Colin Cowherd Podcast - LIVE From The LIV Tour -LIV vs. PGA Tour, Shedeur Sanders Debut, Mickelson Is The Fan Favorite, Bryson vs. Brooks Rivalry

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – LIVE From The LIV Tour!

Episode Details:

• Title: Colin Cowherd Podcast - LIVE From The LIV Tour! LIV vs. PGA Tour, Shedeur Sanders Debut, Mickelson Is The Fan Favorite, Bryson vs. Brooks Rivalry
• Release Date: August 9, 2025
• Host: Colin Cowherd
• Produced by: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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1. Live from the LIV Golf Event in Chicago [02:18 – 27:59]

Colin Cowherd and his co-host John Middelkoff take listeners live from the Bolingbroke Country Club in the Chicago suburbs, where the LIV Golf event is in full swing. They describe the venue as a vibrant departure from traditional golf tournaments, emphasizing its energetic and party-like atmosphere.

Colin Cowherd [03:09]: "This. The vibe here, the energy is unlike. This is more like, I don't know, an SEC football game or something."

John notes the significant crowd size, comparing the event's energy to major sporting events, highlighting its appeal to a younger and more diverse audience.

John Middelkoff [03:26]: "The vibe here for sure. But they... it is a big crowd."

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2. LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour [03:30 – 15:05]

The discussion delves into how LIV Golf is innovating within the sport to attract a younger demographic. Colin draws parallels to changes in other sports, such as baseball's pitch clock, suggesting that similar tweaks in golf could rejuvenate its appeal.

Colin Cowherd [04:29]: "People pushed back on the pitch clock. Well, the minute they did it, the sports attendance and ratings went up."

John emphasizes the importance of star power in LIV Golf, mentioning prominent players like Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Sergio Garcia, who bring significant fan bases and media attention to the tournaments.

John Middelkoff [05:24]: "But they got a lot of... Sergio Garcia won the Masters. You know, Patrick Reed won the Masters."

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3. Phil Mickelson: Fan Favorite and Legacy [10:05 – 22:00]

A substantial portion of the conversation centers around Phil Mickelson, regarded as the event's most popular golfer. Colin and John discuss his enduring legacy, athletic prowess, and personal charisma that endears him to fans.

Colin Cowherd [11:51]: "Phil now is not yet Greg Norman, but it kind of feels like he's a businessman."

John compares Phil to legends like Arnold Palmer and Peyton Manning, highlighting his ability to connect with fans and maintain relevance in the sport despite his age.

John Middelkoff [21:40]: "He's easily one of the top seven, eight golfers in the history of the sport. And he's, to me, he's the Peyton Manning of golf."

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4. Shedeur Sanders’ NFL Debut [09:07 – 11:34]

The hosts briefly shift focus to Shedeur Sanders, discussing his recent debut as a quarterback. They evaluate his performance, noting his accuracy and movement, while contemplating his potential in the NFL.

Colin Cowherd [09:20]: "Shador Sanders. Yeah. Okay. It's a podcast, right. We got a couple topics here."

John offers a cautious optimism about Sanders’ future, acknowledging the challenges of transitioning from college to professional football.

John Middelkoff [10:13]: "So you got to be careful with that. You can judge instincts and you can just judge. This guy can play football."

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5. Bryson DeChambeau vs. Brooks Koepka Rivalry [17:39 – 25:29]

The rivalry between Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka is explored, focusing on their contrasting personalities and competitive spirits. The discussion highlights how their dynamic adds excitement to the LIV Golf tournaments.

Colin Cowherd [17:39]: "It's just a big rivalry. They have different characters, but they're both fiercely competitive."

John reflects on their friendship and mutual respect despite the competitive edge, drawing comparisons to personalities in other sports.

John Middelkoff [19:04]: "Bryson's unique characters. You know, DJ and Brooks, like I envision them on a Sunday watching football at home."

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6. LIV Golf’s Innovative Approach and Audience Engagement [27:00 – 35:26]

The podcast delves into the event's innovative features designed to enhance fan engagement, such as live music, paratroopers, fireworks, and special concerts featuring artists like Swedish House Mafia and Imagine Dragons. These elements are aimed at creating a festival-like atmosphere that appeals to a younger, more diverse audience, with approximately 40% female attendees.

Noah [39:32]: "We're about 15 years younger than a typical golf fan. That's what we saw today."

Colin attributes the event’s success to its strategic location choices, targeting cities like Chicago and Indianapolis that are enthusiastic about big events and open to new experiences.

Colin Cowherd [43:00]: "Because you're such an event. This is something we're watching. It's not about history. It's about what town or city works for us."

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7. Interview with LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neill [26:00 – 47:48]

In a special segment, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neill joins Colin and John to discuss the organization’s strategies and future plans. The conversation covers global expansion, the importance of star players, and the pressures of managing a rapidly growing sports league.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Global Expansion: Scott emphasizes the necessity of taking golf to international markets like Korea, Australia, and China to grow the sport’s global footprint.

  Noah [35:26]: "The game is growing in Australia, it's growing in Korea, it's growing in China, and we have this opportunity to grow the game."

• Demographics: LIV Golf successfully attracts a younger audience, with initiatives tailored to appeal to millennials and Gen Z, including concerts and interactive experiences.

  Noah [40:21]: "About 40% of our audience is female. It could be a good dating opportunity for those who are single out there."

• Pressure and Performance: The CEO acknowledges the immense pressure to deliver successful events and maintain the league’s growth trajectory, likening it to the early years of other major sports leagues like the UFC.

  Noah [46:37]: "There's a lot of pressure to deliver business. And that's what I signed up for. Like, I can't get enough of this."

• Player Relationships: Building strong, personal relationships with golfers is crucial. Scott discusses the importance of spending time with players off the course to foster trust and collaboration.

  Noah [45:22]: "We spend a lot of time together... It's about, am I curious enough? Am I humble enough to engage?"

• Innovation and Adaptation: LIV Golf continuously seeks ways to innovate, from tournament formats to fan engagement strategies, ensuring the league remains dynamic and appealing.

  Noah [38:36]: "If you walk the range and talk to young kids, who’s your favorite player? Bryson DeChambeau. YouTube revolution."

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Notable Quotes:

• Colin Cowherd [04:29]: "People pushed back on the pitch clock. Well, the minute they did it, the sports attendance and ratings went up."

• John Middelkoff [21:40]: "He's easily one of the top seven, eight golfers in the history of the sport. And he's... he's the Peyton Manning of golf."

• Noah [35:26]: "The game is growing in Australia, it's growing in Korea, it's growing in China, and we have this opportunity to grow the game."

• Noah [46:37]: "There's a lot of pressure to deliver business. And that's what I signed up for. Like, I can't get enough of this."

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Conclusion:

In this episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, listeners are treated to an in-depth exploration of the burgeoning LIV Golf league, its strategic efforts to revitalize the sport, and the personalities that drive its success. From the electrifying atmosphere of the Chicago LIV Golf event to the intimate discussions with industry leaders like LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neill, Cowherd and his co-host provide a comprehensive look at how LIV Golf is reshaping golf’s landscape to appeal to a new generation of fans.

Transcript

[Colin Cowherd]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Manny]

Why are TSA rules so confusing?

[John Middelkoff]

You got a hoodie on.

[Colin Cowherd]

Take it all.

[Manny]

I'm Manny.

[Noah]

I'm Noah.

[Manny]

This is Devin, and we're best friends and journalists with a new podcast called no Such Thing, where we get to the bottom of questions like that. Why are you screaming at me? I can't expect what to do now if the rule was the same, go off on me.

[John Middelkoff]

I deserve it, you know. Lock him up.

[Manny]

Listen to no Such thing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Az Fudd]

No Such Thing hey guys, it's Az Fudd. You may know me as a gold medalist, you may know me as an NCAA national champion. You may even know me as the people's princess Every week on my new podcast, futaround, and find out. I'll be talking to some special guests about pop culture, basketball and what it's like to be a professional athlete on and off the court. Listen to FUT around and find out a production of iHeart Women's Sports in partnership with Unanimous Media on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lizzie Logan]

Have you ever looked at a piece of abstract art or music or poetry and thought that's just a bunch of pretentious nonsense? That's exactly what two bored Australian soldiers set out to prove during World War II when they tricked the literary world with their intentionally bad poetry, setting off a major scandal. We break down the truth, the lies and the poetry in between on Hoax, a new podcast hosted by me, Lizzie Logan, and me, Dana Schwartz. Every episode, Hoax explores an audacious fraud or ruse from history. Listen to Hoax on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Az Fudd]

The Volume.

[Colin Cowherd]

Well, the Colin Coward Podcast, we are live with my buddy John Middelkoff. We usually do these on Sunday night after the NFL games, but at the Volume we signed a contract with Liv Gol, which I've been a supporter of from day one. And I called Middlekop and I said, get out here to Chicago. So last night we got dehydrated. I'll live it at that. And today we're at Bolingbroke Country Club out in the burbs in Chicago. It's a beautiful course, and we are at the LIV Golf event. I had friends and acquaintances who had said, you got to go to one of these tournaments. Like, it's a real experience. And the first thing that jumps out to you because we literally, with, you know, Brooks Koepka's coming up, shaking our hand, coming over the access to Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson. It's just different. It's a real thing.

[John Middelkoff]

You know, Koepka sure knows that you're a supporter because he came right over. He doesn't smile often. That big smile. This is. I've been to a lot of golf events, US Opens, PGA Tour events. This. The vibe here, the energy is unlike. This is more like, I don't know, an SEC football game or something.

[Noah]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, there's a huge crowd here today. So it. It's. It is a big crowd.

[Noah]

And.

[Colin Cowherd]

And I think my takeaway is always kind of believed this. You got to get out of the studio. You got to go to events, like I tell people, you know, I remember I used to work with a guy, Mark Shapiro, and I said, we were talking one time at Wimbledon, actually, and I said, my mom was British. I always loved Wimbledon. Right. I always watched it. But he'd never been to an SEC game, and he was very, really, really young. And I said, you just gotta go. You gotta go to Baton Rouge. If you don't know what it's like during a football game, you can smell the bourbon. And when you come to one of these events, I mean, it just jumps out to you. First of all, they've taken golf's a rich history. There was always going to be pushback on anything new in golf. We've seen it in baseball. We all knew the game had to get faster, Right. We knew bas. And so it took. People pushed back on the pitch clock. Well, the minute they did it, the sports attendance and ratings went up. I get why there was pushback with Liv. I get it. But what they've done is basically found obvious stuff that golf can and probably should tweak to get a younger audience. And it works.

[John Middelkoff]

It definitely works in person. A vibe here for sure. But they, you know, one thing they got going for him right now, I said mentioned this on the driving range. Steph Curry, what he did for basketball, the interest of young people. You can go to any arena now when Steph's playing. I don't care, the Lakers. You're going to see Steph Curry jerseys. Bryson's kind of become that. He is just a young, hip. YouTube's been huge for him. People want to see him. The other thing is, we were on the first tee, the leaderboard in this tournament. Brooks Koepka's one, won five majors. I mean, he knocked off people like Tiger woods, who tried to beat him. Phil Mickelson's won six majors. One of the most legendary players ever. They have some star power. I was telling you, Terrell Hatton, who is going to be one of the superstars on the Ryder cup for the international team for years to come. Like, he goes, rory Rum. And he's right there. So, I mean, they got. I mean, when they built this thing, you know, golf's very dependent.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like.

[John Middelkoff]

Like basketball on the stars.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes. You know, outside of maybe Augusta. Yeah.

[John Middelkoff]

And they got. And they got a lot of. Sergio Garcia won the Masters. You know, Patrick Reed won the Masters. So they got a lot of accomplished golfers out here, for sure.

[Colin Cowherd]

You know, it's funny, it was interest because I would say about four or five years ago, I was a huge Dustin Johnson fan. And he's one of those. And I saw him in person today. I mean, he was three feet from us.

[John Middelkoff]

Doesn't he look like an NFL quarterback?

[Colin Cowherd]

He's big. I mean, he is. Dustin's a. He's a big. He's a professional athlete. But his game is fascinating because there was. There was a time, I mean, such a mental game. There were about four years ago with Dustin Johnson. I thought he was going to take over the sport. And there are still times I watch him on the live tour, and I'm like, he's really a dynamic, powerful player. But for some reason.

[Noah]

And that's.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think that's the beauty of golf and the burden of it. Like, what's. Where is Dustin Johnson now?

[John Middelkoff]

Well, I mean, kind of, I would say on the. Definitely on the back nine of his career, probably on whole 16, 17, 18. I mean, he had a run where he won a PGA Tour event, I think, in like 12 straight years. I think looking back, he's one of those guys. You know, brooks got the five majors, Phil's got six majors. You look back on DJ's career, I bet he's kicking himself. He probably should have had six or seven. And he's gonna. Probably Gonna end up with two. Now he did win the Masters, which definitely changed his life. I mean there was that one. Remember when Fox bought the US Open and DJ3 putted and Jordan Spieth ended up winning at Chambers Bay, your home stomping ground. So I think he's one of those careers where you just look back and I mean, it's been incredible. He's one of the most accomplished golfers of his, of his era and he's one of the most talented because you see him thing with golf, I guess football's a little like this. Guys come in different shapes and sizes, sizes. But Dustin stands out amongst everybody. Even next to Phil, he. He trumps them, you know, by three or four inches.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, I watched six golfers.

[John Middelkoff]

D.J. looks six, six. I mean, he's massive.

[Colin Cowherd]

Of all the six golfers I saw that teed off today, Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Hatton. There was no question Dustin sounded different. Yeah, I mean he is, he is just a big, he's a professional athlete, so. But I think that, you know, the other thing that struck me today is that when I. You get access to the driving range, like really close and we got a little closer than the fans, maybe five feet. But when I turned around and I looked at the audience, much younger audience than you would see. And there's always been young golf fans. But if you watch the gallery at the US Open or Augusta, it's 45, 55. There's a lot of 23, 28 year old kids out here.

[John Middelkoff]

Yeah, I mean, you come out here to hang out. It's a party. That's most golf events. I live by one in Phoenix, they're not usually parties. So I mean, this is, this is my first time in Chicago. I've always heard it's an event, party kind of atmosphere. You can tell people gravitate toward fun stuff here. Festivals, music's big year events. And this is, this is an event. I mean, it's one of those that you got to be here to kind of feel, you know, I mean, that music blast on hole one, that was crazy.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, so they had paratroopers come in, they got music blasting on the first hole. And I also think, I mean, I've only been in Chicago full time now for about four months, but when you have a city with a harsh winter, when the sun comes out, people, they'll get in their car, they'll drive two hours, they don't care. That's why music, that's why they just had something here the other Day in town. I don't even know. It was a lala. What was? The Lalapalooza. That thing's still real, right? Yeah, they had a massive.

[John Middelkoff]

Been going since I was a kid.

[Colin Cowherd]

They had a massive crowd here. And it's like. Yeah. Because for four months you can't get out of the house. So when you have this event, I mean, this is a big crowd.

[John Middelkoff]

I've been hearing about these Chicago summers forever. It's still hot. You know, people act like it's like 70 degrees, you know, I mean, it's. It's warm.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, we got lucky today, though.

[John Middelkoff]

Cool place. Yeah, we got great.

[Colin Cowherd]

We got great. It's not good for the golfers, man.

[John Middelkoff]

Oh, terrible. Phil's all. Already all over the place.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, no, the. I think. Listen, we have to at least address for a minute. Shador Sanders. Yeah. Okay. It's a podcast, right. We got a couple topics here. So before he got drafted, he debuted last night. My take was always big enough, accurate enough, moves well enough. When I watched last night, he checked those boxes. I don't know if he's going to be good pre snap. Is he mature enough? But when I watched him last night, that was an event. By the way, speaking of an event at the Liv Golf, that was an event last night. When I watched him, he was kind of what he was in college. He's accurate. He moves well enough. There are so many other boxes to check to be a franchise quarterback. But my take was he delivered. He was what he was in college.

[John Middelkoff]

I think the one thing with preseason, because it's hard to put it on context, like, I don't know if you're going up against the next Trent Williams or the next guy that's going to be selling insurance a month.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right.

[John Middelkoff]

So you got to be careful with that. You can judge instincts and you can just judge. This guy can play football. Now, the game plan, the regular season is a different animal than the preseason. But Chador has always just kind of been an instinctive. He's never been his dad athletically.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right.

[John Middelkoff]

He's not the most explosive athlete. He doesn't have the greatest arm, but he kind of just makes some plays now, you know, are they going to throw him out week one? They're not going to do that. But this was always like, once he started dropping in the draft, someone took him. If he looked good, it was kind of. It's going to be a circus. I mean, it's. You thought it was big. Now, can you imagine Cleveland radio this week? They're not going to want to see one snap from Flacco. No one's going to want to see Flacco take us. Yeah, no one's going to want to see Kenny pick.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's a very Tebow feel, but he's much better than Tebow.

[John Middelkoff]

Way better. I mean, he's a quarterback. This guy's a court. Now, can he be a good quarterback? And this is where, if I'm the owner, listen, I'll give you a month because as the head coach, you can't just walk into Miles Garrett. If Miles goes, I don't think he's quite ready yet and not play the veteran guy. But if we're 1 and 3, 1 and 4, I'm making the switch quicker than some teams do. Remember, like when Lamar came in for Flacco, it was like the end of October. I'm not waiting that long. Yeah, you want to give this guy to me? If I'm Haslam, I'm already like, at minimum, let's get like 10 games. We got two first round picks. If we're bad anyway, we're going to be drafted a quarterback. Let's get a big sample size. Who knows? Maybe we don't keep them. We can flip them.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, absolutely. So John and I will be doing our stuff tomorrow, obviously, on Sunday night. A lot of NFL stuff. Little teaser there. So as I watched Phil Mickelson, John and I went to the first tee and they got the paratroopers and there's, you know, fireworks. Mickelson, first of all, he was in really good shape.

[John Middelkoff]

He looks good.

[Colin Cowherd]

And he was the most popular golfer here. He was really popular. But it was interesting because when I.

[John Middelkoff]

Watched Phil, he's probably my generation's Arnold Palmer or something, don't you think?

[Colin Cowherd]

I think so, yeah. Phil now is not yet Greg Norman, but it kind of feels like he's a businessman. I mean, by the way, he is the attraction. I'm like, he is. Really? He and Bryson are. And golf has always had a great legacy. It loves its old stars. Right. But when I watch Phil today, he's in the best shape I've ever seen. And I'm kind of wondering, I'm thinking, because you're next to me. I'm kind of thinking, where are we with Phil? Do we expect him to win? Do we? Or is it just like, like, it's like when musical acts their last eight years would go to Vegas and they couldn't quite hit the notes. But you wanted to go watch Barry Manilow. Like now he's not. I'M not saying that, but there is a part of me with Phillips like I don't really care how he plays. I just want to see Phil Mickelson.

[John Middelkoff]

Well, he's 55. He's probably never going to win another major. I mean he won one a couple years ago at Kiawah. That was one of the coolest things. I think he's one of the oldest players to ever win a major. I forget the exact stat. He was 50 years old at 55 to still be this good. You could make the argument that he's the greatest 55 year old golfer in the history of the sport. You know, relative. Is he going to beat Bryson and Koepka on a weekly date? No, the Masters is the one place because they play there every year and he's exempt for life being a champion. I think two years ago I think he finished second. So now is he going to win the event? I wouldn't bet. Is he going to take out Scotty Scheffler or Bryson if they're on? Probably not. But that is one event where he can get hot. I think he could top 10 there again in his late 50s. That is an incredible. Remember what a big deal it was in the mid-80s when Jack won at 46 years old.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So for Phil, people are in better shape now for sure. They eat better. You're right.

[John Middelkoff]

Phil looks great. I mean he looks way better than he did when he was my age. I mean I was late 30s, early 40s.

[Colin Cowherd]

No, so is Phil's about 6 2. Yeah. So I looked at him today and I'm 61 and I'm a buck 90 and Phil's bigger than I am. And I looked at him, I'm like, he's 62208. I mean Phil's big. I mean the hips big. And I looked at him, I'm like, Phil's in good and he had a tight golf shirt. I'm like, that's the best shape Phil's ever been in.

[John Middelkoff]

You know, Bones, Phil's old caddy. I heard him say this once. He's like, you know, when you look at Phil, relative to a lot of these guys, you know, Kepk has battled knee injuries. Bryson had a back when he got big. Phil's never had an injury when you look at his swing because I don't know if it's his flexibility, his swing kind of looks identical as it did 20 years ago. He swings and you know, power is a big part of his game. Kind of a unique. A lot of these Guys, the nature of the swing, it's not a normal human motion.

[Colin Cowherd]

Baseball players, left handers. Yeah, it looks better.

[John Middelkoff]

It looks fantastic. You know, so I. Yeah, I mean, he's never been injured. Still playing, you know, relatively. Again, you, you top five at the Masters in your 50s, like, that's. It probably happened, I don't know, less than two times in the history of the game.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, it's. It's really fun here. It's really an event. I mean, they. First of all, it's incredibly well staffed. You know how when you have different leagues, sometimes you're like, well, it's a shoestring budget. That's not the case.

[John Middelkoff]

I don't think budget's the issue here.

[Colin Cowherd]

It is not the issue. No, they have, and I'm sure they have this everywhere, but they, I think.

[John Middelkoff]

The key, and they know what they're doing is going to cities that are party fun places and it's going to work. You know, I think they had an event earlier in Arizona, in Tucson. I don't know if it was last year or this year. They've been. They've gone to Australia. When they go to places that are fun, I mean, the atmosphere will be. There won't be anything like that.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, I mean, I, I didn't know because where I live in Chicago, this is about an hour 10 drive. So I was thinking they'll get a decent crowd, but you got to get in your car and commit to it. And then you have to commit coming home. And I was like, we had traffic, like real traffic. And then I got here and I looked at the first hole. I'm like, oh, shit, this is a real crowd. Like, this is a real. This is something. And I think the one thing. And this is not. Because first of all, watching Rory win the Masters is about. I said it on the air. That was like four and a half hours. The best TV of my life. Like I watching Tiger when he got old. When there's nothing like the traditional British Open.

[John Middelkoff]

I mean, I love Phil won the PGA a couple years ago.

[Colin Cowherd]

You can, you can really like two things at the same time. It's like, I was never. When I first defended Liv might take it away was, guys, if I say your favorite part of golf, you're either going to say it's the Masters, which isn't run by the pga. That's not a shot at the pga. PGA was a charity that didn't run the US Open, the British Augusta. So my take is always. I've always been loyal to the golfer Yeah, I wanted to see Phil and Bryson and Koepka. I wanted to see the golfer today. But I also understood the pushback by traditionalists because outside of baseball, it's probably the most tradition rich sport. But when you watch today, one of the things that jumps out to me is I grew up in a small town, we didn't have country clubs. I've always felt like an outsider in golf. Even though I've gotten a bug in the last three years. When you're here, it kind of feels like they took that veneer and they pulled it off. They said, just get close to the golfers. And I think that's something that golf for younger generations, I think it works.

[John Middelkoff]

I think one thing that I'm big on is on on Sunday is everyone having the same rotation of holes. And I didn't know, I don't know if they've been doing this, but staggering the first tee with multiple groups. So those six guys instead of one, you know, the winner might finish on hole three because he started on hole, you know, two this, you know, they're going multiple groups off one. That means they're all going to finish on 18. Like I like seeing the guys come down 15, 16, 17. But Phil Kepka, all those guys went off hole one. So I like the way that they do that. The stagger t on, you know, with. With the leaders, multiple groups, the.

[Colin Cowherd]

It's just. It was really interesting today when Brooks Koepka came over to us.

[John Middelkoff]

He likes you, Colin.

[Colin Cowherd]

I see you've been a supporter. No, I.

[John Middelkoff]

He's a sports guy.

[Colin Cowherd]

I was a huge Koepka guy. Did not like DeChambeau for the first two years and the 13 egg omelet. And then Bryson, I thought got very likable. He kind of a little more human, a little more humble.

[John Middelkoff]

Well, Brooks embraced him.

[Colin Cowherd]

Huh?

[John Middelkoff]

Brooks embraced them. They're buddies.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. And so it was like, okay. And then Brooks, I think, struggled with an injury and. But Brooks and it just, it just. It doesn't matter what business it is. It could be politics, it can be golf. DeChambeau is an aggressive guy and it's just sort of his personality, whereas Brooks is. But I think if I had to guess, he's probably super private. Yes, really private. So, like you get all types. Like, you know, if you're a politician, you have to be somewhat social. Aaron Rodgers is not the same personality as Tom Brady. Remember Jake Plummer? I love Jake Plummer. Loved him. Jake and Aaron are a bit little iconic, classic. They're not corporate guys. They're just not comfortable in that space. That's okay. Not everybody's a. Brady feels like a corporation. Manning feels like he leans into the corporation. So I always thought Bryson and Brooks may have been big, strong, great looking alphas. They're just different guys.

[John Middelkoff]

Well, they're kind of opposite. You know, Brooks early on his career, gravitated with dj. Both feel like, at least to the public, introverted, not giving you a lot of Bryson. Who do you gravitate toward? Phil, you know, shaking hands, knows everybody's names, hanging out with the CEO of all the companies. And that's kind of Bryson's personality. Bryson's. They're unique characters. You know, DJ And Brooks, like I envision them on a Sunday watching football at home. You know, who knows? Bryson's out measuring the next golf club, calling Phil what he thinks about the wind and the scientifical intrinsic force of the golf ball. And that's what they talk about. DJ Says, I want to hit a fade. I hit a fade.

[Colin Cowherd]

I think, you know, it was interesting. I know there was a book written about Phil. I don't think Phil liked it at all, by Alan Shipnock. And it was really fun. It was called Phil and I like Alan and I. You know, I've always been fascinated by Phil. Phil Mickelson's the only person in American sports that I've never interviewed that I want to. And I wouldn't even talk golf. I just talk life.

[John Middelkoff]

Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

But when I read the book, what was interesting was Phil's never tried to find necessarily sell himself as politically correct. I thought the book made him remember the movie Gordon Gekko, Wall Street. So when they made that movie Oliver Stone, he wasn't trying to make Gordon Gekko popular, but young stockbrokers watched the movie and went, that is cool. I want to be Gordon Gekko. And Oliver Stone said, yeah, that wasn't the mission. Is that when Alan Shipnock writes the book, you're like, oh, it's very critical. And I was like, yeah, but I've drank too much and I've done this. I thought it kind of humanized him. I looked at Phil and I was like, I think I like Phil more now. When somebody writes a book about you, that's not how it lands for you. But I think Phil, watching how he was welcomed today, I think everybody gets what Phil is. He's a great. You ever use this term? He's a great hang.

[John Middelkoff]

I played in a golf event in Scottsdale probably two or three months ago with multiple of his college teammates, and they are still very, very close friends with him today. And one of their, like, football is a big part of all these guys lives. You know, they like football. I'm with you on Phil. One thing that my friends text about with Phil a lot, it's like, you know that he gambles on football.

[Colin Cowherd]

So do I.

[John Middelkoff]

You know, so does every single human in my life.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, you get into trouble in life when you're selling one thing and you're doing another. You don't. People love John Daly and John's like, yeah, I smoke way too much. And it's like, it'd be one thing if we caught him smoking on a tour. And he's, and he's saying, you know, I'm, that I don't care. Politicians do this. You're flawed. Own it. Yeah, just, just own your stuff. So I, I, when I look at Phil, his legacy to me is he's a good hang.

[John Middelkoff]

Yeah, I mean, I think he's gonna, I mean he's, you know, if we were doing like quarterbacks, he's easily one of the top seven, eight golfers in the history of the sport. And he's, to me, he's the Peyton Manning of golf. He just happened to play against Tom Brady. He just happened to play against Tiger Woods.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right.

[John Middelkoff]

If Tiger woods doesn't exist, What's Phil winning? 12 majors. You know, I mean, there was a time Phil didn't win his first major till he was in his mid-30s.

[Colin Cowherd]

Isn't that crazy?

[John Middelkoff]

Well, that's the wild part. And he won the one at 50. So I think you could argue his career, you know, is unique because he won a tournament as an amateur and he was kind of Tiger woods before Tiger Woods. And then five years later Tiger came and it was just an all time comment.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, just ask yourselves this, this, if I think once Rory won the Masters, because that was the one we were all rooting for.

[John Middelkoff]

Yeah, right.

[Colin Cowherd]

Like, like all of a sudden Rory's playing well at Augusta. You're like, oh, Sunday, I'm sitting in front of a tv. If I told you there's any golfer in the world, and I said it's 2 o' clock Eastern on a Sunday and blank leads Augusta, I think most sports fans would say, oh, give me Phil.

[John Middelkoff]

Yeah, heck yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean that, that's even though, because there are certain golfers, because golf's history. It's like, it's almost like watching old Nolan Ryan. Nolan Ryan, they still put him on the marquee when he was like at the end of his career. There was one Nolan Ryan. And it's not just what do you have seven no hitters. There are certain athletes far have had this quality. They're just relatable. Yeah, you just kind of like some kinetic energy. You just kind of feel like when they're in the room, they change the temperature.

[John Middelkoff]

Well, I think it was too like during the Tiger era. Obviously Tiger was the best player I've ever seen, but he didn't talk to anybody, had no friends, wouldn't enter, wouldn't even look at Marco.

[Colin Cowherd]

Mera and him were kind of okay.

[John Middelkoff]

But then they broke up. Phil was the one guy that would kind of play the Arnold Palmer role, that would talk with the fans, that was a big personality. So they kind of yin and yang'd each other. In terms of personalities, he was pretty important for Tiger in terms of the balancing out. I mean, those two were in such a different stratosphere. Remember when they used to do like highest paid athlete and it'd be Tiger, then Phil, then like the Kobe's and all the other guys.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes.

[John Middelkoff]

And then LeBron came along and they were always third behind those two guys. Yeah, they, I mean they changed. They took golf to a popularity level and a corporate level, I would say in the 2000s that they had never even dreamed of with guys like Arnold Palmer. Right.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. You know, if you go back to. And you'd have to Google this, but if you go back to 1960, before the PGA was created, I could be wrong on this. Weren't Arnie and Jack, because it was called something differently and they didn't quite think they were getting paid enough?

[John Middelkoff]

Yeah, they, they were about to break it down.

[Colin Cowherd]

They were about.

[John Middelkoff]

Right, Jack. Jack led the charge.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah. So I think, you know, Phil, Greg Norman complained for years. You told me a story when you thought there was a breaking point with Phil. And that's why I've always defended Liv with what was the breaking point.

[John Middelkoff]

It was Fox. They bought the U.S. open. And I think they were paying well over $100 million for a 10 year deal. A tournament. Right. So 10 tournaments, a billion dollars. And I remember Hunter Mahan, who was very close with Phil, was like one issue. A lot of players, but Phil was the most outspoken about it. In baseball, basketball, football, there's a revenue sharing. Well, I get 49, you get 51, I get 49, eight, you get, you know, whatever. It's split basically. Even the purse went from like 12 million to 16 million. It feels like, what the hell is going on here? Where is the money going?

[Colin Cowherd]

Right.

[John Middelkoff]

It didn't make sense. And that was. And obviously, you know, live coming around the PGA money, the money's exploded since. This competition usually creates that, but like, all these golfers have benefited, but it was never like that.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's right.

[John Middelkoff]

You know, Tiger, all these guys, Phil too, when they were making 60, 80 million dollars a year, they're only making three or four on the course. It was all coming off the. Off the course.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah.

[John Middelkoff]

So that's where Scottie scheffler now made 65 million. Joaquin Neiman, winning all these tournaments has made like $35 million.

[Colin Cowherd]

This.

[John Middelkoff]

These guys now are paid like NBA, NFL players and should be. Yeah.

[Colin Cowherd]

I mean, you and I were talking when we were driving here to the tournament today. You got to drive yourself. If you get sick, you don't get. It's like being a lawyer. If you're not. If you're not working, you're not getting.

[John Middelkoff]

Paid well, your own business. So you're paying your coach, paying your caddy, you're paying yourself, you're paying the jit. You know, it's like you are paying for the hotel when the Chiefs are playing the Cardinals today. You know what? Patrick Mahomes doesn't have to worry about the hotel. Travis, Kelsey, they take care of all that stuff. So that's. That's not golf.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's.

[John Middelkoff]

But that's what makes this sport kind of way different than all the other team sports in the sense that you're kind of on your own.

[Colin Cowherd]

Right.

[John Middelkoff]

You have to worry about yourself. You have to. You're just an independent contractor. But when you're Brooks, when you're Bryson, when you're Scotty, Rory, these guys are such big businesses now. I mean, what's the difference between Phil's business for 20 years and Steph Curry in terms of the revenue flowing in? So you need the right people around you. Think about what a comet ship Bryson is right now. I mean, just a business rocket ship.

[Colin Cowherd]

John Middelkoff, the Herd we are at Bolingbrook LIV Tour Live Tour has been fantastic. The guy that runs the whole thing, every golfer owes him a debt of gratitude. Isn't that nice? I'm not sure if that's true, but it really is a good intro. All right, round one here at LIV in Chicago, the LIV Golf CEO. He succeeded Greg Norman Scott o' Neill with a storied and interesting Knick Sixers history and more. Next.

[Scott O'Neill]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Now through August 26th. It's back to Deals time, where you can enjoy storewide deals and earn four times points. Look for in store tags to earn on eligible items from Hershey's, Cheez It, Kellogg's, Gatorade, Smart Water, Skinny Pop, Oberto, Zoa and Activia. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Shop in store or online for easy drive up and go, pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.

[Lizzie Logan]

Have you ever looked at a piece of abstract art or music or poetry and thought that's just a bunch of pretentious nonsense? Well, that's exactly what two bored Australian soldiers set out to prove during World War II when they pulled off what was either a bold literary hoax or a grand poetic experiment, publishing over a dozen intentionally bad but highly acclaimed works of expressionist poetry under the name Ern Malley. In an incident that caused a media firestorm and even a criminal trial, the Ern Malley episode made fools of believers and critics alike and still fascinates poetry lovers to this day. We break down the truth, the lies and the poetry in between on Hoax, a new podcast hosted by me, Lizzie Logan and me, Dana Schwartz. Every episode, Hoax explores an audacious fraud or ruse from history, from forged artworks to the original fake news. To try and answer why we believe, listen to Hoax on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Az Fudd]

Hey guys, it's Az Fudd. You may know me as a gold medalist. You may know me as an NCAA national champion and recent Most Outstanding Player you may even know me as the people's princess. But now you're also gonna know me as your favorite host. Every week on my new podcast, Futaround and find out. I'll give you an inside look at everything happening in my crazy life as I try to balance it all, from my travels across the globe to preparing for another run at the Natty with my Yukon Huskies, to just trying to make it to my midterms on time. You'll get the inside scoop on everything. I'll be talking to some special guests about pop culture, basketball and what it's like to be a professional athlete on and off the court. You'll even get to have some fun with the Fudd family. So if you follow me on social media or watch me on tv, you may think you know me, but this show is the only place where you can really fudd around and find out. Listen to Fudd around and find out. A production of I Heart Women's Sports in partnership with Unanimous media on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

All right. Scott o' Neal has been kind enough to stop by. He sort of escorted John and I for an hour. You succeeded Greg and Norman in 2025. And I think both John and I today our takeaway on this, because I've had friends that come Foxes obviously has a relationship. It's an event. It's a good time. And that's not a criticism of anything. But when you're new, you get those little freebies that you're not beholden to tradition. And you know, you've seen, you ran the Sixers, you ran Madison Square Garden Network when you succeeded Greg. Your takeaway was, is it an intentional act to be different? Or do you just kind of watch your sport and watch the crowd and listen to the golfers on all these innovations?

[Noah]

Right. That's such an interesting position. I can tell you that having been in sports for 30 years in the NFL and the NBA and NHL, I've seen leagues change. We talked about earlier. Major League Baseball puts a runner on second next year innings. It has a pitch clock. By the way, two things that I absolutely love were Phillies season ticket holders. We go to a lot of baseball games. I love it. The two line pass that just grinded the NHL to a halt or overtime that could seemingly last forever. Now that three on three overtime, NHL genius. And with golf, we're not splitting atoms and we're not saving lives, but boy, are we bringing fans into this game. So if there are little Things we can do to bring new people to this game and live our mission. And by the way, the PGA Tour does a wonderful job in the U.S. all we're saying is we want to take these stars and take them to the world because the game is growing in Australia, it's growing in Korea, it's growing in China, and we have this opportunity to grow the game. And so if we have guys, stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. I heard you talking about Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, all these stars, if they're willing to get on a plane and fly to Korea, let's go. Let's go grow this game.

[John Middelkoff]

Do they ever complain about the music?

[Noah]

No. You know what, what's so strange that.

[John Middelkoff]

Existed before you got here?

[Noah]

Yeah, they love the music on the range. A lot of them have headphones and they're listening to music first off. But what's really strange to me is they're fine with the music, but if somebody says something on their back.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's right.

[Noah]

They'll step back and look over at them, you know, which, which always to me is strange, but they like the consistency of the music. They. They like the pa. And on the first tee, you might remember they're walk up songs. Just like baseball, they choose them. Yeah, and it always is funny too. It's the songs they choose always are very fitting.

[John Middelkoff]

Dustin Johnson came out to Wonderwall by Oasis.

[Noah]

You know, these guys are superstitious. They're superstitious too. They have a bad round, the song's gone.

[John Middelkoff]

Yeah, I can imagine.

[Colin Cowherd]

So how often do the golfers. Because you have a relationship with all of them.

[Noah]

Very, very much.

[Colin Cowherd]

And, and this is again, I'm not taking shots. Jim Moynihan had some contentious relationships and my take was always outside of Augusta. I don't watch golf for the course. I watch it for the guys. Your relationship's different. Like the golfers are coming over to you.

[Noah]

Yes.

[Colin Cowherd]

Do they complain? Do they make suggestions? You tell me what you go through. Bryson, Phil, Sergio, what are the conversations like when they call you at, at 9:30 at night?

[Noah]

Yeah, yeah. No, we, we're. We're a 247 operation. And some of those guys like 6:00am calls and some of them like them at midnight and I'll take them all. I cannot get enough of these players. I always think ambivalence is the worst possible emotion. And whether that be a fan or a player, guys that are passionate and have something to say, I've Got a lot of time for. We're very active with the players now. They're our business partners. It's a bit of a different model. You know, they own equity in the teams. You know, it's a very different model. And so every change we make, every course, we go to the schedule and how it's set up. Do you want to play before major or after major? I'm engaged. We're talking about agronomy last night with some of these players. Like, hey, the greens are rolling at 11. You know, the wind's coming in. Should we be watering? Should we not be watering? Should we be pressing? I mean, they are very, very much into making this great. But guess what? This is our third full year. Imagine Major League Baseball in year three. Imagine the National Football League in year three.

[Colin Cowherd]

We're year three. Well, you're friends with Dana White. Yes, who I love. And you love UFC as well. So I can remember being in a bar in the bay and it wasn't UFC yet. Who, by the way, the late John McCain tried to throw UFC off cable. They were battling for years. You watch an event now and you're like, man, it's slick. I can remember when Dana took it over and he wanted corporate support. It's like, okay, we can't do eye gouging. We can't do this. If you go look at over the course of UFC now, it looks all slick. My wife's not a sports fan. She loves ufc. But the. The truth is, we live in a very impatient world. Liv. Golf's in year three. Like, guys, take a deep breath. This stuff, it's like a business. I'm in year four. The volume. There are things we do now. We look at. We're like, why were we. Why were we doing this two years ago? Like, the world. You're an entrepreneur. It's growing.

[Noah]

You know what was going through my head? This isn't the question you asked, but I'm like, Conor McGregor. Is that our Bryson Dechambeauty?

[Colin Cowherd]

What did you say?

[Noah]

Do you remember GSP? Yeah, GSP. Is that John Rahm? That's what's going through my head as.

[Colin Cowherd]

You'Re talking about it.

[John Middelkoff]

It's very similar. And UFC never had the. You know, there are more famous players, I would say, in live than UFC's ever had. Of course, at least. I mean, eventually your top five, six guys.

[Noah]

I mean, look at our leaderboard.

[John Middelkoff]

Chuck Lydell, I mean, he's. He's in that.

[Noah]

Chuck Liddell's a good one, too.

[John Middelkoff]

He's a Needle mover.

[Colin Cowherd]

No, you, Phil. I asked you, I said, where is Phil now? And you reminded me he had a top 10 finish at Augusta a couple years ago.

[John Middelkoff]

Michigan, I think, two years ago.

[Colin Cowherd]

You have a close relationship. What is he now? Is he entrepreneur first? Is he golfer second? I mean, he's slimmed down. What is he?

[Noah]

I mean, he's an enigma. And I don't think there's going to be another Phil Nicholson. He's 54 years old, about turn 55. His goal this year was to get into the top 10 of this league with a bunch of young stars in their prime. Okay? He, he decided to remake and change his game to be a little less Wild, Wild West, a little bit more, let's hit it in the middle of the fairway, let's get on in regulation and let's, let's take this putter first.

[Colin Cowherd]

Because of the team format or just his body?

[Noah]

No, I think, I think his body's changed. He can't do what these young kids we talked about, Tom McKibben or Caleb Surratt or David Poosh, they're coming and hitting the ball 330 yards off the tee. And he's like, okay, I know I can't do that, but I can beat these guys. I'm better. I'm that good. So that's, that's one part of Phil. The second part of Phil is he's a just a competitor like these guys. You look at golfers from the outside before I came to this business, and I'm like, God, it's nice. These are not gentlemen, okay? These are guys who are so fiercely competitive, when they come off the course, they're like, you know, they have all this testosterone and adrenaline roll. And I'm like, I like to see it. I mean, we, we do a little corporate thing, a little putting contest. I mean, and DJ was complaining that the reads were different. It was a court by a bunch of executives putting alongside this competition. These guys want to win and want to fight. And that's the other side of Phil. And the third piece is think about Phil the learner. Think about, like, Phil saw what Bryson was doing on YouTube and he's like, why can't I do that? So he partners with Grant Horvath. Now he's got 400,000 followers on YouTube. Phil Mickelson, 54 year old Phil Mickelson reimagining himself, reinventing himself. And then he's obviously the captain and one of our partners in High Flyers. So he's always, I see him on the first tee. I'm like, hey, Phil, good luck. Knock him dead. Give him hell today. And he wants to talk about the business. Okay, Scott, how many fans we're gonna have here today? When we go to. When you're looking at a market in you, I mean, I'm like, I'm. This guy. This guy's for real. So I love. I've been around some of the great execs in the world. David Stern was a longtime mentor of mine. I worked for him for eight years, and I just remember him being this lifelong learner. Adam Silver, the current commissioner of the NBA, always learning, always reaching, always discovering, always figuring out what do I have to do next? That's Phil Mickelson.

[John Middelkoff]

Was Duels his idea, or is that yours?

[Noah]

No, you know, that. That came out of. You know, look, We've been studying YouTube spaces. If you walk the range and talk to young kids, which I like to do, I always say, who's your favorite player? Bryson DeChambeau. Really? How'd you discover Bryson? YouTube. So I think once we saw the. The revolution happening on YouTube, when Grant.

[John Middelkoff]

Or fat Perez come out here, they're just as famous.

[Noah]

Yeah, no, it's. It's amazing. And. And the. The. So for those of you who don't know, the Duels is a program we have. We have golf influencers, and they play along. They partner up with one of our stars, and then they play a competition for money, for the. You know, and the fact that you can get Jon Rahm to give four hours of his time to play an event, you know, pretty. It's pretty special. I don't think that happens in any other sport anywhere else in the world.

[Colin Cowherd]

None of us are born in a test tube. Billy Joel said in his recent documentary. We all have influences, all of us in our life. We have mentors. It could be our dad. Do you look at, say, F1, and you look at it and think, that's a little bit of an inspiration for us? Are there sports that you look at? Because we connect you to golf. But golf's gullible now. And I look at F1, and I think. And UFC, and I think, oh, that is. That's live golf. That's how I view it. Do you look at that?

[Noah]

100% of how I see it? When you say golf is global, I would push back on you and say, well, you know, maybe before Tiger, the sport was global. You know, you had the European Tour and the PGA Tour, like, sitting side by side. And then Tiger comes, and all the money, all the sponsors, all the TV money shifts over the PGA Tour. And so then 42 events a year, you got every great player in the world playing in the U.S. and like Formula One, we go to. We go to Riyadh and then we go to Australia and then Hong Kong and Singapore and Mexico City. And yes, we're here in the US for five times a year, which is in the uk. Fantastic. We love being in the US I'm an American. Absolutely love it here. But the growth of the game, if you want to grow the game, you've got to take stars and you got to put them in Korea, you've got to put them in Hong Kong. And that, we think, attracts more young fans and talent to this game. And this game is going to the moon.

[Colin Cowherd]

What are the demographics Quickly on. I mean, you've looked at all of them. What is the average live golf fan? What's the demo?

[Noah]

Yeah, we're about 15 years younger than a typical golf fan. That's what we saw today. Yeah. And what you might also see if you. If you get to walk a little bit is you see parents pushing strollers. You'll see, you know, groups of women coming about. About 40% of our audience is female. It could be a good dating opportunity for those who are single out there. Come to see Liv. So. So it's a. It's a younger. It still has disposable income. We do have concerts, you know, so we have in the next coming, we've got Swedish House Mafia, we have Imagine Dragons, Jason Derulo. So we have concerts that I think attract a younger audience as well.

[John Middelkoff]

One question I'm sure you get a lot is uniform qualification.

[Noah]

Yeah.

[John Middelkoff]

You know, you're an NBA, NFL. You the new commissioner, the PGA Tour CEO, whatever the heck that position is. Yeah, he's an NFL guy. Have you guys talked? You know, just what the chatter out there. What is the reality of what's.

[Noah]

Sure. So I'm not sure it's like the NFL. I think it's more like NASCAR and Formula one. So the question is, should NASCAR and Formula one figure out a way to work together? I think so. Brian, roll that. And I would the school together. So we know each other fairly well. I've known each other for a long time. He's really early in his job. I think he's two weeks in. And most importantly, we have less scar tissue. And that's throughout the whole industry. You know, I'm new. You know, the LPGA commissioner's new now. Brian at the PGA Tour is new. Mark Darwin at The RNA is new. So you have all these new people here. And why are we all here? Because the boards in all of golf looked around and said, huh, I don't think this is good enough. I don't think we're heading in the right direction. I think we've got to find a way to put more players playing together. How are we going to do that? How are we going to lift up? How are we going to compete against cricket and football and tennis? And why are we competing against ourselves so much?

[Colin Cowherd]

When you have an event like this, how, how do you select? Obviously you want to make it global, but how did you select Chicago? How does it, I mean, is that your call before you was that predates you. Greg Norman, who makes the decisions where you play? Why?

[Noah]

Right. So the, the board has to approve. So our chairman has to approve. But. And Ross Hallett runs our events like a 30 year executive in golf, mostly at IMG is now here. And then I'm very engaged, of course. Now Chicago, why not Chicago? I mean it's one of the great cities of America. It's a big golf starved in terms of this area. And this course is absolutely spectacular.

[Colin Cowherd]

You mentioned something earlier and you know this, being in Philadelphia, when you live in a city with three or four cold winter months, when the sun shines in March, everybody jogs like non joggers jog. So my, my take was it works in this city because for four months you don't go outside. Is that something you would like? Philadelphia's got that feel. Boston has that feel. I spend some time in the Northeast. I mean, if it's sunny in April, Boston is like jogging capital of the world. Do you think about. Because you're such an event. This is an event we're watching. It's not about history. It's about what town or city works for us. Is that under consideration?

[Noah]

Yeah, of course. I mean, we were just in Dallas though, and that's sun almost every day of the year. And it was blazing hot. We had 50,000 people show up. Yeah. So you know, we're in the uk the sun's never out. You know, I lived there for two years and we have 40,000 people come there. So I, I feel like, I feel like if we do our jobs and let people know that we're in town with the kind of star power we have, good things happen when you put a music act around it. We have Good Charlotte here playing. Playing today. I can't tell you who Good Charlotte is. I can tell you my daughters can. You know and so there is a. There is a younger demo we're looking for. And I think if we go to the right markets, in many cases, we're going to Indianapolis. Not exactly a powerhouse market. Right. But it's a golf starve market, and that is a market that knows how to rally for big events. I've been there for Final Fours. You know, you know how that handles the Final Four does it really well. And I think they're handling us really well.

[John Middelkoff]

Well, I sent a pic to our mutual buddy Howie Roseman, and, you know, like, of how he's dealing with a player. It's either the player or the agent. Right. There's not deal with anyone else. Golfers have an entourage. They got coaches, they got agents, they got cat. They got a lot of people around them. How do you deal with that?

[Noah]

Oh, we. This is. This is a league of alphas. So, you know, if. If Jon Rahm or DJ or Phil or Bryce didn't have an issue. It's one. It's one on one. Yeah, it's one on one.

[Colin Cowherd]

That's okay.

[Noah]

But. But remember how complicated relationship is? We sign them. You know, we. We have to hug them. We have to. They're our business partners. We find them when things go wrong. So it's a complicated relationship, like how you manage that ecosystem.

[John Middelkoff]

How does someone, if you don't know these guys, obviously, when you get the job, forge a relationship in a short period of time with Phil Bryson, all these guys? How's that possible?

[Noah]

Well, we spent a lot of time together, and we've been on the road for seven months. And. And we effectively live on airplanes and hotels and at the course together. So time was. One second is you put infrastructure in place. So I have team breakfast at least one time. We have all kinds of committees that we get together. I'm interacting with them. We eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. I mean, we're with these guys all the time. And so. And then it's about, am I curious enough? Am I humble enough to engage?

[Colin Cowherd]

Yeah, we talked about this before you came on. And if you're just tuning in, this is Scott o'. Neill. He's a LIV Golf CEO and he worked for the Sixers, ran that organization. And MSG Entertainment. Is that what you ran?

[Noah]

The New York Knicks and New York Rangers?

[Colin Cowherd]

Okay. That's a big job. James Dolan.

[Noah]

Yes.

[Colin Cowherd]

Yes.

[Noah]

Just spoke to him two days ago.

[Colin Cowherd]

Oh, you did? I did. I don't like what they did with Tom Thibodeau, but that's another podcast.

[Noah]

No, it sure is heck of a coach.

[Colin Cowherd]

He is. When you look, you're obviously going to expand and you want to keep doing that. Globally is where the money comes from. Are there demands that you have to meet? Do you feel like, is there pressure? Yes, yes, of course there's pressure. Because there's always this thing, hey, money is endless. Money is not an issue. And I always think money's an issue everywhere.

[Noah]

Everywhere. Of course. You know, I've worked in private equity now for 12 years. Okay. And for Josh Harris and David Blitzer from Apollo and Blackstone and in my last role with a Blackstone company and now here with pif and. And yes, there's a lot of pressure to deliver business. And that's what I signed up for. Like, I can't get enough of this. I will tell you, there are very few times in life, you probably both have it too, where you can't wait to get up in the morning. Like, there's so much fun here that I cannot wait to get out of bed and get.

[Colin Cowherd]

Get kicking.

[Noah]

Like my hard. My hard thing for me is turning it off, not turning it on. So pressure, bring it on. As Brooks Koepka always says, pressure is a privilege.

[John Middelkoff]

So relegation is happening.

[Noah]

Yes. We got six.

[John Middelkoff]

Where are you purchasing the players from to fill those spots?

[Noah]

Yeah, so. Good question. So in some cases we have promotion events. So we have the Asian Tour. The best person on the Asian tour gets an invite in. And then we have a promotions event where you can earn your way in and then we'll go talk to pga, European Tour, NCAA players.

[John Middelkoff]

So signing a player from the PGA.

[Noah]

Tour is still on the table, of course. Yeah, of course.

[Colin Cowherd]

Scott o', Neill, this has been great.

[Noah]

Thanks for having me.

[Colin Cowherd]

You bet.

[Noah]

Good to be a member of the herd.

[Az Fudd]

The volume.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Lizzie Logan]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[John Middelkoff]

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Manny]

Why are TSA rules so confusing?

[John Middelkoff]

You got a hoodie on.

[Colin Cowherd]

Take it off.

[Manny]

I'm Manny.

[Noah]

I'm Noah.

[John Middelkoff]

This is Devin.

[Manny]

And we're best friends and journalists with a new podcast called no Such Thing where we get to the bottom of questions like that.

[John Middelkoff]

Why are you screaming at me?

[Manny]

I can't expect what to do now if the rule was the same, go off on me.

[John Middelkoff]

I deserve it, you know? Lock him up.

[Manny]

Listen to no Such thing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Colin Cowherd]

No Such Thing.

[Lizzie Logan]

Have you ever looked at a piece of abstract art or music or poetry and thought that's just a bunch of pretentious nonsense? That's exactly what two bored Australian soldiers set out to prove during World War II. When they trick the literary world with their intentionally bad poetry, setting off a major scandal. We break down the truth, the lies, and the poetry in between on Hoax, a new podcast hosted by me, Lizzie Logan, and me, Dana Schwartz. Every episode, Hoax explores an audacious fraud or ruse from history. Listen to Hoax on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Az Fudd]

This is an iHeart podcast.