Spotify: NLU Podcast, Episode 801: Bay Hill Recap
Apple Podcasts: NLU Podcast, Episode 801: Bay Hill Recap
What went down: The biggest stars descended on not Hollywood, but Bay Hill! Soly invites the Pie Man and KVV to help dissect one of the most blockbuster weeks on the PGA Tour.
Scottie Scheffler wins the Arnold Palmer Invitational by six shots
(5:00) Is Scottie fixed? Must be the mallet?!??!? Scottie led the field in SG putting on Sunday – say it ain’t so! Scottie won in a commanding fashion in the final round, where he entered the day leading by two and led by five with just eight holes to play. His closest threat was Wyndham Clark who crashed on the front nine after three bogies.
Is there any fit challenger to Scottie’s campaign to repeat at The Players or Masters?
(20:00) KVV insists that the golf media at large, us included, has to do a better job of highlighting some of the up-and-comers versus the established guys (who for the most part are stinking it up). D.J. counters by saying there are two different kind of fans – the diehards, who take interest in these rising stars, and the casuals, who want to be entertained by the usual.
(25:00) D.J. brings up the fact that there’s a golf course issue on the PGA Tour, and Bay Hill, a signature event, amplified that.
The guys do an Around the Horn format of their three favorite things this week. They start with of these include Willy Z’s continued re-emergence and raging Rory.
(47:00) Some praise for Matteo Mannesaro, who wins for the first time in 11 years. A former British Amateur champion.
(55:00) The spectrum of LIV takes is fairly enormous – and maybe the only way to move this forward is pure neutrality in terms of attitude (as far as performance goes).
AK shoots a final round 65 – nice! Does this really instill any hope about a career revival? Probably not. Let’s hope he’s enjoying himself!
(1:00:00) What is our review of Smylie Kaufman’s Happy Hour? Let Smylie (organically) cook!
(1:08:00) Some love for the always chaotic No. 6 at Bay Hill. We miss you, Bryson.
(1:10:00) Have our feelings changed at all on Bay Hill? If there’s gotta be a lukewarm signature event, guess it’s gotta be this one. It remains kinda juiceless – is it supposed to be a chipping contest? What does it want to be?
(1:18:00) Other news: Joe Ogilvie joining the PGA Tour Advisory Board is an interesting development. Bailey Tardy, previously called out by the Big Man, wins at Blue Bay LPGA, besting Lydia Ko who was once again on the verge of her final HOF qualifying point.
(1:19:00) Sahith is DRIVING the ball! Wyndham Clark is a sustainable badass – consider his past year: Wells Fargo, U.S. Open, Pebble (nearly the course record).
Err, let’s talk about the Wyndham ruling a bit? Did he intentionally move his ball?
(1:30:00) Jordan Spieth! 72 holes! Do they go together anymore?
(1:33:00) More LIV insights, including some good performances from Bryson and Cam Smith.
(1:36:00) What questions do we have for Jay Monahan as he addresses the media this week at The Players? Is he still committed to striking a deal with the PIF?
A gentleman named Phil Landes submits a question to the live show, wondering if Ed Herlihy and Jimmy Dunne are still saving this golf thing or whatever.
(1:50:00) A Caffeine TV viewership update: 2M this week! Soly points out the daily users rounds out to 10k………….tough.
(1:47:00) Full Swing dropped this week (check out our full recap), and while KVV hasn’t watched it yet – he’s accepted his flowers in terms of being correct about Keegan Bradley.
Best take: (1:19:00) This one goes to Soly: Wyndham Clark didn’t win this week, but it feels like his entire past year is a capital W, like his name – and I think continuing to identify just how threatening he is in terms of majors/the remaining signature events is the nuance his play deserves.
Worst take: (20:00) While I don’t entirely disagree with KVV about platforming rising stars - it’s tough to do it when there’s very little consistency between these rising stars. Ludvig is the one name that stands out. He’s been able to sustain success in his rookie year and made an enormously strong case for why the best college player should have a PGA Tour card. But there’s few narratives that are easy for the two camps D.J. mentioned to string together.
Quotables:
(31:00) “There’s no one not playing fantastic golf that’s getting shut out of these events.” -Soly
(39:20) “(D.J., on the YouTube TV catch-up feature) There was 36 of them, and 12 of them were playing through. True nesting doll of ads-type stuff.” -D.J.
(57:00) “I feel like Tron is the only person who covers LIV honestly. He’s the only person who gets mad when his team stinks.” -KVV
(1:30:00) (On Spieth) “The guy is playing golf like he’s got two months left on the lease and he’s not getting his security deposit back.” -Soly
Referenced works: (36:40) ESPN: Paolo Uggeti’s feature on what Will Zalatoris has been through and what’s gone into the comeback
Ads:
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(45:30) Thanks to Rhoback for supporting another episode. Best fit, best feel! Use the code “NLU” on Rhoback.com for a generous 20 percent off your first order through the end of this week.