Bob Harig, Golfer and Author
The discourse presented in this episode centers on the recent Ryder Cup, wherein we engage with esteemed guest Bob Herig to dissect the myriad intricacies surrounding the event. Foremost among the salient points articulated is the unfortunate overshadowing of the competition by unsavory fan conduct, which has sparked considerable debate regarding appropriate spectator behavior in golf. We delve into the competitive dynamics of the matches, scrutinizing the United States team’s performance and the implications of their initial lackluster showing, which ultimately cast a pall over the anticipated excitement of the event. Additionally, we explore the dichotomy between the camaraderie exhibited by European players and the challenges faced by their American counterparts, raising questions about the psychological and strategic elements at play. The episode encapsulates a thorough examination of these pivotal themes, inviting listeners to contemplate the broader ramifications of both performance and decorum in the realm of professional golf.
Links referenced in this episode:
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- birdieball.com
- Golf News Network
- SI
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- snell.com
- Carsley Golf
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
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Transcript
It's time for Grilling at the Green.
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Speaker A:Here's Jeff.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
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Speaker A:Well, I invited Bob Herig back to the show.
Speaker A:We actually planned this a few weeks ahead of time.
Speaker A:We had no idea what was going to transpire at the Ryder cup, but good planning on our part.
Speaker A:Bob, welcome back.
Speaker B:Thanks for having me.
Speaker B:Good to be with you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:I don't even know where to start on, on that.
Speaker A:I mean, the Writer cup always has so much hype going into it.
Speaker A:You know, 4,000 press conferences and player interviews and all that.
Speaker A:And then the thing starts and we're kind of, you know, out on an island there, so to speak.
Speaker A:What was your preliminary take about the whole event?
Speaker B:Well, you know, I, I think unfortunately, you know, there's a big stain on it due to the fan behavior.
Speaker B:I mean, I think there was a, a sense that something bad could happen.
Speaker B:That was been Talked about for 10 years.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Ever since they, ever since they awarded it to Beth Page.
Speaker B:I don't think we thought it was going to go to the level that it did.
Speaker B:And, and then, you know, throw in the fact that the US was so non competitive for two days, you know, I mean, at least we got a close Rider cup in the end, right?
Speaker B:Really what you want is, look, I'm looking at it from the standpoint of not rooting for either side.
Speaker B:Just know in terms of the competition, you'd like it to have been nine to seven going into the, into Sunday or, or nine and a half to six and a half.
Speaker B:Even ten to six is considered a huge margin to overcome.
Speaker B: what it's what Europe did in: Speaker B: It's what the US did in: Speaker B:Those remain the biggest final day comebacks and this deficit was 7.
Speaker B:I mean, no wonder the TV ratings are down for it because it was a foregone conclusion that it was over.
Speaker B:So give the US some credit for stepping up and playing great on Sunday, but, you know, where were they on Friday and Saturday?
Speaker B:And then, you know what, what overshadowed it was the crowd behavior.
Speaker A:Yeah, that was.
Speaker A:We'll get to that in the next segment.
Speaker A:But that was really, really poor and boorish, if you will.
Speaker A:It was like Drunks R Us or something.
Speaker A:I don't, I don't know how you would describe it, but.
Speaker A:And you're right after the, after the Friday rounds, I was kind of looking at it and go, well, we're still, you know, a couple, three behind.
Speaker A:And then all of a sudden it kind of jumped up.
Speaker A:And then after Saturday, I went, man, we're cooked.
Speaker A:You know, because the guys.
Speaker A:Is it because, I mean, you play golf, I play golf.
Speaker A:People listen to the show play golf.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And you have good rounds and you have bad rounds.
Speaker A:But we're the mortals.
Speaker A:These guys are not supposed to be mortal in our minds.
Speaker A:So is it not because they don't play well together and, you know, four ball and this type of thing, or.
Speaker A:I've never been able to put my finger on it, but I just think.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker A:We do very well in the President's Cups.
Speaker A:But for some reason, the writer cups always has got us, you know, got us by the cranium, so to speak.
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, look, there's, there's, there's books been written on this stuff and, you know, the whole European camaraderie and it means more to them.
Speaker B:There's a lot of narratives that, that I don't buy into.
Speaker B:Look, I think Scotty Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay and Bryson Dechambeau care a hell of a lot about the Ryder Cup.
Speaker B:They hate that they didn't win.
Speaker B:Just like going away back.
Speaker B:I think Tiger and Phil did, you know, but there's.
Speaker B:You need your stars to be stars.
Speaker B:And, and so many times in the Ryder cup that hasn't happened, you know, just four years ago, the US rocked it, won by 10 points, 19 to nine, you know, and, and Dustin Johnson went five and.
Speaker B:Oh, I've seen.
Speaker B:Well, you know, maybe Dustin should have been on this team.
Speaker B:Well, not based on the way he played this year.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, even on that team, some of the, some of the players that we think of as great players who aren't there, Koepka, Jordan, Spieth, they had, they did not have winning records at Whistling Straits.
Speaker B:Shoffle did.
Speaker B:Cantley did.
Speaker B:You know, there's some guys on that.
Speaker B:There's seven guys on that team that won by 10 points who played on this team.
Speaker B:You know, and I think sometimes we can get caught up in, oh, this pairing's not good.
Speaker B:That pairing's not good.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:I think in the moment you look and see the court.
Speaker B:The Morikawa English foursomes pairing didn't work.
Speaker B:And the fact that he sent him out a second straight day, probably not a good idea.
Speaker B:But when you do the pairings, you don't know who they're going to play.
Speaker B:You know, you do, you order not, you know, maybe you're guessing what they're going to do.
Speaker B:Well, as it turned out, those two guys played Rory and Fleetwood both times.
Speaker B:Was anybody going to beat those guys?
Speaker B:Maybe not.
Speaker B:I mean, so like, we can speculate all you want.
Speaker B:Well, maybe they should have had JJ spawn in there.
Speaker B:Maybe, maybe he should have played with.
Speaker B:With Cam Young.
Speaker B:Well, maybe.
Speaker B:Were they.
Speaker B:Were they going to be Rory and Fleetwood?
Speaker B:Who knows?
Speaker B:You don't know.
Speaker B:What I do know is that you know that Scotty Scheffler was 04 in the teams.
Speaker B:Bryson Dechambell was one in three.
Speaker B:Patrick Cantlay was one two and one in the teams.
Speaker B:Those were, those were three of the guys who played all five matches.
Speaker B:So those are deemed by the captain to be your stars.
Speaker B:All right, so what if each guy, first of all, Cantley had a half.
Speaker B:So if you turn that half into a tie, there's a half point.
Speaker B:Both Bryson and Scotty had matches go to 18 that they lost.
Speaker B:So if you turn those half, those losses into halves, there's one and a half points right there.
Speaker B:And the US Wins by a half point.
Speaker B:It's that small.
Speaker B:I mean, 15 to 13 is.
Speaker B:Is really one match, two matches.
Speaker B:Because what people forget is when you're, when you're adding a point, they're subtracting a point.
Speaker B:It's not the same as in a baseball game when they get out five to nothing.
Speaker B:Well, if you score three, you know, you're there and you're taking away from their total.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So I just think that some of it is just as simple as their stars played great.
Speaker B:You know, Fleetwood was four.
Speaker B:No, in teams.
Speaker B:Justin Rose was two and, oh, Roy was three.
Speaker B:Oh, and one.
Speaker B:You know, Rom was three and one in teams.
Speaker B:Those are their stars and they all had winning records, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah, pretty simple.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And like you said, to give our guys credit, I thought Sunday, I mean, they came out of the gate charging our team and they started putting some points on the board.
Speaker A:And as I passed by the television and then I saw it was, you know, I'm making up a Score here because I don't remember exactly when I did it, but let's say it was 11 to 7, something like that.
Speaker A:And I went, oh, okay.
Speaker A:And I kind of tracked it and then I came in and watched the last hour and a half of it or something like that.
Speaker A:So that was really fun as far as viewing and it was exciting and, and we did good.
Speaker A:But the first two days, like you said, you know, Bob, it was kind of like, what's going on?
Speaker A:I mean, and, and we don't know.
Speaker A:We, you know, you watch enough golf during the year, you play enough golf yourself.
Speaker A:Like I said, you can have a great day.
Speaker B:And you can have.
Speaker B:Europeans had, had.
Speaker B:They were great.
Speaker B:They had great putting performances.
Speaker B:The US Was just sort of.
Speaker B:So, so, I mean, but they're, but like Bryson and, and, and Scotty didn't play terrible.
Speaker B:They played decent.
Speaker B:They actually did their teeth, their strokes, gained stats.
Speaker B:You know, when you get into all that was, was, was decent.
Speaker B:They were not horrible.
Speaker B:Like, even, even people have been ripping on Russell Henley.
Speaker B:He played a great match against Lowry on Sunday.
Speaker B:I mean, that was an amazing shot.
Speaker B:He hit out of the bunker to 10ft.
Speaker B:Shame for him.
Speaker B:He didn't make it because if he did, that extends the Ryder Cup.
Speaker B:He sort of looked like a little bit as a goat because he had two chances on 17 and 18 to make putts that would have ended it.
Speaker B:And he wasn't able to get him to drop.
Speaker B:I mean, sometimes that's all it is.
Speaker B:I mean, but that doesn't mean he played bad for 18 holes.
Speaker B:He was going up against a pretty good player.
Speaker B:So, you know, I mean, look, there's, there's some, you know, I feel bad for Harris English.
Speaker B:He had to sit out.
Speaker B:He had, he did not have a good, a great Rider Cup.
Speaker B:He was also going up against a powerhouse when he played.
Speaker B:You know, Morikawa, I think we could, we could sit here and debate that all day.
Speaker B:He didn't have a great year.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, there was an argument to be made to not pick him, but he was eighth in points.
Speaker B:You know, so like, is a captain going to bypass a guy who's ranked in the top 10 in the world or 12th or whatever, 8th in points?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:Maybe it takes gut the guts to do that, to make that happen down the road, but this time, you know, they didn't.
Speaker B:And at some point your guys have to step up and get it done right.
Speaker A:We're going to take a break.
Speaker A:We're going to be back with Bob Herring from SI.
Speaker A:And you know, give us about 120 seconds.
Speaker A:We'll be right back.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, JT here.
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Speaker A:Welcome back to Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Appreciate you all spending time with us today.
Speaker A:I've got Bob Harry from SI there.
Speaker A:You can find all our stuff on social media platforms as normal.
Speaker A:And you can find Bob's stuff everywhere from SI to YouTube to, you know, morning subscript emails in your email box.
Speaker A:It's all there.
Speaker A:So when we, you know, we were talking about different players and stuff, one of the things I wanted to ask you, and this was actually in a piece that you and your other SI writers did, factor fiction type thing, do you think they start looking at the Ryder cup points as far as players too early?
Speaker A:Should it be just the last six months, even Slate and you know, who's on a hot streak go from there.
Speaker B:That's a great point, Jeff.
Speaker B:The European side does not begin their process until like a year out.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker B:The, the, the American side counts the majors in the.
Speaker B:In the previous year, and those points count as much as any regular tour event in the, in the, in the.
Speaker B:In the same Ryder cup year.
Speaker B:So in other words, if you're playing just.
Speaker B:Let's pick one, the 3M Classic, which is only few weeks before the cutoff for the points in the, in the FedEx playoffs, the same number of points are awarded per $1,000 as are at the year before majors.
Speaker B:Now obviously the purse is higher at the majors.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:So that makes those points actually worth even more.
Speaker B:So a guy who has.
Speaker B:And look, Bryson made it all on the majors.
Speaker B:Okay, but Xander, who.
Speaker B:Look, he was going to be on the team.
Speaker B:His points were all earned in last year's majors.
Speaker B:He was top 10 in all four, and he won two of them.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:He started the year.
Speaker B:This year is almost impossible for him to not make it.
Speaker B:And I'm not saying that he shouldn't have been on.
Speaker B:He actually had a good Ryder Cup.
Speaker B:But the argument gets a little bit keener if you, if you narrow down that window.
Speaker B:At the very least, they should wait till January.
Speaker B:And frankly, they should probably wait until The Players Championship in March of the same year as the Ryder Cup.
Speaker B: think what you did in July of: Speaker B:And, you know, people would say, well, you know, Bryson wouldn't have been able to make up the points, which is true, because of live.
Speaker B:He wouldn't have had as many opportunities.
Speaker B:But if Bryson had that run in the majors that he had over the last two years, there's no way he wasn't going to be picked.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So I just, That's a, I think it's a fair point.
Speaker B:I have no idea why they do that.
Speaker B:It's almost like they like the idea of being able to talk about the Ryder cup and, oh, my, you know, this guy got these points, well, like next year's US Open.
Speaker B: What are we caring about the: Speaker B:It's just silly.
Speaker B: at some events in the fall of: Speaker B:And I just, I just think that's, you know, that's something they should look at.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:Would it have altered the team a whole lot?
Speaker B:Yeah, maybe not, you know, but I mean, when guys get hurt, like they get all their points in the year before, they get all their points early in the year, and then they, and then they slide off and then we're getting in this situation where you're talking about with, with Morikawa, more power.
Speaker B:Got a lot of his stuff early.
Speaker B:He had from, from about the Masters on this year.
Speaker B:He really didn't do anything.
Speaker B:But the guy, you know, the guy has a lot of high finishes earlier in the year.
Speaker B:He doesn't miss cuts.
Speaker B:He's still getting points, but he's adding on to a total that was, was, that was built up way before the event.
Speaker B:If, if that had been a narrow thing.
Speaker B:Well, maybe Now Morikawa is 12th in the points instead of eighth, and maybe it's easier to not take them, you know, so.
Speaker B:And I don't mean to be picking on him.
Speaker A:No, no, no.
Speaker B:He's just sort of the example here that, that comes to mind is someone who really didn't do a whole lot here the last several months.
Speaker B:I mean, look, can't lay.
Speaker B:Can't.
Speaker B:They missed the cut at three majors this year, right?
Speaker B:And he was 15th in the points, and he still got taken.
Speaker B:He was taken on past Merit, you know, and look, Cantley, I think, is a great team player.
Speaker B:He's one of the few guys that does well in foursome.
Speaker B:Simon Xander are a good partnership and they did win a match, but in fact, I think they're the ones who kept them from getting blanked on Friday morning.
Speaker A:They were, they were.
Speaker B:So, you know, it's hard to say no to him too.
Speaker B:But if, if all the points have been based on this year, well, can, they might have been 20th in points, you know, so it's a, it's, it's, I think it's a fair point that you raised there.
Speaker A:Do you think also, Bob, that you were talking about, because they like to talk about the Ryder cup and they like to talk about the process and this and that because they've got time to fill on TV and, you know, whatever.
Speaker A:I think it would also make it easier for whoever the captain is to not have to talk about that stuff until the, the last six months or, you know, whatever time frame you put it, because they're, I mean, all this stuff is just so hypothetical until you get down to the end and the, and the team is qualified and, or you get in there with a captain's pick.
Speaker A:Everything else is conjecture, right?
Speaker B:No, exactly.
Speaker B:I mean, I think that's part of it though, Jeff.
Speaker B:They, they like the chatter about it.
Speaker B:Yeah, they like us talking about it, even though, I don't know, like, how much more hype can it get?
Speaker B:How many more tickets can they sell?
Speaker B:Like, why do we need to be talking about it so early?
Speaker B:You mentioned earlier all the endless interviews leading up to it.
Speaker B:You know, part of that is due to the fact that, that, you know, there's, they want to get us all 12 guys and on each side, and then they don't.
Speaker B:They're not starting until Friday.
Speaker B:And so there's this, there's this vacuum, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's Tuesday, you know, Monday, even Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, of stuff being written and talked about with the Ryder cup before anybody hits a shot?
Speaker A:Yeah, I, I, I mean, I understand their enthusiasm and all that, but there's, you know, until 7:45 or whatever the starting tee time is on Friday, that's when things actually start to happen in, in my book.
Speaker A:So it, you know, just something to think about.
Speaker A:Anyway, Bob and I are going to take another break.
Speaker A:We're going to be back here on grilling at the green in just a couple minutes.
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Speaker A:Welcome back to Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:We got Bob Herrig from SI with us today.
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Speaker A:Let's talk about it a little bit, Bob, the, the crowd stuff to this and that.
Speaker A:And I don't know him, but what was up with Don Ray coming out?
Speaker A:I mean, does this guy not have any media training or what?
Speaker A:I mean.
Speaker A:Yeah, I know he does, but you know what I mean, it's like, that was like awful.
Speaker B:Well, I, I actually just wrote about him.
Speaker B:You know, I know we're taping this, but it ran on Thursday and, and I was shocked.
Speaker B:First of all, he had maybe in the moment you want to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Speaker B:I'm sure on Sunday does the BBC Sport interview in which he kind of tried to downplay it all right now, I thought that was a poor way to approach it.
Speaker B:If he had any sense at all, he had to have known what was going on out there.
Speaker B:Saturday.
Speaker B:Okay, maybe in the moment.
Speaker B:Let's, let's, let's get through the event.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Then he doubled down on it this week.
Speaker B:He had some LinkedIn post where he said, I'm taking a lot of grief and, you know, the truth, you know, the truth prevails and like, I'm strong and I'm like, what the hell are you talking about?
Speaker B:It was A disgrace what happened out there.
Speaker B:And I, I don't mean to sign sound like, you know, the get off my lawn guy.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I'm, you know, I'm not always proud of my language either.
Speaker B:I've been, I've been known to drop a few bad words here, sure, but I'm not going to be yelling them at a player in a golf event.
Speaker B:First of all, this isn't a football game.
Speaker B:Oh, you know, I heard it all the time.
Speaker B:Well, LeBron, Pat, you know, Tom Brady, they, you know, you're, you're a long way away from the players in golf.
Speaker B:They are right there.
Speaker B:And also it's, it's bad form to be yelling in somebody's backswing or while they're addressing the ball.
Speaker B:That's like the most basic concept of spectating in golf.
Speaker B:And people are doing that constantly.
Speaker B:Those guys were having to back off shots so often.
Speaker B:And frankly, you know, I heard it.
Speaker B:Well, you know, Roy didn't help any.
Speaker B:He riled him up by yelling back at him.
Speaker B:I tell people, if you'd have been taking the crap that those two guys, him and Lowry, Lowry being called fat, you know, the F word constantly was being used.
Speaker B:Ozempic jokes, leprechaun jokes, home, you know, homophobic jokes.
Speaker B:I mean, come on, there's kids out there, you know, there's kids with their parents.
Speaker B:I mean, there's nothing wrong with, with cheering them hitting a bad shot at the Ryder cup or, or being very exuberant about your own team doing well or even maybe some good natured abuse.
Speaker B:Yeah, which, which happened to Cantlay in Rome there.
Speaker B:Don Ray tried to make Rome out to be the same thing, which is absurd.
Speaker B:Cantley took it all day that day and it got bad and it got under his skin.
Speaker B:Really got under Joe LaCava's skin as caddy.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:But it was all about not wearing the hat.
Speaker B:There wasn't profanity, it wasn't vulgar.
Speaker B:It was just nonstop.
Speaker B:Well, that's the difference.
Speaker B:And I mean, you know, Roy's wife is out there.
Speaker B:She had a beer thrown on her.
Speaker B:You know, other players, wives were around.
Speaker B:They're being called all kinds of names.
Speaker B:I mean, really, this is what it's come to, you know, and then Don Ray, the president of the PJ of America, can't stand up and admonish it.
Speaker B:It's just, it's.
Speaker B:Now look, in the PJ of America's defense, Derek Sprague, their CEO, has done that.
Speaker A:Yes, he did.
Speaker B:And he, he, he can't, you know, look, he's, he's the paid employee, all right?
Speaker B:You know, whereas Ray is not.
Speaker B:He is.
Speaker B:That's a volunteer position that changes every couple of years.
Speaker B:But, you know, he, Sprague, to his credit, has done that and he's, you know, said he's going to be apologizing, if he hasn't already, to Rory and his wife.
Speaker B:And frankly, that stuff needed to be said by Don Ray on Sunday.
Speaker B:I don't know why he would go on TV and, and try to downplay what happened.
Speaker B:It was a very, very easy out for him.
Speaker B:Said, look, we're not happy about what happened.
Speaker B:You know, there's a lot of people here, It's a small number of people that did it.
Speaker B:That's usually how these things work.
Speaker B:You know, we're trying to control it better today, and then you move on.
Speaker B:Instead, you, you incense the situation even more crazy.
Speaker A:I had an old friend that when something like that would happen, he would say, that boy's got a double dose of the dumb ass.
Speaker A:And I thought that, I thought that was kind of appropriate for Don Ray on there, and I didn't.
Speaker A:You know, I agree with you, Bob.
Speaker A:You go to a hockey game, you go to a football game, you're, you know, in hockey, you're behind the glass, as it were, around the rink, and if you're up higher, you can't get to the players.
Speaker A:Football, you're miles away.
Speaker A:Sometimes basketball, same thing.
Speaker A:Baseball, you know, like that.
Speaker A:And when you're right there, this isn't like the guy yelling mashed potatoes or getting in the hole.
Speaker A:This stuff was, and I'm no prude by any sense of the word, but this was completely across the, the line there.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So what was, in your view, what was the highlight of the Ryder cup and what was the, the low point sans the crowd?
Speaker A:Junk?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Well, the high point to me was probably just, you know, I, I still think the Friday morning scene is, is really cool.
Speaker B:Yeah, I, I was at the golf course by before 6am on Friday, and I walked out there at 6:30 and it's dark, pitch dark still.
Speaker B:You know, maybe the sun's just barely coming up.
Speaker B:And to see those grandstands packed is really pretty cool, you know, and I actually went and sat in the bleachers behind the 17th tee, which were, if you're facing, which is a par three, if you're facing the hole, the first hole would have been to my left.
Speaker B:And so there was a big, huge, big screen TV behind the green on 17.
Speaker B:And those bleachers at 6:30 in the morning were probably a quarter full and there's going to be no golf there for four hours at least.
Speaker B:And actually I think only one group ended up making it there, you know, and by, by the time they had teed off a little after seven, those, those grandstands were more than half full.
Speaker B:And probably an hour later they were full.
Speaker B:Now you could watch it up on that tv.
Speaker B:You could see, you could sort of see the first hole guys hitting down there.
Speaker B:And I mean, I just think that's pretty neat, you know, so that was, that was the highlight.
Speaker B:I mean, I think the low light for me, competitive wise, obviously, aside from the crowd stuff, is that it just was so non competitive.
Speaker B:I mean, we've talked a little about a little bit earlier.
Speaker B:They were down, I believe they were down by three, three points after the first session.
Speaker B:I mean, like it kept getting worse, you know, like they weren't able to cut into it at all.
Speaker B:Like at some point you're sitting there going, they just need to have this session so it doesn't get any worse.
Speaker B:And I was a little bit surprised and dismayed that, that they weren't able to keep it more competitive.
Speaker B:You know, I mean, these guys are not, they, they are not chumps.
Speaker B:I mean, no, no.
Speaker B:When you think of who was out there for the U.S. you know, so that part was probably the disappointing part.
Speaker B:I, you know, again, I, I, I'm not, I'm not rooting for either side.
Speaker B:I'm just rooting for a really compelling competition.
Speaker B:They gave it to us on Sunday, but it was just so unlikely that they were going to come back from, from such a huge deficit.
Speaker B:The fact that it even got close is remarkable.
Speaker A:I think so, I think so.
Speaker A:I will tell you this.
Speaker A:I was watching, it was Bryson.
Speaker A:I can't think of the hole, it was a par 4, but he thought he could drive it and he had just won the hole the whole prior and he was getting the crowd all fired up and I just caught a glimpse of this Bob.
Speaker A:But he got up there on the tee and you could see him.
Speaker A:He was going to try to drive the green and he, he got, you could see he was just amped up and gonna do that.
Speaker A:And I just thought, this is the golf critic in me though.
Speaker A:And he let, he plastered that thing and it went down there and he was, no, I don't know, maybe 60 yards short.
Speaker A:But if he'd had taken probably four miles, five miles off his swing speed, it would have landed in the fairway, but instead it landed in the junk.
Speaker A:But he got lucky with the lie there.
Speaker A:But you just see it was all amped up.
Speaker A:So, you know, that reverberation through the players and stuff, you can catch glimpses of that.
Speaker A:But of course, you know, the way the broadcasts go and they do a great job with it, but they're always just.
Speaker A:They want the players, you know, given the pump pumping their arm or given the trying to get the crowds fired up.
Speaker A:So that's.
Speaker B:I mean, look what it was.
Speaker B:The other thing with Bryson is an interesting.
Speaker B:Is an interesting study there.
Speaker B: mes twice before this year in: Speaker B:He wasn't part of the practice in Napa.
Speaker B:Not that they practiced it there anyway, but he wasn't part of that.
Speaker B:I actually asked Bryson this question when he came to the interview room on Thursday.
Speaker B:Like, I asked him about foursomes.
Speaker B:It was dicey.
Speaker B:He's not played it particularly well.
Speaker B: any stock on what happened in: Speaker B:He played with Tiger and Phil.
Speaker B:It lost one with each.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:But he's not played it.
Speaker B:He didn't even play it in the President's Cup.
Speaker B:He live has a team event.
Speaker B:He didn't play it.
Speaker B:He played.
Speaker B:He played the.
Speaker B:He played singles.
Speaker B:So he's not played foursomes.
Speaker B:But are you going to sit Bryson DeChambeau?
Speaker B:I mean, I think they did exactly what they needed to do on Friday morning.
Speaker B:You wanted him hitting first.
Speaker B:You wanted to get the crowd fired up, him trying to go for that green.
Speaker B:But, you know, it's fair to wonder, was he a good foursomes guy?
Speaker B:You know, like, maybe not.
Speaker B:You know, Scotty's not one of foursomes match in the Ryder cup now.
Speaker B:He's won one or two in the President's Cup.
Speaker B:But I mean, that's the other thing is like, I was all in favor of them starting with foursomes because the home team has dominated that session.
Speaker B:But let's be honest, the last two Ryder Cups, I think if I'm not mistaken, the, you know, there's 16 points and foursomes across two Ryder Cups.
Speaker B:Eight and eight.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Europe's 13 and three.
Speaker B:They were seven and one in Rome and six and two this year.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, six and two, that's, you know, four whole points.
Speaker B:And the US lost by two.
Speaker B:You change like.
Speaker B:Like we were talking about earlier, you change one or two of those.
Speaker B:And Scotty had a great chance to do it on Saturday morning when, you know, they were tied, I think it was.
Speaker B:Or maybe they were A hold down on 18 and he's got a wedge into 18 and he flared it out into the bunker, you know, I mean, if you stuff one in there and make a birdie and get that half point or point on 18, now you, you get some momentum.
Speaker B:But he couldn't do it, so.
Speaker B:And that was a short shot.
Speaker B:18 is not a hard hole.
Speaker B:So anyway, look, that's the beauty of the Ryder Cup.
Speaker B:The second guessing of it is amazing when you consider it's just a three day event.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, Aaron Boone gets it all year with the Yankees and yet, and yet.
Speaker B:And probably even some of that's unfair.
Speaker B:But here we are, an event that, you know, really there's not a whole lot the coach or the, in this case the captain can do once they're out there.
Speaker A:No, we're going to take another break, come back and wrap up the show with Bob Herig here.
Speaker A:You're listening to Grilling at the Green on the Golf News Network, among other places.
Speaker A:Hi, everybody, it's JT and this is a special version of Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Grilling at the Green is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef.
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Speaker A:Welcome back to Grilling It's Green.
Speaker A:I'm jt you, we've got Bob Herring with us.
Speaker A:Don't forget, go online.
Speaker A:They've got some sales going on now with Squares Golf shoes.
Speaker A:I have a couple pairs.
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker A:I'm older and I've got funky feet.
Speaker A:You get funky feet when you get older.
Speaker A:I'm just going to tell you that.
Speaker A:You figure it out yourself.
Speaker A:Anyway, go to squaresgolf.com and got some great shoes there.
Speaker A:So I guess a real pressing question, Bob, is did you get any good swag there?
Speaker B:You know what, even the swag is expensive at the Ryder Cup.
Speaker B:I joke a little bit, but I mean, that's the other thing.
Speaker B:Like people are paying $750, right?
Speaker B:That was the ticket price for the tournament rounds.
Speaker B:It included food and non alcoholic drinks.
Speaker B:There was, there was these concession areas where you could walk through and they had sodas and waters and, you know, sandwiches and, and chicken sandwiches and burgers and all kinds of stuff, chips, whatever.
Speaker B:Some of the lines were very, very long, but you could go through there unlimited.
Speaker B:Obviously the alcohol was not.
Speaker B:The beers were 15, 18, $19.
Speaker B:The merchandise was, I mean, I don't know that I've seen merch more expensive.
Speaker B:Even at the British Open where there's an exchange rate you have to worry about right now.
Speaker B:Like, it was way more than the Masters and even more than the PGA Championship.
Speaker B:Look, the event is.
Speaker B:It is a cash cow for the PGA of America.
Speaker B:And, you know, when it's played in Europe for, For Ryder Cup Europe, that's the entity that runs it over there.
Speaker B:They.
Speaker B:They both profit.
Speaker B:They both get paid some when it's overseas, but a lot more when it's at home.
Speaker B:And I think that, man, they milk every last penny out of it that they can.
Speaker A:Did they get some TV rights money, too?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:They must.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's pretty big, and I'm sure it'll be bigger the next time, you know, And.
Speaker B:And so there's TV rights in, In Europe.
Speaker B:The one thing they do that's different than in the US is, you know, the US has traditionally gone to venues that we.
Speaker B:That we've had some history with.
Speaker B:Not always, but mostly we know them from majors, obviously.
Speaker B:Beth Page had had three majors.
Speaker B:Whistling Straits had had several already before that.
Speaker B:Hazel team, right?
Speaker B: , Medina,: Speaker B:I mean, I'm going all the way back.
Speaker B:Oakland Hills.
Speaker B:I'm trying to think.
Speaker B:One was 99 Brookline.
Speaker B:Those were all major venues before they played a Ryder cup at them.
Speaker B:And the PJ of America works out a deal with the host venue.
Speaker B:Sometimes it's in conjunction with another major.
Speaker B:They're paying them a fee, but.
Speaker B:But it's, you know, it's.
Speaker B:It's enough to help.
Speaker B:Help them make it worthwhile for them.
Speaker B:And then, sure, they go in there and they.
Speaker B:They keep everything.
Speaker B:There's no sharing.
Speaker B:So whatever they're doing, they're paying them an upfront cost.
Speaker B:In Europe, those venues bid for it.
Speaker B:So, like Marco Simone, where they played it two years ago, right?
Speaker B:Paid the European Ryder cup group millions of pounds or dollars to host, just for the right to host, and then they give it up free for the week, you know, and so that is where they.
Speaker B:The European DP World Tour, European Tour makes a significant amount of money off the Ryder cup.
Speaker B:That helps them fund that tour.
Speaker B:That's another thing that's interesting difference to me, the players on the PGA Tour aren't playing for their tour, really.
Speaker B:The PGA Tour gets a small, tiny fraction of the TV money in Europe.
Speaker B:They're playing that money.
Speaker B:They know.
Speaker B:They see it as helping their tour.
Speaker B:And that goes back 40 years.
Speaker B:You know, Sevy and Tony Jacklin and those guys, they got.
Speaker B:They saw it as, as.
Speaker B:As a way to.
Speaker B:To help their entity that needed the financial help.
Speaker B:And the DP World Tour still does.
Speaker B:It needs that money to.
Speaker B:To survive basically in non Ryder cup years.
Speaker B:The money that they've made off of a Ryder cup helps them.
Speaker B:It basically subsidizes their purses.
Speaker B:It's not PGA Tour is for all the talk about the Tour and everything, the Tour has always been fully sponsored and pretty flush.
Speaker B:Not those guys.
Speaker B:And so that.
Speaker B:That really helps them.
Speaker B:It's a big deal to them and the venue like it.
Speaker B:We're talking incredible sums just to have it.
Speaker B:That's before they've sold a ticket, before they sell hospitality, merch, all that stuff.
Speaker B:So it's a huge cash cow for those guys.
Speaker A:Bob Herring.
Speaker A:Si.
Speaker A:Appreciate it, Bob.
Speaker A:I'll expect my box next week with the swag you bought me from the Writer cup.
Speaker A:So we'll see that.
Speaker A:Okay, very good.
Speaker A:We'll have you back again.
Speaker A:We'll be back next week.
Speaker A:I think Charlie Reimer is coming back next week too.
Speaker A:So till then, go out, play some golf, have some fun, be kind.
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Speaker A:See you next week.
