On this week’s podcast we discuss Tiger’s return to competitive action at the Hero World Challenge, the Irish down under rounding off their 2023, the big transfer story of the year as Graeme McDowell joins Brooks Koepka at Smash GC. We hear from Maynooth University student Ryan Griffin ahead of the LIV Golf qualifier next week and news of Luke Donald securing a second Ryder Cup captaincy breaks during the recording!
[Music] Hey everybody and welcome along to this week’s edition of the Irish Golfer Podcast. Peter Finnen here and joined as always by Rona McNamera. How are we? All good. And Mark McGaran. We’re back. Tiger’s back. Golf is back. Everything’s back at this stage, you know. It’s good. Yeah. Lots of juice through this week. Like we kind of left the Monday recording knowing that Tiger had his presser yesterday, just seeing if there was any any good uh angles coming from it. As always, it was always going to be. So, yeah, we might as well um we get stuck straight into Tiger. It is great to see him back like like back for the third or fourth time. I don’t know how many uh reincarnations we’ve had of Tiger Woods, a new fused Tiger Woods, but yeah, he looks good. Yeah, though, this is by by my count. I actually have a piece coming up going up in the site now shortly. Um well, at the time of recording shortly, by the time it’s out, it’ll already be up. But, uh this is Tiger’s sixth actual comeback. Um basically, five four of those only count because one of them was like, you know, two comebacks in one. Um, was one of them crashing into the fire hydrant and stuff? Like he was a comeback after that one. Well, that was a comeback. Yeah, he was 5 months off. Of course, that’s a comeback. Five months after Ellen bet the pulp out of him with a six iron or something. But one of one of those comebacks he only came back and played the he played like the hero, played the farmers insurance at Tory Pines, then played Dubai and then didn’t play for the rest of the year. So I’m I’m not I’m not counting that as a comeback. I’m counting that as part of the larger over overall comeback. But uh but yeah, so fifth fifth actual fifth actual one and I mean who knows it’s exciting every like back I kind of Yeah, every time he comes back I managed to get myself all geared up for for it and everything. So I mean he just has it. He’s he is the he is the needle as they say. Yeah. But there’s no way like you wouldn’t be watching the hero open 20 players if he wasn’t teen it up. Like there is no way you’d be watching this. 20 lads playing like it’s just it bonkers. We’ll get into money stuff in a little bit, but like 20 lads playing for I think it’s $4.5 million. They’ve pushed it up to this year and going to 5 million. Like it’s like end the season. Here’s another wheelbarrow load, lads. Uh come over here to the Bahamas for a few days for this. But yeah, more power to them for being able to organize it. But no, without without Tiger, this is a nothing event. With Tiger, the whole world’s going to be watching. And like I just found it interesting yesterday. Now you know he’s lying as well when he’s talking a lot of the stuff like asking how prepared are you and oh I haven’t been playing like that man has been hitting thousands of golf balls every day like when you’re watching him on the range videos last night and this morning he’s striping the ball like his swing is a little bit different a little bit more upright. It looks like he’s going to be playing a lot more fades and stuff like that. That’s uh yeah, but like yeah, it’s he has been hitting some serious balls in the leadup to this and he always plays himself down, talks himself down. It’s it’s just going to be interesting to see what Tiger does actually show up. I think I think on uh he usually says, you know, I believe I can win. That’s that’s that’s usually his mantra going into a tournament. even like even when he’s been carried out of lifted off a wheelchair onto the onto the press conference table and everything. He’s saying, “Yeah, yeah, I believe I believe I can win if I I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” But I actually actually thought it was a little bit kind of a little bit different from him this time that he says that he was saying that. You know, I’m I’m really rusty. Who knows anybody’s it’s anybody’s guess what’s what I’m going to bring here this week. But but I agree with you. Yeah, he’s definitely been he’s definitely been pounding uh pounding the range down in uh down in Jupiter there. There’s no way there’s no way he’s coming here unless he’s unless he thinks he can at least give a good good account for himself. I would I would counteract that what he’s saying. That’s called cute horrorism. He’s learned that he’s an Irish man in the bag this week. He knows exactly there’s a bit of cute horrorism coming out. He knows exactly what he’s at. Yeah, he’s got it’s a guaranteed top 20. So like you know he’s already won. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. That’s the thing. Coming back he world ranking points. That’s it. He’s going to fly up. He’ll have more he’ll be higher in the rankings than Brooks after this week after playing this event. Gas. No, but what like what were your takeaways from the all joking and messing aside on it? It is great to see him back. I like to see him come out and say there’s so many different areas he went into and it’s the first time he like got spoken to since the framework was released in June. He was asked a lot of questions about that. The one thing that excited me the most about it was him hinting at the fact that he’s going to play one event a month is what he says best case scenario is and he’s already picking events and looking at events that will be class if he can stay like because we’ve been robbed of you know you go back to 2019 when he won the Masters and he had that comeback and he came back in like whatever about Tiger coming back coming back winning majors in 2019 was just off the charts like lifetime stuff that we will never see again. Well, I hope we do, but like um we were just stole. It’s hard to believe that like that’s that’s nearly four years ago since that. It’s the water under the bridge since then. We really had he has been robbed and we’ve been robbed of like greatness over that time that he could have done so much around that age. But then the other accident he had and all the surgeries he’s had since has done. But like going into the detail of what he’s looking at next year and he he said he’s not like walking is okay and 80 90 holes he’s fine. He’s done all the prep and all the rehab. One event a month is enough. Oh it’s more than enough because for last year when he he came out after his you know latest comeback he played the PNC I think it was and he was saying look I might just play three or four times a year. Like it is all about how he copes with walking. Like the swing looks fine. We’ve seen enough videos of him over the last couple of years. The swing always looks fine. He’s able to get around it. Like we it’s it’s like a it’s like a merry ground. You just don’t want to get off cuz the masters will roll around soon enough and it’ll be Tigers arrived on the chew. They’re looking, you know, prim and proper. Then everyone’s going to talk about how hilly the golf course is. And like I think that’ll come into what tournaments he does play going forward. Like what’s the terrain going to be like? What’s the, you know, rough going to be like? Am I going to be swinging and hacking at it for, you know, 72 holes? Like, I don’t think he’ll play a US Open next year. Really? He’ll skip the US Open. I think he will. Yeah. Why? Like, I I think he will. Where’s the US Open next year? America. You can’t say he’s not going to play in the tournament and not know what course it’s on. He could have won in the golf course before. No. No. He definitely will. He he he I think we’re going to see a different Tiger like uh more he’ll plot his way around. He like he has not lost much speed with the back fusion and stuff like that. Like he was as long his ball speed was up there at 180. His swing speed, you know, 125. He’s well able to get it out there. And it was interesting yesterday when he was saying around uh and this is where the the age like he talked about yesterday father age catching up on things and this is what happens in sports. You get like you know you grow out of sports like age catches up with you and you become obsolete and irrelevant. Whereas golf, golf golf kind of lends itself to street smarts and sometimes and that’s where Tiger came into his own in 2019, but he still had the speed to compete. It’ll be really interesting to see if he still has looking at his range stuff, he still has the speed to compete at the top level. And there is no way like like yeah, he loves competing. He loves getting out there and he loves the fraternity of being out on tour and all that, but there is no way he would put himself through 12 tournaments in a year without thinking, you know what, I’m picking this tournament. I I think I can win all of these tournaments. And I I firmly believe he thinks he can. Yeah. Like you look at the ones he’s picked during the summer, like he’s picking the real big sort of legacy tournaments that you do get in the PJ tour. Like I wouldn’t wouldn’t read too much into the ones he’ll play, you know, February, March, premasters, but once the Masters comes and then the summer tournaments come, like you can tell he’s picking all those cuz he knows he can go and win one of them. Yeah. Well, he he said he said like he’ll play I mean his his plan was to play try and play the Genesis. We we kind of knew he was going to play if he was going to play if he was going to play at all before the Masters, he that’s where he was going to that’s where he was going to play first. Uh but I remember last year he’d I mean last year he played in the Genesis and played reasonably well like he made he made the cut which was you know which was a good a good achievement given how long he how long he’d been out of the game. We keep saying this about Tiger, you know, to come back and make the cut against pros that are playing week in week out is is, you know, an excellent achievement, but then we didn’t see him again until until Augusta. And I mean, okay, he made the cut again there, but it’s like you were like, if he’s going to be competitive at Augusta, we thought he needed to he needed to play another tournament in between. Now, he was he also was suffering with his planter fasciitis last year, which I mean, I’ve I’ve had it in I’ve had it in the photo. I’ve only had it for a short period of time, but it was incredibly painful and horrible to try and walk on. Um but this year or or he kind of alluded to next year that he may play that he wants to play the players or play an event between the Genesis and the and the Masters which which as Ronan said earlier on is like is very positive compared to the rhetoric we were getting out of him a couple of years ago where it was like um I’m just going to play the majors. That’s that’s going to be it. So I mean when he’s saying play an event a month realistically we’re probably talking like a you know we’re talking a 9 month season. Yeah. And so he you might you might you might see him playing eight times but that’s still a massive improvement you know if he’s able to if he’s able to play eight times that’s a huge improvement on what we’ve seen from him in the last three years now. Yeah. Exactly. Go on. Yeah. He should join the European tour. He can win the race to Dubai in eight or nine events. Yeah, exactly. No, but you look at the only reason he’s playing like even if it’s eight to 12 events, like he literally only gives a [ __ ] about four events, the majors, that’s it. The other events are just to get himself ready, get the reps in, get up there. Like they might be legacy tournaments, but like Tiger, yeah, if he wins a tournament, it would be massive, but he just wants to compete in majors. And looking at obviously we’ve August in April, uh PGA in Valhalla where he’s won before in uh May. So he’ll like you know he’ll he will fancy that US Open Pinehurst like that is not the most penal that is not the most penal pinehurst number two he’s he’s been relevant on that golf course before the open at Royal Trune. Uh yeah, it’ll it’ll it’ll be interesting to see um see how he tackles it or I suppose how he loads himself earlier in the season and how he builds up like obviously playing playing once a month is all well and good in sort of February, March, April lead up to the Masters, but then when you have May, June, July and the only tournaments are majors, he’ll want other. So it’s it’s all about how he loads himself, I suppose, going into that. But yeah, but it sounds of him he’s he’s he’s all in. As you were saying earlier on, you know, he’s got like, you know, he’s got the golfing smarts to, you know, to compete to man to manage his game to get the best, you know, the best score out of a day that he’s not he’s not hitting the ball particularly well and everything, but I mean he does and you as you again as you said, he definitely does still have the speed. I mean, if we remember last year at the or earlier on this year when he came back at the Genesis, I mean, who can forget the tampon gate, you know, when he out when he out drove Justin Thomas and I mean he was hitting it back hitting it past Mroy and Thomas on certain holes, not all the time, but but I mean we like Mroy, you know, Maroy ended up changing driver shortly afterwards and and I think that the fact that the fact that this he as he would as he would look at him this old this old man with a with a limp whose body’s been bandaged together god knows how many times is hitting the ball past me. That was a little bit of a it was a little bit of a kick in the kick in the ass for Mroy. Like Yeah. No, it is. It’s it’s going to be Yeah. It’s just intriguing to see. He said he’s interested to see how he fares out. Obviously, it’s end of the season for most of the like the other 19 guys that are he’s up against couldn’t give a [ __ ] about it’s just out there. They will be as much fanboy and Tiger as we are this week. Whoever gets paired with him, they’ll be they just want to see what he’s about. They just want to see how how he is, how he hits it, how he gets it around. Like he’s a chance to sort of stick a pin in, make a statement and and go. But like he’s the only one there this week that really wants like wants like they all want to win, but he really wants to win. The rest of them it’s kind of an irrelevance, but it’s a it’s a big deal for Tiger and you could tell that by him yesterday like he had the eyes were lighting up. He was he wants the competition which is it’s unbelievable to see but yeah like moving around like you said earlier on Ronan as well about the um picking schedules. It would be great if he’s like if he is planning this one a month. We’re obviously cutting off the season at the end of July when you know and as part of this alliance now strategic alliance. No one asked him that yesterday like about it was all about PGA Tour cuz obviously it’s a sanctioned event with the PGA Tour but like wouldn’t it be unreal if he did commit and come out again started to do like Dubai at the end of the year in Europe even look at the Irish Open in September like at Royal County down like it but it would be unbelievable. I know we’re we’re wishing we’re dreaming now but like you can’t you can’t even get Mroy to guarantee at the Irish Open. He he hasn’t even he hasn’t even hit a golf ball in his return yet and we’re doing a schedule out for him. Like it’s it’s it’s kind of [ __ ] but it’s good. But no, it it is interesting looking into the tail end of the season as well when we get that out like will he travel? Will he will he keep things going around the world? So like he did speak a lot about the alliance about why he got involved in the players committee. Obviously Rory’s moved aside, Tiger’s taken over. He was very surprised. He was kind of biting his lip, biting his tongue when he was talking about Jay Monahan. Like he was surprised at the framework that came out. He had no idea like everybody else and uh that’s the reason why he got involved to make sure players have a proper say in future. I thought that was really interesting. Yeah. the first the first time he was asked about um you know if he had faith in Jon and whatever he kind of sidestepped the question uh I sort of gave it was in fairness it was a two-part question he was asked and he kind of gave the first question like a one a oneline answer and kind of omitted the Jay Monahan part of it and then then gave a sort of a longer longer uh answer to the second part of the question but it was you know they brought it I can’t I can’t recall what uh what reporter brought it back up to him But in fair fairness, they did. They re asked him again later on about if he had faith in faith in Jay. And he he said he says, “I do. That’s why I’m that’s why I’m here on the board.” Which was Yeah. But it but he left he kind of left it at that. It was a very it was a kind of a very lukewarm answer to it. Definitely wasn’t a it wasn’t a resounding yes. Absolutely. I’m fully behind Jay. He has my full support. He’s doing the right things for the tour and everything. Yeah. But he Tiger talked a lot about the frustration the players felt and that this can’t happen again. This can’t happen again was his kind of mantra and that he went on the player the on the policy board as a sixth player director which means that the balance of power now is in the hands of the players. It’s six to five on the board in terms in in favor of the players. So yeah they they have the control now. They can make sure that doesn’t happen again. And you know as well like you know we’re all football fans. When the board back a manager what normally happens when they give their back and the knives are out they’re being sharp and that’s it. Jay Mahan’s a sitting duck. Like there is no question once this plan is done he is out the gap. That is it. Good luck. Like he he’s he literally has betrayed the players and for players like Tiger Rory not to know what was going on. We’re we’re opening up old wounds again, but like that damage is done and the future of golf is without the figureheads that are there at the minute. And I think 2025 will bring that. They’ll all be there will be a changing of the guard at top and I think it is nice to see players stepping up. Um, you know, he was asked about Rory stepping down. Rory, more than anybody, I’d say felt just pure knifed this year. just uh put everything out there and then it was thrown back in his face. And to hear Tiger stepping up to the plate and wanting to get involved and wanting to protect the future of golf, the future of the game, it it is it it’s refreshing, but at the same time a little hypocritical in some ways around the structures going forward, you know, way like PIF are going to be involved. That is it. And there’s no two ways about it. They’re they’re literally trying to maximize investment. Like he is trying to dress it up around the edges saying, “Oh yeah, like money could come from elsewhere or there will be other investment. It’s not all this.” But like at the end of the day, the Saudis have made this they’ve they’ve orchestrated this situation. They have made it into what it is and their fingerprints are going to be all over it. And and people just need to get used to that. And like it’s like professional golf is it is in a tough tough spot right now. And no matter like it this is a really positive thing. Tiger Woods coming back but like professional golf is it’s it’s on the news for all the wrong reasons for the last two three years. And even now like we’ll get into it in a few minutes like the the PIP stuff that was released like after we did the last podcast. It’ make you puke like the way the way they’re going around stuff. It’s not it’s not the the look that we have and it’s not the look of the top players that we need. Like Tiger hasn’t hit a ball, you know, he turned up at August and he gets 12 million quid of uh like player impact from like it’s total [ __ ] the way it’s done. Um I don’t agree with it, but yeah, it’s it’s a bit mental. Yeah, it was interesting to hear him speak so candidly about the whole murder thing yesterday because like he normally he just doesn’t give you anything when he’s asked about any sort of important issues or or world issues as we know like so um like it was interesting that he came out saying he was frustrated about it all like considering that you know he hasn’t really played so he’s kind of just sitting there taking a backseat viewing from the outside almost but like as you said yeah to earn the what was it $12 million for just limping around Augusta for a weekend is pretty scandalous. It is. No, but when you look at that list, like so in all, anyone that hasn’t seen it, I know like one of the players leaked it and and and did stuff. Uh I think it was Jason Gore’s name was on the top of the the email that was leaked, but another player sent it out. Uh 100 million doled out to 20 players. Mroy topped the list earning 15 million bonus and Wood second 12 million. John Ram nine. Like going right down to Brian Harmon got two million quid. Like it’s it’s it it really is it’s a staggering amount of money and money that should be invested further down the pyramid like Mroy last week. So he tops the pip gets $15 million. Last week he got 2 million quid for winning the race to Dubai and he’s just off the back of like making $15 million on the PGA tour alone last this season. Like it it it’s it’s just bonkers. like and and like what stuck out for me on the list, you go through all the names on the list, like we’re not going to go like they’re the usual suspects. There’s no one unusual on there, but like the one person that’s missing and the one person I thought like made a bit of a a difference on it, uh, and it’s not a he’s not a popular player, but someone like Joel Damon on who was on the Netflix documentary. I thought that was a really good social aspect of golf this year. his story, telling a story, what he did, the traction that gave like that was the only interesting thing that came out of Full Swing this year was Joe. He’s the feature of the trailer for the second series as well. He doesn’t feature on the pip thing. Like why why did the tour find Yeah. Why did the tour find him irrelevant? And like, you know, he’s obviously looked at as he’s dispensable sadly. Guys like Joel Damon, they just want to look after your Tigers and your Rories and your Rams and stuff like that. And like it’s a dangerous game they’re playing. Yeah. I mean when you see that Maroy like yeah the 15 million is Maroy got for won 14 million playing on the P on the PGA tour. 14 million in prize money including his uh FedEx bonus and everything. But I mean for him to for him to earn more in this very extremely nebulous [ __ ] um pip pip rankings for him to earn more in that than he did in prize money kind of says says it all really. I mean, yes, we we all know that this thing was designed or brought in to put more money into the pockets of the of the big players, but when you’re getting more off that than you are off your prize money alone, it really I mean, it highlights major issues elsewhere in the tour. And I mean the fact that the fact that the tour controls so much I mean the part of the reason why Maroy is um top the top the list is obviously because he’s such a he’s such an outspoken person. He’s anything anything Maroy says gets picked up and reported by news by news outlets and and everything like that. But he’s also on PGA Tour Live every time he plays. He’s in he’s part of the featured groups and you know people commenting writing stuff on social media. You of course you’re going to write about the people that you’re seeing as opposed to you’re not going to like you’re not going to be commenting about the guy playing in you know who’s six shots off the lead but is playing in the back ar of the course with no no cameras anywhere near him or anything. So it’s in a in a way they’re kind of, you know, they’re sort of creating it’s it’s almost like they’re creating a vicious circle in this, you know, and it’s it’s probably extremely hard for somebody to somebody to get jump into the pit rankings from outside without having without having a year the likes of which Brian Harmon or Windam Clark had this year like you know standout years on the court otherwise they would never be anywhere near it. Yeah. Like it’s just all it is. All this is is giving lads money to stop them signing on with Liv. That’s it. That is all it is. Like and like Rory and Tiger, you’d kind of exclude from that because they had no intention of signing for Liv. They have other things, but everybody else on that list from down is just it’s just sweetie money for yeah, you didn’t go, you stayed, you remain loyal. There you go. And that’s why guys like Joel Damon are just getting overlooked because they probably weren’t even made a live offer in the first place or like they’re not that type of player. But like it’s yeah it’s the total wrong look that money should be for further down the golf pyramid. There’s too much money at the top of professional golf already and it’s only going one way and yeah you know what like hate going back to the past but if John Craven was here he’d be crying. He would be crying about stuff like this. It’s just it’s insane. But like it does open up the whole like Liv is in the news a lot in the last couple of weeks. It’s bringing it more into the spotlight. There’s a lot more like Phil Mickelson has never been as vocal on Twitter as he has been the last two three weeks calling lads out I told you so tweets and things are actually lining up exactly the way he said they would. Mickelson’s Mickelson’s back and forth with Shipnook on on Twitter and every fantastic though. They’re just it’s it’s like two kids argued at a playground and it’s just fantastic, you know, like we’re we’re kind of like the other kids gathered around them going fight fight. Yeah. No, it is it it’s it’s bonkers. But no, the whole live thing like obviously they have till the end of the year. Tiger spoke on that. They’ve to the end of the year to sort out whatever. But there’s a big movements in live. I know we were highlighting stuff over the last uh couple of weeks around GMAC and like we seem to have a story a day on GMAC and all our social channels now and we’re just getting hammered for it. like like people are just resorting to now the comment of who and like has been and all like people are just having a go like he’s not liked anymore which is it’s a it’s it’s a weird scenario I’m I’m assuming personally for him to be in I know we did a piece in the print magazine um this month as well with him but like he kind of you know he’s got a new team that was not working out for him with the clicks obviously he swapped uh Chase Kofka for Brooks. Um, it’s a yeah, it’s a it’s a good uh, you know, it’s a good team that he’s in. It’s a good place he finds himself in. Now, I know you put a p I think it was you put a piece up yesterday, Ronan, on the interview that he gave to Liv and um, was that you that stuck that up? Uh, that was me. That was today. So, um, yeah, today a couple of things on him today. I have to I have to thank him really because it’s the end of November. It’s coming up to Christmas. The golf season’s kind of dead. Obviously, without Tiger, we wouldn’t have anything else to write about. So, like, at least Graham’s given us stuff to talk about. Keeping the website turning over in fair in fairness to him. Yeah. Smash GC like he’s so part of a much bigger team. He was got like I he he is getting a bit of a sympathy vote here, but like they had to live could not leave someone like Gmac out in the dark uh in 2024 after sort of he gave up his career to go there. I know he’s well looked after. He got a lot of money, but like um they would definitely have a bit of sympathy for someone like him that like they can see did initially put his neck on the chopping block to try and make this happen. And all most of these guys need is a job in 2024 or a card or some sort of playing status in 2024 because like in the next six months this is all going to be worked out. I like for 2025 there will be an access route back for GMAC into the DP World Tour. There’s no way around it. Um these lads will be allowed to come back into the ecosystem. They need like they need their big players back the PGA tour for what they’re planning into the future and that’s the sticking point and that’s the I suppose the common denominator between them giving all these pit payments and stuff like that to players just trying to sweeten them to keep them on side but the John Ram rumors have absolute nuclear capacity to like you could not do this if this is a Phil Mickelson Sergio Garcia play which a lot of people are hinting at behind the scenes uh pushing this along and trying to get Ram uh on board and like the fact it’s gone all quiet. I actually think there’s a lot of more truth than rumor to this. It’s he is the ultimate bargaining chip. Yes. Well, just before we get before we get into Ram, if you just go back to GMAC, I mean, he did he does have a route back to the DP World Tour at present. We saw Burnt V burnt visberers back as a was it a top 40 career money is the category he’s in. I mean, GMAC’s a lifetime member. I know he I know he resigned his membership, but so did Vberger, but uh but GMAC on on the basis of winning a major championship, he was he was a lifetime member and he would be I’m sure he’s probably top 15, top 20 in the in the order of merit for order merit rankings. There’s a certain amount of time that you have not got to have played in a live event in order to come back in. And Gmac played them all. Did Vberger not play them all this year? I don’t think he I don’t know if he played them all. I think he was injured for some of them. He uh was there was blood subs going on all over the place halfway through the season. There was all sorts of stuff. Yeah, there was there was all sorts of shenanigans. But yeah, I think Gmax would have a little bit more penance time than someone like uh uh Burn Cheeseburger coming back in. So yeah, it it’s just interesting to see. But yeah, like it is a big year for him and like it they all I was saying is they couldn’t cut him loose in 2024 given what he’d done for them up to this knowing that he would be sort of hung out to dry in the Asian tour. Now I have no sympathy for him. I’m not building it up to have sympathy. It’s just they weren’t going to do it to him. But he’s not sure. He’s not he’s not the player he’s not the player they should be signing. Like you look at Liv and you look at their promotion relegation thing and now you look at their transfer window like it’s purely based off you know football and formula 1 what they do in both those sports and like if you go back to football I wrote about this in what world would unless you’re Manchester United signing Johnny Evans h would you sign a veteran struggling player who’s done nothing on the previous team he was on for the last two years like McDow had won top 10 in two years was 42nd out of 48 players. Like he did absolutely nothing. Like I know he said he was disappointed that Kimer let him go from the clicks, but like I I know this is like it’s a completely contrived thing that Liver doing, but he could have no complaints about being binned off. And like as much as it’s kind of you’re throwing your arms up in the air thinking how could Smash GC and Keepa, you know, bring them on and give him a lifeline. I suppose it makes perfect sense. They’re good mates and Ricky Elliot’s one of his best buddies. So, as much as it is, as much as it is kind of like, you know, what the hell, it’s completely predictable the way it’s happened. Yeah. And some would say it’s orchestrated as well. Oh, completely orchestrated. I mean, Brooks has lost his brother off the off the team, so Chase has been relegated. He’s he’s not back. Uh Matt Wolf, we we we know Brooks pretty much can’t stand the sight of him. He’s he hardly miss an opportunity all year long to get a to get a dig at Wolf if he could. Um, Jason Cocra, I think, was the other was the other’s man on man on Smash. He’s he’s going to be there as well. I think I think K’s like, “I’m losing I’m losing a brother. I already couldn’t stand this other guy. I like GMAC. We get on well. We own a horse together apparently, which uh I didn’t I didn’t know until until I just read it there today. Give me it give me five or give me five. High five. Give me five, something like that.” But um but yeah, so I I think that’s why I think that’s why GMAC got got that contract. I don’t think it was anything to do with Liv um saying we want we want this guy to land somewhere this year. Uh because I agree I agree with Ronan there. I think if Liv if Liver looking to looking to continually legitim legitimize themselves going forward, they need to be moving away from players like Gmac who’s I mean was truly was one of the one of the great players in World Golf for for a period of time, but I mean that period of time is over. Yeah. No. on the succession thing is a big thing like in and getting in and letting guys letting new blood in and that’s I suppose why they have their their Q school uh coming up in a couple of weeks time and we have some runners and riders in this. I know you were talking to to Ryan Griffin there the other day uh who’s heading over and bringing his best mate over to Caddy for him and Abu Dhabi running. Oh, he’s buzzing to go. He can’t wait to get out there. Like, and I was reading up on it there, like the amateurs are guaranteed uh $1,000 regardless of where they whether they make the cut or not. So, like, he’s got money in the bank going over essentially. And another interesting thing is if an amateur comes inside the top 20, but maybe not in the top three. They have to give whatever they earn on top of the $1,000 to charity, which I thought was a bit interesting, but it’s a live charity of choice, so I’d say it could just be going into the back pocket of some fella. But um no going to the Saudi Arabian battered women’s charity. No, it won’t be. But no, it was chatting to Ryan and he’s really excited to get over there. He sees it as, you know, a free hit almost. He’s exempt into it having played in the Palmer Cup. So he’s saying why not sunshine. Winter, you know, in Ireland is pretty poor at the moment. Go over have some sun, play hopefully 72 holes, as he said, earn a bit of money and you never know what could happen. Like it’s a lot easier to pay the $25 to go over there for one week than it is to pay, you know, that goes to €4,000 euro to play three stages on the DP World Tour and maybe have one good week and get knocked out the next. Like it’s a funny sport. Um, you wouldn’t you wouldn’t expect Ryan to get through because obviously it’s going to be an elite field with some PJ tour players and a lot of good Asian tour players, but golf’s a funny game where all it does is take one week and maybe it could be his week next week. You just don’t know. like it’s a free hit and it’s a gamble worth making. And he just said it’s the best thing for him to go over there and play. Like I know there’s a lot of moral things that people won’t agree with, but he said everyone’s been completely complimentary towards him and encouraged him. Like he actually hasn’t got any bad rep off anyone about it. Yeah. No, we might as well. Sure. Do you know what? We’ll play the audio now of the chat you had with him the other day. There is some interesting bits in it. So, uh yeah, we’ll play that now. you’re obviously looking forward to going. Like it is a it’s a great opportunity. Like it’s a like it’s only $25 as we said before. Like it’s a it’s almost a no-brainer for someone like you given that you’re exempt into it. Ex Exactly. Right. Like I was talking to Foxy and uh he was saying that one of someone he knew uh that they they’re on one of the night tours. They were trying to get into it and they they got back to him and said you don’t have enough qualifications to get into it. And it was whenever he told me that that you kind of realize how lucky you are to have this opportunity. And like you I’m not sure what the lad’s reasons are for not going because I I think it’s just an absolute unbelievable opportunity. Yeah. Exactly. Like the Walker Cup lads, when you’re exempt, you might as well go cuz it’s a free hit really. Like if it doesn’t work out doesn’t work out. You still have loads of opportunities, but like it’s a Exactly. Exactly. Like I have uh one of my buddies from back at home. he’s coming over to Caddy for me. So, like we’ll we’re going to give ourselves the the very best opportunity to do well. And I know the the press release is actually coming out today at some stage of the of the field uh who’s in it. And I know it was on Twitter there a lot of days ago where they were saying that there’s they didn’t mention who they were, but there was a major champion and multiple PJ tour winners on it. So, like you can get an unbelievable draw there as well. Yeah, you could get a great draw is right. And come here. Have you ever have you ever actually watched live or watched a couple of shots on TV or anything? Not really to be honest with you. Like the the majority of what I was doing there recently is watching the old uh the old tournament videos on the DP Walter of the actual golf course. So, the I can’t say I was watching too much too much of the old love, but like you see you see the highlights here or there whenever people pull off these unbelievable shots and whatnot like Yeah, exactly. Why not why not you? I suppose. Exactly. Exactly. No better, man. We we we young fellow from volley buff. Yeah, exactly. And like I’ve you mentioned the support and I’d imagine like loads of people are are encouraging you down there. Absolutely. like everyone’s everyone’s buzzing like the the manuslad they’re heading over to the canaries at the same time so uh I was supposed to be going to that and I I had to kind of cancel that because we’re going to this but I know the I know the lads will be kind of keeping up to date with it out in the canaries and obviously like you mentioned to me there in in passing the other day dirty money but like has anyone gotten on to you or contacted you trying to advise you to not go to the qualifier? See, I was actually expecting that to be honest. Like even even just talking to people uh about it and nobody nobody has said anything uh anything negative to me about it. Like all of them are just delighted that uh I’ve been I’ve been I’ve been given this opportunity and they just say look absolutely go for it and enjoy every minute of it. And that’s that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to get out there. I don’t I I I don’t really Well, you you would like to play well, but if you don’t play well, still going to be sitting there enjoying every single minute of it because the flights the flights are booked for until Sunday night. So either way, you’re going to be able to get out and watch the golf and like you say, enjoy everything about it cuz you’re out there Abu Dhabi in the middle of December with one of your best mates and I was like that’s our life carry on. Isn’t too bad rolling. Yeah, exactly. And as you said, as you said yourself, the field will be great. So like it’ll be great golf to watch as well. Yeah. And people you said no one’s been on to you like giving you advice to not to go. But I suppose from your perspective, it’s completely different than somebody jumping from the PJ tour to live. Like this could be potentially, you know, life-changing money. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Like the the it’s it’s different. Like the Palmer Cup lads, the Americans that I played with, like I wouldn’t expect a lot of them to actually go because they all they all have ties already with um with the kind of PJ at her university and like the Lud Vigar. He he obviously got through that. He was the first one. Look how well that guy’s done. So I would say a lot of them are kind of trying to be the next uh the next Ludvig basically. So you can understand why they’re not going to go. But at the same time like for in my position I have no ties to anything. So like it’s it’s a great opportunity and you might as well take it. Yeah. You might get yourself on uh Brook Brooks Kepka’s smash golf team. Yourself and McDow. Exactly. Exactly. Two two good Irish folk that can uh talk about a smack in the meantime. But Absolutely. Absolutely. Fantastic. And like you go out there and you you honestly never do know who you’re going to meet. And I’d be I’d be kind of a chatty enough kind of guy as it is. So like you just get chatting to people and you never know. You never know where it will go. Yeah, that’s the thing. like in like say like there’s three places on offer in live next year at this qualifier and like let’s say in a a week’s time you do get one of those places. Would you turn pro straight away or would you weigh the I I would have to weigh up my options because I’m not actually sure how that would play out because I would like I’ve done a few years here now in college like I’m I’m going into my final semester now at the start of the year. So I would like I would like to finish that out but uh if it comes to the case where you you don’t have the chance to then fair enough. I’ll just I’ll just sign the papers and how you how you doing DJ? I’m playing a I’m playing a pinnacle three there with a black line and obviously the the human rights thing in Saudi Arabia people you know are obviously passionate about it in some corners and we do a lot of you know live reports on McDall and things like that and people are very derisory towards it and you know they have their issues with it and rightly so but like for you you almost need to just park that really. I know it matters but like this is just a financial opportunity of a lifetime. Absolutely. Like we we do a lot of it. We do a lot of it in college like um ethics and stuff like that there. There’s so much of it plays into human rights and what what you can do and what you can’t do. And obviously there is so much going on that is so wrong on so many levels. But it’s the sort of thing at the same time where you have to at the end of the day think of yourself and the opportunities that you could get out of the this simple game. And like there there’s being selfish and then there’s kind of doing the right thing, whatever is right for you. And this is this is one of them things that you have to be selfish about. And like a lot of them lads that went from the PJ tour to live very confrontational because like none of them were none of them were short of money as it was like they’re all very successful on the PJ tour and I can understand why they got uh such such negative feedback but for for people that it’s a life-changing amount of money and you can support the people that have supported you over the last few years. Like it’s it’s an opportunity you just have to take and whatever people are going to say like you’re never going to keep everyone happy and I’d say I’d say I haven’t in my short 23 years already. But um it’s just one of them things everyone has to deal with, you know, so it’s uh it’s nothing not nothing too new at the same time. Yeah. venture for 25 quid like you can’t really go wrong considering like it’s it’s almost €3,000 to play in the Q school in Europe and like we all know what a slog that can be. Yeah, exactly. And sure the Q school in in Europe like it’s multiple stages at less in one weekend four rounds of golf over three days like it’s it’s an absolute no-brainer if you ask me. Yeah. And I suppose that nearly helps you as well. like you’re you’re an unknown quantity just a fella from Bali buffet college and man going over to see what happens and I suppose golf is a funny game anyone can have a week on any given week and maybe this one could be yours exactly like um been been absolutely delighted with the with the work we’ve done with the coaches over the last couple of weeks here in Monouth with the with the facilities we have like like carton carton the places we play golf is the best the best you’re going to get in Ireland But obviously you have the weather. It’s all very weather dependent and you kind of have to you kind of think think along those lines as well. But um like you like I say delighted with the work we’ve done and you can see it in the the stats and the kind of skills games that we play that everything is progressing in a very positive way. So going in next week with a lot of confidence with where my game is at and like I say just can’t wait to just enjoy every minute of it running. It is very interesting listening to that chat that um the thing that that stuck out for me the most and he highlighted as well as did you Ronan is how few of the guys how why more aren’t taking this opportunity that it’s available to from the um Parmer Cup and the Walker Cup panels why more of the amateurs aren’t doing it. Yeah, it’s an interesting one. Like obviously when it came out that Ryan was going, the Walker Cup players were interviewed and uh Liam said he had exams. Alex Maguire has second his final semester of college in America to finish off. And Mark then he’s, you know, got DP World Tour commitments. He’s still, you know, going to play a lot this year. And of course, Matt Mlan just said he’s back at work. Wouldn’t be sharp enough to go over. Like they’re all legitimate reasons, but I don’t know. You could have gone for the free hit. I mean like I hate live. I hate everything about it and I hate all these players moving from Europe and America over there. But I think when you’re in the situation that those five lads are in and could have been in, I think it’s a no-brainer that you go over and play. Like it’s a different situation compared to what everyone else has given out about at the moment. Yeah, it’s a free roll of the dice. It’s a free roll of the dice to, you know, maybe fast track your fast track your career into turning pro or fast track your career if you’re already a professional as uh Mark Power is. But like we’re struggling to get Irish players on tour. Like it’s a great chance for sort of a stop gap career in a way where you just make your money over a two or three year period, make more money in maybe a year than you’d ever make in your life playing golf. Like it’s a it’s an opportunity not to be sniffed at if you’re in that kind of position. Yeah. As we’ve said before, if I mean it’s a if you qualify and get on to get on to live and play the full schedule, it’s a minimum like $1.5 million and that’s if you finish dead last in every single event. Uh so I mean yeah I mean for particularly for any any of the amateur players or any of the young guys turning out pro I mean that is life-changing money you know um so I mean in in a way I guess we have to you know we have to compliment them perhaps for not you know for not going over perhaps perhaps there is sort of ethical ethical reasoning behind behind it that they don’t maybe they don’t necessarily want to come I didn’t say that, but perhaps that is that is playing a part there. Yeah, listen, they’re getting into professional golf. Ethics goes out the window. Ethics, it’s all about the money. That is it. It’s a professional career in sports. You take the opportunities that are put. Now, Ronan has outlaid really good reasons for them all. They all had good reasons. And you would, like Roland said, you you there like, you know, there their there justifications for not doing it or not. But like this is such an opportunity for Ryan. I really hope he does go over there and put up a good show. You know, it’ll be interesting to see. We’re still waiting on the full list of players. This doesn’t happen until the week after next, I think. Um, so we’re waiting on the full list of players to come across uh that are entered, but like apparently there are PGA Tour players on this list or past major winners on this list. There’s a lot of people would love to be in this field. And it’s just I found it unusual that a lot of the amateurs that are eligible to join based off their criteria of qualifying for teams haven’t taken that chance or are looking elsewhere. That’s all. I just found it unusual. Yeah. And I mean if look if if John Ram is to go I know you’d sort of touched on it and we we didn’t really get into the get our teeth into it yet but if if John Ram is to go then as you said that is a complete game changer for Liv. It’s it legitimizes the tour in a way that none of the other players who’ve gone do. I mean they sure they have multiple major champions on there. They’ve got, you know, Brooks Kepka who holds a major championship title at the moment. But when Brooks Kepka went to live, Brooks Kepka wasn’t the Brooks Kepka that was winning majors and isn’t the Brooks Kepler that he is again now. He’d, you know, his game had fallen into a hole. Anybody who watched the Netflix full swing series knows that that he was struggling. He didn’t know whether he was ever going to get his game back. and getting that getting Brooks kept at that time was in no way comparable to the coup of getting John Ram now if if that is to happen and it’s nobody wants like the PGA Tour don’t want to lose John Ram the DP world tour certainly don’t want to lose John John Ram the Ryder Cup I mean we can’t afford to lose John Ram so if Ram does go it is in in my opinion at least it’s pretty much going to be the the final straw that says okay these things have to be brought back together again. Yeah. It’s the catalyst for change. That’s why I think it’s gone all quiet and like you know it’s a different negotiation like cuz these lads there’s no litigation there anymore. They’re talking to each other. I’m sure there’s a big number on the table for John Ram. There’s no smoke without fire. Um, it has gone a bit quiet over the last week or so on it, which leads me to believe, yeah, that they’re in negotiations, but I don’t think it’s so much negotiations with Liv. I think it’s negotiations with the PGA and the DP World Tour over uh allowing him to play in X amount of events and like they cannot they’ve no choice if if his mind is made up. They have to give him exemptions to go in. They have to change the Ryder Cup policy. And it’s the perfect timing for the catalyst to change because all these things are on the table now anyway and they have to make some sort of an agreement between now and the end of December for what this framework is going to look like. So John Ram it it it there’s no um you know Mickelson is behind a lot of the positive and the negative stuff that has changed in professional golf over the last two or three years and his fingerprints are all over things but this is the ultimate bargaining chip. like John Ram is the carrot that everybody is after and yeah for me he seems like he’s for turning and if he’s turning though it seems like he is turning everything not just for him he is he’s actually bringing these organizations closer together albeit the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour kicking and screaming because if he’s out the gap Havlin’s not too far behind him plus other guys like if He is the catalyst that will promote just mental change and I just it’s just an interesting time. It was a question that was actually put to Tiger yesterday. Well, not about John Ram specifically, but um in his press conference, he was asked about the sort of uh what way uh what path root p or root back for live players may look like in the in the future. And and I mean whilst he didn’t really go into any depth in it or anything, he like he did say as well look we’re we’re looking at it. We’re trying to see how that’s how that might work or how better. So, it was it was it is complicated, but it was very much a you know, if if it was if it was a kind of a you know, they they’ve gone, they’ve made their bed, they’ve picked their side, and that’s it, we’re done with them, which was the which was the Jay Monahan rhetoric for a long time. And then, you know, I mean, Tiger would have said something along those lines. Maybe not quite as hard as hard and fast as that, but he would have definitely alluded to that. But I mean, the fact that he was I mean, he more or less said, “Yeah, we’re trying to we’re trying to get them back, trying to bring it back together.” Yeah. Uh, this is all going to come back together. It is. And like it’s already happening. Like we’re already talking about uh, you know, Burn Cheeseburger there coming back. So last week Dean Burmeister won on the DP World Tour following coming back. He’s the first one to go away, come back, win. I think Paul Rathabal actually was there thereabouts at a few events as well. So, there’s a lot of guys that have went across, come back in, and it has to happen. Professional golf needs to be together for all this to happen. All these big boys need to get into a room and sort out who’s getting the money because that’s all they’re doing. It’s just it’s just moving money around the place, where it’s coming from, ownership, new companies, whatever. you know, the PJ tour have hid behind charitable status for way too long. Um, and yeah, like it unfortunately like what you hit on there with Jay Monahan, you cannot enter into a negotiation in the negative way he did initially. Like you as a leader of an organization, the way he has handled this has been catastrophic to the tour. He should have known from the very outset of this like we cannot we cannot compete against this. Who was advising him how he went about things spouting on about 911 and stupid things like that. Like he just went about it the total wrong way and he’s been found wanting now and now they are not in the position of strength they were before. Tiger does bring a lot to the table uh with the negotiation and the players having their say that it’s not stooges there making decisions for the future of the tour and it’s the players having an input which it’s all positive but yeah they just need to get in a room sort this [ __ ] out and have us on us the consumer and the viewer and and everyone associated with golf sponsors um have a clear path for 2025 on as this is the golfing landscape going forward. There was rumors there were rumors floating around Twitter this morning. I mean, look, if it’s on Twitter, it has to be true. We all know that. Um but there were there were rumors that that Jay Mon is uh either stepping down or getting brushed aside, you know, basically here here you walk or you’ll get fired kind of a kind of a thing which I mean you’d have to think the for the Saudis for the PIF coming in and if their investment is you know is going to be part of a PGA tour going forward like you would have to think a m one of their major clauses would be that we want Jay Monahan out. Absolutely. This could have absolutely you know we could we could have we could have brought this and brought this investment to the game two 3 years ago had none of this none of this public uh public bashing of us we wouldn’t have had to spend what I don’t know what they’ve spent a billion two billion on on Liv since they since they put it together in fact easily must be must be multiple billions oh no it’s multiple they’ve spent that on legal costs market It’s bonkers. But yeah, no, like it all could have been dealt with so much differently if we had a different leader in sight. Like it was just bad. And like there’s no that’s not rumor on Twitter. That is a done deal. Jay Minan is a sitting duck as is probably Keith Py, you know. Um you know there there’s there’s a lot of structural leadership change that need to happen at the top of golf and it is going to happen very very quick. Uh between now and mid January I think we’ll have seismic changes. I think there will be an agreement done by the end of the year. Um especially when you have all the players with Tiger at the helm pushing like this. The power the players now have this new corporate entity that the PGA Tour have. They like there’s no doubt that Liv Piff will be involved in some way, but they they have their own investment as well. They have their own venture capitalists from the states funding things. It’s just it’s like everything. It’s all about the money. Like once the money’s on the table, they will come up with an agreement and that’s it. Silence. Two lads nodding their head going. Yeah, absolutely. It’s it’s just exhausting at this stage really. Like you’re like it’s listening like you’re almost saying the same thing for the last what two three years going on. Like I think everyone in general is just sick of it at this stage and the sooner an agreement is reached the better. Like if it is before the end of the year, brilliant. like just let’s just move on. Like at this stage, like last year, all I thought about really was the majors are the only tournaments that really matter. Like I had no real interest in What about the elevated events? Elevated events. Unbelievable. $20 million money for jam. What about the magical Kenya Open? Yeah, exactly. That’s a staple of the Deep World Tour. Don’t be dissing that now. That’s a great event. Yeah. No, but it is it’s it’s going to be No, you’re dead right. like it’s just everyone’s just bored of it at this stage. But it’s not a good look for professional golf to be constantly in the news for this and we’ve hit on it so many times. But yeah, let’s draw a line under the the live stuff. We’re we are we do have active golf on the DP World Tour this week. Uh one of the last events of the year, the um we’re in Australia. Yeah, you’d want to be careful and put this out quite soon, Peter, or else they all have teed off by the time this goes out with the time difference down there. Last week I had no idea like this had started. It was about half 10 on a Wednesday night and the early starters were on their back nines down in Brisbane. I was like what the hell’s going on here? But no, it’s another good opportunity for the lads. Obviously Connor and Tom McKibben made the cut last week and didn’t quite happen for them on the weekend and Mark had a good start but missed the cut with a kind of a it was a birdless second round that he had which is quite rare actually to see a pro have that. But uh no, it’s another chance for three boys to round off. Pretty good years, you’d have to say overall like Tom obviously won. Mark had a great end to his amateur career. Obviously didn’t win the Walker Cup, but the way he bowed out in style was pretty cool. Has started well as a pro by and large. Then Tom obviously had the win and Connor did well on the challenge tour in his first full season. Narrowly missed out on a DP World Tour card, but like he’ll get order starts throughout the year as well. So hopefully they can all, you know, top three all all of them round off the year. That’s it. Yeah, he did. Well, yeah, if if if Connor Pel can go a few steps further than he did last year, it’ be great. Like well, he a serious finish here last year in this event. So yeah, tied seventh last year. Really, really good. And h he carried that momentum in fairness to him into the start of the challenge season in February. So you know, a good finish can really kind of spray you on for the winter. So I wouldn’t I wouldn’t knock out it that there’s what a two months break between now and then. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Not time for them to do something. We do have the G4D. This is the only event of the year as well. As far off the top of my head that the G4D actually aren’t like put off on a Monday and a Tuesday and treated like a side act circus off the other side by the DP World Tour. the Aussies actually do it right and put the G4D lads out in the middle of the tournament and have it that there’s full crowds there and stuff like that. I know when we were talking to Brandon earlier in the year, he said this is probably the best event they play all year for inclusivity and actually feeling like they’re part of the tournament and part of something in the same crowds and all that. So yeah, it’s a big week for him as well. He normally rises to the big occasion too. So um yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how Brandon goes this week. Yeah, like in fairness, the Aussies do golf, right? Like live golf Adelaide. We go on about the lack of crowds and live, but the Adelaide one was packed. It was absolutely packed last week for the Aussie PGA and it’s going to be packed again this week for the for the Aussie Open. Like, I was just thinking about it. We really should bring golf to Australia more often because we go on about how great it is to have it in Ireland and it’s not here enough in Ireland in my opinion. Only two events, but it needs to go to Australia more. But you obviously getting the players to fork out the money to go and travel and all that kind of thing is probably ask. The poor poor professional golfers having to pay for flights. Oh, the poor lads. Hey, get on over there, lads, and do a few showies with the crowd. You’ll be grand. No, but I I saw I can’t afford it. I saw a podcast clip there during the week after the Australian PGA and they were saying is there a case to have maybe a fifth major in Australia or maybe get one of the majors out of America i.e. the PGA obviously and bring that down to maybe Australia or South Africa and you’re they’re kind of like ah yeah but you just wouldn’t get the buy in from the players for that. Like it is a shame given Australia is where it is but in terms of what golf they do put on they usually do put on a really really good event. Yeah, they’re starved of it. started. I feel I feel sorry for them having to watch all the PGA tour stuff like cuz I felt how I’m sure they feel. I was trying to watch the Aussie PJ and it’s on at stupid o’clock in the in the morning like you just can’t like that must be how they feel 11 months of the year. Exactly. It’s like us trying to watch the Super Bowl or something like that or the Melbourne Cup. I don’t feel no sympathy for them. They should they should change our time zones. Bring night golf in Australia for us or just cop onto yourself and not watch the Super Bowl. Yeah. I know. I know. The Super Bowls go crash here. Blasphemy. Go Steelers. Go Steelers. Right. Anyway, the best sporting event of the year. The uh Anything else you want to hit on? No, just that it was looking like we were going to have a quiet week, which is why you put off the podcast, but we actually had loads to talk about over the last 48 hours, so that was good. Mark, anything else you want to hit on before we get into heroes and villains and No, really. No, I think it’s I think we have it I think we have it all sed there. The the world put to rights. There is there’s one thing actually I want to mention. So we put a piece out in it yesterday. Um so the PJ and Ireland circuit obviously uh doesn’t kick off for a few months yet, but there’s a new event listed on it which is down to Turkey, a proam down to Turkey um going uh I think it’s the end of February right into the start of March. So, uh, the Cullinan five-star resort down in Ble in Turkey. So, you can visit Irishgolfer.e have a look at that. So, uh, Connor Russell, uh, who’s a PGA pro. Um, his details are on the site. He’s running it with the PGA. Uh, it’s a counting event. It’s open to everyone to come and play. If you go to Irishgolfer.e and just do a search for it, you’ll find it on a story that we stuck up yesterday and all the contact details and how you can enter. But, they’re they’re looking for amateurs. They have enough pros to go down. They’re looking for amateurs to come sign up for the tournament. It’s six or seven days down there all inclusive. If you haven’t been to Turkey, it is an unbelievable golfing destination down in Bleck with the the amount of courses, the quality of golf, the quality of food, accommodation, everything down there. It’s just it’s off the charts. And when you have a look at it and see like to get involved in a 4-day proam down there and practice days and stuff like that, it really is a golfing paradise down there that you can go and play in. So, yeah, have a look at it and and see. They’re looking for couples, individuals, whoever just to fill teams down there on it. It’s the first time they’re trying this and it’s good to see the PGA in Ireland getting involved and stuff like this as well. All the all the proams, all the proams you send me to during the year. You’d hardly send me on this one. No. Uh, do you know do we might we’ll have to have a chat. We’ll have to have a chat to Connor and see is there any media teams or anything like that going on this one? We’ll get We’ll send you down with the mic and the camera. Do you know what? I could really piss you off on it. Yeah, if there’s a media invite going, you can do all the ones in Ireland and I’ll do that one. Good one. Does that sound good? Now that I still owe you, actually, I’m surprised you haven’t pulled me back. Andy Ogle Tree has got his live card. And I told you when Andy gets his live card back, we’d go to a live event. Ah, yes. Next year’s the time. I knew Andy would pull through. Spot him. Spot him an old man through my little lens. And I was like, “Ah, he’s the man. Keep an eye on him.” Live Adelaide. Live Adelaide is the one to go to. live Adelaide stuff. Yeah. No, so but if anyone is looking, just check out Irishgolfer.e for that um the event in Turkey. You’ll you’ll find it easy enough there. And uh yeah, that’s it. Like heroes and villains. We might as well go in. We Come on. Enlighten me, lads. Heroes and villains. Oh, I’ll tell you what we didn’t talk about. It’s the big news that’s just after dropping. Oh, Luke Donald. I see Donald. Yeah. Christ on a bike. Yeah. Jesus. Yeah. Captain B page. It’s bad. It’s news that’s just dropped. and uh while we’re on. So, this is breaking news for us, but not for anyone listening to this cuz it’s a few hours time. But no, it’s a great move for the tour. We highlighted in the magazine this month that it should be uh you know, it’s been talked about to death and it is a really good move for the European tour. It makes absolutely perfect sense. Sorry, M. It makes it makes Yeah, I was going to say it makes perfect sense and it’s great from a great from a European team point of view, great from a European fan point of view and fair play to look for for taking it because I mean he could ride off into the sunset now be hailed as an absolute wonderful captain, you know, did wonderful things for European golf and that would, you know, and nobody would ever nobody would ever think badly of him, you know, again thereafter. He’s putting that on the line again by going to by going to Beth Paige, you know, into the lions into the lion’s den, winning a as Mroy said in his post uh post RER Cup pref press conference, winning an in away Ryder Cup is the hardest thing to do in golf at the moment. And I think Luke could Luke could go there and I mean sure if if if he wins or if Europe come come really close and put a you know put up a great performance then I mean yeah it strengthens strengthens his credentials but it’s not going to strengthen them by a whole lot. His his his stock is already extremely high. So you kind of say the most likely way it’s going to go is go go go down. So fair play to him. full kudos for for taking the responsibility, putting your head in the chopping block, nothing but admiration for the man. Yeah, I I think it’s a real positive move. I like it’s I I do agree with you. It is a risk, but I think it’s a risk worth taking for him. And I know it’s part of the strategy going forward for the DP World Tour. This will be two-year cycles for Ryder Cups going forward. Um even if the Liv guys get to come back, I think it’s a much better strategy. you blood yourself in at home. Statistically, there’s such a far greater chance of you being successful as a home captain. You’ve made some mistakes. You go and you learn and you build and you go away. And it’s a it’s a full United captaincy that’s done it before. You know, the reactions of different times. I spoke to McKinley about this and he will be involved um in the next RDER Cup. I he wouldn’t say will it be a vice captain’s role or anything like that, but he’s actively working. Now, something that the European tour didn’t really have was like uh a proper strategic plan, an away strategy for the Rder Cup. Like they had plans and they had this, but they didn’t work in depth on a strategy for away Ryder Cups, like a template like they have for a home rider cup. They tried to transfer the home template away, whereas it needs a separate strategy. He’s already working on that and I know from talking to him that um yeah around Luke Donald and Luke Donald getting involved. I’m nearly certain Luke wants Paul involved and it would not surprise me if he is an official voice captain for getting involved in this. And it’s something I never thought I would see McKinley getting back in and doing something in the Way Rider Cup. I I think when you see guys like that coming back, when you see Luke Donald committing so far out, Europe are in a really strong place with the team, we have the nucleus of the team, what we can add to what we did before. And Luke Donald would not be doing this if he did not think we can go there and win. And I do think we can go there and win. And I do think we will. Like it and Havlin are going to go to live and it’s all doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. That’s the thing. Like it’ll all be changed. like it make it makes perfect sense to bring in the I suppose a two-term captaincy now considering like we have lost a generation of potential captains and obviously with Justin Rose wanting to play in two years time he’s obviously not going to be a be considered but um like there’s the argument that Luke Donald could easily just rock up and Beth Page back with the same team like there’s no massive overhaul that’s needed compared to when Harrington rocked up with an aging team like this team can all go again what did you bring Bob McIntyre to New York. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. If he play Well, if he qualifies if he qualifies automatically, then you have no choice. Well, you can’t I’m only messing on fairness to him. You can’t be unfair. No, listen. I agree with you. I agree with you. But yeah, it’s a good it’s a good point you bring up there because yeah, even even if things do come back together again and the guys who left for live are potentially eligible to captain a side again, I mean, there’s too much kind of there’s too much gone under the too much water under the bridge there for the likes of for the likes of Ian Palter. You know, there’s been too much there’s been too much said. There’ll be way I mean, there’s no way you could have a harmonious team room, I don’t think, with Ian Palter and Rory Mroy, you know, in the same room supposed to be teaching telling Mar what to do. It’s that’s not going to happen. I don’t think so. It’s a bridge too far. Definitely. But no, it’s good. It’s a good move for the tour. I think I think it it all builds up really well. It’s a nice long cycle. Like it’s mad like we’re only a couple of months away from the RDER Cup and we already have our captain laid out. Tiger was quizzed on it yesterday. It probably will be Tiger unless he kicks on and wins this year. Then you think he can qualify like wins next year. He’ll he’ll fancy himself as a player. So interesting to see Tiger might save himself for a dare manner. See he’s he he’s a limick man in the bag this week and all you know way. So yeah, let’s Yeah, Robbie, let’s do it. Let’s see. But um All right. Heroes and villains, lads. Uh, my hero is your man Steve de Meglio. De Mglio that Yeah. Yeah. I just thought it was, you know, cool to see. I know I haven’t followed it too close, but I know he’s been like severely ill. So, I thought it was cool seeing the picture him and Tiger having that embrace in the press room. And then my villain, I’m not sure if it’s Graeme McDall or Smash GC all together. But uh the signing video that Graeme put up this morning where he puts on the Smash GC cap uh made me cringe to high heaven. I don’t know what again I don’t know what Li are trying to like insinuate here. Is it like they’re trying to copy these football signing videos like is is Gmac going to come up and say with a clenched fist up the toffes at the end of it or what they expect like when when he they play the clicks in the team match play thing. Is he going to hold a 44 for Eagle and you know shush the the Clicks fans? Is that what they’re expecting to happen here? But um no, I don’t know. I just thought it was weird in typical fashion. He’s going to do a lot of run the length of the course to sliding his knees in front of Martin Kmer. Oh, stop. Yeah, exactly. I told you so. Now, I would watch that. If you’re trying to get more people to watch, I would watch that. Exactly. Mark Hero, right? Hero. I’m going Luke Donald for for the reasons I just reasons I just laid out. He’s putting his putting his head in the chopping block. Fair play to him. That’s that’s what I like to see. Somebody’s somebody who’s not afraid to not afraid to take a chance. Yeah. Villain. Villain. I actually don’t have a villain. You You go with your hero heroes and villains there first. Now, you can’t be doing that. No, you can’t be upsetting. No, don’t be upsetting the order here. Don’t be I have no villain written down. I’m I’m I’m thinking still. You came out with the iron with the iron fist there before we started recording saying you’re going to do me in. Ah, yeah. But that’s only because you made me your villain last week. Okay. Ran Ronan Mcdamara. Just pure just pure petty revenge. Exactly. Exactly. For being Rovers. I’m not Rovers. Still. Okay. Vill for still clinging on to the fact that Steven Kenny was a good manager. That’s what I was just going to say. Steven Kenny can be his villain. He’s grand. He’s grand. He can do it that way. Uh I have no villain picked out this week. I’ve hero I don’t know whether they’re heroes or villains, but like my heroes are Goldman Sachs for dropping Pat Kley. Uh no hat Pat now has no hat sponsor. So uh it was just all got a bit too much for them. So I think Goldman Sachs will be my heroes for actually taking the moral high ground. And yeah, we’ll just put Kley as a villain because he’s a prick. Should make an approach to Kent Lake. See if you can you know those the lovely Irish Irish golfer beanies we have. No, he devalued the brand even more than having you pair on a podcast. So no, we couldn’t do that. But uh no, I think that’s it from this week anyway. We’ll get a bit more consistent with these. We have a lo like there’s loads of we’re doing a piece with David Higgins this week. Uh we’ve already recorded a few player interviews that we’ll have throughout December when tournaments are few and far between. Uh but yeah, we’ll be getting the band together a bit more often uh coming into the next month or so. And yeah, cheers for listening everybody. Ron and Mark, cheers for logging in on uh a damp Wednesday, foggy Wednesday. Uh good that we got the Luke Donald stuff in when that just dropped as well. It’ll be old news to everybody when they’re listening now. But yeah, good move for the tour. Um yeah, cheers to everyone tuning in and we will chat to you again next week. Bye. [Music] Hey,
