The Wagyu Filet Show – U.S. Open Recap

It was an eventful week at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and Johnson Wagner and Brendon de Jonge were in the thick of it with their media roles for NBC, the Golf Channel and PGATour Radio on SiriusXM. In this episode of The Wagyu Filet Show they touch on all of it all Johnson re-creating and hitting the winning bunker shot post-round with Bryson DeChambeau watching on with trophy in hand and having a drink with him afterwards, they talked the disappointment for Rory McIlroy and his snubbing of the media post-round and the finish as a whole and how the USGA got it spot on. Finally they take a quick look forward to the last major of the year as both will be back in media roles for the Open Championship at Royal Troon.

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[Music] in this Split Second your hands make all the difference it was time for a grip to help them own the moment introducing reverse taper technology to stabilize both hands for a more Square putter face at impact the most important Split Second and golf reverse taper only from Golf Pride respect the grip welcome into the wagu filt show I’m Brenan dong he’s Johnson Wagner let’s not waste any time Wags you uh you had one hell of a week um looked like you had a ton of fun out there and no more fun than on Sunday evening it was unbelievable Brendan I mean the amount of support I got from the the the people the fans at Pinehurst they were they they they knew who I was they were thanking me for stuff I witnessed it I witnessed it I walked around with you for a while I I’m totally in shock and I I kept I kept telling people I W I wish you would you would liked watching me chunk skull and shank chip shots when I played competitively because that’s pretty much all I did and and man it was it was it was such a great week I got to walk with tiger on Thursday but then I mean everything I was doing at night was great and to cap it off the way it happened Sunday we were getting laid into the show Bryson decided to come to the to the live from desk and and I was standing out in the Fairway I was going to hit hit his shot off the route and right before uh all this was happening I was kind of protecting the route there’s these three young guys that had decided to stay and watch and this guy on breakdown for somebody had two generators on back of a flatbed cart and I I I was like stop stop stop stop stop and he drives right under the magnolia tree ripping off like three huge limbs that didn’t affect Bryson’s back swing per se but it it allowed him it allowed me to just stand up cleanly underneath the tree ripped I mean it was unbelievable and then we got kind of pushed back because Bryson came to the set okay and I thought I was going to get bumped completely from the show which is fine it’s television I mean I would have preferred to not stand out there for two hours for nothing but it’s what happens and then they’re like all right we got like six minutes left uh set up the route and go straight to the bunker and I I was like it’s too dark back here I’m going straight to the bunker because the Jumbotron was lighting it up and I mean I didn’t want to hit the windows of the clubhouse right that would have been pretty good too if you’d hit the hit One landed on the clubhouse but so I asked Andrew Bradley who’s out there with me my field producer and I said hey I I’m happy to hit the shot at dark in the dark but if I break one of those windows on the clubhouse is NBC Sports going to pay for it and uh he laughed and got on phone I was like seriously are they gonna pay for it if I break the window and he said he came back and said no they wouldn’t but I think they were just messing with me so I get up there scull it over the green I had no idea Bryson was coming I guess Rich learner said during commercial break he’s like Johnson’s getting ready to go down there and and uh and hit the shot you should go give him a lesson I was GNA ask you like did did you have any idea that he was going to show up because it looked like you really didn’t no I had no idea and and and so he was taking so long after his press conference he came out on the green was taking picture after picture so I was like I’m gonna walk up there and maybe I can maybe I can help get people off the green and I just wanted to say congratulations because it didn’t at that point feel like we were going to do anything and I was happy for him so I got up there sat on the green for 20 minutes while he was signing every single autograph he was taking pictures with everybody that was out there and they were all Pinehurst people or USGA people yeah uh it was in it was incredible scene like I mean I never been on the 18th green of a major after all that stuff happened I’m starting to now a little bit more often though because I was waiting in the Fairway uh to hit Xander uh shot into 18 at the PGA and uh uh anyway so Bryson came over and once and I I said congrats and once left the green started cleaning but anyway I get into the bunker scold over the green so shocked to see him oh my idea was instead of him going to the desk he needs to come out with a microphone and and commentate my Recreations of his shot and I was saying this to a couple of the ladies that work for NBC Sports Courtney Holt and Alex Russell and like hey wouldn’t it be funny if Bryson came out and I mean he’s big on YouTube like I think he would have been into that and they’re like a great idea but we’re going to take him to the desk and so I think that maybe played a part in them asking him to come down there um but when he came I was shocked I was so nervous over that shot and he basically just told me to chunk and run it then I hit it up there to that and just like I was he I went I went for a full high five I was jacked up and he sat there and took it full strength and I give me that trophy Bryson but did I went back I went back and had beers with him which was cool did he drink beers or he have a couple protein shakes he had had some chocolate milk and he had his whole team back there and there was probably six or seven people from the usgaa there was a couple volunteers and he went after he came to me he went and signed autograph for kids that had been waiting for at at least 45 minutes uh and so I I went down in there it was me and Todd Lewis and Andrew Bradley my field producer and we had a couple beers uh Bryson ended up having a glass of wine had a bottle of cus and he came over uh he came over and talked to me and Andrew and Todd for a bit took picture with us and then we we just you know got out of there but it was it was a really cool scene and as I’m doing that I got invited to go over to the owner Bob Deadman’s house for a you know a celebratory beverage of of the week and in that time I got invited to play number two on on Monday it was like the the ending to my week just kept getting better and better and that’s why I told you yesterday it’s like man I can’t I can’t think I mean winning on the PJ tour was great but I can’t think of I’ve had that I’ve had a better week professionally from start to finish than this one well I I was going to ask you that that’s exactly what you said to me that this is by far the best week professionally I’ve ever had I know obviously playing it’s it’s apples and oranges right um but it really was it was it was a cool and I mean it was it was kind of a fitting end because you you’d had an awesome week and then for everything that transpired Sunday evening was a was a fitting end to it well and I mean all the all the bad shots I’ve hit in these Recreation things all the duffs and Shanks and and skulls to to end with I mean I hit it was it was like probably 18 inches away and uh you know in front of the champ in the dark with the trophy there I like the reaction from everybody at the the live from desk brandle and Paul they were they were stunned and shocked and it was just funny that it worked that way but Brenan you had a great week too first hang on hang on we we we we can’t leave this just yet it’s pretty fitting that you hit the best shot you’ve ever hit on any of these Recreations in the dark you couldn’t see the flag you didn’t know where you were going and you’ve got Bryson standing there right behind you I mean it is pretty fitting I said I so Steve durstein is my catch camera guy and he is the absolute best and he uh when we got down there I was like hey Steve where’s the hole and and he pointed over to a pillar that was two pillars away he he stood online and said it’s right here and uh and then he moved his camera to that pillar so that I could aim right at him and I knew basically where the line of the hole so I did have somewhat of an idea of where it was um okay not not completely blind man had it if that ball had gone in I don’t I I think I may have spear tackled Bryson and and I mean can like you know how i’ I’ve felt about him I I played with him in the Houston open uh maybe his second year on tour and he’s he’s he’s not a bad guy he’s just kind of always looked out for Bryson Maybe maybe I would have considered him a touch selfish but dude I talked to a wean and a bunch of live caddies I was flying from Studio to Charlotte to get my car and drive over to Pinehurst and these guys were Landing from Liv Houston and and I told him I was going to do a Walkin talk with him and how’s he been and they were like dude this guy has changed in the last six eight months he has changed completely he’s gracious he’s he’s nice he’s helpful to everybody else so I’m really impressed by the the turnaround cuz my last memory of him and why he it was so sour in my mouth was when that video came out where someone lifted the Rope for him and he went under and and hit his head and freaked out like that’s who I thought he was but I think he’s really made an effort to change change his reputation yeah I I think he’s come a long way he’s he’s certainly matured when you watch him I I still think Bryson’s weird I I think he’s a weird dude um he he’s not everybody’s cup of tea but the way that he is acknowledging the crowd and how gracious he is with the crowd and how he’s got crowd to play on his side is awesome um I I think he used to be weird and annoying I think now he’s just a little bit odd but um it’s very very easy to see how he’s a guy that people can pull for now I uh I think maybe a year ago that wouldn’t have been the case yeah I think even the PGA Championship was amazing how many people were rooting for him there at Valhalla and you know you and I on Saturday went out and walked what the last we walked the first seven holes six seven holes with that that lead group yeah uh with it was him and oberg and and I mean remember when he walked up to that 6t and there’s that huge grandstand left the Ovation that he got when he walked up and and Rory was in the group in front or two groups in front on Saturday the O the Ovation Bryson got was comparable if not greater than than Rory’s Ovation and that was the moment to me I was like man these fans these fans want him they they get it he is he is in he has endeared himself to them well I think the thing is he’s authentic and I mean say what you want Bryson is good for golf there’s no doubt about it Bryson’s good for golf he brings a different element um again may maybe the weirdness maybe there’s this guy that’s just a little bit different guys want to see that guys want to see what what’s Bryson gonna do next it’s it’s kind of cool and plus he wears his emotions on his sleeve I know you like seeing that you know he’s he’s chipping things in he’s fist pumping he’s he’s getting the crowd going and it’s kind of cool it’s it’s it’s really cool uh I mean he when he chipped in on on 18 at Valhalla and it was a huge fist pump and this this whole week and then then we made the putt at Valhalla I think people on TV watching that really were like okay I can get behind this guy that’s what made us love Tiger Woods was his willingness to show emotion and here at the US Open it was just on full display uh I I want to hear about your week you you got the call late to fill in for someone on seriesx in radio how is your experience radio calls so different but being at a major and by the way uh every everybody that had an AMX card at the US Open got to put one of those little ear pieces in so they’re walking they’re walking the golf course watching Golf and able to keep up with everything because that Series XM coverage is amazing it really is honestly if my week had been any better I would have been Johnson Wagner but I’m not complaining no I you said it I got the call late I was actually in Kansas City for um my son had a soccer tournament out there and Taylor called me Taylor zazzer uh who is one of the big wigs with Sirius X mpga Tour Taylor asked me he said listen is there any way that you could maybe come over to Pinehurst next week John mcginness is on baby watch his wife is is p due they didn’t know if John was going to be able to be there or uh or how long he was going to be able to be there um it turned out that he was able to stay all week but uh Taylor called me I I said listen I’m I’m an hour and a half away two hours away no doubt I can be there so I showed up Tuesday morning and uh and got the pleasant surprise of being asked if I would stay all week as as one of the analysts um and honestly these guys have the best culture I know I know you’ve did it at the PGA and at Augusta with with them they have such a cool team culture that um you know Justin wear Jeremy Davis Taylor that that they’ve all instilled it was so much fun there was seven of us in a house you know everybody kind of convenes on the back porch every evening you have a couple beers you tell your War Stories um I likened it to to being back out on tour and when you shared a house with guys um it it was a whole lot of fun um and then and then I got the awesome surprise of getting a phone call from Taylor yesterday and asking if I wanted to go across to uh to the Open Championship next month so obviously I jumped at that and uh I tell you what man it’s uh about maybe six months ago I was enjoying doing this but I wasn’t sure how much I was going to enjoy it I’m absolutely loving everything on the media side of it the broadcasting side of it and uh you know I I can’t thinkk those guys that serious ex am enough for for having the faith in me and you know and making me part of their team yeah and brenon I know you’ve played a bunch of Majors like covering your first major from that perspective like what did you what did you learn like what what did you learn this week that you didn’t know before about major championship golf the magnitude of it all this the size of everything I think I think when you’re when you’re playing you’re in your own little bubble you’re um you kind of remove the outside noise as much as you possibly can when you’re on the outside it’s kind of cool to take a step back and look around and just see the size of everything from from the production you know our little compound over there which wasn’t a little compound I mean just I mean it felt like hundreds of trucks everywhere and just people all over the place and just to see what it actually entails to put on a put on the production for for one of these big tournaments is just unbelievable um and and it really was cool like I know you talked about it briefly there where we got inside the ropes just to to see the crowd as well like I think I I probably didn’t do a good enough job when I was playing of really acknowledging the CL the crowd and and taking all of that in but uh you know when you again take that step back it’s it’s pretty cool to see it all yeah and the the I mean the the crowd the compound was by the way on course number four just left at number 10 and it took up an entire Fairway I uh playing with Tom pashley and some guys at pineh her yesterday I don’t think course 4 is going to open up for like a month and a half so they’ve got a lot of work to do there to get I think they use maybe for parking they use four or five of the holes on course 4 um all right and and to speak on the crowd I I was walking with featured groups on Thursday with tigers group it was tigers alatus and Fitzpatrick and uh the Pinehurst crowds made me feel like I was in Scotland in the best of ways the third hole back left pin can’t go at it even with a you know wedge or nine iron it’s just not worth the risk and all three players in my group hit it 20 feet 25 feet right of the hole and the crowd applauded like they they knew that was a good shot they respected the fact that guys weren’t silly enough to take on that flag I think the crowds at Pinehurst I mean it’s called The Cradle of American Golf it’s been uh you know Inland Lynx which I know is an oxymoron can’t be a lynx if it’s not on a body of water but it’s it’s really a great representation of of American Golf and I just thought the venue really showed out oh without a doubt I think everything was spot on um yeah we’re both proud now North Carolinians um I think it was it was really cool to see to see a knowledgeable crowd which is often not the case um with these tournaments but you know just walking around listening to comments you hear so much stupid typically in the crowd like everybody everybody was was spot on they knew what they were watching they knew how difficult that Golf Course was um and it was it was nice to see and to that point like I think the USGA was spot on this week I think they they checked every box um and and this is an organization that’s come under a lot of scrutiny in in recent times some of it Justified um some of it maybe not but I thought they were absolutely spot on with everything I thought the course setup was was very difficult but very fair which has been their Mantra from the start um so you know I I think huge kudos to those guys yeah they really did Jeff Hall I got the opportunity to spend some time with him did two interviews with him saw him setting up the golf course both Saturday and Sunday and chatted with him out there um Jeff has been a longtime friend of my uh of my old coach and good friend Bobby Hines up in the New York area so I’ve I’ve been aware of Jeff Hall and I just think his whole goal with the setup of the golf course that’s what he’s in charge of was to never let it get across line he didn’t want the USGA to be the story in a negative way he wanted the venue to shine and he wanted the players that played the best to be the story and it truly was and on that note let’s enough about enough about how great we are Brennan Let’s uh let’s get into the nuts and bolts of this golf tournament yeah I mean that finish I can’t remember and did you drive home and watch it did you get to watch it at home the last little bit because I know you were off air at what time were you off air on on I got off at two and I got out of there pretty pretty quickly so I was home by 4:00 um actually I walked into my house as Bryson was making that parot on eight Okay Okay cool so you I mean I’m sure you were listening you were listening to the front nine I was I listened to the front nine and then essentially watched the back nine on TV I I just can’t I can’t remember uh a back nine or even a whole Sunday where I was more on edge I mean you had we all want Rory to win right I mean yeah it’s he hasn’t a major since the PGA Championship in 14 at Valhalla he’s had so many close calls and look he puted incredibly well this week and he drove it great he was he was third in driving accuracy and second in distance I mean he was first in Strokes gained off the te it was an absolute Clinic puted well it was hitting greens I thought he showed a lot of discipline I know you and I have talked about him being too aggressive and can he win at a place like that because of his aggressiveness and he was doing it he was doing it and you know for me I feel like things changed for him on 14t when he looked up and saw that two- shot lead yeah I I agree with that and um you know at the beginning of the week um people were asking me do you think Rory has a chance and I said no for that reason I said there’s no way that he can stay patient enough out there for four rounds um I I I was I was doubting it um he he did he played so so well and he was he was so he attacked at the right spots he was patient where he needed to be um and and I think we we were all heartbroken because the biggest story going into the week would have been if Rory mroy can break this major drought and well he was was right on the edge of doing that um unfortunately for Rory the Nay SS are going to pop out again now about Harry diamond and Rory’s relationship and I I have to I have to agree like the you you talked about looking up at the leaderboard on 14 that that’s fine right that of course you’re going to do that the the shot on 15 Wags you you can’t you can’t do that you can’t hit it over the green there and and that that was kind of the start of the downfall if if Rory hits something in the middle of the green on 152 puts and gets away with par Bryson three puts right behind him then essentially that tournament’s put to bed right yeah I mean he bokei three of his last four holes I mean it was it was I don’t remember a time I mean St Andrews obviously he was in the final group when cam Smith won uh back in 22 and cam Smith came out and took that from him and and Rory was out there taking it from Bryson he was making birdies he was making puton by the way the bogey on 15 was fantastic I mean like over the green up into the edge of that long stuff to be able to bump it up the hill like that was going to be where I went it had you know had Rory ended up winning Bryson three- puted Rory hit that great shot because I mean he was staring double in the face when that ball went over over the green up where it did and uh it just seemed like 16 Brenan I I I played yesterday and one of the guys I was playing with on on 16 had that same putt for par and the way the grain where that was a brilliant pin because it was all into the grain towards the front of the green and then about two feet past it was Dow grain so his putt it looked like it should go left to right and okay yesterday the same cups the The Edge was so burnt out and you could see the grain going towards the front of the green maybe he pulled it but man it it was a putt that looked like it was inside left and it probably went left with the with the amount of grain that it had so I mean but it was two feet six inches man I mean I thought two feet six inches and and knowing that that grain change is there it that was one of the most shocking things I’ve I’ve ever seen in major championship golf was him missing that putt at that moment yeah I agree with that and and on top of it how well he putted the ball all day he he had rolled it absolutely beautifully all day his speed had been perfect he’d made a bunch of 20 25 Footers he’d made some difficult putts so make a really really tough putt on uh on 13 the driveable hole down the hill there for birdie um his first putt his first putt from over that his first putt from over that green was incredible the way it uh the way he got it past the hole and left the uphill putt like I couldn’t believe cuz I mean just another yard or two it’s gone off the front like his speed was good everything I mean keep going no no yeah exactly that is speed was good everything was good um I I I didn’t see that I I I I think I flinched when he when he missed that part on 16 I I was just in absolute shock um then he makes the good the good up and down on 17 18 does he hit driver does he hit three-wood it’s a hard Fairway to hit um I know again this is the one where where naysayers are going to jump in and say hey maybe maybe needed to be a little bit firmer maybe it needed to be a three-w I mean ultimately the player is hitting the shots though right yeah they are and that that t-shot like it had been a year or so since I played it’s an intimidating t-shot it’s a short hole that bunker which is not in play at all down the rightand side uh makes you inch left a little bit but right is the Miss off of that t there’s less Wire Grass there’s more Fairway than you think and and to hit that drive was one thing to get the the L he did behind that tuft of of of wire grass was was pretty unlucky uh I mean given the amount of Fairways that he hit every day I felt like that was just a sign that he got that that lie uh after that t- shot but he hadit a good shot to leave it where he did and I thought his chip was outstanding except for the fact that he left it above the hole I mean his chip on 14 was brilliant that was a nice par there but that chip getting above the hole was 3 feet n in it was it was excellent under the gun I thought his short game was really good all week but just kind of maybe left himself the hardest 3 foot n inch putt he possibly could have on that green yeah I mean once once he got that ball above the hole that was always going to be a really difficult one with with the situation the way it was I mean essentially a four-footer that he had to play a cou of breakout on the left and uh you know just just hit a little bit of a weak Putt and U I mean you could see the you could see Rory’s face I mean that that that was a tough one and and this is one that’s going to stick with him for a long long time and you know what if he wasn’t Rory maroy who we all consider a generational Talent we still think he’s going to win another major if he was a lesser player I would say that this would be someone that has no chance of winning a major after what transpired on Sunday afternoon yeah and I was gonna go there with you and and have that conversation I I would a lot of people after he missed that putt where where that was kind of the narrative in in the TV compound was that was that man he’s done he’s never going to won another one and I I wouldn’t say that it wouldn’t surprise me to see him come out and win at TR I mean uh after the Masters in 2011 when he shot 0 on Sunday yes to that point was the most disappointing thing in his career he came out and won the very next major his first major ever at Congressional I think you know I liked what he put out on Instagram and said that he’s gonna take three weeks off and see everybody at uh at uh at the Scottish open where he’s defending um what do you make of him not doing media I I was going to ask you that um I I’ll start I listen I I understand I I screwed up a lot of tournaments never Majors I never was good enough to do that I screwed up a lot of tournaments and I understand why the last thing he wants to do is go and talk to somebody but in saying that I still feel like it’s your obligation it’s um no matter how no matter how heartbroken you are at that moment I still feel like it’s it’s your obligation Phil Mickelson did it he d the last hole at Wingfoot he manned up he manned up and yes manned up and went and spoke to the media told him hey I’m such an idiot um Rory Rory’s gonna lose a lot of fans by the fact that he didn’t go and talk to the media um so I understand but I certainly don’t agree I I think he should have he should have gone there he should have poured his heart out I mean whether you’re standing there and balling your eyes out that would have made him a ton of fans um I I I he should have he should have gone and talked to somebody I I don’t know if you feel the same way I I do I like you said I understand why he didn’t I can’t imagine how gut-wrenching it was um but I I do feel like he should have and he’s been one that’s talked about hey we’re entertainers it’s why we get paid so much well part of it is Win Lose or Draw you got to come out and you got to speak and and that that scene in the parking lot when when Harry was putting the clubs in and Roy just gets in and drive away and his man manager Shawn was right there and and from what I understand Shawn was like Rory we have to do you have to do media you have to go do something and Harry Harry said he’s not doing it he doesn’t want to do it he’s not doing it he’s getting out of here and apparently Shawn and Harry got into it a little bit after that but uh yeah I mean poor guy he’s been through a lot I mean uh both personally and and and with his role on the board and not on the board and I hate live and I now I want him back and and I I just think he’s under constant media scrutiny and he’s generally given the benefit of the doubt but man it would have been great of him to go in there and be like look I’ll be in here for a few questions but I I’m I’m gutted uh clearly I think it would have been big and now we’re gonna have to wait to the Scottish open to to hear and I think he could have put a lot of things to bed had he gone in there for five minutes and answered a couple questions yeah it’s again the word is obligation right it’s it’s an obligation to your sponsors it’s you said that they were entertainers Win Lose or Draw this is a guy that a couple months ago was seeing singing Journey after they won a tournament in in absolute Jubilation right so there has to be a flip side to that and you you’re again obligated to to deal with that well let’s get to two-time US Open champ Bryson to Shambo uh man he did he only hit five Fairways on Sunday brandle uh lead analyst brandle shamble during the coverage for NBC at one point when he kept missing Fairways and getting good lies he said he’s walking up there expecting to have a bad lie and he just uh he he keeps finding four leaf clovers which I thought was the best thing brandle said all week on air and it was true but it did it finally it finally came back to get him there on the back nine a little bit he got some bad lies but man his shot he he bogied 12 uh because he he was in that right stuff and that’s when Rory simultaneously is biring 13 getting a two-shot lead and then Bryson stepping up and hitting that three-wood onto the green on 13 was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen because he had been wild all day long missing everything left it seemed to me and then to stand up and hit that shot and have an eagle putt from you know 25ish feet that was like oh man okay this thing’s not over yet look out for Bryson well how about you’re getting ready to go and play the final round of the US Open and you crack your driver so now you you’re putting in a putting in a driver head that’s not your favorite one obviously because you’ve been playing with your gamer um that can be a little bit unnerving and and I think it might have been as you say he only hit five Fairways and he’d actually driven the ball pretty good all week until then um but yeah he he did he he we talked about it all week there was going to be an element of luck with h with these native areas it was there was always going to be an element of luck I’m sure throughout the week everybody had their share of good good ones and bad ones um it did appear for the longest time that Bryson kept getting good ones and then yeah yes I I think it finally did catch up with him on that back nine but uh you know what he he hit some great shots he hit some great shots to keep the pressure I think obviously that birdie that he made on on 13 was key if uh if you don’t make birdie there then all of a sudden what I think Lory has a three- shot lead um that that one was key and yeah the three-wood that he hit where he stepped up there and hit it right onto the green was was pretty awesome at the time well I have to I have to say I you know we played from that exact T boox yesterday and I hit the best Drive of the day I only hit four Fairways that was one of them I maed up the right hand side and I was short of those bunkers after a little bit short of the two right greenside bunkers after a little bit of a run out so the the the three-wood that the three-wood that he hit was was just remarkable I Then I then chunked a chip it landed on the false front rolled into the left bunker hit it on the green and two- puted for bogy uh but I mean that that green complex and it it it raised a lot of eyebrows on Saturday with that front R hole location um thir always to me Brennan was sort of this like eh benign little wedge hole but I thought this was the first time in a US Open where I thought that green really shined I I did I I thought that uh I thought they were going to play it driveable to that front right flag that they used um that they used on Saturday that would have been that one was one that may have uh may have sparked a little bit of a debate because guys would have hit driver through the back of the green which would have left you absolutely no opportunity to go to that flag um so again I think they were they were spot on I uh I walked with Brian Harman in one of the practice rounds and he puted down to that flag from just beyond the middle of the green and he puted four balls off the green um so that was one where it kind of I worried a little bit I was thinking hang on if these guys are going to make a mess somewhere this might be where it is but they got it spot on again they did and then and then so Bryson uh going back to Sunday Bryson on on 15 hits a beautiful shot at there just exactly how you’re supposed to and this is like the beauty of Bermuda grass greens and and what not only on the USGA officials but like PJ tour does it on a weekly basis when you have Bermuda greens finding these awkward little grain changes around around those cups and and Bryson missed that short putt on 15 which was shocking he had been pretty Rock Steady especially inside five feet so that was a bit of a surprise there and really kind of letting Rory off the hook as he Bogey and 16 yeah when when actually when Bryson missed that part I thought that Rory had the tournament in the bag um he puted before Rory puted on 16 so I I thought right then that Rory had the tournament in the bag um and then well obviously we know now Rory missed the short one on 16 and well then LED Bryson back in it but these things do happen in US opens it’s it’s so difficult those greens well you were out there yesterday those greens got so crusty they got so fast you you know it’s it’s a little unnerving when you put the putter behind the ball and the putter head just slides it’s uh it it makes it just that much more difficult and then well you add the US Open pressure to it Bryson’s second Bryson’s t-shot approach into 17 I I thought was remarkable because that green had been bouncing and everybody like Rory pulled it in the bunker there was so few people able to hit the proper shot Landing where I thought Bryson got a little bit unlucky that it landed as soft as it did cuz I mean that was the shot of the day into 17 at least from anybody in those last handful of groups and then he hits it left on 18 and we had this like you know 18 to me is a bit of a sad story because you know the the t- Box can’t go any further back because it would push into the 16th Fairway the green can’t go any further back because it would go into the clubhouse I mean it’s a 450 yard Par Four that Gordon Sergeant I can’t believe I can’t remember if it was Thursday or Friday had 79 yards into that hole and and which was one yard further than Payne Stewart’s third in 1999 um what did you make of the 18th holes of the week and do you you know before we get into Bryson on that whole did you did you think like were you as sad as I was that it was just reduced to a driver and a wedge for most of these guys oh 100% I had this conversation with Taylor zazzer early on Thursday I was like man I there’s very little to complain about I said the only thing that I wish was that 18 was a more difficult finishing hole I think at one point was playing as the second easiest par 4 on the golf course um that was that was the only thing but as you say there’s just there’s nowhere for them to move that t- box or the green it’s just it’s what it is it’s one of those holes that maybe technology has kind of destroyed a little bit as far as a finishing hole um yeah little bit disappointing but yes to get back to Bryson I was I was surprised to see him hit driver there as well um he just he’s obviously flushed a three-wood back on 13 I thought we were going to see that three-wood from him again and get something in the Fairway there yeah and I mean where he ended up on that route was like worst possible scenario Rory’s just made Bogey and then I mean as because I was thinking the same thing about 18 it was like man this is just going to be nothing finished with these guys flipping wedges is somebody gonna take it on and make birdie and to have both guys that have a chance to win in trouble struggling for par it was like well I mean hold on now it’s actually quite it’s been quite entertaining and uh man so that route I spent a lot of time there uh and mimicking his practice swing and and I so and I asked him this uh after the round I think in the bunker as I was recreating his shot that I executed so well the second time um yeah I had I had an Alleyway because my clubs are much shorter I have a normal length nineiron I was going to I was going to suck it inside I could get under the trees and I could could approach it and and try to hook one cover the bunker and Scoot it up to the green and I asked him if his single length iron and and had any effect over being able to hit that shot and he said I couldn’t given the length of my club and how upright his irons are I mean they’re the most upright iron possible so he he couldn’t he had to make contact with those trees and when he’s making those practice swings I was just thinking I don’t I don’t want to see a leaf fall off Leaf right I was thinking the same thing he took practice swings where he hit the leaves a couple times and I’m like all all it’s going to take is one piece of debris falling down out of the out of there and this guy’s got a penalty and now the US open’s getting getting decided by a penalty and uh I was the exact same way I’m sitting there just kind of that’s not the way you want this tournament to be decided and well thankfully it didn’t happen I I know I know but I mean know magnolia trees are are a little bit firmer and so I it raised this question like when when I’m in a when I’m in a situation like that I try to go find a similar tree or if it’s a lie I try to go find a similar lie way away from my ball make some practice swings but there’s no other magnolia trees around there and if he went to the other side of that magnolia tree and made a couple practice swings since it’s the same tree would it have been a penalty and if he had gone and re tried to recreate that somewhere else I think I think since it’s the same tree it would have I I really don’t know I think that’s that would be into the gray area a little bit there with with the USGA um I think if I think if it’s not a affecting your particular shot then it’s probably not going to be a penalty but man I I was I I didn’t want that tournament to be decided by something like that um thankfully again it didn’t happen and the way that route was running I mean it was not a it was not affecting his his heel of his Club it was far enough away he had enough relief from that but what it did was and it was kind of similar to the shot he hit on eight uh where he couldn’t pitch it back out to the Fairway because it was running against him and he hit this shot on eight which I couldn’t believe he hit it he hit this low cutting iron and got it behind the green and somehow got it up and down to that back left flag was the most unbelievable pitch shot I think I’ve seen him hit and then he did it again on 10 um it it was incredible so the way that route was running on 18 it was affecting the easiest Pitch Out to the widest part of the Fairway to leave him 110 yards or so he couldn’t make good contact and he couldn’t run the risk of it running through so he was trying to skirt the bunker like we saw Rory do and it just came out a little bit funny and squirted into that bunker and I mean I haven’t looked up the data yet I just haven’t had the time but I can’t imagine there were too many balls in a US Open in that bunker that’s like the one place if you’re out of position you would never ever want to leave it they they talked on coverage and I can’t remember if they said one or two the entire week up and down out of that front bunker it was either one or two um I’m going went that what’s that sorry they were even in that bunker one or two no one or two that got the ball that got the ball up and down out of that bunker um I I can’t imagine there were a ton of balls in there but still I I again I don’t remember if it was one or two guys that got it up and down there but the number was very very small and I mean how often have we listened to golf or watched golf on TV and every single commentator to a man says what is the most difficult shot in golf it’s a 50 yard bunker shot yeah and now all of a sudden this guy’s got a 50 yard bunker shot to try and win the US Open I mean this whole that whole back nine was just screaming a Rory Bryson playoff and to the point where you know I knew it was going to delay my night getting home a little bit but I I think I was rooting for it as a fan too since the usga’s gone to the two-hole playoff uh two-hole aggregate playoff uh we haven’t seen it yet I mean the last playoff in the US Open was Rocco and tiger in 2008 it’s been 16 years since we’ve had a playoff in the US Open I think everybody was feeling that oh very much so and then there’s a camera on Rory in the in scoring there in player scoring and of he sees Bryson he kind of he kind of puffs up a little bit and looks at it I mean he knows that Bryson’s now got 50 yards out of a bunker he’s thinking hang on there’s a good chance I might win this outright or I I might be in a playoff yeah I mean you chunk it come up short of the green I mean it’s doable but at the same time under that pressure to force a playoff to have to get it up and down for bogy or if it goes too far and goes over the back of the green I mean that’s an impossible up and I know because I hit it there yesterday with my second shot I hit H it over the green had to take relief from the cart path but it’s brutal from from over the back of that green and Bryson just executed it perfectly left himself 3 feet 11 inches underneath the hole right to left putt uh under all that pressure with you know I having I think he even said it like that is his least favorite shot in golf is the 60-yard Fairway bunker shot when when it’s all said and done where do you think that shot goes down in in the history of uh I mean clutch shots whatever you want to call it I mean I’ve got to put it up there really high and I can’t off the top of my head right now I mean I think man Bryson I mean excuse me Xander chaet is shot 18 of the PGA Championship his second shot when his feet were in the bunker his ball was out and he hit that four iron up there short left of the perfect spot I mean that was a really clutch shot because he could have lost the tournament with that had it gone someplace different but Bryson’s to hit it to that distance uh was as clutch as it gets do you have any examples of shots you think were more clutch I don’t know about more clutch I mean I can think of a couple there was there was that Mickelson flop out of the thick rough at Bolter roll to like a foot where he gave it the fist pump that was clutch um web Simpson Olympic Club on 18 web Simpson Olympic but I think all of those kind of paled in comparison to the difficulty of this shot that Bryson had I mean again there was so much that could have gone wrong he could hit it away you hit your first one over there in in the clubhouse very very easily I mean that’s just catch it a a couple grooves low and and it’s gone I mean you’re standing there and it’s one of those you’re thinking do I want to pick it do I want to Splash it do I want to Fat it and I mean well he he got it spot on obviously and so playing golf there Monday uh with three people from Piner Tom pashley who sort of runs the entire Resort Eric ker who’s in charge of sales and marketing and Matt barkdale who’s in charge of golf operations they’re all very concerned now that every single person that comes and plays Piner for the first time he going to throw a ball down there and they were talking to the point even where they may have to Plexiglass the railing so that people aren’t just skulling it into the deuce the restaurant there right there on the other side of the veranda and just breaking Windows left and right because it’s going to become a spot now and I saw it yesterday we we teed off at 11:40 and walked up and Pally wanted to see the spot so I walked in and circled put a big circle in the sand where where he hit it from and I mean everybody’s going to come there were Footprints everywhere I think people are it’s going to like a destination on that Golf Course to come and take a look to the point where I mean I don’t know how you’d put a plaque in a bunker like the the Hogan plaque at uh at Maran in the middle of that Fairway but I mean something’s got to be done to memorialize that spot I think they will it it might not be a plaque but I I think there will certainly be something it’s one of those shots that that that earned it it earns some sort of Distinction along those lines again I don’t know how you put a plaque there but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s something that’s going to memorialize that it’s uh again it certainly deserves it and I I I understand where they’re coming from wanting to put plexiglass there it is such a hard shot and your everyday golfer will be blading something right onto that back porch yes they absolutely will I mean I saw some awful golf from the other holes yesterday people hitting it in positions that I I couldn’t imagine um all right so we get up on the green Bryson’s got that Putt and Matthew pavon lags it up there and I’m screaming like why isn’t he finishing why isn’t he finishing he’s got a huge putt the crowd’s going to go crazy Bryson’s going to go crazy if he makes this but I thought like when you look at it and think about it from a players perspective he didn’t want to give Bryson the re it was on the same line he was protecting the field um and and I mean I I like I know people are probably talking and they were booing chanting USA that he didn’t finish but I think it was a I think it was the right move you know with a day or so to digest it that pav didn’t hit that putt what was going through your mind when he put the spot on it oh 100% I think he did everything right I I mean hypothetically if if Bryson’s got a two- shot lead or whatever then pavan’s going to tap that ball in I I agree 100% there was he did the right thing um he he certainly should not have gone up there and tap that in it is it is protecting the Integrity of the field he was he was almost on exactly the same line Bryson was I I didn’t really I didn’t really think that he I didn’t give it that much thought um at all I think a lot of people did and me included but but when reflecting upon the fact that he didn’t want to give Bryson the line and uh Aaron oberholser early in the week on live from had kind of said that Bryson to Shambo is is the golf equivalent to WWE wrestling and I think there was no better example of that than when he made that Putt in his celebration with just like just this raw just massive testosterone infused celebration I I I I like that he is he is the WWE of professional golf and that’s why it’s so refreshing to have him back and in the hunt in these last two majors and really the Masters he had a nice finish at the Masters as well huling out on Saturday on 18 for birdie from 80 yards like he’s entertaining if you’re um who’s who’s the US President’s Cup captain I’m drawing a blank Jim furick yes is is Bryson is he on that team already are you penciling Bryson in there right now it’s a it’s a PGA Tour it’s it’s a PGA Tour event um it’s a PJ tour run event and there will be no Live players on either the international or us team side I think that’s already been announced especially on the Mike wear front I think the deal hasn’t gotten far enough along to even reconsider that who knows we’ve got a couple months until September who knows if that’s still going to be the case but as of now no I don’t I think it’s impossible for anybody no matter how good they are to be on that team if they’re a member of Liv really so that that eliminates even captains picks you cannot you cannot pick somebody as a captain’s pick yeah it it does as far as as far as my understanding and I I I could be wrong on that but as far as my understanding I’m 99% sure that unless something dramatically changes with the structure in in the month or so leading up I I I don’t think there’s any way for for a member of live golf to play on either either side um because the Ryder Cup’s run by the PJ of America and the DP World Tour yeah and the President’s Cup is run exclusively by the PJ Tour on both sides and it’s interesting though Brennan you may know this better I mean international team do you have to be a member of the PGA Tour to be on that international team nope okay so defitely not definitely not yeah I so I just think given given the i i i i i as of now I’m very close to positive that it’s it’s it’s a no but who knows and on that same topic do you think that that finish and Bryson winning do you think that’s going to bring the tour and live closer to a deal I mean it would have to like how great that finish was and you know how much the fans want this to happen and and ultimately it’s a it’s it’s about the fans I I I think it had to have moved us closer to a deal I think it does I I think it moves us closer I I’d be guessing if I knew how much closer like how much weight that’s going to carry I obviously all discussions are behind closed doors right now it does sound like things are progressing um again we’re guessing as to how much but yes seeing things like that it has to it has to make the powers that be think to themselves we we need to get something done yeah I I think so too I mean I just it’s cam Smith I did a Walkin talk with him on Tuesday he’s just such a good dude so good for the game uh yeah I I just think there there’s a lot of there’s just so many little details like how can you welcome them back without a completely different structure because it’s you know these guys took a lot of money to go play and and to basically like really damage the product of the PGA Tour and so I think a lot of players especially in those High you know those higher Echelon players that are kind of making the decisions on the board right now they don’t feel like that they can just be welcome back with open arms without any sort of penalty so I think that that’s kind of the the finer details of getting these players back is is is holding things up a little bit and I and I completely understand that I mean if I was loyal to the tour and turn down you know a hundred million contract I don’t necessarily feel like it’s the right way but we we don’t need to go we when we get more information we can go down there well yeah it’s it’s it’s it’s going to be like re-entry when you’ve been on a five-day golf trip and you come back home it’s uh it’s not going to be it’s not going to be without any uh bumps along the road there um let’s just talk about a couple other players I thought Patrick Klay I mean you know the the knock on him is anytime he’s had a top 10 and a in a major it’s been a backdoor top 10 to the to the point where to the point where I think some podcasts call him uh a house cat he’s always entering from the from the you know from he’s coming into the top 10 and a major from the back door uh I thought he played really well amazing how he just hung around seemed like he was out of position not playing his best stuff but hung around thought Matthew pavon hung in there incredibly well his first time in a major like that and now he’s played really well won at Tory Pines he uh really contended at at Pebble who knows where he would have ended up had that been able to play a fourth round so very impressed by those guys very impressed by Tony fenale too yeah yeah know Klay played well he did he as you say he hung around all week man he’s he’s such a tough guy to pull for he just doesn’t give you much it’s just it’s boring watching him like I’d love to see him act like he cared that he was there or or something um pavan’s fun to watch I think Matthew pavon is uh that this guy’s good he’s underrated I think he’s all the way up to top I think he’s 24th in the world right now done it very very quietly um he’s had some big results on some some big events on some tough golf courses Tony fow Tony fow’s getting closer he’s uh he’s starting to figure out the putt a little bit starting to make some putts now when they really count some some parts under the gun um I think we got to talk a little bit about Sheffer he we haven’t seen we haven’t seen this small of odds uh going into the week to win since tiger I think he was plus 300 going into the week just a prohibitive favorite and Scotty couldn’t figure those green surfaces out hit the ball plenty plenty good enough to contend in this event just could not figure out the the green surfaces I think at one point during our coverage on Sunday he was the worst putter in the field um they’re tough greens they they’re greens that you you play a few more times that you actually learn them some and Scotty he just he couldn’t he he you saw him with hands on hips you saw all kind of looks we saw frustration a ton of frustration from him as a week moved along and he just never never sorted it out I I think that I think that goes to lack of preparation I mean he he he played Memorial the week before and that that weekend at Memorial as Jack tries to do every year we had good weather it was firm it was brutal I mean to the point like on Sunday at Memorial 16 you couldn’t even go with that flag the closest you you could take on all the risk possible try to hit a big hook in there and the closest you could get was probably 25 feet and that would be taking on way more risk than it was worth I just think the stress of him being in contention all the time and I I saw him Monday night out there at Pinehurst um he was walking the course with Ted Scott and just chipping around the greens hitting a few putts uh he had never been there before I think he had been invited to to come by Bob deadmond to stay in his house and and play a couple rounds while the course was closed he could have had the whole place to himself but I mean Scotty just had a baby he’s played a ton of golf he was I mean everything that happened to him at the PGA Championship like he didn’t have a lot of downtime and I think the stress of that Memorial win was just unfair a little bit that these guys are forced to play these huge events the week before a major and really affect their prep and I Know I Know Jack Nicholas was not particularly excited about the memorial being the week before the US Open because Jack never liked to play the week before US Open and he wants guys to struggle and to test them at the highest level at his event when given the weather conditions they had so I think for Scotty like I’m not worried about him at all I think he’s fine I think he’ll probably still go into trun as a favorite I think I think Bryson Xander and Rory I mean we’re we’re kind of getting to the point where we’ve got this big four right now I mean Xander has never finished outside the top 15 in the US Open and like I didn’t you I didn’t even hear his name much uh I was on on the call for feature groups on on H Friday for his group of Rory him and Sheffer and I mean it was it was you know he just didn’t seem to have it and then all of a sudden he has a nice Saturday Sunday and he finishes where he did so I mean very impressive performance by him um but yeah with sheffler man I just think he was cooked emotionally physically didn’t have the time to prepare and learn this golf course because I mean as you know Brendon I I think the more you play Pinehurst number two the more you figure it out and it’s not something you can get done with walking 18 chipping and putting it’s not something you can get done with Nine and Nine on Tuesday Wednesday you need to play this golf course over and over and I think the fact that he didn’t come in and I get it he had a baby I’m not knocking him for not coming in I just think that it it exposed his naivity for uh this golf course and I’ll give you one example of that and that was Friday on five going at the fifth Green from 253 yards and he hit it into the front of the green it looked like was going to be really good it rolls into the native area left and he makes double and it’s like man had you played here a couple times knowing that pin maybe you even lay up from 256 front but if you miss it from 26 256 front you’re missing it right you don’t miss it left of that green and I just I think Rory to Rory had played there in 14 but I think a lot of these guys like it was so demanding the practice rounds were so slow that a lot of them didn’t get the normal prep that they would need for this exacting of a venue yeah when when I saw the schedule and I saw that it went Memorial US Open Travelers and Memorial and travelers were both Signature Events I didn’t understand that one at all um it it didn’t make any sense to me Memorial is in essence like playing a major championship golf course it’s one of the hottest regular PGA Tour events out there it’s going to take a bunch out of you when you’re in contention and I couldn’t agree more with you I I think Scotty was Scotty was tired he was tired from the start he uh you you could see there as you said just the the nine-hole practice rounds or just the walking of the golf course with a with a wedge and a putter I I I agree with doing that sure that the difficulty of that Golf Course is around the greens and stuff but I I think you still need a little bit more prep than that he he wasn’t he wasn’t fully prepared and and this is a guy that typically leaves no stone unturned he typically will show up at an event and he has done everything that’s necessary to be ready to tee it up on a Thursday morning and he just didn’t have the time or the energy to do that this week because of the way the schedules worked out yeah I I I mean I’m I’m I’m completely with you but I am really looking forward to trun it’s been it’s been an awesome major championship season where you know I know Scotty kind of blew away the Masters but the PGA had a great finish this one had a great finish anything else you want to talk about from the week uh that that stuck out to you no I I just want to reiterate one more time how how impressed I I was with the the way the USGA set everything up and the way they handled everything um I I think they’ve sorted things out I I think that um John Bowen Hammer is the right man for the job I I I listened to him we had like a little players or not a players meeting but a meeting before uh before we went out on on Wednesday and he came in there and gave a speech and this is a guy that i’ I’d like to be behind and like to to work for he’s uh he’s a guy that’s got it got it spot on and and I think him and then the the setup committee got everything exactly right yeah I spent quite a bit of time with Scott Lanley out on the golf course and a guy you and I know well played professional golf for a while almost won his first PJ tour start as a rookie he and Russell Henley there at the Sony Open so I think they and since they hired Jason Gore and now Langley’s taking his spot I do I think they’re making the right decisions Mike Juan has been a great leader as well Jeff Hall Fred paal the the president um you know the usj had a pretty bad reputation of just being bullies and trying to trying to make players look foolish and they’ve really done a good thing the only negative thing I’ll say is that when Mike Wan was in the Trophy presentation he started off trying to be funny and he he he swung and he missed he said three things Pinehurst does well great hospitality great setup on a golf course and great humidity and I think all the people in the grand stands that have been sitting in there for six pluss hours like they’re like uh yeah buddy you’ve been inside the air conditioning all day we’re not laughing at that why don’t you just give Bryson the trophy we want to see him uh and Bryson walked around and I mean my caddy yesterday said he touched the trophy and so Bryson walked through the crowd of the public people uh the the public patrons not having these Hospitality Suites and walk through with the trophy and everybody he let all these people put their hands on it so I thought he was an incredibly gracious Champion he’s a man of the people he’s a man of the people uh we take us out of here Brendan well thanks everybody for listening it’s it’s always fun being with you and uh we hope to see you soon that’s Johnson Wagner I’m Brennan dong we are the wagu filt show [Music]