Gary Van Sickle - Golf Writer Afterhours Encore
This podcast episode encapsulates a detailed discourse on the recent PGA Championship and the forthcoming U.S. Open, featuring esteemed guest Gary Van Sickle. The central theme revolves around the intriguing performances observed at the PGA, particularly the remarkable journey of club pro Michael Block, whose exploits captivated audiences. We delve into the ramifications of course setups, specifically the challenges presented by Oak Hill, which has undergone significant renovations. Furthermore, our discussion extends to the competitive landscape of professional golf, highlighting key players such as Scotty Scheffler and Victor Hovland, and contemplating their prospects in upcoming tournaments. Through this dialogue, we aim to provide our listeners with an insightful analysis of the intricacies of the game and the evolving dynamics within the sport.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- PGA
- U.S. Open
- Brooks Koepka
- Rory McIlroy
- Victor Hovland
- Corey Connors
- Oak Hill
- Jason Day
- Scotty Scheffler
- Justin Thomas
- John Rahm
- Colin Morikawa
- Xander Schauffele
- Max Homa
- Greg Norman
- LIV Golf
- USGA
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
Welcome to Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:After hours conversation that took place after the broadcast ended.
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.
Speaker A:Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker A:That's Painted Hills Natural Beef, everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome to After Hours here on Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:My very special guest this week, repeat offender, which I love him for.
Speaker A:He is Gary Van Sickle.
Speaker A:And originally I said this a couple times during the regular show.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The content was going to be a PGA review and a U.S.
Speaker A:open preview.
Speaker A:So lay it on me.
Speaker A:Let's talk about the pga.
Speaker A:I don't know how they're.
Speaker A:I was going to get the media part out of the way first, Gary.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:I have not seen the numbers.
Speaker A:I have not seen the broadcast numbers, to be honest with you.
Speaker A:So I don't know how that did.
Speaker A:And maybe you've seen them and you can share it with us.
Speaker A:But overall, how would you rate the PGA and the performance and the end result?
Speaker B:I thought it was a really good show you had.
Speaker B:I forget who won, but you had a club pro named Michael Block.
Speaker B:That was the story of the week, right?
Speaker B:Personal Brooks Cap.
Speaker B:But Block was unbelievable.
Speaker B:And then the last day, he makes a hole in one.
Speaker B:Playing with Rory, I don't know how you could, you know, you had the Cinderella, you had Rory, you had Koepka, you had a guy.
Speaker B:The guys in the mix, it was pretty.
Speaker B:Victor Hovland, you know, and, and Koepka.
Speaker B:And how about this?
Speaker B:The bunker at 16 taking out Corey Connors on Saturday.
Speaker B:It's a, you know, I mean, with an eight or nine iron, he hits a.
Speaker B:He misses it, hits a line drive into the under the lip.
Speaker B:And then Sunday, Victor Hovland does the same thing with a nine iron.
Speaker B:You know, that's not like, oh, that bunker lip is so high they couldn't get over.
Speaker B:Victor hovland had a nine iron.
Speaker B:He's.
Speaker B:He'll hit 100 more shots and never even come close to hitting the lip.
Speaker B:But that, that same bunker took both those guys out.
Speaker B:And then, of course, Koepka promptly hits it to like 3 foot, 3ft to, you know, kill the, kill him off.
Speaker B:I used right burbs out of habit.
Speaker B:Of course, they didn't really kill anybody, but no, he's a closer.
Speaker B:And, oh, there's an opening.
Speaker B:I'm going to finish this.
Speaker B:And it was compelling all week.
Speaker B:Saturday wasn't Much fun.
Speaker B:It was rainy and crummy and the players had to battle the elements.
Speaker B:Although I always like watching them do it.
Speaker B:I don't like it when I have to do it, but overall it was a great weekend.
Speaker B:On top of that, the other star of the week was Oak Hill.
Speaker B:They redid it.
Speaker B:They.
Speaker B:They took out those four holes at the Fazios ruined in the 70s, and restored them to Donald Ross.
Speaker B:And I've played a number.
Speaker B:I played some tournaments up at Oak Hill and honestly I did.
Speaker B:They removed a gazillion trees.
Speaker B:I didn't even recognize the place.
Speaker B:I thought it was awesome.
Speaker B:And I wrote this.
Speaker B:I'm not sure Oak Hill isn't our new best major championship site at a major that doesn't rhyme with Rasters.
Speaker A:Yeah, I thought it looked great.
Speaker B:I think it's bet.
Speaker B:I mean, I live in Pittsburgh.
Speaker B:I can't really say it's better than Oakmont, but out loud.
Speaker B:But I think it is.
Speaker A:I thought it looked great.
Speaker A:Like I said, I didn't get to watch everything.
Speaker A:We had a lot of stuff going on.
Speaker A:But what I, when I could, you know, squirrel away an hour or two and plop down and watch it, I thought the course looked terrific.
Speaker A:And the thing about that bunker.
Speaker B:With.
Speaker A:Connors and stuff and, and you tell me if I'm wrong, but for me it didn't look like when they were in the bunker, the, it wasn't.
Speaker A:The lip wasn't above their head.
Speaker A:It's like between waist and chest high.
Speaker A:Which should have been a no brainer.
Speaker B:It was, it was not a difficult shot.
Speaker B:On a scale of, you know, for those guys.
Speaker B:Yeah, for either one of those guys.
Speaker B:And for them both to hit it.
Speaker B:I mean, they both hit it.
Speaker B:They both, you know, let's face it, they both boned those shots.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's the truth.
Speaker B:Yeah, they, they boned them.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:That's all there is to say.
Speaker B:And for it to happen in the same spot on the same bunker and knock two guys out from winning low.
Speaker B:Corey Connors was kind of not doing that great Saturday before that happened.
Speaker B:But yeah, that was incredible.
Speaker B:So there was a lot to like about the tournament.
Speaker B:And look, Koepka, he's got five majors.
Speaker B:You may recall a few years ago, somebody was asked what his target was and he said double figures.
Speaker B:And everybody went away being shot going, oh, he thinks he can win 10 majors.
Speaker B:It's like he didn't say 10, he said double figures.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think I read recently where, you know, what he meant was 15 because he wants to catch tiger or 14 or.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So look, he can do it.
Speaker B:Who's he got to be?
Speaker B:You know, John Rom looks great.
Speaker B:Justin Thomas, missing in action.
Speaker B:Rory missing in action.
Speaker B:Scottie Scheffler.
Speaker B:You got to beat Rahm and Scheffler.
Speaker B:Those are the two guys right now that look like they're the best players, head and shoulders above the rest.
Speaker B:So I don't doubt that Kafka can get to.
Speaker B:If I was forced to bet, will Kafka get to double figures with majors win?
Speaker B:I would bet my money on.
Speaker A:Yes, I would think so.
Speaker A:I would take the over on that, definitely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I like, I, you know, I like everything about the way he plays.
Speaker B:He's, you know, I don't like his personality, and it could be a Persona, but he, he's kind of a.
Speaker B:He comes off as a bully and a condescending guy and.
Speaker B:But, you know, as I said before, he reminds me of Raymond Floyd back in the old days.
Speaker B:So you don't have to be warm and fuzzy, just go out and beat people.
Speaker B:And that's what he likes to do.
Speaker B:He likes to beat people.
Speaker B:He's good at it.
Speaker B:He's not afraid of the big moment, and he's got the game really to do it.
Speaker B:And I think you're going to see he and Scheffler and Ron mix it up here.
Speaker B:The next couple of years is going to be great fun, and he's going.
Speaker A:To be a dad.
Speaker A:That might take a lot.
Speaker B:That could take the edge off.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:All these guys.
Speaker B:It's a typical repeating pattern.
Speaker B:You've seen it with Rory and a lot of players.
Speaker B:You've got all the money in the world.
Speaker B:You don't need any more.
Speaker B:You become a dad, your priorities change.
Speaker B:And when you're number one in the world, it doesn't take much.
Speaker B:You know, I'm holding my fingers an inch apart.
Speaker B:That much less practice is all it takes to knock you from number one to number eight.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Be a guy who's dominating to being the guy who wins, but he doesn't, you know, so you see these guys go into a slump in their 30s because they realize golf is a game, it's not that important.
Speaker B:Then when their kid or kids get older, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, they want to show them how good they were and they go back to work and they have us.
Speaker B:They have a second.
Speaker B:You know, much like Jason Day, I mean, he had some physical injuries.
Speaker B:That's what was.
Speaker B:His story was different.
Speaker B:But he worked really hard to get back because he wanted to show his kids that he could still do it.
Speaker B:And he got a win this year, so I wouldn't be surprised.
Speaker B:Yeah, I could.
Speaker A:Yeah, he might.
Speaker B:You got to be selfish if you're a golfer.
Speaker B:It's not popular to say that and it's not popular to be selfish, but you got to be selfish.
Speaker B:Who wants to if you've traveled, Jeff, you know how much fun it is if you're a PGA Tour player to be on.
Speaker B:Be away from home 28 weeks a year.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Fun no matter how much money you have.
Speaker A:No, no.
Speaker A:And if you're flying in a private jet, you're still flying in the jet.
Speaker A:And you're away from home for.
Speaker A:It can be 100 miles.
Speaker A:It can be 2,000 or 20,000 miles.
Speaker A:You're still away from home.
Speaker B:You can never get.
Speaker B:You can never get those little league games back that you miss.
Speaker B:Bruce Litzke had the right idea.
Speaker B:He was staying home in the summer.
Speaker B:He skipped the US Open.
Speaker B:His kids had baseball games and he was going to be there.
Speaker A:And speaking of kids, how's Mike doing?
Speaker B:Good.
Speaker B:He made it to the US Open sectional.
Speaker B:Didn't make it through there.
Speaker B:He played the one at Woodmont.
Speaker B:He.
Speaker B:He had a chance after he was.
Speaker B:He had a bad, bad start.
Speaker B:He got to 3 over after 18 birdie the next the 19th hole and was right there because I think 2 under got in.
Speaker B:And then he said the course was so firm and fast that he had one hole he and his caddy were looking at.
Speaker B:He had a 90 yard lob wedge and they're both looking.
Speaker B:I don't know where we can land this to keep it on the green.
Speaker B:That's how firm I was.
Speaker A:Oh boy.
Speaker B:So it was at a premium.
Speaker B:And that's not the kind of thing you can practice for.
Speaker B:Some of these guys who've in Mark Leishman and Sebastian Munoz guys have been in the Tour and played the Masters.
Speaker B:They're short games who are a little better prepared for that than a guy who is not really chasing the tour and now is working on his PGA card and giving lessons at an indoor simulator place.
Speaker B:So he came up short.
Speaker B:But he's phenomenal at teaching and he's hoping to get his PGA card so he can try to be in be the next Michael Block and getting the PGA Championship plays away in.
Speaker A:Somebody asked me the other day, I was in a little online social media chat room.
Speaker A:We were there, golf oriented and somebody.
Speaker A:One of the questions was about the USGA and how the course setup is like that.
Speaker A:And My answer was, the USGA always seems happy if you need a pair of goats to help you find your ball in the rough.
Speaker A:And, you know, of course they got laughs and chuckles and that type of thing, but that's kind of true.
Speaker B:Well, that's the only way you can defend party more.
Speaker B:But even then, go back to Wingfoot a couple years ago with Bryson DeChambeau.
Speaker B:The rough at Wingfoot was ridiculous, but he had it down there so far that he could, you know, it was bomb and gouge at his finest.
Speaker B:And it worked.
Speaker B:So there's really, there's no defense for these players now unless it gets windy.
Speaker B:The wind is the only way you can make a golf course really tough.
Speaker B:You look at Oak Hill and they got the green super firm and super fast and all that.
Speaker B:But, you know, on Sunday, after they got rained on, they ripped that place apart, which is.
Speaker B:Okay, there should be.
Speaker B:You should be able to make birdies.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:USD.
Speaker B:The mistake, you know, I have mentioned this before, mistake they made in the 80s and 70s was making a golf course so hard that nobody could make birdies, no matter how good you were.
Speaker B:When you negate ability, let's say the rough is a foot tall.
Speaker B:That means Tiger woods has got to hack it out.
Speaker B:50 yards you and I are playing, we got to hack it out.
Speaker B:40, 50 yards.
Speaker B:You've now equalized us on that shot.
Speaker B:You don't want that.
Speaker B:No, just enough rough so Tiger or the best players can still do something with it.
Speaker B:And the lesser guys have to hack it out.
Speaker B:And they have a hard time finding that line, not only with the green of the fairways and the rough, but with the speed and firmness of the greens, like at Shinnecock, you know, they screwed it up at Shinnecock once and went back to Shinnecock, and Mike Davis promised, we're not going to screw it up again.
Speaker B:And they screwed it up again.
Speaker B:So it's, it's a difficult business course setup.
Speaker B:And PGA has a guy like Carrie Haig.
Speaker B:A guy like him is invaluable.
Speaker B:And, you know, looking back, Tom Meeks was a USGA guy, and he, he, he was no Carrie Hague in retrospect.
Speaker B:But, yeah, these guys hit it so far.
Speaker B:They have to come up with something, a gimmick, because they can't.
Speaker B:You know, it's like, well, why don't you just, why don't you just let them go ahead and make shoot 20 under?
Speaker B:Because, well, we saw that last week.
Speaker B:The lower the score, the better the scores in a major championship, the better the Winner.
Speaker B:The weird winners are always win.
Speaker B:Two over par wins.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:But it's a PGA, the US Open.
Speaker B:If they shoot 20 under, it's Jason Day edging Jordan Spieth at Whistling Straights, or Nick Faldo over Norman and Payne Stewart at the old course at 17 or 18 under.
Speaker B:When it's.
Speaker B:When it's two over, one under, three over, you know, it's Sean McKeel over Chad Campbell.
Speaker A:You mentioned it, though, earlier, and we saw it last week at Muirfield.
Speaker A:Guys coming in, like, on a par three and gonna hit a nine iron or a wedge or something, and the wind came up and dumped it in the drink.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:That's on the back nine.
Speaker A:One of the.
Speaker B:Probably 16.
Speaker B:16, yeah, that Jack Nicklaus made it to look like the 16th, that he's got two par threes in the back nine.
Speaker B:One is a copy of the 12th hole, only his has got a lot more water, and it's almost all carry over water.
Speaker B:And he's got the 16th hole, which at Augusta, the water's on the left side, but Jack, you gotta almost carry it over the water, right?
Speaker B:And the green is very small.
Speaker B:It tilts away from you where you wanna land it, rejecting the shots.
Speaker B:And then it's a lot longer than 16 at Augusta.
Speaker B:So Jack even said, well, I may have to go back and tinker, but if nobody likes it.
Speaker B:Well, they just redid all these things two years ago.
Speaker B:I mean, they.
Speaker B:12 was always like that, but he just changed 16 a couple years ago to make it like this.
Speaker B:And now I may have gotten it wrong.
Speaker B:You may have gotten it wrong.
Speaker B:You know, Jack likes to tinker with his golf courses, and the reason is because he didn't do it right.
Speaker A:Well, and he.
Speaker B:I hate to be critical of Jack as a designer, but that's really the bottom line.
Speaker B:You wouldn't have to tinker with them if you got it right the first time or the second time.
Speaker B:And I'm.
Speaker B:I'm afraid his legacy as a golf designer is probably not going to be what, you know, it is right now, because Jack's around.
Speaker B:We all like Jack, and we don't want to criticize him, but you got to get the.
Speaker B:If you're going to do that 16 green and Augusta, he's done.
Speaker B:I mean, how many.
Speaker B:How many hundred courses?
Speaker B:How could.
Speaker B:How can you not get that right?
Speaker B:You know?
Speaker A:Well, and he heard it, so I don't know.
Speaker A:He heard it on.
Speaker A:He was in.
Speaker A:He was in the CBS booth, and.
Speaker B:Jason Day was it.
Speaker A:Jason Day said it was A horrible hole or made something.
Speaker B:I think he might have used the word stupid, stupid hole.
Speaker B:And speak.
Speaker B:Said something about it the day before that, too.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And they said it last year and he.
Speaker B:He's already fixed it once.
Speaker B:It was a 2, so it was a little too severe.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:It's still, you know, and I don't know, it seems like to make your golf course good for tv, you've got to turn it almost into a video game where it's like every hole's an island green with water everywhere.
Speaker B:It's got to be more dramatic, just having a good golf hole with grass and clever, subtle breaks.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It doesn't come off on tv.
Speaker B:You need it to be like sawgrass, where you're walking through a minefield of ponds and if you get through, maybe you'll win.
Speaker B:Well, that's what attracts TV viewers and all these golf tournaments and even the majors.
Speaker B:And I know I've said this on your.
Speaker B:This show before, they've long since turned.
Speaker B:They're not.
Speaker B:They're not golf tournaments anymore.
Speaker B:They're all TV shows.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Used to be golf tournaments.
Speaker B:First the majors, then TV shows, but now their TV shows first.
Speaker B:And that's just the way it is.
Speaker B:That's a new era.
Speaker A:I think maybe they need more alligators, piranha and hammer.
Speaker B:Yeah, those animals should be in play.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I jokingly say when somebody hits one on a blind shot, he goes, is that okay?
Speaker B:And I'll like, well, if it got over the pit of cobras, I think it'll be okay.
Speaker B:But otherwise you're going to have a problem.
Speaker B:And they're like pin of cobras.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm just kidding.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's the next one we'll have.
Speaker B:It'll be like one of those game shows.
Speaker B:Hazard obstacle course.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Ninja defeat the gorilla.
Speaker B:And then it'll be like, what's the show with?
Speaker B:Rob Riggle was the co host and they were.
Speaker A:Yeah, the mini golf thing.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:What was the name of that show?
Speaker B:We all know was kind of fun for a while.
Speaker B:Then it got ridiculous.
Speaker B:They give the winner a gold putter and a green, horrible green plaid jacket.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Steph Curry was involved in producing.
Speaker A:Was.
Speaker A:It's gone now.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's gone now.
Speaker B:But, you know, maybe.
Speaker B:Maybe that's what will happen in a major.
Speaker B:Maybe, maybe, maybe this thing, maybe the global thing.
Speaker B:Maybe they're going to make a new major.
Speaker B:Maybe they'll have one major in Saudi Arabia and first prize is a hundred million dollars.
Speaker A:I don't know, you never know.
Speaker B:Everybody else and a camel don't come home.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker A:Hey, I've been to Chop Chop Square.
Speaker A:You don't want to go there.
Speaker A:Trust me, you don't want to go there.
Speaker A:All right, let's talk about the US Open.
Speaker A:I've even, I think I've got my open cap on today.
Speaker A:This is what you, this is what you pay USGA folks for, people, is get these hats.
Speaker A:They show up with a calendar, which I happen to have right here.
Speaker A:See, they get those two things and you're a member and you're good to go.
Speaker A:Okay, who's, who's your odds on favorite?
Speaker A:Just what is Gary Van.
Speaker B:Scotty Sheffler could have won Memorial, and they didn't really.
Speaker B:Technically, he didn't make a putt outside of nine and a half feet.
Speaker B:He did make one from the fringe, but yeah, he's not like he's rolling a bed.
Speaker B:They just aren't going in.
Speaker B:So Scotty Scheffler, I he's so far and away ahead of everybody else and all the Strokes game stats teeter Green.
Speaker B:It's hard not to like him in the US Open, which is always a ball striking contest.
Speaker B:So I think he's right there.
Speaker B:And I wouldn't discount Victor Hovland.
Speaker B:I mean, you always get excited when you see a guy win because he's playing well.
Speaker B:But he's really worked on his game, and I was impressed with some of the things he's figured out about not, not being so aggressive.
Speaker B:And he, he had to go and work on his short game because he wasn't PGA Tour quality with a short game that was beating him.
Speaker B:So those two guys come to mind.
Speaker B:And after that, you can pick any other top players.
Speaker B:I'm not, not sure.
Speaker B:Rory's.
Speaker B:Here's the thing.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:I played LA north once a long time ago, but I don't remember that much about it.
Speaker B:I don't know who it favors.
Speaker B:Opens are usually straight hitters who are good iron players.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So that's not really necessarily John Rom, but on a good week, it can be, you know, a good iron player, somebody like Colin Morocco, whom we haven't heard of, Justin Thomas, whom we haven't heard anything about.
Speaker B:I don't think he's putting very well.
Speaker B:Some guys like that.
Speaker B:So I thought they'll have a Terrell Hatton or somebody come out of the woodwork on this or I feel like maybe this is a court.
Speaker B:There's got to be some guys on tour who Went to school out at UCLA or Pepperdine.
Speaker B:So Heath LA Gala.
Speaker B:I don't know if the Bay Area counts.
Speaker B:More Cow was up there.
Speaker B:Max Homer was out at Cal.
Speaker B:That's San Francisco area.
Speaker B:I gotta feel like there's some California born player who's gonna, who's probably played there 20, 24 some rounds and it's going to have advantage just like Fitzpatrick did at the Country Club when he won the amateur there.
Speaker B:So I don't know who that guy is.
Speaker B:I don't know if Max Home has played there a lot, but somebody, I'll bet somebody has.
Speaker B:And I'm gonna do some research on that.
Speaker B:I should have done it before I was on your show, but hey, maybe Xander Shuffle.
Speaker A:He's.
Speaker A:Well, he's a Cal.
Speaker B:He's from la.
Speaker B:That would be.
Speaker B:That might be an excellent pick.
Speaker B:He's great.
Speaker B:I tell you what, if you're betting him, you always want to bet him top five.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's not so.
Speaker B:Not so much betting him to win, but he's always up there.
Speaker B:You know, Scheffler's top 10, eight, nine of his last 11 majors.
Speaker B:So that guy is always there.
Speaker B:He's gonna, he's like Jack, he's gonna win.
Speaker B:He's only got one major.
Speaker B:I mean, only is pretty good.
Speaker B:But gosh, if anybody falters, if Fitzpatrick messes up that fairway shot from the bunker at the Country Club, Scotty Scheffler might have had a U.S.
Speaker B:open.
Speaker B:And when you're in their mix all the time, guys are going to mess up and hand one hand to you.
Speaker A:So you know when you talked about Shoffley and Sheffield, Matt, you've got, you've got most of your quinella right there.
Speaker B:Yeah, those are, those are the obvious guys.
Speaker B:I mean, for a large part and you know of who anybody is in tour disqualified, as you know.
Speaker B:How about Stuart Sink?
Speaker B:He got in through qualifying.
Speaker B:Is he a sleeper pick?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:You know, Sergio got in.
Speaker B:There's a sleeper pick.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:What I thought was cool was Hovland after last weekend was.
Speaker A:Well, yesterday was caddying for his buddy in a sectional.
Speaker A:Did you see?
Speaker B:It's great to be 27 and young.
Speaker A:And have knees or life.
Speaker B:And you can walk 36 because it's fun.
Speaker A:Yeah, those days are behind me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you walk 36 and probably didn't even have a beer.
Speaker B:So, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's not something any of us would do.
Speaker A:No, no, no, that, that doesn't, that doesn't get into the Equation.
Speaker A:I was going to tell you.
Speaker A:Let me.
Speaker B:That would be.
Speaker B:By the way, that would be great.
Speaker B:Commentating on TV.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:He's gone 21 holes without a.
Speaker B:Without a bogey, Joe.
Speaker B:And he's gone 17 holes without a beer.
Speaker B:This is just an amazing streak he's on.
Speaker A:That'd be like the John Daly thing, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And it's been five holes since he had a Marlboro, so he.
Speaker B:I think it was established later that John was drinking out of some cups at the PGA at Crooked Stick.
Speaker B:And I, I think it was determined later he admitted, yeah, he was drinking some.
Speaker B:I think it was beer, but he was drinking some alcohol out of the cups while he played in the pga.
Speaker B:So that was part of why and how he became a folk hero.
Speaker A:Here's the headline just came in.
Speaker A:You probably got the same thing.
Speaker A:It says, Greg Norman didn't know about the LIV Golf PGA Tour merger.
Speaker A:The shocking news caught everyone by surprise, including the LIV CEO.
Speaker B:Well, it'll be interesting.
Speaker B:So is Greg mad?
Speaker B:Is Greg upset about that or is he happy that they merged or.
Speaker B:And what's his future role going to be?
Speaker B:Yeah, I guess is none, but I don't know.
Speaker A:Well, he's such a warm and fuzzy guy and made a lot of friends doing that.
Speaker B:Once again.
Speaker B:Once again, look at the headline of that.
Speaker B:Should be.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:I've used it before.
Speaker B:Sports Illustrated used it.
Speaker B:I think I used it as a lead of my story, the Masters in 97.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:Or 96.
Speaker B:The Great White Great White Shock.
Speaker A:God.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, we'll see.
Speaker A:I mean, that's.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:I don't know how many messages and emails I've got with that headline, but that was the last one, just came in a few minutes ago.
Speaker A:Didn't know about it.
Speaker B:How can you.
Speaker B:Might be a while before Greg Norman is trending again on the Internet.
Speaker A:I would think so.
Speaker A:How.
Speaker A:How can you be the CEO of something like that and not know this is going to happen?
Speaker B:Well, they didn't let him in because he didn't, you know, he didn't need to know.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker A:Well, they didn't let him in because.
Speaker B:They wanted to know how good of a businessman he really is.
Speaker A:But I think iffy.
Speaker A:I think my, my thing, Gary, was somebody asked me about that the other day.
Speaker A:Nobody knew about the merger or anything else, but they were talking about something.
Speaker A:I said, look, any guy.
Speaker A:How old's Greg Norman?
Speaker A:55?
Speaker A:60, I don't know.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, I think he's 60.
Speaker A:You know, he's There's a picture of him butt ass naked in the crick on his ranch in Colorado, kind of flexing his muscles and trying to show everybody how lean and fit and he, and he was.
Speaker A:I'm not taking that away from him.
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker A:It's a little late in the game to be doing that stuff for me.
Speaker A:I mean, I, I don't know of anybody except Greg Norman that had an interest in seeing that picture.
Speaker B:So you don't.
Speaker B:Everybody's got an ego.
Speaker B:Some are bigger than others.
Speaker B:His is pretty big.
Speaker B:And he doesn't like not getting attention anymore.
Speaker B:And you know, that just, that just plays into that area.
Speaker B:And he does.
Speaker B:He wants to be relevant and who knows, it may or may not affect any kind of endorsement or business deals he has.
Speaker B:You know, I was.
Speaker B:One thing about Annika, as soon as she got out of golf, she didn't stay out long because she quickly discovered, trying to get into business, that when she was playing golf, she had no way to get exposure to attract right people.
Speaker B:So she started getting involved in some turn running some tournaments and get her, get her profile out there, her brand, if, if you will.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Gotta keep your brand's gotta get some attention.
Speaker B:You know, just like all these players in the Senior Tour, they go from the PGA Tour, they got equipment deals to get to the Senior Tour.
Speaker B:All of a sudden the manufacturers aren't that interested because the exposure on the Senior tour is about 90% less on the PC tour.
Speaker B:So the money isn't going to be there on that tour.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm kind of shocked to learn that.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's more of a fun.
Speaker A:Keep you out of the old hope old folks home tour, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, winning never gets old.
Speaker B:It's fun.
Speaker B:Competing never gets old.
Speaker B:It's fun to compete.
Speaker A:Yeah, it is.
Speaker B:Guys hate to give that up, just like you.
Speaker B:And I hate to give that up.
Speaker B:Even if it's a local amateur senior event, it's fun to.
Speaker B:Yeah, fun to compete.
Speaker B:If you lose, it's more.
Speaker B:It's not the same as playing against your buddies for 20 bucks.
Speaker B:It's competing when you know, there's no mulligans, there's no rolling the ball over, there's no nothing.
Speaker B:Go shoot what you can shoot.
Speaker B:You can make it 17 on a hole.
Speaker B:That's the way it is.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:There's no, there's no.
Speaker B:Just give me a seven.
Speaker B:You know, it's fun, but kick it is.
Speaker A:Gary Van Sickle, Sports Illustrated.
Speaker A:We'll be checking back again with Gary probably after the Open, the one across the pond.
Speaker A:Because it's always fun to talk to him.
Speaker A:And thanks a lot, man, for taking the time.
Speaker A:I appreciate it.
Speaker B:As usual, it was great being had by you.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:We'll be back next week with another edition of After Hours.
Speaker A:Till then, take care, be nice, and go play some golf.
