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- [00:00]
John Middlecock
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- [01:16]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [01:43]
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- [02:12]
John Middlecock
The Volume what is going on everybody? John Middlecock three and Out Podcast how are we doing? Hopefully everyone is doing well and probably not as well as JJ Spawn who just won the US Open. JJ Spawn at 120 to 1 on DraftKings before Thursday and he took the first round lead, was 121 to win. So one of my big takeaways or takes coming into this tournament was Cinderella's are dead. I believed it too because of the Xander's, the Rory's, the Schefflers, the Roms, the Brysons. They had just taken over the majors for the last six or seven majors and honestly it hadn't even been that close. And then J.J. spawn, 120 to 1 wins the U.S. open. Very, very cool. Awesome moment for him on really on 17 and 18. It's always cool to see like the underdog bang some like 80 foot putt and like what. How's he going to celebrate? And he's tugging his caddy. So we'll dive into JJ Spawn. The course obviously is a fascinating conversation because do we want chaos? Do we want carnage? I thought I did. And then as a consumer on my couch for the last couple days. So I don't know, is this doing it for me? Do I like some more birdies? Do I like it this difficult? So we'll dive into that. We'll take some of your questions as well. At Golopod is where we do our golf podcast. I think we get some questions about Rory McElroy and his. I don't really know what's going on with Rory, but kind of a bizarre couple months after an incredibly hot start to the year and finally winning the Masters, kind of going the other way somehow. Scottish Eefler still like finished I think in the top 10 at one point in time. It was like a Scottish sheffer a couple putts away from winning this tournament. His floor is incredibly high, but he didn't. And the still photo of him at the end looked like he, he'd had enough, like he just climbed Mount Everest. But you can listen to this podcast if you listen on Collins feed. Make sure you subscribe to three now podcast. We have our own feed, but go low on there as well. Everything goes up on the YouTube channel. You can check that out. We will football podcast coming up this week as well as John Schneider GM for the Seahawks will join us. And we're off and running. But before we talk about any of JJ Spawn's win, you know I got to tell you about my friends, my partners in the official ticketing app of this podcast. Game time. Best ticketing app in America. Just played with golf with my guy Bill Saturday. Guess where he was on Friday night. He was in Las Vegas at the Sphere. He's like, Jon, I've been there like seven times. Seen the Eagles, seen the dead, seen, seen Kenny. Incredible So if you want to go to the sphere, if you want to go to a game, a basketball game. Well, basketball season's ending. Baseball off and running. Just saw my Giants. Buster Posey now runs them trades for Rafael devers. He's got 14 bombs on the season. He's locked up a 10 year contract. No big deal. Posey making moves. If you want to go to a game. Dodgers, Giants are currently playing as I'm recording this podcast. You got football right around the corner, a couple months away. Football season will be here, concert season all summer long. Comedy shows. They got you covered. Best ticketing app in America. Not even close. So here's the thing. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use the code JOHN for $20 off. Your first purchase terms apply again, create an account and redeem the code John for $20 off. Download the game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. When I said I think on our preview US Open pod, we did five of the biggest stories that I thought coming into the weekend. Obviously Bryson, Scotty, Rory led the charge when it came to players. And then my two other big stories were Cinderellas are dead and obviously Oakmont. The course, anytime you go to widely considered the hardest course in America and that's the player saying that that's just not the media or people on the outside. The players are all reiterating this is the hardest course I've ever played. But I truly believed when you factored in the difficulty, my take on the Cinderella was just based on evidence. Ever since the split, we have seen a couple guys rise. Obviously Bryson has, you know, become a dominant, dominant player. He got ejected this week. But Rory, Scotty, Xander, I mean the top guys. And it's not even just the top guys, it's who they're competing with. Down the stretch, right? It was Rory versus Bryson. It's been Scotty versus Morikawa and Ludvig. It's been Scotty versus Rom. It's been, you know, Rory and Xander, Verse Hovland. It's been the top guys all duking it out in the majors for the last couple years. And not since wyndham Clark like 2 years ago have we had like God didn't see that one coming. And even looking back at that one, you saw the picture that went viral from Tron at no laying up, losing his mind in that locker room. But I don't just say things to say them. Like I truly believe, like it's going to be really, really Difficult, given where we're at with technology, given it how far these guys are hitting it and how well the top guys are playing. I mean, Rory's finished in, like, the top seven in the US Open for, like, six straight US Opens and literally finished second the last two. Scotty's on a Tiger, like, run. Listen, say what you want about Bryson. I mean, up until this weekend and really up until Friday, he had been a dominant player in the majors. So it's like, you have some guys. I mean, those three guys, when their careers are over, are going to be known as some of the greatest players of all time. They're in their prime. I mean, Rory's a little older, but they're dominating in these big moments, like, how can you bet against them? And then every once in a while in a sport like this. And this is where it paralleled tennis so perfectly. It's like, and I'm not some huge tennis guy, but for the last 30 years at least, of my life of following sports, when I was young, it was like Agassiz and Sampras. Then it turned into Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and now it's this crew of, like, Alcatraz and this guy center. And it's just the same guys. Every single Grand Slam are either in the final four or in the finals. And for the most part, if there's a group of three or four of them, two of them are locked to be in the finals. And that's what it felt like golf was going to be like. And then this week happened. And it's one thing golf tournaments are long. Anyone who's been gambling on golf knows that, you know, when you take a first round lead, you can't just, like, put that guy in stone. It's really hard to fend everyone off, obviously. J.J. spahn played excellent on Thursday on a course that was kicking everyone's ass. You had guys struggling to break, like, 75. He shoots four under par. He doesn't make a bogey, and he's just kind of rolling. And he's had an excellent season. He has multiple seconds. I tried to figure out how much money he had made in his career. It's hard because the PGA app is so delayed. I think give or take, he had about he had made. Now he's 34 years old, and he's been on tour for a while, like 12 or 13 million dollars so far in his career, which obviously for most of society is a lot of money. But relative to golfers, you know, nothing crazy, right? This year, coming into this tournament, he will. He had made like five and a half million dollars after today, which I think the Prize was about $4.3 million. He will have made about $10 million this year, so he won't have doubled how much he has made through the course of his career, but he made about 40% of his career earnings in the last six months. He is on an incredible heater this year, and I'm kicking myself, not because I should have bet on him, but I'll never forget. It was probably like January. I'm in the car when I'm driving around running errands in the morning, I typically will flip around between Coward and the Golf Channel and Colt Nose, who works for CBS and his podcast partner, Sleaze. They have a radio show and Colt was saying, I just played with jj I. It might have been the member guest. It might have been the member member or some tournament at Whisper Rock where all the good players play golf here in Scottsdale. And it's like, I'm telling you, this fucking guy is playing at a really, really high level. Obviously, Colt played on the PGA Tour, played at smu, knows what it looks like. So I was like, God. And then I actually think the next week was the Honda in Hawaii. And JJ played really well. And if you've just watched the season, like he became or he was a revolution, I mean, literally a ball revolution at Sawgrass from winning the players in regulation. Then he goes in the extras on Monday, hits it in the water and gets boat raced. It happens. Finishes second, still makes two and a half million dollars or 2.2 million, probably more money than he'd ever made in a tournament in his life. He only had one career win coming into this season. And then today, you know, you're watching, obviously, it's just a complete bloodbath. You're like, what's the final score going to be? It felt like before the rain came, minus two or three. And he's just like, bogey, bogey, bogey. On the second hole, he hits the pin, it goes back like a hundred yards, gets totally boned. I think on the third hole, hits the rake. I mean, he's just getting bad break after bad break. And you're like, I don't even think he's playing that bad. But relative to the other scores, you're like, it just might not be his day. Listen, you're J.J. spawn. You finished fourth or fifth at the U.S. open. That's an incredible accomplishment. Like, that's a really, really big deal. I would bet if I Pulled up JJ Spawn's Wikipedia right now. He has never finished before today in the top five in a major. No chance. Actually, I would. I would 100% bet against that. Looking today. He has never finished. He has one top 25 in his career in majors, and that was at the Masters in 2022. He hasn't even played in the Masters in 23, 24, he played this year. He finished 37th at the PGA Championship. He did not play in a major in 24. He played in one major in 23, and he missed the cut. He played in two majors in 22, and he missed the cut in one of them. He played in one major in 21 and missed the cut. And just a couple weeks ago at the Memorial, he also missed the cut. So this is a guy that, like, you know, it's the crazy part about golf that any moment you get hot, you get in the right position. In a tournament like the US Open, a lot of stuff, like in any golf tournament, a lot of it's out of your control. And luckily, the course just started ejecting guy after guy. I mean, at one point today, it looked like, Sam Burns is going to win the US Open. Sam Burns going to win the US Open. And then you look up, you're like, did Sam Burns. Where'd he finish? Sam Burns finished tied for seventh. Him and Adam Scott. It felt like one of those two guys was going to win it with like, eight or nine holes left. Adam Scott. Adam Scott shot 79 today. Both those guys shot 79 and 78. And JJ Spawn just kept plugging. He kept plugging. He kept plugging. All of a sudden it's like, God, he's even and everyone's over par. And then he fucking drives the green on 17, hits a shot of his life. Honestly, it reminded me a little bit. If you can remember back to 2020, when Colin Morikawa won the PGA Championship at Harding Park. It's 16 or 17. I think it's 17. Cool course, but it's 17 is a drivable par 4. I mean, if you're playing the tips, you got to hit a perfect drive. And he played that cut. He drove the green, tapped in for eagle, and he won the tournament. I mean, it was the reason he won the tournament. When he drove that. That green on 17, you're like, I texted a buddy immediately. I'm like, if he knocks us in for eagle, it's over. And then he two plus for birdie, and you're like, God, he's in pretty good shape. And Then everyone else is falling apart. Hovland, you know, screws, I guess. Hovland made a good chip on 17, but was still a couple back. You're like, I don't know. He's going to need him to bogey and he'd have to birdie. This is going to be JJ's moment. And then he knocks it in on 18. That my take was humbled by the fact that in golf randoms, especially in the U.S. open, like the Masters, there are going to be people that play well there. But the top dogs in golf, especially now that Rory's won it, Scottie Scheffler is obviously extremely comfortable there. You know, Jon Rahm is extremely comfortable there. Right? Those guys are going to be factors if they're playing well. Bryson has kind of figured that out. The PGA Championship, for the most part, does not play like the US Open. So length is a big factor. And if you look, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm last year, Xander Schoffley, Victor Hovland, Bryson DeChambeau, I do believe those two tournaments are typically going to be. I might need to change my outlook a little bit for the US Open, because when you get moments like this, and listen, I root for carnage. I do one time a year. I'm cool with it. But then you're watching it, you're like, is this that fun to watch? Like, I respect the shit out of all these guys. I can't even imagine how difficult that course was just to play 18 holes like that wasn't fun for anyone. I mean, it was fun for JJ when he won it, but, I mean, it was. He was probably wanting to shatter clubs. Like, this is going off the rails, right? The rough was outrageously long. The greens are. I think one problem with this course, which again, is known as the hardest course in America, is I heard, I was listening to one of no laying ups post round might have been on Thursday. And one of their guys, Neil, said that, you know, the hard part about this course is like a lot of famous courses, there are different landmarks, and you got a pretty good idea, oh, now they're on this hole. This is the shot you need to hit on this hole. I. Oh, I love this par three. If you go to some of the most famous courses, right, Obviously the Masters were very comfortable with Pebble Beach. We're very comfortable with the layout of the course. Some of the holes at St. Andrews. And then you get to this course, which has the universal respect, number one course in terms of difficulty in America, and all the holes kind of blend together. So from a viewing standpoint, if you've never played there, you're going to 14. Kind of looks like 15, kind of looks like 13. This is another long par three. So that part of the viewing experience isn't that exciting. Besides, you just know if you miss the fairway, we all know you're fucked. And after you've watched a couple days or you're like, this guy's got no chance. This guy's screwed. I don't even need them to break it down. So there's a randomness if you do not hit it straight off the fairway, which on a lot of terms, especially the bastards, doesn't really matter as much. Always factored into the US Open, this one is legitimately impossible. And especially as it got wet, it got even crazier. So there was, and I'm not trying to diminish anything from JJ Spawn's victory, but there was, it felt like a little more randomness with this tournament than typically in the major tournaments. Right. I'm not saying JJ Spawn was not the best player because he had the lowest score, but this thing felt a little wacky. And listen, maybe that's just part of US Opens, but I do think the golf media in general, they're huge on this golf, on the ball rollback. They've beaten that drum ball rollback. You know, two people that do not care about the ball rollback. The players, they don't want it, and the fans don't care. But the media is driving this. Then they love it. And listen, there are like. I do understand if they hit it a little bit shorter, they'd have more options at different courses. True. But the one thing you see is, like, some of these shootouts. The media hated Valhalla last year when Xander won. Guess what? Pretty entertaining for most people because birdies at a course like this are very hard to come by. Which is part par for the course at the US Open. But as just a consumer, you know, the, the, the ending of the tournament is exhilarating. But like, I'd say 60 plus holes of the tournament was kind of like. I mean, I, and I get it. Johnny Miller's taking shots like Bryson DeChambeau. You know why he's watching this tournament this weekend? Because he can't hit a fairway. And part of US Opens hitting the fairway. I get it. But this is an individual sport and it's driven by the stars. And when you're just kicking half the stars out before Saturday, and while Scotty was kind of in the mix, he kind of wasn't. But you know, Rory, who knows? Shooting 75 every day, hucking clubs, shattering tee boxes, it does diminish the experience a little bit. Now, luckily, this is only one time a year and you could argue it's like once every four or five years because of the course. But while I came into this tournament thinking Cinderella's had no chance, dead wrong. And I couldn't wait to watch the course kick the player's ass, I kind of got to take the L on that too. Because I'm watching and I'm like, I'm kind of bored. I'm going to go play golf on Saturday. I consume major golf course tournaments. Like I do NFL football. Like, I love it. And I just, I'm glued to the couch. My wife knows there is the super bowl and then there are four other Super Bowls and they're called the Masters, the pga, the US Open and the British Open. Now, luckily the British Open. So early time we got half our days, you know, on Saturday and Sunday. But this tournament, like, it's a pretty big deal on Saturday and Sunday didn't do that much for me. And I do be interested to see the television ratings foreign. The NBA Finals are here and this is your last chance to bet on the NBA until next season. 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- [21:46]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [22:17]
John Middlecock
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John Middlecock
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Zoe Saldana
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John Middlecock
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- [25:36]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [26:11]
John Middlecock
I also think there was a shot today of and this is what Neil had mentioned on no laying up is like they don't do a good enough job of kind of giving different camera angles. And I forget who was on the green, but one of the camera angles kind of went to the side of the green instead of the overhead. And the green looked like a roof. You know how roofs slant? That's what the green look like. You're like, this is. This looks impossible. How could you put on something that looks like it has a 45 degree slope? What do they always say about the Masters that television does not do it justice because you can't tell the undulation of the holes, how the down slope and the upslopes. And no lie is flat, though on TV and overhead shot, it kind of looks like a football field. It looks flat. And even with these greens, which are clearly sloped just at an extreme level when they're, when they have the overhead shot of Victor Hovland with the putt, you can tell he's playing it five feet to the right or seven feet to the left because that's where the ball starts. But you can't understand it with the slope of the green. So you could argue that the cool aspect of the course does not show on television. And let's face it, most people that consume this tournament are not on the property. This is a television product. That's the point of this business model. And NBC takes a lot of shit because one, they bought this tournament back from Fox for like 50%. I think even less than 50 cents on the dollar might have been for like 30 cents on the dollar. And they do exactly what they've done before they bought the tournament. I mean, there are a lot of shots today that they don't even have shot tracker on. Like, guys, this isn't the cognizant that this isn't the Honda Classic. This is the US Open. How do I not have a shot tracer on every fucking shot? This is 20, 25. But I think you could argue that television didn't do this course justice because as the tournament went on, the course does feel a little bland on television, which clearly it's not and anyone that plays it. And if you watch any of these YouTube videos of the guys of the creators of Bryson, the course looks cool the way they do it, yet when they're doing it on television, it's just not quite as good. So I guess that's a long winded way of saying I was a little disappointed as a viewer. And I don't even know if it's the course fault because the course lived up to the hype. I mean, one guy under Paris, at the beginning of the week, they started polling all these players like, would you sign up for even par? Would you sign up for two over par? And I mean a lot of these guys were taking these scores and looking back, you 100% would have signed up for even par, right? 1. I mean, it took a guy making a 70 foot putt or whatever on 18 to break even par. So the course lived up to the hype. It kicked the shit out of everybody. I mean it destroyed most of these guys. So, I mean, Bryson DeChambeau not even sniffing the cut. You know, ejecting the Justin Thomas as some of these guys was, I guess, cool. But then at the same time it's like, do you really want that? I kind of torn. But I mean, some of these guys. Down the stretch today, Hatton fell apart. Hovland actually played pretty well. Robert McIntyre, I mean, look who played pretty well in this tournament beside JJ Spawn. Robert McIntyre, international guy, used to the elements. Hovland grew up in like fucking Iceland. Cam Young from New York, Haddon UK Rom comfortable in the elements. Obviously Scheffler is couldn't putt. So I mean, Ben Griffin having himself a good season. Xander schoffley, the sneakiest T12 I've ever seen. I don't know if I saw Xander Shafley hit a shot today. Shot 69. Koepka actually pretty solid T12 as well. 73, 71 on the weekend, but Roy McElroy somehow finished in the top 20. Did not see if you would ask me before, I just looked at the leaderboard. Where do you think Rory McElroy finished? I would have been like 33rd. Tied for 33rd. He finished tied for 19th, so it shows you. And tied for 19th was plus seven. Like you finished in the top 25. Jordan Spieth finished in the top 25 with eight over par, shooting 72 on Sunday. So I mean, I think at the end of the day, I don't think this is something that people would want a lot. And that's always something that people push Back against, when it comes to this tournament or just tournaments in general, is it's too easy, too many birdie fests. I do think that's kind of entertaining. You know, I think we see this in the NBA. People push against three pointers. And I think there is a line where three pointers can be boring. Just like there are a line like when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were hot in their prime. They could shoot 100 three pointers and everyone's entertained. Right. But do I want to see some random guy shooting 28% bombing threes from the, from the corner? Right. No. Right. Do I want to see tournament after tournament where 30 under par is winning the tournament? No. But do we make too big of a deal about 17, 18 under? I think we probably do because. And that's hard. It's why some of these guys, it's difficult for them to play. And I think if anyone that follows the Korn Ferry Tour, you know, on a weekly basis to make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour, it's usually like, I would, I don't know what the average is over the last couple years, but if I had to take an educated guess, I'd bet it's like 6 or 7 under. And typically a lot of these tournaments to win the Korn Ferry Tour is well over 20. So that means if you're like 10 or 11 under on the week, you're probably not sniffing a top 20. And like that. There's a balance of that. You don't want to see that on the PGA Tour, but we do like explosive, you know, moments. And that speaks of the day to day where I felt like it like lacked a little juice, like it kind of wasn't working. I got a pretty good idea, I think what works and what doesn't when it comes to some of these events, but I don't know, something's just a little off. And listen, individual sport, not huge names. Might have been, it might have just been the nature of every single guy getting their ass kicked. But they go to this crazy rain delay and anyone that if you're watching this and you, you know, live in the Northeast or the South, I've never lived in the south, but, you know, being in Philly, I would imagine Pittsburgh, same thing. These, these rainstorms can come through and for a 45 minute hour and a half, it feels like, is this the hardest I've ever seen or felt it rain? Then all of a sudden it's just gone. And that, that clearly happened. And they go to A rain delay. And NBC immediately just goes. They don't even have go to like Dan Hicks or Tirico. It's like, hey, you want to get a mic in front of Sam burns, Adam Scott, J.J. spawn, Terrell Hatton. You want to just bullshit with these guys? Might be cool content. Hey, you want to get a caddy on camera? What's it like out there? What are you guys doing? What do you experience? You want to get some guys that just finished. Hey, hey, can we use you for like 20 minutes to kill some time, kind of do a round table? Can you imagine the NFL if there was a delay in a game and it was going to be like 30 minutes in a huge game, a playoff game or a late December game, going to an event from like 2008. And they went to Tiger, which I understand, because if I'm an NBC executive and we need a break and we're not going to do any content on site, which is fucking insane, we're just going to cut to something pre recorded. They didn't go to like last year's event. Hell, they didn't Even go to 2016 Oakmont where the tournament was being held. They went all the way back to 2008 Tiger Woods. 2008 Tiger Woods. But they went to the Saturday round. Why? Because Saturday round, he's making like crazy eagles. He's chipping it in. It was incredible. But think about that. They went to a delay at NBC, went to 2008 Tiger Woods Saturday, and they didn't really even explain it. They just threw it up there. I was like, okay, I'll watch this for a little bit. And it was cool. First shot they showed it was him hitting it from like the patrons to the back of the green where he ended up making like a hundred foot eagle butt. But it's like, what are we doing here? And it's why, like I do think the criticism of the network and NBC and the way that they do golf, because think about how they do football. It's a big deal. It feels like a Super bowl every night. How seriously they take the NFL with Tirico, with Collinsworth, the production, it's a real big deal. And it does feel like with golf, it's like I couldn't believe when they went to the rain delay, which is no one's fault, nothing you can do that. They just immediately went to Tiger Woods 2008 Saturday round. It's like, guys, you got all these players intense. Let's just get a guy on a mic. They're literally doing they're just sitting there. Hey, J.J. what was it like when your ball hit the pin? Did you. Are you mentally losing it right now? Hey, Sam, do you feel like you're in pretty good position to win this tournament? Adam? Like, what are the nerves like right now knowing that you have an opportunity to win your second major of your career and, like they were talking about on the broadcast, become a Hall of Famer? Because Adam Scott has said, I guess, in the past that he doesn't view himself as a Hall of Famer because he only has one major. They didn't do any of that. All these guys are sitting around, got a million fucking microphones. Crazy. It's crazy how bad my allergies are here in Arizona. I've never had allergies in my life. And my. My allergies now are pretty outrageous. I did want to hit on this Rory McElroy, and I went back. I'm glad that I didn't react on Saturday night to this tournament, because I think it would have been probably pretty aggressive. Roy McElroy is acting like the press treat him like he's a sitting president or something. Like, he is about to be asked, like, what do you think of the ice raids? And what's your stance on the. On the trans movement? I mean, they're literally asking you, rory, how's your driver working? Why did you hit a sand wedge on 13? And I do get. When you go back to the PGA Championship and the driver story leaked, clearly, the people at the pga, that test, the driver told the media about Rory, and that's where the story leaked, even though Scotty Scheffler and other guys also failed the test. So in that individual instance, I get being mad, and I get even not talking for a couple days, I get it. Totally understandable. Emotions run high. Even if I technically kind of want to disagree with, like, bro, you're the most famous guy in the sport, part of being Michael Jordan, part of being Tiger woods, part of being in this position is like taking the arrow sometimes, which you have in the past. But, like, it doesn't just end when you arbitrarily want it to end. But in an individual instance, I get being like, f you guys. Totally understandable. Now we're like, two months later. And for him to come out and say, like, I'm. I'm mad at you guys, like, what are you talking about? Like, mad at some guy that writes for Golf.com like Rory to say, and I saw Paul McGinley, who is a big part of the Golf Channel Say, like, I don't really recognize this Rory. He does just look kind of angry. Now, obviously, this course can be pretty frustrating, but he helicoptered countless clubs. He shattered a tee box. He's refusing to talk the majority of the time. So, listen, I'm not into psychoanalyzing what's going on in the guy's life. Who knows what's happening at his home? He had a divorce that almost happened a year ago. They reconciled. You never know. Sometimes problems don't just go away. But clearly, whatever's going on right now, for a guy that looked like his season was about to be a rocket ship, he won pebble, won the Players, then won the fucking Masters. If you would have bet at that moment, you think Rory's going to go on to have a massive season, win, like, five times another major? Or if you would have said, do you think he's just going to mail it in and suck from there on out? I think 90% of people would have been like, he's going to have an awesome season. No pressure. Everyone's supporting him. He's just. Everyone's rooting for him. It's fun to watch him play. He's just kind of vibing. And it's been the complete opposite. And listen, money, success impacts us all differently. Rory's been rich for a long time, so money doesn't impact how hard he's been practicing. He's grinded the last 10 years trying to win a major. He has been filthy rich. But clearly that moment of winning that championship, whatever that did off the course, to me, has manifested it into the way he's kind of operating and acting. And we're getting a different guy, because whatever's going on is not the human that we witnessed destroy JJ Spawn in that playoff to make those incredible shots on Sunday at the Masters. And that sucks, you know? Like, listen, did it suck to have Bryson missed the cut? Of course. It's golf. It happens, right? I mean, look at Jon Rahm last year. Had a foot issue, played bad in the majors, kind of got his mojo back. And John Rom's just kind of back being in the mix. Scotty's had some weird moments last year at the. At the British Open, you know, was bitching and moaning. Like, I give you, it's golf. It's hard, right? But whatever's going on with Rory is not an enjoyable experience. And I don't know why. I mean, he's not really given much insight into it, but I think we're past the point of, like, he's Just mad at the quote unquote media that like Sirius XM and Golf.com and the PGA Tour.com are asking, hey, Rory, what's up with the driver? Hey, Rory, how was that 7 iron on 14? Like, bro, what are we even talking about? There can never. There's never been a time in the history of sports where it's been easier to be an athlete and get asked questions. And there's definitely never been a time where it's easier to be a golfer and get asked questions. I think it shows what a complete. Listen. Golf has always been a rich man's country club bubble sport. It has become less like that to the public, given there are more public courses and access to golf. Though the prices post 2020 outrageous in most of these places where we live. I mean, to play a shit banger course is like 60, 80, $100. You used to be able to find the crappiest course in America. You could play for like 10, 20 bucks. Now it's like you couldn't sniff a course for under 50 bucks. And anything half decent running, like $150. So it may be shifting back the other way, but a lot of these guys on tour live in their little bubble. Member at all these country clubs, fly private for, you know, starting in their early 20s. Hard to have a great grasp on society. In a weird way, it felt like Rory did. And now, whatever happened over the course of the last couple months, it felt like he's kind of lost it. It's why sometimes when you see a Cinderella moment happen, like JJ Spawn, you kind of find yourself rooting for it because you're like, I. That guy's kind of relatable, unlike some of these other guys, right? Like, I bet JJ Spawn flies a lot on commercial airlines. I bet JJ Spawn doesn't live in the biggest house in Scottsdale, right? I bet JJ Spawn, like, drives a car that more often than not, it's going to look like mine or yours than DJs, right? And it's why, like, as it kind of took shape, root for him. Listen, anytime you're the guy at the top of the mountain, it's where the wind blows the hardest. So you're going to take the Most shit. Ask LeBron, ask Brady, ask Tiger, ask Rory. But, like, part of it is, like, more is asked of you to have thick skin and be able to handle it. And for him to constantly be mad. I just, bro, your life ain't that bad unless it is. And we just don't know. I mean, I don't know, it's just very bizarre and honestly kind of off putting, you know, as someone that roots for the guy. Blending Vice's signature dynamic storytelling with the high octane world of sports, Vice Sports brings an exciting and diverse range of programming that goes beyond the game. 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Jemele Hill
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Candace Parker
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Jemele Hill
Like when I close my eyes at night every night, I was like, I need to find my prince Charming. Like it was never a princess. Like that never entered into my mind. But you know, as I learned, sometimes life gives you things wrapped in a package that you didn't expect it. And that was just, you know. And honestly, it took me a long time to be okay with myself.
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Candace Parker
Make sure to listen to this week's episode of spoletix on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
- [46:35]
John Middlecock
Let's end on this, let's answer a couple questions and get out of here. Lolopod Olopod is the Instagram you guys can fire in those DMs whenever. I don't even. I mean, is there a golf tournament this week? Maybe? Is it Travelers in two weeks? Who knows? There might be a signature event this week I haven't even looked at. But if there is, maybe we'll do some gambling stuff later this week. But at Golopod, Fire in those dms, get your questions answered on the show. This from Cal Question what's going on with this Guy, he needs to be admitted to the loony bin or just get some medication. He's speaking about Rory. When a USGA official, he sent me this post, approached Rory about his media availability as he walked from the scoring room to the clubhouse without stopping and said, I'm good, and kept on walking. He did talk on Saturday, but I'm with you. It's just. It's a lot of people. When you're just a nice guy, if you're in the public eye all the time, you're going to screw up. You're going to say things that are going to piss people off. I'm sure I say things every single day on my podcast that someone disagrees with, whether it's a serious thing, whether it's not serious as part of, you know, talking. And anytime that you're a pro athlete and you're the top pro athlete, you're talking in front of a camera and a microphone all the time. Like, you're allowed to make mistakes. But I think this. Rory is, like, owning himself in this situation. He's making it worse. A lot like Morikawa did a couple months ago. It's like, bro, this isn't this complicated. These people aren't asking you tough questions. Just say, yeah, man, I was emotional. I stormed off on Sunday. I regret doing that. I was pissed off. I wanted to win. Totally get it. We all would, too, if we were in your shoes. It's not that fucking big a deal. But constantly doubling down like, screw you. I don't owe you shit. Like, bro, who are you even talking about? Who are you talking to? And you do owe the television partner something. You do owe these tournaments that you are making money off something. Where do you think the money comes from? The. The sponsors? Do you think this money just comes from the sky now? Rory is so rich. He's so out of touch with that flow. Maybe he just, at this point, doesn't give a shit anymore, which kind of feels that way because it doesn't feel like he cares that much, which is his prerogative. But him saying, like, oh, they can't force me to do. It's like, Rory, it's not about forcing or not forcing. It's just about, like, this is the business you're in. We all have parts of whatever business we're in that suck. Every single human. Whether you're in sales, whether you're a janitor, whether you run a construction company, whether you're a doctor, there is a part of every single one of our jobs, no matter what. If you Starting quarterback. Whether you CEO of your Jamie Dimon, you run chase. There is literally something or a couple things in your daily, you know, operating, you know, operation that you do. You despise doing, that you put off or something you do on a weekly basis. You're like, I'm dreading doing this. Welcome to life. And you still got to do it. And Roy's like, well, technically, I don't have to do it. Yeah, you don't have to do it. But speaking as part of, I don't know, this business that is professional sports and the generating mechanism that brings the, I don't know, cash that pays for your hundreds of millions of dollars that you have in the bank, they didn't just. It doesn't just exist because you're awesome at golf. There are a lot of dudes awesome at golf all over the world that no one ever watches play. But you play on this PGA Tour. That's this vehicle to generate the coin. Do you think the question for the golo mailbag. Speaking of the PGA Tour and liv, do you think the golf world, more specifically the broadcast partners, can ever get over the LIV PGA split? I watch both tours pretty regularly, and I find it frustrating at the majors when they just put. When they hardly go into detail on any of the LIV guys. A great example is Ortiz. As I type this, he's within striking distance on a Sunday in a major. The broadcast only says he's never finished as high in a major. The dude is having a really solid year on liv. I just don't get why we can't celebrate all golfers, regardless of where they choose to play. Cheers, brother. Well, I think you'd have to ask them specifically. I mean, was it last year in the US Open when Brando Chamblee was. I mean, actively rooting for Rory against Bryson? Like, he can. I like Brandle. I'm a huge Brandle Chambly fan. But he can't deny that he was. He was rooting for Rory. But we know where he stands. Tweets about it all the time. He Listen, some people definitely in the media, and just some people in general, you know, get very on their moral high horse about the Saudi situation. Is like, guys, our country's balls deep in business with them. Like, so it's like, give me. You're gonna worry about the golfers. Like, give me a break. I never even. You know, LIV is paying us now. We're talking about a little me and Colin, but anyone that's listened to me for a long time, morally, I was Unfazed by it. I did not care. I would have taken the money, too, if they would have thrown in front of me. If you would offer me $200 million like Bryson, Dechambo, Brooks, Koepka, zero chance I would have turned it down. None. And I think there's a jealousy factor on the players. Some of them that stayed because they clearly could have got 100, $150 million, and that money's gone now. That money no longer exists in the sense of it's been reported that lives done giving out the huge bonuses. Bryson just talked about it, about, you know, renegotiating. We'll have to see how that plays out now. He's kind of an outlier. But I do think the broadcast partners, like whoever you're in business with, and it's a serious business partner. So let's use cbs. CBS is embedded with the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour is a huge deal to cbs. It's a lot of programming for them throughout the year, and they have been partners for a long, long time. So anyone that you're in business with and you have, like, there's. And you've made money with, there should be some sort of loyalty to that. So I get some of these commentators that are really close with people on the PGA Tour having a bias, right? They did pick a side, and they can't hide. Kevin Kisner, who is now, and I'm not saying he did this. He's a PGA Tour member. Like, that's his crew. These are his guys that stayed. Now, who knows? Maybe if you're having beers with kids, he doesn't actually care. But, like, if you told me he did or doesn't, like, love the situation, it's kind of understandable. So we're all products, especially in business of, like, who are you in business with? Anyone listening to this, that knows people in the booze business knows that it's a really big deal to them. When you're with them and you order their competing brand, they're like, no, order the different one. Do you think it's because they really love the taste that much or it's like, no, we're not doing business with these motherfuckers. We're trying to take them down. It's part of life that's part of, you know, that's part of business. So I think there's a competitive thing there. I do think they get treated differently, for sure. You know, you don't have to treat Bryson and Rom differently because we know him some well. But I'm with you on Carlos Ortiz. He's clearly a really talented young guy that I don't know that much about. Right. I would love to hear more, but you're just. You're just not going to get it. So I don't expect it to come. Big fan. I watch every major with my dad and thought about the US Open that is really the true test of the year and isn't a birdie festival. Do you think it would be beneficial for the PGA to have a yearly tournament that rotates a top course every year that they intentionally make extremely difficult for the pros? The common golf fan might find it boring, but people like us who enjoy the carnage would love to see these guys struggle more than once a year at the U.S. open. And it's not always super low scoring like it could be. What are your thoughts? Also, if you're ever in Rochester, New York, play some golf at Oak Hill. I don't think a lot of the guys would play. I really don't. I don't think they'd show up. I don't think they'd participate. And you can say they're really soft. But if I told you you're Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay, would you rather play the 85 Bears or the 2001 Ravens or would you rather play the Jags? What do you think they're going to say? So I think part of it is people try to avoid difficult situations mentally breaks you down when you don't have to. And most of these guys now are so rich they can pick their schedule, the business model. They don't. You know, unlike on the PGA Tour, unlike live, you don't have to play any tournaments. It was thought forever that it was going to be forced to play these signature events. And it's Rory's proven. Scotty and Rory both have skipped signature events over the last couple of months, and not because they're injured. They're healthy. So I think one's enough after watching this and I'm pro carnage to a point until I've like, I kind of want to be entertained. It's not really entertaining me. So I would say that's not going to happen because one, I don't think they would get the buy in. I think there would be courses that would volunteer, say, hey, come to my course. We will trick this bad boy up and kick the shit out of these guys. And I think the guys just wouldn't show. I've been thinking about the backlash live golfers have faced and wanted to get your Take why do you think players jumping from the PGA to live get so much flack? While similar shift entertainment, like big name actors moving from traditional Hollywood studios to streaming platforms, seems to go mostly unnoticed or even celebrated, in both cases, there was once only one clear path to success until a player came along, offering top talent, more money and flexibility. Yet live golfers are often vilified, while actors making similar moves are seen as progressive or smart. Is it a source of the money, the tradition of the sport, or something else entirely? Well, I think with. With a movie, right? If I what show was I watching recently? I was watching Stick the Owen Wilson golf show. They put on Apple TV that if that was on Netflix, if it's on Apple TV or if it's on Amazon prime, if enough people are talking about it, I'm going to end up watching it and liking it. And ultimately, like I'm not invested into cbs, in the Netflix, in the Amazon, I don't really care, right? Like when I went to see a movie, for example, as a kid, I don't go to movies anymore. It didn't matter to me what studio produced the movie, if the stars were in the movie. Like when I was a kid, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, you know, Tom Hanks, you name it, Denzel Washington, they drew you to the movie. You didn't give a shit. The as you get older, you know more about like the directors. You're like, oh, Scorsese film. But when you're young, you don't care. It's like, this guy's really famous. I want to go watch the Rock, right? I want to go watch this famous actor in this movie. You don't know who directed it, who produced it. You don't care. And I think there's an element like an actor is an independent contractor slash independent business in himself, a lot like golfers. So like when you have there are only so many golfers that truly move the needle and the numbers under 10 and when they play against each other, it helps and it matters. Watching Tiger play against Phil is much better than watching Tiger play against some random even though it's still Tiger playing. But when you get Tiger playing against a legendary player like that, part of what made 2019 in the him winning the Masters cool is like Cantley DJ Finow. Like there were other famous guys there that we know or knew at the time. Like, this is a pretty big deal, right? And golf's an individual sport, so you can't separate and live. Take took Bryson and Rom and look, Hatton is A really good player. I mean, these guys are like writer cuppers. And when I remove, if there are, Obviously there's top 100 players, right? But there's a big difference between like the top, I would say 20ish. And if Liv takes four or five of those top 20 guys, it does diminish some of these bigger tournaments non majors. And obviously there's a jealousy factor and there's animosity and some, A lot of these guys, you know, said no. So there are a lot of different variables. But at this point in time, I think we've seen this sport just like any individual sport is not strong enough. And it's just golf's niche operation. This is not football. But even football couldn't overcome if some league just stole Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert, like it would be, it would hurt the league. So I think there are a lot of factors here and inevitably they've had conversations and working towards stuff. Who knows when it actually plays out. But I understand why people are mad. I understood why people took the money. And I understand while this is not a sustainable model for everybody and inevitably, whether that's in two years, whether that's in 10 years, I don't know when I'm done even guessing or even caring. That's why at first my reaction is like, I don't want to do business with liv. It's like, well, they got top players, so if I can get access to the top guys. Yeah, let's. They can come on the pod. You know, can I get John Rahman, can I get Terrell Hatton on the pod? Because I like PGA tours giving me those guys. So I. We're at the point now it's 2025, so let's, let's attempt to figure it out. I played baseball growing up, played golf for about two years now. I still grip the club like a baseball bat. What is the benefit of the finger lock or different grip styles? Does it help with more consistent swing or do you think it's essential to learn how to hold the club? I've tried every once in a while an interlock and my fingers, but it feels awkward. You'd have to YouTube. I would YouTube like golf coaches talking about the golf grip and the interlock. I don't know the benefits in terms of grip pressure. I would say you definitely have better grip pressure in terms of holding the club than a baseball bat, which is obviously a lot heavier than a golf club. I've been playing golf. I mean, I was awful at baseball. I quit after little League. I've been playing golf much longer than I ever played baseball. So the interlock grip is like what it feels like to you with the baseball bat. Gripping a golf club like a baseball bat feels weird to me. The interlock grip, even when I just do it with my hands standing, you know, sitting on my office chair feels like a normal movement to my hands. So I can't imagine there being many good players over the last 50 years that did not have an interlocking grip. Could be wrong. But let me say this differently. There's a very, very short list of guys in the history of golf, definitely modern day, that grip it like a baseball bat. Okay, last question. I've recently gotten into golf and have noticed that my first few holes go well. After that, my plans, my play starts to go downhill. Do you notice this with your game? Is there a solution as simple as slowing down and taking more time for each shot? Also, do you keep track of your handicap? How much have you improved since you started playing? Well, I mean, I've had a handicap for 30 plus years, so it's gone up and down. I would say. Yeah. I mean, I would say my downfall of golf is I struggle with 18 holes. I mean, I have a ton of respect for all the guys that play professionally, collegiately, because you're playing day after day. So it's not even just 18 holes. It's. You might have three straight days of having to focus on every given shot. I shot 83 yesterday and I finished triple. I finished five over in the last four holes, which is by far the easiest stretch. So like, I mean, if I just usually I finish even or one under on that stretch and I finished five over, it might have been, I, you know, had a transfusion and then a beer, but I just, I kind of didn't focus on a wedge shot. And all of a sudden it kind of spiraled and all of a sudden I'm like, what is going on? And if it wouldn't have been for probably like a 10 foot par putt on 17, it would have been six over on the last four holes. So focus on golf. It's what the game of golf is much closer to. The, like I would say kicking in football elements of baseball. It's a lot of thinking and a lot of, a lot of focus. You know, in basketball and football you just get to play. Obviously in football you have to know the play. But if I'm a tight end and I'm running a five yard out route and I have an inside release, if the guy Shaded over my right shoulder, right? Like I just get to play full speed. I just get to play right. If I'm the offensive tackle and I have a reach block, like I just fucking go full speed, right? If I'm the linebacker and it's going to be third and one, like I know this probably going to come between the guard and the center, buckle that chin strap and just go. You know, golf, like the harder you try sometimes the worse you play. But you do need to try, but you also need to focus. So it's just, it's a mentally t, it's what makes it just a fun, unique challenge that no matter how good you get, it keeps you coming back for more. No matter how bad you are, every good shot kind of keeps you interested. It's one of the only things that kind of, you know, for us as you get older, helps you meet new people, gets you outside. I mean, I don't know what else would get me outside for five hours and 105 degrees. Not many things. Probably nothing beside a swimming pool. So I think it's just, it's a special game slash activity that you always are in the, in the process of trying to figure out. But I would say one of the more difficult aspects of the game of golf is upstairs. And even once you get to, you know, let's say I'm just, let's say you're 20 handicap. You keep playing, you keep practicing. If you're a decent athlete, it's pretty easy to start kind of working your way from like a 10 to a 15 or excuse me, like 20, 15 down to a 10 once you get in that single digits. Like I've hovered between a six and a three handicap for really probably six, seven years now. And I wonder if I've hit a ceiling not because I don't have the shots. I mean I can, you can watch me play a two hole stretch where you're like, it's kind of like a plus two handicap but mentally I don't really have it. I wouldn't say I'm a mental midget, but I struggle like in life with just, I don't know if it's add, but just pure focus where I have a lot of respect. The people that just can consistent, you know, scratch and better golfers. If you're not like a college golfer, how do you, how are you able to focus on the shots for five hours? It's hard. It's, it's what makes the, the game difficult, but it's also what makes it fun because even Once you start rolling, you kind of feel yourself. One bad shot will humble your ass fast. So we'll end on that. Congrats to JJ, Spawn, U.S. open champion, and Oakmont, I guess, for kicking the shit out of everybody.
- [66:52]
Ryan Seacrest
The volume hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Now through June 24th. Score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like Kinder, Bueno, Cheez It Crackers, Oscar Mayer Lunchables and Just Bear Chicken Bites. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online. For easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway for more details.
- [67:24]
Candace Parker
I'm Jemele Hill, host of the sports and politics podcast Spolitics. On this week's episode, I'm joined by all time great Hooper and basketball analyst Candace Parker, who gives insight into her candid new book, including why she waited two years into marriage to come out.
- [67:38]
Jemele Hill
I never envisioned being with a woman. I'll just be honest. Like when I close my eyes at night every night I was like, I need to find my prince Charming. Like it was never a princess.
- [67:48]
Candace Parker
Make sure you listen to this episode of Spolitix on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [67:56]
John Middlecock
This Pride Month, we are not just celebrating, we're fighting back. I'm George M. Johnson, author of the most banned book in America. On my podcast, Fighting Words, I sit down with voices that spark resistance and inspire change. This year we are showing up and showing out. You need people being like, no, you're not. That's what you tell us what to do. This regime is coming down on us and I don't want to just survive. I want to thrive. Fighting words is where courage meets conversation. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [68:32]
Unnamed Male Speaker
I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season one, Taser Incorporated.
- [68:49]
John Middlecock
I get right back there and it's bad.
- [68:52]
Unnamed Male Speaker
Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [69:01]
John Middlecock
This is an iHeart podcast.