Jack Bushman & Ross Baran breakdown a WILD weekend off golf! From Wyndham Clark’s victory at Pebble Beach, to Joaquin Niemann outlasting Sergio Garcia in a playoff at Mayakoba, tune in to hear more about an incredible few days leading into the 2024 WM Phoenix Open.
What’s going on everyone welcome on in to another episode of golf on tap make sure to go and jump into the YouTube feed of this as well so you can interact with us in the comments section let us know who you’re going to be targeting for the people’s open which is back this
Week at TPC Scottdale the Waste Management Phoenix Open we’ll be talking about that we’ll also be getting into uh Pebble Beach with wendam Clark shooting a 60 so close to a 59 or even a 58 with the putts that he had on the back nine but going super low on Saturday to wind
Up being the winner of that tournament and then of course a very big opportunity for live golf with Pebble Beach being cancelled uh on that on that Sunday they had a major opportunity so we’re gonna be talking about a lot of good stuff on the show here today also to everyone out there
Watching this make sure to go in uh subscribe to golf on tap on Apple podcast or on Spotify we just got that put up there recently so would greatly appreciate all your support along the way as we we dive into this week in and week out as always I’m Jag Bushman
Joined by my partner in crime Ross Baron Ross is going to be back on the show I was absent last week but glad to hear that Mr Tony maresi was able to jump in and you two had some fun together but uh definitely stoked to be back we got a
Lot to talk about on today’s show but before we get into that how you doing Ross oh I’m doing good man it’s still freezing like crazy out here I busted out the living room put putting Matt so just trying to knock down those 8 to 10
Footers because I’m not going to th out for like another two to three months here it’s looking like I actually had uh one of my buddies text me a couple of days ago saying that a local course by uh By Me in the northwest suburbs of Chicago is actually going to be open
This weekend potentially with temperatures creeping up into the 40s while I was gone in Mexico it looked like most of the snow here in the Chicagoland area has melted so maybe I need to get back onto the uh need to roll out the putting green and in my
House as well to kind of fine-tune the game because I haven’t touched a club in like four or five months man but golf season is almost here we uh we’re heating up and so is the PGA Tour schedule bro obviously we just had Pebble Beach last week which was a
Signature event didn’t get a Sunday final round it was cut to 54 holes which is you know a little bit ironic um with what’s been going on with Liv golf in their tournament that they had over the weekend but still an unbelievable tournament and I think it’s really
Awesome to see Beach get designated status something that quite frankly needed to happen because the last couple of years and really ever since I had been a huge fan of golf Ross the fields at Pebble Beach pardon my French were just quite honestly dog [ __ ] because of
Where it wound up in the schedule so for the PGA Tour to make this a designated event to have the best at Pebble Beach I think is something that needs to be happening moving forward and uh put together even though it was only three rounds a really solid tournament what
Were kind of your your thoughts and Main takeaways from Pebble Beach this past weekend Ross no honestly I thought it was a great it was a great show just to see you know it it was like you said ironic that we end up having a 54 hole no cut
Signature event fall on on Liv opening weekend but we had the big names out there the biggest thing is a lot of those big names did not perform like you thought they would um I mean aside from Rory Rory got screwed by basically a couple shots you know that that o that
Opening round he went super low and it blew up in about two holes then assess the penalty late but overall it was it was fun to see and like we’ll talk about a little bit later once again you had a bunch of guys that are fresh to the tour
Just make pave in their way we back in it again we’ll get there in just one second but I do want to mention that lham Clark even though it has been a pretty quiet stretch for him following his US Open Victory might have celebrated a little bit too hard
Following that but in now the last 10 months or so he’s won two Signature Events and the US Open I mean I know it hasn’t been great for him recently but that resume right there is gosh darn impressive for a guy who like 14 months ago not a ton of people really knew
About got to be impressed with what Windham Clark was able to do and again even though he hasn’t been playing well lately he’s still showing that he has that high level ability and can kick it up a gear like not many other people have when he’s on his
Aame well I mean especially um you know I went to the PGA Championship last year out here in Rochester with my family and I can attest to how crazy like these past 12 months have been for him because the PGA Championship was two weeks after he won Wells Fargo and got his first
Career win and when he stepped on the te for someone that wasn’t an avid PGA like fan most of the people were going who the hell is this when he was on the T box now you fast forward 12 months later and he’s one of the biggest names in
Golf and let let alone he was a huge live target for a really long time so it’s really cool to see just how fast this is progressing for him and yeah a huge win overall because he did have such um down period f following the US
Open you know didn’t play as well as he hoped at the Ryder Cup and then just the several events he played post Rider cup he just kind of his game looked off so this was a great bounce back and you know you almost shot 59 at Pebble
Beach and when like I know it got cut short to three rounds but when you go and shoot the course record at Pebble you do ultimately deserve the Victory and uh I don’t know did you see how uh when Windom elected to celebrate that Wi
On I think it was a a Monday before heading down to Phoenix you see what he was up to uh all I saw was Sun Sundays and trophies Sundays trophies and a lot of red wine it looked like an absolutely fantastic celebration from Mr wam Clark
Um did want to run this by you because I it was just an interesting thought that popped into my head how funny would it be if Windom signed to live like now like how funny would that be I mean it maximizing on the opportunity I don’t
Know if there’s still uh an offer out there and again I don’t really know uh what went wrong with the negotiations when he was rumored there and I’ll admittedly say it’s unlikely that it does happen but wouldn’t it be pretty funny if you just capitalize on this win
At Pebble Beach and sign to live oh oh absolutely um you know I I I was laughing I don’t know if you saw any of his comments the past couple days where they’ve interviewed him and his main statement has been i cho I chose Legacy over live and the entire time I was
Like almost wi yeah right and lowkey anyone who’s ever made those comments is like ended up going you know what I mean I just saw it and I I was I was laughing because like good for him he sees a bigger picture but at the same
Time I did giggle a little bit at those comments I was like but you were really really close yeah exactly like pretty pretty funny um some other other takeaways from Pebble Beach though uh ludvig we we got we got a final uh pronunciation hopefully this is the final pronunciation on his last name
Because uh it’s been you know multiple different things we’ve heard oberg we’ve heard uh Oar we’ve heard AAR and now we finally got some uh clarification Ross what do we got uh he finally sat down and after eight months on tour which is just ABS absolutely mindblowing that it
Took eight months for him to just be like hey guys after eight ber Oar all this we finally found out it is ludvig oer and now we finally got in he can’t go back on that anymore okay this is this is what it officially is ludvig oberg it’s settled in stone but besides
The name complications he is out on a rampage to start his PGA Tour career and I posted on social media a couple of weeks ago I’ll just be the one to say it because I’m never backing him uh at these low prices but maybe or at these
Low odds I should say but maybe I should be because he just seemingly is in contention every week and he’s annoyingly good Ross it should not be this easy for someone to come on the PGA tour and basically be inside the top 20
If not the top 10 week in and week out I mean he is an incredible sensation and he’s gonna be a name that people are gonna be hearing about for a long long time I got a feel him no I I mean he’s the perfect product
Of what the PGA tried to install with the PGA Tour you where you know for years these guys basically had to take the amateur stat take the amateur status come come on these tours play the events essentially no no money but then had to perform and if you performed well enough
They’d be like oh here here here’s a car well now it’s all it’s all different it’s completely changed they take they essentially have a point system they track how they perform at the college ranks and at the end of the year they pick one two three depending how close
The points are at the end of the year that have been accumulated and say hey guy you’re a pro now here you go you don’t have to go play corn fairy anything you can just go pro you can play select events that will that will determine for you but here you go you
Don’t have to you don’t have to do the miners it’s like getting drafted and called up immediately you’re in the show and for him he’s gone and completely Rewritten the record books because he came out he’s one of he was one of the hottest players as soon as he got out
With all his top 10 he made a rder cup before he has even played in his first major as a pro that has never happened before in the history of golf and he played well at the Ryder Cup seemingly like he does week in and week out his
Consistency has been unbelievable um and what I think is pretty crazy about the PJ tour University obviously he’s kind of the uh the first one that we’re in here so it makes it look pretty good but I I think it’s a a reminder of just how good this next generation is really
Going to be and we’re just starting to scratch the surface on it and uh it’s going to be a really good thing for golf long term because it feels like there are going to be a lot more household names with just the Bunches of talent
That is uh coming up and can go straight to the PGA Tour if they’re playing well at the collegia level so I think it was a wise decision by the tour on that front well I I mean I mean let let alone that I don’t know if you saw but even
Caleb Sarat was in the running for that Caleb Sarat got a huge payday from Liv to to go over I don’t know if you saw what happened to him today though which was PR which was pretty hilarious with him being only 19 years old he attempted
To checkin to the hotel in Vegas for the live event and they would not allow him to check in because he’s under the age of 21 Tyrell had and had to sign on um for for the room with him to allow him to check in for the that’s pretty hilarious Caleb had
Himself a pretty good event for Liv in mayakoba over the weekend we’ll get there in just a moment but I did want to touch on another uh highly touted no longer amater which means he can get a paycheck funny enough though Ross Nick Dunlap came in dead last last week at
Bev Beach but collected a much loftier check than he got for his win at the AMX yes if we win the MX and he forfeits a $1.6 million paycheck he comes into Pebble Beach finishes dead last F and goes home with a cool $32,000 it’s funny uh uh how that kind
Of works out but hey Nick Dunlap um whether it was no money for that win whether it was a million dollars I’m sure it was a great moment for him and a great stepping stone in his career and he’s going to be making a lot more money
Moving forward so I know it’s a funny joke but it’s gonna be which let me which let me to believe do you think that played into his decision for um going home withdrawing you know from last week’s event do you think he purposely did that because he realized
Maybe I don’t go play maybe I don’t go play Farmers right now because if I get cut I’m gonna lose money starting my career compared to if I if I go to Pebble Beach at least I know I’m getting a paycheck and I start off on a hot foot
With anything that’s actually a pretty good point no cut that’s a guar guaranteed payday right there for Mr Nick Dunlap you don’t want to be starting your career in the negatives right it’s like starting a golf betting season already in the negatives you’re like working your way back up you don’t
Want to be doing that maybe there was a reason for Nick Dunlap purposely waiting for Pebble Beach to be his first pro start I mean I could see it I I I could see where maybe you don’t want to go in NE negative week one let let’s postpone
A week take take a week to relax and I’ll go out to California where I know I’m at least coming home in in with something in the bank definitely a good point we got to talk about Maya Koba this past weekend Ross because For the
First time ever I it was my last not my last day on vacation my last full day I guess you could say on vacation so I wasn’t around the TV I wanted to be outside and I wanted to enjoy the nice weather but I did catch probably the
Last hour and a half to two hours uh of that tournament and I thought there were a lot of positives a lot of negatives but all in all my main number one takeaway was that this week was a massive win for live golf No Way Around
It no way around it oh I I completely agree I I think you and I were chatting uh on on Sunday as it was going on and you know when the PJ made the call that we’re just not gonna do this or at least at the time they were postponing to
Later in the day one of the one of the first things that you and I talked about is wow this opened up essentially a 4H hour window where live is going to be the only thing on and they’re they’re on TV you have John Ramen contention not
Only individually but with his team also you’re going to H you’re going to you’re going to you’re going to have people you’re going to have people you know turn turn over and watch and I think when they showed reports it was one of the highest view live events that they
That they’ve had so far I I would think it has to be because it was just such a prime opportunity for them on a day where a Sunday where there isn’t PGA Tour golf going on there’s no football right it was going to draw a lot of
Attention and man um I I do think there are some wonky things about Liv but there are definitely some things things that I I liked about it too and Ross I really do think it’s getting to the point where you can’t deny the talent that they have in these fields I mean
Looking at the top of the leaderboard that they had at mova John Rah uh Walkin Neiman Sergio Garcia Cameron Smith was there for a little bit uh Brooks Kea Dustin Johnson they had their names on the top of the leaderboard and it’s like man you you can’t deny that this is
A ending of a tournament where there’s a lot of major champions a lot of big game Hunters a lot of big names in the world of golf that are contending for a trophy yeah I know there’s a team aspect of it too but the individual aspect is
Still very compelling and they’ve got a good enough field where it it feels like it matters now right that’s how I feel at least no absolutely and I’m gonna be honest the team aspect is really weird it’s stinks dude it stinks it is really weird I did semi likee the change they
Made made for the Sunday round where they made all four people were able to be in contention and it only made it interesting like in John ROM team’s case because the one dude is five over like in dead last in the tournament and he ended up shooting like three or four
Under and actually coming into play for the for them getting the team win W which if that’s over time maybe I think I could get a little more use to that where that’s kind of cool that even the lowest person on the totem pole can have
A day and make an impact so I I guess I could Circle back on that in the future but overall the leaderboard itself was exciting to see I mean they’re still playing golf right they were playing good golf they were matching each other’s shots left and right and we had
The first playoff in live history of course it’s going to be when everyone has eyes on them because the PGA cancels they they have a Four Hole playoff they’re literally putting under spot lights at night and I’m just gonna say I’m going to give them credit because there’s not
A freaking chance the PGA under J Monahan would be able to get that thing done the way they did I I completely agree 100 perc um I definitely wanted to talk about a few positives in particular that I liked about Liv over the weekend one the leaderboard the actual not not
The not the names the leaderboard in and alone of itself it’s it’s not perfect but it it had has potential and the one thing I feel like I’m more confident in live than the PGA Tour is that they’re actually going to listen and they’re actually going to change
Things because they are kind of new and they’re figuring out what works for them the leaderboard being as long as it is I I think is interesting and I think there’s there’s opportunities there I hate how they shorten people’s names and listen if you can’t fit Johnson on the
Leaderboard you have a problem they had to cut out the O and Dustin Johnson’s name no one knew who Meo Pereira was on the leaderboard because it looked super confusing and I I think the team thing for me is just it’s it’s a joke quite honestly because I how like these guys are
Celebrating with champagne at the end of a tournament in which none of them won like it’s just it’s just really odd and I feel like they draw live draws into it when they really need to make it like a big factor But ultimately when it’s like
A good leaderboard and it’s not a race for the team aspect they just care about who’s winning the individuals so that’s a little bit wonky to me and be because of that I I feel like they could get rid of the logos or at least make them a
Little bit smaller on the leaderboard because when people are looking at a leaderboard quite honestly they they want to know the players names they don’t really care about what team they’re on um and that’s kind of the weird thing about Liv is they built it as this team thing and a team Dynamic
And we’re hoping to sell these teams to make money when I don’t think that’s ever what’s going to be what takes them off um quite honestly they just have enough Talent now where they can just run individually leader boards and it feels like that could be good enough to
Get the job done but I think the leaderboard in and alone of itself is really cool um also the broadcast actually showing golf actually showing shots is something that the PGA Tour could really learn about instead of all these commercials where I mean shoot dude we were watching Pebble Beach on
Saturday with wendam and we’re seeing Matt coocher like all day and he’s not in the mix man like show us people who are in the mix show us stuff that we want to see this has been a re curring theme that golf fans have been saying
For years and years now and Liv has been able to figure it out as fast as they have tells me that the PGA Tour can do it they just don’t [ __ ] listen and that’s that’s the thing to me it seems like Liv is actually listening well I mean we got our perfect
Example is you know Friday walking nean shot 59 at myoba yeah if you if you watch any of that broadcast and you know I had PGA on in the background here and I had Liv on uh because it was a YouTube stream for for that day and I’m just I
Just want to see because it’s their opener like let’s see how John Ram everyone does when w Neeman went on 59 watch they didn’t take the [ __ ] camera off of him every single shot every single hole let’s see if he can do it Windam Clark was chasing 59 on
Saturday and we see Windam Clark every two to three holes he’s three or four holes up oh by the way he birdied the last three in a row a moment ago here’s wiam Clark on 59 watch it’s like dude what what are we talking about here and
I think what is really ironic too is the second to last 59 the PJ tour had was Adam hadwin at the American Express but oh wait no one could watch that because they didn’t have cameras on that course it’s [ __ ] dude like Liv actually is showing what golf fans want to see and
They’re giving us what golf fans want to hear the conversations between Neiman and his caddy throughout the entirety of the playoff it was actually like aggressive conversations I thought if you watch the last like hour and a half of them rapping wrapping up I literally thought these two are gonna
Part ways after this tournament even when they win I thought the same thing I was like dude I feel like Walky Nan’s cadd is bullying him into is like selecting clubs and was giving him all the wrong reads on the fting greens I was like if Waco loses this this guy’s
Canned well if you if you listen there was one point where like David fary was laughing his ass calling it that waca wanted to hit his shot with a club and his caddy stepped in with the bag and David was like oh that’s never no I know here’s we got a lot of
Com and then he and then he and then and then he and then he ended up like refusing to back up with the bag he just stayed there planted like no you’re not gonna hit that you’re gonna hit this and Waco kept like waving him off like no I
Think it needs to be it needs to be this and the guy just wouldn’t move until Waco finally was like fine to which it to the C’s credit he ended up hitting it to like 12 feet perfectly when the other club definitely would have ended up being short yeah right but still just
The on air tension of even fairy sitting there being like oh this probably not gonna go well right now because he refuses to back off and we got to hear all of that though we got to hear those insights I thought that was really solid I thought their implementation of uh
Like how you get punished if you miss shots to the right on that 18th hole throughout the playoff or in the early holes of the playoff to kind of give fans an idea of where you want to hit it and where you don’t uh I also personally
Like the cups being miked up I just think it makes putts sound cooler when you hold them like there are definitely some positives of live and this was the most I had watched it for sure thus far it probably helped that you know John
ROM was there at the end and I’m a big Walkin Neeman fan and I know him and Sergio have been good buddies for a while so it was kind of a a cool top of the leaderboard there which I think aided in you know this going so well but
Man again there’s just no denying how massive of a weekend this was for live golf and the PGA Tour needs Jay Monahan literally someone throw ice water on this dude’s Grill to wake him up because this has to get done now man we’re losing day in and day out and it’s sad
That we’re still here talking about it Ross my only two things out of that all that coverage for lib were first of all just how many mics are around the players everything the best hot mic from the weekend was the John ROM chip where he duffed it went too short stopped the
Roll and as soon as it stops the roll you just hear John ROM in the background get [ __ ] dude R I thought um thing I I think Liv needs to dial it back on is like stop interviewing these guys after their rounds and trying to
Get them to tell them how cool live golf is like anything that’s [ __ ] cool you don’t need people saying it’s cool like going up to John and be like how awesome was it your first event at live like this guy just finished bogey Bogey and lost the [ __ ] tournament all right
And he runs hot like he doesn’t give a [ __ ] about this team factor and now he has to go lie some more in front of everybody it’s like all right know yourselves Know Your Role know why people are actually here right now there there was that and then the one that
Made me laugh really really hard was like they chorus commentators there’s a couple of them that do a really good job but there was one guy that they kept going to and they’re like how’s his lie look what do you think he’s gonna do and he’s just like I don’t
Know I think I remember I think I remember him saying uh I hadn’t gotten over there yet or something along those lines but um there there is some weird stuff going on with the commentary like I think they they understand or at least the main commentary team understands
When to be quiet when to shut up and I think Steve Sans uh could learn a lot from that because Steve Sans loves hearing Steve Sans talk and sometimes it’s just like golly man just show the golf again that’s what we’re here to do is to show the golf but the the music
Dude I’m someone who barely likes listening to music when I’m playing golf like I’ll I’ll listen to it with my buddies I’m never gonna be like the bad Vibe guy out there on the course and be like hey turn that [ __ ] off no I’ll listen to music out there on the course
But like ideally I don’t like it on uh and I think especially like down the stretch of a tournament when it’s really important on the last day of a tournament like to be playing music kind of dampers it down a little bit in my mind it’s the only thing I could have
Done without when overall for this is probably the first live event I’ve truly like gotten into and dedicated my time to watching that was probably the one thing I could have done without where I was like all right well we have a huge shot here on 17 and then you can just
Hear the EDM music bumping in the background like crazy and it’s like every like damn you people this is golf yeah literally damn you people [ __ ] shooter that was great I think we should talk for a second though about uh Neeman and Sergio in that playoff I think it
Was awesome that um it seemed like they were going to have to finish on Monday and then Sergio was just like no we’re going back like even after Sergio didn’t warm up for the playoff I knew it was not going to go very well for him Sergio
Sat the back of the green the entire time just watching his boy Waco finish uh we didn’t get a lot of good golf in that playoff until Neeman finally drained to putt late and I wasn’t really sure like who was ultimately going to come out of it and felt like everyone
Late played bad even John Ram it felt like it was his tournament to win and he ended up playing poorly um just kind of a weird ending but super happy for me personally to see Neeman come through what were kind of your your thoughts on the Finish there um once again just really
Impressed that they were able to pull it out especially like you said with Sergio with Sergio just being like [ __ ] it no we’re going back we’re doing it again the PGA would be oh no no no to to we gotta go tomorrow there’s just no way by
The time they got back to the T boox to go again they had spotlights on the green it’s lit up completely where they at least can see their target like screw screw the shots in between we’ll find it getting up there you just need to see where you’re hitting it PJ would never
Be able to get that just done as fast as they did which was really impressive that they even said after the third playoff ho oh we’re gonna have to go to Monday and then Sergio and Wen were like no we’re not we’re we’re going back like
We’re just gonna end this now yeah I thought that was awesome and I’m sure everyone that was in attendance and I mean even the people watching wanted it to finish that day but the people that were there getting to watch that in the dark um with like the Jumbotron
Basically lighting it up I feel like that’s one of those those tournaments that those people aren’t going to forget and was like a a major big time Big Dick type of move from Liv Golf and in the players I mean it wasn’t live it was Sergio and Neeman being like yeah let’s
Go back we’re gonna put on a show for these guys someone’s got to win this bad boy um and I I thought just for the fans that probably had to leave them with such a big smile on their face that they got to see a winner and not ohh it’s a
Draw after all this long day and all this uh excitement that we didn’t even get a winner I think that was just like a very fitting end to again just a Monumental day for uh a live golf in my opinion Steve sanss by the way Know Your
Role and shut your mouth Steve Sans it’s my my opinion on that but before we move on to the Waste Management Phoenix Open Ross I think we got to talk about how uh Waco comes through with a victory probably not uh as good of a field as Pebble Beach but still an undeniably
Talented field and a really really uh star studded top of the leaderboard he moves back in the the official world golf rankings wam Clark gets a massive victory in a 54 hole no cut signature event he moves up a bunch in the official World Golf Ranking
Obviously we know this is the case with live golf their tournaments don’t have official World Golf Ranking points and I I personally won’t ever really feel bad for the players not getting owgr points even though there is an interesting uh point that we’ll get to here in just a
Second it’s it’s more so that it’s just clearly wrong is what really upsets me I don’t feel bad for the players because they made their decision regardless of what they were told like we’ll get to in just a second but the biggest reason why it rubs me the wrong way is because it’s
Just wrong W nean should not have fallen in the world golf rankings for that type of Victory I don’t care what what live golf is and they don’t get world ranking points it’s just wrong no I I I completely agree that you know the top six players in the world
Basically get full exemption and are into the majors Waco came into the week sitting at six at 66 went out fired off a 59 played an unbelievable event won the event and then slipped eight spots in the world rankings for the week while Windam Clark does the reverse but it’s
The PGA Tour and even though it’s 54 holes he jump he jumps up a shitload of spots in in world rankings I mean call it what it is the with the scoring system that you know Liv does not count towards the rankings let him stay stable leave him
At 66 don’t knock him down several he won stays at 66 you don’t got to move him up because he technically can’t move up but there’s no reason you need to knock him down yes I I probably should have emphasized that better and thank you very much for doing that moving him
Backwards is the problem here after he just beat John ROM Cameron Smith Brooks kepa Dustin Johnson Sergio Garcia all these guys who have won major championships in the past decade you’re gonna move him back six spots and again I get that this is a tour where and
These guys were kind of aware at the beginning that this could be an issue potentially to move them backwards is it’s just it’s just showing that there’s a flaw in the system in my mind and we’ve kind of known there was a little bit of a flaw in the owgr but I think
This weekend really really kind of put a bow on it in my opinion Ross I mean there’s that and then did you see they just for insight they gave since Dustin Johnson went to live which when he left for Liv he was a top 10 player in the world since he joined Liv
He’s won several events he’s basically finished in the top 10 in every single event they’ve had do you know where Dustin Johnson currently is in world rankings is he outside 70 now Justin Dustin Johnson is currently ranked 248th in the world wow I didn’t know he had
Fallen that far come on man that’s pathetic he’s won several events like outright won several events and he’s basically failed to finish outside the top 10 on their leaderboard in every event since he joined Liv golf yet when he went over there I believe he was
Number eight or number nine in the world this pass this pass ranking that just came out he is now 248th in the world yeah that’s just wrong man and um something something’s got to get figured out there and and it’s just showing the the greater issue at hand that the game
Of golf is just really broken and really fractured right now and everyone’s losing I mean walk Neeman just won a tournament and he’s losing and he’s gonna have to do something if he wants to get into these major championships which last year if I remember correctly
I don’t believe he even like went and played on the DP World Tour or the Asian tour to like try to get points to get in those events am I remembering that correctly I believe I believe you’re correct do you like what what’s kind of your opinion on a young guy like Walky
Neiman going over to live and we’ve heard rumors the last couple of days that these players were told that they weren’t going to have to worry about official World Golf Ranking points when they go over there do you do you believe that that’s what they were told and
That’s what lured them over there or helped them lure them over there along with the money what are kind of your feelings on just a really tough situation for a guy like walk Neeman to be in because in my opinion even two years ago before he left he was one of
The top 40 50 players in the world and a really promising blossoming young star that hits the ball a long way hits it straight really good iron player we saw what he did at the Genesis like a lot of talent there what do you kind of think
About his situation right here right now and what should these guys be trying to do I’m kind of torn because it’s where I don’t want to sound like every person in the world like in our Golf World about this where you knew what you were signing on for because unfortunately it
Looks like we’re finding out a lot of these guys knew that they were giving up the tour they knew that they weren’t going to be welcomed back when they take this money and they go over there but part of what they were being offered is that we’re working with the world
Rankings to get a scoring system designed where you’re still going to be able to account those points to now they’re seeing oh no that was never a thing ever where it was almost false bait to get them over there and where I think I’m not gonna be surprise where
Even after the money and the successes they’re having if there’s a handful of guys that are going oh [ __ ] well you know I’m never going to get a major now I’m never going to have a chance in a major I’m never going to play in a major
Because this is a thing that I didn’t expect at the time when I went over and it is a double-edged short because you you can say you know you made you made your decision now live with it but at the same time for people like Waco I do
Feel for him where the performance hasn’t laughs he went over as one of the best players in the world it’s the reason they paid him the money to go over there in the first place but when you’re consistently performing just like Dustin Johnson is one of the best
Players in the world there’s no re reason that Waco has to be 74th in the world now and there’s no reason that Dustin Johnson has to be 248th in the world yeah that’s absolutely ridiculous I I really do wonder what those conversations were like for those
Players the first kind of wave of guys to go over were were they told that we’re working with the owgr to get points where they told we’re gonna get owgr points we’re likely to get them like the wording there kind of does matter in a situation like this this and
I wonder how much Assurance they got before they made that deal thinking that they were going to get these points and it’s kind of left some of them in a really tough spot and you have to wonder if you know I mean loads of money is
Always great but how many of them are going to have some buyers remorse because they may not get these opportunities to play in major championships unless they go and Spike somewhere else on the DP World Tour or on the Asian tour or something along those lines it just leaves them in a
Very peculiar situation but again they probably had somewhat of an idea that that was going to be the case even going over there you know what I mean it’s hard to be it’s hard to be mad at the at what’s happening right now when it always seemed like that was kind of on
The table you know I I I mean I I completely agree with it but it it’s one of the things that still pisses me off In fairness like yes they made their they made their decision but also you need to see what the bigger picture what’s going on and especially just here
In the I love Dustin Johnson personally I’m a big DJ I’m a big DJ guy you’re telling me he’s 248th in the world you put Dustin Johnson at Pebble Beach last week with 248 of the other players Dustin Johnson Beats at least 230 of them yeah and what he had one pretty bad
Year at at major championships and now he’s just completely in the world golf rankings it’s almost like he’s a nobody now all of a sudden when this guy was one of the best golfers over the last decade now he’s dropped a 248 in the world after like uh four bad major championships
Against a string of you know good players after having an unbelievable run in them the past like eight years like what okay so here’s to bring it all into context with these new rankings out Dustin Johnson after everything he’s accomplished Waco after everything he’s accomplished Nick Dunlap is ahead of both of them
That’s [ __ ] up man and this is the biggest problem like what what you believe what you like about live the PGA Tour regardless how you feel about any of this there’s no denying that the official World Golf Ranking is not accurate that’s the problem right the
Well according to the owgr now Waco is the 74th best Dustin Johnson’s 248 Nick Dunlap after one win in one last place is 68th best in the world probably J Monahan saying that on behalf of the owgr what a joke that is but I digress I
Think we should move on to a very excellent tournament that we have this week Ross the people’s open is back in my opinion it’s my favorite of the non major slate of the entire season and what’s been uh what What’s rather nice this year for me Ross is I actually get
To watch the Waste Management Phoenix Open this year on full fledge because the past two years uh I had been in Mexico for the super bowl and of course the timing of this tournament so being the true golf degenerate that I am I am very stoked to be uh watching this thing
From start to finish hopefully on Thursday to Sunday hopefully we get a full 72 holes this week I know there is supposed to be some interesting weather uh early on in the week down in Arizona but yes the Waste Management Phoenix Open 2024 is back TPC Scottdale it’s not
An elevated event this year Ross but still a pretty good pretty gosh darn good field even though we saw Victor hland and Xander schafle both withdraw yesterday still a lot of good names Scotty sheffler looking to become the first guy to three Pat since uh Steve Stricker at the John Deere classic over
A decade ago Max hom Justin Thomas Jordan spe Wenda Matthew Fitzpatrick it’s an excellent event obviously it’s going to be Rowdy and rambunctious all weekend long but looks like there’s G to be some really good golfers in the field as well and that’s excellent to see
Because I I was a little bit concerned considering where this was in the schedule and Pebble getting the elevated status and the Genesis the week after that this was going to be a little bit lackluster but that’s not going to be the case it looks like a lot of the big
Dogs wanted to go enjoy themselves in Scottdale this week well I mean I I think the thing I’m looking forward to the most about this you didn’t even name off one of the best golfers to watch is not even going to be playing it’s going to be kiz live commentary on the 16th
Hole I’m so here for that I I really loved kiss’s debut I thought he was excellent and I think this is going to be a perfect event for his type of humor and how he likes to go about his business I’m sure he’d rather be playing in the Waste Management Phoenix Open but
If there’s anywhere else he could be uh that seems like a really good spot for old kid I am going to be tuned in all four days to watch this for the lone fact that I need someone like Justin Thomas or Jordan spe or someone like
That to turn and get a hot mik moment when they tell kid to [ __ ] off yeah right it’s gonna be like a 30-footer just give give KY the bird over in the corner there’s gonna be some there’s gonna be something good like that him and speed have already was it was it him
And speed who he was throwing a little bit oh yeah he was talking about spe he’s like Jordan it’s three feet Bud go knock it in it’s three feet knock it down Bud yeah I mean Kar on the mic the lead into the Super Bowl on Sunday is stacked field TPC
Scottdale uh 70 or 700,000 fans anticipated to be on hand throughout the course of the weekend I don’t know how many of those people are actually going to be watching the golf but gosh darn it whether they’re watching or not it can creates an unbelievable atmosphere uh
I’m really excited for this thing to get underway and it really does feel now Ross like we’re we’re in the golf season I mean Tori Pebble Beach another good field this week we got Genesis next weekend baby uh feels like golf season is here right oh golf season is 100%
Here and the first thing I wanted to ask you is the betting expert of our show I had I had a line I wanted to throw at you and and that was last year at the waste management there were 4.5 million drinks consumed on the 16th hole alone
Alone God damn what’s the line are we are we going over on or no 4.5 million drinks over the four over over four days La last year I want to know are we hitting the over this year because I think we are that’s you know I want to say yes
Because that means people are having a goddamn good time and some good stuff’s going on I I do Wonder though how much of that is uh a little bit guys going a little bit harder knowing that the Super Bowl was also in that area last year as
Well where it’s in Vegas this year uh if it’s under I’m going to say it’s not going to be under by very much I I’ll root for the over though with you because that means there’s a lot of uh good drinks being flown out there and that’s what the people deserve they paid
A lofty price I’m sure to go on down there they better be drinking and having a good time um you ever uh what what’s kind of your your thoughts on the event would you as someone who like really enjoys watching golf would you personally like want to go down there
Like what’s kind of your thoughts on ever attending the Waste Management Phoenix over it’s on it’s on my list just to be just to be down there and say that that I I’ve been in the atmosphere and I’ve experienced I’ve experienced it one time I would love to go myself I
Don’t know if I could do all four days though because even when I was even when I was uh first first golf event that I was fortunate to be credential to the BMW Championship I walked like 30 miles in four days brother I was non-stop walking and watching the golf because
That’s what I love to do I love to watch the golf and I don’t know how many other people down there would be in the same boat as me wanting to be on that same path throughout the course of the weekend so and I feel like dodging
Through all those people would make my job a little bit harder um but I was just curious as to whether or not you felt the same way about that definitely though something that you have to do at least once for one day on the golf Bucket List Right 100% so before we kind
Of tie a bow on this episode here Ross um want to ask you what are your thoughts on Scotty Sheffer potentially repeating he is the clear-cut favorite in this event uh especially now that Victor and Xander have withdrawn he’s won each of the last two years here I
Believe last year he was second in the field in Strokes gain putting and I’ll tell you what if Scotty sheffler is ever near the top of uh The Strokes gain putting category for a tournament he’s probably going to win it it feels like this is the place for whatever reason he
Kind of rolls the Rock really well here uh like I said looking to be the first man to three repeat a PGA Tour events and Steve Stricker in 2009 to 2011 what kind of chances are you giving Scotty this week Ross you hit it on the head it’s gonna
Be the putting um I think one thing we’ve addressed for a very long time is Scotty Sheffer has been world number one 70 something weeks now although Rory had a chance to catch him last week until he [ __ ] the bed big time [ __ ] the bed he [ __ ] the bed and then Scotty actually
Pulled out a a very decent performance where I think Scotty’s going to have a little cushion for a few more weeks now the biggest thing in Scotty Sheffer is he ranks at the top of the board in literally every single category in the PGA Tour Scotty sheffler is one of the
Top three in every single category until you go to Strokes gained on the green and he’s basically dead last yeah and when I kind of have broken down this course and done done all my research one thing that really stand a couple of things that actually I guess I should
Say really stand out is this is a very driver friendly te to Green type of course this uh this venue TBC Scottsdale actually has the longest average driving distance of any course on the PGA tour and that’s because it is driver friendly and with the altitude the ball travels a
Little bit further there we know what Scotty can do from T to Green even with the short game I mean he is ulous around the greens literally the only flaw of his is like putting within 20 feet he just seemingly has The Yips at it um but
This is a place where ball Strikers and really good drivers seem to reign supreme and oddly enough we’ve seen a lot of guys who have fared well in the US Open just kind of play well at this event not saying that this isn’t a US Open style track there really isn’t any
Rough um but we’ve seen obviously Hideki win here twice Brooks kka has won here twice uh Ricky Fowler Scotty’s someone who since he’s been at the at the top he’s contended in the US opens week in and week out uh web Simpson even is a former US Open winner as well so for
Whatever reason I don’t think the courses are similar but maybe it’s just uh the risk reward type of shots there seemingly is a lot of them on this course particularly on the back nine and maybe just also how good of a field it is year after year maybe that’s just
What draws the best out of this tournament but see seemingly it feels like one of the big dogs or someone who often contends in major championships is going to win this tournament um Ross is there anyone else besides uh or after Scotty that maybe you’re liking their
Chances for this week I know a lot of people have been uh having their eyes on Justin Thomas Max hom is an interesting name spe Burns Clark Benny on is there anyone uh out of those names or even just throughout the rest of the field that you kind of like their chances this
Week I have I have one person outside the nor the normal realm of what we’d be looking for and that is someone that statistically in the past has had success at this course came very close to winning in the past but just wasn’t ready at the time the past couple weeks
The driver is hot the driver has been his main issue for most of his career and like you said this course is very driver friendly if he can figure it out at plus 4500 I’m very in on sahit the gala oh that’s interesting I know a lot of
People are going to be on sahith almost broke through for at the time what would have been his first PGA Tour win before uh crumbling down those last couple of holes but sahith is someone that I’ve had my eyes on as well this week I think
Uh a really good fit and like you said has been performing a lot better with the driver we know what he can do around the greens and with his an approach and he’s putted pretty well here in the past two so I don’t have any official bets
Yet Ross but I I like where you’re going on that one um before we uh move on here I do want to just shout out a couple of other names that again I don’t have any bets but some names that have interest to me this week uh benan is someone who
Hasn’t played here in a couple of years but has some pretty good results and I believe was in the lead going into the final round back in like 2018 here so he’s a name that’s intriguing to me uh I mentioned guys who have performed well at the US Open another course where guys
It seems to here is also the players championship for whatever reason minw Lee played well at the US Open and at the Players championship last year so that was a name that kind of seemed a little bit intriguing to me uh what are kind of your I’m interested to hear your
Thoughts on this I know you’re not a betting guy but this isn’t really a betting question Ricky Fowler Hadi Matsuyama two guys who have quite frankly been dogwater to start this year both of those guys have unbelievable course history here at TPC Scottdale would you be inclined to maybe not in
The outright bets but are you confident that either of them are going to play well this week or do you think they’re just in a bad spell of golf and this isn’t a time to get on them I I actually was really impressed with Ricky last week for the first the first couple
Rounds Ricky was really really in there I’m not gonna be surprised it’s Ricky Fowler man that that big when big moments and opportunities arise for whatever reason Ricky always comes out of nowhere and can stand stand up to the challenge so I’m not going to be
Surprised to see Ricky um one of the ones from some from some of the sites I looked at that I found really impressive is how high they have Sun JM he has not been good to start this year like not good whatsoever but has a good course history here and I I think
The question on sunj is like do you believe that this is a bounceback spot for him because he’s been oddly really bad to start this year and he’s usually like a guy who’s consistent in all factors and like the irons have not been good for him lately no I I can I
Completely agree I was just um a lot just reading through just trying to help with some some of the picks a lot of them a lot of these sites have him in the top 10 picks a lot of them have him in the top seven picks yeah that’s interesting to me I I
I don’t think I’m going to be getting sunj this week but haven’t finalized anything one last long shot that I think is interesting Kevin you who’s been playing good golf and uh is someone who is familiar with desert type of venues went to college at Arizona State right
Down the road um I think Kevin U could be an interesting place someone who’s who’s popped up a little bit not as much as uh we forgot to give this guy credit earlier matchu pavon one of the best names on the PGA tour right now Kevin
Youu hasn’t been as good as matchu pavon has been but someone who’s kind of um I would say surprisingly been as near the top of a couple of leaderboards so far here this year I’ve been extremely impressed with Kevin youu in the rounds he’s been putting together the P the
Past several tournaments now that he is get he’s gotten a lot of coverage because he’s go he’s going low when it’s creu when it’s crucial the problem is he’s not going low in the first couple days he’s going low in round three and four and he’s getting a lot he’s getting
A lot of coverage time then he needs to figure out in one and two to where he’s at the top of the board already when he does that on day three and four but I do believe Kevin Yu is not a matter of if but when for the PGA Tour and probably
This year at some point it’s I’m gonna guess it’s going to be a little bit lower level event is he’s working his way through the tour but I’m not gonna be surprised to Mark Kevin Yu as someone that’s in the winter Circle by The End
By the end of the year when we go into the FedEx Cup playoffs and matchup Pavone we’ve been on him for weeks and weeks you and I talked about him before he even won the event that he is just that guy that is lurking constantly his
Name is not at the very top but when you pay attention to the leaderboard he’s in that five to 15 range every single day and when you go into the final round all of a sudden he’s up in the top six somewhere one of the biggest things we
See in the PGA is the drop off after you get a victory you know the next week the person’s not existent solo third very very impressive and we’ve seen like you just mentioned guys falling off after wins even notable guys have fallen off after wins wendam Clark was pretty absent until Pebble Beach
Ricky Fowler has been kind of a ghost since he won at the rocket mortgage so see matchu pavon just continuing to rack up good high-end finishes uh is really impressive stuff from him early on in the year coming over to the United States stes Ross last question I got for
You before we get on out of here as we start creeping in towards an hour um again I know you’re not a betting guy but is this the week we’re gonna see a big dog win wam yes is a big dog but he was at like 100 to one because he had
Been playing so bad going up to that do do you think we see one of the big dogs finally get it done this week or is the year of the underdog continuing at TPC Scottdale for the sake of this tournament and and how much people pay
To be there and everything good God do I hope we get a huge name to T to take this one but then again we’ve been wrong about everything else so it’s not going to surprise me to see someone else from way down the board come and get one yeah
I feel the same way for the sake of the uh all those fans that are going to be there on Sunday that are likely to be very intoxicated have the winner be someone they kind of know that would that would be probably a good thing for
The PGA Tour to do this week but it’s going to be an excellent event a perfect leadup to the Super Bowl man um as much as we make fun of the PGA Tour and talk bad about it having the waste management as the the pregame to the Super Bowl if
You will is uh one of their better decisions and the atmosphere at at TPC Scottdale and what this event just has turned into be um I don’t think it’s what what the PGA Tour wants every golf event to turn into week in and week out
But uh for once a year man it is a an electric party and I hope everyone that is in attendance enjoys himself to the fullest as I know they will I I can now that we’ve spoke at new existence which we more than likely have I can see just a
Noname down down the board being on the 16th hole uh on Sunday and you just hear the r the random guy from the crowd who the [ __ ] is this guy I was about to say who the [ __ ] is Lee Hodes like something along those lines we’ll see be one this
Would be the one crowd that you could expect that to happen and the place with absolutely loser kiz would lose his mind on the 16th hole if he heard that yeah I I actually again I was in Mexico last year uh I wonder if Nick Taylor was kind
Of getting the business a little bit being a Cana being a Canadian uh having that lead and then melting down to Scotty there late at the end I wonder if he was if he was hearing it or feeling the pressure there a little bit extra
I could see I could see it and honestly I just don’t know what the PGA for this year man it’s it’s really hard to call telling me yeah I’m not even the betting guy and I’m stressed I am broke brother I have made like zero daero well I’ve made
Actually zero daero off of my outright bets this year um hopefully this is the week though man I’ve been putting in some research I’ve been grinding so we’ll we’ll see if uh an underdog prevails if that’s the case I probably will not be on him but Ross is there
Anything else you wanted to uh touch on before we kind of wrap things up here I think we got most of the topics that I wanted to but didn’t want to leave you hanging just in case no I think we covered basically everything for this week we’re on the waste management and
Then you know let’s let’s en enjoy enjoy this week because one day becomes tiger watch baby you see that picture that I put in our group chat earlier today of tiger yep that tweet was excellent I couldn’t be more excited for the Genesis Invitational but super excited for the
Waste management this week man it’s going to be an excellent tournament should be an excellent weekend excellent Sunday everyone out there enjoy to the best of your abilities and everyone out there watching and listening make sure again to go and uh subscribe to the podcast available now on Apple podcast
And on Spotify Go and show some support that really helps us out tremendously and also go and follow uh on Tab golf it’s reversed on X but we could use the numbers growing there a little bit on our social media presence go and give Ross a follow at Ross John 22 and I
Don’t have mine listed right here but if you want to go and give your boy a follow as well you can find me at Jack Bushman 2 onx everyone again enjoy the 2024 Waste Management Phoenix Open I hope everyone out there hits their bets and then doubles up their money going
Into the Super Bowl uh until next time everyone crack them lock them and enjoy
