It’s as close to an offseason as golf gets with the PGA Tour out of action for two weeks leaving the spotlight for the DP World and LPGA Tours.
Eight of the world’s top-10 ranked women are in Oregon for the Portland Classic, while in Europe the men head to Switzerland and the stunning Crans-sur-Sierre course for the Omega European Masters.
Music by www.Audionautix.com (http://www.Audionautix.com)
boo I’ve never seen anything like it before to attempt to hit the ball out of there is pure Madness the winner of the gold medal and the Champion golf for of the year is Cameron Smith this is the one that I’ve always wanted to win since I was a little kid so it just feels pretty amazing to be able to get it done today uh it’s amazing that it’s my destiny to be the first ay to win just incredible hello and welcome to episode 29 of playing from the tips golf Australia Magazine’s preview and tipping podcast covering the vast world of professional golf around the world Jimmy Manuel here in the host chair after a week off on the injured list and happy to see the studio hasn’t burned down in my absence and some decent results were put on the Tipping results board it’s a fairly light week for tournaments after the conclusion of the PJ tours FedEx up on Sunday in Atlanta but the golf goes on and so do we with the Omega European Masters and Portland Classic on the lpj tour joining on the journey this week is the man who stepped into the host chair last week and performed like Brad Hughes on sick relief at the President’s Cup Rod M welcome Nick price if I’m not Mist that is a deep cut but it’s a good it’s a deep cut no it’s very good I’m happy to be Brad Hughes what a goal swing what a player one of those genuinely hurt by the move away from the Pim headed driver that’s right now a great coach now a great coach miss out on his tour card one year by $26 50 can you imagine that and for a bloke with a th000 children that hurts if there was a President’s Cup team for podcasting you might make it o it you make it on points actually be automatic select think we’ll go through that one day I think you’re I think you’re off there make you know Leo leaport you know but okay Leo laort I thought you’ve been eaten by a crocodile I was worried about you I was worried about me too I can tell you the paliston base hospital is not the place to spend your nights when you’re in Darwin that wasn’t enough left of him to be any to be crocodile food got throwing back quite good stuff about that up there actually H that other voice you can hear is the Mercurial tipster of world golf who if winning tips counted as fully-fledged tournament wins would be a lay down ma for PJ Tour player of the year Adrien log I’ve reached double figures I believe 10 10 wins yeah we did have two wins I think and then I was off conveniently you L for the big events designated events only for for life that’s true yeah I’m on the elite player schedule I’m the only one who’s won major here I think yeah that’s so let’s let’s not talk big events and ignore that okay fair C okay I’ll just be quiet of while you winners Talk Amongst yourselves well that’s right well you’re a solid performer Brad Hughes didn’t win the Maes but he you know consistently Brad I’m apologizing on Jimmy’s behalf if you listen I apologize too I one of one of the good guys World Golf for sure uh before we move ahead some Reflections on last week Victor hin winning iing money that does nothing for him Megan Kang breaking through and probably most amazingly a 10-hole playoff on the Asian tour absolutely it was hin that stood out for me I like him because he’s such a good character for the game in every way and always has been had issues with his chipping always managed to laugh at himself you know really self just a genuinely good dude and of course the money comment that’s gone viral he lives in Stillwater Oklahoma that tells you everything you need to know doesn’t he hasn’t boled for Florida and the tax yeah I know that but it’s like he hasn’t bolted for the tax Haven of Florida and done all that sort of stuff he just seems a good dude and that’s damn likable isn’t he yeah and that’s good for the game what are the taxes like in Norway they’d be pretty heavy very high i’ tell that yeah still goes back and spends time in Norway with his mates and just hangs out too Aussie caddy too Shane C golf club and the Australian Golf Club who’s probably say you can hear his voice a few times on the coverage actually he’s a great guy sh and he really you know him from when you were young yeah when I was a kid he was a bit older than me but a bit of a superstar and um really good player and went over there and had some good bags and stuff but just a really good guy I would think I don’t know Shay but I would think that an Australian attitude would suit Victor very nicely in times of stress and what not AB did they meet when he came when Victor came to play the Australian Open at the Lakes no it was I think it was set up by someone when he turned Pro um so Shay had been out catting on tour for a while and they were looking for a cadd for Victor when he turned Pro after in the USA Sam and um someone said give this guy a try and they really jelled really overlooked part of the professional Journey isn’t it there’s a lot of players you look at a couple years down the track and think just if they just got themselves a professional C at there Min woo is one that Springs to mind Todd Cate is another guys with Incredible game it’s just that last piece of the puzzle we saw what happened for Adam Scott when Steve Williams got on the bag was that last piece of the puzzle and Ricky Elliot I think that’s one of the most underrated partn Ricky Elliott is Elite and has done so much for Brooks and um there’s a lot of guys like that there they get more profile than they used to the caddies but and you listen to John Wood and Bones mck on the coverage they’re the best voices by far them and Doty pepper I think and you suddenly see why Cades can be the difference between I mean when you’re talking about a shot a week yeah caddy can save you a shot a week then you know the difference between winning and finishing second so yeah TR I thought that was really good for golf Victor I just want to mention Megan Kang as well because I think it was good to see her get a win um but I just quietly she’s Maybe you know she’s in the conversation of the top two or three American players at the moment absolutely she is uh and has been for a long time actually is a really good player to watch too in that final round yesterday in the playoff as well hit a couple of different shots off the tea with driver to like intentionally get some run outs and stuff like that to get it further doesn’t carry it a long way proper golfer proper golf like really and the shots you hit into the 72nd hole in regulation to make a birdie to Tai and Yano was really really impressive no one got it back to that back left the flag all day and she just stood up and hit it especially after leaking oil on the back KN what five shot lead she looked really rattled like she was stepping away she was taking moments to herself and it was you know eight years out there hadn’t won highly touted um this the one that opens the floodgates she would be a player I’d expect to win consistently after winning once yeah but yeah the open floodgates thing just doesn’t happen these days PR there’s just too many players redundant conversation and Gabby Ruffles calling a penalty on sorry shame on you yeah Gabby Ruffles calling a penalty on herself before the final round round three going close to costing herself a top 10 which she needed to keep getting her more starts this week and stuff like that so you like to see that there a good thing about a player I think the old you congratulating me for not cheating you good on Gabby uh speaking of last week there were five top 10s added to the tally no winners however so the yearly tall move to 150 top 10 and 20 winners uh let’s jump into this week and first we’re going to look at one of the genuine highlights of the European calendar for Views Golf history bit of everything one of our favorite Twitter followers Ricky Bush called it yesterday the fifth major I think probably competive category it is one of those events that really stands out and that is of course the DP world tours Omega European Masters at cran cere and log this tournament screams log so why don’t you give us some details the European styling hasn’t it that just it’s so Comfort big watch are you an Oma guy Omega I’ve got I’ve got one yeah Omega or Omega EGA yeah I think was somewhere in between um founded as the swis open in 1923 this tournament has been held at cran CER uh since 1939 wow um and it’s been an institution on the DP World Tour um it’s been with the European tour since its Inception in 1972 it’s been a part of the tour I didn’t realiz history went back that far yeah yeah yeah there you go that mean that’s all the all the greats go back that far uh thir Lawrence is defending Champion umist thrist thrist sorry yes uh always looks like he’s misspelled his name doesn’t it I misspelled it on the birth leave it that’s one of those ones you get wrong early writing about him first time he wins and you never no Liquid Paper just leave it as thrist um I’ve even got written probably here uh Matt Fitzpatrick is in the field and he’s won twice um and I do think the course Fit For A Matt Fitzpatrick type player is quite good he was Scott hen tormented two playoffs in a row two playoffs in a row he Beaty Po and and weirdly I don’t think Scott hen’s a great fit for this course but he loves he do it wife you see caddy for him there year didn’t he rake his own bunker in the playoff yeah he did yeah because his wife was Cy and it was deep and it was like that’s all I love I’ll get it yeah I think it’s it shows what uh a player enjoying a a place can do because I just don’t think it suits his game at all you’re right you’re 100% it nullifies his length and everything it’s at and why is that it’s at altitude and it’s also quite short um so you know a long player like Scott henden he’s one of the longest out there is uh just no advantage to that at all just it’s all about Greens in regulation um accuracy and a lot of scrambling because the greens are very small so you’re you’re G to miss a lot of greens a lot of upturn sources the greens um speaking of the course uh I prepared something special uh for me with Dread and gag overnight no visual gag overnight I reached out to none other than the world’s leading critic of CR Mike Clayton he doesn’t hate it completely no no no no no he has some positive heing there and I said can you give me a comment about crimes that I can repeat on he finished yet um and so he proceeded to say uh my last year there was the last one they played before sevie redid it and he apparently didn’t improve it which would be hard to imagine too much cles is never enough it was almost at the end of the era of signing famous golf pros as Architects assuming they knew something about the subject the the following 25 years has been a real blessing where we’ve dropped that assumption specifically back to CR he says uh the big it’s perhaps the biggest Gap in golf between the views including the experience of playing in a beautiful place and the quality of the architecture some holes are irredeemable but there’s a bunch which could be much better than they are so you absolutely uh and he ends on very positive he says it makes for a great beginner ski field in the winter yeah it’s a ski field which is what they do with it yeah yeah uh so thank you very much Mike he’s not the captain negative everybody thinks he is CL he’s actually got a very balanced and and interesting view about golf I’ve spoken to him this i’ I’ve spoken to him more about crons than probably most golf courses it’s just it’s a favorite topic yeah yeah it is anyway uh there’s been an incredible list of winners at this event Thomas bjor uh more there’s some more recent ones Thomas bjor uh jenez uh Colin Montgomery Luke Donald Serio G westw um but then going right back to Clay CER with valdo sevy was a multiple winner here didn’t he hit the correct that was at this tournament um Alazar wam Els all the greats all the greats have won there um of the field this week there’s a lot of interest with the potential for some of the players looking to get into the Ridder cup there’s a lot of the bubble players uh Bob McIntyre being one uh I’m going to pick another uh rer cup bubble player Yanik Paul is my pick good call good PA good call played well last week good Paul good po he’s an Elite Pool I would say uh yeah I like it there’s a strong Aussie connection here as well before I get your tip Rodney uh Kell Nagel Randall Vines grah Marsh and Brett Rumford all won here Rand Vines Rand Vines I think might have won twice Australian PGA winner as well correct Masters did you want Australian Masters no I don’t was around at Rin period uh stacker Runners up as well but it was until this morning that Jason scner was actually our only player in the field this week really uh who was actually disqualified in the Czech Republic last week and I’m not sure why I haven’t been able to find out uh but Blake windred has just been added he was first alternate so he gets in um which is remarkable we used to have stacks of Adam Scott actually has a house up there right and so does Sergio Garcia they used to live next door to each other they can afford it can’t they yeah not many can some good stories of guys going to stay at Adam’s house up there years and years over there but um yes Rodney a tip I’m going to go with Fitzpatrick but Alex I think Matt will be tired after the Tour Championship so why not go Alex you’ll have all the inside Knowledge from the brother and he’ll get it done okay well I’m going to go with Matt Fitzpatrick I don’t think Alex Fitzpatrick can even sniff low Fitzpatrick okay let alone win so uh but it is a big trip but if you make a big trip like that as a top player you’re doing it for you’re going to play well he he loves the place he’s gearing up towards the rer cup he played well BMW week didn’t play as good last week um he knows he’s going to be a big part of that rer cup it’s been a funny year he not particularly well has he um but I think he’s showing up to play well agree I do like Alex Fitzpatrick I must say but I completely different players yeah clearly Matt fitzp mat the Billy Foster experience at place where he tells the greatest Billy Foster Story absolutely I had Billy Foster tell me that story at late caring up one year nice just standing on the back of a te waiting for a group when he was catting for Lee Westwood and Lee Westwood hadn’t been interested in my conversation and as soon as that conversation he must have heard the story a thousand times but over came and he’s adding his bits in and whatever didn’t even hit the green with that shot by the way no no sure he chipped it in didn’t he no chipped it I thought he pitched it in might have been another you pitched in from short of the green there moving along uh and we go to one of another longstanding event uh on the lpj tour this time actually won by Joanne carner in its first iteration third no not according to what I saw okay I thought it was third subject of your column this week Rod so who better than to tell us all about the Portland class just on Joanne carer seriously what an extraordinary my mom is 85 Joanne carner is 84 she shot 80 in the first round of the US senior Women’s Open my mom wouldn’t be able to walk the first hole of the US and I know she doesn’t walk the course J they give her a cart which is as it should be but I know scratch markers who would not break 80 on the setup they had of the US senior wom what two women at the end of the wreck finished under par yeah they’re boggles the mind it was remarkable it really is and look it got a lot of mentions but it didn’t get the respect I I was thinking about watching I watched a little bit of it and thinking of look at how it’s different in a bunch of things but look at how Jack Nicholas swings the on the first to Guster each year and getting like the peg in the ground compare that to Joan kind of who moves it still like it was so impressive reaches for a heater I don’t know she’s six months no I don’t think she does she was years ago but I think she might have might have put the finally gave up P’s bad for you decided to give it away she wants to extend you know she’s got a long life ahead of her so yeah extraordinary character I just I really do think that’s I mean it’s the six time but each year that gets harder and harder to break it Ag and 80 80 shots around a USGA set up for the senior wh it’s surely breaking your age is a very bell curve thing you want to get a couple of years to give you more buffer but your skills start to depreciate it’s a bit of a it’s a real race against the clock isn’t it anyway uh so that was that yeah so this one is the Portland classic um in Oregon been on the schedule the longest running non- major yeah in uh in the lpj started in 1972 the most bizarre tournament preview I’ve ever written 2021 they moved this tournament from the Edgewater clear water uh Columbia Edgewater Country Club sorry where it’s traditionally play to Oregon Country they moved it 3 months before the event because a homeless encampment qu unquote whatever that means had set up camp next to the golf course and they decided it wasn’t safe for volunteers players and officials coming to the to that’s the most strangest reason I’ve ever heard for a switching venue well you know homeless people just can attack you at any moment well and what about the Homeless Problem being so bad I remember doing a bit of research on at the time in Oregon the Homeless Problem had got so bad these things these homeless in Camp were springing up all over the place seem to be parking lots predominantly people would set up camp between the lines where car just trating phenomenon 2023 oron big issue in oron with it well here in Australia too no short that encampment idea of C crazy anyway so uh uh so all of that 33 times Columbia Edgewater is hosted uh I think there’s been about 46 tournaments or something so they’re they’re kind of The Unofficial home great list of winners here as L point out good field there this year of the world’s top 10 in the field Anon Brook Henderson twice each Joan carner as you mentioned Kathy Whitworth Julie Inon Nancy Lopez Amy Ott and one of my favorite player names in history muffin Spencer develin in 1989 and one of the reasons I like muffin Spencer develin so much is because I once had an instruction video that muffin made and muffin was Zen muffin made isn’t great outstanding she was Zen she hits a shot she demonstrates how hits a shot then she gets the divot and explains why we need to care for Mother Earth as she puts it back in the strip of grass and Pats it down that’s lovely it was lovely she was just quickly have you got a favorite name in golf cuz I do uh D fin fin mine’s Kermit Z nice anyway so that was my muffin Spencer develin story is a relation to Bruce develin I actually never heard of her seems highly unlikely he you not heard of her she’s a tournament winner she won this tournament in 1989 made an instruction video yep no sorry never caught that no I don’t know I don’t no I don’t believe so but I only know from that I knew her from that instruction video now I know that she won here in 989 so I’ll carry that with me uh of course is an AV mccan course Very typically Northwest us style lots of Tall Pine trees looks like it’s Christmas down the side of Every fway Which I always find coming from Australia I guess it’s a beautiful aesthetic I think those really fun to play golf in the sound in those sort of places is really cool what sort of trees are they fur trees a lot of Furs and Pines and stuff yeah but the sound because so big it kind of creates this sort of Ampitheater sound I suppose and when you hit it and it’s there’s no one else around you get a really cool reverberation Wentworth has the best one no good for podcasting no what does shank sound like in that environment what do you mean you don’t know don’t Li you know you know uh yeah so because that look it’s it’s not my kind of golf course in that sense it’s a lot of gentle dog legs with greens that are slightly offset but the trees make it a lot of aerial hazards uh so if you can CH the ball both ways sorry bunkers in the sky kind of bunkers in the sky yeah that idea so look if you can shape the balls ball both ways that’s always an advantage good ball Strikers go well on every golf course but particularly here uh the players haven’t found the scoring to be particularly taxing over time went to 72 holes in 2013 been double digits under par every year 21 under is the tournament course tournament scoring record 61 course record by say Kim in 2019 so there’s birdies to be had out there uh it’s kind of a horses for courses type venue in terms of players Brook Henderson won twice here the first one she qualified Monday qualified as a 17-year-old and then won it but she loves this type of golf she won that PGA women’s PGA at sahale not far away and very similar Golf Course really tight lots of shoots off the te’s that kind of stuff so you’d think she’d be be a chance this year was pick last week I believe she was and she was really struggling until Sunday and now she see now she wearing yeah that’s right wearing the glasses what about that admission just I I couldn’t actually say that much I was relying too much on my sister yeah it’s going to take a little bit of adjusting that be hard as anything Days by the look of it cuz suay she suddenly fired that’s Brendan James’s great theory on Adam Scott is that he doesn’t putt well when wearing sunglasses because of the slight difference right he’s got some off the theories the and he points out that when he won the Masters and stuff it was dark and he had to take the he always finds evidence he was always a BJ’s always believed that tiger could play in the rain could play in the wind but if you put them both together he was toast yeah oh interesting yeah yeah yeah tiger doesn’t like an umbrella SOI like that got blown off the golf 82 84 or something just an outrage so yeah so he comes up with interesting theories he’s always got a snippet the back he’d be he’d be a good conspiracy theorist abely you find some snippet that makes you think maybe there is something to that he says with such conviction you just trust him and he’s a big over imposing figure of a man so I can see him just like leaning across the table back and to the left the pies here are as good as it is Hanah Green’s got a good record here but Jimmy will take through the Australian shortly uh she won here in 2019 not long after winning the PGA if I’m not Mist uh very the next year I think won the PGA then won this few weeks later oh yeah anyway doesn’t matter she’s been a winner here strong field this year as I said lulia Vu is in the field hasn’t she just rocketed to the world I didn’t realize she was the world number one until this past week which me she got to world I didn’t think she was close so uh there you go that’ll be good um popular venue for first time winners though five of the last 10 there’s already been nine top first time winners this year okay so who would know have to I’ve just got to put that into my models now yeah do you want you want a couple just run it through the for all of that aside from the usual contenders including Jin youngang who was running up last week and Brook and Hannah and all those who you’d expect to be there I’m going to go with aaka f third here last year and it feels likef course yeah playing the hit not really I haven’t tipped she hasn’t been she’s been a bit off the boil the last few weeks but I think it’s time for her to return I think this is her kind of golf course in particular she only played it once last year finished tied third I think this could be her sort of course while Logue runs his modeling over there the Australians is the opposite of Europe where we’ve got quite a healthy contingent past Champion Hannah green as mentioned uh Steph kiraku Grace Kim Sarah km Caris Davidson and suo gets a chance on her reshuffle interestingly suo and Hannah Green’s uh rental car has had a cracked window I think from a golfball this morning so you go that’s s of that’s a sort of yeah behind the scenes stuff people find out little only I’d have known about Rory’s bad back before the start of play last week I would have yeah yeah well broken you know about the broken window put that in the modeling uh Gabby Ruffles as I mentioned probably missed out although there is a couple of holding spots still on the list she may get one of those cuz she’s proving very popular be good tournament invite she’s got a card for next year so she’s not taking the place of somebody or any of that sort stuff uh M Lee obviously missing this week just I would say as Rod mentioned of coures M’s gone yep not for me not for me uh it needs a break too long stretch of tour long stretch of big evj tour at the moment uh Steph kirak who is probably amongst the pick of the Aussies at the moment Grace Kim’s had a little bit of a battle for a little while and the others are sort of lower category so interesting to see log let’s what’s the modeling say um I’d like this player I I picked her last week but I’m going to go again because she I think she’s in a let and you she needs a chance to Red be on the MC she had a few bad rounds but then came back and almost made a top 10 in the end and that is NASA hat um I think she’s going to be back in more familiar territory this week and she she’s just a she’s just too good to ignore but also she’s just in good form at the moment good wind player and it gets windy here the wind comes up the river and of course I counted for that my model and the Wind Through the Trees like that shoot type wind is very difficult actually does go in that classic goes in all directions too it’s like an outer the front nine is the outer and then you go in so for the back nine and so doesn’t matter where the wind’s coming from you’re going to cop it across down into Rod’s making circular motions with his hands at the half Italian that’s what I do that’s a good tip I tied 11th last week I think 13th I think in the end just finished outside the top uh I’m going to go with Hannah green who finished really well last week in Canada started to look like a best sort of version again uh combine that with Good Vibes tournament she won really likes it uh I think she got a big finish for the year and I’m going to call it now is going to win the Australian Open year so there you go okay wow okay cool yeah I just decided i’ come back with a bit of Venom yeah so far enough out that nobody’s going to remember no that’s exactly right and and it’s and it’s just close enough you sound better than when we used to do in the magazine predictions for the year and in like October you had to pick the major winners like please well I managed it a couple of times so uh but anyway that will do us for this week log I look forward to congratulating you on another win next week go n Rod you’ve been your usual pillar of regularity I think mediocrity I don’t think it’s mediocrity I think that’s quite harsh uh you can keep up to date on all these tournaments and more on the golf Australia magazine website Golf australia.com and pick up the latest September issue of the magazine with Jordan spe on the cover which included inside you will find the fast fixes for seven deadly swing faults lob needs his copy now and you also find your ultimate guide to Great Golf weekends we’ll be back next week on playing from the tips [Music]
