It’s 2024 Open Championship Week! – Rory McIlroy’s Psyche, Scottie Scheffler, LIV Golf & More! | FC

It’s officially Open Championship week! The First Cut crew gets a head start on the most intriguing storylines at Roryal Troon.

#golf #pgatour #golfoncbs #firstcutpodcast #openchampionship #royaltroon

—
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
-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.

I’ll do it I’ll declare an Open championship week headed to Royal TR for the first time since 2016 our final major of the Year enjoy it it’s like 250 days in between major championships what what I mean Tommy’s one thing but what are what are we what are we keeping our eye on KP I feel like some sometimes there’s a lot of different stories sometimes there’s one that sucks up a lot of the oxygen where are we headed for TR okay I’m just G to give you I jotted down this was like right after HQ I jotted down eight story lines that I’m about to write about once we’re done with this uh this podcast and I want to see which one sticks out the most to you okay I’ll just read them real quick okay and I don’t even know if I’m if I’m Gonna Keep all eight but probably the open open so like the most I don’t think Sheffer is gonna win which means I have no idea who’s GNA win oh okay uh Rory psyche Bryson’s huge opportunity Bryson has a chance to have like one of the great major seasons of all time if he wins uh sheffler needs one what I mean by that is he’s played just the level at which he’s played would suggest like a probably a two major season so need is like relative there uh Tommy the best open player of the last five years what’s the non Bryson live presence like is Brooks still playing Majors is Rah good right now like I I don’t know what to make of all that under the radar morawa and then uh just tr’s history like what is what is trun produce so what what of those sticks out to you guys so I always lean towards the historic one so the The Bryson having a chance to do a uh historic major championship season I think is interesting I also think the what is TR produced because I do think that as far as Roa courses go trun is somewhat unique with a couple of elements which I which I like about it so those were the first two that pop into my head Greg what what did you take from those I would add the uh Scotty needs one I think that’s a fascinating discussion um and I understand that you said it’s relative but there’s some truth to that you don’t get these Seasons very often the PGA Tour and it seems like this is just what Scotty does and seems like it can go on forever but you know history tells us that this kind of performance doesn’t go on forever yeah and so we’re in a very similar situation to where we were last year with him where he only had two wins and it was an all-timer with his ball striking um this has been an all-timer all around and it it does feel like something would be missing with the one major season which is a crazy thing to say yeah you know won the Masters how is anything M he is dominating the FedEx Cup standings right dominating the official world golf rankings how could anything be missing yet I don’t think you’re crazy to say that that’s interesting I um I don’t know I think I think if he missed the cut I’d still look at this and be like Scotty had an unbelievable yeah for sure I I just yeah you want um you want Seasons like this to produce things on your historical resume that you know like other Seasons just can’t produce like J like speed’s season is not going to produce an open Win feel free to play that back if it does but you know like it like Scotty um it’s it’s I guess what I’m saying is it’s kind of weird that him and who else has two major wins like a like a almost like a Bryson or a morow those guys are I’m not like those guys are amazing but Scotty’s been at a level like a tiger level and so you’re like wow he only has two majors it’s not it’s not weird but it’s also like it it would feel good for him to have produced more than just a one major season okay so that so so that I get that which makes me think of to I I also do like the what is the St is is Bryson the only live Guy where Where is cam Smith where is John Ram what is Brooks K I don’t even know um like what’s the trend line been for how many live guys have even been playing in the last eight major championships right are we are we are we getting to a smaller amount um but the other thing is as you were kind of going through that I do always really like when guys go from like two majors to three or three to four is it’s like a very thing and when you’ve got so so Collins’s got two Bryson’s got two Scotty’s got two I don’t know who else is kind of in that short three J so like the th there’s that they because there’s always multiple of those guys and as you start cranking them up you you get on a shorter and shorter and shorter list so I I and especially when you’ve got like Scotty who’s doing it in a run Colin who’s who would be historically young I imagine Bryson who would be doing it in just a lot of different way there are there’s a there would be some very very cool winners yeah totally and then you know like to contrast that with what we got last year which is a you know not an out of nowhere winner but a not somebody that any of us picked you know and and Brian Harmon um I I think the one that sticks out to me well the the two and they were the first two that I wrote so just it being like I I don’t I don’t even know who to pick honestly like I I truly don’t usually I go into these things and I’m like I think it’s going to be one of these three guys I’m usually wrong but I at least have some inkling I have no clue guys like I I truly do not and then two I think I think Rory’s psych I think Rory’s gonna be in it like I think he’ll be in the mix on a Saturday morning or maybe a Sunday afternoon like how does he respond how does he react to that what is what does he feel what how uncomfortable does he get I think think that is fascinating I mean just coming off Pinehurst the the Scottish open is like okay you you worked out some things that um you that you hadn’t played for a month okay you’re you’re back in the you’re back on the back in the mix back on the saddle right and I just don’t like I’m I think ever I think like his psychological reaction to being in the mix at a major is super interesting going into this this week you know the the point of no return you ever heard of this concept yeah where you get far enough along in some Journey and it’s not worth it to go back like it’s like Phil’s career yeah it’s like hey I it would take just as much effort to quit as it would not to if I’m if I’m Rory mroy and I’m in the mix like I expect him to be on Sunday it’s like there is at this point nothing to lose because what happened at Pinehurst is as devastating as it gets y I mean you got to go to like John velt for a a worse possible outcome and if he does the same exact thing Greg it’s not like it’s gonna be twice as bad it’s still gonna be just as crappy as it was when it happened at Pinehurst right so you know if I’m I love this talking a Rory about it it’s like hey you this is like a it doesn’t matter what’s happened before right there are are critics that are saying you’re never going to win one because you just can’t do it like do you really think you just can’t do it crazy thing so actually hit Rory Rock Bottom is what we’re talking about it well wait who has he has or we have hopefully I I guess in Greg’s scenario hopefully he has because that because that makes the way that I interpret Greg’s thoughts here and I agree with is that like it can’t get worse it cannot get worse so you might as well just freee this thing and who cares like those those feelings you felt they’re not gonna be worse so just who cares for sure I think two things I think one we’re often critical of him being too aggressive at Majors right where it’s like dude why why are you like why are you ripping it pins on like Thursday morning you know and so I think from that sense like you don’t want to be I I feel very conflicted on this because from that sense you don’t want to go out and just be like insane with the way that you play the golf course but on the other hand I’ve I’ve talked myself into that the only way he’s going to win another major is by is like the kiaa um planing which is you’re you’re up by eight like going to the bag nine right because he has the talent to do it and you take so much of the psychological stuff out of it that it it to me it’s it almost seems like the more straightforward path even though it’s incredibly difficult to do but I don’t know how to reconcile those two things because you don’t want to go out and try to shoot 60 on Thursday and end up shooting 73 but but also I think that is maybe the path for him to win another major championship yeah but I do think that Rory understands how to play these tournaments as four events right he’s shown us that over the last couple of years I’m not saying like be conservative or be aggressive I’m just saying you have nothing come Sunday right when you’re in the mix up by eight down by two you know tied for the lead whatever the situation is you got nothing to lose like there should almost be at this point so much Scar Tissue there’s no Scar Tissue it’s not going to change yes it either stays the same or you’ve conquered the hill it’s a mindset it there is no feeling you will feel that is worse than what you have felt recently right and there is so much scar tissue that any new they can’t even touch you they don’t even break through it doesn’t matter you you are in a bubble sir you’re either gonna have done it before or feel better than you’ve ever felt in your entire life Greg might be talking me into oh we’ll see cup to let’s just wait until Tuesday I mean who yeah exactly uh who would you guys pick today if you if if I said you gotta You Gotta Give me a pick like I I I haven’t thought about it a ton but I just don’t even I don’t even know I between Rory and Scotty okay I would be between uh God why would I say Rory but I feel like I’m gonna say Rory so uh I would be between Rory and Colin okay I I think I’m not ready to give up on K I think that I I I wanted like this time last week I would have said Tommy I didn’t love the way he played this week I think I might be between Roy and ludig get those guys into a choke Fest on Sunday that would be just a get if you give me ran ludvig and the Phil Stinson deal man I would I mean might not be able to handle that I don’t know the guy who’s been the best player in the world for two years is probably the right Pi well and Josh producer Josh just said is a reason why Scotty’s not front of mind I I think um he hasn’t been good at opens I mean for him right he’s he’s finished I think he has one top 10 or one top 15 something like that but you know I think some of I was talking to somebody about maybe Andy lack I was talking to the other day about what what frustrated him at Pinehurst can also be true at opens which is this sort of random nature of uh like where your drive ends up just some different things like that it’s not as controllable as it is at a mirfield village or a colonial or somewhere like that so I think there’s I think that’s an interesting thing to watch with with Scotty is is the a little bit of the randomness that happens at open championships yeah he did not he did not like that and you should if you’re the best player in the world you should not like luck because you’re better but I I do think there’s a difference with Piner specifically um and that’s just the greens like the bouncing in the Fairway I could see that frustrating the bounces you get in the Fairway maybe even into the greens if it’s really firm and fast could be frustrating but I don’t think you’re going to see Scotty Sheffer have no clue uh reading the greens the way he did at Pinehurst and admit it which I I think that plays into his uh favor pretty significantly at at this point on Sunday afternoon