Bruce, Sam & Tom recap the highs and lows from Harding Park, and the superb return to Major Championship golf. An emphatic performance from Collin Morikawa as well as Englands own Paul Casey, trash talking by Brooks, whiffs from Rickie, and confusion for Kaymer!
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watch this [Applause] [Music] no way [Music] [Applause] hello and welcome back to the Cookie Jar Golf Podcast i am Tom Mills and today I’m joined by Sam Williams hello and sir Bruce Fitzpatrick hello how you doing Bruce how you doing nice to nice to have you back on the pod yeah a temporary intervention um I’m all right actually mate yeah halfway through exams nearly uh can nearly see the light at the end of the tunnel um how how about you boys yeah we’ve been we’ve been kicking on without you i mean a lot some interesting feedback from our listeners people think the episode quality has gone up in recent weeks so um kind of under a bit of pressure I think today to add some value um leave it with you though yeah the the word count the word count’s gone up but the actual substance has declined a little bit is from what I’ve heard sounds very very fair no Callum today where’s Callum gone uh Devon hasn’t he i’m not sure he’s uh there seems to be two part- timers in this podcast and they just take it they just take it in turns that’s actually uh slander but which I’ve been learning about my law exams this past week that’s nice you’re learning something sorry Tom you’re going to tell us about our social media channels as always you can get in touch with us at Cookie Jargolf on Instagram Twitter Facebook and YouTube smash that like button subscribe and do all the things that Rick tells us to do the PGA is finished the PGA is finished what a tournament i thought it was quality i thought it was absolutely quality yeah it was brilliant i really really enjoyed it it’s a crying shame that there was a eight hour time difference but other than that um I mean you could have asked Yeah you couldn’t have asked for a better um first major after after the lockdown really with a a leaderboard that was that congested with like star studded talent and it going down to the wire it was pretty awesome to watch on a Monday morning it seemed to have everything didn’t it i thought the time difference like you say was pretty pretty bogus that was um that was tough getting out of bed this morning at 6:00 a.m um after going to bed at about 2:30 watching it but the course was good the course tested the players in all the right ways i thought it was it was tough but it was also fair and scorable i actually thought they did a really good job and like you say it was changing every 15 minutes you had someone new at the top and I mean I think at one point there was six or seven players at 10 under tied going into the back nine it was just absolutely staggering yeah it was brilliant wasn’t it the course looked incredible as well i know i mean some people were saying they weren’t sure about Harden Park going into it but that just looks like an incredible part of the world and an incredible course to to play as well like those huge high cypress trees and uh it just looked like they did a great job like it wasn’t a silly score that won it in the end was it 13 under but um it you know they got the setups right dayto-day some days were pretty challenging and firm other days well yesterday at least was really scorable i think what was really nice about sort certainly yeah that yesterday the last day was um had the to the way the the course was set up is you had those scoring holes in sort of one to seven then they had to grind their asses off for about seven holes and then they just give them all the scoring opportunity 16 17 18 it’s really made it for quality golfing because people got you know sort of a lead but they were ahead in the groups and then they watching the leaders come through at the end it Good stuff proper proper golf and it did look good i would have I’d often opinion Rod that says those cypress trees you could put them on any golf course on the planet and it would make it look stunning as well i mean the actual holes themselves were I mean it looked long they were hitting a lot of club in some of those holes looked really long and I know it wasn’t that warm but it looked absolutely stunning with those cypress trees but anyway Mora what a performance i mean yeah it was some golf wasn’t it i mean to yeah to to eagle 16 in that fashion well he chipped in two holes before didn’t he so he chipped in on 14 and then eagle 16 um and to play that standard goal shoot 64 to win your first major is pretty outrageous 63 was it 63 i thought it was I thought 64 but I’m Yeah maybe had a puck for 63 on the end whichever way it was staggering uh he had a 64 on the last round and he looked like a true veteran though as well didn’t he i mean obviously won the work day a few weeks ago uh which we chatted about when he beat JT in the playoff but he’s just looked like the sort of consumate professional he’s been out there on tour for years rather than you know being a pretty fresh-faced college kid he’s the I mean the statistics don’t really lie and I guess in some sense it’s actually not surprising that he’s gone and won in that fashion because there’ve been signs coming for a long time it’s just to do it so quickly is is probably the surprising element could he be the next Tiger could he could he be the next tiger do you think Bruce i mean it’s putting you on the spot here like you know can we can we can we inject some hyperbole into this pod i don’t know in in in the interest of saturating the audience with clickbait you want me to say “Yeah I think this guy’s going to go on and this guy’s going to go on.” rival tiger lowbudget amateur podcast in the UK says Moraua is gonna dominate in wood that’s exactly what I’m tearing you up for Bruce um the budget isn’t low the budget’s quite expensive just thought I’d let you know low content I should say um but he was so he was super sneaky wasn’t he he was he he was only two under on the way out it was just all seven pars two birdies he just sort of snuck up cuz he wasn’t anywhere near the lead really in the uh the start of the day and then just sort of lit up on the back with the four under and that eagle on 16 eagle on 16 usually sharpens the card up in my experience doesn’t it um yeah I was quite I must admit it’s easy for me to say I felt really bad for Casey watching it because I was riding quite a hefty bet on him as well all that all all day on the final day because I thought he was obscenely undervalued at 20 to1 for a guy who was playing better statistically than anyone else in that tournament that week it seems to be in a really rich rain of form yeah we should say on that note shout out to Chris Trot who maybe pricricked our ears up to uh that a few weeks ago certainly looked absolutely deadly with the driver so um all credit to Chris Trot but I felt really bad for him because I I think a lot of a lot of air time goes on Westward and Monty for some of the greatest players never to win a major and you know Casey’s got more major starts than than Westwood for a kickoff and I I genuinely thought you know he really he went out there with the with the name to win it he played good enough golf to win it with the exception of Morocawa who really just turned on the turned on the gas didn’t he on the back nine and I’d have loved to have seen him win it and also you know hats off to Casey watching him get interviewed when I think Mora had 10 foot left 10 foot left for Bley on 18 and he just you know he was obviously disappointed but he was also you know kind of really gracious and humble in defeat to Mora and just saying look the guy’s just an unbelievable talent and that was that’s hard for anyone who must want a major more than probably anyone else in the to sit there and say that you know to some kind of upand cominging reporter yeah he’s got a massive smile as well i don’t know what toothpaste he’s using but his teeth that’s wonder if that’s tailor made as well but they are absolutely gleaming he just looks so calm doesn’t he you know he didn’t look Not that he ever did look rabbit in the headlights but he just looked so composed he looked like he’d been there hundreds of times kc just you know he played very very very well 66 on the final day of a major you think that’s going to get you a job done but just can’t can’t account for a 64 from a a monster yeah i mean he made one bogey didn’t he i think one bogey on 13 yeah one bogey and that was just a bit of a missed club and went a bit long with a chip it was a it was a near faultless round of golf really he played superb so I was a little bit disappointed obviously a little bit disappointed the bet didn’t come off as well but there were some really good performances speaking of bets what else did you have your money on then Sam uh yeah so some of those weren’t quite so hot so I took a spread on Bizadenho um quite fancied him to sort of sneak in under the radar with like a sort of a make the cut and go sort of I don’t know 67 or something on the last day finished tied 20th so I think the spread was at 48 obviously if he missed the cut then I was paying out hefty and he missed the cut so that wasn’t so good fowler let me down i’d climbed into Fowler a week or two before oh we have to discuss We have to discuss Fowler so well go on then well he’s missed the cut by one yeah plus two mhm did you see his whiff okay so he’s at a a six we’re calling him on an air shot here yeah called him on an air shot no he called himself like he missed the cut because he went to tap in a 6 in putt and missed it on 18 he’s basic no no on some other hole i I forget the the whole number but he’s gone six inches past the hole like and he’s gone he’s still walking as he goes to tap it in and he kind of goes to stop but he doesn’t stop and he just nudges it about an inch and he looks up everyone and goes “Oh fuck.” And then taps in and then he end up missing the cup by one that’s [ __ ] unforgivable that’s insane isn’t it so that is outrageous i think Sam Sam get on the Blair and say you drew a bit of money back for uh because was it was it a spread on on him as well that you put no it wasn’t a spread i just uh that was just a straight straight eachway bet that one um back to your point though you look at the you know the old head on young shoulders of Morau you can’t imagine him doing that sort of stuff there’s you know despite being young he doesn’t look remotely blasze being able to pull off a 6-in air shot with a putter is pretty uh pretty unforgivable on that stage i didn’t know that that’s that’s um high quality research Tom it was the par four sixth hole and he just ran it by by six inches went to tap it in and missed it basically he basically nudged it half an inch did he take like a really long swing or whatever in aggression and or frustration and he’s going to try and we’ll retweet this and um and you listeners can check it out but it’s a video like he just walks past nonchalantly he’s still moving you know like he’s he’s walking up to the ball he’s still moving as he goes to tap it and then he thinks he obviously backs out of it and thinks “Oh [ __ ] I shouldn’t do this.” But nudges the ball misses the cup by one criminal criminal when you consider that the cut was only what seven shots off the lead i mean it was very tightly bunched wasn’t it it’s not undoable is not you know yeah and and Fowler’s a bit of a savage as well in tough conditions so he could have easily made some inroads on that Saturday I think but yeah but obviously I was tracking this cuz I also had money on Fowler so [ __ ] ruined my day i also um chucked a tener on Bobby McIntyre yeah that was probably about punchy by now but I think we’re getting carried away here on the cookie cookie jars attempts to get Bob McIntyre and Bzad now on this car just know no bounds do they well he’s tried every other avenue we can’t get Bobby we We’ll keep We’ll just bet on him until he turns up suffice to say the the betting accounts are in poor shape um although I did have Morocawa i um Is there anyone you didn’t back is there anyone you didn’t back Tom i had I I put six on for this i had um Fleetwood um Morocawa Fowler and then I usually go for some outrageous ones sort of rich beam to make rich beam to make the cut that sort of thing right so couple of things then um couple of questions running through my head one Rory what’s you know what’s going on isn’t he gone out to the media today and said I’m just not playing maybe I’ve just played my best golf and it’s not there anymore no he didn’t say that something along that something along the lines of that seriously keker I think yeah well well we’re going to come to keker but I mean we’re going to get to all these things yeah so there’s some serious questions in my head because there’s some big questions Maroy just doesn’t seem to have any There seems to be a fairly large absence of energy and general gusto to go out there and get the job done i’m sure the guy’s trying but it just doesn’t look convincing does it he doesn’t really look like getting anywhere near contention i think if Mroy had sort of one tenth of Brooks’s swag he might he might have a chance but it just seems like he’s lost I don’t know it’s not I don’t want to say just confidence he just doesn’t seem like he he doesn’t look like a man that’s going to go out there and shoot a six under when every time he goes out there he just looks he he didn’t hold a single part to be fair to him over the whole you know like like Tiger Mroy is one of those players that can be in any position and gets a shitload of air time and I’ve watched a fair bit of the golf he just didn’t hold a p you know and he still he had that spell there didn’t he but yeah but this is the interest thing because you say he’s not bad and I still do believe he can light up a golf course in a way that not really anyone else certainly only other a handful of other players on the tour can actually do and he proved that on Friday I think in his midway through his second round there where he goes through a spell of making four birdies five holes but they made seven um Yeah yeah and of course that’s that’s poor obviously to then go and make a triple bogey on the back of it uh I just think as you say this but there’s probably a bit of mentality at fault there um and I mean it just seems like he’s pretty I mean dare I say he just seems like a pretty well balanced individual who’s got a pretty good life and you know he’s happily married he’s got plenty of other interests as well he’s pretty eloquent and speaks very well on the podcast and clearly takes on the podcast and takes an interest um in politics and charitable endeavors and loads of other things maybe he’s just doesn’t desire it as much as he once did um whereas you look at Kkera who okay it didn’t pay off for him but I’m pretty sure you know most people would have been if they were backing anyone they would have been backing him on Saturday night to go on and do the business the next day because he just seems like quite a sort of single-minded arrogant individual when it comes to winning majors which is what I think you really need to be to go and win these things i mean Shambli I know he makes a couple of weird calls but um he said that in the past and I think it’s pretty spot on like Maroy just seems to be interested in in other things and majors don’t seem to maybe motivate him to the same intensity as they once did maybe that’s a bit of a random or outrageous call to make but I’m just chucking it out there bruce it’s interesting you say about Brooks and I’d like to sort of pick your brains on this um there seems to be a fine line between confidence and arrogance um where do you think I mean Brooks treads it poorly um why do you think he comes across the way he does as opposed he’s a lot more he seems to me certainly a lot more arrogant than confident i think his tones maybe part of it like his actual tone of voice is just pretty flat and sort of lowflying bomber but an American style of it and I just think he doesn’t really make any effort to indulge the media or or maybe give a more revealing or candid interview that someone like Maroy will i mean MRO I think actually when you when you kind of look into the stuff he says he’s he’s generally like pretty honest in fact I’m sure some people would say he’s too honest when he you know goes and says stuff that he did about Trump a couple of months ago or you know these comments that he’s made since the PGA finished where he’s like “Yeah maybe my best golf is behind like those seem like the kind of thoughts and self-doubt that we all have and a lot of people have and he’s just verbalizing them and and letting people know that he feels this way whereas Kepka and I think a lot of other people would more go down the route of like fake it till you make it and put up a front and make sure that no one can sense that weakness and I just think yeah Kepka like I agree with you Tom I think he does go too far sometimes when he’s basically saying that DJ who’s his mate hasn’t um got a good record in closing majors like that’s probably goes goes beyond the point of being confident doesn’t it so that would be my take well we’ve got a little clip loaded up so I mean let’s just hear that for a second in terms of you know sound bite from Brooks with uh with the interviewer on I think it was Saturday night when you take a look at who’s around you on this leaderboard when you’re going for such a historic moment of three straight PGA championships what is it going to take out of you tomorrow to get it done just play solid golf just do what I’m I’ve been doing i feel like I’m right there um you know I just need a solid round and you know a lot of the guys in the leaderboard are you know I don’t think I’ve won or um I guess if only I guess DJ’s only won one um but I I don’t know the other guys that are up there but um you know a lot of experience I guess is what I can bring to it and know that I’ve been in this position quite a few times uh over the last couple years and um just play well well it’s what what it is just I don’t think Rory or anybody else would have a pop at other players it’s absolutely obscene that he would come out there and just go “Well no one else can do it it’s just me i am the only person that can do this.” It’s like [ __ ] off mate and then if you’re gonna come out and shoot like a whatever he shot whe over or five over it’s like you just look like a [ __ ] yeah but I don’t think he cares i actually don’t think he cares and and I think that’s what you’re saying isn’t it Bruce so I think Maroy is almost in his sincerity trying to answer the journalist questions i.e you know why you’re not at the top of the leaderboard this weekend it almost tries to pick it apart allah Gio Valante VJ Singh why are you the world’s worst putter almost in that same same same sense whereas Brooks I think it’s quite a calculated move i’m just going to throw shots to these guys because I know that this stuff then ends up on Twitter and on Instagram and it gets reported in other you know junk articles and podcasts of this nature that then get perpetuate the same story and actually it just becomes more of a caricature he’s he’s really pally with people like DJ I think still isn’t it there’s a lot of crap spoken in the media about it but you know he’s pi with these guys and you know I actually think he’s probably quite a nice guy but I think he consciously tries to throw shots at people like that because he probably knows in his heart that that might throw them off the game as well and also like you said it’s fake it till you make it like I don’t I try not to stand on the first tea and tell myself I’m a bad golfer or why I’m not playing good he he’s taken it to the nth degree and said “I’m going to put myself on you know the world’s biggest platform in golf and tell people why I’m the only person that can close this out this you know tomorrow.” He knows there’s a level chance that there’s other people that can beat him but you know I think it’s a calculated move on his part but he managed to talk the bookies into bring him as the favorite exactly because it works it has some value but yeah it’ be interesting to get your take on this Sam because I was maybe a little bit too young although I did watch him growing up but I was probably a little bit too young to see a lot of Tiger Woods’ interviews or really understand what he was saying at the time when he was dominating but from what I gather he was almost quite similar in the way that you know he would not really allow people to look behind the curtain of what he was actually thinking and I mean Butch Harmon tells this pretty fascinating story of of Tiger essentially like struggling to sleep the night before he won the Open in 2000 because he feared Snapok and it left out of bounds on the first and yet you would never ever during his prime during his pump hear Tiger given an interview which didn’t convey anything other than just supreme confidence in his abilities um and I think Kepka’s the same and he’s it’s just yeah to someone like me I find it absolutely extraordinary that the guy is able to say with a straight face comments like he did prior to the final round but it’s very strong chat isn’t it let’s be honest well yeah the one the one that the one that really sticks in my mind which I think is far worse than anything he said at the PGA this week past um was what he said back in the autumn of 2019 so last year around about the time the playoffs kicked off and he basically said “I don’t see me and Rory having a rivalry because as far as I’m concerned since I’ve been out on the PJ tour I’ve won four majors and he’s won none.” And I’m just like if you were actually a sort of levelheaded sane individual Brooks you’d know that you’ve been a professional since circa 2011 12 when you were scrapping around on the challenge tour and Maroy was winning majors and world number one so that is just an absolutely nuts take on things but it clearly has worked for him hasn’t it i mean he’s able to like gee himself up to go and win these these major championships and his swagger is unreal it’s It’s scary to watch him on the course and I think linking it back to Tiger is a wrong example i I I’d say look at boxing now you would never see a world heavyweight fighter going into the ring in a conference before trying to fight explaining to people why it’s quite a close one and why he’s a really good fighter and to be fair I am really struggling with my left jab i’m a little bit out of shape but you know hopefully I can get it done i mean I’m I’m hopeful i’m going to give it a good shot you just wouldn’t see them do that they trash talk each other i don’t know i think it adds to the uh adds to some of the excitement of it and I I genuinely think the guy knows what he’s doing like I’m watching him there coming down the back now with Casey and you see the substance of the guy because I’m I’m a fan of Brooks you know I’ll openly admit it i really like the guy you can see the substance of the guy he was dialed in on getting his getting Casey round with a view to winning it he wanted to see him win it you could see Yeah 100% tom you’re shaking your head he was walking down He was walking down the fairway on about the 14th or 15th and you could see he had this really relaxed demeanor he was trying to engage Casey in like a funny story and they were having fun out there and they were talking and they were joking and I think it was just before he hit that slightly slightly strong shot into 15 i think it was before the short par four um and you could just see that Brooks was out there he knew he had to finish the tournament he knew his chances had gone but at the same rate he wasn’t checked out of the round he was there thinking I can still provide some sort of a purpose in maybe maybe getting Casey around who’s probably a a close pal i know that’s a bit of a punchy statement but well it’s just a flat out guess really isn’t it no I don’t think it is mate you never see these No no hang on you never see these guys give each other the time a day out on the course why would Brooks on the last four or five holes of a major tournament when he’s playing with the guy who’s leading the tournament want to engage in a funny story in the middle of the fairway unless he felt like he was playing some pine at least trying to keep the guy relaxed and grounded because he would have known this was a big deal for Casey i I’m sorry no I definitely think there’s mileage in what you’re saying there Sam um drawing the analogy with like a boxer or some kind of martial artist where Kepler you know much like Tiger in his past wants to compare golf to some sort of like militant aggressive pursuit and it’s like Elkington you know joking about Tiger calling calling his gym a kill house or the practice range a kill house it’s like you can actually imagine kept doing the same thing and to make another educated guess which again I’m sure I’ll come in for abuse and just utter critic ism from listeners and you blo but it could well be the case that Kepker was actually a perfectly affable friendly individual who was chatting away making jokes back in 201213 when he was struggling on the challenge tour and since he’s you know retreated into this singular focus of of of not really engaging and you know bigging himself up and making these very contrived arrogant statements then he’s gone on to play incredible golf and become you know world number one a four-time major champion and all the rest of it so if it’s working for him like yeah maybe it’s a bit sort of bizarre for everyone and the golf media to to listen to i mean fair play to him if it works then he should keep doing it i I agree Ruth i agree and yeah I mean it adds some excitement to it a lot of And also there’s a lot of people I think that feel like there’s not enough passion and enthusiasm for the pros and there’s a lot of kind of you know fairly generic behavior and I think in in that landscape Brooks bring brings a lot to it so I know it’s exciting the other question I wanted to pose before we um move on ever so slightly do you think Tony Fenau has perhaps put behind him now the kind of the dreaded Sundays it was a really strong showing actually yesterday he looked quite confident out there he was attacking um did B I mean did did playing with Bryson maybe focus his energy in a slightly different direction than previous tournaments the guy’s got a truly hideous record of closing tournaments well mate he’s got a hideous record of winning really i mean I know that sounds pretty extreme but he he hasn’t won an event has he am I right puerto Rico Open yeah well is that really a PGA Tour event i mean it’s highly questionable isn’t it you know you you gave me some stick for thinking that Sam Sneed had a legitimate 83 PGA Tour victories i mean is the Puerto Rican Open the equivalent of sort of the Texas State eightball back in Sam Sneeed would have claimed four wins for that one for every day he led um uh no but I mean if we’ve just you know insulted fans of Tony Fe now and golfing purists in one stroke um what yeah what I will say is I guess it’s it’s hard to really know for sure whether he’s put it behind him because I guess he was always chasing he was always chasing Casey and Moraua he was never out in front with the lead on his own um but yeah I mean he he plays a pretty exciting brand of golf doesn’t he i think it’s just maybe yeah it’s just just a question of of showing you know more in the way of minerals and getting it done i know that sounds absolutely brutal and dreadful to say from the comfort of the armchair but yeah he just I I guess he just doesn’t look like someone who’s going to go out and grab the tournament by the scruff of the neck like a Brooks or you know Morau have done i’d disagree with you Bruce i think uh he birdied the first two holes he was nine under through 10 it’s he shot a 66 one bogey so it’s not like he didn’t go out there all guns blazing and he had loads of looks to it he hit nearly every green on the front so when you say he was nine under through 10 holes not on that round though what did he start he started at six under didn’t he uh he started with Yeah he started with Bryson so six or seven three under three under through 10 through 10 n which would have been there or thereabouts in first at the time maybe a shot back or something yeah the bigger question mark for me without wanting to you know draw a line under the feno discussion because I am pretty uneducated when it comes to feno i just for one reason or another I haven’t followed that much of his goal but DJ um what do we think about him there because you know he’s obviously got a fairly poor record of 54ole leads in majors and I guess you add the sort of hyperbole or the rhetoric that Brooks and the media were throwing around on Saturday night probably doesn’t help things but where do you guys feel this most recent performance puts DJ in terms of your you know your your future hopes that he goes on and closes a major and adds to his tally of one which is pretty extraordinary given how much he’s dominated the regular tour events he doesn’t look as prolific as he did a few years ago does he do you remember when it was it was the ultimate kind of bomb and gouge scene every tournament he seemed to rock up to he was throwing darts with wedges and he just looked unbeatable and it doesn’t look quite that at the moment I would say i mean he he was leading on the putting stats for the first three days i don’t think he he putted okay on on the last day but not great um he there was nothing it just sort of seemed to almost wither away a little he did some of the right things but it just didn’t it just didn’t happen i don’t know whether if that was a different tournament i mean it’s it’s very easy to say with the benefit of hindsight that if he was teeing off with a four shot lead down at Harding Park on the last day of the PGA he would have won well obviously but then probably wouldn’t have shot the same scoring shot and all things being equal and all that sort of stuff so um you know many times in a major if you’re going out as the 54 hole leader you’ve got a pretty good chance of closing it with what he did but he didn’t really I mean the cameras were off him by 16 weren’t they i think he actually put it out of bounds on 16 then drained a a reload from the from the hazard and and made birdie but yeah I’m not sure i don’t But back to the point there’s so much so much column inches going into these different subplots so for each golfer we’ve there in the last sort of 33 minutes or so we’ve basically recapped all of that kind of hyperbole and clickbait that goes alongside each of these tour pros you know your Matthew Wolf the Bryson they’ve all got their little stories haven’t they that everyone latches on to in the media and it’s naive probably to think that the golfers in some respects don’t take some of that home with them so I’d be amazed if DJ doesn’t stand on the first tea thinking that there is something different about a major tournament whereas Brook stands on the first tee thinking majors I’ve got a better chance of winning this than anyone else i’m sure there’s some self-belief there and as we know um you know self-belief is everything particularly in a mental game like golf so yeah I think I’d maybe have a more positive assessment of DJ if he’d have gone and shot well where did he start he started at nine under if he gone and shot three or four under okay if he shot four under he would have been in the playoff but he shot three under he’d come second on his own then you I think you could maybe make a case to say well yeah like you know the guy was just got unfortunate because Colin Marau just caught fire and just blitzed everyone on the back nine but to shoot what did he shoot one two under i think he finished at 11 wasn’t it i think 10 I think to shoot that score okay so he finished at 11 to shoot two under a day where you know the sort of top page of the leaderboard was probably averaging three under three and a half maybe probably at least three and a half wasn’t it because there was plenty of four unders maricos had six under he just again he just I think you boys are just kind of missing the point though i think the point was his third round no his third round was the outlier so he’s had a 69 a 67 in the first two and a 68 in the third round so you’d say on typically you shoot 60 68 average two under he’s had a 65 in the third round but he’s had a 65 in the third round which has suddenly propelled him to to top of the leaderboard but that’s essentially an outlying performance his average performance isn’t that low so if you if he’d have shot 68 68 68 and then a 65 in the final day to get within two you’ll be all be saying “Oh he made a real good charge.” But actually he just played it his outlying round was in the middle which happened to make him clubbass leader leading the final round then he regressed to the normal yeah i mean that’s a that’s pretty interesting way of looking at it i mean these guys they all do well when the when the flat stick’s running hot don’t they you know and I mean criy Matthew Wolf would have actually probably given it a fair charge if he’d hold a few of those putts coming in as well he would apparently he actually would he was just missing like four or five footers for fun essentially absolutely ludicrous he was absolutely once he got in shape with with an eagle I think on that 10th he started flagging everything for about six holes and I was this guy’s just going to come out of nowhere and I know you’re a huge fan Bruce of um George Genkas and the wonderful work he’s done with Matthew Wolf and his swing i actually am though i actually am and and his uh you you I mean I know you believe he’ll probably be be certainly certainly bigger than Brooks and Rory and possibly Tiger in in future years um okay you’re stretching it a bit far now but he actually gave it a bloody good run all in all we could go through every single one of these players it was a fascinating tournament um and it was just just shows the difference of having a bit of major golf there watching you know the world’s best and and you know ran a really good layout and a really good course it was a it was a fab tournament all all all hats off to the PGA absolutely any other notables at all Tom i think we need a a mention to poor old Martin Kimmer oh no yeah i mean it’s such a shame to see him sort of up near the top of the leaderboard after round one and then just you know getting these Did you see his post round interview where he talked about how lucky he was to be alive and how fortunate they were as golfers honestly like he was like giving it the how fortunate they are to be playing golf and just to be able to have homes and in lockdown you know things are so bad and they’re so lucky and he was just like this picture of let me guess was this after his 82 or after his 64 after his 606 so he’s like four under the top of the bleeding board you know he’s just saying how wonderful life is and then goes and shoots a 12 over well I heard he’d been watching um old game tape of his wins in 2014 when he won the players in the US Open and um was the man in form that year because you know understandably I guess it’s easy to lose sight of how you know good you are and lose a lot of confidence and so that clearly worked wonders for him um when uh when he went out to play on the Thursday but I don’t know whether he was watching you know my round from the Stableford last Saturday or something before he went out and played on the Friday because to shoot 82 straight on the back of it was dreadful i mean just try and contextualize those numbers in an amateur golfer in your head i I’m assuming a 66 round there on what is as tough a setup as they’re playing roughly in a year probably equates to maybe a 62 63 on a stock PGA event give or take probably wrong but let’s let’s take that as red that is an enormous difference that’s like I don’t know me shooting 75 in the morning and then going out and shooting close to a ton in the afternoon yeah yeah i actually think it would be that extreme to be completely honest at that level at that level it’s obviously they’ve got a much tighter dispersion in terms of their scoring it’s frightening but he uh you know four under details on it the shot yeah he’s four under um and he starts off bogey okay that’s a shame steady the ship p okay I’ve steady the ship i’m still three under triple bogey bogey double bogey bogey bogey [ __ ] me i want to die p well at least I’ve steady at least I’ve steady the ship bogey bogey bogey that is just dire so he’s only actually had a triple and a double in there he’s not done a Who is it he’s bled out into an 82 he’s taken a stomach shot call it wound to the stomach it’s a triple a double and nine bogeies yeah is that just hitting it in the rough chop out hitting in the rough chop out what oh well you know I might drop him a message and seeing if Ka wants to join me on some of my lessons and maybe we can start doing some I mean if maybe if it’s loft or something that we can start working on together that might Okay yeah so on that on that not so subtle um hint by Sam let’s actually talk about another big bit of news that we’ve got coming out of the podcast which is one of our members Sam is decided to embark on a uh swing change yeah it’s big big big bold move been thinking about it quite a bit for the last um certainly for the last week and a half um I’ve had a I’ve had a tough three weeks where golf’s just felt a lot more brittle than than I would have liked and the ball’s just going nasty low nasty low it’s getting lower and lower and lower i’m getting steeper and steeper and steeper it’s getting later it’s just hitting it later still getting round but it’s just thinking I’m never going to never going to get lower can’t get any better unless I invest in this is that basically sorry to interrupt you there but is that basically just sort of code for saying that you played with one of our friends he made a comment about your technique on one on one hole and all of a sudden it just came crashing down you just No I’ve had a I’ve just had a I’ve just had a shaky few weeks at the game like we’ve all had it where what feels really good and what you’re working on all of a sudden has turned I’ve kind of gone full full sort of other end of the spectrum so I’ve always been a you know bit of a slappy left to right hitter all of a sudden it’s got these nasty low quick hooks can’t stop coming in steep everything feels shut so I’ve sort of sat down and poured my heart out to the local club pro and as we all know club pros they if there’s one thing they find fascinating it’s the members golf they are obsessed with it they want to know the details of every round um and they just can’t get enough of talking about it so that’s quite helpful because I managed to sit down with him for a few hours talking about it and we’re going to try and work on getting a bit more loft on the face so and and and I think probably changing some of the swing and and and try and maintain a bit of height um you know keep a bit more keep a bit more weight through the left side so it look it it promises to be quite a big program of work over the next six months i’ve uh I’ve gone in with both feet on the lessons and because I’m always I mean I don’t know maybe some of you boys certainly I’m looking more to maybe Tom on this one than than you Bruce i know you’re a bit of a purist but I I’ve kind of gone in both feet on a big program of lessons for the simple fact that my tendency has always been to have a lesson get some quick results on it and then that kicks the problem down the road for a significant length of time so then I never commit to the long-term change so all joking aside I’ve kind of financially committed myself to the point where if I see some quick results from it I’ve still got more work to do if that makes sense good yeah that’s really good stuff what’s the goal don’t know we want to get better at golf don’t we all of us so I’d like to get my handicap down i’d like to start playing i mean main thing is I want to be able to play tougher and longer golf courses and feel more confident in getting round in low numbers and at the moment I don’t feel like I can do that with a long game so um and and just tighten up on putting and short game the whole lot really so um it’s it’s foolish to expect to get a better result by continuing to do more and more of the same thing isn’t it so I figure if I can improve the physics of the swing then maybe that will translate to scoring but here’s here’s hoping i’m certainly not spending my weeks um under candle light tinkering around with putter equipment alakal um that feels like a bit of a race to the bottom although he did put very well with his new um his new contraption oh he’s not interesting talking point yeah um do you not think it’s an odd time of year to do a swing change with the club champs mid-season club champs coming up i mean let’s take a step back let’s not make it about me let’s make it about the When people when you say a swing change people say someone’s going to go through a swing change what the hell does that mean as opposed to improving technique bruce where’s the cut off point point do you know what I mean yeah that’s a fair point i think um yeah the way you phrased it there probably gives Tom and I and and the listeners a sense that it’s a big undertaking and you’re going to maybe work on some things that perhaps don’t feel natural to begin with and you might suffer a slight dip in performance in the short term um but I totally get your counterpoint there which is if you’re not happy with how you’re hitting it at the moment then if you improve the aspects of your swing that are deficient and producing the bad ball flights then you know in theory you’ll get good results pretty quickly i think yeah the the fine it’s a fine line between as you say improving technique just making those little modifications and going down a big sort of overhaul and I think the reality is like 99.9% of club golfers should never really be going down the overhaul route because you know it’s just it I guess it involves a huge change where you’re not really able to go out and play you just got to hit balls and practice and that’s in the reality is that’s not what you need to do you’re just trying to as you say go about a systematic way of making these improvements and making sure they stick and I think that’s brilliant like honestly hats off to you i think uh it’s it’s a great thing to do because far too many people out there you know just want to kind of muddle along with what they’ve got and and that’s cool because golf means different things to loads of different people but you know trying to access a higher level um by committing to a plan of improvement a really admirable thing to do so uh it’s tough isn’t it because there’s different elements i mean I I’m only using myself as a reference point here but I’ve got better at getting around my home course i I feel confident getting around because I know where the misses are when you know where the misses are it actually becomes quite easy to play for those misses sometimes certainly when you’re under the gun you can be defensive without being disastrous and you know when you can attack so that’s good you know I’ve got parts of my game that I can always fall back on but you know if you want to take it seriously and genuinely start to make some bigger improvements then you know short of kind of you know mental mental game improvements and strategy you know you’ve got to start to look at the phys physics of the swing so um and and we’re going to do it in increments like I mean you know it always goes full circle with this pod we talk about people like um you know particularly our previous guests but linking back to Troty’s kind of comments when he says talking to people you know equipment you know fitters and and and club pros it’s like look you know you’ve got to talk about what feels relevant for you and there’s some things that I definitely don’t want to work on there’s some things I definitely do want to work on and it’s about you know what’s great is the the pro I’m working with is kind of has an understanding of where I’m looking to get to short medium and long term so he knows that the next sort of six weeks there’s quite a bit of competitive golf and therefore let’s not just rip everything up and and and and completely bin the swing off but let’s try and make some kind of small incremental improvements so it’ll be good i will certainly look forward to boring him with the improvements over the coming weeks or or not as that might be the case and perhaps even our listeners but um so yeah that should be interesting um keep us posted definitely definitely other bits of news we’ve got uh another one of our previous guests out in Bandon Dunes this week your pal Bruce oh yeah L Lucas is out abandoned playing in the US um so he’s made the long trip over from Australia so yeah we’re obviously wishing him the best of luck um in playing a kind of US amateur in slightly strange conditions but nonetheless an absolutely incredible venue and having seen the photos he’s um put up already I’d highly encourage you all to go out and and check him out on Instagram because it looks like a hell of a place and uh I’m sure he’ll do very well he’s out there until uh until after the masters as well so he’s got he’s got quite a nice few months of golf to look forward to and spend a bit of time with um some course architects out there and everything else what else have we got planned any other news out there um yeah so the Rose Lady Series came to a bit of an unfortunate end due to the fire at um I think it’s Cobb Common uh just down the road from Wentworth so that looked like it was going to be a well it was all set for a thrilling few days of golf um but sadly it wasn’t to be but I think nonetheless it was a brilliant initiative that um Kate and Justin Rose put on there to to run that event and get the uh ladies European tour or certainly you know um the ladies who are playing in Europe geared up for the return of the European tour which I think starts next week with the Scottish Open um so that’s a that’s an interesting bit of news look forward to seeing how that all pans out yeah we were saying weren’t we last week it’s been a good advert and they’ve got um Trun going ahead at the back end of August as well so that would be um that’ll be another great event to watch really i mean it’s a great course isn’t it so um be very exciting yeah slowly we’re getting back to normality of sorts seems that way doesn’t it we’ve got a bit more major golf to look forward to lip service to Andy Sullivan winning um down at Hamry Manor he he he absolutely dismantled the field didn’t he he won by six or seven strokes I think service is such a sincere way of saying well done i love it i think it’s not we’re not going to talk about it in depth are we so lip service when I was already committed to watching the thickest end of eight hours of major championship golf on Sunday as much as I would like to have watched Sully get it done at Hamry Mana I simply did not have time in my schedule yeah um and I I would expect there’s a large number of others which is a shame because it’s probably it is definitely a very well- earned victory um for him and something I know he’s absolutely chuffed with um and they’re off to our first victory first victory in four years but you know if the winning score is like 27 under you know it’s not a course which inspires a load of uh enjoyment when you watch it because okay he won by like seven six seven strokes or whatever but if everybody’s shooting 20 under doesn’t doesn’t look like it’s going to be great golf does it well they’re off down to that lovely uh lovely mudbank on the side of the M4 in Wales aren’t they uh next week so that should be uh that should provide some bit of a spectacle oh is that why but um No you’re being silly you’re being silly Bruce it’s a Ryder Cup venue it must be good no it’s cracking it’s brilliant lots of water lovely heavy claybased soil have any of you played it no no and that is I mean literally our argument falls to shreds there has anyone played it nah and I’ve played it what was your honest thoughts cuz I we we it’s become a bit of a soundtrack to the pod here of us just like slagging off these Ryder Cup venues what What is the verdict on it as with all Ryder Cup venues they just become Mecca of people who can’t play golf and I’ve spent six hours in a golf course there and when you’re six hours on a golf course you’re never going to derive enjoyment from it so that’s where I where I go with it doesn’t I can’t even remember the get so pissed off by the end that I think that’s the wonderful irony of Ryder Cup venues they’re these horrendously penal golf courses that shouldn’t be played by anyone other than topflight professional golfers and yet they attract sort of all kind of manner of golfers there who literally can’t get around you place you know play you play sorry you pay through the nose to play a pretty sort of boring looking golf course it takes you six hours and to play a course that you’re incapable of playing yeah it really is strange i probably played it when I was a 14 handicap maybe when I played it and I was fully incapable of playing that the the only benchmark I can think is maybe if you’re a beginner cricketer so let’s say you’d go and join your local cricket club because you want to get better at cricket and there’s a lad in you know who plays minor county stuff you know ex- West Indian who’s in the club he has a few beers down there on a Friday night he’s he’s doing some practice in the net it’s like asking him to just hurtle him down at 85 towards you you’re not going to do it bowling machine set on You want You want the lad from you know who works in the pub around the corner doing a bit of pie chucking down there so you can you know knock them knock them out the net but golf completely different cat of fish that ladies and gentlemen that’s completely different i want to go and play it off where you going to play it i’m going to play it right off the backs 7,200 yards celtic man not a problem what you play off haven’t got a handicap only only play six times a year well this is going to be fun isn’t it lads it just makes such little sense which is where I think we all have a disdain for it which is I think that’s why we have it isn’t it and on that um fascinating and imaginative analogy from you Sam um hurtling pies from a bowling machine down the nets um I think it’s time for us to sign off so um thanks very much for tuning in and we will see you next time go low out there adios [Applause] [Music] no way [Music]
