Smylie Kaufman is joined by Kevin Kisner and Dan Hicks to discuss this past weekend’s incredible U.S. Open, and talk about the state of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team.
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in there it is smiley Kaufman for 61. Wow. I’m Smiley Kaufman, and this is the smiley show. Welcome back to the Smiley Show. And we have a great one for you today. Coming off the 125th US Open at Oakmont. I’m Charlie Hume, and I am the only person you’re going to hear from today that is not a member of the NBC sports broadcast team. He is, of course, Smiley Kaufman. And we have Kevin Kisner and Dan Hicks joining us in the wake of an incredible finish at Oakmont. And these conversations, smiley, are presented by our friends at ahead. Today we’re talking about trust based relationships. Ahead builds and manages digital platforms that power the most successful organizations in the world. Their consultative approach, unmatched engineering, and innovative solutions combine to accelerate the impact of technology in every client they serve, as long standing relationships are built on outcomes and experience with both their clients and technology partners. You can learn [email protected]. Smiley. You have incredible relationships with both coaches and Dan Hicks. So here’s where I want to start is just give us a little we’re going to open with coaches. Tease a little excerpt of that interview that you really enjoyed, that you want the audience to kind of key in on. Well, first off, I’m jealous of where he is. You know, I walked out this morning and it was just so humid. The humidity is insane down here in Birmingham and he’s up in the mountains wearing a sweatshirt, drinking a cup of coffee, you know, just getting ready for a nice little golf round in a couple hours. So that that’s a little excerpt I’m jealous of. But just overall insight. You know, he was, of course, as plugged in as anyone last week, being sitting next to Dan Hicks and being on such a, you know, an iconic moment in golf history with JJ big putt at 18. So just to get his perspective of, you know, not only that moment, but just what he observed throughout the day and the crazy conditions. I, you know, I thought he gave a great gave great insight. Excuse me, say I’m very jealous myself. I got to spend a few months in Kasher’s a few years ago and mountain area. It’s just one of the best places in the state of North Carolina. There are a lot, a lot of them that are in this state. So wish us luck on social media. Remember, I think it’s is it remember this week at Mountain Top or was it member guest I think member guest is what he said okay. Well since then some some messages of good luck and speaking speaking of ahead with this like I know we you talk about these trust based relationships. Seriously when it comes to these big time events, you really have to have it. There’s I know I’m kind of leaning into this a little bit, but seriously, when you’re not looking somebody in the eye, I have to have a lot of trust in the fact that they’re they know where I’m going and I know where they’re going, and I’m not leading anybody or I, and they’re not leading me into a weird place. So it’s been a lot of fun working with both of these guys, but especially Kiz, him and I both have a great rapport as far as just talking golf, and it’s been really fun to work with him on the broadcast. And it’s there’s no faking, you know, just overall connection with somebody as far as just being able to talk to him. And, and I have a little bit of that. So that’s been a lot of fun. Yeah. And then on Dan, is there any piece of that interview you want to kind of get people ready for? Well I mean Dan’s just a he’s a he’s a pro the pro’s pro. You know he is. He gets you know it’s really fun to watch a talent like himself have moments like that to where you can really see, you know how good he is at what he does. You know, you have these 72 hole tournaments are a long time to call shots, to send it over to holes to personalize guys. And you know, that’s a career type of moment. And he’s been doing this a long time. He’s had some incredible calls. When you think about Tiger Woods making that putt in oh eight, did you expect anything different. And I think just his insight of how he prepares for big moments like that and calls like that and just letting it come to him, just shows how natural and gifted he is as a sports broadcaster. And also he’s been a great friend and a great mentor to me, to where I’ve been able to go to him more and more over the years with things on on how to improve. But I tell anybody, I’ve been lucky and fortunate to be at NBC to where I just get better by osmosis. Meaning I just get to listen to really talented people. And it’s hard not to get better by just listening to their cadences and how they approach talking on air to, to the viewers. So I’ve been super blessed and Dan was great. Kids was great. It’s gonna be a great episode. Yeah. The three, you have an incredible chemistry both on and off camera. And I think that those are maybe some of my favorite parts of these conversations is just hearing about what goes on in the booth between shots. When you’re off camera and on. Dan, I mean, just we’re going to hear the call in that interview, but just the how about one? I mean, does it get any better in terms of punctuating one of the greatest moments in US open history? So I’m not going to waste any more of your time. We’re going to get started right here with the Kevin Kisner interview. Take a quick break and get to Dan Hicks. Here we go. All right guys welcome back to another episode of The Smiley Show. We got the kids in the house. Another I guess kind of like happy hour I mean we do this enough now because we’re starting to get used to talking to each other. Now we’re just doing on camera this time. But man, we just had a pretty epic US open, man. And just I mean, just instant reactions, man. Just just having a day or two just to kind of digress from what we just witnessed. Yeah, it was a wild day. Dude. I never like during the broadcast in the booth, I could never really put my finger on what was going on or what was about to happen. Like, you were kind of more in the action. We were talking in commercials a little bit. It was just straight carnage, you know, mostly. And then suddenly after the rain delay, it was like JJ spun out of nowhere, has come back, and it’s just like the only guy that can hit a quality golf shot for the last hour and a half. Two hours of the US open and I, I thought the two drives he hit on 17 and 18, like so good showed his resolve from the Players Championship and how he can handle that pressure in that situation. Like you were watching right there in front of him. And like as soon as the ball took off, you’re like, and this is striped. And I mean, it’s just incredible that under the biggest situation in his life, he probably made his two best swings. I thought that was a really cool way to come back from getting completely hosed early on in the front, front nine, and I think it all repaid him when Viktor Hovland’s ball settled one foot behind his ball on the 18th green. I mean, how many times kids have you played in a final group where you’re in contention or even seen somebody else, but you know the emotions of what it feels like of showing up on Sunday ready to go. You feel like you had a great range session, and then you get out there and somehow it’s like not coming out the middle. You’re getting terrible lies. You’re getting terrible breaks. You know? JJ breaks at one terrible highs in the rough and then he hits the flag at two. You’ve been there. What do you think. What was going through JJ’s head through those first six holes where he’s five over through six. And all of a sudden, you know, all these dreams you have of winning a major championship. Feel like they just went out the window and it happened so quick. Yeah. It’s amazing how quickly it can happen. And I know there’s no way he wasn’t thinking like, obviously this isn’t my day, right? Like it’s so easy for that to creep into your head when those things are happening. And I think the reset is such a huge deal for him. You know, I was telling Dan in one of the commercials, like, JJ was kind of out of my picture of winning the US open when the rain delay happened. Right? Like we weren’t even hardly showing them anymore. We weren’t coming to you. And you know, I tell people all the time like, I hate rewarming up. I don’t know if you did when you played, but I hate like after a rain delay or if I practice a lot in the morning and go eat lunch and then I like, want to go play. I never can like get the feels again. So maybe JJ kind of finds, found some new feels and Sam and Scotty did not on on the warm up. I think the conditions obviously played a huge role in the in the I call it kind of the second half of the final round. I think guys were hitting squirrely iron shots, trying not to touch the ground with the water, and JJ seemed to manage that the best, but it was. It was a heck of a turnaround, and I thought it was really cool that you got to be in that group to call those last few shots. Well, let’s talk a little bit about the conditions, because every single step that I took walking down these fairways felt like I was walking in a puddle. I mean, the fairways were definitely saturated. And I’m wondering, you know, with the how the if this was a PGA tour event, kids, do you think the just the overall, you know, committee, do you think they would have sent the guys out or do you think they would have waited for the golf course to be a little bit more playable? I’m just wondering from your experience of playing on the PGA tour for years and years, I mean, it was like 80% casual water in all the fairways. Pretty sure we would have played the ball up on Sunday on the PGA tour with the with the conditions already set and the looming forecast, the PGA tour does a great job of trying to get the tournament in in the in the time allotted. So it sure is a lot easier to go play in those conditions when you don’t have to worry about is this casual water or not? We have arguments like Sam did in the 15th fairway. We just moved the ball until it’s in an area that you feel comfortable with by playing it up. Here we go at Oakmont. Let’s start with the course. What do we know about this course? How long is the rough and does course history come into effect for you this week? The US open has always been billed as the most difficult test of golf there is on the planet. And I’ll l you what, it’s often labeled as the most difficult golf course in the world is Oakmont. Game time decisions only on sports grid. We don’t want you playing here. Can you move positions, do something else? He starts the season like, oh, for 150, it felt like. And finally finds himself in a groove at the plate, hitting 272 what, 15 home runs on the season. Now he’s shipped to San Francisco. What is management going to do? Nobody. Who’s paying you $313.5 million is going to hear anything from you. They’ll figure out a way to get rid of you. And that’s exactly what they did. The early line only on sports grid. Every five days. It’s really exciting when Skenes pitches and it’s terrible watching him pitch, because every time he pitches, they don’t score. Having him hit the lineup probably would actually help. When he pitches. There’s no way to do it because you can’t. But yeah, it’s beyond frustrating. And the numbers would tell you, you know, the books have adjusted Farrell coast to coast only on sports grid. Dialing it back to his old days with Saint Louis and Arizona. Buy or sell Goldie will finish top seven in fantasy first baseman. No, I’m going to say no. I think he’ll fall off all the player here. He’ll fall off. He’ll be top ten, but not top seven here. Top ten I would say I buy a top seven. I’m going to say no here. I think he’ll put up decent numbers here, but not as good as he was. He’s I think he’s in the back. Three 4350 all year long. Fantasy sports today only on sports grid. I don’t know what the USGA high horse on not playing the ball up is. I mean, I know they want to play golf as it is, but is it golf? If the best players in the world are sculling sandwiches, trying not to touch the ground because it’s so saturated or fatting irons and hitting five irons 30 yards left when you know it’s the only place you can’t hit it, at some point the conditions are causing that and it’s not in a good way. Like, I don’t mind conditions causing bad shots. But when it’s something out of your control, like water in the fairways. And you know, another thing I was talking about. And every time I play in those conditions, the ball goes right off the off the face. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But all these guys were hitting it left and I don’t know if they were reacting to trying not to hit it right or what, but every shot for the last hour and a half went left. You know, it’s funny, I was talking to JJ Spaun after his second shot at 12. This is you know, we’re still not in the JJ Spaun mode at this point because Sam Burns just made a birdie at ten. And at this point, after he makes birdie at ten, it feels like Sam Burns is probably gonna win this golf tournament. Just feels that way. After making a big putt at the turn. And then the chaos happens at 11. And then all of a sudden I’m doing the math. I’m like, JJ has a chance to win this and so is Victor. But at the time JJ hits this huge right ball after taking casual water relief. So it’s not like he I mean he probably dropped and it still got wet from dropping. He’s still dropping in a wet spot. But JJ walks past me. He says sidehill lie. Wet ball. Pretty sweet. I was like, yeah, I bet that was pretty tight. I mean, JJ doesn’t hit it. You know, if he if he pushes the shot, it’s going to go like 10 to 15 yards right. It’s not going to go Esk right. You know right. It’s not it’s not good I mean that’s how far right it went. And then he gets that amazing break where he gets on top of that mound. But to your point I saw everything for the most part go left except for that shot. Yeah. So you know Sam on 11 Scotty skull it. And then Sam’s wedge shot on 12 going. I mean, the only place you can’t hit the ball on 12 is left of that hole, and he’s got a sand wedge in his hand. Just puts it in terrible spot. Actually hit an unbelievable chip but then missed the putt. And I think that’s when he kind of got rattled at that point like yeah 11 happened. And now he thinks he’s about to get one back on 12 and he makes six. And it’s like man, maybe I’m not going to win this tournament. I mean what’s going through your head as a competitor that anybody other than JJ Spaun right. So JJ Spaun makes you know that 40 footer at 12. He makes a what is it, a 22 footer at 14. Then he makes a 65 footer at 18. I know those those last four guys we’re talking about with Spaun Hovland, Adam Scott and Sam Burns. Those are the four guys who we thought were going to win the golf tournament. Heading into the day, when you see all that kind of happening as a as a player, do you just tip your cap to the guy that just finds a way to get it done? Or are you just like, man, that just seems crazy to me how somebody can make that many feet of putts in six holes on the back nine of a US open? Yeah, I think you tip your cap and you kind of understand it’s his time, right? Like, you know, those things happen to you or I when we’re playing and we like love it and don’t think about how lucky we are. We just expect it. But as you’re watching from the outside, it’s like, dude, you never you could have a small bucket back there and never make that putt on 18. So it’s your time. And you know, I think like I said, it’s kind of making up for what happened early on in the round. And like a lot of people say it all. It all works out over time. And it worked out for JJ. You know, he made more putt feet of putts in the last six holes than some people making a whole tournament. So exactly. He definitely deserved it. And I think you tip your cap and realize that, you know it’s his time. All right. So when he makes that putt at 18, I know you probably maybe seen that putt a time or two during the day. Of course we just saw Victor make the putt. But what were your percentages as far as what you thought JJ’s chances were to just two putt? Because I tried to teed up the best I could that I thought it was a hard, hard, wack putt. Yeah. You know how we are in the booth. We’re, like, scribbling notes back and forth to each other while we’re on the air. And basically, Terry Gannon and Fax had put up like 5050 on two putt. Right. And then, you know, I’d seen that putt probably ten times throughout the day. And most guys were getting it within 4 or 5ft. It wasn’t like it was impossible to get to a makeable second, but I kind of could. We had the same camera angle on everybody’s putt, so I could kind of tell when it crested the ridge whether the speed was good or not. And so I’m Dan is kind of leading as it’s rolling like, you know, needs a two putt to win the US open and it crests the hill. And I’m like, oh man this is perfect speed. Like it’s not going. It’s a two putt right. And I just stick my thumb up right in front of Dan’s face like it’s good. Yeah. And because I know he’s got to make some crazy big moment right there. If it does something good and none of us, nobody in that booth was thinking, this is going in, right? You’re not thinking it. No one in America is thinking it. And so I’m like, what is dad going to say if it goes in as it’s rolling and hits the pin and he goes, how about one? And I thought that was the coolest call ever. So kudos to Dan for being out. That’s why he’s so good at what he does. And he filled in perfectly in that spot. I would have been like, what just happened? You know, on air. And then incredible watching him go after that. Yeah. It’s incredible. It’s incredible to see that he can just roll with it and know the situation. And that’s why he’s such a good guy at that. But yeah I would say 50 over 50 on three putt is what we were guessing in the booth. I wanted to see like the inside cam reaction of all four of you guys after the putt went in. I just wanted to see you guys just, you know, stand up and just try to keep your composure knowing that Dan’s got this call. But at the same time, you probably just witnessed one of the most gosh, I don’t know if there’s going to be anything that ever tops it on an 18 green for a long time for a major championship. The one that comes to mind for me is the 2008 on Torrey Pines with Tiger Woods. The putt he had to make. But golly I mean, where does this stack up for you, dude. It’s got to be at the top for me to win the first major win the US open. Like I don’t even remember. I don’t even know exact footage of the putt, but it had to be over 60ft and it went in like a two footer. Dude. It was like perfect speed, dead middle. I mean, it’s just incredible to me that, you know, when you saw it, I saw another angle from the other side of the hole. And I know you were talking it up about how hard the putt was, but it breaks a lot late. Oh, God. Yeah. And I mean, it was out there like six feet left of the hole at one point. And I’m like, how did he know this was going in? But I mean, it went in, it would have gone in a thimble. And as far as I’m concerned, you know, Tiger’s was incredible. And we see that putt roll how many times. And it’s bouncing all over the place and goes in. But you know situationally knowing what JJ was trying to accomplish in his first major championship, I think it’s probably top of the list. Well, I was listening to the conversation that JJ had post golf tournament, talking a little bit about something that him and Max Homer were talking about, that I guess Max learned from Tiger that said that, hey dude, US opens, you basically just try to hang around on the back nine and even when you think you’re out of it, still just hang in there. That that goes for probably very few amount of events. Kids like when you think about winning on the PGA tour and what you have to do, you can’t take a couple holes off and expect to win a golf tournament on the PGA tour. But when it comes to a US open and a very difficult golf course like this, where does how do you go into that with the correct mindset to be able to come out the champion, because very few are able to win major championships, and it does take a little luck at times, but also just just hanging in there. Sometimes it’s the best, best formula for majors. On June 25th at 7:30 p.m. Ditch the guesswork. Ben Stevens, Kevin Walsh, James Young and Tom Vecchio have your NBA draft betting coverage. Pick by pick, bet by bet. All night long. We got all the insights and expert analysis because betting blind isn’t a strategy. Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. On June 25th. Only on Sports Grid. Astros have awoken. Maybe they are the best team out in the West because like a rooting interest for me, I’m always the Mariners. Hey, they’re finally getting the hitting back. But now that’s starting to slide. We can make the case for the Rangers. They again they showed some things a team that Rangers you and I were both very high on coming into the season. They make a shot for the wild card. But I do think it’s going to be a two team race between the Astros and Mariners. And that’s really about it. Yeah, it’s a shame. Pro baseball today only on sports Grid does a guy like Giannis fit onto that roster. If you can make some of those changes I just don’t see a K.D. Pursuit as being realistic for the Knicks. But hey, if they can pull a rabbit out of a hat as Leon Rose oftentimes can, I’d go after Giannis in a heartbeat. It’s just you know, what type of package could they entice for the Milwaukee Bucks. And is it a 3 or 4 team trade. It gets a little bit tricky in that regard. You see the Knicks there with a plus 340 price. The early line only on sports grid. What a kid say about the king. All I asked him I said I want you to put yourself in Keegan Bradley’s shoes, and I want you to tell me what your mindset is as a golfer heading into, you know, Ryder Cup selection. Are you more or less nervous about playing well week to week to try to make this team, or do you feel like it’s, you know, I just go out and play golf and wherever the sticks or the, the chips stack at the end of this is, you know, we’ll make a decision as a team, it seems I couldn’t exactly get a feel for it, but kids kind of was at the end, just basically said that nobody’s going to be able to tell him to play on the team. He’s going to have to decide for himself. Yeah, that’s that’s been his response when I’ve when I’ve asked him about it. And so that’s this is a TBD to be determined. Right. Just to see how well Keegan continues to play. I don’t see him backing off. I think he’s just in a great spot in his career. I think he thinks it’s kind of cool that he’s the Ryder Cup captain and is good enough to play with his side, you know, potentially. So I don’t think he’s going to back off. I think that’s going to be really interesting to see if he ends up playing at Bethpage, where he used to sneak on when he played at Saint John’s as a kid. I mean, you know, that’s a great storyline. That’s going to be cool as well. I personally think he’s he’s he’s one of the best 12 players over the last two seasons. I think he should be on the team. I think if it was any other captain, they would look at his history of how much he’s played at Bethpage. He fits the profile of a perfect teammate. He’s a great locker room guy and of course he’s the captain. We know this, but I’m selfish in thinking that because the Ryder Cup is different than the Presidents Cup and that there’s four matches in the morning, four matches in the afternoon on Friday and Saturday, it’s different than the Presidents Cup where there’s five matches going out and only two guys sit. Really, he could play in the morning both days on Friday and Saturday, sit in the afternoons and captain and then go play Sunday. It’s it just seems it seems like it would make sense that you always have a bunch of guys sitting. Some guys don’t even play in a full day. Yeah. And let’s not forget that. Let’s just say he is a player on the team and he gets out there and God forbid he doesn’t perform well. And then you’re going to hear about, you know, everybody saying, oh my God, I can’t believe he’s trying to take on all this responsibility. Yeah, he was playing well and probably deserved to be in the top 12. But it’s very clear that Keegan Bradley can’t you know, you can’t captain and play the same time in this event. I mean you know but that’s the thing about the Ryder Cup right. It’s the armchair quarterbacks at home that are going to sit there and second guess everything. And you know the losing captain of a Ryder Cup is it’s a tough position. It’s I mean how many times have we seen these guys just get roasted. And it’s really not their fault. I mean you can just go on and on and on about pairings and the deep dives and the analytics and stuff. It comes down to those three days. How are those guys handling things? And sometimes we get a little bit too much into the numbers and go, well, he should have put so and so with so and so. It’s sports and they’re either going to make it happen and perform or they’re not. And some of those younger guys that are coming up are either going to handle the moment or not. So that’s what makes the Ryder Cup the Ryder Cup though. Can you imagine the first guy to tee off in the Ryder Cup? A playing captain Keegan Bradley on the tee? I mean that that is exactly what I want to see. But yeah, yeah, I would I would see Keegan get in there and do the, you know, the club spinning around and you know the place is going crazy and just pipe it down the middle for team USA. The New York fans just shotgunning beers at seven in the morning after he tees off. I mean, it’s just doing the beer bongs, the whole thing. I mean, that’s exactly what this event is going to be. It’s gonna be chaotic. I’m excited to work it. Gonna be walking up. That’s not an easy golf course to walk. Now they think about it with the hills out there. So get yourself in shape for that one. That’s right, that’s right. Rest it up. That’s right. And then a week later we’ll be having a kid. So congrats on that. Awesome. There you go. Well Danny a lot of fun this US open. Happy Father’s Day to you. And gosh we’ll see you next I guess the Open Championship where we got plenty of storylines there. Who’s your pick on the way out? You know, I have picked literally for the last two I picked at the Masters, I picked Shane Lowry, I picked him for Oakmont. I can’t go with him again at Portrush. I mean, I could, but that would really be pushing the envelope. You know, it’s probably going to be one of these guys trending. It’s I love that golf course though I absolutely I have not been I cannot wait. You’re gonna love it. It’s my favorite in the rotation. Now Saint Andrews is special. The town the whole thing. And that’s that’s off. That’s kind of in its one category by itself. But the ruggedness and the feel of Portrush. So you know what? Hell with it. I’ll go with Shane Lowry. I think he’s going to get it together. I think he’s going to he’s in the storyline doesn’t write itself better than that. I mean, you know, I wish I could say Rory, but I don’t know where he is and I don’t know where he will be by then. I hope he I hope he starts playing better and kind of gets everything tied down a little better. But I, you know, so, so on the record here smiley this this will be played back on on one of your podcasts. The Dan Hicks went with Shane Lowry to win at Portrush again. Mike drop there it is folks. There it is. I don’t even want don’t even need to watch the open. Make sure you watch turn on your TV. We need the ratings so just keep it on so you don’t mind. Correct. All right Danny. On June 25th at 7:30 p.m. Ditch the guesswork. Ben Stevens, Kevin Walsh, James Young and Tom Vecchio have your NBA draft betting coverage. Pick by pick, bet by bet. All night long. We got all the insights and expert analysis because betting blind isn’t a strategy. Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. On June 25th. Only on Sports Grid. The Minnesota Vikings J.J. McCarthy, who had such a good training camp last year and it looked like he was pretty good, I believe in the preseason, if I’m not mistaken, ended up going down for the full year. The Vikings are still obviously committed to him. They knew that McCarthy was going to be available at some point in June, and McCarthy actually went on record last week and confirmed two weeks ago he was cleared medically. He did work last week and he’s going to be their starter. Newswire only on sports grid. I’m with you and that you’re going to have to take calculated risks. And that’s what Leon Rose has been about since he’s been here. And he’s been measured. He hasn’t been gung ho in terms of mortgaging this franchise’s future for immediate gains. They have had a prudent approach, and you’re going to have to roll the dice in certain respects to get to that top level. And you’re right, Donny, when you look at next season, all things considered, you hope that they’re healthy. And if they roll over, say, 85 to 90% of this roster. This is a top three team in the East with Boston coming down. You know Milwaukee is going to come down. And so you have to figure it’s going to be Indiana the Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers and some sort of order in the preseason rankings. And so where they go from here. Jason Kidd is obviously the hot name right now. Things are the both sides are interested from what we’ve heard in terms of Kidd and the New York Knicks. Is he that championship caliber coach to take the Knicks there? The early line
