John Middlekauff discusses the PGA’s desperation for Tiger Woods to make appearances after missing The Players Championship. John also discusses Justin Thomas ditching caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay ahead of The Masters, the PGA missing the rivalry between Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy’s poor play, and Masters predictions.
00:00 – Introduction
02:21 – Justin Thomas dumps Bones Mackay
11:22 – Where is Tiger Woods?
14:43 – Rory McIlroy has been disappointing
17:13 – PGA Vs. LIV at Masters
Follow John:
https://www.instagram.com/johnmiddlekauff/
Tweets by JohnMiddlekauff
Subscribe to the Podcast:
https://apple.co/3S27Glf
Shop the hottest gear in all of sports podcasting: https://thevolume.com/shop-all-new
Follow The Volume on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/thevolumesports
Tweets by TheVolumeSports
https://www.facebook.com/TheVolumeSports
@thevolumesports
Learn more about The Volume:
https://www.thevolume.com
#golf #pga #livgolf #pgatour #sports
Okay of recording this golf podcast a little goow we are officially less than seven days away from the Masters a tradition like no other Jim Nance on the call Tiger finally playing some golf the live guys the PJ tour guys all together so we’ll keep this semi short and sweet next week
Will be big efforting uh a a guest to come on they might have some Master’s experience and get ready it’s hard to gamble also on this week just because half the of the bigname guys are just kind of tuning up if they’re out of it they’ll check out how much energy do any
Of the bigname guys want to uh basically give out Saturday and Sunday when Augusta’s right around the corner we have a live event this week so we we got a lot going on there some breaking news today Justin Thomas and Bones uh Phil Mickelson’s caddy forever Jim McKai
Broke up which was pretty eye opening Rory and Butch Haron Butch obviously famously known as Tiger’s coach Greg Norman’s coach Dustin Johnson Ricky Fowler a bunch of other guys uh Butch kind of pushed back that it’s not true but I I think those two moves show you I
Mean we got some issues with American Golf and Scotty sheffer’s currently a 4 to one favorite to to win The Masters uh that’s pretty wild but before we dive into some golf uh I got to tell you about my friends the official ticketing app of this podcast go to your
Smartphone and download a little app that app is known as game time game time is the official ticketing app of this podcast you can go to any event maybe not the Masters but NBA playoff games major league baseball games NHL playoff games uh concerts comedy shows
Go do yourself a favor get outside go do something fun and do it on us just download the game time app promo code go low go low and save yourself $20 on your first pair of Tickets I actually was watching I think it was last week flipping around the channels it’s tough like no football on uh the NCAA tournaments not on random NBA games aren’t doing it for me uh I saw a golf channel was replaying the 86 Masters and it’s obviously famously
Known for Jack Nicholas winning his last major championship in his mid-40s and it was it was pretty cool to watch obviously the game is dramatically different I mean he’s hitting five iron from 190 yards these guys now are hitting eight seven iron so the the Club selection but watching him watching Greg
Norman who I I don’t want to say choked on 18 because he had birdied 14 15 16 and 17 to throw his hat back in the ring but he easily probably hit one of the worst shots of his career at a big moment and it it blew it it he
Bogied and Jack won sevie I would say was more of the guy that choked but it was a fascinating watch I mean it was awes awesome Nance at the time was not calling the Masters he just had whole 16 hat Summerall obviously John Madden’s partner forever and there was
Just there’s nothing like the majors and it’s always been like that and we’ve talked a lot about the disaster that currently is professional golf because of the split Phil Mickelson said we’re in this disruption phase this is like phase two or three and I was just thinking like you know in professional
Baseball I remember the strike in 94 when the season ended we’ve had potential threats of strikes and lockouts in football disrupting the seasons it’s never actually happened and it’s a big story but like the fans really don’t care it’s either players getting richer owners getting richer it’s rich people making more money right
Obviously the media loves to social analyze everything of like the little guy versus the big guy like most fans just want to watch the games they just want to know when their sport is on turn on the TV and watch the best players play this isn’t very complicated the
Reason Iowa and LSU got 13 million people to watch the other night more than any NBA final game last year heat Denver is because we like stars we like big events like with this is entertainment we’re looking most people’s lives are difficult have a lot going on obviously financially things
Have never been more expensive they just want to kick their feet up and watch something fun and golf’s definitely lost that I mean there’s no way around it I love the sport uh it’s really like the only hobby I have in my life and it just
Hasn’t felt the same this year now we’ve talked at feels like nauseum over and over feels like we’re beating a dead horse a big reason is the stars have not played that well right JT just broke up with bones who I the gym I go to now a
Couple times I’ve seen him there and not that I got cold feet but I wanted to introduce myself but I was like do I just introduce myself as a podcaster then he’s gonna think I’m just introducing him because I want to have him on the show should I say I’ve really
Enjoyed his work on I I didn’t I’ve had to overthink it I I want to meet the guy uh but I I just didn’t quite know what to say I think I was gonna go with hey man it’s cool you’re on JT’s bag I miss
You on TV you were awesome at it now it kind of feels like he’ll probably be back on TV but to fire your caddy before the Masters when you are quote unquote a top four or five American player is kind of weird like that’s not very normal
Right shows you is not right and I would say this bones is universally like one of the nicest guys in the sport everyone seems to really really like the guy now JT the last year has been he showed Signs of Life early this season but he
Just missed the cut at the Players the other day an event that he had won a couple years ago let’s face it host winning the PJ Championship with bones on the bag which I I don’t want to call lucky because it’s so easy in any situation whether you’re having success
Whether you win a game or you win a golf tournament or whatever to be like well he got some lucky breaks yeah welcome to life right he was obviously way back going into the back nine he shanked one I think on whole six people had to fall
Apart they didn’t he took advantage then he won the thing in extra holes and he’s proven before that that he can win big events so it’s not like part of success is you need a little luck but he’s been objectively pretty terrible since and I I I also wonder like listen
I I think as someone who lost his dad years ago I always think it’s cool that how tight Justin Thomas and his father are right obviously it’s his swing coach and if you cannot turn on the TV you know on a Monday Tuesday Wednesday of a big event when Golf Channel’s there and
Not see visuals of his father next to him and that’s something like that kind of brings me joy when I see but when you separate that you put it from a professional standpoint like that’s got to be there’s a lot going on there right you got a father
Who’s heavily involved uh a very prominent famous player let’s face it bones is a pretty famous caddy and things have just gone poorly now it’s not like bones is the guy directing him how to swing uh changes to make he just tells him yardages and strategy on different shots so bones resume resume
Kind of speaks for itself this is he and listen it doesn’t feel like anything too crazy happened but you never know to to break up the week before the Masters I’m sorry my red flag goes off and it’s waving around right now something is weird and clearly next week he’s going
To get asked about it it’s going to be the number one question that people are going to want to know like you you fired bones or you guys had a separation the week before the Masters but I also think it’s pretty symbolic of like yeah JT hasn’t carried his weight this
Year neither is Jordan Speed neither is Patrick Klay neither is basically anyone not named Scotty Sheffer thank God for Scotty Sheffer or this season might as well been the corn fairy Tour on steroids and thank God we’re two the majors because I like I said love this
Sport gamble on this sport if it was not for gambling I would not be paying attention I mean these leaderboards have such random guys that the Casual fan and businesses are built on the Casual fan because even the casual golf fan can get behind oh Jordan SP playing Scotty
Sheffer and Ricky F those guys are nowhere to be found ever and Scotty schaffler every single week win or lose answers the bell and he’s right there and he easily could have won last week as a two and a half to one favorite do you know how absurd it is and this
Speaks to like tiger back in the day but it’s like everyone keeps talking about it people were not gambling on golf in 2003 like they are in 2024 I’m sorry you had to be a legit degenerate plus the access in the inter it’s completely different now so what I
Love hearing that’s tiger type numbers yeah a tiny subset of human beings ever saw those numbers now these numbers to me like Scotty sheffler in a tournament of 50 people was a two and a half to one favorite and easily could have forced extra holes on whole on whole 72 from
Five and a half feet now he missed the putt just hat tip to that guy seriously you know it’s like for all the that’s gone wrong this year and Phil Mickelson’s talking about disruption like I said with the the lockouts and the strikes like disruption is great for
People involved in the business maybe not so great for some of them but do you know who do you know who it does not benefit at all us like no none of us care about disruption we just want to watch the best players thank God the Masters is here like I’m not into
Disruption I just want to watch John ROM and Bryson D Shambo and Scotty Sheffer and Brooks Kea all playing together and for the first time in a long time we’re getting it because even Tiger Woods I feel like he lied to us he said last
Year I think at the PNC or at the hero champion ship that I plan on playing once a month I’m not even expecting tiger to ever compete again I don’t expect to get the 2019 Masters like okay those days are long gone that’s fine I
Do just like it when you’re in the event it’s just something to pay attention do on Thursday and Friday and you said once a month he said it not us no no one made it up a couple years ago we’re like hey we get tiger the four majors of the year
It’s cool with me and then he gets his surgery and he’s like listen short term it’s gonna suck but long term I’m gonna be healthier then he plays Riv and he gets influenza meets the shits and all of a sudden he’s just Mia and he’s the guy helping lead the
PGA Tour and yaser they’re playing golf in the Bahamas the players comes and goes which I don’t know beside the PJ tour doesn’t own the majors so it’s easily the the PJ tour’s biggest event of the year and tiger it’s not like he even releases a state like
Hey not doing that well or still battling some stuff or not feeling right he just doesn’t enter the event it’s like what the I I heard the bar stool guys talking about it like I’m sorry it’s kind of disappointing it’s our expectations for him are obviously different but he said it the
Expectations were kind of there he was going to throw his hat in the ring of like listen we’ve lost some name recognition we’ve lost some star power that happened I’ll help just my resence helps right I I matter like look at the NBA do you know who matters the most by
A mile LeBron and Steph they’re not the best players anymore but they are by far the most powerful Brands when you put them on television that most people watch but in basketball like you need their teams to win and right now they’re gonna play each other in the n910
Game if it was golf as long as they were playing you’d be fine and tiger just didn’t play the players now I guess we’ll hear him talk for the first time in a long time since Riv this upcoming week but like tiger are you are you going to play anymore beside the four
Majors or no you’re actually just back on that plan which again if he’s injured if he’s not feeling great I I get it but if it’s just like yeah I just wasn’t really feeling it like that kind of sucks and this reflects the situation the tour’s in they’re very dependent on
This 4647 48 year old guy who’s had a million surgeries and when he doesn’t play it hurts the thrill and EXC of March Mania is here and draftking sports book one of America’s top rated sports book apps is giving new customers a shot to turn five bucks into
$150 instantly in bonus Bets with any college basketball bet North Carolina listeners don’t forget draftking Sportsbook is now live in your state download the draftking Sportsbook app app and use code John JN new customers can bet five bucks to get $150 instantly in bonus bets only at draftking Sportsbook with code John the
Crown is yours the other guy who I would say has been pretty disappointed he doesn’t even have a top 10 this year and he’s playing this week is Rory now In fairness to Rory when all the originally happened with Liv he was really good and he helped kind of carry
The torch not just emotionally with his words but with his play he’s you know been really damn good in the majors the last two years now he hasn’t won one but I think he’s top 10 in like five or six of them he’s top fived in several he had
A chance to win multiple the US Open St Andrews like he easily could have won a couple Majors the last couple years but so far this year he’s looked pretty bad now he’s spoken about sometimes he’ll just go to Butch for a couple hours to
Get some eyes on him and it helps and anyone that watch full swing Ricky goes to Butch as much as Butch is a technical coach right get your hands here you know move the ball up move the ball back whatever all the stuff golf coaches do
Get your hand a little over get your back swing on plane all that clearly emotionally and mentally he’s on a completely different level and even Ricky said it he just helped get my mind right and maybe that’s what Rory needs just to get his mind right because In
Fairness JT’s been bad for a while spe all over the map like the door kind of looking around like Scotty’s like hey guys can I get some help here can I get some help here because all we’re talking about is the equity and the money going here and who’s getting what
Like what do you guys what do you guys think you deserve right now television ratings going into the tank it just some guys eventually got to play well and tiger the ghost of tiger which I’m just getting frustrated off because I miss him because I needed reason beside having some money on Billy
Horel in the top 20 to watch like that’s the only thing that bothers me I just wish he was around and him and Phil are clearly the most famous players of the last you know post like Jack and Arie and those guys careers are just on the
Back couple holes right I mean Phil I know he won at kiaa several years ago but he’s objectively pretty terrible right now tiger can barely walk 18 holes every time we see him it’d be nice if some of these other guys answered the bell and there and I understand there’s
A ton of pressure given all this stuff that’s out of these guys control but the tour could really really use Rory playing well and I think we all agree that like the shitty part about ROM leaving wasn’t that like ah Liv stole a sweet player because it’s not like I’m
Gonna watch live I mean they’re playing this week I I actually like checking the leaderboard but don’t at most on a given week I I’ve watched nine holes and it’s always on the Saturday like the final nine holes and usually I only end up watching a couple like the rating
Speaker for themselves we’re not watching we’re not consuming it that way but we do miss having this rivalry that was you know functionally taking place Scotty Sheffer and John ROM had established themselves as the two big big dogs in the sport and then they only see each other now four times a
Year but that is cool about this upcoming week because I think everything surrounding it all the drama all the talk it all kind of comes to a head it all does and Scotty with his play and I know he’s he didn’t win last week but being such a massive favorite
Is I think even going to add an extra element of like hey John you’re the defending chance what have you been up to because we don’t count any of that you’re doing over there it doesn’t matter to anybody like we objectively see Scotty now granted he’s playing a bunch of
Names most people have not heard of but he’s going to war with him every single week and he’s unfaced whether it’s Rory JT and Xander playing well that week or seven other dudes that were just on the corn fairy tour Scotty’s the only guy taking him on and clearly his game
Besides putting which I think we all can relate to is can be Hit or Miss he is on a different level it’s crazy how highest floor is even the shittiest version of him he’s become like a LeBron James or a Patrick Mahomes even when he’s off he’s
Still incredible and even when he’s off he’s in the mix he’s finishing second or third I mean it’s crazy to see him in like sixth place and even when you come into the weekend you’re like oh where’s Scotty he’s like 11th you’re like oh watch out here he comes then you check
The leaderboard six seven holes later and he’s birdied three of his last five holes and he’s jumped up and he’s won behind the lead that that that’s the coolest part about watching a guy that’s just dialed in like him and I hope some of these other guys Kea is very
Outspoken about it how seriously he takes this time of the year how the last couple months all build up to this point of year obviously John ROM The Pride he took in winning that major I mean let’s face it winning the Masters kind of gave him the freedom to be like I’m out
I’ve won the US Open I’ve won the Masters I’m taking this enormous amount of money from the sais but you know I I hope he comes ready and I I just think it has a chance to be very very special and I think the coolest part is is it
Feels for the first time in a long time that it just really matters obviously it matters no matter what because it’s the Masters but none of these tournaments all the lives all the other tournament have just felt kind of blah have just felt kind of irrelevant and that’s so
Phil can say all he wants about oh the disruption phas well that’s great for you guys y’all making money PJ tour players are making money none of us are watching really so the disruption phase is sweet for you guys financially it sucks for us the consumer I mean that’s that that’s
Who it really sucks for so yeah disrupt all you want you guys figure it out doesn’t feel like you’re any closer to any sort of solution but at least the majors are here and I don’t know man I I regret after I I want to bet I think Riv
I had some money on zot Taurus and I won a couple Grand and I I cashed maybe it was 2500 and I was like you know what I’m gonna cash out like two and I’m gonna put I think I put $400 on Willie Z to win The
Masters and I don’t feel as good anymore he’s been terrible lately what I should have done is taken that four 500 bucks and just put it on Scotty when he was like 9 to one because that 9 to one is never going to be seen again and if he
Just he’s four to one to start the tournament if he just shoots like two under in the first round and if he’s just in the top 10 going into the weekend that number is going to go from four to one to plus 150 really fast now two other guys these numbers can jump
Quick because of their history here is Kea who has talked openly about his desire I mean every star player wants to win this tournament but the benefits he has going into majors of like half the field has no shot half the other guys that make the
Cut are going to get nervous and crumble on the weekend some of the other guys that make the cut actually aren’t playing that well so I’m really playing like 20 guys right well Augusta is not a full field it’s like give or take 90 people and 20 of those guys past
Champions have no shot half the guys are playing the tournament for the first couple times in their career are not going to be in the mix so this is an opportunity for some of these guys playing well I mean one early name that’s jumped out because I I do think
He’s been pretty good this year and he was definitely good beside not making the putts down the stretch at the Players is Xander I mean Xander’s made history is pretty damn good I know he’s never won a a big tournament uh well a major but I I think he has a lot of
Momentum for all that like Nona non ROM you know it’s hard to have any faith in Rory for Rory to be the second betting favorite right now and maybe he does play well that’s crazy and part of it is just the name it’s like why do the
Cowboys and the Lakers their odds always a little inflated because more people bet on them like to me Rory let’s face it as of right now the way he’s playing should be 20 to1 not 10 to1 Scotty Sheffer should be 4 to1 and I think based on respect Rah should be somewhere
78 to1 but he’s more like 1213 to1 I think a big reason is like how sharp are his skills iron sharpens iron even if you’re playing against Matthew pavon and try and Steven joerger and some of these kind of Fringe as no laying up calls them the
Mules or the former corn fairy guys I I I do think it it hardens your skills and has you more ready than just playing shotgun golf on live but maybe Rah is so good that it won’t matter and he’ll be dialed in uh so Masters right
Around the corner we’ll have a big uh big podcast getting ready and I will have a lot and I mean a lot of Wagers next week
16 Comments
You need to get over the LIV/PGA thing bc there are GREAT players on LIV playing GREAT
Have you considered moving the golf stuff to another channel? It’s hurting your brand and growth around NFL.
Influenza meets the shits😂
Scotty has the whole thing on his back right now. Incredible
Golf is screwed until they merge. And if it doesn’t happen soon the sport will die and it will happen RAPIDLY!!!
I look forward to your golf content and picks! Keep up the good work.
There were 18 LIV players in the 2023 Masters. 12 of them finished in the top 50, including 3 in the top 4. LIV also added the 2023 Masters champ in Rahm, and Hatton who also finished top 50. Tell me how the PGA could possibly have the better competition please
Golf is going to be as unpopular as WNBA if they don't figure this out…
The idea Tiger owes anyone anything is absurd, let alone this guy podcasting from his mom’s basement in Fresno.
Golf shows are great.
Rory being a great guy just keeps making big numbers. Gets near the lead and then disappears
Tiger is a mere shadow of the player he used to be. The only person who doesn't think it is over is Tiger. Tiger HAD a magnificent career which left us all in awe, thanks for the memories. Funny how it is always Greg Norman who choked at the Masters. No mention of Jordan Speiths monumental meltdown when leading by 5 with 9 to go in 2016 Masters
Can't patronize or follow a league financed by the Saudis
Not a single mention of DJ. Not that he needed to.
I like watching LIV more than PGA. You know what guys will be playing and that Rahm, Koepka, DJ, Bryson, Cam Smith, Neimann, Sergio, Gooch, Hatton, Mickelson, McDowell, Oosthuizen, Reed, etc. will all be there and not a bunch of no name Korn Ferry rookies and maybe a JT, Scottie, Fowler or Speith. Also, the team element does not let you mail it in on the last day like guys do on the PGA tour. Enjoy seeing some golf in different countries as well. I live in Asia so my take may be different from typical U.S. golf fan.
Nobody cares what happens on LIV…how arrogant! Can't wait to hear what all you PGA-loyalists say when Scottie doesn't win and a LIV golfer walks away with the title…
You PGA people are driving golf fans away from the PGA quicker than you realize with your arrogance and judgmental attitudes…