Shane Lowry’s Strong Start – 2024 ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL Round 1 Recap | The First Cut Podcast

Rick Gehman and Kyle Porter recap Round 1 of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

0:00 Intro + does anyone go to PGA Tour events?
6:13 Early Round Leaders: Hideki, Willy Z, Sam Burns
16:18 Scottie Scheffler’s new putter didn’t work
19:13 And Rory can’t putt either
25:36 Shane Lowry’s low back nine gets him the 18-hole lead
28:07 Betting Favorites

#golf #pgatour #golfoncbs #firstcutpodcast #arnoldpalmerinvitational #golfdfs #pgadfs #golfpicks
—
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL: https://youtube.com/FirstCutPodcast

Get your First Cut merch here: https://paramountshop.com/collections/the-first-cut-golf

AUDIO
‘First Cut’ is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

You can listen to First Cut on your smart speakers! Simply say “Alexa, play the latest episode of The First Cut Golf podcast” or “Hey Google, play the latest episode of The First Cut Golf podcast.”

-LISTEN to First Cut on your preferred podcast platform: https://plnk.to/TheFirstCut
-LEAVE a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2VOeKVW
-STREAM on Spotify: https://sptfy.com/firstcut
-FOLLOW on Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34b073I
-SUBSCRIBE on Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3oOvDfD
-SUBSCRIBE to CBS Sports variety of other podcasts: https://cbssports.com/podcast
VIDEO

-WATCH CBS Sports HQ: https://cbssports.com/live

-SUBSCRIBE to CBS Sports HQ on YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/CBSSportsHQ/
WEBSITE

-READ top-notch golf content from CBS Sports: https://cbssports.com/golf/

SOCIAL MEDIA
-FOLLOW First Cut on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FirstCutPod
-FOLLOW First Cut on Instagram: https://instagram.com/firstcutpod/
-FOLLOW Golf on CBS on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GolfonCBS
-FOLLOW Golf on CBS on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/golfoncbs/
-FOLLOW Golf on CBS on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@golfoncbs?lang=en

ABOUT THE SHOW: The First Cut brings you everything you need to know in the world of professional golf. Nearly every day Rick Gehman, Kyle Porter, Mark Immelman, Greg DuCharme, Sia Nejad and Patrick McDonald bring you the best analysis in the game. From DFS to betting previews, interviews and recaps… everything golf is on the table when you listen to The First Cut.

Freaking first cut golly welcome to the first cup podcast I’m Rick gaming and this is your round one recap for this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational joining me to break it all down Kyle Porter is here KP how’s your day going having having a nice day it was great I watched golf all

Day I got a run in this morning sat down flipped it on coach and Mark were just my God I know just just hollering at like 7 20 in the morning I’m texting them about McKenzie Hughes it was it was a it was a sicko day but it it was good

This is a fun to me we don’t need to get into this but there’s just such a difference in the weeks between last week and this week right like um the the the the level of play in the field this week is just so much higher than in the non-s signature

Weeks couple of items the yes the once a year when Mark and coach’s PGA Tour live crosses paths is just chef’s kiss these two guys could not be like any more different I love every it’s great yeah it just cracks me up the entire the entire morning um you know I I don’t

Think I would have thought that the point like I I think that for the longest time I would have said hey I don’t really care about the fields and I still really don’t to an extent but what you just said it just does feel different it just feels different when

There’s 15 guys named Patrick hlay Rory mroy I mean even Sam Scotty Sheffer Victor hoflin you’ve got to keep an eye on all of them as opposed to okay here are the three the three big boys in this field and I’ll just keep tabs on those

Three yeah no I totally agree and and I watch more I watch more golf today than I did the last two weeks combined uh with the with the cognizant or with the the PGA National event and in Mexico I do think one takeway I had from today

Rick and I’m curious because you’ve been out there more than I have I think the crowd so far this year on the PJ everybody talks about oh nobody goes to Live Events I I kind of feel the same way about the PJ tour right now like it doesn’t like in as much as

I’m more interested in following uh just watching on TV and and all the data and everything else and talking about it with you and writing about it I don’t I have not gotten any juice off of like these early especially the early rounds at any of these

Tournaments so far this year I’m curious you’ve been out there is that am I off there we don’t ever get attendance numbers do we is that it’s not like it’s not like other sports where they were just announce attendance numbers right uh I think only like when the Phoenix

Open like re breaks its record from the year before like to kind of total for the week okay um I I agree with you uh I thought that Saturday at Riv what and they were saying and I heard on the grounds hey it’s a soldout Saturday it’s

A soldout Saturday which I believe but they’re there was so little juice and I wrote it off as well tiger with Drew and everybody was coming out here expecting to see tiger and then you know Jordan spe gets DQ like I I wrote it off as

That but between that and I mean Tor was it was it was fine I wasn’t at Phoenix this year was weird yeah and and and we kind of talked about this like there haven’t been Superstar victories the forecast has not been great we’ve been dumped on rainwise a lot rounds have

Been interrupted it just it’s been it’s I think it’s been a very difficult in-person viewing experience this year yeah no I agree and I think uh I don’t know I mean we’ve we’ve talked about this some just with winners it’s been a really weird and I would say kind of bad

Year for the PGA Tour so far if they were dreaming up scenarios this would this would not be toward the the to the top of the list uh so I yeah I don’t know I don’t know if like spe you know Sheffer we solves that for them at Bay Hill

But uh I I’ve I think what I sometimes have felt this year which is sort of being turned off to professional golf non- major championship professional golf in general is sort of also what I’ve seen other seen kind of play out with how other people have received the PGA this year as

Well well let’s talk about the professional that’s a that’s yeah I mean it it’s a tough intro but it’s just true like I don’t know maybe maybe people in the chat I I haven’t looked at the comments maybe people disagree but that’s just how I feel so no it’s it’s

It’s a fair it’s a fair um criticism it’s a fair assessment uh let’s let’s see if we can get a better outcome here at at at Bay Hill this week and there is uh one name that stands at top the leaderboard we will get to him in just

One second because his round did just end he was out in the afternoon let’s get to the early mover or movers from the morning wave hadaki Matsuyama goes out in uh 33 that’s three under par and ends up shooting a five under 67 and then he gave us one of his Infamous uh

You know Hideki quotes KP about how uh his back is in nine pieces he can’t feel his legs his game stinks and uh 67 is horrible I saw that it was you would think he was like or something I’ll see if I can find the actual exact quote I mean you you’re not

Far off uh he you know the thing that stood out to me with him today I watched I was kind of in and out on him but he hit a lot of really good uh pitch pitch shots and chip Chips around these greens and one went in for he made that eagle

On 16 but he also had a couple others that it was like oh that was that could have gone you know he he’s uh I don’t know if he’s got an underrated short game but I thought he was really excellent today and uh I mean his last

Two rounds 62 Riv 67 here pretty pretty big boy stuff it’s all to to me it’s always been underrated because most people lump the putting into the short game right which which I is which is a fair assessment he does not get maybe he does not get up and down as frequently

As everybody else but he has all the shots around the green he has them all and and look at the places that he’s won obviously Augusta Riviera just in his most recent start he’s won uh the the memorial right or he’s played well at the memorial has he won it yeah he won

It that was his first win um like he has all the shots around the green yeah no I agree and uh he was hitting some really just Nifty pitches today so I mean he’s got the most sustainable score up there I I don’t know that he’s gonna win two Signature

Events in a row but if you look at just the numbers he didn’t he put it okay and did you know his usual Hideki stuff so U I don’t know we’ll see the quote was my back was not feeling perfect my leg is a little numb right now so it’s really not

The perfect condition that was post 607 yeah and he said something about I told the caddy uh well we just have to get on with it or something like that there’s some quote in there he’s hilarious like I don’t know if it’s just a translation thing but his transcripts just always

Make me laughe I hope it’s never a translation thing I I hope that’s just how yeah exactly just exactly how everything is coming across exactly as expected I I would love that um keeping an eye on will Al tourus who got off to a little bit of a slow start goes out in

37 that is one over and then he got to play The Back Nine which is statistically a little bit easier but he takes advantage with birdies at 12 and 17 he makes an eagle at 16 so it’s a three under 69 uh at this moment he is

In a tie for eighth so yeah Will Will zat Taurus playing well on difficult golf courses and now this is three or four really good starts in a row so far yeah that’s what I was going to say it seems like and I know there was nothing

Defined here but in my mind he’s kind of ahead of schedule right I I think we you and I kind of said hey let’s let’s give it to the master see where it’s at and and he’s been I think better than I thought he would be uh it was

Interesting he was talking afterwards about basically trying to simp ify his swing um and you know there’s some changes that he went through after the the back surgery where he had to he had to change him stuff and he’s not hitting it as I think he said as flat as he used to

Off the T and not hitting he’s using a shorter driver so he’s not hitting it as long as he used to off the te either but it’s kind of working and it makes it makes sense that he would play well here great long iron player man so many of these

Guys that are up there Rick um on the top of the board they just take care of the par fives you know he’s somebody he just he handles the par fives he doesn’t he doesn’t mess around with them he just makes fours there and gives himself a

Look at three which he made and and as a result he uh he’s within what two I guess three of the lead now that that Lowry shot 66 yeah Lowry’s in at 66 speaking of taking care of the par five Sam Burns played that in three under he

Made three birdies and a par he had one really uh nasty double on on number three but he was still able to get in the house with a 68 that’s four under two shots off the lead KP I find Sam Burns to be fairly fascinating you know

Five wins on the PGA tour um which is a big number in this era and his major championship record is bad uh all the skills in the world but I don’t know if he is the 11th best player in the world the 21st the 51st the I just I really don’t know

I had this thought the other day this is not even half baked it’s like quarter baked but that there’s all this yelling about the the um the rank like the owgr and it’s very college football likee now everybody’s yelling about the rankings and just all kinds of stuff

Like that what if there was just a major championship like what if the rankings were just based on the four majors that was it like you only got ranked based on what you did at the majors I thought you were gonna say what if they did it like the old AP polls

Where they just they just pulled everybody well that’s what that’s what a lot of live guys want like Ron the other day was was like oh well if you I mean I can tell by watching that neeman’s a top 10 player and you’re like oh okay like

What what do you what do you want me to do with that right should be like for you know John ROM got 40 first place votes others others receiving votes Sam Burns it would be it would that would be sick uh but the thought is like okay every the

Only thing everybody can agree on is that the majors are the only thing that matters and so if you only did the rankings based on the majors Sam Burns would be like 150 it wouldn’t be great for him uh that’s a stupid idea that I had

But uh burn listen I think Burns is Max Sumer replied to me in January and said hey TL hatton’s the best most underrated player in the world not the best player in the world most underrated this was right before he joined which by the way how insane is it that the number like

Well whatever you call them number two number three player in the world is playing for a team called Legion 13 and Hong Kong starting at midnight tonight I know that’s insane I know I know I we were talking about this before I’ve been diving into some some live data because

I want my website to be as complete as possible and the name i i sh I was shaking my head like two days ago saying okay I’ve got John ROM’s team here what the hell do I do with this if I supposed to put am I supposed to put

The legion 13 logo on his profile page who knows in a couple weeks I might have to make a profile page for fat Perez I don’t know what’s gonna happen dude the whole thing I don’t even know yeah no true fat Perez might be in the in the

Myrtle Beach Classic or whatever some YouTuber some influencer is gonna get a rick run good profile page in a couple weeks because that’s also the world Rel it could be Dan Rap it could be Grant Horvat I don’t know how you say his name uh it’ll probably be Wesley Bryan

Right I assume yeah I’m hoping it’s somebody who already has one I think I think it’s George Bryant is I don’t think Wesley’s in I think oh was Wesley okay gotcha well George already has one too George already has one too so I’m hoping it yeah that for the good of the

Game it’s George yeah so anyway I don’t know how I went down oh uh I think Sam Burns is the most underrated player in the world right now uh he had a great West Coast Swing top 10 and in four straight uh and he and it continued

Today now you know some of it Rick and I I don’t know how you feel about him but does a lot of it with the putter but it just feels um more I don’t know about sustainable but it just feels less fluky when he does it versus when Justin loward doeses it even

Though their putting numbers are similar and some of that is just like well yeah Sam Burns is a riter cuper and Justin Low’s not uh but I I mean I I definitely think Burns can win this tournament so do I 100% I do yeah I I

I I’m very high on Sam burns the major championship thing is kind of an anomaly for me because he has played I mean he was in the mix at Riv a couple of years ago like I I think that places like this should be good spots for him I think

Major championships should be good spots for him do you are I he’s got he’s got everything if you if they had the same odds right now I don’t know what I don’t I haven’t looked at the odds would you bet on him or Sheffer to win API this like this

Week I mean I would I would take the two strokes for three rounds so it would be Burns I also don’t know what the odds are actually I just looked I think I think I would too and he’s he’s just he’s he’s hting it good he’s got a ton

Of he he had one water ball today uh that looked pretty bad but I think he ended up making bogey on that that hole he had a kind of a speedy round though up and down he made a double on three with a ball in the water maybe that was

It you’re looking at the shot tracker looks like it landed in the middle yes it did I I saw it I was like oh that was that was not good um one more before we get to our break and then the leaders and and all that stuff uh Scotty

Shuffler with with new putter in bag KP lost let’s see a stroke and a half with the flat stick including a maybe four-footer uh that he that he missed along the way uh despite that two under 70 tie for 20th and led the field off the te 15th and approach you know

The Dr you know the drill by now yeah same just it’s just a mad Li different course different tea time different putter different putter yeah it was three feet six inches I was watching it and they showed this I I put it in my recap for CBS sports.com they showed

This angle with the camera from behind the Putter and it looked like it was like eight it looked like it was a a foot Putt and it barely touch the the hole I’m start I’m starting to think it’s not the equipment I it it almost looked like he he uh

Misread it or something it was really weird it was it was not not good um I my hot take is I don’t know how hot this is because this is probably the problem um I don’t think he has stroke issues I think I think he has I think he has

Alignment slash I think he has alignment issues I don’t know if he’s misreading it but he also is no longer lining it up with the line on top of his ball and the malice is usually easier for people to um get you know pointing in the right

Direction that a blade is I I think and we have seen this before there was a time remember when they tested Dustin Johnson’s Putter and he was lining it up like 10 inches farther left than he thought he was on like a 12 foot putt or something like that it would it would

Not surprise me if he has just horrendous alignment issues yeah maybe so uh what that JT’s deal for a while JT’s had a lot of different deals but yes they I mean it’s professional golf like everybody’s had a lot of different deals but sheffer’s round it felt just

Like the Sheffer up until that Miss putt on 16 it felt like he hadn’t done anything I don’t know oh he shoot oh he shot 68 oh okay like he’s too back um and then he missed that putt on 16 and you’re that that was kind of that was

Kind of a little bit the outlier although I guess maybe it’s not the out wire so I I don’t know I I yeah it’s the same same different week same story just make the putts and win the tournaments we’ve got to talk about the leader we’ve got to look at the odds

And we’ve got to talk about someone who if this is a live shot is still grinding on the putting greens uh we’ll do that after a quick word from our partners the blackout mystery MEC to you just never know in the tournament who is going to shine stream Mark

Madness live on any device anywhere and be ready for anything and we’re back KP on my television there is a shot of Brad Faxon and Rory mroy uh presumably watching a video of Rory’s putting stroke because Rory is still on the practice putting greens right now uh

A 73 one over par to go with a t21 at PGA National a t-24 at Riviera a t66 at Pebble Beach your Panic level on Rory maoy 2024 start a week away from the players a couple of weeks away from the masters with one being no Panic at all

Everything is fine and 10 being sound the alarms call the troops Evacuate the city uh it’s pretty low I mean he he won like a month ago right he won and Dubai maybe that was like six weeks I think it’d be different if it if was at the

End of January so yeah was five six weeks ago I think it’d be different if like as soon as he resigned from the um from the board that he just started playing horrible Golf and you’re like oh that’s I don’t know that’s kind of interesting is that correlated or

What but he he he won a tournament he nearly won twice in Dubai and I think yeah I think it would also be more concerning if he he’s try I mean he’s a he’s legitimately like pretty easily the best driver in the world right now and so it’s all this other stuff

That to me is more well first of all it varies more uh not only week to week but dayto day and so it’s easier to bounce back from and also it’s not like long-term swing fixes so I it’s my Panic is pretty low it you know what it honestly feels like Rick

And and I’m interested to see if this comes to fruition remember when tiger won the Masters in 2019 and he was kind of like okay yeah hard to forget he was kind of okay the first three months but he had all these like T15 T20 T25 and he was

Kind of just playing his way into it I actually think for Rory’s sake if the goal is to win The Masters I I think it probably is that it’s not really that bad to kind of play your way into that over these two or three months um

Leading into it so I don’t know maybe that’s just justification but I my Panic level is fairly low yeah it’ll look a lot different if he just turn if he just plays like Roy maore for the next three days finishes t16 goes to the players finishes T8 goes you know what I mean

And just just then we’re going to be filming at the mouth by the time we get to Augusta exactly yeah and he you know it was weird because he won the he won the 2019 players and people are like oh players and M and it’s just it’s so hard

To win and this is just I don’t know like luck there’s a lot of luck stuff in here but it’s just so hard to win two massive tournaments that close together and so I think it’s it again if the goal is to win The Masters I think it’s kind of best just

To not play bad like you don’t want to play bad but I don’t know just not get everything go your way over the first two or three months uh speaking of playing speaking of winning speaking of golfer profile Pages what is your thoughts on like should I have the match on

Rory’s profile page no I wouldn’t have any of the stats and it wouldn’t because I wouldn’t want to have those stats infiltrate um the actual like professional stats but is it is it interesting to know that he played an event and where do I draw the line do I

Put the PNC championship in for Justin Thomas do I put that’s a two-day thing like where do I where do I draw what if it’s t what if it tgl gets off the ground do people want to know if someone played the Monday before an event in in

Florida yeah then do you have like The simin Old Pro member thing right where do I draw the line because I would have said ODB grr points but obviously that’s not a line to draw right now or maybe ever uh I don’t know I I I I

Wouldn’t um I don’t think I would H have that on well I don’t know like are you talking about for betting purposes or for in information purposes I would be talking mostly informational because I wouldn’t want it you know if people were modeling if people were you like I the

Stats there’d be no stats for it so I wouldn’t want to say hey this was one of his last 10 starts I would exclude it from that but if you’re looking at Rory mroy you know if he plays and maybe I don’t know who’s a better example but like okay if if you

Play the PNC Championship if you play uh the match eight the match nine if you play the Netflix cup if you play like you are kind of playing golf I guess my question would be does like basketball reference have the Olympics on LeBron’s basketball reference pit

I don’t know that that would be sort of the not to compare the match to the Olympics but I I would almost have just like a separate match page where you list all the all the participants there and not have it on the player page I think that’s probably right yeah because

Even I thought about like Ridder cup President’s Cup like I or the Europeans tour has something called the hero cup I’m like well I want to like show that they played this because that’s what they did last week but at the same time it’s a team event it’s it’s weird it is

Weird I’m looking up S I’m looking up uh a bronze they must have a second a separate page an Olympics an Olympics page I just control F Olympics and it’s not on there so they must have a different page yeah all right appreciate that um all right let’s talk about the

Man at the top of the board his name is Shane Lowry he shot a 6 under 66 he is trying to avenge his Sunday from last week at PGA National by sprinting out of the gates here at Bay Hill this round highlighted by one two three four consecutive threes

From 10 through 13 which is a stretch of four holes that he played at five under KP this is uh this is like this was really really good Shane Lowry well-rounded short game was sharp making a lot of putts he made one blemish coming in but uh after the debacle that

Was Sunday last week th this it wasn’t nice to see as holding a a a ticket for for Shane last week but this is what what you expect from Shane loward yeah his his hands are just magnificent I mean to watch some of some of the shots

That he was hitting today B I thought it was funny he his first non three came at the first part three on the back nine wow right he went 33334 at at the part three so just a just an unbelievable back nine 31 um yeah I’m glad producer Josh is

Getting a chuckle out of me saying his hands are just magnificent they are maybe the best there should be like a big man hands ranking like we have the agile uh offensive lineman ranking in in uh I I don’t know if we have that but it

I think people talk about it Rah and Lowry would be the big man hands like Duo that I would that I would pick they’re they’re both just exceptional short games at one point today uh the coach put on a little South African accent and said the word Exquisite after

Mark said it I was like oh man we are just like getting after it right now yeah Lowry was great he you know he came into Florida with no form he was just very mediocre on the west coast played great at Honda whatever cognizant well this is

What but this is what you expect like he gets the Florida and this is this is it God he could win the players next week I he’s hitting it good like his his approach numbers are very good right now uh I made my first two as we transition

To the betting previews Josh you can you can bring that up for this week I made my first two uh m Wagers today uh hold on let me guess Willie Z yep and the other one like it wasn’t because of today I just happened to happen to do it

Today uh I throw you off the scent a little bit mini woo no not bad not bad but not not mini woo uh one of the Hoy guards no l no no maybe well these are all these are all great options no the answer is uh Adam Scott

H will Al tourus Adam Scott Adam Scott’s playing good go what does Adam Scott do in the Masters like 50 45 I got him at 80 oh that seems high I I agree that’s why I bet it good golf former champ kind of his last gasp at at probably age-wise

Winning one yeah I like that what was zotus like I I think I think I got a little I think I was a little late 22 is what I got okay okay I think I’m I think I got there late I bet you could have

Got it at 30 or 35 a couple weeks ago but I just wanted to be involved um here’s the betting board Scotty sheffler who’s currently four shots off the pace is the favorite at seven and a half to one Shane Lowry currently in the lead uh

11 to1 along with Hideki mattam and Sam Burns Jordan spe at 12 Justin Thomas at 16 and the aforementioned will Al tourus at 202 one yeah I we didn’t talk about spe he was a zoo as per usual I think JT is kind of interesting here he had a really solid

Day he did he was he was bogey free until 17 I believe yeah he he just kind of got in the mix early stayed in it I think I would I think I would go J out of this group I love the way Burns is playing but JT at that

Number I think I’m I’m most H and and zalatoris at 20 I think those two I’m most intrigued by yeah zalatoris at 20 is like I mean come on I don’t know what we’re what we’re doing here I agree it’s it’s those three those three are the three that I’m most excited

About Jordan spe made Seven pars seven birdies and four Bogies today do you know who led the field from T to Green today I’m sure you do well um I know that sah had the best around the green uh round of the year but I don’t know

What he did hogi could have uh but I know that I know that I mean Scotty was what first off the tea and 15th on a pro one of those three would be my guess okay so hogi was hogi led in approach he was sixth from Tia green okay Scotty LED

In off the tea I think he was like no he was fifth off the T stinks he was yeah he was fifth from T to Green uh he was probably first in ball striking though just overall uh and then sath finished first from T green because of that four Shooks

Gained around the green sth shot 68 and lost over a stroke putting which is crazy sth is is what’s he at like 25 20 that kind of intrigues me also I like him a lot oh he’s he even he his interview of Damon hack afterward he he’s just so he aners the way

That you want guys to answer he’s not it’s not stock like oh taking it one shot you know like he’s like ah here’s how I feel and you’re like sweet I’m I’m into that like I love it actually tells you how he feels yeah it’s great cool

Well I’ll tell you how I feel pretty good because we’re going to be back on Friday Saturday and Sunday to break down the rest of the Arnold Palmer invitation hey maybe we’ll throw in a little Puerto Rico in the mix maybe something will happen in Hong Kong like Bryson uh walks

Into a a rope again or makes shoots a 52 or something I don’t know we we’ll be here we will be here in case any of that happens for now big thanks to producer Josh he does all the hard work behind the scenes that right there Kyle Porter

You can find him on Twitter at Kyle Porter CBS you can find me at Rick R good this has been the first cut we’ll catch you next Time