Anthony Kim is considering a return to golf. Wait, what? | Golf Channel Podcast | Golf Channel

In this week’s edition, the guys discuss Anthony Kim’s reported plans to return to professional golf, Nick Dunlap’s decision to turn pro and their biggest takeaways from the week at Torrey Pines. #GolfChannel #GolfChannelPodcast

(0:00) Intro
(03:00) Anthony Kim is back in our lives? Maybe?!
(10:00) Should golf fans even want 38-year-old AK to return?
(13:30) Nick Dunlap turns pro. What to expect now.
(22:30) Matthieu Pavon’s win, Euros crash the Tour, Torrey Pines as a Tour venue
(34:40) What’s on the grill
» Subscribe to Golf Channel: https://www.youtube.com/golfchannel?sub_confirmation=1
» For the latest news around golf: https://www.nbcsports.com/golf

Welcome to Golf Channel’s official YouTube channel. We are the #1 destination for everything golf – 24/7. Find golf instruction tips, sneak peeks to our original series, news and tournament coverage. We are part of the NBC Sports Group.

Discover what else Golf Channel has to offer:
Live Coverage on Peacock: https://peacocktv.smart.link/v82e9dl56
Live Scores: http://bit.ly/GCScores
TV Schedule: https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/schedule
Instructional Tips: https://www.golfpass.com/learn
Golf Course Reviews: http://bit.ly/GCCourseReviews

Anthony Kim is considering a return to golf. Wait, what? | Golf Channel Podcast | Golf Channel
https://www.youtube.com/golfchannel?sub_confirmation=1

Hello and welcome into this edition of the Golf Channel podcast with Rex and lav well that was UN unexpectedly wild week in the world of golf Anthony kimry surfaces Nick Dunlap turns Pro and a Frenchman wins on tour and what continues to be Rex the year of

The long shot you are back from Connecticut and all packed up for Pebble Beach first of all how’s it going uh glad to be back it was really really cold and uncomfortable got snowed on a little bit that last morning Friday morning when I woke up early um it’s a

Lovely place I’m sure like I’ve been told it’s a lovely place and we’re talking about Connecticut um I’ve never been there when it’s not freezing cold and snow on the ground so I’m I even like I I I forced myself to get out of the hotel on Thursday afternoon and just

Sort of walk around I was actually staying in grenwich like I need to see this place like I I just which is beautiful grench Connecticut one of the best places to live in the country let’s be very clear yes yes I mean I’ve been

Told a lot I and like it was just cold and it was miserable I think I sent you some Snappy chats like it was just it was foggy and gross and you’re like man like this is what we’re doing right so we’re just gonna we’re just gonna sit

Around and pretend like the sun doesn’t exist for six months is that no we do here um but it was fun to do the show I did want to say and you’ll back this up we we work with a lot of really really talented Folks at the Golf Channel a lot

Of folks I love being on TV with Todd Lewis Steve Sans uh you I will say this no one is better to be on TV with than Damon hack he is the easiest person to ever do a TV show with especially a 4our TV show which is what we did Wednesday

Which was a marathon session but he uh he makes it easy and it was a lot of fun not even a professional TV person Damon hack like he cut his teeth just as you and I have cut our teeth newspapers magazines uh and now I’m with you uh

Absolutely one of my favorite co-workers here at golf channel do I have enough great things to say hopefully you did not do Rex all of your sightseeing in Connecticut since you will be be back in just a couple weeks time at Genesis Invitational week where I’ll be on site

At Riviera hopefully you’ve left at least something to do uh over the next couple of weeks real quick guys this is the first week that we’ll be doing uh the Wednesday podcast as well in addition to this Sunday record over the next couple days we could have some

Updates on both the PJ tours deal with the Strategic Sports Group as well as finally the final live roster for 2024 as our season does kick off this week at mayakoba speaking of which somehow somehow speaking of Liv Anthony Kim Anthony Kim has not played since 2012 he’s actually barely been seen since

2012 and yet uh as golf.com first reported and then was backed up uh by our buddy Bulldog Mark schau of ESPN Anthony Kim is at least in discussions with both the PJ tour and Liv about making a professional comeback Rex what are your initial impressions of that report I the least interesting

Thing to me is where he lands like I I know that was the headline and I know good for for golf.com and good for Bulldog for getting it and the headline is you know I don’t know AK is floating with live golf whatever the case may be

That’s the least interesting part of the story in my mind wherever it is he lands he lands like we we’ve done this we’ve been there like that’s not anything that really is compelling to me the compelling part is my son texted me on Thursday afternoon my junior in college

Texted me asking who is Anthony Kim and why is he trending keep in mind Anthony Kim last played a Tour event 12 years ago my son was 8 years old therefore he has no idea who this urban legend is that’s the interesting part of the story

I couldn’t come up with a comp in any sport forget about just golf like give me a comp where someone at that level of the game that wasn’t close to retirement like I’m not talking about Tom Brady coming back that’s that’s different animal give me someone who was in their

Prime which AK was granted injuries but someone who was in their Prime that walked away for 12 years A Dozen Years Nick Dunlap he was in I think I did this right third grade Kim last played at PGA Tour event the PGA tour’s newest member Nick Dunlap by the way second most

Important story of the week uh Jordan Speed was a freshman in Texas like I can keep going on and on and on it just it has never happened before Anthony Kim is this urban legend that you know he’s Kaiser so kind of dating myself with that reference I know but all we’ve seen

For the last Dozen Years are grainy pictures of him walking into a coffee shop in La it’s like Bigfoot yeah like and now he’s coming back and look I think both of us have talked to people I’ve certainly talked to people inside Anthony’s camp Camp over the years and

The conversation always goes the same way yeah he’s hitting balls one day and he’s excited and thinking about a comeback and then the next day it’s like no I’m good like I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing whatever that is no one is 100% sure whatever it is he’s

Been doing for the last 12 years I I find it fascinating that this is this would be unprecedented I can’t imagine how he pulls it off like I don’t know how you walk away from something that’s that difficult that requires that much talent and that much work and that much

Effort and come back and land right where he hopes to the land where we left off 12 years ago but man what a story uh what a story it does seem like with each with each year that passes like his his accomplishments his notoriety like it seems to get

Exaggerated with time like we’re we are talking about a three-time PJ tour winner we are talking about a player uh who thumped Sergio Garcia in singles at the 2008 Ridder cup like he he blazed he he blazed a very hot Trail for the very short time that he was on the PJ tour

Which was just Four Seasons before he mysteriously walked away after some injuries uh and so the interesting thing to me now is is is can he still compete he’s 38 years old so you know actually compared to his PJ torpedo appears like he’s almost past his prime the prime for

For PJ tour players keeps getting younger and younger you’re probably in that 28 to 32 Sweet Spot uh if you’re in your athletic Prime and he is he is well past that and so does he still have the goods to compete against the world’s best I’m probably skeptical and the the

Skeptic in me also wonders why now wh why now at this point would he want to return to professional golf in both of those reports golf.com and ESPN uh they they outlined how the sticking point is Anthony Kim’s insurance policy reportedly valued somewhere between 10 and20 million if he were to make a

Return to competitive golf he would have to pay all or most of that back and so in that sense I know you’re not interested in where Anthony Kim lands in that sense though live golf does make a lot of sense for Anthony Kim a they can

Give him a lot of the money up front B he can play as much or as little as he wants as one of their Wild Card picks and and C he’s guaranteed as long as he tees it up he’s guaranteed to to make at least $200,000 per appearance because that is

Last place money uh on live golf and so that side of the equation makes a lot of sense but if you’re the PJ tour I mean you desperately want AK back as well they have lost they have lost a lot of personalities Rex over the past couple

Years to live golf whether it’s Bryson whether it’s Brooks whether it’s Phil whether it’s kind of the villain figure of Sergio Garcia or Patrick Reed they they all have I would say varying degrees of competitiveness at this point but there’s no discounting that people at least had opinions about those

Players and they wanted to see them for for For Better or For Worse and I would put AK in that same category as well I would as well it if you go back five six seven years ago we I’m sure we were having a similar conversation about AK

At some point just because again he was this wonderful urban legend that we kept waiting and watching and hoping he would come back when we first started having these conversations again six years ago when you talked about an insurance policy of $10 million or $20 million

Whatever the case may be a lot of gray area on that one that was a lot of money back then now the reality we live in I mean I don’t know about you when it comes to that level of the game $10 million seems like kind of is it is it

Really worth either not doing what you want to do it seem because now we’re dealing with Monopoly money now we’re dealing with everything has a dollar figure attached to it and has a lot of zeros and $1 million is a lot of money but if you’re an Anthony Kim as we’ve

Seen with so many players it’s not that much if if Liv golf really wants them then I’m sure they can make that right I would counter and say I don’t necessarily agree with you and say that live golf is the obvious choice if this is just about mitigating that loss of

$10 million or $20 million because the way it works on the PGA tour now he would get plenty of sponsor exemptions he get plenty of opportunities to make up that money like it wouldn’t be guaranteed it wouldn’t be up front but you have the opportunities to certainly

Make at least that much if not more like the money part again doesn’t even interest me it did this is all about like and you saw the same video of a swing I’m sure earlier this week and it looks fine but that was that was a date

That was a dated video from five years ago uh our friend Ryan French of Monday Q info uh he he he he backed up his reporting said it was incorrect and that was actually from five years ago at the Madison Club so it was not that was not

A recent swing video but by he is he is ramping up his training and let’s don’t ignore it you pointed out he’s 38 years old he also had a lot of injuries that made him walk away from the game 12 years ago there was a there

Was surgery I believe it was a back surgery there was tontis and his left elbow and his left wrist like there there were a lot of things that was sort of building up and compiling and he probably wasn’t taking care of himself like he needed to at that point in time

I I just don’t see how this happens but man it’s muchat TV like I’m not turning away I’m not blinking I’m I’m not missing any minute of it if it happens I mean it’d be a great story to cover as a 36y old who who you know really enjoyed watching Anthony Kim when

I was growing up and just getting into golf media like I started in 201 2010 and he was already off the tour uh by 2012 so I didn’t even really cross paths uh in that respect like you you you you want to cover Anthony Kim’s comeback but

As a golf fan I’m not sure you actually want him to come back he has like this cult hero status he it’s only been exaggerated over time if this if he comes back and he plays poorly like all of the the childhood memories that we

Had from from a decade or two ago uh I feel like there there’s a there’s a potential for this story uh to just kind of Peter out and I don’t think that’s fun for any golf fan like I’m not sure we actually want him to come back no I I

Get what you’re saying and I guess I can I can romanticize it enough to to agree with you I did Cover AK I actually wrote a a feature on him his rookie year and I remember sitting on a hill overlooking uh the lint course and we sat down and

Did like a 30-minute interview just kind of talking and he came about the game in a very unique way I mean his issues with his dad who was very demanding and very tough on him when he was a junior and in college are pretty well documented so I

Don’t know like after the fact after I did that story after he has the career he has after he walks away and disappears it became easier for me to wrap my mind around most of the players that you and I interview most of the stories that we tell are stories about

Passion like guys just love this game like if you don’t like the game you’re probably not going to last very long in it like you just thoroughly enjoy doing this you thoroughly enjoy competing I always question from the moment I wrote that story his workie year how much he

Actually loved the game like this is what was expected of him he liked I mean he liked the fame he liked the attention that was associated with it but is is he a Scotty sheffler who plays every single day or Justin Thomas who has lived and

Breathed and slept golf for the for all of his 30 years on Earth probably not different different cats different cats and that’s tough when you’re 38 years old like I think you and I both know enough players who once they get to 38 if they don’t have that passion still

You’re not going to be able to compete like you you have to love not just going to the golf course and grinding away but going to the gym going to therapy doing all the little things at 38 years old you have to do because the 18y olds you’re now competing against are going

To whip you if you don’t do that again that’s why I’m not sure we want him to come back if he comes back and Falls flat on his face it’s just kind of a sad ending to what has otherwise been a mysterious cult figure in the game I

Don’t think anything is imminent on that front but we could certainly see something maybe the next couple months uh how about Rex a player who will be on the PJ tour this week is a full-fledged card carrying member that of course is Nick Dunlap you and I went deep on his

Decision last week on the podcast I was one who even though I knew deep down he would be uh ridiculous to to turn down the opportunities both financial and playing over the next couple of months selfishly I kind of wanted to see him return to college golf uh just because I

Thought that potentially set him up longer term didn’t happen that way he said it was the easiest hardest decision he has ever had to make easy because he now is Into The Signature Events uh that lucrative series uh the second of which is this week at Pebble Beach

For the remainder of the season and he’s exempt on tour through 2026 the hard part saying goodbye to his coaches saying goodbye to his teammates at the halfway point of the season but now rex that Nick Dunlap is on tour that he is going to have a a a a full playing slate

For the remainder of 2024 what do you think he can actually do now for the rest of this PJ tour season I want to pull peel back the curtain a little bit here because apparently uh your lovely wife Amy doesn’t understand the construct here the construct between the two of us is

We we have fun and we like to needle each other and whether if that’s on this podcast or we’re lucky enough to do it on air or last week I did take a couple pot shots and apparently your wife did not like what did she didn’t like me

Making fun of you that you had a golf cart was that it that she didn’t like no she said that you yeah you that you that you trashed our uh Georgia logoed golf cart and she also took great offense that you called it a four- seater would

Is fact a six is a six-seater and is great for the community that uh yeah that that is completely uh understandable and I I should be slapped on the wrist about that but she certainly she understands the construct of we like going back and forth and by

That I use this as an example that is by word by far one of your worst takes ever that Nick Dunlap should stay in college I think we can all agree with that as I recycled it as the week went on and on and on because that’s all we talked

About for Monday Tuesday and Wednesday pretty much was Nick Dunlap and the idea that somehow my friend Ryan lavner seems to think it’s best if he goes back to school and we can all agree that in this particular case no like if it was a different time different era maybe I

Could have understand where you’re coming from not right now not by any stretch of the imagination I wrote it I wrote it I wrote a column I wrote a column on on golf.com I didn’t see that kind of going into his decision and why it was so difficult and that you could

Understand why he was so emotional you could understand why he was te eyed during that confence because it was really it was really tugging at him and you could tell that his life had just gotten uh demonstrably changed overnight and I saw a great uh example on Twitter where if you’re if

You’re if you’re a a Premed student right and you saw uh someone suffer a heart attack on the street and you you had to help resuscitate them you had to get them into the EMT and you eventually save their life and someone saw that if

A doctor saw that and said you know what you did a phenomenal job we’re making you a doctor right now pack up your stuff and let’s go let’s let’s let’s go to Phoenix and we’re gonna we’re gonna work at we’re going to work at uh some some sort of Hospital

Immediately your life had changed you have friends you have a you have a routine you have a schedule you have goals you have uh if if you’re if you’re a college student you’ve got formals coming up like there is everything that you want to do and nothing nothing in

Your mind said I’m about to turn pro and have my life demonstrably changeed it’s going to change overnight quite frankly you’re just you’re just not ready for that to happen now I did like the fact that Nick Dunlap pulled out of the farmer so he could make this decision

But look he’s he’s jumping headlong into his career right now I I do think that there will be an adjustment period just his life getting turned upside down he’s not going to be used to playing uh this much because the College schedule just doesn’t allow for

That of course as a essentially a rookie on the PJ tour these are all courses that he’s seeing for the first time but I do think that this is kind of a different example Rex and why I’m kind of bullish on Nick Dunlap for the rest

Of the season not just because he just won on the PJ tour but the fact that when you look at the kids who are going to be turning pro after the NCAA Championship in late May early June whether it’s Michael Thor bornon whether it’s Gordon those guys the the clock is already

Starting on them where they have to take advantage immediately of The Limited opportunities that they’re going to have either through sponsor exemptions PJ tour use status whatever the case may be that’s not the case for Nick Dunlap he now has a cushion he now has an opportunity to learn if he posts a

Couple of T 45s I don’t think anyone is going to particularly care the the rest of the season is is gravy it’s a bonus and I think that’s very very beneficial for a 20-year-old coming out on the PJ tour at this point in time well and

That’s why the take was so bad like again this isn’t five years ago when if you won if you got if you had got on a hot run as an amateur you had to make a choice do do I want to play the Masters

Do do I want to hang around and try to play incw won on the PGA tour as an amateur he went back not not just didn’t have to have to worry about Signature Events that that’s the difference now the difference now is the clock was running from the moment he won the

American Express he essentially had five days to make choice because if not you weren’t going to maximize what you were going to get by that I mean if he took up membership right now he was going to get into every signature event including Pebble Beach which starts this week and

So that’s why he had to commit I will pull back the curtain a little bit more as well you watch the press conference I think a lot of people watch the press conference from Tuscaloosa uh and I will say this I don’t remember that ever happening before either and I’m not even

Saying like everyone everyone when I brought this up said hello world and Tiger Woods no that was I mean it was it it it was essentially it was essentially like a college quarterback yeah yeah like I don’t ever remember that happening to any player and I don’t

Think like look some people are gonna think I’m I’m bagging on Nick Dunlap I don’t think that’s the way he would want to do it at all if I if I guess Nick Dunlap had his choice he would just assume put something on social media and

Be done with it this was probably he got some good advice and however there was some anxiety going into that press conference because we were going to run it live on golf today and suddenly there was a lot of questions going on because he was kind of late getting to the you

Know getting to the stage and everyone there was a lot of speculation about well maybe he’s not turning BR I think we all assumed okay he’s holding a press conference he’s gonna play Pebble so suddenly all of these things started cropping up none of those things happened and you can figure out what

They were but it is interesting to your point I I actually am bullish and not just because he won the American Express it’s how he won the American Express it’s not as though you saw any real weaknesses like look I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I spent a lot

Of time picking apart Nick Dunlap game when he was at Alabama but just what I saw at the American Express there were no weaknesses like and I keep going back to Victor hobin like when he came out of college he was really good and he’s one

Of those guys that was touched by the hand of God with one exception short game needed to get better as we’ve talked about endlessly on this podcast he’s turned that into one of the better parts of his game I don’t see any parts of the game now maybe at to your point

It becomes a grind for him you’re right this isn’t College anymore like he’s going to have to play a lot of events over the next few months and will get a better look and better gauge of exactly who he is but right now I don’t see a

Weakness yeah I’m with you like he has he has all the tools he has he has maximum ball speed with the driver he’s a very good iron player uh I think most notably about him uh talking to some of uh his his coaches talking to some of

His teammates like this is one of the best Putters they’ve ever seen we obviously saw that with his record setting performance uh at PJ West but I think that can that can save him uh for some of these golf courses if his ball striking isn’t quite up to Snuff he has

Just such a tidy short game and so I do think there’ll be a little bit of a learning curve over the next couple months but it’s going to be very fun to see him just as it’s gonna be very fun to see the Gordon sergeants of the world

And the Michael the Borton of the world as well sausage finger please sausage finger thank you very much I think you usually transition to that by saying sausage finger it’s one of your favorite things to do I will come back around and again this is by way of apology to your

Wonderful wife Amy of all your takes that that was a take I will say that I actually gave you a monsoon of Love La last week because I have come to the realization that we need to have more Wednesday through Saturday golf tournaments and that was yours from a

Few years ago I’m a huge fan like look we’re not going to do it in the middle of the summertime when there’s no football if there’s ever football whether if it’s Saturday football or Sunday football why don’t we just do Wednesday through Saturday because that’s glorious I mean we need it I I

Would put the entire first month of the season on this Wednesday through Saturday schedule and look there’s still going to be stuff that’s going on on Saturday they have the the college football playoff game which sends to fall on a Saturday you’re still going to have the wild card and the divisional

Round that’s falling on Saturday so there is going to be some conflict I just don’t see any PJ tour uh event realistically going to a Tuesday through Friday to avoid it outright because there’s just you’re not just going to get the attendance numbers on site that

You really want to get but to actually clear the deck on Sunday is just it’s phenomenal yeah that’s that’s that’s what you love to see now we did rex have golf as you mentioned on Saturday and it was finishing up in prime time from Tory

Pines where you and I have spent a lot of time and an unlikely winner with Matthew pavon it’s actually a very good story a journ type 31 years old he finally broke through at the Spanish open last fall in what was his 185th career start on the PJ tour he then a

Couple months later birdied all four uh uh the last four holes in Dubai to be among the top 10 players on the race to dub standings to then earn his PJ tour card all he’s done in 2024 now was win uh in his third career start against a kind of an Eclectic

Leaderboard on one of the PJ tour’s most Stout courses what else stood out to you from the week either from pavon performance or the rest of alud Bard at Tory ponds uh two headlines that I actually saw yesterday one is pavon becomes the first Frenchman since World

War II to win on the PGA tour had no idea that was the thing like if you’d have asked me I I mean again I guess you should have known in the back of your mind but World War II is a long long time ago so the idea that he did

Something that hasn’t been done since then is really really cool the other one was another headline and I’m not going to say the website that it was on but it refers to the heroic shot that pavon hit on the 18th hole which is from the left

Rough it was 145 yards hits it to about 8 feet Mak phenomenal phenomenal shot if that was a if that was would you call it heroic though I’m I’m taking exception I don’t think it was a heroic shot I don’t know what what else was he going to

Do umot you don’t have Choice he could have bailed out right certainly he could have he could have bailed out right although I mean if he makes bogy knowing that hogard was on the green and was most likely to two putt he’s gonna lose

By one I I just love the fact that he took it on he hit it in the exact spot that you need to that was going to feed towards the hole he carried the water and he he he pulled it off I mean that that was a I don’t I don’t know about

Heroic that was a phenomenal golf shot under the circumstances a guy who was in his very first uh attempt trying to chase down a PJ tour title the the rough was insanely juicy and to muscle it out of there in the absolute perfect spot

Golf shot one of the one of the one of the shots of the year really good golf shot under the pressure given the circumstances everything that you just pointed out really good golf shot heroic I don’t know I don’t like that one I’m gonna go ahead and say say no who

Was the who was the website who was the writer uh I don’t know which would the website be oh I know where it was it was uh nbcsports.com backg golf oh no you hate to see that yeah shout out mer bags Let’s uh tag this one so we can

Get a good uh yeah 258 make sure you scribble that down heroic I I don’t know about heroic I would say gutsy uh gutsy uh I mean there’s a lot of things you can do like look it was I don’t I don’t even know clutch like there’s a bunch of different ways you

Could do it I am and I’m going to channel my inner aim and Lynch my guess is you have to do a round table on Monday morning on golf today so this will be one of Amy Lynch’s topics is not so much that pavon won it’s what it

Means for those Europeans who now get tour cards he finished he actually edged out Rasmus Boyard to take that last tour card on the on the PGA tour last year at the DP World Tour Championship I I’m gonna say this both sides of the Atlantic don’t like this the European tour players essentially

Don’t like it because they feel like it turned their circuit into an official feeder circuit for the PGA Tour can’t really arue on the American side PJ tour players don’t like it because they’re giving up 10 tour cards that really really hard so both of those guys don’t

Like it it’s one of the rare times when you have equal amount of hatred from both sides of of a situation I I would counter it and say that this week was and not just because pavon won was a really good example of why they should

Have done this probably a long time ago if you looked at that leaderboard jger who is look he’s you know he’s kind of like that sep straa thing like he is Europe he’s a six time he’s a six-time winner on the corn fairy tour uh yes I I

I get it but you had nikai H Gard you had obviously Pavan I mean the leaderboard was just riddled with Europeans now th Thomas Thomas dri who was in the the same category I mean it was amazing when you sit and you look at it it there’s a lot of reasons I I

Understand why both sides don’t like it but if you need a really good example of why that kind of ends the conversation of why it’s a good thing there it is right there toy pun Sunday I’m sorry Saturday afternoon and you get to see exactly why this is important because

Those players and pavan’s probably not the player that I would be talking about in this particular situation but hoard certainly is you don’t want to create any sort of roadblocks for a player like that to run into that could that could trip him up early in his career and I’ll

Give the PJ tour credit and the D World Tour credit I mean this had to be Buy in from both sides and I’ll be very curious to see what the retention rate is for those European tour graduates you know we we look at it every year on on the

Corn fairy tour the guys who stick the guys who are kind of in that middle uh kind of that that gray area for the for their entirety whether they they move up whether they move back I I do think there’s the potential 10 might be 10

Might be a little too many uh I probably I probably side with with five and I could understand why some pitor loyalists uh are a little uh a little fed up with PJ tour leadership at this point because those guys have priority over the corn fairy tour that was kind

Of one of one of the big sticking points at the beginning of the season if you were one of the top 10 European tour players on the priority rankings that was a higher than the the PJ tour’s own feeder system in the corn faery tour and those 30 graduates again that’s getting

Far too in into the weeds but Matthew poon’s breakthrough at Tory Pines uh as well as Nikolai hoggard’s runner-up finish I think was validation for this particular uh system I my my big takeaway actually I had two of them Nikolai hoggard’s a stud I mean Rasmus

Uh his his twin brother almost won on the DP World Tour in the exact same week I love his swing I love his game uh I thought he was fantastic with Amanda rener afterward uh going into it I hadn’t heard him uh in kind of a press

Conference setting all that much in my career I was I was blown away how how articulate he was how thoughtful he was you can tell kind of The Hunger that resides within him it’s gonna be great to see the hogard twins both on the PJ tour which I do think will happen as

Early as 2025 but he’s I think a great asset in just 22 years old dude to stud also secondly Rex I really like Tory Pines I I’m I’m not sure the architecture wonks like it it probably is a little bit one-dimensional uh it’s long it’s brutish uh you have to

Uh kind of pipe it off the tea but I I really think it’d be a shame if this tournament lost some of its luster it no longer draws a Top Field even if it if it falls off what could eventually be a PJ tourworld tour concept I I think it’s

I think it’s one of the PJ tour’s best courses uh obviously the the scenery is is outstanding but there’s there’s a punishment in and a penalty for errant shots that’s why I think Cory ponds does best we’ve seen it in major championships we’ve seen it every year

On the PJ tour schedule I I just I I I really like watching PJ tour players play there and it’d be a shame if if somehow uh that’s that’s reduced over the next couple years I was I actually look this up the field this year according to the world ranking is better

Than what it was last year so keep in mind that we did have designated events little bit different scenarios than the Signature Events the way they’re spaced out the fields the way that works out but I mean I was kind of worried about this same thing that you just touched on

The idea that somehow Tory Pines wouldn’t be in this rotation of whatever A World Tour World Tour schedule is going to look like and we’re assuming that’s the way we’re heading I I can’t imagine how toy pines isn’t in that mix because I’m with you and I think we had

This conversation over the first three weeks of the season when 20 25 30 under par was winning and my comment was always look man toy Pond is just around the corner and then it’s going to be Rivier and then it’s going to be beill and then it’s going to be TPC Sr like

There’s plenty of places where guys are going to have to grind and work hard I don’t mind the birdie Fest I I will say this and and Todd Leonard who is Golf Digest Rider longtime Rider in San Diego I actually wanted to get him on the

Record on this one I’m more of a North Course guy like I don’t particularly like the South course I think I played it a few wow see I I would actually go the opposite I wish the tournament was 72 holes on the south course I I don’t

Mind no let me take that back as a PGA Tour event I I really like the South course like I enjoyed like the views are great like second to none but it’s sort of the shop making that it requires from apga tour pro we saw it I mean we just

Got through talking for five minutes about the way pavon played the 18th hole I I’m speaking just personally if I lived in San Diego I’m probably not playing the South cors very often like I totally oh yeah yeah yeah it’s it’s much more fun there’s a there’s a greater

Variety uh you still get some of the the the crazy Scenic shots however like the South course doesn’t look particularly fun especially in tournament conditions where the rough is that thick and the fairways are that pinched like the 12th hole just looks just looks abysmal it

Would if if you’re if you’re missing if you’re missing the Fairway at players at our level who cannot muster the swing speed uh to to extricate balls from that thicker rough you’d you’d make seven eight eight or nine it’s just a dead straight hole with just nothing but

Thick rough like that doesn’t look fun it doesn’t no and I I we can sit here and go through the tour schedule I I find most of the courses I enjoy are not the on that are the major championship test anyway which is probably not a

Surprise given the state of my game uh Rex I do think when you get to this world tour concept like they’re gonna have to really think through this I this is actually my favorite part of the PJ tour schedule is is right now I know a lot of people like the Florida swing

Because it’s getting you excited for the Masters uh obviously people like uh The Travelers championship and the memorial and the Canadian open like I think that’s a decent swing as well you and I both love our fortnite uh in in Scotland or England with a Scottish open leading

In the Open Championship the ftic playoffs are great but I I I love this I love the I love the the two events in Hawaii uh PJ West is kind of nostalgic for me my grandparents lived uh right down the street and then you get into this stretch now with Tory Pines then

Pebble then Phoenix then Riv like this is the best part of the PJ tour schedule while over in Europe they’re going to want to stick their claim to to Abu Dhabi and Dubai as well to begin the season so I think that’s something to figure out I’m not sure if I’m in the

Minority and think this is the best stretch of the PJ tour season but I can’t get enough golf over these next couple weeks I just wish it was completely separate from football as a as a as opposed to kind of uh dividing our attention I’m I’m with you the

Interesting thing is I mean during my career as a journalist not yours but during my career as a journalist the West Coast Swing struggled like they had to come up with a point system and a way to reward players for playing on the west coast because everyone was starting

To gravitate towards Florida getting ready for the Masters I think it had a lot to do with the Tiger Woods effect because tiger sort of had a very clear schedule and he didn’t deviate from that and he had a lot of success so I think players to sort of started to follow his

Lead it’s gone completely the other way now like I don’t know and look this is a little bit different because of the times we live in but we talked about how hard it was for guys to get into Sony like it was a really really good field

At Sony I think Tory Pines was better than I expected the American Express was better than I expected yes next week at Pebble you’re right like it’s just it’s a really cool part of the schedule for a lot of reasons one I love the prime time

Finishes two I don’t know that you can really compare the golf courses like I think this string of golf courses is probably the best collection we see on tour all season long Rex you’re hitting the road on Monday morning we’re not going to get into the potential PJ tour deal we’re

Not going to get into live golf I going to get into a pebble preview because you and I will be tackling that uh in the Wednesday podcast but before we get out of here anything else on your mind for this Edition uh no I’m a little surprised you’re not outside today we’re

We’re taping this on Sunday because clearly the PJ Tour event ended on Saturday it’s a conference Championship Sunday it’s a big day for both of us you were firing up the grill you were getting stuff ready is there a reason why we didn’t do it live from the back

Porch uh yes because that is where uh my two mongrels are currently devouring your beautiful children you mean yep their Lunchables yes uh exactly this is definitely like an intricate dance of trying to get the ribs that I’m smoking done today at a proper time while still

Doing uh our work obligations and firing off this podcast and so before you and I hopped into the streamyard record I was I was rushing outside I was throwing the charcoal down I was I was gasing it up getting that ready to go I threw on four splits those hopefully are burning down

To coals as we speak and at that point hopefully I’ve got the smoker running from 250 to 275 and we’ll be able able to start the rib process and pull those off around 4 or 5:00 which should be midway through what hopefully is a great Chiefs Ravens Gabe what do you have Rex

I’m doing ribs as well and then they wanted burn ends so I’m GNA do pork belly burnt ends again so it’s a little bit of a juggling act so I’m with you the timing of It kind of tough don’t Scorch him don’t Scorch him I know you

Had they actually have to almost under smoke them is what I discovered because then you like yeah because you’re G to kind of I’m after I smoke them I flash fry them very very quickly and then then you kind of put them in the oven and let

Them cook the rest of the way uh those do sound delicious I look forward to your Snappy chats folks it could be a busy few days in the world of golf so in the meantime in between our two podcast recorders make sure you guys go to nbcsports.com

Golf for latest news and updates from the World of Golf as previously mentioned Rex and I will be back on Wednesday he will be at Pebble I will be in my home studio we’ll fire off another preview podcast as well as catch up to any updates that have been on the PJ

Tour but thank you guys for listening hope you have a great rest of the weekend we’ll talk to you in a couple of days