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Chapter 1: What are the top storylines for the U.S. Open this week?
Be the right club. Be the right club today.
Johnny, that's better than most. How about him? That is better than most.
Better than most!
Expect anything different? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the No Laying Up Live Show, presented as always by our friends at Titleist. We have made it to U.S. Open week. Solly here, joined, going clockwise by Mr. Neil Schuster. Hello, Neil. Hola, good to be here. The only remaining member of the Strapped Brethren after the run, Neil, has been on. Big Randy is here. Hello, Mr. Big.
Hello, hello, hello. Top 100 Randy, I believe is his proper title. DJ Pi is here. Hello, DJ.
Hello, guys. Great, great week on tap. Neil, I'm glad to see Mock Neck Monday is out in full force. I see you, man. I appreciate that.
We had a good run. Good run this year on Mock Neck Monday. And we are five wide as Mr. TC is here as well. Hello, TC.
ola toros guys we have a lot to cover we are going to cover a couple rounds of our top storylines like we usually do on major championship previews uh in that of course we're going to talk some scotty we're going to talk shinnecock we're going to talk rory set up fleetwood fits all kinds of stuff uh up top we're going to cover a couple news items how to watch where to watch uh what we've learned so far in the week not a lot so far it's very early in the week uh other
the wind is absolutely whipping we are going to draft rosters and teams uh for this week winner just gets a round of applause on sunday night fifth place loser has has some stakes involved uh as well uh we're gonna dj's got a little game cooked up for us as well we have a
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Chapter 2: How does Shinnecock Hills GC challenge players differently?
I continue to not be very worried about Scotty. You mentioned his windless drought. He still plays good golf, even when he's not playing good golf for himself, if that makes sense. And I think this is a venue that... This is a proper U.S. Open venue. I think it stands apart even from some of the other U.S. Open venues. So I think it's...
it works if scotty can rise to the moment at shinnecock i think that's a great uh that's a great historical pairing as far as scotty in the wind scotty's battle against the wind at merefield does a constant wind does he need a 16th club in teddy he has a 16th club it just you know it hasn't been cooperating with him it looked like at least going back to to memorial but
I don't know, man. I go back to it's kind of like those those tests where it's like, oh, everybody's going to miss greens this week. But Scott, he's the best chipper. It's kind of one of those where it's like you got to control your spin. And Scotty seemingly is. I don't know if he's the best. I know Rory's gotten a lot better in this regard as well.
Xander players like that are have become much more shot makers. But I still think. When you start stacking up the six, seven, eight, nine skills, the sit and reach, Neil, that you were shouting out in the preview as well, when it becomes the academic decathlon, Scotty's the best at the 10 cumulative things is where I net out.
At his best, he is, though. That's what kind of makes this a little bit more interesting is like, well, is he the best at that right now? I don't think we can definitively say that as much as we could at this time around this time last year. You know, it is. And I'm so torn on this with Shinnecock and what we're about to get, I think, in terms of course, set up and wind and everything of like.
It's going to be an incredible test. It's going to be an absolute, like, final exam-worthy, you know, PhD-level test. At the same time, it feels like something really random might happen with the wind as strong as it is.
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Chapter 3: Which players should we keep an eye on during the tournament?
And so I don't know. I could see the wind putting Scottie in a complete blender, and I could see him winning by six shots because he's just clearly the best with everything you just said.
Which I think is what makes it so captivating, right? I think that's why it is by far the, you know, the, the grand slam stuff is, has, I think almost snuck up on us because it's happened so fast. Whereas you have the other guys, when you, when you look at who's been going forward, it's like, I'll fill at the USO.
It's like, well, he's, I mean, he's probably not going to win, you know, but so you kind of like let yourself, uh, he's probably not going to win this week for sure. But you let yourself kind of, you know, yeah, that story's going on, but it's not the main thing. Spieth at the PGA, I feel like we always talk ourselves into, oh, this is the number one story.
And even myself included, I don't think anybody's coming in being like, this is the time. We are for sure going to knock this one off, you know? And so I just think other than Rory... This is obviously the first time we've had a chance that somebody could knock that off who fits the bill, who can actually knock all that stuff off.
But to your point, Sully, it's like he got eviscerated by Pinehurst. I think that's a... I know it's not nearly like a, it doesn't look like the same golf course, but it's a similar mental exercise, I feel like, with some of the weird breaks and bad breaks and can you control your spin type of stuff. And he looked like a different player that week.
So, yeah, it's captivating because it seems like it should happen, but it also wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't. You know, he could wake up on either side of the bed, which is great. Sign me up. We got a question.
Yeah.
We've got a question from Push Draws. Is this the week where Scotty and Ted finally have some fisticuffs? I love this stuff from Memorial. Good partnership, heat of the moment, getting after his guy for a bad number. Bad win read, not bad number. Win read, but that brings up a point. It is a question of when there are a lot of variables ā that's when Scottie's frustration seems to bubble up.
Great 15th club, but does it play well in the wind, Deej? That's what we want to know.
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Chapter 4: What strategies are essential for success at Shinnecock?
Reach! I say that. Ah, Neil, stick with me here. I think you might come around on this. What if I told you with a top 10 this week, Xander Shoffley would have as many career U.S. Open top 10s as Tiger Woods? That's how good Xander has been in the U S open. He has made nine starts in this championship in his career. His worst finish is a tie for 14 in 2022 at the country club.
He has, uh, seven top tens in nine starts, uh, It goes back to 2017 at Aaron Hills was his first U.S. Open. So he has played Shinnecock back in 2018. He finished in a tie for six. I think that the fascinating question with Zander, if you look at his results, I mean, I think Jack Nicklaus is the only person I could find.
And Ben Hogan, too, were the two guys I could find with longer runs at the U.S. Open of top 14 or better. Zander, obviously, being nine years. Got a historic Blandy going on. I think Jack had a 12-year run, and then Hogan had something ridiculous. But he missed some starts in there. Anyway... The question with Xander is, is he bound to win a couple of these? Is that what this is showing us?
Or does he just have an extremely high floor? You'll notice he hasn't... His best finish, I believe, is a tie for third there. He hasn't had any runner-ups. He hasn't really had the close, close call even at the U.S. Open. And so I'm not sure if it's a game that's just...
really well suited to be around even par and at difficult championships you know that that's usually going to net you a top 10 or is this like a flashing light of like yo this guy is going to win a u.s open possibly multiple u.s opens i don't know the answer to that question but i'm very fascinated and he is certainly somebody i am looking towards this week uh to be in the mix
it's so funny you phrase this as you know xander the forgotten man here question mark in the agenda i think i've done the exact same speech you just gave for xander in a us open preview before and i forgot all about that i honestly forgot about it i feel like i've done it at the masters like you could have thrown that up that that graphic of results and i would just be like which tournament this i'd be oh that's at augusta you know like he's just been in the top 14 for the last nine years
I think that speaks to he just he just doesn't ever shoot himself out of golf tournaments. It feels like, you know, he doesn't ever he doesn't miss cuts. He doesn't do anything crazy, which when you get into these just grindy, grindy, grindy U.S. opens, he just I don't know. He might be the true Aquaman, Neil. He just he just he just kind of breaks it down and rises.
He has the shorter odds than I would have thought. He just moved, actually. He is plus 1,800, which is fourth lowest on the board. You know, better odds than or shorter odds than Cameron Young, who I think, you know, at this time a month ago was the hot guy in the streets rising up odds boards.
Remember, it seemed like he was never going to lose another golf turn. Yeah. You got to be careful with some of this preserve the moment stuff.
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Chapter 5: How does the weather impact play at the U.S. Open?
These are your words.
I also can't get out of my head.
You're comparing Xander to Tommy. That's a bit of a reach, TC. It's a bad faith.
No, I wasn't doing anything of the sort. Uh, I was also, I was reading an interview with Lloyd Blankfein last night and I can't get out of my head that Lloyd Blankfein looks like bald Xander. It's, it's crazy.
Follow that one up.
Do your own research on that one. What do you think that means for his chances this week, D.C.? I don't know. I'm sure Lloyd has a place out in the Hamptons. Maybe he's staying there. I know Tommy's probably staying with Stephen Schwartzman at his big compound out there.
No, he's definitely dining at Jonathan Gray's restaurant out there. I think it's in Sag Harbor. Just hanging out with all the Blackstone folks, D.C. It's a really good shout, TC. That's really good. I got a picture up here of Lloyd Blankfein. That's a really good call out, TC.
Uncanny.
It's incredible. I mean, he's got that going for him, and he's finished top 10 of the last three majors, four majors. I mean, there you go.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of wider fairways for scoring this year?
But it's just kind of cratered since then. So you can make the argument that, Hey, wide fairways. We've talked about it on the preview pod. Um, This could be a good fit for someone that's a little squirrely off the tee, and the rest of his game is really tight. But, I mean, Sully, we've all been seeing the little clips coming out of Shinnecock. The rough looks really thick.
So if you're too squirrely, that could be a massive issue this week. So other than the driving accuracy, though, I just won the Masters. It's hard to be like, oh, man, Rory. I feel like he's kind of under the radar right now. Do you think that's a stretch? I don't know. You tell me. Right. A little stretch, but it is like to your point, I think it. All right.
We are now nitpicking a career grand slam winner and a six time major winner. Let me just qualify that by also saying like that U.S. Open win was the most like PGA Tour event the U.S. Open has ever been. Like you ever watch highlights and that balls are backspinning everywhere like it was. a point and shoot Rory McIlroy air aerial display.
And I honestly believe like his showings at LACC and Pinehurst, like do more for me in terms of like passing really good tests of golf, you know, say what you want about LACC and the vibe out there. Then like the congressional one does like finishing runner up in those is like, takes a better level of golf. Which is why I led with the top tens, right? I mean, he had his performance.
He had that weird stretch. He missed three cuts in a row, 2016 to 2018. Otherwise, then 2019 is T9, T8, T7, T5, second, second, and then T19 last year. But the trend is like, man, we'll talk about...
sniffing around the keister i know uh god it just got better and better there for for six years straight so um yeah it's been 15 years since he won that u.s open i gotta i gotta think he's hungry for another one with your connection though though with that is like all right the three he missed in a row one of those was oakmont and like the course that broke that good streak he had was oakmont last year and one of those miscuts again was 2018 at shinnecock like i well he shot 80 in the first round followed out with a 70 80 in the first round's not good okay uh
That was a different Rory. And that was a totally different player. It is. But it's hard to picture miscut to victory. It's like the jump. And again, I know it's been eight years and practically everything has changed. But it would just be a massive leap. But you're right that I'm extremely curious how that's going to go. T.C. ?
Very high ball hitter. High apex.
Don't worry about that a little bit. He can.
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Chapter 7: Who are the standout amateurs to watch at the U.S. Open?
Give your strongest soldiers your strongest battle. Get them out there in the afternoon. Tee them off on 10, midday on Thursday.
Mornings, no cakewalk either. I mean, 9.40 in the morning, 17 sustained gusts at 28, gusting over 30 miles an hour by 10 a.m. And, like, if anybody saw any videos from out there today, I mean, Rory had his hat off because the wind was blowing so strong. The projected wind today was more out of the north, but it was 14 miles an hour with gusts up to 21.
Like, we are talking, like, almost double a super windy day. The flags were absolutely whipping and everything that was posted today, like... It's enough to get extremely excited, but it's enough to be a little concerned with how they're going to adjust for that. And they're going to play it safe on Thursday, Friday.
First round tomorrow, second round Wednesday, third round Thursday. That's what I'm talking about.
Maybe a 36-hole day Thursday, TC. Let's throw it back to the way we used to do it. Couldn't agree more. The good news is there is no light wind days. There are no days when it's projected in the single digits. And even a 10, 15 mile an hour wind out there blows hard because there's no trees to stop it. So we're going to get wind.
Let's see if the hammer has the bottle. Hammers.
I really liked that from the preview, Kevin Hammer and John Bodenhammer teaming up, dueling hammers. I think we need this. I need it, TC. I think it's going to be an all-time week for the featured group coverage, too. I just want to lock in with one group and just watch them ebb and flow, watch them go to battle for hours.
No quad box, Deej. We're renouncing the quad box. Exactly.
I need to go on a journey with one group.
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Chapter 8: What predictions can we make for the final leaderboard?
You're one of the loots. You got to know we're talking to you. We're talking to you. Yeah. Yeah, just say my name. I'll get my attention. I'll probably respond. So... All right. I'm going to slow things down here. Four quarters offense here. We're going to finally dive into Shinnecock.
We are going to talk about the thing that's got me the most excited, which is the ultimate test that Shinnecock provides. I got a little data, a little info here to support some of this, but there will be no confusion this week of what are these guys actually like in a golf course? What do they want to see?
I, a lot of it's going to depend on setup in terms of how this all plays out, but as it is, as it is designed and laid out, I think Shinnecock is as close as we can get to the best possible test of golf that we have in this country. You heard Jeff Hall say that, uh, on our preview last week as well. I tend to agree.
I have a different appreciation for this golf course, uh, eight years later than I did at the time. Um, I think it is the best blend of ā we have sandy soil, which is going to lead to firm conditions, which gets me excited. They've opened up that landscape over the last decade to the point where the wind absolutely whips through there.
Seeing it on a really windy day like the one me and Neil were at gave me another level of appreciation for it because we get to the part where they've widened the fairways or set another way like they ā when Coren Crenshaw ā restored this course. They widened the fairways to an average length of 48 yards, but at the 2018 US Open, they freaked out right before it.
They pinched in a bunch of the fairways, 10 of the fairways. They narrowed them down to an average of 41 yards. This time around, Jeff Hall said they are letting the cock be the cock and they are playing it to the true width, which I think in a different world, you know, can can cause some alarm bells to say, like, is this going to be too easy? Is it going to be a bomber's paradise?
But there's a bunch of information out there that supports why it likely will not be a bomber's paradise. Now. It's also been pointed out that the last go-around at this golf course, a lot of the best, longest drivers of the ball had really bad putting weeks.
But there's also something to be said for how Shinnecock plays, and this graphic here on the screen is from DataGolf, how it plays compared to a normal U.S. Open that's from 2017 onward, where we actually have a lot more uh, data on these. It is wider fairways, much wider fairways and wider fairways than we see on the PGA tour. But look at the missed fairway penalty in 2018 for Shinnecock.
It's a half shot on the PGA tour on a week to week basis. It's a 0.36. That's a massive difference at aeronomic, which was, uh, you know, part of the reason we, uh, some of us had issue with that setup was that penalty was even less than an average PGA tour stop. So when you get really wide fairways, uh,
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