What went down: It’s a present tense kind of show notes week. What does that mean?
Well, the Cognizant Classic will see a Monday finish after a typical Sunday in South Florida occurred. At the time of my writing this, the final group is through five holes. Guess Garfield’s in for an interesting Monday of golf.
(4:00) But before they jump into that, Soly and the Schuster brothers start things off a little differently this week with a Pro Golf Fantasy Draft. And no, it’s not in connection with the current pro golf year. This is a six-year draft.
Points allotted by tournament victories/finishes:
Majors: 8
Signature wins: 3
PGA Tour wins: 2
LIV: 1
DP World: 1
Major top fives: 1
For posterity, let’s document their answers (this is a snake draft format):
Tron: 1. Viktor Hovland 6. Ludvig Aberg 7. Patrick Cantlay 12. Justin Thomas 13. Tommy Fleetwood 18. Joaquin Niemann 19. Nick Dunlap 24. Sahith Theegala 25. Sungjae Im 30. Tony Finau
Soly: 2. Scottie Scheffler 5. Rory McIlroy 8. Xander Schauffele 11. Will Zalatoris 14. Cam Smith 17. Bryson DeChambeau 20. Jordan Spieth 23. Hideki Matsuyama 26. Nicolai Hojgaard 29. Tom Kim
Neil: 3. Jon Rahm, 4. Brooks Koepka 9. Collin Morikawa 10. Max Homa 15. Wyndham Clark 16. Gordon Sargent 21. Cameron Young 22. Matt Fitzpatrick 27. Daniel Berger 28. Sam Burns
(26:00) Enormous Sunday delay brings the Cognizant classic to a Monday finish
The three-hour rain delay was ALWAYS in the forecast. Could make things very complicated for the Seminole Pro-Member!
TC’s boy Austin Eckroat is 15 with 12 holes to play.
(Update: Eckroat earned his first PGA Tour victory in a three-shot win!)
Has PGA National been neutered? It has literally and figuratively gone soft.
The board member Signature event sponsor’s exemptions have once again been distributed! Soly likens it to the Nancy Pelosi stock gameplay.
That said, the recipient of one of those, Webb Simpson, had some insight on the future of the game, and made comments such as reducing field sizes from 156 to 144, and associating the idea of transparency with Jay Monahan.
How valid are these sponsor’s exemptions re: the merit of these players?
(45:00) TC offers a shoutout to Bud Cauley’s comeback.
(46:00) Addressing the Rory to LIV rumors – signs point to no, but he’s certainly not shy about his discontent toward the PGA Tour.
Where’s Rory on the PGA Tour in 2024? His play remains really lackluster.
(52:00) LIV King Abdullah Economic City: Anthony Kim, Niemann wins by 4
Is there a chance Anthony Kim is a pawn in this weird golf war? We need him to shine a light on his own story. It’s a lukewarm outcome whether he wins on LIV or not, but as Neil points out, this is the best-case scenario for him.
2 million people allegedly watched Anthony Kim on this “Caffeine TV” network…
Joaquin LIV slayer Niemann once again complains about the OWGR in his post-win reaction.
Talor Gooch buys a professional bullriding team? A W in a massive L week in which Gooch says if Rory completes his career grand slam without some of the best players in the world, there will be an asterisk – of course, Gooch is currently not in the Masters.
Oh, and according to the Times, LIV is involved in an 8 figure lawsuit with Andy Gardiner/the PGL.
Other headlines: Hannah Green wins HSBC Women’s World Championship in dramatic fashion, The Match
(1:15:00) Hannah Green made a 30-foot bomb to win the HSBC Women’s World Championship by one over Celine Boutier.
The Match featuring the Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson was a ratings disappointment. But that sounds like a great lineup! What’s the issue? Are there too many cooks in the kitchen?
The golf was cool, but the performance was awkward and stilted. It feels like trying too hard for virality. Soly will NOT apologize to DJ Khaled, who correctly reported that he showed up and thought he was playing in a match.
TC shows the 117th Argentina Open some love.
The Seminole Pro-Member is on Monday…so what happens to the Cognizant players who are in it?
Irish golfer Joe Lyons wins the Spanish Senior Amateur, but had to throw his trophy away because RyanAir wouldn’t let him bring it on.
Best take: (1:05:00) TC saying the game should erupt in even more chaos at this point. It couldn’t feel much more bleak, so why not? And the faster it bottoms out, says Soly, the faster it will come together again. The houses are on fire, but the entire neighborhood should just go up in flames.
Worst take: (1:15:00) I’m not sure if there are too many cooks in The Match kitchen – while they could subdue the booth a little bit more, I think it all comes down to selecting the right mix of personalities. I could never picture Rory, Max, Lexi and Rose hanging out voluntarily. The YouTube golf formula has kind of proven it doesn’t matter who is playing, as long as they’re in sync!
Quotables:
(19:50) “This is the worst thing we could have done, was giving him the last pick. Next name you say, TC, is your pick.” -Soly
(43:20) “Webb is one of those guys that’s going to take advantage of that top 30 career money list exemption. We’re all looking for the guy that did this – and all these guys have been on the policy board at different points and enacted all these get out of jail free cards.” -Tron
(1:00:25) “If there were 2 million people on Caffeine TV, stop telling me about it. Just have the 2 million people. Just keep them. Stop trying to make me have FOMO. I don’t have it.” -Neil
Referenced works:
(37:00) Webb Simpson interview
Ads:
(0:00) Our own Merch Czar makes a cameo in Titleist’s new docuseries, “Finding Feel,” which is available on their YouTube. Neil remarks on his sensory-deprived Titleist T-series iron-hitting experience.
With the launch of “Finding Feel,” Titleist is also giving you the opportunity to win a custom set of new T-Series irons. There are two quick steps to enter from now until March 9:
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(43:40) Full Swing is back! This episode is brought to you by season two of Full Swing. From a controversial and divisive agreement between the PGA TOUR and the PIF, to the selection of the Ryder Cup teams and the face-off between the US and Europe at Marco Simone. Full Sing takes you inside the locker rooms, meeting rooms, and family rooms where it all happened. Relive the 2023 season of professional golf with inside access you won’t find anywhere else. Watch “Full Swing,” March 6th. Only on Netflix.