Fore Play

The 2021 U.S. Open is here. It’s go time. It’s fight time. We breakdown our 3 days onsite at Torrey Pines: Trent putting a dummy mark on Kiz’s driver; Men of Streel catching up with Kevin Streelman; Brad Faxon’s history and the report of “Bryson declined”; much more. Then, we’re joined by Austen Dailey (90:37) who recounts the surreal saga of a fight he was involved in (with police and all) at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Monday qualifier this week. Big show!

Podcasting live from the cliffs of Southern California, and joined by Craig Annis the chief branding officer for the USGA, we’re previewing the 121st U.S. Open championship. And we go through the history of our relationship with the USGA, both the ups and downs. Also: Rickie responded to Trent’s DM, Trent shot 122, Man Of Streel bought Riggs dinner, and Lurch accidentally exposed himself at Pebble.

Hal Sutton (51:27) joins the show for the first time. He tells seemingly endless stories about the famous “be the right club today!” win against Tiger at The Players Championship in 2000, pairing Tiger and Phil together at the 2004 Ryder Cup, playing with Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman, giving Trent advice on breaking 100, and much more. Before Hal, we weigh in on the latest in Brooks vs Bryson, Rickie Fowler not qualifying for the U.S. Open, and Frankie vs Boston.

Golf is BUSY. Jon Rahm with a 6-shot lead was forced to WD from The Memorial after being alerted he tested positive for COVID-19 in spectacular fashion. The U.S. Women’s Open saw a collapse give way to a rising new star. Brooks vs Bryson has continued to ramp up. Frankie Borrelli has taken on the entire city of Boston, and lived thus far to talk about it. A lot to talk about!

A lot going on. Riggs begins the show being confronted and confessing. The first episode of Trent’s breaking 100 series is out, and we discuss. Frankie survived games 1 and 2 vs Boston, but now he’s shipping up to Boston for games 3 and 4. Riggs is live from the U.S. Women’s Open, Spieth surrendered to Kokrak at Colonial, it’s Memorial week, and much more.

Do we have a global snake crisis? Who is going to win the Brooks vs Bryson rivalry? Will Frankie make it through the Islanders vs Bruins series without spilling someone’s blood? Could the Fore Man Scramble break 100 playing 4-man alternate shot? Can Lurch list everything he’s eaten in the past 2 days? It’s a throwback show taking a bunch of From The Galleries from you, the listeners.

Dustin Johnson (80:26), the no. 1 ranked player in the world, joins the pod for the first time. We get great intel into DJ’s superstitions and the most nervous he’s ever been over a golf ball. Before DJ, we get into the infamous Brooks vs Bryson video and subsequent online banter. Does Phil run 100% of his Twitter account? How much is PIP impacting all of this?

Out of the clouds, Phil Mickelson wins the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, taking down Brooks Koepka and a handful of others down the stretch to earn his 6th major championship title. We react to it all: the scene coming up 18, the holed out bunker shot, the bombs, the hold-your-breathe moments, leaving Streelman hanging and more. We also relive the Let Them Play Classic. Big weekend in golf - tons to cover.

It’s go time in a lot of ways. Trent, Frankie, and Jake have been all over Kiawah Island gearing up for the PGA Championship, running into Justin Thomas, Max Homa, Joel Dahmen, Brooks Koepka, Scott van Pelt, (whoever else I forgot), the TaylorMade truck, and more. How’s the course look? What’s the feel? What’re the predictions? And Riggs is live with his team from Whirlwind Golf Club, site of the first ever Let Them Play Classic. We get updates as the ladies finish up practice rounds and prepare for the last tournament of their season.

Huge show. We’re joined by Mississippi State women’s head golf coach Charlie Ewing (25:28) to talk through the debacle in Baton Rouge and the subsequent birth of the Let Them Play Classic. What led to the infamous staircase announcement? How did a program like Mississippi State first react to Barstool getting involved? How is the team preparing now? What is their excitement level like? Also, it’s a MAJOR WEEK. Trent, Frankie and Jake are at Kiawah Island. Who do we like this week? Who are our picks? Favorites vs dark horses? Lurch has played Kiawah — what’s he think? All this and, obviously, much more.

Golf is a better sport when Rory wins. Trent & Frankie had an epic day golfing on Long Island and mingling with Joe LaCava. Riggs played Torrey Pines again but from 1,200 less yards this time. Rickie watched the first round of the Masters with Tiger at his house. U.S. wins the Walker Cup. We catch up on all this and much more on the last show before yet another major championship week.

Trent has begun his assault on double digits. Rory wins again. And we are joined by golf statistician & strategy consultant Scott Fawcett (31:24), who works with Will Zalatoris, Stewart Cink and many others, about course management. Where should you aim? Why? When should you go for it? Should you ever attack pins? All this and much more.

The Miz (57:44) from WWE, Real World, and reality TV fame joins the show for the first time. We discuss turning “15 minutes of fame” into a 20+ year career, the humility of golf, and even get a little sparring between The Miz and The Butter Knife. Before the interview, we peek behind the curtain to detail our production process, debate the Premier Golf League’s latest news, and preview both Trent’s first “Breaking 100 Series” trip to Georgia to visit instructor John Tillery and the upcoming Barstool Classic west coast swing.

Will Zalatoris (41:09), coming off a 2nd place finish at last month’s Masters, joins the show for a full hour. We dive deep into 2021 Masters week, coming up just a stroke short, navigating Augusta with statistics as your guide, Happy Gilmore and much more. Before Will joins, we react to Sam Burns winning for the first time on Tour, players’ latest social media games and wonder if any murderers follow us on Twitter.

Live from the 18th green of Torrey Pines, we’re back. We’re joined the second half of the show by NHL legend, 7-time Stanley Cup winner Bryan Trottier (25:07). Before then, we give knee-jerk reactions to playing 2021 U.S. Open venue Torrey Pines from 7,800 yards: the bad, the ugly, and the even worse.

The first Tiger photo post-accident has emerged and he looks... great. We react to Tiger’s post, the Zurich Classic ending in alternate shot playoff, and Brooks Koepka lefty vs Dave Portnoy (with Frankie on the bag). And we do this all live from the patio at Olympic Club, minutes after playing it. We also discuss that round without spilling all the juice. We’re all together in person again, so it’s one of those kind of shows.

A very unique and fascinating guest on today’s show. Dr. Jared Van Snellenberg (54:40) was Happy Gilmore’s caddie, and today is a doctor conducting important research on the brain. As you may imagine, this takes us down a lot of different roads: what was the Happy Gilmore role like, how does the brain affect good golf versus bad golf, how can we better control our own brains, and much more. Before Dr. Van Snellenberg, we have a lengthy discussion on the PGA Tour’s new “Player Impact Program,” rewarding a $40M bonus pool to the players who are most impactful on moving the needle.

Hoodies and casual wear are taking over golf; we love it and want more of it. We talk golf wardrobes, Frankie’s 76, Trent’s upcoming breaking 100 series, Si Woo Kim’s preposterous penalty, Stewart Cink’s dominant win, Lydia Ko returning to the top, and going all-in on Christmas this year. Then actor Dean Norris (74:43), joins the pod to chat about his new show, the early days of Breaking Bad, Rickie Fowler, and much more.

Pat Perez (2:45) drinking a bottle of MJ wine joins the show from the RBC Heritage to cover it all: Hideki winning at Augusta, his relationship to Si Woo’s broken putter, the maddest he’s ever been on the course, defending Horschel and Poulter, not eating fish, what makes professional golf standout in difficulty, and much more.

Instant Masters reactions. Hideki wins as things tightened down the stretch. Augusta shined with great conditions. Xander came up short under pressure again. Zach Johnson looks like an astronaut. Billy Horschel is a lunatic. Spieth and Greller made things interesting. Bryson hasn’t figured out Augusta. Much more. Full 2021 Masters recap.