This week it’s a full US Open preview as we delve into the carnage that could unfold at Oakmont. What Rory McIlroy will turn up has he got a chance or is it already too late? Can Shane Lowry find the patience needed to withstand the test as he looks for his revenge nine years later?
There were close shaves for Lauren Walsh and Graeme McDowell on Tour while Darren Clarke teamed up with Thomas Bjorn for a team Champions Tour win and Jessica Ross made it third time lucky as she won the European Mid-Am in Portugal. We also have an Irish Challenge preview with Liam Nolan at Killeen Castle.
[Music] hey everybody and welcome along to this week’s edition of the Irish Gelfer podcast peter Finnen here and joined as always by Rona Mack how are we good mac Mac is back we’re going nicknames now we’re going nickname no we won’t go nicknames um how are you keeping all good all good well I’m surprised you’re here i thought you’d be on your day three of celebrations the Lily White dominating we’re hurling county now the greatest day since Miko came into the county we’re don’t have to bless yourself when you say Miko Dor uh no we’re hurling county now that’s it we’re gone we’re gone full Rexum back to back to back christy Ring Joe Mcdana now lee McCarti name he’s uh targeting us back now taking the doubs this weekend you’ll have to tell your kids to put the footballs away yeah stop we’re We’re living in We’re living in Nace they’re bred with sticks now in Nace that’s it the whole the Hulk there Hurland is pretty much Nace but yeah listen it’s a golf podcast not a golf podcast um yeah just before we get going this podcast is brought to you in association with Flow Gas um if you are in the market for anything gas electricity or solar powered visit flow gas.e um they’ve a great bunch of offers on at the minute uh including Emerald Park tickets if you do sign up with them even if you’re new so does differentiate them from anything else in the market as we say religiously on the podcast they support golf at every level and uh it is good if you are up for renewal just to get a quote off them and give them a chance uh they are supporting golf so it would be good to support them back visit flow gas.ie there we go gas men gas men yeah they are gas men and electricity and electricity um yeah big week us Open week before we get stuck into a fullon uh US Open preview let’s just have a quick rundown on what else happened we’ll kind of flip the narrative a little bit dp World Tour Connor Sim got us uh maiden win uh long time coming that one as well to be fair long time coming yeah I’ve played with him before actually a couple of pros really nice fella really good delighted to see him getting the job done bit worrying for Connor Pcel another cut yeah another co but he he came close enough to making it but uh yeah he’s kind of gone off the boil the last couple of weeks but like since since he’s come back to Europe his performances have been steady so I’m not overly worried yeah yeah and then uh jogging in PJ tour with a Foxy win in Canada um like these will kind of have crossovers in when we’re talking about the US Open only to go deep in it but yeah Foxy won fifth playoff hole fourth playoff hole fourth playoff hole probably probably the worst playoff ever it took him 20 20 tries to birdie a par five that like Foxy birdie this every hole in regulation and then took him four goals to get it done but yeah it wasn’t the best putting in the playoff boys missing puts left right and center but I liked how they changed the whole location though midway through it i thought that was good yeah good event though good event and all always is good prep for thing uh we’ll get into it like outside that Lowry showing signs rory one thing worried me from this Sheamus Power uh with Drew injury he’s just like between his hip before and his back now not good hasn’t got a clean break for the last couple of years yeah it’s not good it’s not good um yeah so it’s we’ll leave the rest for roundup when we’re finished with the US Open uh stuff we’ll get a little bit of delve into um the le I know we Lauren Walsh went well on that and then quick look at live and stuff like that but anyway let’s get stuck in US Open Oakmont talk to me i don’t know i cuz Rack Mroy is not playing well there’s so like there it’s just no buzz when Macro is not playing well i’m expect like everyone seems to be expecting a Scotty Chefer cakewalk and with a hint of carnage at the same time a hint of card this is go like but do you remember Oakmont the last two Oakmonts like the last one I disregard i remember 2016 I remember that yeah 2007 have you looked at No carnage like absolute carnage and yeah Oakmont is there’s very few courses in global golf that are on my sort of short list of I just want to play that golf course uh there was three of them up until a couple of years ago oakmont was up there second winged foot was there and Marion they’re the three global courses I want to play ticked Wing Foot off Beast Class oakmont is just it’s pure debauchery like it’s it is one of the hardest golf courses in the world and it is on juice this week for this this is just going to be it’s the greatest test yeah it totally is like if you to give the USGA like we we’re used to like a good open roa and that’s a that can be a tough test we’re used to going back to Augusta National same place every time if you were to say to the USGA pick one event that you go back to every year and host US Open all day long they go Oakmont they’d go Oakmont and the stats show that like they’ve this is the 10th US Open there it’s three more than any other it’s scheduled in for three more US Opens between now and 2040 I think 2045 um so yeah this is just pure mental it’s the greatest test because it’s more it’s and it’s not a long golf course like it’s 7,200 yards so it’s not overly long no it’s just about having control of your golf it’s penal yeah that is nail on head control like this is the ultimate test of patience discipline strategy and probably acceptance because you’re going to fck a lot of stuff up around Okmont yeah it’s probably the one major that you can win with double bogeies aside obviously Macar won the masters with double bogeies but that was a just a a rare thing h this is the one you’re going to make doubles and you’re just going to have to accept it good little segue into some stats that I have on double bogeies go on 2007 right uh for the week 381 double bogeies first on the PGA Tour the closest event to it that year was over 120 double bogeies less uh for the week average score in 2007.7 which was the highest on the PJ tour by a mile now 2007 I keep mentioning that because that’s going to be a lot closer they have had a bit of rain around Oakmont but they’re expecting this course to get fizzy by Friday they’re not expecting any more storms or weather to 2016 was a bit of an outlier um for all previous Oakmont stagings of this that they got heavy rain it softened the place up wasn’t as fiery still some of the same stats but still like you 381 doubles in and a scoring average of 75.7 in 2007 2016 when DJ won we still had 301 double bogeies for the week which is more you again ranked first on the PJ tour uh the closest one was PGA National to that uh that year and it’s like 70 double bogeies less you know and like 33 others so higher than that like it’s crazy scoring average did come down a little bit 73.56 in uh 2016 still the highest on the PGA Tour though so that’ll give you a scale of how difficult they have set this up in the past and looking at the preview stuff and where it goes it’s it’s it’s the toughest has ever been set up yeah like there’s been videos of the core staff cutting the roof with mowers now the blade doesn’t look to be too low on those mowers yeah um like I even with the rain coming in everyone will be probably slightly disappointed that it’s not going to be as firm and fast as you’d hope but like it it’ll just make the roof even tougher cuz it’s just so unbelievably thick apparently it’s not as long as it was in in the memorial tournament but just by virtue of how thick it is it’s just way more penal uh so I think the rain will probably give an opportunity to hit more fairways and avoid running out and maybe give a bit more control on the greens but it probably will accentuate how penal it will be going into the roof though as well yeah off the te like you were saying it’s not overly long there are some long there are like 7200 yards we’ve seen it go like tipping close to 78 7900 in previous years there are some holes we’ll get into that that yeah flip the narrative on but it is the approaches here once you just finding the fairways is not enough the last four winners at Oakmont have all topped the scales on their approach play greens and regg hitting the greens it’s one thing hitting the greens it’s another thing hitting the right zones these greens are massive and there’s like they’re actually not apparently they’re not playing overly quick in terms of like anything extremely like well players are saying they’re not overly like nothing they haven’t seen before but the slopes are what makes them unbelievably quick so you you have like if you have a flat put on the green they’re actually quite holdable but if you’re the wrong side of the slopes you’re in serious bother i don’t think you’ll see as many puts hold from 20 ft and out this week uh just based on the the break of them and you look at stats from the last few like Cabrera famously came out and said like he won here and he said like his score when he won was plus five by the way like with a birdie on a famous par three yeah but like it was and he basically he famously came out and said I’m a crap putter but nobody held anything outside 20 foot so it was perfect for me for the week but that could suit somebody somebody we know very well on the like you’re talking about the rough yeah it’s like 5 in take rough um but USJ officials have confirmed yesterday that they’re going to get these greens running on the stimp between 14.5 and 14.9 if the weather holds the way it is normal on the PGA tour is about 12 12.5 that is off the charts you add slope into that um it is just all set up for absolute carnage like Ben Griffin said on one of these podcasts if you gave me plus four now I take it i wouldn’t bother teening up just wait and see what happens yeah and like 100% I’d probably agree with like level power wins this now we could be made look silly if it if it lashes rain but I still think they’re set up for protectionist i like this is like the USGA pride themselves in setting this up as the ultimate test um you know I I I like seeing US Opens that it’s not like you know we go back Aaron Hills hosted the women’s what last week two weeks ago we go back and look at like when Aaron Hills hosted its first USJ event in 2017 when Brooks won 16 under was the winning score like that’s not US Open you don’t want to see that like you look at that yeah exactly ever again but even last year Pinehurst – 6 LACCC was – 10 uh The Country Club – 6 Tory Pines’s – 6 Wingfoot – 6 Pebble Beach 13 under and then you go back 2018 Shinikok plus one a test proper stuff then Oakmont minus four the last time that’s when they got even Wingoot Bryson was the only one to shoot under power though for the four rounds so you’re looking at a proper test you’re looking at level power second place there h But yeah like even like the previous US Opens that you said 600s your 900s your 10 unders they’re all grand like you’re happy enough with that but you want something more serious every once in a while and this is be it this will be it this and this is why I’m so excited do you enjoy watching this type of golf like as in back foot golf these guys are normally 75% of the time firing up pins on green lights everywhere 25% of the time hang back hold my score the narrative’s flipped here this is total back foot golf do you like that yeah I like it in the extent that you’re going to see I love seeing players cracking long irons into the middle of the greens i just find that really satisfying which is why I hate the par three that we’re going to get on to later on um I like seeing them struggle i like seeing them have to plot their way around the golf course which obviously leads to those cracking long irons that you often see and lay back a bit like a lot of players I think will lay back this week knowing that the rough is so penal cuz I don’t think you can bomb and gouge this week you just can’t h which is obviously what a lot of US Opens have become associated with but I like the way that power in a hole is a really good score i don’t know i just I don’t know i just find it really satisfying and enjoyable to watch and obviously you don’t want it every week i enjoy the like even at Canada last week 15 16 under 17 under whatever it was perfect fine you don’t want to see going over 20 under into your 30s on the PJ tour it’s it’s a major like this week you want like this is how golf should be played testing all facets of your game this is what you want i love hear lads complain i love hear players complain what are we playing they’re all They’re all They’re all very moody little [ __ ] anyway no I know but I love that they’re put out of their comfort zone like there is a fear there they’re intimidated ruff is 100% like if the USGA and the RNA have dropped the ball over the last 20 years on like losing technology Ruff is the great leveler on a proper design like this uh it is it’s I just can’t wait i’m so excited like I I found it really hard since the masters to get juiced for anything got to do with golf because it was such a pinnacle and the last major was such a major disappointment to in my head um this is Yeah I’m I’m I just can’t wait the one thing I would say about the rough around the greens it takes away a bit of the artistry of the short game like they’re all going to be playing the same type of shots whereas you know when you go to where somewhere like Pinehurst was so perfect such a variety you could put up those runoff areas you could flop it up chip it do whatever that’s the only thing which is why like Memorial was probably such a great test in preparation for this yeah like I I just I think that they’re not used to having 5 in roof around like literally 10 in off the green um so you’ll have a lot of balls run up against collars and sit into things and little collection areas runoff areas no I’m all for it but I get what you’re saying can be a bit just pull the 60 everywhere on one-dimensional but that’s for like long and sideways misses a lot of short misses the runoff areas you’re going to have to see guys taking the low route into these because if you look at some of the mad holes in the like the eight I think it was the second green like insane you’re missing the wrong like you’re gonna you’re gonna see players be borderline embarrassed about some of the misses that they have this week on the Greens and I’m all for that like I love Brandle Shambbley um had a good quote about uh the USG i don’t know who he was quoting someone else but I just heard him saying it on the way in so they’re not trying to embarrass the best players in the world they’re just trying to identify him i like that that’s a good one yeah I really like that um but no rough rough and more rough that’s what I say yeah put them out of comfort zone even without rough this place is insane i don’t know have you looked into the like the back history of this place um of what it was designed to be and built there’s a guy called Henry Phones who was the original builder of this guy was given like couple of years to live pittsburgh man steel factory owner uh and wanted to build like the toughest golf course in America and pretty much succeeded out the gate but he’s a real was a real from reading and looking at stuff online um I put him the like Pat Ruddy he’s a cut from that cloth just a total golf anorak into the game but an absolute satist when it comes to like putting a golf course design wants to punish people wants to reward really good shots but absolutely punish anything that’s not perfection this guy would do exactly like Rody did at the European Club see someone hitting a shot go out in the middle of night there’s a bunker there there’s something there the next week there’s a random stream 50 yards short of the green for no reason yeah like just go out like put handcuffs and all that so the um Henry Phones um was the guy yeah pure Pat Ruddy type and in a really good way like and nothing negative but they got out of the place in the 40s then trees were planted in and grown up it changed the whole aspect of the course and then since the last US Open was there in 2017 to now they got Gil Hans involved uh did a full um full job in this course like removed most of the trees brought it back to what it’s originally designed to be like and has introduced that level of difficulty to do as well so It’s so good i’m uh yeah like as everyone can if listening I’m just so excited just cannot wait for this to get going weather weather looks actually okay i’m looking at a USGA forecast like they’ve had 13 inches of rain in the last 10 weeks and they actually for the practice round on Monday said that the media had to walk outside the ropes to preserve the roof and everything apparently the fairways are absolutely saturated like the weather looks pretty good today no rain 20% chance uh Wednesday 0% chance of rain then it’s 0% chance until Friday afternoon and then it might get a bit soggy over the weekend but by Thursday Friday it could be firm and fast again yeah damage will be done damage will be done the car will be crashed by Friday when the rain comes that’s it they can change tires all they want they’ll all they’ll be running for cover at that stage uh the draw is important here yeah always is yeah the draw is is one thing that gets under we don’t have it to hand yet it’s Tuesday morning here when we’re recording this but yeah the draw is very important that sort of late early if you can get uh an I don’t know i’d probably It depends on the weather on the Friday a late early could be a good late early looks pretty good because it’s supposed to rain on Friday afternoon well that’s when it’s most likely to rain 20% chance uh so yeah maybe late early looks pretty good or early early late you get so you’re teeing off early and you get the course in goodnick on Thursday morning and then the if you can avoid the showers if there’s no heavy downpours and the greens get a bit a bit juicier a bit more receptive for the afternoon so early late as long as not out with Scotty Sheffer we’re on to a winner they’re going to do that oh they can’t I’m sick of it just doesn’t suit him well that’s his problem at this stage you know he’s walking along with I’m the greatest I am the greatest got full Muhammad Ali on it um right we get into runners and riders and um who you fancy what you’re looking at we’re Harris English men well I’ve been on this beating the Harris English drum if you were to give me two outsiders uh for this week Harris Harris English is 66 between 66 and 80 depending on where you go for your odds um I already have him at over 80 to1 through patties um then I would I’m looking at a set straa um alongside that it’s just I think they’re type of players that you need to go for this week yeah are players that just won’t be phased by mistakes we’ll just keep plotting away like the more we talk about what’s required here it’s like if you were to ever build a golf tournament create a golf tournament on like EA Sports on the PlayStation or something like that for Scotty Sheffler to win this is it oh this is it like again controlling the golf ball he’s probably the best in the world at it h like I like I like Harris English and Steps Tracker as well i was looking at Cameron Young’s odds but then I realized he’s a terrible US Open record even though he’s a good major record overall and looks to be back in form Monday qualified for this uh 90 to1 like you don’t often get him that high odds yeah he seems to be coming into a bit of form as well but I don’t think his porter would hold up over the four days though is the only thing like this this is might sound like a wild statement here on Scotty but I think he’s that good if he gets a good draw and he gets a good start and he actually gets and puts pressure in this field and makes lads be aggressive there’s a lot of variables at this i could easily now I’m not predicting this is going to happen but I could easily this could be his 2000 US Open moment when Tiger lapped the field and won by like 14 15 shots this could happen at this golf course we just put up press releases then Saturday Sunday and to hell with this no but if he if he’s a if he’s if he’s well clear by Friday it’s over yeah yeah that’s the fear though isn’t it and he will not back off he’ll just methodically you know work his way around this golf course he is the ultimate chess master but yeah I could be made look silly with a prediction like that but I think he is that good and this course is that difficult that you could see that that is the he’s just overwhelmingly and so comfortably the favorite here like he’s 12 to five h next best is Bryson at 6 to1 then you got Maroy at nine maroy at nine that’s a long time since he’s been he’s been there yeah but rightfully so right oh yeah he he I don’t It’s gonna take a lot more than three days to sort out his drive i hope I’m eating my words i hope he’s up there i hope he gets his act together like I know he on the range at half six this morning yeah with a new driver in the back so he’s gone back now to his QI10 that he he’s gone back to the same setup as the Masters uh which I like hearing um it’s not just the head anyone that thinks it’s the head that he was messing about with Qi35 over the last while yeah he has been he was kind of backed into that corner of doing it but he also was messing around with length he went shorter in his driver trying to take dispersion in trying to do all that and that’s like mid-season driver length changes can be catastrophic and we’ve seen that in Canada he had a two-way miss going on it affects feel it affects everything so he’s gone back to the length that he is used to which for Rory is he sort of bounces between 44 and a half and 45 in depends on weights and setup and stuff like that but no I’m I’m happy to see him going back to the longer length shaft and not not cutting it down a bit um but yeah it it’ll be very interesting with Rory yeah any other any other woman take her fancy russell Henley would be in that league of just A to B kind of getting it up and down scrapping his way around still top 10 in the world somehow yeah it’s I think it’s just more steely characters like I if if he wasn’t as undergolfed um Tyrell Hatton is someone that would stick out to me yeah like he’s just never he’s never really done it in the major never got himself in the mix like and at the PGA there were flashes of I thought that could have been the week that he got himself into the mix like after a round and a half he was flying and then I just he just so easily loses the head and I just don’t think especially at a US Open he can cope with that no I would like Larry is I just worry I I don’t even worry about Larry on the greens this week i worry temperament wise i think he I don’t know he’s not a patient man it’s very easy for me to say behind the microphone but he he’s letting things get to him on the course he’s too visibly animated around things that good Shane Larry when he’s at his best just takes it in a stride walks on onto the next like his ball striking last week was off the charts yeah and he so good he put it decently for the most part as well like this is a like this is an ideal test for him i mean obviously coming second uh 9 years ago whenever it was is testament to that but uh like Ter Green he’s as good as anybody in the world at the moment and look when it’s a course where you’re hitting the ball 20 25 ft away from the pin you’re not really expected to hold puts in that regard so maybe it does suit him we’ll take the pressure off the short stick like even last week he had that unbelievable start and then as he made the turn the puts dried up and everything kind of dried up on him that’s the fear like he just can’t piece it all together for 72 holes at the moment and that’s why he hasn’t won yeah i I think this this week will just amplify the patience patience patience i just don’t think he has the patience i I He has everything but like is there not an element where he knows it’s going to be tough for me but it’s going to be tough for everybody else yeah but that’s it boils back to what I said at the start acceptance it’s it’s it’s it’s very hard it’s very hard um it’s all between the ears like um I’d love to I’d love to see him up there featuring and going at it i just you know I might regret saying this but it’s like Rory I just can’t see it this week i don’t know maroy has a point to prove though yeah I hope he has you know you’re full you were talking about this before pointy elbows coming i hope I hope it does i just I I I don’t know he’s made a ma since he’s won um since he’s completed the Grand Slam like what scared me is uh with Mroy is when he came out his last presser you know he’s doing very few press pressers these days but he came out and he openly said like he’s struggling with the practice what do you practice for that worries me yeah i think he should just he need only look at the fellow next to him like Scotty Schaefer surely your motivation should be to stop this guy from dominating cuz you he’s going to make a stop him doing what stop him stop him trying to achieve what you’ve already achieved that’s the Yeah that’s true you know it’s stop him what stop him today stop him tomorrow it doesn’t matter unless Scotty Sheffler wins all four majors he’s not in the same league long-term historically now he’s at the peak of his powers but it’s just very hard to reassess he’s struggling with that reassess your goals side of things and um which is like understandable you’ve completed golf what’s next you have completed golf yeah you buy next year’s game like when it’s done it’s done but uh yeah that that’s what worries me but because Scotty doesn’t seem to stop and um you know even looking at this this year like we were highlighting the money element of it he’s not phased by anything at all like thrown on like he’s made nearly $15 million this year on course earnings he made over 70 million last year like it’s bonkers what he’s doing but when he clicks like three wins in his last four starts it’s it’s um it’s different level stuff it is different level but he’s he’s won it so easily as well in in those three starts like he’s not really been challenged which would be worrying because like looking at the even like some of the live lads like Kefka not playing well Dustin Johnson’s off the radar altogether Ram’s going okay like he’s he’s top 10 every time he plays pretty much on live and you can read into that what you want but I just don’t know about Ram still is he in Sheffer’s league at the moment probably not like John Ram is nine to one for this tournament which is a bit mad when you compare him up to walk Nean is 25s i I’d be having a cut of Nean i think you said this for the Masters i did i did it’s all set up for him to come what tie 20th or something him and Colin Morawa like we’re naming half the field here but Morau is a good shout good control of his golf ball yeah these are guys that like you know they’re not the longest in the world but they they’ll kill you with precision like so yeah there there’s so many there’s so much this is the one golf tournament that it’s there’s so much more up for chance um that it’s so hard to to pick a winner and stuff like that but yeah like actually just on like we’re talking about lads who are like really strong from Ter Green um the strokes gained as well we always read so much into that just I was looking at Sam Burns thinking like he’s solid everywhere supposed to be the best porter on tour but then you put him under pressure last week and he couldn’t hold anything yeah but the putt he missed in the what the 72nd hole before it went to a playoff was awful oh it was dreadful it was awful put only a sixfooter is all he’s left and he didn’t even didn’t even hit the hole no no he completely shoved it to win so yeah it’s uh No I’m not having Sam Burns no well I you just need to pick You’re going to need to pick a scrapper obviously if you want to put the house on Sheffer put the house on Sheffer and you you won’t even get your mortgage back I’d say at this stage uh but like you want I think it’s going to be down to someone who’s really ready to scrap again as you said acceptance uh par is a good score bogies are not disastrous yeah that’s why in all my writing the stuff down Sept Straa just kept popping up like I do like Harris English this week i do think Lowry if if he can avoid like disaster like I don’t if if Yeah it’s it’s but yeah you’re right it it needs someone that goes in that’s not afraid to get stuck in and will just move on from mistakes spe all the mistakes in the world but he keeps going oh stop no it’s um Yeah what are your thoughts on Bryson i don’t think he’s a prayer this week ah I don’t know it depends what Bryson shows up because at the Masters he started like laying back off the tea and that’s just not his game at all whereas I think if he takes driver on he’s probably the only one who can go in the roof and still gouge to the front of the green if you get me with a wedge yeah but they’re different green this is not a wing foot gouge to the front you’re grand you have I know i’m I’m I’m getting I’m getting to that because if he lays back and hits these irons the way he’s been hitting them with this weird towy draw he won’t be he won’t be able to control his golf ball one thing we called out he has new irons this week so it’s less bulge on the face um which he he won’t have to bludgeon them as hard uh a little bit more finesse to it haven’t seen any of his iron numbers but he definitely has new irons in the bag this week that’s one thing that will He was fourth fourth on Liv last week as well yeah so he should joins Yeah but that’s all well and good but putting them into like a pressure pot of a major championship of a US Open it’s different different gravy like it’s like he can get all the new irons you want it’s clearly a swing problem as well yeah no it is it’s more a mentality it’s a matchup thing as well with him he just he has to try and overpower a golf course even though his touch is unbelievable like we’ve seen it at Pinehurst last year but those those creative shots you’re not going to have a it’s not going to be the same test here and these greens are ginormous um so yeah you’re writing them off i’m writing Bryson off yeah I wouldn’t uh I wouldn’t touch him this week that’s just me i I just don’t like I don’t think he has the game for this test i think he’s one of the best players in the world like and he’s entertaining but I I on this golf course this week I just can’t see it anyone else stick out tommy Fleetwood yeah Tommy’s gritty he just I I don’t know you put her in the bag as well he Tommy Yeah he’s gone zero torque isn’t he yeah yeah he um the spider ET Justin Rose has in the bag as well peter Finnon has in the bag i like like serious stuff that I’m telling you now i plus 5.9 doesn’t say much about my game i’m using Aros sensors plus 5.9 on the greens there on average of the last two rounds that I’ve played and I still am not positive or I’m still in positive in strokes gained across as in I’m losing shots when you add everything else up it’s it’s shocking everything else was shocking like we’re talking about like lads who are really good from TA Green cory Connor is like can’t put under pressure yeah that’s the story with a lot of those type of players as well is the only thing h like I don’t know I like Ben Griffin 50 to1 uh that’s very short for a player like him isn’t it even though he’s flying this year in fairness uh Matty Fitz 66 no no just can’t see aaron Roy first round leader guaranteed each way always is no it’s um like if you finish ahead of Scotty Sheffer you win this golf tournament oh 100% like that’s that’s what it boils down to you know that’s all point even Scotty like I was talking last week about seven wood in the bag he’s uh he’s whipped that out gone back to his three iron his shicks and three iron into the bag um yeah i just can’t I can’t see by Scotty not I just my worry for the field is if he gets a march early like I said it could turn into an absolute he could just run away with this if if people are forced to chase him he could just run away with it but um yeah interesting stats on the Would you actually count the Crypto.com thing that Rory and Scotty would you count that as a win win’s a win win’s a win right well if you count that as a win that that makes it even worse like if you take the whole Premier League season last like the the span of the Premier League season uh Scotty Sheffler has then if you count that win he has 12 wins in that span and Man United only have nine so even without the crypto he didn’t need it he didn’t need the crypto no we that’s bonker stats we’ve had that in the pipeline for a week yeah we sat in that for a while we should have a a segment on the pod where we launch all these stats to make a fool out of Man United every single week and we get I get email abuse saying fan Liverpool fan taking a piss out of Man United yeah but we’re smiling at the end of the year we’ve had great years we’re both champions both champions both champions um No it’s it’s I’m I’m all Yeah I’m I’m full of full of the joys of life looking into this is there anything else on US Open you want to hit on the par three yeah go for it not for me not for me Bill how long is it it’s 300 yards like even Larry and Driver into it in practice morawa hit it in h they be the two highprofile names that I saw i just don’t get it what whole number is it eight I think is it i just don’t understand it like I just don’t It does level out like they have a drivable par four they will take there does one of the par uh fours is only 30 340 odd yards and they’ll bring that they’ll make that drivable cabrera knocked it on actually in when he won what if they make what if they make that shorter than the par three i think it’s the eighth uh yeah but they I don’t think they will i don’t think they do that that would be funny though that I would like to see a bit of that but like yeah like I know like we all hate I don’t like a long par three anyway and I get at the US Open you’re going to get that but like I don’t know just make them crack in a four iron or something make it difficult to hold a green yeah no it’ll No I like I’m all for it i I like that i just think you’re bringing more carnage into the fold like that it’s a test of ego as well hitting driver three driver on a par three to get onto the green know be no problem for Joe Lions loves it um anything else then no that’s pretty much it i think the USGA like I think the days of losing the golf course are long gone I think they’ll get the test spot on again this week and as close to level par is going to win if you shoot level par now I’d say you have a 90% chance of winning i’d say most of the field there’s very few players if you were to say to them now we’ll give you level par now do you want it yes or no there’s very few players that would not see themselves lifting that trophy if you were to give him that score and yeah I’m I’m looking forward to it i’m interested to see how Johnny Vegas gets on why cuz he’s given just non-stop Twitter updates about the rough and about the green speeds and everything johnny Vegas the comedian has more chance i don’t know um right moving on we said we get stuck back into a couple of other things uh we had the le what could have been what could have been after two rounds Lauren Walsh I thought here we go yeah she had the lead after 36 holes first time three shot lead first time she’s held at 36 hole lead in her le career but unfortunately things did not go her way uh third round 77 dropped her back to four under par and even like still she was still pushing still far back like it’s if you said that another way around like she worked her way up to that position you like oh she’s banging this but h obviously she just lost all all momentum level par 72 for a 14th place finish on four under five shots behind Sarah Kuska who won backto-back events on the le 900 par total and a cool winning prize of 75,000 euro yeah it’s mad when you put the numbers up against what they were earning like that was a really good week’s work for you get that for winning a challenge tour event yeah no it was a really good week’s work for Lauren and she like €8,800 in prize money would have cost her half that to get there and stay for the week that and food it’s mad it’s mad i like it’s it it just so needs investment on the le the the talent is there but they just need to expediate how quick they get to the LPGA and get into majors well there’s no there’s no direct route to the LPGA via the LE which is why Sarah Burns playing a lot of Epson Tour golf like if you win the L order of merit all you get is your place in the final stage of Q school for the LPGA so that’s why uh Tambberini Tambberellini is back playing this year like and she’s in all the majors as well but she’s playing on the le yeah it’s it’s crazy it is mad like when you like Lauren Walsh is going to win soon we’ve been calling this for a while this is just I thought this was the week when she got out the traps quick but um it would be amazing if that win is at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open yeah and she’s like she’s trending all year so 100% hopefully a bit of home support would bring her on a bit more but um like every every week they have a tournament she’s a name you’re looking at yeah oh she is totally um pulling away from that roundup as well we had uh live golf Virginia Crushers i thought this was going to be the best best weekend of your life second straight win for the Crushers nean wins his fourth of the season and GMAC GMAC out of nowhere wow pebble yeah it’s funny peaks for the US Open $1.8 million i’m very invested in him getting into the open like qualifying for the open in Port Rush and look like to see him playing well but when actually came push came to shove and he was in the mix he was leading at the time I was a god I couldn’t care less I did not care oh I knocked it on I watched it now with the weather I don’t have a dodgy box you must you must have gone over to your friend’s house for the dodgy box again a dodgy box for this you do you don’t I couldn’t find it on YouTube or anything you download they have an app they have their own app on the telly oh Jesus Nonsense well it’s still working in golf and you don’t even know compared to the Nations League final and then the Canadian Open where Shane Larry was in contention still third best no this was good i did watch a lot of this now they got absolutely messed around with the weather see them like squedging under the fairways like the fairways just filled with water puncturing the fairways that’s what they were doing it was just like spewing out the side the fairway was just vomiting water into side like air and bubbles and water coming out but no it was good but yeah GMAC$1.8 million for second a half a million dollars more i’ve seen you put a piece up in that than he won for winning his US Open oh that would have been Mark mark yeah yeah crazy stuff it is yeah so like the money’s there he’s doing all right i wouldn’t feel sorry for GMAC but yeah I hope he does get into um I hope he does get into the Open he referred to it as a British Open as well yeah I didn’t like that online didn’t like that yeah it’s the Open Champion it’s not good enough you’re you’re trying to win the fans back here and you’re doing that you’re calling off the British Open yeah he he’s Yeah he needs the audience yeah talking to the wrong crowd but um but no like I like really want to see him qualify for the Open it could like probably would be his last major if he did get in just with the way the rankings are and uh qualifying and everything he gave like he gave US Open qualifying a good run yeah he gave it a good jolt which was positive I think i don’t know us Open like it’s the only major that if you win they don’t allow you back all the time you only have your You got 10 years and this last major appearance was the 2020 US Open as well yeah like I don’t know i I’d be they should honor their champions a bit better let them come till they’re 60 like toughest major toughest major for a reason yeah I know but like get rid of the L boys get rid of the L boys but that’s half the battle like I that’s why I like like Augusta like the old boys playing on this golf course would be very interesting because it’s not like length isn’t the thing you know I would like to see you know uh Cabrera te it up in this particularly if it got firm and fast yeah well like the way it’s set up now I like Cabrera’s playing well in the seniors he’s a point to prove you know so and he’s doing well did you see actually this is a funny segue but it was an intentional bringing up Cabera see the putter he’s using Jailbird that pissed me laugh when I seen that coming up using the Odyssey jailbird uh great marketing campaign for super stuff but I don’t know why they don’t talk about it more well I do know but like yeah it was just funny um but yeah no I would like to see some of the old boys like that coming in here because it’s not a brute length test it’s more tactical and you just don’t know you could get a Tom Watson situation again from Turnbury back in the day something throws up like that outside the open is the only chance that they’d get for stuff like that to happen so yeah that’s one trick they’re missing darren Clark winner again winner all right winner all right with with Thomas B rolling back the years i’d say there was some points drank after that i said there was some points drank all week yes post round points uh that 3200 power rounds of 59 58 64 in a in a 54ole team event um it’s a new innovation i wonder who who who will follow up with that uh but no like great and they get world ranking points for it as well did they no I don’t think so they don’t get any um Schwab Cup points either okay but no it could have been like an alltimer of a weekend for Irish golf could have had Lauren Walsh Larry H Gmac and then Darren Clark winning like could have been four or five winners there h but unfortunately just the two boys cool though like nice to see and obviously a big year for Darren as well uh coming back to Port Rush as well so um no good on him it’s nice it is nice like you’re talking about yeah it could have been a big week it’s still disappointing when I look like I’ve brought up Connor Sim there um winning you know you look at the top 10 in that um Dutch open three Scots like we have one Irish man there missed the cut there is a gap I know we’ve blew in the face and like and even you look at Connor Simon Richie Ramsey particularly Richie Ramsey he’s journeyman pro but like we don’t have those guys and you and Ferguson the guys like that as well yeah like we even like a you Ferguson is someone who will win on tour and might get one of those PJ tour cars like that gives you a bit of an excitement something to follow something to get invested in we don’t have that yeah the like the strength and depth just isn’t there you even look at the world ranking now of our elite arms of our high performance panel with Golf Ireland like it’s on the slide it’s on the slide yeah and a lot of that does have to do with the rankings to you yeah which is but like even still like the players aren’t really coming through say that a bit quietly like John Doyle in fairness to him last week looks like a real player he’d be somebody I’d be excited about yeah no I don’t know too much about him you know the last Johnny Doyle I know was a legend he could This guy could be a legend this guy could be a legend in his own right but uh no like John we might as well get on to it like h lost in the playoff at the St andrew Lings trophy and like this is a huge amateur event this side of the water and it was the first event held after like the US college uh season ended so there was a lot of big players coming over to play this and he lost in a playoff after shooting uh like 36 holes in the final day he shot rounds of 66 and 65 to set the clubhouse target nearly two hours after the leaders had gone out um so like he’ll get a lot of ranking points for that Junior Ryder Cup points uh even like if he won that he’d run on the R the Walker Cup radar as well because that’s another concern we don’t really have anybody outstanding for that which is you know another thing that the rankings are skewed 10 years on from having five lads on the team but for two years from having four yeah and we we chances are it’s looking like we’re not going to have anyone on that Walker Cup team yeah yeah it could be an all English team it’s mild which would be mental won’t be much support for them boys no I cheer for the US yeah exactly usa we’ll be out there with our Trump mega hats on usa usa getting ourselves ready for La Hinch for the next one then um but no that’s mad yeah that is mad but but it was a good week in fairness like Thomas Higgins finished in the top 10 he actually held a 54 hole lead in the morning and then went back out in the afternoon it didn’t didn’t go his way at all but um no nice to see some uh face Sean Keeling’s back as well so h hopefully he can have a good season this side of the water only started five times for Texas Tech but did get a win so hopefully it’s one of those things where it’s just such a competitive team to make when he comes back here he can kind of just freewheel and do his own thing and show us what he can do big fish small pond yeah something like that yeah no that’s good and know on talent coming through leads us into you were at the Irish challenge press day yesterday in Ken Castle um and you got a chance to catch up with who I feel is probably the best chance of pushing on and plugging the gap uh already in the pro ranks and working his way up Lee Nolan good chat with him yeah caught up with him for 10 minutes or so uh just kind of talking about the golf course and the venue like the venue in terms of challenge tour like this is creme de la creme like you go into clean cast the clubhouse is amazing golf course is going to be fantastic they’re talking single digits under par is the winning score like the roof is going to be pretty thick h even I found it quite thick uh playing it yesterday and then over overall for his form he’s pretty optimistic about the whole thing he’s very comfortable in the fact that he can take weeks off now that his ranking so strong he doesn’t need to go chasing uh points or chasing starts or anything like that so uh yeah we caught up with him there yesterday and we did a pretty good chat kind of just about all things and even open qualifying is coming up next month so he’s he has his eye on that as well he’s going back to Dund where he qualified before he thinks that’s his best bet as well so just kind of caught up with him there yesterday familiarity yeah so let’s play five minutes of the clip there now anyway and we’ll bounce back on and then we’ll get stuck into the Gary Player villain of the week and the Patty Harrington heroes of the week right so here’s Lee Nolan so uh first off what do you make of the golf course you’ve played here a few times so you must know it well enough by now yeah I mean I love it um in terms of like courses we’re going to be playing this year on Challenge Tour it’s definitely going to rank up there with the best um great test you know off the tea you have to hit it far um and then you have to be really precise into the greens and you know very sloppy a lot of runoffs so it’s going to be a really good test and you know I’m really looking forward to seeing what you know scores are going to come in in a tournament it’ll be a different test as well because like you obviously started really well down in South Africa and that was a lot of plotting away around the golf course whereas here it’s a bit more wide open you can open the shoulders is that something that maybe suits your game again yeah um I don’t think it really matters what course I play i’m still always going to be a plotter so it’s going to be you know precise targets uh trying to get the best angles into greens I can so um you know even though there’s going to be a lot more drivers out of out here than usual it’s still going to you know you’re still going to have to be smart about where you place your ball on these fairways to try and open up birdie chances for yourself yeah and golf course setup as well like the roof I’d imagine will be even longer by the time it comes around in August and the greens are obviously very firm at the moment as well very quick like it’s going to be difficult to hold greens if you’re in the rough and as well like you’re could be looking at a score of maybe single digits under pars the winning score yeah it’s just it’s going to be uh a lot of patience required around here um you know even if you hit it in to within 20 ft you might still have a a big breaking putter or like a big downhill putt so um it’s going to be you know patience and you know just good ball striking that does well around here like this has hosted world class events before solomon Cuff being the obvious one like you look at the facilities the clubhouse we’re in now like this is creme creme especially for the challenge tour as well yeah for sure um as I said like we’re we’re very lucky to be playing here this year and um I would imagine you know in the next few years you’re going to see a lot of really highend golf tournaments been played here and like there’s a big opportunity as well even just aside from even trying to win here which obviously would be amazing and we’ll get on to that but to be the leading Irishman to get into the Irish Open then afterwards like there’s huge opportunity for yourself and so many of the other lads yeah I mean you know it’s probably not something you you’re going to be thinking about uh it’s more of like a bonus after the tournament but um yeah I mean we’re very lucky to have that Irish Open spot up for grabs uh that would be an incredible opportunity to play there but um in the end of the day you’re just trying to you know go and do as well as you can in a golf tournament and you know control what you can and then you know whatever comes after it is you know very very beneficial yeah nice to have your face on the big billboard there in the main room as well yeah i mean you know I wasn’t looking my best cuz it was taken in India and I was bit shook after coming back from there but yeah no it’s cool and I I you know it was a bit of uncertainty over the you know course of the end of last year started this year where I would be playing so now it’s you know it’s nice to have played well and you know uh be kind of guaranteed a full season for the rest of the year and you know faces on billboards and all that stuff is obviously quite nice but uh yeah I’m just you know grateful to Golf Ireland for giving me opportunities uh the challenge store for giving me opportunities and yeah I mean I’m in a very nice position like you’ve played at home a lot before obviously in your amateur career but when you’re a pro and you’re traveling quite a lot do you appreciate it more when you get to play on home soil oh for sure you know every time you’re on a flight back from you know somewhere on the tour back to Ireland I always get a bit getting to be going home so um to be playing a tournament here you know on the tour is is going to be really really fun and as a travel point of view like playing now in this kind of European swing h will you find that easier by ways of travel or is it kind of be going to be more hectic um yeah yeah I suppose it’s easier in the sense that you know the max flight time you’re going to have is 3 hours rather than you know 12 or 14 at the start of the year um but yeah there’s a lot of tournaments that come very quickly so just have to be smart about scheduling um which ones you fancy yourself in which ones you might consider missing just to preserve energy for the season and like from a form point of view you’d obviously had the great start to the year miss a few cuts but you’ve kind of brought it back since and you kind of find that bit of consistency again yeah um yeah it’s just it’s such a long season um you know even when I was missing cuts I was playing quite nicely uh my game’s kind of been relatively consistent you know through all the tournaments so I’m lucky I have a good caddy out there we just you know even when we’re missing cuts we’re still looking at positives um saying you know it’s never far away so uh yeah and the more tournaments I play the more experience I get like it is still my first year so it is nice to you know be playing nice golf this year and be in the position I am yeah you kept the same caddy throughout the year so far yes and he will be staying for the rest of the year uh we get on very well um and he knows my game nearly better than I do at this stage so um you know he’s very good for me to have on the golf course just keeping myself levelheaded we’ve known each other for a long time so he’s a massive asset to have yeah and obviously an important few weeks coming up open qualifying are you into the final qualifying because of last year as well yes yeah so going back to Don Donald this year some good memories there from last year obviously the open being in Port Rush would be awesome to play in because I do love that course but trying not to think about that too much and get ahead of it just go and see uh see if I can produce some good golf in Dundon this year yeah do you remember where you were back in 2019 2019 larry oh sorry i thought you like where I Oh when Lowry was winning uh yeah I do like I’ve been watching it on TV uh I remember the Ole chance on the Saturday when he finished and um you know got off the hippie on the first in the final round and then just played pretty flawless golf from there on in so like you know an Irish person winning an open in Ireland has never happened before so that was very cool to see and you know I play Port Rush a lot love the course so hopefully I can get there this year what’s it like actually going to open qualifying because you know you’re coming up against tour players even some former major winners as well like to be in and amongst that and as you did last year stand above most of them must be a cool feeling yeah I mean last year I picked on Donald because I thought it would guarantee me the worst weather of the four venues which I thought would suit me coming from Gway and it worked uh the it was a tough windy wet day um keeping my ball on the fairway keeping the ball flight low um you know it is kind of surreal seeing major champions playing the same course as you but um you know you can only golf your own ball and I managed to do it really well last year cool best luck cheers hey he seems quite confident yeah always is like classic case of old head on young shoulders when it comes to Liam I think as well yeah but uh like yeah he definitely seems like the one standout candidate to get one of those one of those Deeper World Tour cards come November yeah no it’ll be great we need it too like we need we just need to plug that gap it’s just what’s coming behind him if he does same thing every year but um Right i think that’s it from Roundup uh Jessica Ross won the European European Mid Amateur Champion third time lucky for her as well h beating Aen Walsh in an all Irish uh playoff as well so that was uh good stuff as well over there in Portugal and Stuart Gretton was third in the men’s section as well so overall uh really really good week for the Irish an event that we generally tend to do well in anyway at that level so hopefully over the next few years we can churn out a few more winners but that was definitely well overdue for Jessica Ross i think she was beaten in the playoff maybe last year the year before in it as well so sure kind of had to win that tournament didn’t he play his way into the US Midam yeah I think he did yeah so that like it kind of cuts it’s like he’s he’s running out of road for Walker Cup a little bit yeah but he’s still if he can I think if he can still dominate here he can get in yeah dominate as in win the last two majors and win the close pretty much yeah yeah tough why not ask yeah tough to ask but you know close south north yeah and two two of them are strobe play events though the treble treble go for the treble he’s going full city on it um all right heroes and villains gary Player villain of the week i was actually asked a question on this during the week did we ever explain why it’s the Gary Player villain of the week no you just named it that yeah you didn’t explain why because I just You’re gonna have your tits up on Gary Player because he’s a hateful individual i’m not I’m not into a Gary Player um so yeah that’s why um but go on i went for um Brundle Shambli oh really yeah just I don’t know i know he had a great quote there earlier on and what he just I don’t know i just ranting on about Liv again like give it a rest he um said “I watch live but generally it’s like watching a race of box cars and being told they’re F1 cars phil Mickelson has mastered the public art in which self-righteousness congratulates the celebrator he and his lived compatriots all of them subject to the dramatic irony of having resigned themselves to play purely for money not for history or for their respective countries but purely for money and now present to virtually no purpose their presence in major championships is likely attended by a sense of urgency the exact opposite no doubt of the lack of urgency at live events now in fairness like when Phil made that chip in on the 17th I think on on Sunday I did question like how much does that really mean to you cuz he was giving it the whole like hands up in the air and I don’t know if it looked performant be careful where you’re going here cuz he’s on my list of heroes phil yes if you if he contends this week he’ll be on my list of heroes yeah well just just don’t be don’t be pissing on the praise yeah uh right so Brandle um I have two that I’d like to nominate for villain of the week so one of them is another media outlet Golf Magic in the UK they put up a piece last week and the headline was PGA Tour Pro walks out after nine holes during first round at RBC Canadian Open the most clickbait tripe you’ll ever read in your life it was about Sheamus Power pulling out injured oh was it yes oh to war we go to war we go so not only now are we back in USA in the next Walker Cup we’re declaring war on golf magic your magic’s not real anyway i know yeah but uh yeah so that’s one and then the other one I could piss a few people off with this one now the entire country of Canada and anything to do with having a rink hole in a golf course and you’re not into that not in the slightest i think what about the boss goes at the back of the green with the hats the flags it’s just no and referees and goals and banging on the thing and why do they sing the national anthem when people are walking onto the tea it’s only for the Canadians yeah why could you imagine Irish Open getting a Ron sung at you no this is not What about Ireland’s Call i’d wrap the head wrap the club head around somebody’s head if it was Ireland’s Call no I’m not into it i just think it’s gimmicky it’s like it’s just so it’s it gives me the ick every year it does it gives me the ick and I’m sorry if there’s any Canadians listening i know one or two Canadians and yeah I just I don’t know trump needs to buy the place just like the sooner the better it happens just No yeah we don’t want rink holes on golf uh on golf courses who are we going to give it to golf magic go on yes yes in gone full declaration this is an official there’s a bomb and a basketan and it’s coming their way um right okay uh Patty Harrington heroes of the week i found this diff i thought there was a lack of heroes this week i know you’re probably going to give it to GMAC or someone but I’ve gone for uh WGMAN’s h no gips for WGmans while Arab often sets beat the pro record at the KM Open so uh Jip Wgman’s hip WGman’s Yip WGman’s only started playing golf h three months ago plays off a handicap at 54 but h she won’t beat the pro jip is a girl I think so okay you don’t even know your own heroes you’ve misgendered your heroes well playing golf off 54 for 3 months and winning to beat the pro is pretty cool doesn’t say much about the pro doesn’t say much doesn’t say much to the DP World Tour this No it doesn’t it doesn’t good old Jip off 54 beating them off scratch but the group the group of pros was Rafa Parabelloo David Retto and Dylan Nadu yeah I’ve heard of one of them yeah Rafa that’s it he’s dead like Rafa’s good lad um yeah I’m going very obvious with mine gmac finding form connor Sim 10 months of modest golf or 10 years of modest golf he’s been with him most of that time and he gets his first win i played with him a couple of times before in a few proams really nice fella um really good lad and then Phil the Thrill phil’s back i don’t know don’t know 200 to one this week is he 200 to1 he can do the grand slam this week he can yeah he can do who’s more likely him or Jordan speed can you imagine if he does i’d probably root for him if he was in the mix oh if he was in the 100% that’s the one thing yeah no if he gets the juices going that would be savage i would love to see Phil in the mix i don’t think he will though yeah he does what he does at USGA events just miscut just doesn’t happen um so who we going to give it to then jip yeah give it to Jip give it to Jip for the week so I’m Yeah let’s go on good good i I was going to say good man Jip good person jip WGmans jip WGman’s our Patty Harrington hero of the week they’ll be delighted he’ll be They will be delighted they will be delighted um yeah that’s it for the week we will be online all week obviously Irish golfer daily we’ve probably 20 25 stories going out a day now um during the US Open every angle you need covered you’ll find it you can download our app as well on the app store uh just search Irishgolfer and yeah that’s it visit Irishgolfer.e or keep up to date in all your social channels so from me and Ron cheers for tuning in and we will chat to you again next week all right bye [Music] hey
