The Shotgun Start The Fried Egg

It is Victory Monday for Brendan and his Cavs, but there is not much else to rejoice about in this episode. Andy is home from Bandon and he has some thoughts on his trip there. Then they get to just a tough, tough scene for the PGA Tour product in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at Craig Ranch. They are both down and despondent about it, but congratulatory to Taylor Pendrith, who is likely heading back to the Presidents Cup. There are some more harsh words for the host course. They wonder about any LIV momentum especially given what appears to be continued board gridlock. They discuss Brooks Koepka’s win there, a solid leaderboard, and the comments from Greg Norman that they might buy some golf courses. In news, they discuss Tiger’s exemption to Pinehurst. He will apparently be there but it’s still unclear who will be the NBC lead analyst, which prompts further discussion with that network apparently putting in a bid to spend on NBA rights. Alejandro Tosti’s visit to Six Flags is also covered, and there’s excitement about his potential inclusion in the Summer Olympics.

This is an episode that is almost entirely about nothing. But it’s a fun Fri Day show, that begins with an amusing story from Andy about someone needing an “introduction caddie” in the bar at Bandon Dunes. Then they get to the debut of Sun Day Red products, which prompts questions about expensive ball markers and the word “iconic.” They get to more scuttlebutt about the internal battles for PGA Tour board seats, which continues to appear dysfunctional and exhausting. This week's Cutthroat Corner nominee is revealed for THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, where there were some options. They discover the Tour is leveraging the immense power of AI for good, namely creating gambling content on ho-hum fringe pros. The return of Maxfli is also hailed. They close it with some SGS Golf Advice that leads to a lengthy digression on ending the hoopla, celebration, and discussion around holes-in-one.

Andy and Brendan dial it up for this first of the month Wednesday episode with movements from the PGA Pro National down in Frisco marking the return of Blockie Season. They offer up a potential new inhabitant of the Uresti Zone as well before getting to the big news that LIV’s finale solo championship is headed to Bolingbrook, site of a rough AJGA experience for Andy in Illinois. How in the world does this happen? It is unserious. Also unserious is the title of this week’s PGA Tour event. In further news on underwhelming venue choices, they also discuss some rumors from the ground at TPC Craig T. Nelson Ranch. Then they get to the reports around the delay of Rory’s return to the PGA Tour PAC and what it says about the current divide and Tour bungling over the past year. They also discuss the jump in ratings for the Zurich. Schedule for the week tries to hone in on who best fits the TPC Summerlin model and the high season for college golf.

Shane Bacon joins Andy with Brendan in the air to an undisclosed location or ducking Russ Cochran's near cinderella performance at the Zurich Classic. Shane and Andy discuss if Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry's victory at the Zurich Classic and what it could mean for the rest of 2024. Cochran's near made cut is broached and a deeper discussion of which podcasters the 65 year old could beat is opened up. Finally the pair close with a discussion on LIV Adelaide, the big crowds and seemingly genuine team competition the event earned. They also discussed a bunch of other stuff both related and unrelated to golf.

Andy and Brendan close out a fun week with the annual SGS tradition for the Zurich Classic, the Walk-Up Music Guessing Game. But first, there is joy and optimism about a new era of Bears football with the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft coming to town. There’s less joy about a proposed stadium renovation. Then it’s on to golf, or something like golf with “Conspiracy Theory Friday” about the lack of publicly available data and shot tracking information this week. Then they get to the news of the player equity distribution amounts that were reported earlier this week. What does it mean and does anyone even know? The Walk-Up Music Game throws Brendan for a loop on several occasions, but he does make contact on a few. They close with the Bagel Boys Zone and a quick chat about LIV Adelaide before one Friday Advice email on a real, actual Chip Monk.

Andy and Brendan are absolutely giddy for this Wednesday episode and they don’t take long diving into some of the strange and amusing teams slated for the Zurich Classic, the annual stop in New Orleans. There’s also a sudden and lengthy digression on the announcement of the Jupiter Links team via social media video, which brings its own set of questions. Then they get back to the PGA Tour event, and another edition of Cutthroat Corner, which has been re-branded to Cochran Corner for this week. They dive into the great longevity of Russ Cochran’s career, which continues with a start in the Zurich. This leads to a #FBF style segment on something called the Tournament Players Series, where Cochran won twice in the early ‘80s. They rip through schedule for the week, talk about the Bears draft anticipation this week, and then close out news with reports of Rory McIlroy returning to the PGA Tour board.