The First Cut crew deciphers what happened between Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and Jordan Spieth in Round 1 of The Players Championship.
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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.
Driver left into the water off the tea that sparked an eight plus minute conversation between Rory mroy Victor havland and Jordan spe trying to determine the correct spot for Rory to take this drop and to put it lightly KP I’m not sure they were on the same page about
It is that how you would frame it yeah little just a little friendly discussion between three pros Let’s uh yeah that’s one way to that’s one way to say it for sure can we go back to 18 first sure because 18 he he hits this sort of
Drawing draw I mean it was a drawing draw uh into the water and I thought the drop he took he took a drop two 293 out and 18’s weird it’s it’s very it’s very difficult especially if you’re hitting a draw it’s different if you’re hitting a fade because you just
Started out over the water but if you’re hitting a draw it gets really weird with like where it crossed and that hate it sorry to everybody listening um we have got we have got to figure that out well we we’ll get it we’ll get it figured out we’re we’re
We’re playing our way into major season um so it’s very difficult to figure out where to drop he dropped 293 away I thought in the moment I was like yeah it seems it seems reasonable um there seemed to be a like an un uh not necessary but like a extraordinary amount of conversation
About it compared to normal drops so did you think that yeah I thought in the moment I didn’t I didn’t think it was a great drop a great drop in the moment because I thought he hit it like 200 yards like he it was a really bad shot
It was a very bad shot thought the whole shot only tra only TR I’m exaggerating a little bit but I I thought that he took I did not think it went as far as the drop was but then I went back and watched and then you sent me the photo
With a little red X and it’s kind of pretty clear that’s where his ball crossed because the bulkhead kind of is lower in that area yeah a very easy visual to say okay yeah no it it does look like he put He dropped it in the
Right spot but they spent a ton of time on the te deciding like just staring out there hey well where did it cross should I rehit all that fun stuff yeah spe speed was getting a little existential on it and like hollering not hollering but he was
Doing speed things and uh it’s it’s so hard like it’s hard for them to tell and and you and I are trying to do like piece together shotlink and TV and like all this all this stuff um I I thought yeah I thought he was like and he kind
Of dropped where he said he’s like I think it was between the birds and the red steak and that’s basically where he dropped it between the birds and the red take it was I think 160 out so 160 away from the te is where he dropped which I
Think watching it again that seems a little far for where I like where I thought the ball started drawing but then when you look at it’s it’s impossible to tell on TV so I don’t want to get into like okay it was 10 yard whatever the point I think is that there
There seemed to be a little bit of consternation within the group about that whole thing that wasn’t a big deal but also was a little abnormal from what you normally see on on the PGA tour that was the seed and the seed grew into a beautiful flower seven and Rory again
Hit one left now this this conversation was not about whether his ball covered the water it did we saw it bounce okay television hold that thought keep going the real dilemma is whether the ball bounced above the red line meaning it carried the red line and he could
Drop on the opposite side of the red line or if it bounced on land and did not cover the red line which means what he would have to go he’d have to go all the way back it did not cover the house so this one I’ve gone back and forth on
And this one’s harder to well they’re both very difficult to tell this one’s weird because I don’t totally know the angle of like the angle we have is from the side so it’s really bad in terms of I don’t I don’t he said it I think everybody said it was drawing into
The water right so you you would I just don’t know the angle of the t-shot into that bunker and then into the water does that make sense yes like I I can’t tell if it’s like in or or out or like it’s a straight line like that to me is weird
And I mean where do we even want to start with this because he well I’ll tell you what so so it it looked like it was going to be a pretty standard drop I I thought it I actually thought the ball was in the bunker after like because it
Bounced and you’re like oh that looked like it kind of hopped up a little and then died down yeah now so Rory’s already got what he thinks is his ball in play and that’s when Victor kind of walks over and is like did his little Victor thing his little are we are we
All good with that are we all good with that spot I don’t know I don’t know I’m just asking are I’m just asking questions are we good with that spot and that’s when speed and this is what this is what I think kind of escalated the situation well leave it to speed he
Comes flying over yeah like a bad at a hell yeah claiming these hundred guys over here saw everything perfectly I don’t want to you know he goes I don’t want to be hypocritical but going back to 18 I mean he is just fullon running the show here it was it
Was not aggressive but it was it was it was interesting he was still he we were texting about this he was clearly still perturbed about 18 yes and him and Harry were not uh I don’t think they were on the same page um I kind of went back and forth on this
At first I thought it was kind of kind of a weird drop and then I was like oh it was it was fine but then they just did this thing on gol right before we came on I was trying to finish up my article and they’ve got Johnson Wagner
Throwing golf balls into the side of a hill on golf Joe the tournament’s still going on there’s guys on 18 they’re throwing ball it’s like the Sauder film somebody somebody tweeted at me and said is there second hitter on the hill so they’re throwing balls in the
Side of the hill and actually the one he threw below the line most resembled what the video showed yes did you see this I did and I was because I saw it and I laughed because they were ex I mean the the experiment he was trying to to run
Is you’re not gonna be able to see this golf ball it did not go like that and you could see the golf ball but I do not necessarily want to put a lot of a lot of uh you know Credence in Johnson Wagner trying to throw the ball as hard
As a golf ball would land from 300 yards away he was he looked like he was trying to hit 90 on the gun like just firing Rockets some bounced like 15 feet in the air yes so I guess my thing with this is like you said it it and I
Think I think this is what Rory was getting out is like listen even if it didn’t land above the line it still covered land because it B because it bounc it liter like it literally bounced we know it bounced but if you here’s the counter to that if you
Hit a fade in and this is where I don’t understand like I I can’t tell the line if you had a fade there it could bounce and never cover if it’s underneath the line right it’s it depends on if it’s drawing or fading now his is naturally drawing and he said it
Was drawing so I think it’s very difficult to presume that it would draw or that it the laws of physics would allow it to draw and not cover land but still land underneath the red line does that make sense yes and I I believe my hunch is that the ball the
Ball carried the line if you look at the the the view from behind that red line is pretty close to the water like you said about it drawing and it’s it’s a pretty steep like Rory is like I don’t know how although the Johnson Wagner
Thing does kind of put a little seed in my mind I know I know stance was how could we see it from the other side of the Fairway if it bounced below the red line I hope they put that clip on on social it’s it’s it’s
Incredible um but all all that to say like Rory went he went further and this is why Victor was mad he went further back and he was like well I’m just gonna I’m just going to be cons and this is where I think I think he is right he was
Going further back because he was saying even if it wasn’t above the red line We Know It We Know It uh Drew into the water so we know it covered above the red line I’m gonna go further back because I’m not positive it was above
The red line so I just want to make sure and he he he used the term split the difference and Victor was not down with that and I understand why I don’t think I I don’t know what he meant by that I think I think he was basically saying
Like I’m pretty sure it was above the line but because I’m not positive I’m gonna drop here but I I agree the term split the difference does not sound great split the difference or compromise which is what Daniel Berger said that they were going to do I I don’t like
That because it it only means your the only thing it ensures is that you’re not taking the correct drop right if if a happened and it carried Roy should should drop where he where he was or where he thought it was if if it if it
Didn’t then go back to the te those are the only two options taking a compromise in the middle is definitely not getting it right it’s just so hard because it’s like if if it’s a straight line into that H into the like if the red line is
A straight line down the down the tbox you can’t hit a draw and have it land on land whether it’s below or above the red line and not have like it would have to be like a like a five inch draw for it to not have crossed um like above
The like land above the red line does that does that make sense yes and I do think that this only got as big as it did where spe comes running over is because I think that spe thinks that on both of the drops Rory got the benefit
Of the doubt and the best of it well but I was spe even making sense D ever well no I I don’t uh there was a great article in GQ about Scotty Sheffer on thir on Wednesday and he was talking about how Tony Romo and and spe back at
Home when they’re playing they just sit there and talk about the golf swing for hours and you’re like that sounds psychotic like that sounds sociopathic but um just the the way he was framing everything was like I wasn’t even understanding it and I don’t think Rory and Harry really were
Either because he was yelling about the TV people but then he’s like well they didn’t it’s not with their cameras it’s with their they they saw it with their eyeballs or something like that and you’re like well my hunch is that spe didn’t like the drop on 18 and now he
Was trying to get like a like a gotcha moment like like well those guys said it did definitely didn’t cross but I don’t know man you do your thing you do thing it felt like it felt like he was he was popping him because of 18 a little bit
Uh I I don’t know though like I I it’s so hard for us again it’s so hard for us to tell from a it’s hard to tell when you’re out there much less when you have a side angle on TV I don’t I think Rory as with almost every top player
Like gets a ton of benefit of the doubt because I mean we’re talking about a guy that at the PJ Championship one year once like took a drop because his ball got stepped on or moved or something and he was sitting up and he’s like yeah
That’s not how that’s I don’t think that that’s how it was sitting I’m going to push it down and hit hit like it’s not it’s not like somebody that is been known to like Skirt the Rules right yeah he gets the benefit of Doubt and he got
He got it twice today and I think that In the Heat of the Moment as Jordan’s playing out of the pine straw often got a chance to pop him and he took it that’s the way that I I don’t really think it’s much more than that
Honestly the the I’ll never like I put the maybe we can pull up the tweet I just put out with the photo of Johnson Wagner that’s gonna be whatever happens the rest of the week my lasting image of this tournament is Johnson Wagner throwing 85 into the side of the hill on
Seven he’s like I’m gonna throw this one below the red line and I don’t think you’re gonna see it on TV we exactly exactly how it was he’s like back to you guys and they agreed like oh it looks like the middle one and you’re like nope it did not look at this
This is CRA the tournament’s going like taking place right now
2 Comments
Gringos
Draw lol he hooked it, stop covering for Rory