The Shotgun Start

Andy and Brendan close out the week with a lengthy discussion on Shadow Creek after the first round of the CJ Cup. But first, Brendan issues an apology on some course record confusion and Andy argues that course records should no longer exist, as a rule. There’s also one more amusing sock story from a prominent American club. Andy is also forced to reckon with his hero, Lee Westwood, shilling for the Fake St. Andrews that was the target of so much ire on Wednesday. On the subject of Shadow Creek, the two discuss their misgivings about how it’s portrayed this week as some sort of aspirational marvel or treasure. There is less criticism for the course itself as opposed to the portrayal and the caution we should all proceed with when consuming the CJ Cup. They also discuss how it was a big day for provisionals, the stimpmeter, and overseed. News hits on reports of The Match III before they wrap with Masters facts of the day on the origins of rope lines at golf tournaments and a singing, dancing champion.

It’s a quick whiparound Monday episode, which begins with Andy lamenting his double-loss weekend and Brendan disgusted with the latest Browns debacle. Then they get to the main event, the Chuck Cup, and what it says about the Champs Tour that Steven Alker and a couple other select few just live at the top of these leaderboards every week. At the Houston Open, they praise the arrival of Tony Finau to the Swedish Pancake club, and also Mark Hubbard’s curious DQ for knowingly putting a 15th club in his bag. On the LPGA, they discuss the return of Nelly Korda to No. 1 with her victory at the Blueberry Farm, and yet another runner-up for Lexi. News hits on a Mon Q report on a very strange “special exemption” for Alex Fitzpatrick into KFT Q School final stage, and what it means for larger Tour battles and visibility. News also discusses Pat Perez’s weird podcast appearance where he said he hates Phil Mickelson for an unforgivable mistake.

Andy and Brendan start this Wednesday episode by wishing for the return of landline phones as society's primary communication method after some emails received earlier this week. In a light week for pro golf, two preview the Genesis Invitational, being played at Torrey Pines South instead of Riviera this year. They discuss their mixed feelings toward this event following the change in venue due to natural disaster and Tiger's WD after his mother died. Nonetheless, hammers are thrown on this week's fire locks as golf's preeminent gambling podcast looks to get back on the board with a win at Torrey. PJ takes a big swing with his pick for the week and apologizes for Kenny Gainwell's total yards prop loss, provoking some discussion about Sunday's game. Andy and Brendan then note the lack of TGL matches this week and wonder whether Tiger chose to have the league take a week off during his hosted event. Without a DP World Tour or LPGA event this week, the Champions Tour gets second billing ahead of the Chubb Classic. Andy shares some on-the-ground insight from Tiburon before looking ahead to the upcoming Cologuard Classic. LIV moves from Riyadh to Adelaide this week for their premier event, complete with the Watering Hole making its return. Brendan shares that the league will make its FOX debut on Saturday night at 11 pm ET due to the time change from Australia. Naturally, some ratings talk comes next with numbers from both LIV Riyadh's final round and Thomas Detry's Sunday at the WM released on Tuesday. Things wrap up with a news segment covering a reported update in PGA Tour-PIF negotiations and Dustin Johnson's split with TaylorMade as his equipment sponsor.

Love is not in the air for this Valentine’s Friday edition of the Shotgun Start. The massive movements in the foundations of golf rumbling this week are given a full account, with a few inside bits and some speculating on how things may look in the future. But first we begin with some instant thoughts from Riviera, notably the aesthetic beauty of watching Tiger execute on the front nine and the alarming quotes from Brooks Koepka that his knee may never be 100 percent again. Then we get to the drama portion, focusing first on the Premier Golf League concept, which continues to be a hot topic in LA with all the prominent players on scene. Are the Saudis now hellbent on this happening? Will it all come down to Tiger? Then comes the report that the PGA Tour will now be taking over the production of its broadcast, feeding those assets then to the network for their presentation. Will this be a State Run Media sham or perhaps actually improve the product? And is there a separate larger, long-term play with this change? Lastly, we discuss the rather significant matter (that was largely ignored by golf media) of the world No. 1 player, Rory McIlroy, coming right out and saying he’s all for bifurcation and contrast that with Bryson’s thoughts on the issue. We close with a Flashback Friday segment that leads us into a potentially unanswerable question: Who has had the better career -- Sergio or Adam Scott?

What was thought to be a normal Wednesday episode starts with breaking news, as Davante Adams was traded to the New York Jets early Tuesday morning. The show begins with Producer PJ's live reaction to the deal, coming on the heels of yet another pathetic Jets loss on Monday night. Brendan then debuts a golf player comparison for Yankees ace Gerrit Cole as he prepares for Game 2 of the ALCS. The golf talk kicks off from there, as Andy and Brendan are fired up about ticket prices for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. They express frustration about how the exorbitant prices are keeping average fans away and how the PGA of America, who claims to be committed to "growing the game," could do something like this. The two also detail how the fan experience at the Ryder Cup is not great to begin with, even further confirming that the ticket prices are out of hand. Andy compares the $1,500 it would cost for two to attend a competition day to a night at the Ritz Carlton outside of Central Park. Brendan then notes some "notable alumni" from each school competing at the St Andrews Collegiate this week, leading to a discussion about whether someone has to graduate in order to be called an alum. Andy and Brendan touch on the rest of the golf schedule for this week, previewing the Shriners Children's Open, BMW Ladies Championship, and Andalucia Masters, where Jon Rahm is leading DPWT coverage in his Legion XIII gear. To wrap things up, Andy, Brendan, and PJ make their long-awaited picks for the Dominion Energy Charity Classic as the Schwab Cup Playoffs begin on the Champs Tour.