Join Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme as they dive into an action-packed episode of “The Smylie Show,” talking Scottish Open thoughts & taking you Inside Tahoe: Golf, Celebs & Wild Stories! 🌟 Smylie recounts his thrilling week at the American Century Championship in Edgewood, where he rubbed elbows with stars like Josh Allen and the Curry family.
🚀 In this episode:
– Smylie’s celebrity encounters and wild stories from Tahoe
– The scenic drive from Tahoe to San Francisco
– Travel woes and hilarious airline stories
– Recap of the Scottish Open and Robert MacIntyre’s victory
– Insights on upcoming travel and projects
Smylie also shares his experience in the Virgin Atlantic Lounge, enjoying a high-end margarita and scenic views of San Francisco landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Tune in for engaging conversations, humor, and a deep dive into the world of professional golf.
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more golf insights! #golf #pgatour #progolf #golfpodcast #golftrip #pgachampionship #memorial #justinthomas #scottiescheffler #robertmacintyre #golftips #pgatourpodcast #golfswing #traviskelce #tahoe #aaronrodgers #sethcurry #tonyromo #jasonkelce #openchampionship #scottishopen #ludvigaberg
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
3:22 – American Century Championship
9:21 – Scottish Open
11:28 – Robert MacIntyre
15:48 – The 16th Hole
18:56 – How would you write the rules differently
23:13 – What do players think about controversial drops
25:50 – Is a margarita and a cookie a good combo
26:45 – Ludvig’s Final Round
27:50 – Ludvig’s Recent High Leverage Performances
31:24 – Pace of Play
35:15 – One-and-Done Recap
36:35 – Aaron Rai
41:36 – Justin Thomas
43:24 – LIV at Valderrama
45:24 – Abraham Ancer’s club toss
47:50 – Home game environments
50:38 – How the Fireballs won
52:49 – Flight Update
53:31 – Wrapping Up
55:23 – Like & Subscribe
[Music] H Smiley caufman for 61 wow I’m Smiley caufman and this is the Smiley Show welcome back to another episode of the Smiley Show and uh I’m laughing here I hope you’re watching on YouTube or Sports grid TV because Smiley just cheersed us with uh some sort of ornate looking drink Smiley’s in the Virgin Atlantic Lounge in San Francisco Airport some some Delta family uh of airports as he is in route overseas to United Kingdom for the Open Championship fresh off a week in Tahoe yeah uh got a little Margarita it’s actually fantastic uh when it came out you know I’m used to the big jumbo Margaritas that you get in the uh Mexican restaurants but this is like a high-end one with the salt on the side uh yeah it’s really good uh and after that drive about three and half hours from Tahoe uh to here by the way San Francisco is so beautiful uh driving in seeing the Golden Gate Bridge also seeing Al Alcatraz which is where I play a lot of war zone I know every inch of that map so it was cool wave of that as I uh drove past but yeah beautiful city it it is it’s funny I and growing up in Fresno that’s about as far north as I ever traveled we were talking you’re on the way in passing Sacramento and it’s like that’s a part of the state that I never ever really went to as far as I was concerned San Francisco was the top of the State of California when I was living there but it was uh it’s funny because everyone everyone always like looks at the Golden Gate Bridge and that’s like the iconic thing and that was another Bridge like if you were coming from the south you just you would never ever go on that bridge you take a different so you just kind of look at it from the distance anyway this is this is a this is a very random tangent we’re on now San Francisco landmarks but uh uh yeah I’m also short on sleep uh give my own air issues I’ve had for the last couple days flying on you’re on a tough run really tough run Jet B it I’m calling it jet BL it from now on it’s now on the no fly list uh we’re not we’re not doing that ever ever again uh so American Airlines Jet Blue it both on the uh both on the list right as of now both on the the the Charlie Hume do not fly list uh I I gotta I need to make a call to Jet Blue uh to request they they gave me a $150 travel voucher and I’m going to try to negotiate a little bit and say I want that cash because I never want to fly your airline again you do the same with American as well we’re going to stick to Delta you’re a big Delta guy I’m going to try to kind of follow in your footsteps uh we have some travel big Del guy we’re we’re we’re looking at some travel upcoming for some projects and I I’m I’m either gonna do Delta or I’m gonna just rent a van because those are my dude unfortunately like Raleigh’s like a big like it’s more American Airlines than it is Delta right big American Airlines hub uh which is is problematic unless I want to drive to Charlotte I guess uh or do you know what Southwest really they do a pretty good job for the where they sit in the airline food chain so like I’m I’m going to do a little Southwest American or Southwest Delta rather combo I’m here for that yeah yeah we’ll see we’ll see how it goes uh that’s that’s neither here nor there uh let’s let’s let’s dig into the meat of this episode a little bit really what we should start is what you were just doing which was uh at the American cental Championship out in uh did a lot of that that Margarita lasted like 7 Seconds by the way that’s uh that’s that’s it looked phenomenal I’m sure you yeah a lot of that stuff out at Edgewood and I just what I know about this was uh while I was traveling uh ending this sort of this run I’ve been on I was getting texts from your Dad aka the squirrel man uh I got a video of you catching a pass from from Josh Allen which is amazing heard some rumors you shooting Hoops with the curry family also amazing uh and uh your dad Jeff got a shout out from Charles Barkley so how about that for the week out there what explain a little bit more about big we big week for Jeff yeah Jeff got some shout outs and from Charles yeah dude the the week I mean Tahoe live lived up to it man I mean just they had such a great list of athletes celebrities um you know all these people that I’ve always been fans of that I just had you know an opportunity to spend a lot of time with uh and there was karaoke one night there was another party the night before at a kind of a concert venue then there was a concert that we went to so every single night you had an opportunity to socialize with you know all these famous people so for me it was did we get Drops of Jupiter did we get a little drops Jupiter actually so the karaoke night I I I joked that I was going to sing Drops of Jupiter which is my karaoke goto song I I say chicken out I just wanted to feel it out year one seeing like is it just a celebrity thing or are other people doing it too you know I think now that I know a majority of the people if I got up there everybody would be like oh it’s that guy it’s the guy from the 17th Hole uh that won’t shut up and stop interviewing me so it’s that guy but Drops of Jupiter or uh that was going to be the song or it’s a great day to be alive Travis trit that one always seems to get the people going too but to uh I mean just the just the golf tournament was I mean I I think I drove around at one time so if you told me like oh what do you think of the seventh hole i’ be like I have no idea I was on the 17th hole on Friday Saturday and Sunday and had the best view of just so many fans that were there out out there trying to get whether it was an autograph or just a picture of some of the world’s famous athletes and celebrities and I had the best seat in the house so the week was pretty dang cool uh the Kelsey Brothers I feel like kind of stld the show the MVP though for me probably Blake Griffin I told him this on air this guy is just an electric Factory Absolute Electric Factory him and chanler Parsons were kind of tied to the hip a little bit they did karaoke together and they were fantastic I I I can’t remember what song he sang but it was something with I think a little bit of rap in it to where they both got lost in the karaoke like with the lines of where they were in the song like they were telling the band they were wrong but I think it was definitely them and so those two guys uh cracked me up man um but they’re just their personal Chan’s personality Blakes as well I guess give them co-mvps because they they were uh they were hilarious this weekend that’s amazing it looked like it always looks like a ton of fun but I tuned in a little bit to kind of just to see what you had going there on on the 17th and and is it correct that I believe I saw Jason Kelce uh blade a wed shot across the and end up on was he playing a shot from the beach like does it just does the 17 just drop off into the beach next to yeah it’s like 10 feet of sand and right into Lake Tahoe that has got to be one of the cooler like course features that exists like just you know it’s make make an Ace and just strip down run in the L it was great spectating I mean all it was just a the Lake Tahoe Navy of boats were out there every single day the music was blaring just uh one of the coolest things ever and part of me was like is this what live is like you know just the music blaring and hey I loved it it was a great uh place to spectate uh just you know did I call it real golf no but it was it was a really cool atmosphere and I loved it I was thinking is this would I like this every week no I wouldn’t but this was really cool yes yes that that is the interesting you know it’s like it’s in some ways I feel like that’s where to really go on a tangent that’s where we’re at with Bryson where it’s like you know some of the charm is you just get him every once in a while you know and you get the the music every once in a while and you’re like hey this is kind of fun kind of miss this I can used to this but then you you really you can’t get used to it that’s kind of the charm of it that it’s every once in a while well Smiley has successfully dined in the uh the Old Virgin Atlantic Club just had a little dinner break here uh so we’re we’re good on that front and uh just ordered some uh cookies as well it’s pistachio dark chocolate sea salt I’m not sure if all three come or if if she’s just going to surprise me what do we have for dinner by the way what was what was what was that little Club House chicken burger uh I’ll give it a 6.2 out of 10 for the fries that’s what’s going to hold me down for the fight yeah that’s playing it safe that’s like drafting a left guard you know just going to kind of anchor the line it’s going to keep it going to keep the the team you know between the lines there so she said the Salmon’s great but last I want to do is order salmon and it just and then I just get hungry you know yeah light and also airport fish um even even in San Francisco Airport fish not to be trusted so yeah so there you have it here we are well uh yeah that’s enough about our uh let’s see random random airport dining travels uh Tahoe things of that nature let’s get right into the the professional golf uh so to speak the Scottish open where we had another thrilling storyline at a national open uh but another the same winner Robert McIntyre again wins the national open the Scottish open uh gets it done in front of the home crowd year after coming up you know just narrowly short with Rory winning last year uh I I got to put my hand up and say I don’t know how the the data gut model did not catch this one this should have been like big flags big big blue and white cross Scottish Flags uh you know identifying Bobby Mack as as a as a potential winner here because he he has talked about how he he gets home he’s been homesick at times loves being back at home his other went on tour this year at the Canadian open came with his dad on the bag so this should have been an easy one to flag my apologies uh but you know a a it I think maybe the place to start is kind of big picture on Robert McIntyre because he’s projected a jump to number 16 in the world he crazy man he’s now won twice this this season on tour there are only two other guys that have done that on tour one was Rory mroy one of those wins came partnered with with Shane Lowry uh and the other is Scotty Sheffer of course so it it is difficult to win twice in a season on tour and that is pretty good company Bobby Mack is in now and to just kind of extend on that point of just the homesickness and the betting in on PGA Tour and kind of you know trying to find your footing in a place that’s maybe a bit uncomfortable just making sense of of his trajectory and where he’s at because to me this is a guy obviously been on a winning Ridder cup side um he he feels like a guy that if he could make the UK his home base and play on a global tour he’d absolutely dominate um but I just I I personally have trouble kind of projecting out what the rest of his career looks like simply because it’s like how comfortable will he be playing a full-time circuit in the United States of America where to this point he said I it’s not been comfortable for me you know it’s interesting you say all that and and I I will say it definitely was look us right into the face I I can’t believe we didn’t really even mention Robert heading into the Scottish open a guy that had such a good chance to win last year plays you know he’s playing home type of conditions so it’s got to be comfortable to him he likes the golf course obviously so that was a misstep by our part because that was I think it’s easy too to sometimes think that guys are going to put too much pressure on themselves and you either say oh he’s going to play well there because you know he’s at home he should feel comfortable or it’s the other way you never feel like the middle ground of that so I I either think like Robert’s missing the cut or he’s you know going to win like he did this week but uh in Robert’s career too um as the margarit is getting delivered Margarita number two cheers thank you different glass this time I I really could go for a margarita right about now it’s a big boy glasses time compared to the other one but it seems that Robert is is feaster famine a bit and you know when you when I’ve watched him play it’s definitely good it’s it’s nothing great considering all the other players that I watch week in and week out I I think he does a lot of stuff stuff really well but it’s nothing that just catches my eye if that makes sense to you so and data go kind of shows that a little bit too that he you know there’s there’s nothing that just is like a huge strength in his game he’s just a player that when he’s playing well uh he’s able to take advantage of weeks in which Everything feels really well uh he’s a guy that misses plenty of cuts but he seems to take advantage of his good weeks better than most players which I think I don’t know if that’s more about playn weekends or more about once you just get to Saturday it’s like okay finally the the pressure’s off making the cut and and is able to go out and play with some confidence so you wouldn’t have seen it coming into the week you know missing the cut of the rocket mortgage uh you missing the cut of the USA open obviously W in Canada so you just kind of felt like Canada was going to be his swan song this year you just I felt like that was going to be you know his big moment in 2024 so him winning the Scottish open took me by surprise obviously took you by surprise but what an absolute scene on the 18th green that was so cool to see oh my gosh yes I mean I think for a guy that um I mean clearly cares so much about this place and and this tournament you know I think it it’s it’s interesting that it it it that he won the Canadian open this year and he had a similarly emotional response for very different reasons cuz his dad was there on the bag with him but that same tournament the year before we got the Nick Taylor win that was absolutely electric and this very much felt like the same sort of thing of a guy that is just so thrilled to win this tournament in front of a home crowd and thrilled as an understatement right oh my I mean it’s it’s well I think it’s just one of those things it’s why golf’s so cool is that you know there are um guys who could have won this who would have been very happy to secure a PGA win one that has a maybe a little bit of a larger purse given the partnership with the DP World Tour and one that leads into a major but for a guy like Bobby Mack to win in front of the home crowd just means so much more and I I think and it’s a great point you make too about if you go back and you look at his results I mean I think he’s missed nine cuts this year that early stretch of the season was really rough and I think maybe personally when I’m kind of looking at these guys and trying to figure out if they’re going to play good or not maybe may I I place a little bit too much emphasis on a recent run of form but that’s why I say just I I have trouble assessing a guy like this because it the thing that should have been staring me in the face is he’s he’s he’s he’s kind of telling you when he’s going to play good it’s like I miss home if I have something that makes me comfortable like my dad on the bag or being in Scotland I’m probably going to play a lot better and you know here we go the two times that’s happened he’s come home with trophies so I think that’s credit give him credit right like when he finds himself conention he knows how to win and he’s he’s not scared of winning he’s he kind of is able to just to go out and and Go full boore and just trusts his game and knows that it’s good enough to go out and win and so when you see his name near the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend you just have to think to yourself don’t overlook this guy without a doubt uh I think the place to go next is the way in Wich he won because it’s been the subject of quite a bit of discussion online uh so uh Robert McIntyre finishes 333 and that is an eagle a par and a birdie uh to win the tournament by a shot over Adam Scott and I think the place to start our discussion is the three he makes at 16 that eagle and so just to recap for those who did not watch it uh 16 is a 568 yard par five was I think was playing the easiest on the course uh on Sunday and so Robert hits his Drive 324 yards and and kind of misses the Fairway right into some of that classic thick long grass which is easy to do because if you miss it left there’s two pot bunkers that you just cannot go in so it’s I think it’s one of the harder drives on that golf course but if you find a lie in the right Fescue if you find a lie in if you hit the Fairway it’s not a complicated second shot yeah he and he ends up in a place where having just returned from Scotland I’m not sure I could have gotten out of that lie with a chainsaw I mean it was very deep in there and so he gets over there and he and his caddy are kind of going through options looks like they’re going to kind of try to chip out to the left and he’s taking some practice wings and it looks like he’s got a a scythe in his hand because he’s just taking huge chunks of grass a swap of grass as he’s kind of getting ready for this and and sort of clearing some of that that grass and then going to take his stance he’s realizing that he is standing on a sprinkler and he’s almost like the the reaction is he’s stunned he he said I think he said something to the effect of it was great the mics picked it up like I’m not even fooling I’m not even joking like I think I can feel a sprinkler on my stance he also noted that the only reason he felt it was uh because he was wearing metal spikes instead of instead of the soft spikes which I I to to go on a real tangent we want to do this later I found deeply ironic as siit the GAA stayed to watch him and celebrate his win and hith has been on the show and is on the record as being very anti- metal Spike so I think so H the robber need to have some sort of a long form discussion about no we see this is a different deal so when you play Links Golf I’m actually all for the metal spikes okay all right yeah firmer ground better grip and if the ground is already firmed you’re not going to see Spike marks you see Spike marks on places that the greens are soft uh there you go typically links cof you’re not going to see the spike marks well there you go so learn something new every day that’s one thing and also the other benefit to wearing metal spikes and Links Golf is if you hit it in the long grass and you you stand take a stance you might find a sprinkler that’s going to entitle you to free relief and that is exactly what happens in this situation calls over a rules official he agrees yep you are standing on a sprinkler the drop he gets is a a pretty perfect lie for where he was he ended up in the rough a very different situation than where he driven the ball he’s got 247 in and he hits a seven iron from that distance and runs it up to six feet makes that eagle Putt and that shot proves to be the difference so I I think I here’s what I want to just kind of EXP with you a little bit is I I am not saying at all this is Bobby Max fault for taking the drop I think if you were a pro and you are not using the rules to your advantage you are naive and or foolish so I I I think he did the right thing in trying to position himself best to win this tournament but how do we feel about this Rule and a a when you’re playing tournament golf you hit the ball in a place you’re entitled to relief but the the the situation that the the ball is being played from materially Chang as a result of that drop what are your feelings on that man if there’s a sprinkler head there and it’s on my foot I’m taking a drop I don’t care I don’t care how bad the LIE is it’s you’re entitled to a drop I think the biggest issue that that rules guys have in whether it’s Grand stands that that block a ball that go 40 yards compared to where it should have gone I’m much more on that side of like that’s not where the golf ball would have ended up in this situation listen you’re you’re entitled if you’re if you’re standing on a sprinkler head and if it’s on let’s say it was up next to the green and you had a nasty lie and next thing you know you’re uh let’s say you were a yard away from being in the first Fairway cut taking a you know you’re taking a drop and uh next thing you get your putter out so it happens all the time now I do feel like if you’re you know let’s say in that same situation that I’m talking about where your ball is green side into some nasty rough and you’re standing on a sprinkler head and then you’re able to get the ball onto The Fringe or being able to get the pter out I feel like it should stay in the same grass that it’s in now the situation that you’re describing in the Fescue I haven’t seen the video but it sounds like he was already in that that area I don’t think you can replicate the LIE um maybe you could but that’s just so discretionary right like you there’s no way to be able for the guys in the group like yep that’s the exact same lie that you had so I’m I’m for the free relief uh but I’m I’m also here for controversy as well uh so if this gives us something to talk about then fine yes I mean there’s nothing like a good uh media created outrage that you know bunch of people are yelling about and it’s actually just not that big of a controversy at all it’s just like 12 people that are screaming into the void about it I I think it’s like why is there a sprinkler head there that that would be the question that is that is where my head went first I was like why is it there and why is it so buried is that a functional sprinkler head and maybe should we look at maybe getting that removed at some point in time because not sure that we’re using that uh I I think you make a good point too about you know when people complain in any sport about the rules and the way they’re written it you kind of got you have to take the next step of okay well how would you write them differently and that’s where think we get hung up in this situation is you know it is completely arbitrary if he has the LIE he has and you’re saying well you can’t materially change or improve the lie it’s like well then who’s going to be the person that goes and takes it away from the sprinkler and then finds another part of the grass to put it into where there’s not a material change you know it’s you really can only write a rule to be as simple as you’re standing on a thing that you shouldn’t have to stand on you get x amount of Club lengths from where you’re understanding and the method by which we’re telling you to replace the ball is to drop it from your knee I mean that you really can’t write it in any way that makes it so ambiguous that that it’s you can’t you know interpret it clearly so I I I think that’s a fair point but also I share the same agreement with you of you know we see some weird stuff around those the TI and the grand stands and this and that where it it’s there was one a couple weeks ago on the DP World Tour where they had like a Hospitality tent that was literally right up against the Green and and I think I saw a guy like air mail it into that you know Hospitality area and then just took a drop on the actual green you’re like this is first of all terrible course construction but second of all like why why are we doing tournaments in this way shape or form uh so on on that topic have you been in a locker room around a tournament where you’re watching a competitor or or someone else who you’re playing with your friend of is watching competitor who gets a drop like that and what is thepe reaction you get in that situation is it just like hey that’s how it goes or it’s like is it like you got to be kidding me man how does he get that drop in that situation like I wonder how an Adam Scott feels looking back on that like really that’s how I lose the golf tournament you didn’t see guys question drops quite as much uh with when it comes to sprinkler head because I think a lot of a lot of players you know there’s a benefit of the doubt when it comes to that it’s you know they they trust hey this is the shot you were trying to play now there’s time times where guys you know bended a little bit if they’re next to a tree and it’s like oh you know my only shot was to play Lefty and I’m standing in the cart path next thing you know you take a drop now you’re hitting righty and have a full shot at the green so that there’s ways in which it’s like ah is that really the fairest thing ever no um but I think the other big one is is just Why like where your ball crosses the water it’s that’s such a opinion and what your what your eyes see versus another person and the angles that you have I think you you hear about that maybe every other month about something of of like man that was a dicey drop and and sometimes our our TV uh picks up the conversations like the you know the Rory one Rory at seven at uh at the Players was a popular and 18 that same day so uh Daniel Burger comes to mind um at 16 at Players I don’t know why all these are at Players but maybe a lot of water but yeah no it’s I think for the most part all the guys uh they know how the PGA Tour rules officials are going to govern uh and and just how and what you can get away with as far as just drops and for the most part they protect the players um health and safety when it comes to potentially injuring yourself but I mean sometimes you get lucky which is what you got to do to win and I tell you this all the time when it comes to winning you got to get lucky and Robert McIntyre got lucky but guess what he did too he took advantage of it yeah and and by the way uh McIntyre knows he got lucky there’s an extended quote that he gave after the win where he you know said hey it it it in summary was effectively just that like I I I couldn’t believe it I was stunned I said to my caddy you know I think I’m standing on a sprinkler and then you get a bit of luck and you know he still had to hit the seven iron to six feet you know and make that putt so oh so is this for the YouTube audience the TV audience this is a warm pistachio cookie is that like a sea salt um cook wow that look phenomenal yeah we get into that here in a bit yeah I’m going a midnight snack after this Mar a cookie though is that that didn’t really go together listen man if you listen to our Thanksgiving draft we had last year Margarita goes with anything it’s a shame that that only like 17 people listen to that because it was probably one of our best episodes that that was if you have like an hour to kill and nothing else to do with your life go listen to our our Thanksgiving draft or watch it on YouTube because it was uh it was it was one exactly as smiley says there was if you couldn’t follow if you couldn’t follow exactly what we were trying to do there we didn’t really know either um but we had a good time with it boy did we I can’t wait to run that back this year not sure what we’re going to do the wrinkles going to be this year but that was uh quite enjoyable uh the the other guy worth talking about I mean there are a number of notable names at the top of the leaderboard that as we preview the Open Championship this week we’re going to get to and talk about them in depth but luig Oar comes in the day leading uh he I mean if you look at at ludvig’s week it’s so strange like he goes 64 64 65 and then 73 on Sunday three over par uh and looking at The Strokes gain stats I mean it’s just it was just bad across the board it was you know he his his probably his worst metric was well his worst metric was around the green lost a shot in a half there but close after that was uh it lost a shot in a quarter off the t uh lost 1.1 shots approach and then his best statistic was putting but still was in the negative there 0.67 Strokes gained uh putting so just a a a strange sort of finish to this tournament for ludig a guy that we know has all the talent in the world a guy who’s near the top of the you know the favorites board for you know next week at trun for the Open Championship uh so I just wonder what sort of Reflections you had on you know that result for him given how much we think of his game and his performances in these sort of situations well I think it’s always good to look at how the rest of the field played that day and just what they were relative to par and the fact that only 16 players shot over par of 74 players and of the top 26 guys only one guy shot over par and that was luigo Berg another player shot even par M Mato manaco but I I think you you have to you have to be a little judgy on this round you know that that’s not a good performance for a player who’s had a really strong three days and felt like it was going to be his his tournament to lose you know I I think I woke up uh today uh it was I guess these guys were about to tea off and it just felt like there was no way lud Vic was going to lose today I just felt like he was the front runner the whole time uh played fantastic the whole week what was going to stop him and just didn’t expect a day in which where he just didn’t have it I I think that that was really surprising that he was not able to uh give it much more of a fight than he did um I I don’t think you can say that OD he doesn’t he doesn’t know how to win or he doesn’t have the clutch Gene well that’s not true um he’s he’s one at every level he’s one on the PGA tour but this one’s going to sting a little bit I think he’s going to be a little frustrated by his play today and sometimes you just don’t have it but it’s on a on a Sunday and a day in which you have a two shot lead and you’re playing as well as you you are I I think surprised that he was in a better Rhythm and not able to kind of stay in that same mind frame that he had the first three days yeah you and I were talking in preparation for this episode about um you know just looking back at at comparable situations you know this season you know in his first kind of full one on on tour um I mean I I you know last year had the half season where he got the PGA Tour you promotion and and of course one in the fall which which counted towards last season even though it was a double wrap around fall that was his first went on tour um but you know just looking at at at this year year specifically there are four tournaments that I pulled to kind of reference you know when he’s been in a position to kind of go out and win a high leverage tournament and so obviously we just saw him at the US Open he was you know in Solo first after the second round he shoots 7373 on the weekend to finish T12 uh the RBC Heritage he’s tied for fourth after the third round uh shoots 72 to finish tied for 10th uh at the Masters this kind of runs counter to the point that we’re making right now is he was fourth after the third round he was one of the kind of the guys that that Rose to the top you know outside of Scotty to shoot 69 and finish uh solo second I think the the the moment we remember there is is hitting into the water at 11 and really kind of being the last guy who had a chance to beat Scotty and and then falling away you know he and col Mora making that same mistake and falling away you know and and I think both of us agree as well Scotty still wins maybe it’s by Two Shots instead of four but you know ludic still you know thought play played really well there to finish second and then of course the AT&T proam where he is second a shot back after the third round and we don’t even get the fourth round played because of all the weather that was in the area that weekend so you know I I think that some of the chatter that you we’ve both seen as it relates to you know his ability to close tournaments and are we worried about this I mean I personally am not I think that there are definitely some tough moments I’m curious you know I’d love to hear your perspective on you know as he beds into the PJ tour one thing that struck me today was watching the difference in in Pace of play between both ludvig and Bob McIntyre and I think that um you know there is it seemed like there were moments where he I think I don’t know if they were put on the clock or warned early on but whatever the situation was clearly they were not playing at his preferred pace of play and if you’re in his Camp are you suggesting any sort of adjustment or or just you know hey I know you like to play this way and everyone loves you for it but maybe let’s kind of try to fit in with the rest of the tour here so that you you’re taking the time you need to hit these high leverage shots when you’re in contention on a Sunday do they play uh two sims or three Sims I believe it was two sims today okay um you know just double check that maybe that there was an issue with maybe would we got in some trouble early in the day next thing you know you’re put on the clock that always can throw players off especially when they don’t like being on the clock for a guy like ludig who’s never really on the clock because he’s a very quick player like you’re talking about but I don’t think Robert uh or Bob as so many call him uh would be by any means slow playing anyone uh I think ludvig is a quick player he wants to play Fast he wants to stay in Rhythm but you know every day is different I think you you especially on a Sunday you have to find a way to will yourself on days you don’t have it and W didn’t have it today so the fact that he wasn’t able to kind of just dig a little deeper and just whether it was a put he had to make or a decision with an iron shot to play it more toward conservatively and uh maybe got caught playing too aggressive trying to play catchup and make birdies uh I wish I could comment more on it as I was working all day uh wasn’t able to get to watch it all but uh that you see that happen happen a lot of times with with guys that are pushing uh that maybe had uh woken up of all they’re thinking about is is winning the golf tournament and sometimes they skip some steps and not able to stay present uh but no you don’t you don’t need to change routines and I don’t think wfic doesn’t to me he’s very instinctual he’s not a guy that yes he has a routine but he’ll slow it down if he needs to yeah yeah I mean it it just was something that that for me obviously and I wouldn’t suggest that McIntyre was slow playing him more so than he just has a routine that he sticks to and he’s going to do it every single time and he’s especially deliberate around the greens and I think it was maybe Brian Harmon that I was reading at one point where he maybe played at a different pace you know when he arrived on tour and you know he he’d just been told you know by someone whether it was a sports psychologist or a coach like hey you know you need to kind of slow things down because that’s the rate of which you’re going to play on tour you know that’s the way that’s the the pace everyone else is going to play around you you and you shouldn’t be hitting shots before you’re ready and and so I’m not suggesting that ludig is not ready when he’s hitting these shots I just I wonder if some of that you know trying to kind of calibrate the rate of which you’re kind of pacing these days out as it changes to a guy who is more deliberate if that’s something that impacts the scoring but I I think you know to your larger point that definitely feels like the story of lud VI’s day I mean you know you never see him drive it with um the type of inaccuracy that he had uh you know in that final round just stuff around the green R is usually one of the best iron players on tour stuff like that where it just yeah it was definitely an off day for him but just had a curiosity around the pce to play discussion for ludig so um yeah and he’s still one of the favorites this week and and he could very well go out and and you know win his first major trune would not Shock Me in the slightest um so some other names that that kind of want to Ping here uh obviously one and done not not you know listen we we can’t pick winners every single week might as we try uh you finished you did a lot better than I did with Tom Kim uh to my minu Lee pick Min Lee start yeah you had a little tie for 15 uh Min mle I believe was 73rd can we talk about Tom though what he did yeah you scared not really me you scared you scared me for the show when you said I woke up to a text one morning say and I thought Tom Kim was not registered for the tournament well he didn’t register for the tournament and typically he would have had to flown home but I guess there was a sponsor exemption still available and they gave it to Tom so he could have very easily flown over to Scotland realized he didn’t sign up and then had to have flown home so I’m blaming Tom Kim not winning this week in those five shots that had to be like a five shot penalty in his brain and that’s I think that ended up being the difference actually six shots you shot 1200 yeah I think that’s good for six I I I wonder I I I I wish I’d seen more of him play this week with the different you know the Tim of the tournament like did he have to slap the sponsor’s logo on he have a SP like what was the nature of that of that exemption you got to wonder what happened there behind the scenes yeah I don’t know I don’t know but but uh my My Boy Aaron Ry just can’t stop won’t stop shooting 600 par every round how about Aaron Ry so our our our two guys amongst the ones we liked we I I had the gala you had Ry both finished tied for fourth Aaron Ry here here’s what I want to just note here cuz I was looking through his stats and you know in the past his weakness has been put right uh this week in his second round on Friday gained almost three Strokes putting and then on Sunday when he goes out and shoots I think he shot a 60 he shot a 63 on Sunday uh he gained 3.36 Strokes uh putting in that Sunday round and qualifies for the Open Championship in the process so I you know for me it’s like okay everything’s starting to come together for him we and we’ve obviously seen it in the past month with some of these tournaments but just the and I I think the putting thing is especially interesting because we’ changed surfaces so much in this past month Bermuda at Pinehurst then you go to the bent po mix at Travelers and Rocket mortgage then you go to Bent at John Deere now you’re here you know putting on red Fescue and it’ll be the same next week at the open so to see him putting like this on this grass makes me think he you know now he’s in he could play pretty well at TR bro he’s a striper uh and since making the change and to see John Graham up in Rochester teaches a lot of guys out on tour he’s his Improvement in that part of his game has been the reason for the big jump I mean you you kind of reference it and how good the putting was to the Scottish open but man he had some unbelievable putting days uh at the John Deere and the rocket mortgage just days that are just you you can’t miss so obviously whatever he’s doing I remember his routine he was like taking his arm off off of the club and like putting it on his chest and maybe there’s something to either Square his shoulders or maybe he’s trying to feel his shoulders move the putter back and that’s kind of the reference point in that but my boy is all the way up in the top 50 in the world he ain’t won yet so if that tells you what type of golf he’s played he’s 45th in the world so love to see it uh maybe Aaron Ry maybe he’s the like if if there’s a guy that’s going to randomly win the Open championship ship next week that nobody’s talking about winning dude Aaron Ry yeah I mean Englishman you know should be a little bit of that home cooking uh you know he’s a guy that uh little home cooking we can’t we can’t Overlook the home cookers now the home cookers is is it’s rapidly shooting up the day to gut uh model it it’s being factored in I’m I’m tweaking my percentages of the day to gut and and home cooking he doesn’t like Links Golf so we we got to remove him from from the day to get his his his uh home cooking variable I’ve had it turn down it’s a it’s a specific toggle I’ve made for him uh yeah I I you know you got it’s interesting it’s like a Wonder has he played too much golf you know like in this in this last stretch like as he’s played I think darn near every week and is is this a guy who’s like going to be just rolling in on fumes at the Open Championship I mean I I don’t know how about how about it man he’s played so like there’s somebody that always plays really well during the summer Aaron Ry it’s been him this year he wasn’t in the open championships like you said said so to go all the way over to Scotland you know we probably didn’t have to play uh decides you know what I’m playing good enough let me go play the Scottish I’ll go try to play my way into the Open Championship and uh I’ve watched him play plenty this year it just he’s got it on a string he drives it incredibly straight and uh he’s built for an Open Championship those two gloves that he’s that he wears on both hands that is that is a guy that is built for major championship Open Championship golf I should say yes it’s like uh I wonder if he has I wonder if he has a separate pair of gloves that that’re the rain gloves like are the rain gloves the primary gloves and he has a different set of rain gloves these are all things that we might find out this week at trun if we get a little bit of precipitation have you looked at the forecast by the way uh I think it’s raining oh um I think it’s raining which fits for my boy Aon Ry rain gloves rain gloves big rain gloves week for for the Ry guy uh and and his irons you know he’s got the covers on on the heads so another good point so this guy I’m telling you you’re really heating up on Aon R am I just selling you like this is going to be the week he wins yeah you you’re starting to it’s a real shame he didn’t do it when I picked him in one and done and he came you know woefully close that’s the I see all these these guys now through the lens of one and done so you’re probably going to sneak in a little air you know what I should say this you deserve to win with Aon Ry you’ve been on the train I might pick him I might pick him you deserve to win with Aaron rise so wouldn’t that be A Cinderella Story uh well yeah I mean so I I I think I mean that’s the guy that’s puted well um JT I you know I wanted to briefly touch on he he opened up with that 62 and gained 3.42 Strokes uh putting with that new Scotty Cameron because we’d seen him change he had the Old Scotty that was a mallet and then he’d gone to that blade that was a replica of what Gordon Sergeant was using and now he’s got this new um I don’t know if it’s a prototype or it’s just like the newest model of of like the the Scotty Phantom or something like that looked really really good the Friday through Sunday not so good but golly like just watching on Thursday I was like o JT might be back like we might be in we’re back territory and you know we’ll get there we’ll get there no it’s good to see a hot putting around I think one one statistic that just popped out uh was Justin Ray tweet probably I’m not sure if it was or not but he made a 42t putt that for round and it was the longest uh putt he has made since 2022 at 42t like he had made anything outside of 40 feet which you think you’d run one in at some point over a year and a half so that just kind of tells you kind of How It’s been for JT which is a guy that normally wears out the middle of the greens and if he’s not getting anything to to go from that range like once a tournament you know you’re you don’t pick up that that extra shot or just that extra momentum putt that that you know can Propel you to some some more uh golf like it in in the coming holes so if you’re constantly just trying not to three but that’s uh you got to hit it pretty dang close yeah well let’s hope this is the putter as as a tinkerer there’s nothing better than feeling like you arrived you’re like this is this is the one I don’t have to Tinker anymore uh so I I it looked good it looked good on Thursday and let’s hope we see more of that uh in in the weeks to come so uh I think now is this good time ever to kind of turn it over to the other professional tour uh where we will be seeing some of these guys in the field this next week at the open uh live at balderama and if if you’re a Spanish sporting fan congrats you had a day on Sunday because started the day with uh a win for caritos alcaras at Wimbledon in straight sets over Novak jokovic uh and then you know you waited maybe a couple hours and you watch Spain defeat England in the Euro final uh and then uh of course maybe arguably the most important event of the day Sergio Garcia and the Fireballs when the individual and team awards at live balderama so lots of lots of Spanish traing and boy I mean Sergio looked like a Spanish flag as did the rest of his team we are God bless them I I like the fireballs and the iron heads are in a like worst uniform off and I don’t know who’s winning right now they’re both you got to throw the Legion in there too you don’t like Legion uniforms I mean the legion uniforms aren’t great but they’re also not like I mean you SE IR Shir I don’t like the logo I don’t like the Legion logo so I don’t know I don’t like it either though I don’t like the hot pink and black I don’t no that ain’t for me the iron heads uniforms are are so bad they’re almost good like they look like uh the Raiders is it is like black and gray no they have well they have like these weird like these green strip like it looks like a like a second division Italian soccer team it’s amazing uh I don’t know I don’t know who makes them or or you know where they get them from but yeah I mean those but yeah but the the Ronald McDonald look it’s it’s a look it’s definitely it’s definitely a look and shout out to anybody that parway all of the Spanish teams winning and if you happen to have the prop bet of Abraham aner throwing his wedge into the woods what a ticket you cash with alcarez Euro final Sergio the fireballs and answer answers wedge still in the air I I had I had that one is sort of a kicker to the segment but you noted it so let’s just chat about this I mean I’m a retired member of the helicopter gang used to love a good club toss but i’ I’ve been told by people love me it needs to stop and so I’m I’m doing my best but I just I want to know the shot cut off I want to know where it landed because to me to me the key to a good club toss is you have like a split second after you’ve hit a terrible shot to determine where can I throw this club to where it’s not going to damage my club head or my shaft and then you can’t you can’t be vertical it’s got to be horizontal it’s a horizontal it’s it’s a it’s like a frisbee motion and then you got to commit to the release you you can’t try to steer it in there you just got to trust it and just let that thing go and just trust that it’s going to land and I’ve had some close calls I threw a two iron into a creek bed one time miraculously missed all the rocks in there and was you know no wor for the wear but um I I just want to know I want to know if Abe was able to pick a good Target right after he stub that chip shot and and land that wedge in there nice or if we’re looking at a replacement wedge I don’t think he found that man you think he think he just left it well I think it’s so far in there I don’t think it was a situation where you’re gonna find it oh you think he threw it into like a hazard I didn’t see on the side of the thing I just I mean balderama just doesn’t seem like a place when you throw it in Into the Woods that you’re going to go find it by the way balderama easily one of my favorite venues that that live golf plays really probably one of the highest up there I just love every time balama is on TV the the scoring is always you know it’s not very low you know you can go shoot something you know 67 goes a long way when you play that golf course so that uh you know when we talk we debate the golf courses that both tours play and you know the p tours in a stretch right now where you got to go shoot a million under uh and Scottish open obviously would have been maybe a little closer to 10 underpar if it would have been a little trickier weather but balderama has a golf course that you know plays firm fast you got to drive it really well um typically the greens confirm and you know you saw believe was 600 was a winning score that’s a that’s a hell of a test well and on that topic too cuz I think this is something that we we talked about this we were kind of delighted by this earlier in the year when we saw Ripper win team Awards and Adelaide and just the the home game sort of environment that they had and just talking about how man this is this is a cool thing uh this is something that got me to pay attention to live and can they do more of this and so I’m just wondering your Reflections on having another home game sort of setup for the Fireballs I know they’re not all Spanish players but you know Sergio being the captain there you know did that do something for you seeing that team win at this setting you know and and kind of add to that sort of home game sort of setup that Liv has stumbled into in some ways yeah I mean I think it’s cool right and I think the the good way to compare it is all right so do you like a team win at home so you just mentioned uh rippers went in Australia and then Fireballs wi in Spain but I tell you what I I prefer probably Robert McIntyre winning in Scotland uh by himself I think it I think that’s cool to me I think both are both are great um but sign me up for Robert winning in in uh in Scotland I think over it I and you you could say that about you know a lot of players on the PJ tour if they you know Keegan Bradley winning at The Travelers I think that’s way cooler than than these guys winning in their their home country I think it’s great because they have all the support and maybe a little bit of an advantage I don’t know um just the four guys that are from the same place probably feel you know like they would have a little bit of a you know PPP in their step from maybe a little bit more you know their crowd cheering them on a little harder and but also you know just comfortable with the conditions of how the golf courses um and something that they’re probably familiar and growing up on but uh you know those those kind of ring in my head Travelers with Keegan and and Robert in Scotland I’m sure there’s plenty more like when Jordan’s won in Dallas uh Fort Worth those are always really fun ones I think to watch on TV but yeah I I think there’s I think that’s probably when the live golf models at its best is when you know these these teams are winning at home because guess what it on TV when you watch it’s going to sound um and feel like it’s a bigger event because the energy is more uh than it would be if let’s say the iron heads or the cleaks were winning this week in Spain yeah without a doubt I mean I I just think that’s the one thing that you know of of of the live golf model that’s the one that strikes me is being uh something gets me to pay attention and so that’s something that you probably we haven’t even talked about how like they won by the way uh how like how Sergio and the Fireballs won yes would you like to talk about that yes I mean it was a it was a two and a half footer maybe three-footer that honor Bond leiri missed oh okay so yes and by the way uh this is actually a perfect time for a little live trivia cuz our guy sha lri is back with more nuggets this week uh I I regret that I can’t get to all of them but how much money do you think honor bond leiri has won on live tour since he joined um G to go with 7.8 million wow that’s amazing do you do you want do you want another guest do you want me to tell you what he’s made just tell me 23.6 [Music] million and you know Arbon he went on a one-year contract how about that one-year contract do you know how aggressive that is to do and how big of a risk that was for him a one-year deal and goes and earns it earns a spot on The Crushers signs probably for a three-year deal after that first year but that’s uh you know what and for some guys you know I’m not saying that that Liv isn’t it’s it’s great for Honor bony he did he didn’t ever really get into the PGA or like you know he wasn’t his family never really like settled into Florida in times I’ve talked to him I think he’s living I believe he’s in Dubai I believe last time I talked to like which is a little closer um to home to India where he grew up so I I think it’s you know been beneficial for guys like that and you kind of mentioned Robert McIntyre being homesick um earlier this year and and this is like the time of the year where it’s like God I wish I wish the PJ tour just leaned into all these opens just an Irish open Scottish open the open and we were playing harder golf courses tougher conditions you know the winner at the end of the week is most likely the guy who played the best that week and it’s not as much of an execution test it’s a guy who actually golfed his ball and was able to you know fight all the elements and I I want to see more of that I think there’s a place and okay all right we got a little breaking news flight update please make your way down to gate A2 as a courtesy reminder please check all your personal belong before leaving the club on beh of vir Atlantic we thank you for spending your time with us and have a pleas that’s our rap signal I I I think we got a wrap okay uh well uh this is the part of the episode where Smiley’s just received his gate announcement so I’m not sure where we were in and I finished my cookie and you finish your cookie so let’s finish your cookie now uh and yeah look there there we had a few other things on our docket that we were going to get to but here’s here’s the great thing about that is is I had some some numbers and Stat that shaa passed on on John ROM and we get to talk about that as part of our Open Championship preview because as we’ve discussed previously on the show this is a big one for ROM final major of the Year chance to make a statement so we’ll get to that at that point um and we’ve got a lot of fun stuff coming up this week we’ve got an Open Championship preview we’re going to discuss trun some historical facts and figures uh from previous opens played here we have of course our one andone picks we’re going to have a huge bounceback week get a little playoff and live stream you’re G to have a bounceback week I actually had a pretty decent week yeah yeah yeah I’m speaking for myself here but you know I’m also I’m coming off a wind so I have a little bit of you know a little bit of leeway there uh so and smiley of course on site in trune uh 7.4 on the cookie 7.4 for the cookie so look that’s good we went up we went from 6.2 to 7.4 off S a nine that’s it looked like a nine it look like a 9.5 these this is fantastic some tells me they might serve you a few of those on the flight over to hedro so uh I’m not like a I’m not a plain alcohol Drinker yeah um it’s like not my thing I’m actually only drink it’s the only time I ever drink soda on a plane it’s I drink I’ll drink Sprite every flight okay and I never drink soda anywhere else it’s just a weirdest thing well I mean I’m sure you’re going to have plent you got plenty of time to go have some Sprites some margaritas on the way over there and the next time we see you we’re going to be talking to you to preview the Open Championship so we’re looking forward to that and then of course as we do always for all these Majors we’re going to have daily journals recapping all the action from trun so that’s what you got to look forward to this week we appreciate you watching and listening and we’ll be not back here I’ll be here smiley will be over there we’ll talk to you soon you know I listen to this podcast it’s really cool all of our fans and subscribers but make sure you like And subscribe it’s cool to see what you guys are doing I know golf fans appreciate it but we we do too so please keep it up for all the good people YouTube like And subscribe you guys have some good takes so I’m happy to come on and and shoot the
4 Comments
Great show per usual fellas! Would either of you be open to come on my show for an interview sometime?
I had to quit throwing clubs when I couldn't master the release point. Club always went 90° to my desired line. Real world problems! #nomorethrows
I love national Opens
Regarding Bob Mac's drop in the ruff. If you look at the clip where the ball was, you can see that the grass is so much juicier around the sprinkler. This means that part gets more water than other parts of the rough.