Talk Birdie To Me

Well we called it. Scottie monstered the field in The Open Championship.

Okay, we didn't call it, in fact our Betr multi was a bust on every leg....we will make formal apologies at some point on today's podcast, you deserve nothing less.

But.....Scottie was magnificent, and controlled the tournament, certainly over the weekend, and we start today with Nick and Mark discussing some of the most impressive parts of Scottie's performance: his putting, his recovery from poor shots, his composure. Exceptional. Nick says the player interviews post the tournament and prior to the final day reminded him of when he was playing and Tiger dominated, in that everyone felt that they were playing for second place, Scottie was that good.

Then Mark makes a big call on Scottie and how many tournaments he will win, Mark doesn't believe he will win over 10 majors in his career, as he feels that his footwork will limit him at some point. Nick disagrees, and says Scottie has plenty of years left and will get to double figures.

Nick talks about playing with Harris English who he said was exceptional then, and now, and highlights what the weakness in Harris' game was when he played with him. Mark raises the Ryder Cup and says that surely Chris Gotterup is a certainty to be picked now, Nick says no.

We discuss the Aussies. A poor tournament overall, with Marc Leishman the only one to make the cut, ultimately finishing T52. Mark raises Cam Smith, and his consistent poor performances in the majors, and says that whilst LIV has been great for Bryson's game for example, it has not been good for Cams, and he just has to start hitting fairways. Nick comments that Brysons performance at the weekend was very strong after a terrible first day, and Mark predicts that we will see Rahm have a 'cracking' 2026 season and explains why.

Both Nick and Mark loved how Royal Portrush looked, Mark is desperate to play it. Nick loved the drone shots. And we discuss how on the hardest hole on the course, Scottie birdied Calamity 3 days of the 4....Mark would like a plaque to be placed there to commemorate it.

Then we apologise for our Betr multi, although Nick notes one leg would have come off were it not for Shane Lowry's 2-shot penalty, Mark wasn't aware of it, so we play the audio and discuss. But one person does win, wolfpacker Narelle Brunotte was drawn as our winner - she had a punt on our Betr multi and whilst the multi was a dismal failure, Narelle has won 250 bucks to spend at the Golf Clearance Outlet...congrats Narelle!

Mark lists his Top 5 courses in Ireland that he'd like to play, has he missed any obvious ones?

As you'd expect, the PING global results today have a big focus on The Open Championship, although we do digress for a moment with a video that contained an unusual sound.....we play the audio, and if you're watching on YouTube you will see the Shepmates take on it....very funny. During PING globals, Nick tells a great story that has come out of an Australasian Q-School in the US at the weekend.

Feedback - lots of comments on last weeks Top 100 World Golf Course List with Jasper from the Top100 organisation, and plenty of comments - some in support, and some not - on LIV seeking OWGR points.

Nick's masterclass today is inspired by Scottie Scheffler and looks at why aiming for the middle of the green is more effective than aiming for the pin.

A fun pod today, and a feedback one to come later this week which we're looking forward to!

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