The Shotgun Start

Andy and Brendan have PLENTY to talk about after a full, buzzing Saturday at the Ryder Cup despite the blowout on the scoreboard. They jump immediately into the testy exchange between Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, caddies, Francesco Molinari, and others during another winning afternoon for Europe. They dissect Keegan’s miscues with lineups and management but wonder if it would have mattered given Europe’s play. They also go into the extremely hostile crowds, the constant abuse of Rory McIlroy and the opponent, and discuss how bad it got out there and how much it crossed the line. KVV and LaMagna join late to relay some of their notes from their days inside the ropes before a rambling discussion on Russ Henley, Rose, New England sports analogies, and much more in this rollicking Saturday night episode.

Andy and Brendan are together on Long Island after a full day at Bethpage Black taking in the Ryder Cup, where the USA is in a significant hole to Europe at 5.5 to 2.5 points. They discuss the late attempts by the US to close the gap and how they were held off yet again by the Euro stars like Rahm, Fleetwood, and Rory. They offer up some MVPs and LVPs, which brings Keegan Bradley’s strategy for the whimpering leadoff four-ball session that put the USA behind from the jump. How much of Scottie Scheffler is to blame? Or did Keegan set them up to fail? Was Bryson done in by his partners? Is the US cooked? They also cover some of the crowd effects, the first tee scene that might have been underwhelming, Trump’s visit, and some of the heckles heard throughout the day. Also, has the golf course been set up in a way that’s actually neutered some their strongest players.

Andy and Brendan are playing with a half-set as they locked their recording equipment in the wrong car ahead of this unplanned Thursday live chat reacting to lineups for the opening session of the 2025 Ryder Cup. They discuss the strategy of both captains in setting their four alternate shot pairings for Friday morning, and get hyped for the banger of an opener between Bryson-JT and Rahm-Hatton. They also discuss any surprise pairings and players, pondering weaker choices against someone left on the benches. They close it out with some predictions on matches and the overall session before we dive into the chaos of some of the best three days in golf.

Andy and Brendan are back at the Ryder Cup — this time, not in an RV but a hipster Brooklyn spot — to record their first episode of the week together. It’s a wide-ranging preview episode that begins with some instant reactions and amusements from the Opening Ceremony, featuring Don Rea and essays about New York being considered gritty. They discuss some of their insights from the ground walking around, talking to some players and getting the lay of Bethpage again. They read the tea leaves and discuss some of the pairings that could be coming and how Bryson DeChambeau, and a potential partnership with Justin Thomas, may prove to be the tipping point for great success or great disaster. They discuss the potential for crowd troubles and how the golf course sets up as “so American” for taking the teeth out of a place that’s supposed to have a warning sign. Then they bring in KVV for his “KVV Three” notes from the ground on some amusing subjects and an SGS RC Fantasy draft with Andy, Brendan, KVV, and “The Boys.” They finish it out with some picks for top points earners, winner, and most likely to get in a tussle.

This episode was recorded before NFL kickoff on Sunday, so Victory Monday for the Bears and Browns will have to wait. Andy is still licking his wounds from an ugly Illini loss to Indiana on Saturday night and wonders if winning out would still clinch a playoff spot. PJ is in high spirits after a Syracuse win in Death Valley and an early scouting trip to Bethpage on Saturday morning - only for the Jets to ruin everything again. We wrap up College Football Corner and discuss some wonderful coffee golf at the French Open (presented by FedEx) on Sunday. Michael Kim secured his first win since the 2018 John Deere Classic, edging out Elvis Smylie, Min Woo Lee, and Brooks Koepka. With Kim, Lee, and Koepka dropping in on the DP World Tour to great success, Brendan tries to draw some conclusions about where these fall fields stand overseas. Andy makes the case for a potential unification between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour that would have one points list and a stronger fall schedule. The LPGA had yet another unique result to uphold the streak - a cancelation of the tournament in Arkansas after 18 holes! Brendan has PJ share some scuttlebutt from the early merch preview at Bethpage, including some reporting about the famous sign - a favorite of Jason Garrett. In an actual bit of news, Rory McIlroy spoke with The Guardian and took his chance to pop Bryson DeChambeau ahead of a potential match this week. Rory also says he's "more confident" in a win for Europe now than he was when he made his guarantee in 2023. Andy and Brendan answer some listener questions about the Ryder Cup to close things out before traveling to the great state of New York for this week's festivities. Find our full Ryder Cup preview episode here on Wednesday night!

A light week of golf leads us to this wide-ranging Friday episode, covering a potential new housecat, the return of a broadcast legend, and a legendary Ryder Cup Flashback. Andy and Brendan first discuss the U.S. Mid-Am and the fiery online debate about former pros getting their amateur status reinstated. Andy is adamant that these players should not be able to waltz back into amateur golf and outlines his ideal rules for the situation. Brendan and KVV react to Andy's rulings and wonder if some are too harsh for those looking to continue playing competitive golf after their pro careers end. There's a bit of golf news to cover with LPGA legend Stacy Lewis retiring and the PGA of America bringing the KPMG Women's PGA and the PGA Championship back to Bethpage in the coming years. In much-needed Ryder Cup broadcast news, Sir Nick Faldo will be on the call for NBC next week, teaming with Terry Gannon and Notah Begay for morning sessions. Blockie is also back in the fold for 2026, because of course he is! We'll see him at the AmEx next year. In the spirit of Bob Uecker, a Golf Advice emailer sent along a letter from a ghost of Ryder Cup past to be read before we help one of our favorite football podcasters out with a fantasy football punishment. KVV then unpacks a Flashback Friday segment on the 2004 Ryder Cup war between Phil Mickelson and American captain Hal Sutton, complete with a Texas accent you won't want to miss. Lastly, some Don Rea soundbites send us into the weekend, as only he can.

It sure seems like everyone is just counting down the days until the Ryder Cup at this point. With minimal golf news and no PGA Tour event to discuss, Andy instead starts this episode with a tale from his latest round of golf. Playing at one of America's great championship courses, Andy decided he wanted to recreate an iconic moment and ended up almost hitting some folks enjoying a Tuesday afternoon lunch on the patio. It's been a big week for paying homage to iconic figures, as Brendan shares the latest Bob Uecker tribute from the Milwaukee Brewers. Brendan is aghast at the team reading and posting a fake letter from the deceased Uecker, which leads into a discussion about which ghosts this year's Ryder Cup teams should (allegedly) hear from. The Europeans have made it to Long Island and dressed in some... interesting... clothing for their first practice rounds at Bethpage Black. Justin Rose thinks that New Yorkers will become "caricatures" of themselves in the crowd and thinks that the VR preparation is a sign that things have gone too far. In actual golf being played this week, the ultimate Game Within a Game is underway on the LPGA circuit: can the unique winner streak continue at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship? With 18 of this year's winners in the field, the odds are in favor of this incredible streak living on. Andy is fired up about the Stephens Cup and the U.S. Mid-Am, both of which are already underway as of this recording. The Celebrity Ryder Cup rosters have been released with big names such as Toni Kukoč, Pau Gasol, and Brooklyn Beckham facing off against Eli Manning, Colin Jost, and "Sticks Boy " Noah Kahan. In substantive golf news, Amazon Prime has acquired some Masters streaming rights for Thursday and Friday and - as first reported on this podcast - the PGA Tour will not open the season in Kapalua due to the water issues in Maui.

The combined 0-6 Bears, Browns, and Jets lost by a combined 74 points on Sunday. But it is still a victory Monday around here as we welcome Kevin Van Valkenburg to the Fried Egg Golf team. Though he has been a contributor to SGS in the past, he’s now on the FE ship full time so we bring him on to bat it around following the weekend of Brocore, Wentworth, and continued Ryder Cup hype. We discuss Scottie Scheffler — his mere presence — putting everyone around him on the fritz, like Ben Griffin, who could have, should have won the Brocore. Did it take a low stakes fall event to really convince us the Tiger invocations are not out of line? Maybe. They also discuss king mule Lanto’s involvement in the proceedings and Jackson Koivun needing to stay on Tour and not go back to school. At Wentworth, they discuss Alex Noren being a top 20 player in the world and for sure a top 12 option for Team Europe who will be relegated to the ass-cap role. Then the notion of VR headsets preparing the Euro Ryder Cup team for battle is also bandied about with some amusement. They close with some football chatter and laughs about PJ having to send cringe tweets for the Lions following the Browns wishing Deshaun a happy birthday on Sunday morning.

This Whiparound Friday episode might as well be a show about nothing with not much going on in golf this week. Andy and Brendan start with a quick rundown of an early leaderboard at the Procore with players like Mackenzie Hughes and Matt Kuchar leading the way. They then move to the BMW PGA on the DP World Tour where auto-qualifier Rasmus Hojgaard struggled on Thursday. Andy takes that baton and runs with it, explaining that the Ryder Cup captains need to be more cutthroat and sit struggling players until Sunday singles if that's what is best for the team. This leads into an impromptu Flashback Friday on the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Paris, France. Andy and Brendan remember some crazy decisions made by the American side, such as making a "celebratory" Tiger Woods play four times that week and pairing a rookie Bryson DeChambeau with a wild Phil Mickelson. They bring up supporting characters such as Thorbjorn Olesen playing with Rory McIlroy and the European team of "Moliwood" that effectively won the event on their own. As for the 2025 event, the Americans are out in full force in Napa and Keegan Bradley is calling this the "closest team he's ever seen" - despite only seeing two teams prior to this. After a bunch of winding Ryder Cup chatter, some legendary Golf Advice emails send us into the weekend. A #HedgeBoy story from Cypress jogs Andy's memory about a horrendous round in the area before Brendan reads an email about a member-guest caddie's interactions with nature.

It is NOT a Victory Wednesday (or Tuesday) episode for Andy, but he's back to join Brendan! for a preview of some September golf throughout the world. Things kick off with a quick Champions Tour Minute highlighting Thomas Bjorn's win in St. Louis that was ignored on Monday's Walker Cup recap. Bjorn took home one of the more interesting trophies in golf at the Stifel Charity Classic before working as an AssCap for Team Europe in a few weeks. Speaking of Ryder Cup preparations, 10 of the 12 Americans are in the field at the ProCore Championship in Napa. Tuesday's practice round has already brought some early "pods" and potential pairings. Scottie Scheffler looks like he'll run it back with Russell Henley after a strong showing at the Presidents Cup while his deputy, Sam Burns, played a round with Mr. 1,000 and No-Hat Pat. Team Europe is also gathering this week - they're almost all in the field at the BMW PGA at Wentworth in England. Rory McIlroy had some insightful comments regarding his future schedules in his pre-tournament press conference and stopped just short of naming some events he doesn't particularly care for. Also teeing it up at Wentworth is defending champion Billy Horschel, who makes his return to competitive golf following a mid-year injury. To preview this week's Champions Tour event in South Dakota, Andy runs down the Schwab Cup standings and once again wonders who Ricardo Gonzalez is. In news, future Champs Tour star Tiger Woods was seen hitting balls on a New Jersey range on Monday, sending the internet into a storm, per usual. To close the show, Andy comments on Monday night's Bears loss to the Vikings and has some questions about Caleb Williams.

Andy joins Brendan! fresh off a weekend at the 50th Walker Cup with a notebook full of observations from Cypress Point. The United States won for the fifth-straight time, securing a blowout margin with a strong performance in Sunday singles. Andy shares some tales from the ground, including notes on Mason Howell, Niall Shiels Donegan, and Michael La Sasso. Brendan provides some color on the broadcast side after two days of watching at home. Not to be outdone by the amateurs, Bryson DeChambeau showed up for the weekend to be a thirsty boy and share his thoughts on Dr. MacKenzie's masterpiece. Andy also spent some time with a legendary light-hitting first baseman as well! On the professional golf side of things, Rory McIlroy won the Irish Open on Sunday morning, making an eagle on the 72nd hole to send the event into a playoff. It was an emotional week for Rory, who brought his green jacket to show off to the home crowds at the K Club. Andy and Brendan try further contextualize Rory's rollercoaster of a 2025 following this latest win. In news, a podcast favorite throws out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game and Xander is the only eligible American Ryder Cupper skipping out on the Procore. We wrap things up with a Football Minute following disastrous Browns and Jets losses on Sunday, because how would an NFL season start otherwise?

Andy and Brendan return with a mega-episode to kick off a big weekend in sports! Andy is especially excited about his trip to the Walker Cup at Cypress Point and previews some players to watch in the 50th playing of the competition. The two discuss golf's resurgence in popularity, using Sergio Garcia's decision to skip the Irish Open to play with tennis star Carlos Alcaraz as a prime example. After a lengthy Walker Cup discussion and an all-time story from a trip to Cypress, Andy and Brendan dive in on the first round of the Irish Open. Rory McIlroy found himself on the clock on Thursday and was quite upset, but not as upset as Pablo Larrazabal was at Marco Penge missing out on the Ryder Cup team. Larrazabal's tweet is a perfect transition into some Ryder Cup commercialization news on a slow week in golf. PJ is appalled that there will be an outdoor takeover of Rockefeller Center for Ryder Cup weekend and Brendan shares details of some very expensive "at-home" kits for those watching on TV. Following the Ryder Cup, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will lead another set of teams at the "Golf Channel Games" in December. Andy is already excited for the potential of some takes surrounding any pro's performance in this made-for-TV exhibition. In a follow up from the legendary "Dunky" on Monday's episode, Andy shares another Walker Cup crime file - with this former player ending up absolved of any wrongdoing. To wrap things up, there's some brief NFL chatter before we send it to an old Flashback Friday segment from 2019 on the first-ever Walker Cup.

Andy and Brendan! get this First of the Month recording in under the gun, chatting late on Labor Day about the latest news in golf. They run through Monday's announcement of the European Ryder Cup team as Luke Donald finalized his roster with 11 of the 12 players from Rome. The two debate whether this is the best Team Europe has ever been and wonder who, if anyone, will be looked back on as the "random" member of this 2025 roster. The picks were made following the Omega Masters on the DP World Tour, won by pod favorite Thriston Lawrence after a year of struggles in the United States. In honor of this week's Walker Cup, Brendan shares quick flashlight about a player from the last time the event was held at Cypress Point. This flashlight has twists and turns and ends up with an extradition, if that's your thing. PJ quizzes Andy and Brendan on some SEC backup QBs or SEC golfers following Week 1 of college football and all three take some joy in North Carolina's loss to TCU. Things wrap up with a Champions Tour discussion after Ernie Els publicly challenged Tiger Woods to tee it up on the senior circuit in 2026.

With minimal golf news to chat about, this Friday episode covers a myriad of topics including geography, plane flight paths, and the Green Bay Packers. Andy is still recovering the Micah Parsons news and Brendan prompts PJ to explain his love for the Packers in 2025 just to make things worse. After an abridged Football Corner before college football kicks off this weekend, Andy and Brendan move on to golf and discuss Sunny Kim's latest win on the Minor League Golf Tour. Brendan is especially impressed by the record books on the Minor League Tour and suggests the PGA Tour take some notes. They also run through the field at next week's BMW PGA, where most of the potential European Ryder Cup team will tee it up alongside some LIV boys and... Corey Conners? Brian Rolapp is reportedly wondering how the PGA Tour can better market the mules, so Brendan and Andy come up with some ideas and players they'd like featured. Andy then audits the PGA Tour socials to figure out where some mule content could fit in. In other news, Kapalua is now shutting down in order to preserve the course due to a water shortage and The Sentry is officially in danger. There's plenty of Golf Advice to send you off to a holiday weekend, with listeners wondering when they can drink non-alcoholic beer and an Andy takedown of the handicap system in America. To wrap things up, Brendan, Andy, and PJ look ahead to Week 1 of college football and highlight some games to watch, with Andy making a shocking revelation.

This Wednesday episode was recorded live right after the interminable dog-and-pony show announcing the final six captain’s picks to fill the 2025 US Roster for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Andy and Brendan are giddy coming off that show and dissect the six picks, who got snubbed, and the agonizing choice by Keegan Bradley to just captain and not play even though he is clearly one of the best 12 US golfers this year. They also outline some points of concern on the roster, potential pairings, and a laundry list of amusements for the one-hour show with all six picks sitting on a zoom. They ponder the notion that the Americans are on “the back foot” and the Euros are tap-dancing in their heads. The role of Tiger Woods, if any, in these decisions is also bandied about. They close with schedule for the week and some news on the Masters and Open switching up their exemptions into their fields, a Rory-Scottie skills challenge coming to TV in December, and the Tour Championship’s monster ratings.

Tommy Fleetwood has finally won a PGA Tour event. Naturally, this episode starts elsewhere, as Andy and Brendan immediately jump into some quotes from Robert Garrigus and James Hahn. As told to Adam Schupak, these men are very unhappy about the PGA Tour's continued shift toward Signature Events. Garrigus challenged Jordan Spieth to a match for his "five sponsor exemptions" into Signature Events next year and Hahn wants Brian Rolapp to get his phone number from Jay Monahan. This sets Andy off, wondering which players should feature in the "Mule Derby." Things eventually get back to the Super Bowl of Golf, won by Tommy Fleetwood after four rounds of preferred lies. Tommy held off "Playoff P," Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley, and a half-hearted charge from FedEx Cup fourth-place-finisher Scottie Scheffler on Sunday. PJ questions whether this Tour Championship should even count as Tommy's first win, but Fleetwood is now Mr. 1,001 regardless. Andy and Brendan discuss the week at East Lake and give Tommy his flowers for landing the plane on Sunday afternoon. With the U.S. Ryder Cup team set to be announced on Wednesday, it seems like Keegan Bradley will select himself, leaving one of Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, or Sam Burns at home. There's a lengthy discussion about what Keegan should do, but everyone agrees things are trending toward him being a playing captain. The European Ryder Cup team also got a boost on Sunday, with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton teaming up to win the LIV Team Championship in a playoff. Elsewhere for Europe, Rasmus Hojgaard qualified on points, all but locking up their 12 players. Brendan is unsure of how Rasmus accumulated enough points to make the top six and questions whether all points lists should go away for the 2027 Ryder Cup. Stew Cink went back-to-back at the Ally Challenge, beating Ernie Els in a playoff in Michigan and Brooke Henderson won her national Open on the LPGA. Finally, President Trump declared that he's in favor of Keegan Bradley's playing captaincy and said he will be attending the Ryder Cup on Friday. Will he chop it up with Don Rea? That remains to be seen.

Andy and Brendan return to unpack Brian Rolapp's presser at East Lake ahead of the 2025 Tour Championship. Brendan is in especially high spirits following a strong start from Jacob Bridgeman who has found himself in contention to win the FedEx Cup after one round in Atlanta. The bulk of this episode is spent recapping Rolapp's press conference and discussing his first orders of business as CEO of the PGA Tour. It sounds like major changes are coming and Andy, Brendan, and PJ wonder where Rolapp and his newly formed committee will begin. Whether it's taking a piece of revenue from majors, various media rights deals, or shrinking the Tour even more, Rolapp seems eager to shake things up. The back half of this show previews the LIV Team Championship in Plymouth, Michigan. The event will be LIV's 50th tournament, leaving Andy and Brendan to wonder whether the league will make it to 100 events. Brendan runs through some all-time LIV stats, as this golf entity actually has accurate bookkeeping - a rarity these days! Jon Rahm has come down from Mt. Everest and made an interesting draft choice when choosing his first-round opponent, drawing comparisons to his beloved Arizona Diamondbacks. We will be back on Monday to break down golf's Super Bowl in full after a new FedEx Cup champion is crowned at East Lake on Sunday night.

At long last, Andy has returned from sea (and air!). He joins Brendan and is fired up off the jump, coming in hot to defend the city of Chicago after last week's "slander." Andy's back just in time for golf's Super Bowl - the Tour Championship at East Lake. Brendan shares some quotes from an Adam Schupak article about the event possibly heading out of Atlanta sometime soon, only to find that Tim Finchem might've promised the event would stay there "in perpetuity." The winner of this week's event, which is now being played without Starting Strokes, will win both the tournament and the FedEx Cup for the 2025 season, unlike Jon Rahm's LIV title that came with zero victories. Rahm compared his win-without-winning to climbing Mt. Everest, sending Brendan off the rails at the preposterousness of that comparison. After running through the Schedule for the Week, Andy and Brendan then get into the 2026 Schedule for the Year after the PGA Tour announced its dates for next season. Trump Doral will host a new Signature Event in May, making it nearly impossible for rookies and those without signature status to play between the Masters and the PGA Championship. In other news, Paul Azinger will receive the Payne Stewart Award this week and Andy has a few questions about how the committee chose him as the 2025 recipient. TGL has announced the start date for its second season, going head-to-head with an NFL Sunday in December. This leads into an NFL Minute to close out this episode - Andy loves what he's seeing from the Bears, Joe Flacco is starting for Brendan's Browns, and PJ is already apathetic about Justin Fields and the Jets.

With Andy lost in an airport (not at sea), Brendan! once again called upon PJ to step into the "big chair" to close out the second round of the 2025 FedEx Cup playoffs. After he was unable to make history as the defending FedEx Cup champ last week, Scottie Scheffler fought back with a vengeance at Caves Valley. Scottie chased down Big Shot Bob MacIntyre in the final pairing, putting an exclamation point on his latest win with a chip-in on the 17th hole. Brendan shares some insight from his weekend on the ground, covering pace-of-play and a proper showcase of the top 50 players on the PGA Tour. One of those 50, Ben Griffin, had a rocky start to his Sunday and shared post-round that it was due to an "overdose" on creatine, sending Brendan and PJ into a tizzy. Jon Rahm was not in Baltimore, but he was in Indianapolis for LIV's individual season finale. He took home overall champion honors after a Sunday 60, but lost the weekly event to Sebastian Muñoz in a playoff. Brendan and PJ discuss the absurdity of Rahm - who did not win all year - beating out Joaquin Niemann's five-win season for the 2025 LIV title. LIV relegation is also a hot topic as big names now have to play elsewhere next season. The "Lads Club" is in full effect for Ryder Cup Europe with both Harry Hall and Marco Penge having big weeks despite seemingly having no shot at the 12th spot on the European roster. On the American side, Keegan Bradley had a nice Sunday at Caves Valley, but questions remain whether he should pick himself to play at Bethpage following a t-4 from Sam Burns. PJ then celebrates a long-awaited Victory Monday after Dick Green wins the Champs Tour event in Calgary. Brendan wraps up a great week of golf at Olympic Club for the U.S. Am, and shares an unsubstantiated rumor about next year's PGA Tour schedule to end this episode.

As promised on Wednesday's episode, Kevin Van Valkenburg returns to discuss the 2021 BMW Championship at Caves Valley and the ensuing SGS episode that continues to live in infamy. Before KVV comes in, Brendan keeps PJ in the big chair to run through some press conference quotes and results from the first round of this year's BMW. Brendan unleashes a rant about the proliferation of the Little League World Series across ESPN properties, leading to a lengthy discussion about the state of youth sports and selling out to private equity. From there, early storylines from the BMW start to emerge including plenty about next month's Ryder Cup. Scottie Scheffler doesn't want to talk about the upcoming matches at Bethpage, but Rory and Keegan both had some thoughts about a playing captain in their pre-tournament pressers in Baltimore. Brendan and PJ also preview LIV Indianapolis, share some concern about Xander Schauffele in this lost season for him, and check in on match play at the U.S. Am. KVV then comes in to join Brendan as the two remember their time at the birth of "Patty Ice" against a villainous Bryson DeChambeau at the 2021 BMW Championship.