’t finish it. Well, a lot of it is about radicalization of young men and uh I’m a little concerned for Lud Vic Oberg. Let’s roll this clip of him talking about Victor. Well, yeah, he he’s always into sort of the the the UFO deals and and all those things. So, it’s quite interesting. I’m not quite down that road just yet. You know, if I hang out with him long enough, I might be, but um you know, again, you never really know where it’s going to go, which is quite interesting. I think that Ludvig’s on the road to radicalization. Sounds like Victor. He’s like, you know, at the beginning he’s like, “What are you talking about?” Now he’s like, “That’s pretty interesting.” Victor would feel about that alien. Where? Yeah. Where’d you find? Yeah. Ben’s Ben has pulled up this video on his phone of this alien from Tik Tok that he thinks is real. And a meteorite crashed in Panama and is growing into an alien life. And so he showed he showed us the video and then Bush, myself, and Matt who just left, we all watched it. And we as like a as like a tribal council, we were like unanimous in saying like we have to say to Ben like you have to stop showing people this that like thinking that it’s real. Like this is I’m going to show Victor Hall. Like this is really like you have to stop. Like this is the most clearly fake thing. Speaking of Ben Bosovich, oh I did this to myself now. This was this was going to happen. So show up to the airport on Monday. We do a great day on golf on Monday. Welcome to the show. We love you golf sickos. and uh show up to the airport and Ben’s in a sweat. Fully sweating physically. Yeah. Like physically sweating. And he he looks at me and he goes, “I made the greatest mistake.” Which I thought was like pretty artful way of putting it. Yeah. Like that. That’s that would be what the if there was a book about this snafu about the housing disaster of September 2025, it would be called The Greatest Mistake. He goes he it’s it’s me, Chad Mum, who’s the president of our company and Ben, and we’re standing at the gate and and he looks like he just saw a ghost and he said, “I made the greatest mistake.” And he looks at me and he goes, “You’re going to hate me.” And I go, “What happened?” He goes, “I booked the house for 2026.” I said, “No, you didn’t.” He said, “Yes, I did. I took a lap around the gate and I came back and I said, you know, Ben, they probably just made a mistake like on their end booking it. Let me see the confirmation email.” Confirmation email. Boldest letters you’ve ever seen. Your stay for September 2026 is confirmed for Beth Page. I’m like, Ben, were you curious why the house was like onetenth of the price of all the other houses for 2025? How did you how I I I love you, dearly. How did you do that? Moving fast, doing a lot of stuff at once and just like working too hard. And we were like throwing some links around and somebody threw it and I was like, “This one looks great.” Like, let’s rip. I’m taking care of the boys. I got seven seven of us all accounted for. Like, I’m a good dad. Um Yeah. Now, four of us are sharing a bathroom. You know, four. Yeah. You came back though. I came back. Well, I was staying in uh I stayed in LaGuardia around LaGuardia for a few nights and the drive home just killed me. So, I’m staying here. Uh it’s if we bring it back to Victor Havlin, I just want to say like to change this up. Yeah. Yeah, I bet you do. You fake alien believing wrong house [ __ ] sucker. Live through my mistakes, right? Um yeah, I now you have to now you have to make a really good point about Victor. I think it confirms all the stuff you hear online that’s like, “Oh, he’s a weird dude.” like when his like nobody brought alien or UFO up to Ludvig. He brought up UFO like naturally. That means all the stuff about Victor is true and I want to hang out with him. I really was just trying to change the subject. I busted. But let’s just note that the best scene we’ve seen on social was this little over stolen moment between Victor and Shane a couple nights ago where Victor said, “That’s the best arrange session I’ve had in two years.” And Shane Larry went crazy. [ __ ] yes. Yeah, it was great. It was great. Like that’s scary because when you talk about this European team, you know, everyone goes to Rory, they go to Rom. Victor was the best player two years ago. Exactly. And he’s been quiet since then. And not forgotten, but a little overlooked. Like if Victor’s in full flight, like that’s a game changer. I will say if I had a dollar for every time Victor Havlin had found something in his swing, this guy’s got, you know, more swing coaches than than anyone out there. Valid. Yeah. But uh yeah, so let’s move into the pairings then. So Victor’s playing tomorrow. Let’s let’s talk about it. So the first pairing off, uh they’re playing for tomorrow. little bit of an uh somewhat of a surprise I think because you know historically at least the conventional wisdom is that Europe is better at foresomes alternate shot and and the Americans are better at best ball really in recent years it’s just been like the home team has been disproportionately dominant in forsomes so the first match is Justin Thomas and Bryson Dashambo against John Rom and Tier Hatton so we’ll start on the American side I think Bryson is going to hit that first T-ot and I think that was probably something that the captains wanted For sure he’s he has to take the odd holes cuz this the the sequence of Beth Paige some of the hardest holes are the odds like number nine Bryson his ability to fly that bunker is massive maybe drive the green on one like it really makes sense to and and just the emotional punch what sucks about the first hole at Beth Page is those trees are you can’t see where the ball lands so the players and the fans it’s going to be a little bit of a wet fart like you know Bryson’s going to smash one of the horizon And we don’t bury him under the lip of the bunker. Is he 10 feet? I mean, you’ll get a roar down by the the green maybe, but that’s delayed gratification. But I do love the pairing cuz Justin Thomas, I think the strength of his game is his short irons and his wedges. Yeah. And so he’s going to be playing Bryson’s drives. Like that’s that’s a pretty tough combo. It is an interesting uh pairing. It’s two really big personalities. probably the two biggest on the American side as far as like rah rah and hyping the crowd up and you know not guys that you would think would be natural pairings. They seem to be pretty different. But listen, Brandle aside, all the word from from it feels like the American team has been making an effort to make Bryson feel welcomed and they’re all saying how great of a teammate he’s been. Uh so on the American side, it’s an interesting very sort of firework pairing. And then on the European side, Rahm and Hatton, two kind of villains, two guys who have been fantastic enforcements. I think they’re two and0 enforcements together. A formidable start for the Europeans. That’s going to be fiery. Like I think both guys knew we need to put our like fighters out first enough that they’re going to physically uh get in an altercation. Although that would be sick if they did. Just a little shoving would be nice. I actually wanted to a point that he just made about the odd and even holes. I I’m thinking about number one. Obviously like Bryson can drive that green, but number three is a long par three. You need some distance on that. And the number four, you don’t necessarily need distance on that. JT can take the T-OT and Bryson get on that in two with a pitching wedge. Yeah, it’s there won’t be many words spoken between JT and Bryson and Rahm Manhattan. Those are the two probably most intense competitors competitors on the European side. The second match is Scotty Sheffller, the best player on Godscreen Earth and Russell Henley against Ludvig Oberg and Matt Fitzpatrick. So, I think a lot of people thought that Ludvig would be sent out with Victor, kind of the team Scandinavia. It’s a real uh vote of confidence in Fitz. Let’s start with Fitz Allen. There’s a little bit of pressure, I would say. Massive. Homie’s one and seven in the RDER Cup. Yeah. I mean, and the one, you know, he he he buried a bunch of holes, but he was also playing with Rory Mroy. Exactly. Like he has the most to prove of anyone on the European side, I would say. And I mean, they’ve won in spite of him. And you know, he hasn’t really built on the US Open victory. Like a lot of pressure on Fitz. And it’s funny how the personalities are so different that you got four fiery dudes in in in the first pairing. This is a little quieter, a little more subdued. It kind of brings it’s like, “Okay, let’s take it down a notch.” You know, the singer in the club. Like the first uh the first pairing, the first match is the shot and the second one is the chaser. It’s like, “Okay, let’s restore order a little bit.” Yeah. And you know, frankly, I feel like Ludvig has a lot to prove, too. Like he came out like a you know, a rocket ship on tour. Tons of hype, all that. He hasn’t quite delivered since then. So, he’s looking for a signature moment uh for this season and he’s going to have to do it here. I think this uh Scotty Sheffller, Russell Henley pairing is going to be a common one. I think they’re going to be this year’s Molinari in Fleetwood. You know, I think Scotty doesn’t have anything to prove he’s the best player on the planet, but the RDER Cup record, two wins, two losses, three ties. He hasn’t played a Ryder Cup since he’s been I mean really Scotty Shuffler it’s been 2024 and 2025 that he’s left planet Earth. This is his first Rder Cup that he’s playing sort of in his prime. It’s on home soil. He’s what is he 29 years old. He’s at the height of his powers. And for all of Tiger’s greatness, you know, there is one stain on his sort of resume and it is his RDER Cup record. And and we know how much it means for Scotty to represent the red, white, and blue. We saw him break down in tears when he won the gold medal in Paris. We also saw him break down in tears when him and Brooks were embarrassed by Victor and Ludvig. So, and I think Russell Henley is I’ve been watching him this week. He hits it exactly where he’s looking. Just exactly exactly where he’s looking. I think they’re going to be a really really tough team to beat. I like the Americans big time in that matchup. Moving on to the third, Colin Moria and Harris English against Tommy Fleetwood and Rory Moy. I would suspect that this is the most lopsided one in the odds. Seems like it. You’ve got two of the top three players by data golf on the planet. Fleetwood is number three or number four. So, two of the top four players against two guys on the American side. Morow was struggled this year, particularly with his putting. And Harris English made the team largely on two runner-up finishes in majors, but it was not nearly as consistent as some of the other players. Alex Bush said before that he thinks this is almost like a little bit of a throwaway match for the Americans. Allan, is that is that too far? You don’t know. You don’t know who they’re going to go against, right? We should we should remind our audience. It’s not like the President’s Cup where one team sees it and then they match. They all submit there. So, they don’t know who they’re going to play against. But, it’s an interesting interesting uh pairing to put out there first. No doubt. I mean, again, Rory’s hitting drives and Tommy hitting the wedges. That’s that’s tough. I mean, those are the the two of the best at what they do in in those categories. So, maybe that helps because in some ways the the best American team could still get housed by those guys. So, maybe it’s kind of lucky the way the draw fell. don’t really expect much and if they if they can ek out a half that’ll feel like a win for the US. Um I mean I agree that it’s a tall order but I think Harris English is one of those guys like you said no one’s totally questioning his credentials but he has something to prove. Yeah he’s not a blue chip name like some of the other guy I mean I think that Europe has I’m going to give McIntyre this billing because of all you know he’s been playing really well in in big events. They went with eight eight blue chippers like eight guys who they went with their top eight players in data golf. the four guys who are sitting, Rose, Straka, Lowry, and Hoygard. Those guys have been their four worst players recently. They know how important it is to get off to a good start. Um, and so they’re going with really, really strong teams. I have something hyperbolic to say. Talk to me. A prediction. I think if Colin and Harris win that match tomorrow, the US wins the RDER Cup. Well, it would certainly send a thing that like it’s like, whoa, that was the one we weren’t supposed to maybe win. Like, let’s [ __ ] go. Yeah. No, it could be definitely a momentum builder for the Americans. And then uh Xander and Kantlay which I think everyone was expecting to see against Havland and McIntyre. That’s an interesting one. The the last two Havlin and McIntyre. Havlin sort of a strange year as you were alluding to. You know, he won but he said he had no idea how he won. He changed swing coaches like they were clothes. And Robert McIntyre nearly won the US Open. Uh gave Scotty Sheffer all he could handle at the BMW. He had a great RDER Cup in 2023, but he entered it as sort of the Hoygard character on this team. It was like the guy had really made it on the strength of his European tour starts. He hadn’t really proven himself in the United States. He’s got a different energy this time around. I agree with all of that. I mean, lost in all the controversy around Kentlay and the hats and all that, he was nails in Rome. Nails in Rome. And he was also nails at the not the president’s cup, but he was nails at the President’s Cup, too. I mean, he was their best player at the last Ryder Cup. So this is a big spot for him and you know Xander it’s kind of been a wash this whole year and if he can if he can come through and really bring it at this Ryder Cup I think it changes how he feels about the entire season and it sets him up for you know in going into the the next year. So I think I think that’s a tough US team. I really like that team and so um when when you go down the list I mean I would almost feel like the US is favored in three of the matches and you would you would put the US favored in JT Bryson versus Rahm Hatton. I I feel like it’s I feel like Europe would be favored in Rahm Hatton versus JT Bryson. I feel like Sheffler and Henley are going to be favored because Scotty’s playing. I feel like Fleetwood Mack are going to be favored. Yeah, you like that. And I think I think Yeah, Shawley and Kentley probably would be I think it’s probably two two. I think Xander might be freed up. Xander might be freed up. Like all this talk and everybody’s paying attention to everyone else. He’s probably like, “All right, I’m good.” He seems very chill out there. So any surprise? We talked about the the four that are not playing on the European side. It’s Justin Rose. It’s Rasmusard. It’s Septraka. It’s Shane Lowry. No surprises there, I would say, from you guys. That was going to be my question for both of you. Is is the Rose bench right off the start a mistake for Europe? Well, you want to talk about a guy who made it, you know, on the strength of a couple tournaments. He finished second in the Masters. He finished second in the Open Championship in 2024. And he won in Memphis. I’m a little surprised, but he is 40. What is he? 40 45. You He’s not going to play all five. He’s got to sit at some point. But I think, you know, Justin Rose has proven this year that, and I asked him about this a few times, and he said, “Look, I I accept that I will not be number one in the world ever again. I It’s really hard with my body.” He’s also living in London full-time. He’s like the only guy on both teams who doesn’t live in the United States. I don’t know where Rasquard lives, but um he’s like, “It’s just not in the cards anymore. But on my week, when I’m swinging it well and when I have energy and when I can feed off the crowd, I can still do it.” What do you make of Jay Rose this week? Yeah, he’s he’s a weapon. I mean, he’s going to play one session on Friday and one session on Saturday, so he’s going to be fresh. Um I, you know, he he’s become this lion who just kind of appears when it matters and he’s made a lot of big putts at the Ryder Cup. He’s just one of those guys who loves it and he has really nothing to prove with this. I think he’s going to freewheel it. I think he’s going to make a ton of birdies. Well, he’s going to be the captain of next one probably. Yeah. Who else who else is even in contention? You know, they asked Sons of Rory turned down the opportunity to potentially be a playing captain. Shane’s not at that point in his career yet. Yeah. I mean, Rose is an emotional player for a button-down English guy. He he’s he’s been feeding on emotion since he was 17 years old and you hold out at Burkdale and so this is probably his last harrah and he knows it. So, I I think he’s going to bring it. Um, you know, Lowry, you definitely would rather have him in four balls in an alternate shot, but he’s he’s like a he’s like a cat on a hot tin roof. Like I would almost throw him out there first just because he’s going to be just just to get him like to settle into the tournament, but I would love to see Shane and Rory in in the afternoon. I think that would be that would be a baller pairing. Yeah, you wrote a great story about that uh leading into the Open Championship. So, we’re all very excited to be there on Friday. Someone else who’s also excited to be there on Friday is the 47th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. So, Trump is going to be uh be at the RDER Cup on Friday and it has led to some increased security protocols. There are a number of prohibited items. You are not allowed to bring portable folding chairs, torchstyle lighters, metal/h hard plastic insulated beverage, large umbrellas, or large vaping devices. And it’s that last one that’s key because half the European caddies are [ __ ] I don’t know if that I don’t know if that applies to the caddies. They might have like a separate entrance, you know? I don’t know if this is just fans, but if they’re not allowing the vapes, European caddies might be on edge tomorrow. Someone’s gonna pull a lava just because they’re fending. Like, but also, what is a large vaping like? Is that like industrial strength? You get it has wheels. Like, it’s like a, you know, when you see it type of deal, you know, it’s like almost like a like an alien weapon just to bring it all the way back around. There’s there’s giant rigs that they’re looking for. So, speaking of the crowd, uh Allan, I feel like it’s gotten so much hype now that it’s almost like if someone doesn’t punch someone in the face, it’ll be almost a disappointment. What do you make of it? Do you do you think that it’s going to cross the line? Is there a line? What’s going to happen? I mean, there’s a line in that you can’t have shouting when someone’s on the down swing. That’s the line. You know, you don’t want to back swing’s okay. Back swing I can live with. No, I mean, you don’t want to interfere with the competition. When when a guy misses a putt, if people want to cheer, it’s the right cup. Deal with it. Um, I think, you know, Collins comments, people calling the crowd tame, I think that that’s going to add a Yahoo factor like, “Oh, we’ll show these guys.” But I think that’s what he was doing. No doubt. The issue is who’s going to show up. Is Is it going to be a bunch of corporate duds because they could actually afford the Ryder Cup? I I saw something on Twitter um today that Keegan was rocking up to the parking lot over the last few months and handing out tickets. And they said he gave out 3,000 tickets, which is actually a lot of tickets. Yeah. I mean, that’s a stack of tickets just to the regular everyday golfers you talked about, Dan, who are invested in this tournament. So, is it a corporate crowd or is it like the guys who go to Rangers games? That’s a wildly different spectrum and we’re not going to really know until we get there tomorrow. I I I’ve noticed and I don’t know if this is a conscious choice by the Europeans. They were signing way more autographs than the Americans. Charm offensive. Yeah. Yeah. I think was it you who told me the Burnard Longer thing? I guess Bernard Longer said like every autograph you sign is one less person that’s going to boo you. I have seen a lot of Americans walk past autographs. I saw one kid even said like, “Hey, can you sign my autograph?” And JT was like, “Uh, no.” After the round and he said, “The Europeans are doing it.” And JT said, “They’re just trying to make you like them.” And his mom said, “It’s working.” Exactly. Because that I mean that they are signing a crazy amount of And I think, you know, Rory, we’ll get to this later, but talking about how much he loves America. I think they are trying not to antagonize people a little bit. Well, I was going to bring up the Rory comment because, you know, you remember two years ago at the end of the Ryder Cup, he’s pound on the table, we’re going to Beth Paige, we’re going to win. Like, he threw down the gauntlet and he’s been talking trash ever since. And I think that was a very and Roy Rory’s a smart guy. That was a very calculated move to turn down the temperature. We love America. It’s the greatest country in the world. It’s a land of opportunity. Like he practically read the plaque from the Statue of Liberty. He also said, “I’m not going to talk about I’m not going to talk about anybody but European players today.” Right. Yeah. And they tried to bait him into the Bryson conversation. Yeah. And and he said Luke made him swear that ahead of time, which was smart. So, you know, that was interesting because Rory was setting himself up to be the villain. And I I thought that was another calculated move like I’ll take it all on and I’ll try and free up my teammates as a team leader, as the best player, but even he backed off a little. So I think there’s they’re starting to rethink this like is it we get close to the starting line like we don’t want to rally the people up and Yeah, but that’s scary because that means they’re focused on the golf. So let’s hear from Colin. I want to hear what Colin had to say about this crowd. Uh I’ll be honest, I think it’s kind of tame so far. uh Tuesday and Wednesday. I know tomorrow’s going to be pretty bad, but I hope Friday is just absolute chaos. I I’m all for it. Like I I think it feeds into into who we are and and and the American players and the American team. Um we want it like we we want to use that to our advantage. I think every sport uses their home crowd to their advantage. And just because we don’t play in a setting like this doesn’t mean of course it’s tame on two the competition hasn’t started yet and there’s such a difference in the crowd. The crowd that’s coming to a RDER Cup on Wednesday Thursday are golf sickos who want to get a a look at their favorite players and they it’s not the guys who are like I really want you America needs to win this needs to win this. So everyone it’s like architecture buffs. Yeah, exactly. Everyone wants to get a look at Beth Paige. Uh Victor Havlin was talking today about what the fans might say and it’s been a very common question and answer in the press room. You know, how are you feeling about these fans and and the Europeans prepped with VR headsets which they could program with insults which just leads to the question, what were the insults that they programmed? Like what are what are their deepest darkest fears? How can we expose these people? Uh but they asked Victor today, you know, how he plans to deal with it and he had a very interesting answer. I I think you just got to stick to your to your game and if you play well and um you know there’s going to be some some comments here and there. Uh they won’t really uh come close to the the thoughts that I have in my own head. So I think I’ll just laugh it off for the most part. Um you know and just try to smile it off and make a few birdies. That usually uh seems to do the trick. I love him. He’s just one of a kind in the game. Oh, he’s the best. Well, and you know, Rory talked about, you know, one and two being birdie holes, two of the easiest holes on the course. And it really comes down to who which which side gets off to faster starts because if there’s a lot of blue on the board, it just it just turns the energy down and the fans get a little sullen and they get a little quieter and whereas if the US gets off to a hot start, if Bryson drives the green and makes a two like so it’s always important how you start a match. feel like here especially and also there’s this interesting part of Beth Page where after the first hole you cross the road and I think a lot of the casuals are going to stay by one 15 16 and the finishing stretch because that’s where that’s just the the home base and so if if you’re kicked off a good start and you go across the road where the crowd’s a little thinner like I think they can they can turn down the yahoo factor a lot but um it cuts the other way too like if if they come back into the arena you know for that finish and and the US is leading like that’s where it’s going to get really crazy. One guy who I wish was playing in this Ryder Cup is Ian Poulter because if we wanted to see some fireworks, he would be the guy. This is the ultimate road Ryder Cup and he relished it. Uh I was lucky to hop on a Zoom with Ian Poulter yesterday. We talked about all of the issues that uh we spoke about here. We talked about the guys being paid. We talked about what it’s like to win on the road. Uh here is my interview with a true RDER Cup legend, Ian Poulter. All right, we are joined by a proper RDER Cup legend, Ian Poulter. We’re going to talk about the Ryder Cup, but before we start with that, I wanted to ask you about your son. I uh I’ve gotten to know your son a little bit, and he’s a terrific young man. It’s hard to believe that you’re his father. I’m just kidding. No, you’re not. You’re not kidding at all, are you? He uh he’s he’s such a nice kid. What’s it like, you know, being on this side? I, you know, seeing your son go through because he’s had a very different path. You turned pro, you know, late in life. He’s going to one of the best colleges and going through the American system. What have you made of his journey so far as a as a parent, as somebody who’s watched him, you know, kind of grow his passion for the game of golf and and want to be a successful um a successful golfer like as a parent, it’s it’s a dream come true. So, you know, just to have, you know, one one of your kids following or trying to follow in your footsteps. I think in my wildest dreams would I have imagined, you know, Luke to become the golfer he is today. Um, I could only dream of that. Like when I sit here today and actually sort of take stock on what he’s been able to achieve in this short period of time and where his ceiling is kind of moving forward, it’s um it’s kind of like a fairy tale fairy tale kind of situation. So look, I’m I’m a proud we as are proud parents of obviously what he’s done. Walker Cup was a big moment a couple of weeks ago representing GBNI and um look I’m excited for what what he wants to do and we are a support system for Luke in whatever it is he wants to do and the fact that he wants to do that in golf is is an even you know it’s even even more sweet what is it I mean he could be a top he could play in the Ryder Cup he’s that good huh um I mean listen you’re you’re going to put words into my mouth right here right but um I’m Um, I would say this, he’s grown significantly in the last kind of 10 months from somebody that had a bad injury to somebody now that he’s definitely on the radar of kind of a lot of people in the outside world of golf to say, you know, Ian’s now got a son, Luke, who’s actually become a a bit of a player. Um, so look, I would say this. If he continues to trend how he’s been performing certainly in 2025 over 26 and makes improvements to his game and continues to work hard, the world’s his oyster. He could do anything he wants to do because if I was able to make the team, I think Luke’s kind of a much better golfer than I was at the same age, then anything’s possible for him. Now, I wanted to ask you about about this Rder Cup specifically. I I really wish you were playing because this is going to be the craziest RDER Cup with the atmosphere and you are the ultimate RDER Cup player. How do you think you would approach a week like this with the New York fans? Um it it’s you like I are intrigued to see how this thing’s going to play out. I mean, we’ve we’ve seen or we’ve known it’s been been coming to Beth Paige for a number of years. Um what does that mean from a fan perspective? It means loud, rockous, passionate um set set of fans that are really going to get get behind the home team. Um how do I how do I how do how would I play it? Um look, I think I I think you have to use their energy because I think if you start to get riled up, if you start to get frustrated, you’re going to hear stuff you’re not going to want to hear. Um, I’ve already seen little snippets of they’ve already kind of, you know, some booze and jers and kind of stuff that’s already been happening. Look, embrace it, right? You’re coming into the lion’s den of of golf, right? This is not going to be an easy week for that, but I think embrace it. Roll with it. Try not to get frustrated by it. Try and try and bring in their energy if you can. And if you could use any of that energy to inspire you to do some great stuff on the golf course, then that’s how I would try and go about it. In your day, you would give it back to the fans. Did you feel like it never really crossed the line? Did you feel like it was, you know, it was appropriate the way you were treated? Um, did it ever cross the line? Yeah, I I got to be honest. I think there’s a number of occasions um in prior Rder Cups which which definitely went over the line from a fan perspective, but you know, you’re always going to you’re always going to get that in an environment where golf starts at 8 8:00 in the morning and you’re going to have 10 hours of coverage, right? You you got 10 hours of golf during the day. So, you know, guys going to have definitely had a couple of drinks too many and there’s going to be a few people that will always get get on your case pretty hard. So, um you know, it’s it it come it comes with a territory. And yes, I’ve I’ve I’ve kind of you know, I’ve I’ve bit back at times. I’ve kind of not enjoyed some of the comments at times, but generally I’ve tried to kind of I’ve really tried to feed off them even if even if they’re coming at you. A lot of the talk this week’s been about the payment situation and I’m interested in your perspective because you’re a guy who grew up, you know, in England and lived in America and I think this is sort of a cultural difference, but the the European team apparently, you know, they they were offered the ability to be paid. They said no, the American team is being paid a stipen. What do you make of guys being paid to play in the RDER Cup? What do I make of it? Um, look, a I don’t know how much they’re being paid, so I I haven’t I I don’t have a 200,000 stipen for the week. Okay. Look, if um is that a stipen, which is a charitable donation, is that something’s 300k, which is a charitable donation, and then 200k they can do whatever they want. Okay, look, it’s it’s it’s one of those. Look, the the RDER Cup is a behemoth of a business today. Um, as I sit here today, look, I’ve always been proud to put the shirt on. It’s never been an option in all of the RDER Cups that I have ever been part of that there was ever any discussion of payment or what that payment would look like. So, look, I I sit here today um and both sides of the pond have treated it very very different. Um I still sit, you know, as a as a proud European tour expper. So, I’m happy to to put on that shirt and and perform for free. I I thought it was an honor and a privilege to be able to do so, and you work tire tirelessly hard to do that. So, um I did read a comment. I think Bryson’s donating all of whatever he’s getting to to charity, which is which is fantastic. You know, I I think it’s a shame that that guys like you and guys like Lee and, you know, guys like Henrik have been sort of kept out of this, you know, and I understand what happened in the last couple years, but, you know, it feels like it’s time to let bygones be bygones. Do you see yourself getting back into the Rder Cup picture? And is it is it hard on a week like this? Good question, Dan. Look, I mean, you know, we we know what’s happened in the last couple of years. Um, well, look, I will say as simple as this. John and Tier play golf on live golf. they’re still widely accepted into the RDER Cup family and unfortunately, you know, some others aren’t. So, is it is it frustrating? Yeah, of course it’s it’s very frustrating, but um I’m very hopeful one day we we can still be kind of helpful to to to team Europe. Um, I don’t know when or how or how close that is actually, you know, realistic, but um, look, I’m hopeful. I’ve kind of, you cut me in half, it kind of bleeds bleeds blue and yellow, right? I’ve been, you know, I’ve been, um, I’ve been there in in a lot of RDER Cups and there’s nothing I love more than obviously representing Europe. So to not be part of it, um, it hurts, but um, we’re hopeful one day that may change. It is really interesting that you mentioned that because you’re right. There’s two guys on live golf who are on this team. Is it just a function of like they need they need them so so the stuff that applies to you guys doesn’t apply to them? I don’t know. I mean, listen, it’s uh it’s more of a case of they appealed their fine situation. Uh look, there’s lots there’s there’s lots of information behind the scenes I’d love to say. Well, I can’t. But um they appealed, they appealed, they were told to appeal uh and therefore they was given the right to then obviously be picked or if not make that team. So look, it’s um there’s a lot of uh there’s a lot of conversation behind the scenes that um I’d like to be able to tell you, but unfortunately I can’t. It’s just a shame. It’s a shame there’s a couple of live players playing and obviously that that that we’re not included. But it’s it’s totally okay. um one day hopefully touch wood all that good stuff we you know we we may be able to to come back and uh and be a be an assistance to them. My co-host is a big fashion guy and he said if you’re going on with Ian Poultry you have to ask him his favorite Ryder Cup outfit that he wore and his least favorite Ryder Cup outfit that he wore. Look, I don’t know if I actually have a least favorite Ryder Cup outfit. I didn’t to be honest. You could have you could have dressed me in a a black trash bag. Like as long as it had that crest on it, I would have worn it. So, um 2004 there were some outfits there. I think we used to wear them like size extra large when really you’re only size medium. So, but that was the fashion back then to wear them big and baggy. So, I wouldn’t say it was uh a bad outfit. I just would have said we use way way oversized uh clothes back then. And you got a favorite? I mean, I probably got to be the Madina Sunday, I would guess. Madina. I’ve actually brought it. I’m I’m in New York as we speak. I’ve uh I’ve been here in town. Um we’ve got some sponsors in town. We’re dining tonight. And uh I’ve actually brought the Saturday Rder Cup shirt from the diner. So that has to be probably my uh my my favorite uh RDER Cup outfit. Sat We’ll see. I guess Saturday is when you guys really like that that afternoon match that you flipped. I know everyone focuses on Sunday, but it really was Saturday was the key, wasn’t it? Yeah. I mean s Sadi was a turning point. Sergio, you know, Sergio and Luke’s match in front that were down. They turned that turn that around from 104 to obviously get it to 105 and Rory and I managed to uh light up obviously uh the last six holes there and and bring it in the house to kind of bring bring the house down as as as we would say. So, um, yeah, it it kind of upset the the the the kind of the home team advantage situation in in 2012. And, you know, when you look back at it, it’s been spoke about a lot. You know, winning on away soil really doesn’t happen very often. Um, but, um, I’ve been, you know, I’ve been fortunate to to be able to be part of that team in 2012 and obviously be part of that team in 2004 as well. So, um, a couple of those four wins, um, I’ve I’ve, uh, I’ve been there to, uh, to feel and experience it. My last question for you, a prediction. Can Can this European side, 11 of the 12 are returning from a couple years ago, they’ve got Luke back. There’s a lot of continuity. Can they do it? Can they upset the Americans at Beth Page Black? Yeah, I I I do. Um I I think their um their team spirit, the 11 players that have obviously been there um in Italy, there’s obviously one rookie. The American team have got four rookies. How are they going to feel? It’s going to be very, you know, it’s going to be very hard for them to to obviously um you know, go out there and perform and and be on their best. And I do I I do think Europe on paper has the upper hand. I think obviously, you know, let’s let’s find out how big that 13th man is. Uh at Beth Paige Black, it’s going to be a big it’s going to be a big 13th man to deal with, but um I think Europe uh we’re actually going to come out on top this this week. Well, thank you so much for doing it, Ian. I really appreciate it. Thanks for hopping on with us, Dan. Absolute pleasure. All the best. Have a great week. Enjoy it. I’m going to go back to Orlando and uh watch it from my sofa. Good stuff, man. Talk to you soon. Cheers. Take care. It’s a legend of the game, that guy. He’s a Ryder Cup legend. You know, better than Tiger Woods in the Ryder Cup. Facts. Yeah, facts. It And to that point, it doesn’t surprise me that he picks Europe to win. It doesn’t surprise me that he would have rather worn a medium-sized shirt than the large shirt. What surprises me is that there weren’t conversations that to get him involved. I think the thing that you brought up about, you know, there are guys playing that are on Liv and yet somebody of his stature with this event like doesn’t get the the nod. It sounds like he was waiting to maybe be asked so that he could go through whatever like appeal process he needs to. He did say they were told to appeal. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it must stink. But I think it’s like a cold reality of like the players are the important ones. Like the they need Jon, they need Tier. So, it’s like, but don’t you think we’re beyond like the boiling point of like who’s gonna get upset if if the European team said, you know what, like Stenson and and Ian are going to be back on. I think they were just part of that first wave that went and they also were like a little mouthy when they went, you know. Well, he was the captain, right? Stenson was Stenson was the Ryder Cup captain and I think used that or definitely got more money from Liv because he was the RDER Cup captain and then the captaincy got taken away. So, not, you know, not my favorite move in the world, but I I think that Rahm and Hatton, and I don’t know if it’s because they went later, they’re just or, you know, I don’t know if it was because it was sort of post framework agreement or around the framework agreement that there was just a little bit of sting taken away from it, but that those first wave of guys, the Pters, the Casey’s, the Stensons, the GarcAs, the Westwoods, they got the most aggressive stick, I think, of anyone that went to live. I guess I just would expect it to have worn off by now. Like if if everything else is sort of like not a conversation anymore, then like and the players have been welcomed back to your point, they’re they’re the most important. But like they’re the talent Ian Palter is important to the European team room in some way. Like I mean, you almost guarantee a victory for the Europeans if he’s in there hyping them up. No, I think the players hit the shots and the players win. And I think you know all this captaincy stuff, there’s like six assistant captains on each team. It’s funny. They’re like they’re like acting as the agents this this week. So, usually when a guy comes in to do a press conference, it’s his agent is standing there like staring at everybody like give them the desk there. Today it was like Kizner and Franchesco and uh at Dodo Molinari. So, they’re they’re like uh babysitting the guys around. There’s there’s enough there’s enough assistant captains to go around for everybody. So, yeah, just it was an interesting perspective to hear from a a proper Rder Cup legend and uh I hope you guys enjoyed that. We’re going to finish with a little uh jump around the internet, some funny stuff. You know, Beth Paige Black is the people’s course, the people’s club, but you know, to some to some people it’s just not good enough. There’s this guy on the internet who does these caricatures. He does it of like Aspen dad or like Hampton’s mom and uh and he did one about the Ryder Cup and he had this to say about Beth Page Black. Yeah. Yeah. So, and here’s the deal. I’ve got a complete mental block against public courses. So, uh you know, Beth Page is a decent course, but I’ve got a total mental block. Yeah. I just I can’t wrap my head around it. It’s It’s a decent course, but I just can’t wrap my head around I love Mun. Just another MUN. Uh Phil Mickelson probably should have been the captain uh at this one. He’s got a very special relationship with the New York fans. And I think before live golf happened, he was probably on track to get this captaincy. Uh instead, he is angry tweeting about California politics. Great news if you’re a Santa Barbara resident or lover of marine life. Despite the California Coastal Commission and the Environmental Death Council, probably not what it’s called, efforts to continue the coastal destruction by trying to stop Sable from restarting the What is he What is he talking about? I can’t tell if he’s pro drilling for oil or anti and I would expect pro based on his employers here. I just don’t He’s so active on Twitter and a lot of it is about California politics. Yeah, he’s he’s super he hates Gavin News. He’s an engaged citizen. Um, you know, we talked Ian Poulter. Would it be interesting to talk about Phil and his emotions on this week because he he’s the ultimate guy who he’s probably the face of this whole thing. That’s what I was going to ask is same question for him. Like if if it’s not Keegan Bradley, which I think is like one of choice for this year. Keegan Bradley doesn’t exist. You’re coming off of Zack Johnson. Like do you need to go to a Phil in that scenario? And should they have I guess it didn’t present itself because Keegan exists. Yeah. just think that like he he made a lot of enemies with the way that he went about leaving. There’s my defer one hour. There it is. Every I don’t know if you guys have this problem, but there’s this Max Seoia says require system update and I’ve been deferring for 1 hour since the US Open. Defer another hour. I’m going to defer one more hour right now. Uh hopefully that’s relatable for all of you guys. Uh my hair is starting to look bad. I I bleached it. You know, when you when you bleach it, you think a lot about how good it’s going to look, right? when it’s bleached and it’s all blonde, you don’t think about, you know, it’s been a couple weeks and it’s starting to sort of peter out. Uh, but I thought I was going to get a little I was getting a little support from my man Colin Moria. Turns out he was just setting me up for an incredible. Let’s roll this clip. So, for our our audio audience, he goes, “Nice hair.” He’s sitting at the press like the official Ryder Cup, you know, signage in the back. He goes, “Nice hair.” I go, “Do you like it?” He goes, “No.” “Set you right up.” And everyone was laughing. I don’t really like it either anymore. I tried to get rid of it. I shaved it. Uh it didn’t and it just didn’t come out. Turns out I’m just glad it made it to the Ryder Cup podium. Like you can graduate now. Yeah. I’ll be I’ll be 50 looking back and Colin will be playing on the senior tour and I will look back at like remember when you bleached your hair at the RDER Cup. Uh and then we’ll just leave you with this. Chris Powers, this was an aggressive aggressive tweet, but it’s kind of fitting with Ian Poulter. said, “A great reminder that the RDER Cup is mostly for mid Euros with zero majors to make their mark. Something to hang their hat on. He’s throwing absolute daggers. I don’t know if uh if that’s necessarily true, but I’ll leave it with this. This week is an opportunity to make yourself a legend. I, as I said, I think that this Rder Cup, the stage is set for a a crazy spectacle, for an electricity that our sport maybe’s never seen. And someone’s going to emerge the hero. We don’t know if they’re going to be wearing red or blue. We don’t know if it’s going to be Scotty Sheffler or if it’s going to be Rasmus Hoygard winning the the winning point. But it’s all in front of us. And we got an early morning tomorrow. Gonna be out there for the first te predict. Oh. Oh, we have fan predictions. I forgot about. Thank you, Alex. So, we put posted on our story uh asking for your craziest predictions about what’s going to happen in the RDER Cup because everyone seems to think that something nuts is going to happen with this crowd. You guys did not disappoint. I have not seen Yeah, we haven’t seen these predictions, so I’m I’m reacting to them live. Let’s roll the first one, Andy. First tie in first tie result in 36 years. That would be the biggest buzzkill ever because Europe would retain the cup. we would all leave with just a horrible case of blue balls. What I was about to say was this is it’s so monumental because no matter what happens, something awesome is going to happen. And a way RDER Cup win like as a golf sicko like you know objective that’s awesome. And Keegan Bradley’s childhood dreams come true. Like that’s pretty freaking sweet. Like you we can’t go wrong unless that unless it’s a tie. Let’s just pray that it’s not a tie. A tie is God. I hate that that person even put that in the ether. But I mean it is true. I I can’t like I I picked the Americans. I said 1513. And I’m going to I’m going to stand by my prediction, but I can’t see either team losing, which is kind of a weird place to be. I just can’t see this European team losing. I can’t I have been saying it all and I think it’s unfathomable to think that they’re going to pull off this upset at Beth Paige Black of all places, but it’s almost the perfect team. Like, I just can’t see them losing. Okay, let’s go to the second one. Second one is Can’t sins are forgiven and he is seen as a certified dog. Listen, America loves a winner. I think this could absolutely happen. You know, I’ve I’ve made the sort of Draymond Green comparison, which is funny because as far as as far as person Alex is shaking his head, as far as personalities go, those guys have nothing in common. But, you know, Draymond and Kantlay, but it’s a situation where if they’re not on your team, they irk the crap out of you, but if they’re on your team, you kind of like them. Yeah. So, I think Kantlay can go one of two ways this week. I think he can if he has a great RDER Cup and he wears the hat and you know he gives a little bit of stick and he wins four points a lot can be forgiven. Everyone loves a winner. New York fans also boo players that are on their own team. Yeah, that happens a lot too much. Like Aaron Judge like Aaron Judge goes through like a mini like doesn’t hit a home run in 10 at bats in the playoffs and they start booing him even though he’s like the best player. Bush said, “You ever seen a Jets game?” If But yeah, if if the US is losing and Kentlay’s pitter pattering, he’s the first guy to turn they’re turning on. He’s the first guy they’re turning on. And I did hear one of the fans say like, “We love you, Pat, but like come on with the slow play.” So I think he’s I think he’s going to get a little shtick. I do. Oh man. I think even if even if he is the star of the week like in Hawaii next year at Sony or whatever whatever the first tournament he plays in when he starts waddling we’ll go we’ll revert right back to but it is funny that all of the talk about the New York fans have been about what they’re going to be to the Europeans they they do it to their own as well. So, can’t it’s all right. Number three, Sunday singles turns mad house. Play pause due to crowd control. Rory 04 and one. It wouldn’t with the Rory new cycle. Nothing would surprise me. I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes 5-0 or if he loses every match. He’s just such an up and down guy. Um they they the crowd control. I would love to be uh you know in the one of those security meetings. They they’ve they probably have got very strict instructions. They probably got a lot of contingency plans. They probably have a lot of railings. But I mean, we have seen in the past if a golf crowd wants to get onto the 18th green, it’s pretty hard to stop them. But I think we’re overhyping the I think the crowd is I think what Allan said is true. I think they’ve priced out a lot of like proper hooligans. You know, golf is a is a sport filled with decorum and filled with etiquette. And I think I think it will be loud and I think it will be there will be a lot of booze and there will be a lot of cheering miss putts but I think they’ll respect the line. Yeah, I think it’s been overanalyzed a little bit. It’s almost not it’s almost impossible for it to live up to the expectations that have unless someone punches Rory Maroy in the face it’ll be a little bit of a let down. I don’t want that to happen. Yeah, but you kind of do someone to punch somebody in the player punches another player. That’s fourth prediction. Scotty goes 0 and5. That’s Scotty goes 0 and5. If Scotty goes 0 and5, which means he’ll play all five, which means he would be 0 and3 and then they play him again. If Scotty goes 0 and5, we’ll stop doing the show. I’ll retire. I’m putting that out there. Straight up. Yeah. If he goes 0 and5, not saying if he doesn’t win a point, if they put him out there for all five sessions and he loses all five, we can turn this into Ben on golf. You can take my spot. We said it before, but this is not the same Scotty Sheffller as the RDER Cup record that exists for Scotty Sheffller. Like, he’s been doing some [ __ ] for a past couple years since the last time he played. Scotty’s not going 0 and5. Okay, our last prediction from you. Patrick Hanlay wins singles match and throws his cap on the green while adding a point. And he does, you know, he starts throwing money in the air, too. Let’s just That might be the most likely of all the predictions actually. Just stick it to the Europeans this week. Uh guys, just enjoy it. just enjoy it because on the other end of this is I think it’s seven months until the Masters still. Yeah. So, we’ve got uh and our tour season’s not starting when it was supposed to. So, we have one extra week. Yeah. It’s uh we’re looking at an abyss after this. So, just soak up every second. Get those alarm clocks. Get the, you know, the very sugary uh coffee drinks. Get them. You can drink them. You have permission this week. It’s right. Anything goes. You can you can order wings at 9:00 a.m. this week. Yeah. Anything goes. Yeah, there’s no Yeah, there’s no restrictions on on that kind of stuff. I think I’ve slept through these things before and always regretted it. Like I’m the guy that says I’m going to snooze the alarm. Like just don’t do it on this one. If you’re on the West Coast, 4:00 a.m. alarm, get get activated, you know, do a little glute activation exercise, whatever you need. Go back to sleep after, you know, uh JT makes the eagle putt on one after Bryson drives. Yeah, just you got to see that opening T- shot. All right, we love you golfers. We’re going to be back tomorrow after the first uh day of play. Um, hope you enjoyed the little Ryder Cup preview. It’s finally here. We’ve been We’ve been talking about this Ryder Cup for Lord knows how long and we’re on the eve of it. We’re going to get some rest and uh we’ll see you all back here tomorrow. Bye. [Music]