What is going on, everybody? How are we doing? John Middelkoff. That'd be me. And we're gonna do a little Go Low podcast because Roy McElroy just won the freaking Masters. He completes the Grand Slam wins at Augusta in captivating just fast. I mean, I don't even know what to say. I don't even have enough adjectives in the vocabulary to describe what just went down Sunday afternoon. What, what a what, A roller coaster ride of a golf tournament and a golf round by the young man, the young lad from across the pond. But Rory McElroy gets it done. So we will dive into everything that we just witnessed. This will be a heavy go low Rory McElroy Masters podcast. I went on with Colin as well after the Masters talk a little Masters talk, a little football. Nico the Big Story, the kid from Tennessee that wanted way more money after having an average or as the kids would say, mid season at best. We dove into that. So if you want a little football talk as well, with a little more golf talk, you can find me on Collins podcast. But you guys know the drill. Make sure you subscribe to 3Now podcast. Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube page. This will be up there as well. And get ready for podcasts the rest of this week. We actually have an interview coming up this week with a college coach that knows some of the NFL prospects well, so keep an eye out for that. But before we dive into some Masters, you know, I got to tell you about my friends, my partners in the official ticketing app of this podcast. NBA playoffs is here. Hell, the warriors are playing this week in a play in game. If you want to go to any of these games, any of the playoff games, hockey playoffs are here. Baseball in full swing. My Giants just took two or three from the Yankees. You got concerts, you got Coachella going on. You got concerts starting in the spring, going through the summer. DJs going all year long. For those of you that like that, comedy shows, you name it. My friends at game time, they have you covered. So you guys know the drill. 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 Johan for $20 off. Download the Gametime app today. Last minute tickets, lowest prices guaranteed. You know, it's funny. You walk into the office getting ready to sling some takes about the Masters. You've had your notebook out there for hours and you're just thinking like, what can you even possibly say about what we just witnessed? Like most people, if you're watching this, you were probably glued for the roller coaster that was Rory McIlroy. And it kind of hit me. I don't think any round has, I would say, been like a metaphor or symbolized. McElroy's career starts the first hole, double bogey, he's tied for the lead with Bryson. All of a sudden, second hole, he's losing. You're like, what is going on? Yesterday he started birdie, eagle, birdie. So it was like he started in a blink of an eye. He's five under or four under today. He goes like, how is this happening? And then a couple holes go by and all of a sudden he's turning into hole 10 and he's got a four shot lead. And the greatness was on full display. The Greg Norman elements to his career were on full display. But unlike Tiger woods, who when he got a lead in a major, he just suffocated you like an anaconda. Unlike some of the legendary players that couldn't get it done, they just unravel and the train falls off the tracks and it's just, you know, a dumpster fire for a couple hours and you feel bad. And in those situations, usually the television, you know, Jim Nance or whoever, you know, even some of the other like British Open, you don't even show the guy once you get to like hole 10, 11, 12 today it was just like, what is going to happen? And you thought countless times, he's going to win the Masters, he's going to run away with the Masters. And then you thought multiple times he's going to lose the Masters. He hit one of the worst shots you will ever see in your entire life. On hole 13 when he dumps it into the drink and all of a sudden you're like, this is really about to go down. He had a four shot lead about 15 minutes before that. All of a sudden he dumps it in the drink. He double bogeys. Justin Rose buries a birdie putt on 16 and they're tied. You're just like, is this, is this real life? Is this really going on? And then on 15 he hits an even better shot than he hit yesterday, which I would say most people that are close to golf or fall the sport say it's probably the best shot. And Most important shot he's ever hit. Yesterday, when he hit the six iron into 15. Today, he even hits a more improbable shot because he has to hook it around the trees with a seven iron. And he knocks it, like, five feet. And you're like, oh, my God. Like we said, the total implosion on 13 to that shot on 15. It's the ultimate Rory McIlroy experience. He's got. Let's face it, he's got a little Phil Mickelson to him. You never quite know what's going to happen. Jordan Spieth, I would say, definitely has that in him, but he's no longer that good. Like, Rory is still, I'd say, right now, in 20, 25, the best player in the world. I mean, this is his third win of the year. No one's playing better. And for the most part, I mean, he had some crazy holes today. He was easily the best player in the tournament. You know, Rose actually today, threw his hat in the ring after a rough day yesterday. But he hits that ball in 15, you're like, he's going to knock this in for eagle. All he's got to do is par out, and everything's good. And then the putt's not even close. And as Immelman said, he got out of his stance before the ball even rolled. Like, two rotations. You're like, Rory and tap in, birdie. But it felt like a letdown. And then he misses on 16, 17, actually. Incredible birdie. So he goes birdie on 15, par 16 and 17. You know, sometimes some of these shot tracers, I think, mess with us, because these guys are hitting the ball so far. And sometimes you see the shot trace. You're like, oh, that's in the trees. And then it's perfectly in the Fairway, like on 17 with Rory. And then he knocks it pretty tight, taps in his birdie, and you're like, okay, par, and he wins the Masters, and then he splits the fairway on 18. You're like, this is going to be easy. Dumps it in the bunker again. The most roaring moment of all time. Can't get up and down, and we're going to a playoff. I got to be honest with you, I didn't have much faith he was going to win the playoff. I honestly, I thought he was going to lose. Maybe not on the first hole, because if they would have tied after 18, they would have gone to 10. But I just felt like I didn't have any confidence now. I didn't have. I technically had money on him, but I parlayed him with Colin Morikawa. But I did not believe he was going to win after what happened on 18. Again, it's not Norman or Spieth or even Rory back in the day when he imploded here, because that is just an absolute train off the track. Shoot 80. It's like, what are you going to do? Or dump multiple balls in the water. End up losing by several shots. I think Jordan was 7 under. I saw the screenshot today. And Danny Willett was 2 under when Jordan was going to hole 10. So we had a five shot lead going to the back nine. And then it was just, I mean, a joke. This was. Every time that he would do something incredibly stupid, he would immediately totally redeem himself and hit like two of the best shots you've ever seen and like tap in birdie. But once 18 happened, I'm like, I don't know how any human being with the emotions of what's on the line for this player, of the pressure that's on his back for this player to win this tournament, could go through everything he just did for 18 holes, miss that putt on 18, and then beat a guy who is just flaming hot. I mean, Justin Rose shoots 66 today. Barry's like a 30 footer on 18, goes nuts with the crowd has. You know, for a guy that's more than likely never going to win this tournament, he has been an incredible Masters player. After he had the lead on Thursday, I saw the stat floating around. He's led this tournament after Thursday five different times. He's going to be runner up in this tournament. He's got to be the first guy in Masters history to be runner up twice and play in multiple playoffs. So you're just like, I don't know, man, I. And then he. And then Justin Rose hits the fairway on the playoff hole. I don't think Rory and I listen, none of us normal mortals in golf, Whether you're a 5 handicap or 20 handicap, you're just putting yourself in Rory shoes. After Rose splits the fairway on the Masters, it just feels like you blew it. You're like, how could you possibly keep your heart rate down right now? And I've seen Rory talk about this. He really works on it. I'm awful at this and sometimes when it crosses my mind, I'm like, I don't even think this would help. But he's big on like keeping your mouth shut, you know, and breathe through your nose and it slows the heart rate. And I was Looking at him, I'm like, I can't even imagine the mind games he's playing with himself right now to calm his emotions, because if he gets a little quick snaps it, you know, he's. He's playing that cut, which he's done all week long on 18 and been awesome. And sometimes he hits the ball so far that what I said about the shot tracer, you think it's going in the trees. It's not even close to the trees. But I'm like, he's aiming kind of toward, you know, the left side of the bunker. He's trying to play that power cut probably 323, 30 up the hill. And you're like, this could get squirrely in multiple ways. He could duck, hook it into the trees, which any human being that's ever set up for a cut has experienced, or which he had done earlier in the day. And honestly, he had done on 17 with the three wood, but luckily it didn't go far enough that, what if he just overcuts it and he just loses the Masters right here? And I just was like, would this be the worst thing I've ever seen? Because you just find yourself as a human being rooting for this guy. Everything that you just witnessed, you know, he's obviously, there's never going to be another Tiger woods again. When Tiger got the lead, there really wasn't that much drama to it. You just got to watch this guy who was like a robot machine killer, and it was just a thrill ride. And because he's, you know, he didn't move the needle. He was the needle. You stayed glued. But I do think that whatever we witnessed today, and I'm. You know, if this was 1992 and Sports Illustrated was still around, there would be some incredible articles being written about him. Now. The written word's kind of dead, so it's all going to be us YouTubers and podcasts. But I just. That was an experience unlike I've ever had watching golf. And obviously, the buildup when you haven't won a major in a decade, the hype coming in on him. I think I talked about it last week. I didn't pull the trigger when it came to betting on Rory McIlroy. Not because I didn't think he could win. Hell, I've been saying forever, it's like, guys, he's going to win multiple more majors. Don't get fooled by what happened at the Open when Cam Smith won it or what happened at LACC when Wyndham Clark won it, and he Just couldn't make a putt in either one of those events or what happened last year at the US Open, which I would say was way more devastating relative than the other two. He's just too good. And then he goes, this year, he wins at Pebble. He wins the players. You're like, this guy's fucking playing. Unbelievable. And then he's cruising on Thursday, he's 4 under, and then all of a sudden he doubles two of the last three holes and you're like, this is a disaster. Then he comes the next day and shoots 66. Then he shoots to 66 again on, on Saturday. You're like, this is. This is insane. But this is the Rory McIlroy experience. Honestly, it's a little unlike Phil. And we thought, and I thought coming in today that, you know, forever. Most of like my, I would say junior high to, you know, 10 years ago, for like a 20 year span, it was like, we need Tiger and Phil. Tiger and Phil. Tiger and Phil. But golf is not like football, where if your two teams are really good and you're in the same conference. Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes play each other every single season. Every single season, the regular season, they're going to play each other. And it just works out. When you're on two of the best teams, you end up playing each other all the time in the playoffs. I mean, what they played for the last five years, same thing with Brady and Manning. It's like they're in the same conference, they're both winning their division. They're going to automatically play each other every single year. And then they ended up playing each other in the playoffs. I don't know, off the top of my head, I would guess seven, eight times. And obviously it took a long time for Manning to get over, but it's all we wanted. Tiger and Phil. No one ever thought Phil was better than Tiger. But could we get a couple duels in a PGA Championship? In a U.S. open, at the Masters? I mean, a place where Tiger has five and Phil is three. And it just never happened. It just never happened. You know why? Because it's not two teams playing each other. Really. You're playing in the masters one guy versus 95 players, or the US Open or the PGA Championships, one guy versus 150. So the statistical likelihood, and I'm no math major, just doesn't work out that often. And now we get this epic moment last year with Bryce and Rory, and then we get it again. They're in the final group on Sunday, and you're like, this is, this is everything I always wanted. And again, Bryson is going to go down as an all time player, right? He's going to win more majors as well. But this isn't Tiger Phil. But this is still pretty cool. I'm like, this is, this is the modern day. We're getting a rivalry. It's happened twice. Two of the last three majors, these two guys have gone out and in Bryson after a couple holes like he had nothing. I mean, his iron game, it is remarkable that he even hung around this tournament. Any human being that's ever had the duck hooks, now, I wouldn't call his the duck hooks, but just like a rope draw hook. Not quite a hook, not quite a draw somewhere in the middle. It's not a controllable thing. And when you hit the ball as hard and as far as Bryson, his irons, like you can't control it. Especially at Augusta, it was like yesterday he held it together by his short game. Today he had no chance. I mean, hell, I mean, hits the ball in the water on 11, he just hit the ball again in the water on 15. He just couldn't control his irons. And when you can't control your irons, you got no shot. So then Justin Rose and Ludwig and yeah, man, I do believe that what we just witnessed, I don't think we've ever seen anything quite like it. And I do think that Rory now is in this world where he has the career Grand Slam. He's on the short list of players. He's the first guy since Tiger to accomplish that. You know, the only guy in quote unquote, his generation with as many majors is Brooks. But when you look at the two resumes, the totality of the two players, they are not comparable. I mean, Rory's in a different stratosphere than Brooks. And I think if we were all betting on it, and I'm not taking shot at Brooks, I mean, Brooks an incredible major player, but he's won two majors, right? He's won three PGAs and two US Opens. Rory's got them all. And Rory's like peaking. I mean, he's playing the best golf of his life. I know Rory won four majors when he was young. He's a dramatically better player in 2025. And now that he gets this off his back, I think the, you know, the sky is the limit now. I'm hesitant to go like he's going to win 10 majors now, but you'd be insane to think that he's not going to win a couple More I'd put the over under probably at like he's got five now, probably seven and a half. I feel pretty confident he's going to rattle off a couple more now. Would I get into like 8 or 9? That feels pretty strong. But I think now he's chasing and I can't speak to Jack and Trevino and Arnie and the Ben Hogan's and all those guys, you know, you can rank them however you want. It's like if you're coming at me with Jim Brown and Babe Ruth, like I never saw these guys play, we can YouTube it all you want. I say it all the time. When you are arguing someone as a player, when you've watched them in the prime of their career, you have a much better argument and a much better leg to stand on than you do when you're just like shitting on a guy or propping a guy up based on just numbers, not having experienced them. I feel very confident talking to someone about Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Steph Curry, Tiger woods, whoever. I'm not going to be as confident like breaking down Joe Montana and Larry Bird and Jack Nicklaus. We can google them all we want, but if you don't live through their era, it's hard to feel as comfortable. And I live through the Tiger and Phil era and those, you know, obviously Tiger, I think for me, greatest player ever. Now he's never going to have as many majors as Jack, but that's beside the point of the last of the Internet era. Tiger's in a world by himself. I would say the number two player of that era is also in a world by itself by himself. It's Phil Mickelson. Then there's an argument of a group of like six or seven guys and Rory was always a part of that argument. Rory, Jordan, Spieth, Brooks, Koepka, Ernie Ells, a bunch of guys, right? And now I think Rory is in hot pursuit of Phil Mickelson. He is one major away from tying him. He's basically 20 years younger. Phil has 45 career victories. Now the one thing Phil has, which is a remarkable statistic, he has finished second in 12 majors. That's pretty nuts. Rory's finished fourth or four times second in majors. So Phil's major record finishing second is pretty like eye opening. And obviously he's never won a U.S. open, so he doesn't have a career grand slam. But he's finished second in that tournament I think six times, which like to me adds to the lore because this is not football where you either win or lose the super bowl, or you win or lose the AFC Championship Game. It's like, Josh Allen can't beat Patrick Mahomes. That's a fact. Like Phil Mickelson, like, he beat basically everyone else in the tournament constantly. He just couldn't beat the one guy. And famously, I think at wingfoot, when he pumps it OB on 18, I mean, he had some pretty memorable moments. But, like, that is who now Rory is inside of and in the prime of his career, keep rattling off wins. I think today was his 29th win. So he's 16 wins behind him in one major behind him. So if he can maintain, assuming that he stays healthy and assuming now that he has the same level of drive, which, you know, it's weird, the last three or four years he's had this thing to be chasing, right? And it just kept motivating him. And you just wonder now, just human psychology, like, is he, this guy, just going to be tiger moving forward and maintain, like in three days, be out there banging balls and working out and nothing changes what, maintain this level of play. And we've seen it with the Chiefs, like Patrick Mahomes has not taken the foot off the pedal at all. Rattling off Super Bowls. Well, Rory has had this huge gap of not winning anything in his mind that mattered the most, given it's the majors, and chased it and chased it and chased it and had heartache and heartache and heartache and heartache finally accomplishes it. It's like those leadership gurus talk about, like, you bang the rock, you bang the rock, and it might take you a year, might take you 10 years, might take you 100 years. Finally, on that millionth swing, the rock cracks. But it's not actually the millionth swing that cracks the rock. It's all the accumulation of the swings. And that's where all these athletes or anyone that's successful talk about it's over and over and over. It's about, you know, the process. And listen, I say it all the time. People want to know about Nick Saban's process. People want to know about Jeff Bezos process. No one gives a shit about the average guy's process. So part of, like, making, quote, unquote, the process meaningful, you got to be really, really successful. And now there's no arguing or disputing Rory McElroy. And this, I don't want to say is icing on the cake, but it feels like that a little bit. And that, to me, is where I go. I would be a little unsure what to look for moving forward. Because if that does feel like that is like the rest of this year awash, right? Is the rest of this year. Now, listen, he's. He would much rather like. It's not like if he had lost this tournament to Justin Rose with that, lit a fire under his ass and had him just keep grinding and grinding and grinding, maintain this high level of play, you would choose winning this tournament and then just figure it out moving forward. But Quail Hollow is hosting the PGA Championship here in a month. I'm pretty sure he's won there a bunch of times. And more than likely now with Scotty Scheffler, who actually kind of came on at the end, going to be the betting favorite. So I think the question mark is like, are we getting the same Rory the rest of the year? Because if we are, this, he could win another major. Hell, he could win a couple. Like last year when Xander won the PGA Championship, he clearly, no foot off the pedal, kept it down. A couple months later, wins the Open. All of a sudden he's got two majors. And I don't think how. See how anyone who watches golf could go. Well, if Rory just maintains whatever he's doing, I'd argue he'd be the favorite at definitely the PGA and the US Open and held the Open at Royal Port Rush, like some might call that a home game going to be pretty advantageous for him. So I would say at this point in time, assuming that pedal to the metal and nothing changes from what he's been doing, I'll give him the week off this upcoming week. But, like, what's. Would it. Would it feel like, you know, like he didn't accomplish what he should have? If he doesn't win another major this year, because he's been so close these last couple years now he gets this office back. Does he win a major this upcoming year by 4 or 5? Because I do look at him a little differently in these other tournaments now than I would previously were clearly the pressure got to him. All you have to do is watch 13 today. All you have to do is watch 18. I don't understand if you're Rory McIlroy, how you don't just hit that ball to the middle of the green and listen. I've never been in that situation. Just like anyone listening or watching has ever been in that situation. But when you're that good at golf, when you're the middle of the fairway and you have 100. What was it? 40 yard shot, how no matter what, just get the thing on the green two putt and we win the Masters. To hit that in the bunker is like I can't even imagine Tiger woods reaction at home. Like what? How does that happen? And honestly going back to 13, someone I had a buddy named Mark send me this clip the other day of like a statistical guy breaking down how you should play par fives. And basically it is always advantage player to go for it because today he lays up and then he dunks it in the water where Jim Nance and Immelman almost fell out of the booth. So shocked and just dumbfounded on how that could happen. But if you go for it, even if you hit it in the water, going in the water is a one stroke penalty. So you drop at 50, 60 yards, you're hitting four in worst case scenario, you're going to be putting for par. Even if it's 20ft and you miss. You tap in a bogey when you lay up and the same thing happens. I mean it's going to be very, very difficult to bogey. And all of a sudden he's got a double and it feels like it might as well have been a quadruple. And you could feel it on his face. Honestly, that reaction when he hit the ground at the end had to be the overcoming of like those two shots on 18, his second shot, his third shot on 13, some of those just God awful putts. And again, this is all relative to one of the greatest players of all time. I mean this guy is a couple more big wins away from being like, is he the top five golfer of all time? Like Tiger Jack? Is he like start being in the mix of the Arnold Palmers, Ben Hogan's Gary players. I mean this is, this is the company he's chasing. And again, Phil, he might not be 5, but he's definitely closer to 5 than 10. So you start chasing him, you start saying goodbye. Like, think about Rory right now has nothing in common with guys like Justin Thomps. Hell, even Jordan Spieth Jordan speech is not that good anymore. Koepka, who knows, he might never be the same. That moment a couple years ago at the PGA might have been his last claim to fame. And there's nothing wrong with that. You're five time major champion. Like it's, you're in pretty special company. Dustin Johnson missed the cut this week is like see Adios. So like who are we talking? Scotty? I mean we anointed him rightfully so. I mean he's 12 majors, but they both been the same tournament. So before we start comparing him to some of these other guys, like, he's got to win another major beside the Masters. And right now it just feels like he's a little off and he's still damn good. He's clearly, you know, one of the great talents on the PGA Tour and on any given day could beat anybody. But he's not what he was last year. You got Xander, who's got a fucked up rib, who I actually think finished a little higher than I thought because his name come on the leaderboards. Like, I haven't even. I don't even think I've seen Xander hit a shot like Colin Morikawa, Victor Hovland. So it's like, yeah, the, the tour has never been deeper, right? And that's not really debatable, right. Even relative to what Tiger had to deal with in the late 90s, early 2000, the depth of talent one through like 25, 35, like that range. These guys are really, really good. And some of these older guys we just saw with Justin Rose, Adam Scott, I almost said Hideki because I feel like Hidecki is 40, but he's actually like 30. I think he shot 600 today when before, like half the people even turned on the Masters. But, you know, they're still playing at a high level. It's really, really deep. This is the best player. And now where he's going, what he did today, most Rory McIlroy round ever. And this little rivalry, it doesn't quite, you know, it's. They didn't really go at it after like five or six holes because on the third hole, Rory McElroy is actually. Bryson takes the lead on two. Then by three it flips again because Rory birdie's Bryson bogeys. And that's it for basically Bryson, because then Rory would birdie again and get to 12. And by like hole nine, he's 13 under and Bryson's nine under and it was over. Then Bryson hits in the water on 11, Sayonara, ejects himself, which happens. I actually think Bryson was. Had an incredible respectable week for a guy that was just snapping his irons to the left. And he kept saying that, like, I can't my irons, I can't control the face of the club. Now granted, he builds these clubs to do that, but for whatever's happening. And listen, I understand he's a grinder, but you have to wonder if, like he's hitting five bags of balls after Saturday and he's in awesome shape, he looks good. He's found a perfect, like, sweet spot of not too fat, slash muscle boundaries. He just looks really good but I wonder if he's going to have to find some balance of like hitting a couple shots on the range after round of dial stuff and just bang balls into the night like you're 30 years old. You only have so much energy and maybe he ran out of juice but really really cool moment. The NBA 82 game grind is done and now the real fun begins. The NBA playoffs are here and it's time for the high stakes drama, clutch moments and jaw dropping plays. Can't wait if you're looking to make the playoffs Even more exciting, DraftKings sportsbook has you covered as an official sports betting partner of the NBA from the play in games all the way through the finals. Now the time to back your favorite players and teams as they chase glory. 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John Middelkoff (35:23)
Post Tiger, I think you see it sometimes, like with Mahomes and the Chiefs, you know, what we got to experience with Brady, what we got to experience with Tiger, there are these outlier situations. Even if other guys come and have remarkable careers. I mean, Mahomes, if he never played another snap, what he accomplished in like a six, seven year span is just Lamar and Josh. I mean, two of the best players I've ever seen been watch Football for 30 years are never going to sniff those accomplishments. It's just not going to happen. If either one were to win multiple Super Bowls, it'd be like, holy shit, right? And what Tiger would do, beating these people and just suffocating them, never fucking up. I mean, part of when you hear these like, historians, guys like Brandle talk about Tiger, Tiger was pretty boring. He would just leave in the right spots, hit the right side of the green, he two putt. He would never screw up. He would never screw up. He can't relate to hitting into the water on 13. He can't relate to hitting into the bunker on 18. Doesn't mean he's going to hit it tight. I think sometimes you think of Tiger like hitting it three feet on every hole, but like never doing that. And sometimes it's like, what do they say? Dumb loses more games than smart wins. It's not that much different in golf. Like, the professionals talk about this all the time. Where do I miss? Where do I miss? Where do I miss? Because you're not going to hit perfect shots. Like Rory shot on 15 when he hits that hook around the trees, that's, I don't want to say a once in a lifetime shot because he's a once in a Lifetime or once in a generation type player. And he's hit countless shots like that. But you don't hit that many shots on a Sunday in a major in your entire career, right? That actually that shot is much more the outlier than just like, just hit it to the left side of the green and two putt, or just miss it in the right bunker on a par 5 where you can get up and down or leave yourself a pretty good birdie putt. Worst case scenario, you par, you're up multiple shots. Like, that's how you win a lot of these matrix, especially once you get to the US Open, where these holes really penalize you with, you know, crazy rough or missing fairways. And I just think you watch Rory, and one thing I don't know if you ever cleaned this up. It's part of the package. I mean, this was always kind of the part of the package with Phil. And it's sad that we don't get much great Spieth anymore, but that's a huge part of it with Spieth is like, at any moment, on any given shot over, like, 180 yards, anything can happen off the tee. Even Rory, who most people consider the greatest driver of all time. I think on five, he pumped one. There's not really out of bounds at the Masters, but you're like, is that going out of bounds? He's like, stop, stop, stop. I mean, there would just be these moments, you're like, oh, my God, even on 17, where clearly the tracer was off. You're like, did he just pump this three wood into the trees? And it's believable. It is believable. So I actually think in a weird way, Rory upped his, like, his appeal. And this was a huge part of the Mickelson appeal. Like, Tiger's appeal was just, I'm going to dominate. I am going to win, right? I'm just never going to lose. And it doesn't mean he actually never lost. He definitely did. But when I have a lead, especially in a major, chalk it up W for me. And most people are not that. And Rory has just kind of established himself of like, anything can kind of happen now. The greatest thing happened today, and that's winning the Masters. And now he gets to sit at this table with these guys from Jack to Tiger to Phil to even a lot of his contemporaries, right? Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth. Yeah, man, that was. That was wild. That was. I really. That was riveting. The end was. And the beginning was. But there was a middle stretch from like 6 to 10 where it did feel a little inevitable. I mean, if you look, and I'm sure DraftKings will put this out at the ebb and flow of his odds. I mean, he starts today at minus 200. So you got to bet 100. You got to bet $200 to win 100. By the second hole when he's 1 down, I looked and I thought about it, but again, it felt like he might shoot like 80. He was plus 135. And then I would imagine when he's multiple shots up like hole nine and 10, I mean, at one point in time on 10, he got to 14 under. My guess is actually, I think I check, I don't know if it was 10 or 12. He was minus 500. Well, when he takes, when Justin Rose takes the lead after he bogeys, what hold did he bogey? Oh, he bogey 14. I would guess that at worst he was probably even odds or maybe like minus 120 still to win. But man, that was, that was wild. You know, what's cool is sometimes in the sports calendar, and this is the great part about the reality show that is, you know, the highest level of professional sports, whether it's Federer playing Djokovic, whether it's Tiger going at it with whoever, whether it's Mahomes versus Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, you might get an all time great game. You might get a game that felt like a blot. I remember laying on my couch in what would have been 2017 and falling asleep in the first half, quote, unquote, falling asleep, like dozing off, being pretty bored. 28 to 3. And it was like the Patriots are going to lose this game, like 40 to 10. And then things happen and that you just never forget. And sometimes the things in golf that you never forget are. To me, the two biggest meltdowns of all time are Vanderbilt at the Open and obviously Greg Norman here at the Masters. And in football, 28 to 3 is just in a world by itself. I think there was when I was really, really young. I don't know if it was 90 or 91. There was like a legendary comeback, the Buffalo Bills and I think Frank Reich, the new coach for Stanford, was the quarterback. Maybe Jim Kelly was hurt and they were playing, I think the Houston Oilers and were down, I don't have the score up top 35 to 3 or something like that, and came storming back. And you just get these games in these moments. It might be the first round of the playoffs, it might be A Super Bowl. It could be a major. It also just could be just pebble beach. And you never know when it's going to happen. And it's what makes all this so fun. And obviously, now that you know, golf, gambling and something I've been doing now pretty consistently for a couple years adds a huge element to it that, that was, that was a wild ride. I don't, I don't even know who else to talk about. Justin Rose. A lot of respect, a lot of respect for what he did today. And like I said, I truly believed when, not only when they teed off on 18, but Rory got to the tee in the playoff, it felt like five minutes before Justin. It was like, is Justin Rose, is he just hitting a couple extra balls or is he playing mind games with them? Clearly he knows them really well. They've been on the Ryder cup team together for 15 plus years. You didn't quite know and maybe it was going to work. And then he, then he split that tee. You're like, oh, my God, this is really going to happen. So props to Justin Rose, who is a badass. I mean, he's, he's another guy that's, he's only got one major. I mean, some of these other guys were listed and have multiple of his of the last 15, 20 years, but what a fucking stud. What a badass to be playing at this level. That's what's, I would say different about golf than basically any team sport, obviously even any individual sport. The other big individual sport would be tennis. You're not going to play at a high level in tennis in your mid-40s like you can in golf. I mean, hell, Tiger woods won the Masters. I think he was 44 in 19. That's just not happening in tenant. Like, you're not winning Wimbledon at 44 with all these injuries. That's just, that's never happening. Obviously in football, basketball and baseball, Tom Brady and Nolan Ryan just don't. I mean, they're outliers for a reason. You know, Roger Clemens was on who knows what throwing 98, pitching for the Yankees and the Astros when he was 43 or 44. Clearly, I mean, this is not the case. We're in golf, you're seeing guys, I mean, Phil Mickelson won a major a couple years ago at like 50, 51 years old. So you just, you can never sleep on these guys. The Adam Scotts, the Justin Roses. I mean, one day guys like rory will be 42 years old. And it's not inconceivable that Some of these guys in this generation, like all of a sudden they're in the mix to win one of these majors. It's what makes like Ludwig, you know, ultimately like he looks like an unstoppable force one just, he just looks like a golfer. Good looking dude, tall, skinny, beautiful swing. Unfazed by screw ups. Like I saw Brandle Chamblee talking about it on Live from. Never throws tantrums in a sport. And I'm guilty of this too. I threw one a couple weeks ago. People just throw their hat, hit their driver on the tee box and make a big divot. It's just natural human reaction when you screw up. And it just feels like he is completely unfazed now he all time meltdown on 18. I think he had a triple bogey. He three putted 17 to just kind of unravel. But this guy looked like he was poised to like back to back year second last year and looked like he was going to be third this year. Like this guy feels like he is coming. He is. I mean this the talent on that guy is oozing out of his golf swing. Love Ludwig. Fun player to watch. What a badass. We were actually at a, I was at a birthday dinner last night or no couple nights ago. Was it last night? I forget where. Oh no, it was last night. We were talking about, you know, some of these schools. I follow this one guy, one of the best college golfers in the country and he his Instagram. I mean he is dating a girl that 10 years ago, 100% probably dates the quarterback at the school. And there's a power five like high level program. But if you're smart and you go into some of these rooms, it's like yeah, this quarterback, that guy might be a six round pick. This guy is probably going to play on the PGA Tour for 20 years. And I don't know if you see what sits on the back of their collar. It says NetJets. They don't go to commercial airports starting at 20, 21, 22 years old. So Ludwig is a good example. He's at Texas Tech from Sweden. Victor was like this at Oklahoma State. I'm sure they're in the weight room, some of these girls chasing the football players. Now if you get the right football player, don't blame you. But a lot of those guys, couple years on the practice squad ain't making any coin. That fucker Ludwig is going to be worth $100 million, 1 million percent by the time he's like 25 years old. I would Be all over that cat. Just like some of these guys, like Arizona State, Auburn, Alabama, the best college programs. If the guy's number one or number two on your team and he's playing in some PGA events, date him. Because that guy usually is a rocket ship right to big ass homes. Sweet ass lives. Now that's what's changed dramatically about the sport is I think, Rory today, biggest purse ever. 4.2. The amount of money these guys are winning. Rory's rich before he won or lost this tournament. But Maria was telling me a story. She was at an open house. There was like four or five million dollars. And the people coming in to see it here in Arizona, down in Paradise Valley, were PGA Tour golfing caddies, the caddies. Now, this guy was on the bag for, I would say, like a top 50 player. Not like Rory or Ludwig or Scotty. And they're looking at homes worth four or five million dollars. The caddies. Part of it's the Saudis, the influx of money that the PJ Tours had to back. All these guys are so rich. Not just the top guys, which has always been the case. Tiger, Phil, Jack, Greg, Norman. I'm talking about, like the 48th guy on tour. The 62nd guy on tour is not only a multimillionaire, his caddy is rolling in dough. I mean, Scotty's caddy last year, I think made $7 million. And that assumes that he's only kicking him 10%. I'm sure they're really close. You get other bonuses. Who knows? He might have netted $10 million fucking Caddy 1 season. So the money that is flowing on this tour, it's not, you know, NBA or NFL money because it's weird. Like, beside your sponsors, which the top guys make a lot, you got to go earn it as a player, right? It's. It's the ultimate meritocracy. Like, the only way you win the big pot of money at the end of a tournament is you got to win the tournament. I went to a Suns game. What was that Tuesday? Watched Bradley Beal. He's getting paid $50 million, whether he's an all Star or whether he gave the lowest effort I've ever seen from an NBA player that makes a lot of money in my life of attending sporting events for 30 plus years that I can remember. Like, this is. This is crazy. Golf's the opposite. If you want to make $50 million, you better win a lot of tournaments. So a lot of these guys. But now it's like you get like six and start racking up seven, $800,000 a tournament. And that's, that's what really changed. And inevitably all these guys get back together. And I'll end on a couple of things really quick. One takeaway I had is clearly what's cool about the Masters is everyone gets back together. And John Rahm actually showed signs of life after the first, after the first round. I don't know where he ended up finishing, but he definitely didn't have a terrible week. Let me just pull up where he finished. I just want to read off some of the guys on live where they finished. So like Terrell Hatton, T14, John Rom, T14, Bryson T5. But really he was right there. Patrick Reed was third.
