Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is an Irish Independent Podcast. Welcome. We are talking golf today because the second major of the men's season is upon us. We are in Philadelphia. We are just outside Philadelphia in Pennsylvania at the Aramoning Golf Club. Just the second time it's held a major in the men's. First time was 1962. Gary Player was the winner.
So it's been away from Broadway for a while and there's lots to talk about.
Chapter 2: What major golf event is being previewed in this episode?
We have Kevin Van Valkenburgh on the way, KVV, Director of Content at Friday Golf. So they're saying of this course, it's not a long one, but Big Defence is the greens. It's kind of typical parkland. We'll talk a bit about the course, I'm sure, with KVV. Often criticism of the USPGA that it lacks a certain... Maybe it'd be the big complaint. There are four Irish players there.
Rory McIlroy, of course. Shane Lowry is there. Shane, obviously very disappointed with Sunday in the Masters since the Cognizant has probably... been a bit touch disappointing, albeit played so well at the Masters for three days. So that's probably a bit harsh. So Shane Lowry is there. Tom McKibben is there. And as former champion, Padraig Carrington will be there as well.
So that's the Irish contingent. It will be on Sky Sports, who sponsor our golf coverage, the home of all four majors across 2026, including this week's PGA Championship. You can get Sky Sports and Sports Extra on Sky or you can stream them with now. So, yeah, lots to talk about. We're going to do so now with Kevin Van Valkenburgh, director of content at Friday Golf. And KVV is with us.
You are going to Philadelphia tomorrow. You're very welcome.
I am. Yes. The brotherly love city. I'm sure they'll accept a Baltimorean like me. If you're familiar with the East Coast dynamics, a little bit of a rivalry sometimes between Philly and Baltimore.
So, um, second major of the year, were you ready for it? Is this, is it you, you, you want this, uh, you'd like a little bit more time. Where are you?
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Chapter 3: How does the Aronimink Golf Club compare to other major venues?
I would love to see the PGA bumped back to August. I think particularly, uh, if the PGA is going to be played in America, and I think there's a good, uh, debate to be had that it should not be played in America, that, uh, that it's not to be a worldwide major.
But if they're going to, as long as they're going to keep it, the professional golfers association of America is going to keep PGA in America. It really limits the venues that you can be in, particularly in may this deal that the PGA has had with the PGA tour to, to sort of, you know, wedge it in between the U S open and, and the master's. I think it's been detrimental to the overall event.
And, you know, you just can't go very far north with some of these majors at this time of year, because then you're getting into really weather difficulties. So I still don't love it. In this time, it just feels like it comes so quick after the Masters, it'd be nice if we had sort of a little bit of a reset. I liked it when it was the
last one of the year but uh you know it is what it is and for a while anyway it's gonna gonna stay here i don't know anyone who likes the more compressed format yeah um it just seems like the season comes and goes so quickly i mean this is the most important part of the season why not savor it a little bit and have it extend throughout the entire summer what was the impetus for the change can you remember
Uh, I think that it was the, the players championship wanted to sort of have a little bit of its own, uh, spotlight because it used to be, uh, in this time period. And then it sort of moved, uh, moved up and, you know, there was just a lot of horse trading going on, uh, amongst the powers that be. And, uh,
i think that they thought that they were sort of you know an afterthought the pga of america the you know coming the very last major and in reality that was kind of like the you know could be a little bit of the crescendo of the season uh i basically the the pga tour thought that the playoffs would become kind of the new big thing uh in august september and the playoffs have really been an emotional dud uh in their 10 plus years of existence so you know
wishful thinking by the tour there. But they don't, you know, they don't have a major in the mix of all this stuff. And what they've always struggled to kind of understand is that we only truly care emotionally about the majors.
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Chapter 4: What are Rory McIlroy's current challenges and focus?
Yeah. I mean... The constant question with the USPGA is what's the identity? And it turns out the identity was it's the last major of the season. Now, that's not the sexiest identity of all time, and I'm sure they wanted a better one, but at least it was an identity. Whereas at the moment, it's just like, oh, yeah, the one in May after the Masters.
and on we sort of limp but um what can you do because even it's a it must be so galling for them that the masters champions dinner is like the biggest thing and then you know they we've got a champions dinner no one cares about our champions dinner has anyone ever mentioned the menu at the pga champions dinner ever no uh you could serve hot dogs at the champions dinner at the pga and no one would really complain no one would would blast you on social media for your
weird choices it just would be like accepted as fine um you know so with all the other majors there is like a i guess the identity is wrapped up in the venue to some extent or other or the the characteristics of the venue when i list out the likes of quail hollow and valhalla and okil and um beth page the notable exception being kiowa for me i think for a lot of people well i i
So this is just like to a lot of people just watching at home, and maybe it's different at the venues where you've been on so many occasions, but watching from home, these venues are borderline, in the memory anyway, indistinguishable from one another. They are big, beefy US parkland courses, trees to some extent or other, bunkers to some extent or other, but they don't really kind of pop.
What are they going for with the course choices, do you think?
I think that it's fair to say the number one requirement for their course choices is do they have enough sort of area to put up all the hospitality that they want?
uh and then that's sadly the rider cup uh mentality too uh is that basically hey can we get you know a ton of grandstands here can we get a ton of corporate tents can we sort of bring in all the people the sponsors that we want to wine and dine during this time and the golf almost becomes secondary to that and that's i think is what's
probably disappointing and comes through throughout the competition is, you know, a lot of these courses that they want are, they're sort of designed around the same time. They're, they're not really thought of as kind of some of the classic designers. Maybe, you know, it's a, it's a Donald Ross course originally, but Gil Hans, uh, sort of did the makeover of it.
You know, it's just not there's a lot of creative, inventive thought put into it. I think a lot of us, you know, the Friday would sort of love to see some of these courses that the US Open decided to basically discard, like Aaron Hills and Chambers Bay, that those would be really interesting PGA venues, particularly if you could move them back to August.
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Chapter 5: How do Scottie Scheffler's standards affect his performance?
You know, 2000s, particularly like the stretch from 2000 to 2006, 2007, where, you know, the expectation was, well, you're going to win a couple of majors a year, right? Like you, what's the, there's a crisis every time you haven't won in. four or five starts and tiger was winning at that point, like 30, 40% of his starts.
And so, you know, is Scotty's iron play like a little bit, you know, off a tick from where it was a year ago. Yes. But he's also a better putter this year than he's ever been. So I, I, I would be really surprised if he wasn't in contention this week. And so we might finally get, you know, a real clash between him and Rory, which would be great. I think Rory's,
really focused coming off of like a second masters. This is the majors are all that matters to me at this point. And, you know, he showed a little bit of form on Sunday at coil. And so it's kind of a nice moment where the two of them are, are playing well, having just come off of playing well at the masters.
And, you know, it could be really could make up for kind of a meh venue by being a really good showdown. And that's kind of often what we'll remember is not the course, but who was playing it. Yeah, for sure.
Um, He's such a kind of, he's the most interesting, boring character of all time, Scotty Scheffler. Like even in recent weeks, he's asked about Liv and he's like, I don't know, man, I just got off the golf course. And, you know, kind of spiky enough. But then sort of laughs at the end, saves it maybe at the death.
And then, you know, even at the Masters, I can understand maybe his irritation, but he had that amazing round and was asked like, You know, where could it have been even better? Because, you know, he had so many chances and he was like, awful question. Awful. Next question. So I don't know. Your read on where he is struggling with his game, like emotionally as a person?
Yeah, I think he's just... he's a little bit frustrated. I think that he cannot put four really great rounds together, that there's these little bit of, you know, for a while it was like early starts that he would just get off to kind of a bad start. He's such a competitive psycho. He kind of hides it well, but he is a like,
Michael Jordan type lunatic when it comes to wanting to compete and wanting to beat you. And yet he's also like a pretty polite person. And so those two things are in conflict when he sits down in front of the media. And I think that there's a part of him that's wants to sort of say like, do you realize like how easy this is for me and how like hard it is for everyone else?
Like you don't, do you don't get that? Like what, what are you watching? I'm the only person who, for whom these standards apply to about like, oh, you shot 65. Why wasn't it better? And so I think when you're that talented, there are times when... like it's really, he's frustrated with himself.
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Chapter 6: What impact does Jon Rahm's LIV tour participation have on his game?
Yeah. He was asked about his preparation for the USPGA. And he said initially with a straight face, yeah, I lived up there for a week. And then said, no, I just flew up once.
But, you know, it's funny that he is like that engaged with, you know, golf, Twitter or whatever, that he he's willing to kind of poke fun at the. the stupidity of the argument that was being floated around that he had somehow an unfair advantage.
I swear he got Stephen A. Smith as he just suddenly looked around somewhere. Skip, let's get on the case.
I'm not one of these people who's a gatekeeper that feel like non-golf people shouldn't talk about golf, but that's a good example of like, hey, maybe educate yourself before you, uh, go on to millions of people about something.
Asterix beside it, you know, I mean, he cheated his way to the masters. Um, you sat down with him for a great interview on behalf of the Friday with Rory in advance of the masters. Um, And, you know, it was so interesting on lots of things. Like the line which stuck with me as a kind of, I never thought about him that way.
That kind of explains a lot was when he likened himself to his father's personality, that he's just a natural optimist. And I was like, oh, that makes so much sense of that. You know, the last 15 years had a very different... tilt to them suddenly. I thought that was, that really tallied.
And I don't know why I didn't consider Rory a natural optimist all these years, because he is a kind of bouncy, cheerful guy. But yeah, it was really interesting. What did you take away from the chat with him?
Yeah, I think, you know, hopefully it was sort of a kind of an example of like how you build a rapport with someone over time and then they're comfortable, you know, thinking about big themes with you. I mean, he and I have known each other now for you know, seven, eight years of you know, of trust of, he doesn't think that I'm out to sort of like burn him somehow.
And so when I. It's going to be so sweet when you do though, isn't it? When you, when you just in the next year or two, when you do it. Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, is that I've, I approach things sort of from a fair perspective and we, we both have daughters. And so we've talked about that over time.
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Chapter 7: How do the PGA Tour and LIV Golf compare in terms of player experience?
Like I always think back to Royal Portrush last year where he was being interviewed on Sky TV as Scotty was, you know, Rory had finished his reign on the Sunday and Scotty was in the midst of the coronation of the back nine. And McElroy called Scotty inevitable. said Scotty's just inevitable at the moment, you know, when he's like this.
So I wonder, you know, when Rory's at his best, when Scotty's at his best, ideally, hopefully that happens this summer, how each responds to that moment is going to be fascinating. I mean, I guess they both have to be at their best first. Scotty needs to start well, which he hasn't been doing of late. And, you know, you forget Rory won the Masters with a kind of sorcery, you know, from the trees.
Like, we'll be watching both very closely, I think, front nine more so than other majors.
Yeah, I think their skill sets are a little different, right? Rory's an incredible driver and a very hot, streaky player. And, you know, Scotty is someone who is the smartest, most disciplined golfer. Some people would argue, like, ever. He gets as much satisfaction out of hitting it to 30 feet than he would if he pulled an iron and hit it to a foot.
He's almost kind of annoyed at that because he knows that, you know, I would rather... have the discipline to do the right play than to do the lucky play and you know they they faced off at the rider cup uh but it wasn't a particularly great match they were both kind of exhausted and so i think the two of them are both competitive enough that they would enjoy
i think kind of facing off in some ways in a way that would probably be better for rory than like taking a six-stroke lead into the last round because rory's at his best when he is forced to really lock in with someone who is also playing great and just it's almost kind of rory's like i watch me do this like i watch me hit this incredible uh iron shot into 12 at augusta watch me sort of rope one around the corner here
And, you know, I think that playing with Scotty would sort of raise the bar of, for him as opposed to like, Oh man, can I hang on to this? I, I, I don't know. I, maybe I'll just start playing safe again. Like I, you know, I'll play the aim for the middle of greens. It really almost kind of needs someone to narrow his focus in that way. And I think Scotty would do that.
Yeah, for sure. Curious for thoughts on that. Master's win last month. And this is the premise, which you can agree or disagree with. It was amazing. not least given the drama. I mean, it was a very dramatic win in the end. But once he got onto the 18th green eventually safely, it was kind of striking how businesslike it felt in comparison with 2025.
Yes, like the fallout, the walk from the 18th to the clubhouse, you know, and we all understand why. First, after the famine versus... And, you know, two in a row, but even other players and the emotion and the hugs like Shane Lowry was understandably more disappointed for himself, whereas first year is huge bear hug. It's everyone.
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