Live from Denver: Eric Cole Interview + FedEx St. Jude Recap

Intro [Music] Smiley caufman for 61 wow I'm Smiley Coffman and this is the Smiley Show welcome back to another special edition of the Smiley Show second week in a row on the road at the FedEx Cup playoffs Smiley we opened last week we were just right at the 18th green at TPC South when we were saying you know this might be our best set of the year I I think I think we got some competition here at the driving range of Castle Pines I think it's we're getting lucky that we haven't had just a scorching Monday preview recap episode I mean it was what 78 80 degrees on Monday at in Memphis and today it's like a crisp 78 80° with dry air so honestly after the heat that that the players and and some of the on course reporters experienced last week tell you what it sure is nice just to have a little bit more of the uh cooler air here in Denver so excited to get going The Strokes gain sweat down considerable amount I uh there there were a lot of uh my laundry bag was interesting arriving home from Memphis last week a lot of salt lot of salt in there that's right you Denny McCarthy got deep into salt on on Friday's that's a conversation for another day for sure yes well it as mentioned you know last Live from the Castle Pines driving range week coming off of FedEx uh St Jude championship ship you were there on the ground for NBC for Golf Channel uh and we are going to get to a preview of this week the BMW Championship here Castle Pines and all the story lines there we're going to be joined a little bit by Eric Cole who played his way in to the top 50 obviously making it to this week but in addition to that 2025 signature event so a lot to get to and of course we're going to bring you a Wednesday show again on site here at Castle Pines but worth of course first breaking down all the action last week in Memphis and boy there was a of it at the top of leaderboard but also around that top 50 cut line which I mean let's start a big picture before that I I find it so compelling to have action throughout the day right like where you can turn the broadcast on you know early into the window and still be watching guys and seeing movement and he's in now he's out I mean we we went we're going to go through all that with Eric Cole in a little bit but that to me is I find it so compelling well I mean we're only talking about 50 spots right I mean we're talking about the best players in the world for only 50 available spots to be playing this week at the BMW it sets up your whole year when you make uh the BMW Championship you get in all the eight Signature Events and I think from a a viewer's perspective when you turn on the TV and you have notable names guys that have won uh all around the world and plenty of times on the PGA tour trying to make it here this week that to me is a huge uh you know interest to me if I'm watching or I'm out there on the golf course uh spectating or commentating on it it's not like it was a couple years ago and how it was for so many years where it's 126 versus the 125th guy when we're talking about the talent differential for a guy's year compared to the 50th guy from the 51st from the 125th to the 126th it's a huge gap so I think that that in it self has made made it very enjoyable to watch uh to spectate and uh I think it made for a really compelling St Jude cuz you had young guys you had old guys and then you had a golf tournament that you thought was going to be a runaway turned out not to be a runaway no not at all and and by the way just I know I'm not going to apologize for it but just to let you know there there's a lot of Ambient sound happening here I mean this is this is being on site right I think we're still setting up some infrastructure here at Castle Pine so that's what you're hearing you're hearing some carts behind us some assembly of various structures but to yeah to get back to what you're talking about and that's zero disrespect to number 126 on the list but there is so much more intrigued and we saw it last year at a number of stages we talked about Windam you know JT Adam Scott Shane Lowry on the wrong side of 70 playing their way in the playoffs and now this year you know Tom Kim ends up at 51st and the reason he does is because Nick Dunlap just comes out of nowhere needs a top five to make it to to end the Signature Events next year to make it the BMW champion ship and does just that um and I mean luckily we we spoke that into existence luckily yeah I mean we're we're we're going to say it we're going to own it that the Smiley Show bump is a very real thing and so we we got Nick onlap in a Signature Events wam Clark sat right here between us uh in Memphis and said you know the game's trending trying to turn some of those top fives or top 10 into top fives got a little top seven this or you got a tied for seventh this last week and so he's he's trending as well so I mean we when when are we going to get a little cut of this action like I feel like we just need we need we need some sort of you know thank you for all players who catapulted if Eric Cole goes on to win this week then we're we're gonna be cooking with some gas baby can you imagine be good stuff but I mean I mean do do you let's start maybe we start um with we'll get to Nick Dunlap but just with the winner of this tournament Hadi matama a roller coaster Sunday I mean I Hideki Matsuyama's FedEx St. Jude win believe he had was it a five or six shot lead on Sunday starting the broadcast I think he was a 17 under with second in place at 12 and everyone was kind of it was forone conclusion he's going to win the tournament how's the rest of the board going to shake out that is not the way it went down the stretch but he did close in strong fashion so um what did you see from Hideki a guy who usually has a um maybe not not the best putter on tour but this week led the field in Strokes game putting yeah that that was a story going into Sunday right you know we have Hideki matama who's been a I'd say inconsistent putter when he gets a hot putter watch out cuz his iron game is so good as we look at Windam Clark last week he joined us uh you know what I what I noticed though with Hideki was on Sunday a lot of people if you're watching our early coverage you would have seen that Hideki had a a totally different putter than the putter he was using the first three days warming up with it so you're thinking to yourself all right maybe he's just trying to give everybody a chance uh that was something that came to my mind or maybe this is his practice putter uh because it looked like his old gamer that he used to use and maybe he just didn't feel comfortable with the the that putter but he was I mean he was first in in putting the week so from my perspective like this is weird yeah so my alarm Bells already sounding for the group I was in for Scotty Sheffer and Victor hin I'm like these guys are going to be in it at the end because you got a guy changing Putters on on on the practice screen anybody's seen that from a guy in their local member guests who's got the got the next thing you know he goes in the Pro sh Tinker man yeah this is this is that's kind of my game and he's the ultimate tinkerer like he'll have six or seven clubs behind him on on a Saturday or Sunday doesn't matter uh he'll always have tons of different things on the putting green on the driving interest it's not unheard of for hii to to do something like this but it just was very odd well and like an odd week for him in general in that his his caddy got robbed he do have his usual CAD his caddy gets robbed in London so he's got that very variable now the putter you know it's an interesting to kind of delve inside what was going on in his camp this entire week it was a it was a really weird week for him his coach is caddy not able to make it because they don't because their passports uh were robbed in London uh hideki's wallet was stolen so just a weird week when they show up but he was obviously playing some fantastic golf finished bronze uh third place at the Olympics so his his game was sharp but it'd be fair for us to say you know he had lot on his mind that week and that if he didn't play well we would have understood but let's get a little bit more into the round on Sunday you know it was a I'd say a for a guy who's leading the golf tournament at the ideal start you don't make a bogey on the front nine one birdie and you feel like keki just coasting and I hear in uh in my ear uh while I'm walking uh down the 13th Fairway that there was some type of issue on on the seventh hole and they weren't going to say exactly what it was yet cuz they were still reviewing video evidence but this is told to hit 5 holes later on the 12th hole and I'll I'll familiarize you with the the ruling situation because he missed the green right on the seventh hole and when a ball pitch mark is made you're not allowed to fix it off of the green especially if it's yours and what was apparently what they saw in video review was that Hideki as he you know addressed his ball walked up to see where he wanted to land it because he was playing a bump and run shot maybe near where that pitch mark would have been what they eventually determined was that Hideki his line that he was going on was a good 3 feet I'm not sure if it was left or right but it was not on his intended line but it's unusual though for for a player to step on a divot um especially when his ball is still off the green because you totally could be penalized um for that because you're not allowed to tap down anything off of the grein too is that a strange rule to you in you're aware we've made the change on the green where guys can tap down their lines I mean how do you feel about the rule itself uh it's just one of those rules that I think you can you can find an argument in it but let's let's just go to all right the 12th hole in Memphis Hideki's roller-coaster back nine is one of the more difficult holes the back nine in general you know you can make Bogies in a hurry mhm and so when you when a rules official comes up to you with that information on the 12th hole of a golf tourament you have a four or five shot lead on at the time it's not exactly ideal but when you go back and listen to hideki's interview after the round he felt like he didn't do anything wrong um there was no worry from his from him or his caddy that you know I I think if you knowingly did something I think that would have led you to maybe have some poor shots and he yes he played pour down the stretch and and you can potentially draw the you know comparison game of all right he was told this on 12 and then kind of had some issues down the stretch so um it just turned into just a wild last hour and a half without a doubt uh and I think that you know he makes birdie at 16 and birdie at 18 I believe I have that correct or or was it 17 bir 17 and 18 17 18 that's right but where it all flipped on its head was the 14th hole Yeah the 14th hole Hideki the has an opportunity just hit this ball in the middle of the green go two putt or even go three putt you know and uh and I can't honestly I don't even remember if he made the putt for bogy no doubled so he made double cuz I'm I'm obviously in the group in front I just remember it was chaos so he makes double there what it was after watching like Nick Dunlap who's who needs this top five who takes a really aggressive line right over did he miss that putt so he may double there I I that was to my recollection cuz I know he doubled uh um I know he doubled the the next hole let's we're we're going to find out together he he made the putt he made B made bogy two holes mix up the next hole he made double I was like hold on I don't think he went double double uh but then that was that was a hole where he hit a left and he had a couple chips and that yeah yes so he's in that rough behind the green and honestly it's the only shot that you have there is to try to play an explosion flop shot get some spin uh to give yourself a chance and just one underneath it because you can easily you know over bounce that and chunk it into the water beyond the green at 15 so when you get to 16 in part of that hole all of a sudden you know I'm with Victor hav and Scotty's group and on 15 I hear the ball it's went in the water we hear the groan from the crowd and that's when I was like wait what are my guys at all of a sudden CU they were four shots back and Victor and Scotty both hit it in tight at 15 Scotty lips out which was the story of his weekend Victor makes and then he birdie 16 I was like holy crap he he's now has a one- shot lead going into 17 yeah well and do you get do you get credit for the Smiley Show bump for having taken a picture earlier in the week with Hideki with the bronze medal do we get do we get bump points there at all well we definitely weren't if he didn't birdie 17 and 18 but since he birdied and 17 is I think it's if you ask me it's probably one of the hardest holes out of TBC Southwind you know there's not as there's a penalty area that's not really in play uh that kind of goes through the middle of the Fairway not you know it's 350 off the T and for him for Hideki to to go bogey double and then birdie 17 right and then get on 18 hit that Fairway you have no idea how hard that t-shot was on 18 to step up there find the Fairway took a tight line there too yeah and then take it aggressively on his second shot where all he needed was to hit it to the right side of the green t putt win the golf tournament he took it on and got it left of the PIN and made birdie so uh well and there was that to your point on 17 when there when there was that sort of Swing happening where havin took the lead briefly he hits his t- shot right on 17 you were with him there right and so and ends up making Bogey and and that that was his opportunity sort of you know that he'll be kicking himself that one his uh his initial drop was a good lie second drop was in a terrible lie and hit into the drop was brutal hit it into a bunker where I felt like he should have got it up and down but the pressure obviously in that situation knowing that things are happening behind you you can understand not getting up and down but the other the next part Hideki's favorite restaurant (!!!) about this that uh with Hideki that I think is just so interesting is that his last couple years I'm not going to say that he's disappeared but it it hasn't felt like ki's been the elite player that we've seen over the years and what we've seen Masters win right it wasn't you know what we've seen this year is a Resurgence deform his iron game is back to what we're accustomed to and and what I say about what mean by that is when hideki's one arming shots and they're going to 15 fet we know we know we know hideki's back and so that that's something you saw all week his iron game was crisp and the putter was good and the driver you know he's always been a fairly good driver um and there's one story that I found out about Hideki after this event that I wanted to get into is that he loves fast food Chick-fil-A right big fast food guy but this is the the next part of this is that I heard that Hideki plans um where he stays every single week based off where the IHOP is wow I thought that was incredible Intel so if you're at a local IHOP at a PJ tour vanent you might see Hideki we we got Brian and Jackson here on our production team so first of all shout out to them because we have a robust setup this week that we're we're loving but Brian and I are are mere seconds away from an IHOP yes so maybe we need to get on over there no that's funny you're not going to have to on over there you're going to see him situ pretty good breakfast tomorrow get a little you know stack of uh of of buttermilk pancakes and to see if we see Hideki in there that's I I didn't think people still ate it IOP in 2024 but here you go Hideki maama you I I've heard maybe he wears his green jacket in there from time to time wears the bronze medal you know this is a guy that could eat and wherever he wants and and foot whatever bill but my man he's got to start his his week out with the uh the pancakes goly imagine seeing Hadi matama in an IHOP I mean that' just be there's a there's a rumor that uh somebody from his team showed up with an IHOP coffee cup Sunday yesterday so it's I'm not I'm not saying this is all false info I'm just saying that we need to look into it I love this I want to eat that should be one of our video projects in the offseason go eat with hiii IHOP I'm I'm they're here for it big time let's do it yeah well we talk to strickson right I'm sure they can make that happen right uh uh one last thing as we get off a Dei okay is you know we talked about how his game maybe has fallen off a little bit and I think what you have to attribute that to was injuries he always was withdrawing with wrist neck back so it's seems like he's more healthy now than he than he has been over the last couple years so that's just something to uh to mention is that you know these guys game they don't disappear and sometimes injuries just lead these guys down holes where you know they're just can't play to their maximum potential it's it's such a good point one that I don't think we think about enough you know I think we just are trained to just oh they're playing terrible they playing terrible but I mean how about Jordan Speed we've talked about a lot you know the announcement that he's going to go ahead and get surgery done on his RIS it's probably long overdue at this point and you he made a good effort to to try to take care of that in a way that where you I mean if you can avoid going under the knife you want to try avoid going under the knife but to the point now where you look at the last couple years and oh he's a little bit off well he's been dealing with something that probably needed attention for a good period of time or how about a guy like even though he made a run on the back nine on Sunday Jake knap missing out on on signature event qualification that top 50 and watching him with that elbow brace on all week it's like these guys get banged up and you can't play your best golf if that's a physical state that you're in I I would like to get an update from Jake nap's uh workout offseason uh regimen because you know my boy's going to get back in the gym and throw some weight around if you haven't listened to our Jake nap episode that's a good one he walks through his kind of his Mead phase he went through that's a good one to uh go back and revisit he's going to get back there like ladimer the program and start throwing a smashing his head through Windows get to the gym get them just get that elbow right we need we need him to YouTube Project yes for well we should probably do the IHOP wait who's going to work out with him are we just going to watch him we're going to work out with him wait we can't work out with we should we eat IHOP before we work out with them or after we work out with them I think both are a bad situation I I think we watch them watching work out or we send Jackson or we s Jackson there we go our our our resident D1 I was going to say you're you're also a D1 athlete I didn't forget about you but he played football so that's you know he's probably better suited to working out with Jake now it's a great Point Le let's get on to another man who Nick Dunlap qualifies for signature events was recently playing D1 Collegiate Athletics uh Nick Dunlap it seemed like that was a story right it was Hideki and and all that went on with with the uh the golf tournament but the story when you get to the 18th Fairway and you have two completely different stories that you're telling which is Hideki has to make par and Nick dunp has to make par for two totally different line items I just thought that is what was the the beauty of uh the final final pairing yesterday well I thought it was so cool talking to him at the beginning of the week and and it's a clip we pulled afterwards and put on socials where he's just you're asking him could you ever imagine you know post us am sitting here in this position and I think he said something of the effect of you told me you know you won two collegiate events you made some teams I'd be like man that's a pretty good year he's won two tour events and now he's you know top five at the FedEx Cup playoff event to make his way into all Signature Events in 2025 which is an incredible rise I'm so looking at his sort of week here um he he goes from 68 to 48th 67 65 66 69 you know for you what stood out for for Nick I mean does it have anything to do with this golf game or is it just more a testament to what you have to do mentally to to do what he did and make it where he is now I think what Nick Dunlap has um is such a high level of IQ uh golf IQ meaning just of how to play the game knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are and if you haven't had an opportunity to listen to Nick Dunlap speak for 20 minutes with with us last week previewing the FedEx St Jude I'd suggest you to do it but just a poll uh what kind of Nick talked about which was you know I asked him I said hey Nick if you had the opportunity to go work on your game all this year away from the PJ tour do you think that would have helped to hurt you and I I thought his answer was so interesting because when you get out of the PGA Tour it's so hard to go and say Hey I want to improve my chipping I want to improve my driving and what he said he's incrementally improved both and I thought that is just so difficult to do because his strengths are his putting and his iron game mhm and yesterday on the coverage and I've talked to Josh Gregory about this this is he's been helping him with his golf game and mainly his chipping um and also some mental aspects of his game uh with this ball striking you know he he had mentioned that Nick Dunlap had made more improvements than any player that he has ever had with his with his chipping in one year so I think his ability to process Concepts information and be able to take it and and be able to to go compete with it shows with his resiliency his just his work ethic and just to be able to go out and and Trust his mechanics and uh and learn on the fly on these new golf courses every week he he didn't even know where the 18th green was last week when he got on property so he found out where the 18th hole was cuz he was in that final group on Sunday so awesome to see and one Nick Dunlap's OWGR ranking other quick note about Nick I'm going to I'm going to put you on the spot here what do you think Nick dunlap's official World Golf Ranking is okay so last week if I recall correctly I think he was 43rd is 44th is somewhere in there leading into the week and based on the way he played this week with that field I'm going to guess I'm going to guess he's like 32nd now maybe he's he's 36 and if you had not seen that he was low 40s you probably would have said you know here's a guy that 68th coming into the week any other player you put in that category especially as a rookie you're like oh he's probably you know around 100th in the official World Golf Ranking so the fact that he was already in the top 50 going into last week speaks to how well he's played he didn't get the 500 FedEx Cup points and MX so the fact that he had to go win twice to make it to here this week and he still has work to do to make the Tour Championship but what a year Nick Dunlap has put together the fact that he's you know just been the first a to win since fil melson and then goes out and wins to you know an off offside event or whatever you call them uh what do you call them opposite field opposite field event sorry um goes and wins one of those we'll work that in we'll pitch that an offside event just I just think it's just incredible man and and let's think about as well with Nick Dunlap at 36 now he's basically locked up himself into the majors next year and especially the Masters yes you know that cut off's going to be at the end of the year and I think there's no chance that he falls outside the top 50 because the AMX doesn't get him in because he was an Amer I don't think maybe it did I don't think it does it's a good question good it's a good question because but let's say it didn't he still played his way into the Masters what was it was it the Masters where he where he his us am when got him into the Masters but like but he was playing as a Pro I think it was the Masters right yeah yeah so it was was he I can't remember if he played I don't remember he did he did play okay yeah he did a lot of times like I don't think he wasn't able to play the open I'm trying to remember there was why because I thought there I thought that that was the um I think the Masters allowed in the open didn't that's so interesting yeah because that was the one major he did not play this last year yeah and he would have played as a US Amer Champion but they didn't hold up the end of the bar which which is come on guys RNA let's what are we doing here like he won the US am well it makes me wonder then if they honored his like if the AMX win got him into the Masters us am win or if that's one of the tournaments that I don't know well that's beside the point whatever we'll get down a rabbit we could do we could do a tournament eligibility talk for for hours here but I mean regardless he's playing next year is what I'm saying he's playing next year and I think the point you make is a really interesting one because there are so many young talents in the game and some of them have just obvious talents like you know Gordon Sergeant hits the ball mile Jackson kin's a phenomenal putter you can see like it jumps off the screen what they do well and and not say Nick doesn't have those qualities as well but it's those intangible the ability to kind of learn and process information and just figure out a way to shoot a really good score consistently that is going to keep him around on this tour and he's and he's proved it in less than a year hey you mentioned this uh Could Nick Dunlap be a Presidents Cup captains pick? talking about the President's Cup look out I I really have this weird feeling that if Nick goes on a run makes the two or championship and finds himself inside the top 10 at the end of the year I think he gets picked I I don't see I really I really think there's a good chance of Nick Don wi the President's Cup I just and and and this is my own just personal feeling on how I would be choosing a President's Cup or Rider Cup team has nothing to do with what's actually going to happen but I would just be saving two spots for guys who I'm trying to grow you know and I just have this feeling man I just have this feeling that he's about to have a good week and then uh and then make it to the Tour Championship and have another good week and plays well self into Royal Montreal and the presence Cup team we we'll go back into the archives and pull out the the Memphis interview if he doesn't do do that um the the the flip side of Nick Nick dunlap's jump unfortunate for another friend of the show Tom Kim and just misses out by a spot you know and I think that speaks again to what you were talking about where this is the drama of these playoffs this competitions that you were going to have really good players who miss out you know it just feels like a tough for for Tom after he really had narrowly misses out on a win at Travelers we're thinking he's primed for a nice little run to close the season and at the Olympics was in contention for a medal we know how much that would have meant to him you know especially in the context of military service you know for for Korea and and then you obviously you have this this Miss on on signer events next season now I expect he'll be getting um sponsor exemptions and or will be playing well enough to make his way in through a next 10 or a swing five category but just reflecting on the year for Tom and just where we go from here although I will say the one nice thing upside guy plays well at the Shriners he can play well at some fall events and be right there the six major the six major the six Maj listen I I think with Tom Kim his uh his finish is something that he's gonna it's gon to take a week or two to uh kind of get over that I I actually I was on the golf course with him on Sunday for his beginning of his back nine all the way through the 14th hole he hit the middle of the green on 14 I was like he's in he's made it that's over B Tom came up into BMW and I go out to follow Scotty's group and I'm on the third hole and I hear my producer say hey Tom Kim's got to make this putt potentially to even just get to 50 First and this is for bogie at 18 I was like what happened and I pull it up bogey 16 the easiest hole in the course Double's 17 and the Double's 18 you're just like ah like just a you know I think this speaks to first off how difficult 16 17 and 18 maybe not so much 16 16 was fairly easy back into the breeze but 17 was brutal and 18 absolutely difficult and there were double Bogies on those holes but I think uh from what I saw from Tom on the holes before that I didn't see that in his game I that you just have to attribute that to uh just a little bit of pressure not being able to pull off the shots and maybe not quite understanding as much time and score and playing as a little bit more conservative maybe as he could have but when things start getting going that way and you start to feel that that angst of like where do I stand I think it just it's it's hard to settle down and I think that's the only way I can see uh besides you know golf is really hard and this golf course is very penal and you're a little off you can make doubles uh but I think that you can contribute to that's the pressure that these guys feel and how badly they want to be on this range behind us here this week oh absolutely and and just kind of looking at the group that moved in the group that moved out we talked a little bit about Eric cool we're having on he moved his way in we've talked about Nick Dunlap Victor havin of course the third out of that group who made a big jump almost won the tournament finishes tied for second uh at 15 under uh with Xander shafley and then the group that play their way out Tom Kim of course we discussed Jake knap maybe a little bit banged up and then McKenzie Hughes the third of that group uh one guy just to touch on briefly Denny McCarthy goes from 45th to as as it stands right now 30th T Championship your guy on Fridays with smiley you know it's it's a good time for Denny to play well and and he was talked openly and candidly you know with you and others about just the physical stuff he's gone through he teach when he came on the podcast last year going through the the the back stuff finding a nice little rhythm now and he's got of torn WB right now on his hip too so it's uh he's a little banged up so you know I just hope that he can have one good week this week make the Tour Championship and if he needs to get that all taken care of he's set up for the year after that without a doubt well there are some big names that I feel like we can hold until our preview on W Wednesday Zan I just mentioned Xander uh shley Victor Victor hin both 15 under those are guys that are going to be in contention here trying to make one last push to get ready for East Lake Scotty a 14 under you were with this group on Sunday comes up short again and Sam Burn's trending a little bit with the top fines 13 but we'll say that for our Wednesday because now we going to get to a conversation with Eric Cole as we mentioned before shoots 63 on Sunday at Eric Cole joins the show TPC South Wind to make his way into the top 50 really looking forward to that conversation so we will get to that right now welcome back to the Smiley Show where we have yet another special guest joining us Eric Cole 46th in the FedEx Cup Standing courtesy of a final round 63 the FedEx St Jude Championship the vaultage you win and Eric here we went deep here the stats and information Department we got a stat like uh there were two players that vaulted their way from outside the top 50 inside the top 50 this last week one was Nick Dunlap the other was yourself here's the good news for you Nick Dunlap joined the show on Monday last week so I think this means we got a lot of good Juju for you this week to Atlanta yeah I like and wam Clark too he finished top 10 right we got we were a top 10 machine so this is good luck I like it I'll take what I can get so it sounds great well Eric I I just I mean let's just unpack the day yesterday right I mean when you started the day did mean expectations for the round did you have a number in your head did you know what you need to do or did you just show up and you said you know what I'm just going to go try to make a bunch of birdies and see where the chips fall yeah no it's kind of funny I uh played really poorly uh on Saturday um and actually did well to shoot two over like I should have shot way higher than that so uh my expectations were very low I uh Saturday night I booked a flight home uh on Sunday afternoon so I wasn't wasn't feeling trick by the way that's a pro trick yeah was wasn't feeling uh just my ball striking wasn't there and then you know I mean obviously I I wanted to play well and I warmed up kind of just okay and then uh got off to a crazy fast start and then once that happened I was like all right now I'm kind of in it and you know just kept trying to hit one good shot after the next and yesterday what time did you tea off um 750 or something so that that to me was a a fairly big Advantage because in the morning I was out there there was hardly any wind yes it was so hot but later as the day went on I mean we were getting gas up to 15 20 M an hour yeah I I uh obviously wasn't out there in the afternoon um but it definitely seemed like it the forecast was for it to get windier and um you know it looked like it was playing tougher uh later in the day versus when I was exactly we got Recapping Eric's live movement in the FedEx Cup standings on Sunday sort of a detailed sketch of that day and I think it's worth going through because it's a real roller coaster so just for everyone keeping score home 333 to start the day which was birdie birdie eagle you move from 58th to 52nd on on the FedEx Cup list you make a birdie on eight to go from 54th inside the 48th right so you are you're 50th when you make par at 10 but by the time you get to the 11th T and put a t in the ground you're back to 52nd you're on the outside birdie at 13 you go 52nd to 47th birdie at 15 go 48 to 44 and birdie at 16 To Go 45th to 38 so sitting comfortably inside how do we feel after the bogey at 18 to go from 41st to 48th yeah I mean I didn't know a lot of that stuff going on you know there's some leaderboards out there and there's some projections that come out but uh like when you're playing you don't see really anywhere near that type of volatility um so I I obviously knew that I was doing uh good stuff I was making birdies and every time I looked at it it seemed to be getting a little better um and then uh you know Bing 18 wasn't what I had in mind but with the t-shot I think I did well to do that it was a it was a good bogey if you didn't get a chance to How Eric played the 18th on Sunday watch Eric call in the 18th hole you get on on the tea and we set it up as because I was on the ground I'm listening to the guys in the booth are like really just anything out to the right he's going to be able to Coast through and next thing you know is he oh my gosh he pulled it so what's going through your brain when the ball comes off the face and you realize I'm going to have to fight uh maybe a little harder than I was hoping to yeah I I um didn't want to bail out to the right uh you know those bunkers aren't real great and you know right's not it's better than the water but it's not a real great spot to be so I was trying to kind of take as strong a line as I could and uh you know just hit it off the toe and kind of immediately knew that it was going in the water so and it didn't cross or anything like that so um you know it wasn't wasn't what I was hoping to look up for um on that 18th te but uh then you know after that it was actually a lot of decision- making with my caddy like you know be aggressive with the next one next where where to drop right you can go yard probably 40 yards back and hooked like maybe a fivewood or four iron even yeah so you know that was an option but you know I don't think I could have ever gotten it on the green so uh without being able to get it on the green just seemed like a huge risk for not uh not enough upside so decided to lay it up and you know hit a decent wedge in there that went a little further than I thought and then made that putt so I mean the putt was fantastic he walked it in like no so nonchalantly making a 15-footer to make to the BMW and we all talked about this the entire year how important it is to get inside the top 50 you can plan your entire schedule uh next year based on those Signature Events so first off congratulations there thank you and last question as it pertains to yesterday when you're on the 18t did you or your caddy know exactly where you stood um and did you ask for any clarification while you're on the hole on what you may have needed to do but there was so much that could have happened right yeah I mean like you said earlier I teed off so early there's so much uh movement that other guys can you know influence where I stand so uh didn't really talk about uh where I was or anything like that on the tea um but then once I hit in the water I was kind of asking like my caddy Reed I was like you know if I if I make a bogey do you think that's good or you know like kind of like well it made a huge difference with how aggressive I had to be with that second shot you know if he or third shot I guess after dropping um but you know if he thought I had to make a par then you know it's a completely different story just never know what's gonna happen yeah he was like you know if you make bogey you should be good so that's kind of the only time we really talked about it the putt goes in for bogey did you feel like that was enough uh yeah I kind of did um you know you don't know for sure but uh like I said I had that little brief combo with Reed my caddy and he kind of said that bogey should be good so as soon as I made that I was kind of like all right now now I feel a little bit better about it Eric if you'll indulge me here for a second uh I was on day two of a two-day Eric's Iron Man playing schedule tournament yesterday on on the 13th T probably had several seltzers and I turned the guy into my cart and I was like I have no clue how these guys do this playing heat the mmis heat four straight days so there's that then there's the way you approach playing professional golf which is you are like the Iron Man you play as much as often as you possibly can is there ever a point where it's situation like yesterday where it's just crazy hot crazy humid where you're like okay I'm feeling a little bit of fatigue like I'm not sure how much more golf I can play yeah for sure I mean I think it's just part of uh playing professional golf you know it could definitely wear on you but uh for me like it's just such a huge uh I guess privilege to be on the PGA tour I try and play as many times as I can and you know it took me so long to get there that uh you know I I like I said I just trying playing in as many events as I can um because it's just such a cool spot to be does does anybody love golf more than you on the PGA tour so if I had if I had to put that into a category and you named other guys I mean you'd have to maybe throw sunjay in there he's the other guy plays a lot yeah yeah I think uh who are the other guys that you see week to week they're like oh you're playing here again this year uh Ben Griffin plays a lot um but yeah I think for me it's just it took me so long to get here so I think if uh more guys kind of took my route to the PJ tour they might play a little bit more so just to put it into context Charlie we just did our stats Department right before depart hard at work by the way really churning some stuff out a lot of notes yeah 30 37 starts in 2023 and then 28 starts in 24 remind you he did win the Rookie of the Year last year so an incredible rookie season and then again this year to be able to make it to uh to the BMW Championship and an opportunity to make it the Tour Championship you're just compounding uh a back-to-back really great seasons on tour you got to be proud of that yeah no for sure uh you know this is where you want to be when you kind of start the year you definitely want to make it to that top 50 it's so important for all the elevated events next year um so uh something I'm definitely proud of and uh you know it's not been a totally smooth just uh normal year for me you know I kind of had a little bit of a uh dry spell there in the middle of the Summer where I didn't play great um but kind of trending back uh hopefully to where my game is uh going in the right direction here at the end obviously still a lot of you know businesses take care of this year uh I'm curious cuz I believe you're 14th on the president cup understandings so a couple more events left here I believe this and I also believe this is the last week where points count toward that is something is that something you think about at all uh not really no I think uh you know that's kind of a byproduct of doing kind of what you're supposed to on a week toe basis so I I focus a lot more on those type things versus uh you know where I stand on the President's Cup I know I'm probably not in a good spot uh so I got a lot of work to do this week well the Smiley Show I guess right at the beginning we've had guys being playing well on here so this is this is the bump is the bum I'll take it I'll take any good luck I can get well why don't you give us a bit of a summary just on the state of your game the entire year what you've worked on what do you feel like your strengths have been and what are your weakness weaknesses uh that you've had this year that you've had to put an emphasis on yeah sure I uh I started the year off pretty solid uh ball striking was good my chipping putting's almost usually pretty solid so that's been good most of the year but ball striking was really good to start the year and then more recently uh it's kind of gotten back there but there was a little bit of a lull there in the Summer where I just we played a stretch of really hard courses um you know like right yeah through that middle of the Year where you know it just seemed like every course was so difficult you had no real chance to recover when you hit a bad shot it was just like an automatic bogey um so that kind of wore on me and uh you know kind of I think just made my ball striking not being as sharp it made it look a lot worse uh so you know I'm kind of glad to be through that stretch and uh we've played a few more playable courses recently which I prefer it always feels like once you get through the memorial you're like I can take a deep breath in the US Open and it's like Memorial Us open after that it's like finally some greens that are receptive wedges yeah you can actually stop the ball on them you sort of burst onto the scene last year that that finish at the Honda I guess now the cognizant you and and Chris Kirk and you know as as we kind of talked about 43rd last season made made it into Signature Events this season now you've done the same by finishing 46 could even improve on that but in Signature Events for 2025 just curious like in that sort of the the the last two years what you feel like the biggest thing you've learned is on tour and how you kind of play that forward for for goal setting for 2025 yeah I mean biggest thing I've learned probably is that uh you know you don't have to play perfect golf I think a lot of times when you're not out here on tour uh you watch the coverage or something like that and you know you're seeing guys who are playing some of the best weeks of their life um and you're seeing every shot they hit and it just looks like they're not missing any shots so um I think that's one thing that that I've learned is you know you do obviously have to play well to have a good finish but you don't necessarily have to play Perfect you're allowed to hit a few bad shots here and there and uh yeah to just not not beat yourself up too much and try and be too much of a perfectionist is there any PGA Tour player uh before you came out here that you tried to model your game after H good question not really honestly I can't uh can't think of one well can I give you my comparison like your game I'm happy to hear it your game reminds me so much of Zack Johnson's I think you'll have similar strength similar ball flights you know I think you carry yourselves in a very similar manner uh y'all both cash a lot of checks I'll take that's my comparison any any course I feel like that suits Zack Johnson's game I feel like suits your game too yeah thank you yeah no I uh I played with Zach uh in New Orleans this year and he was playing great and I kind of saw a little bit of that too like we both did a little little lower draw and um you know when you play that style there's definitely courses that uh fit your game more than maybe some of the US opens and Memorial type of courses for sure going in a little bit of a different direction here but something that's you know close Eric on Sam Saunders's retirement announcement to home close to to your heart for you is is Sam saund news yesterday he's retiring I know you guys obviously have an amazingly close relationship just your Reflections on on his career and just that news yesterday yeah you know it was uh I I've been talking to him a little bit throughout the year and you know he hadn't didn't have a great year uh corn fairy wise and uh you know he wasn't in the best spot just with his game and his thoughts about golf so I I talked to him and kind of knew it was coming um but it's it's sad for me you know I wish we could have both been cuz our career's kind of uh like I played corn faery when he played the PGA Tour and then I got to the P just like so brutal that you know like it's a it's just like I'm sad for him and his golf and stuff like that but it's sad for me selfishly because we never really got a chance to play a ton of golf on the PGA tour together um so but you know he's uh he lives only an hour from here so hopefully see him this week and hang out with him a little bit and uh spend some time with him and his family so I got to give Sam saers a lot of props so one of my last professional events I've played in this was three years ago this was the Colorado open the golf course was somewhere near the airport and I'm paired with Sam Saunders and I get out here my game is in a disarray I don't know what I have and I show up get off to a decent start and then all of a sudden out of nowhere just the same stuff that's happened to me over the years like I have just totally lost I can't get it off the tea I'm well have two golf balls in front of me and try to hit one of them cuz it was just a mess and I get to a point where I'm like I can't play anymore today like I got to go and and Sam like kind of pulled me pulled me aside after I was like hey I'm I got to go and he could not have been more kind and more relatable in struggles because he's had them he's had success as well but it it just says a lot about him as a person as a professional to be able to just to say hey man I know what you're going through and it's it's not easy but um I'm sure he's he's probably if I ever see him again soon hopefully we have a good laugh about that day because it was hilarious because just the I get to the golf ball my face might as well have been looking like over here you know it was just a tough day but uh really just speaks to the type of person that's saying yeah I know he's a great guy we've been friends for a long time and uh you know that story is a perfect example of Sam's just got a great uh like perspective on life life you know what I mean like he doesn't uh doesn't make golf uh too big of a deal or anything like that and uh you know he's a he's a great person to have like you know a friend of yours or on your side so right and if I was Sam sers too I think I would want to live in the Denver area too this is the nicest Cool Breeze after Memphis last week it is nice I wish you could guys could feel this cool air through the camera right now because it feels incredible I'm sure you're excited to get some work done it before you go just any impressions of this property what you expect from the golf course have you done any research about this course and and just so you know this is a huge up slope you haven't hit balls yet so when you're not hitting it up there there don't be discouraged nobody's hitting up in the on the yeah talking about my ball flight Zack Johnson and I would not like this range very much so I haven't hit balls yet but uh no it seems like a beautiful area and looks like a golf course that's in perfect shape from what I've seen so uh with that and perfect weather it looks like so it's a lot of lot of good things kind of trending together for this week so looking forward to it I hear it's actually not a great walking golf course I hear it's a bad for the caddies I've heard so it's a caddy nightmare course I've heard some players compare it to potential Maui which has always been deemed the worst one of the year we'll have to see I think y all get to take carts out today so that's exciting yeah no I think uh you know I'm looking forward to this week and hopefully Reed M caddy can get get through the hills all right well we're about Charlie and I are about to record this BMW recap hopefully you're just right over here and we can just you know you can come back and you can watch you can watch your swings on the uh I'm not sure I want to see that thank you Eric congratulations on making it here and best of luck this week yeah thank you guys thanks for having me on absolutely great conversation with Eric Cole uh really interesting to kind of dig into his year and we're of course keeping it rolling here on the driving range at Castle Pines uh smiley I'm going to you're going to hate me after this week I'm just going to drive you nuts with all sorts of random stories about my very amateurish uh golf experiences I just had a laugh after talking about headis Putter tinkering and I dropped in a little Club Championship uh question with Eric Cole we had a guy this week who literally bought a stock broomstick off the lab website first Roundy to use it was a Club Championship love that love that sicko move he was hooping on the on the green of course he I was fallowing the leader board and you know I I don't know I know how the stat breakdown was but it was probably less than he was hoping to judging by the scores were posted still still love that it's just it's an amazing sicko move so just had had to get that one of the notes while I was at it good stuff good stuff it's really good stuff uh so on on we go with with just kind of wrapping up last week in Memphis moving forward to this week our the second playoff event of course the the the last one before we get to the Tour Championship in Atlanta and we noted a few names before the break that we're going to probably break down in more depth on our Wednesday show but just kind of hitting them quickly on the way out so Xander finishes tied per second at 15 under the group you had on Sunday Victor also finishes tied per second at 15 under and Scotty sheer finishes fourth at 14 under and then of course we noted Sam Burns finding some form playing good this week ties for fifth at 13 under so just of that group takeaways as we're looking at both this week but guys who were pushing to try to win this Tour Championship yeah definitely when we get to our Wednesday show I I will have seen the golf course kind of know uh what are the strengths of the place you know what what's required so we'll definitely get into to more of these top guys and how it suits their game and these to be fair their games are suited at a lot of places and I I doubt I have a highly uh high suspicion that I think all three guys are going to have good weeks and that this golf course will suit their games but I have to laugh every week looking at the leaderboard and it's like man I didn't really wasn't really looking at a course fit for Scotty it's like guess what every course fit Scotty they all fit yes so I think you got to start with Victor right because he was the guy coming into Discussing Viktor Hovland's strong week in Memphis the week that expectations for I think himself uh everybody in his team uh anybody that you know follows the game I felt you would have said that if he you know squeezed through uh into the top 50 you would have said you know what that's probably the progression track that he's on right now he was like 57th I think is that right 57th you know so needed a somewhere around a top 12 top 13 finish I would say and you know I was on the Range early in the week and watching Victor hit golf balls and and Joe Mayo uh after Victor hit this like really nice like mid long iron he looked over at me just started smiling and said that's more like it that's kind of that's that's how she looked that's how she used to look and so you know going into the week I'm thinking you know what maybe I'm should I be buying stock on Victor this week like is this going to be the week in which you know this thing starts getting going again and uh you know after he shoots even part of the first round expectations probably for himself were like man I got to grind my tail off to go make it inside the top 50 and then he plays one bogey over the next 36 holes on F Friday and Saturday and then Sunday when I'm out there watching him he really didn't have his best stuff but it was a classic case of a guy that knew what he had that day his misses were a little tighter his good shots were really good his bad shots weren't weren't terrible so he was able to manage his game uh really well that day just keep himself in the golf tournament I don't think he had any intention of winning uh as the day went on cuz zi had such a big lead but after he made that putt on 15 and he gets to 16 and hideki's double had not been posted yet so he made birdie so he shows up on 17 green still doesn't really even know where he stands and makes Bogey and that's on 17 green I'm watching him standing right behind him and he looks over at the scoreboard and he realized the situation and in my head I'm like man God if he just knew that a par on 17 and he's in a great spot and go potentially birdie 18 go win the golf tournament but that was a uh step in the right direction and if you're curious of what Joo and Victor are working on I thought it was really interesting for the the swing nerds out there uh what Joe told me that they're trying to do they're trying to get the butt of the club in the downswing to work more out to work more out so versus like coming towards his belly button working more towards the golf ball and then the one thing they're trying to avoid is to have the shaft not be steep when he does that so he doesn't want that shaft looking like it's on the top of his right forearm he wants or the his left forearm I should say in the down the line he wants it much more laying shallow and flatter on this right forearm and if you try to do that it's very easy to get steep when you do that so that's the swing thought he has right now and that's what he used to have when he's playing really well and hitting it nice and they're back in that same motor pattern you're starting to see the short game match it as well and the putter is what I felt like kept him in the ball game uh which he's always been a really good putter you know yeah one I think that's what we saw at the end of last season and I it's just it's so interesting to sit here and think about what what would have been you know if let's say Victor doesn't play well this week and he and he misses out on top 50 and he misses out on qualification automatically for Signature Events next season what kind of conversation would we we be here having because long offseason a long offseason and we we were you know talked to Victor last fall on this show and very legitimately asked a question about hey we're talking about Scotty John ROM Rory mroy and like you like do you feel like you're one of the best players if not the best player in the world and and he you know it was not unreasonable for him to say yeah I do feel like I'm the I mean those guys are incredible but I do feel like that's a belief I need to have and and just the way he played down the stretch to win the two championship the way he played at the Ridder cup you know alongside Lou viberg that famous dismantling not miss a shot Scotty and and and Brooks and so it it's just it's it's what an interesting progression of this year but I mean to me I think just the the form he's finding now the way just kind of played well in that big spot being back together with Joe Mayo Everything feels like it's coming back together for him and and maybe the year we thought he was going to have this year is the one we're going to see in 2025 with all that stuff kind of back in place yeah and and the fact that he did make it here right so his reflection on this season you know he's able to take now positives in the fact that he was able to go have success at the FedEx St je championship in the playoffs and and now instead of sitting at home wondering about God I cannot believe this season now he's able to learn from the experience this year and we realized okay I'm never going to do that again which is try to go f you know reinvent the wheel and and strive for this Perfection that he didn't need to go try to find yeah it's it's and and it's it's fantastic for him I mean I think and I'm sincerely hope we get to have him back on the show at some point whether it's during these playoffs or another like full unpack in the offseason cuz that was such a fantastic conversation uh we will'll be interesting to see just what he thinks about the way he played this year and shoot he's got two more weeks left this regular season he's interesting interview I I hope we get get them all of it could be some fireworks here the next couple weeks if he gets it done um Signature event turnover analysis to just close the show on one where maybe instead of doing an an in an in-depth unpack of the top 50 category that's something we can kind of do in the offseason and just kind of evaluate how it went but just in brief from a a Treetops level here we the projected turnover for that top 50 category was in the 34 to 38% range and it was tracking the last couple weeks at 38% 19 players out and that's where we ended up for the season so just surprised it it's interesting isn't it I thought it was going to be 40% I really did I thought there'd be you know of the 50 guys from last year I thought you know I think 40 would would have been my guess at about how many guys would be back in that category but it just goes to show you got to go and play good golf and uh even though you're in the signature event you still have to play well without a doubt and I think and this has been our guy our Rob Bops or Robo pey we're so we should like reach out to him and clarify how he wants us to pronounce his Twitter handle but he's been he's been on it all season long track in these categories and so I I think that it it's the one thing he notes is that the with with the multiplier of these points the last couple weeks it could have ended up at 32 like it's it's actually this is where it gets really kind of tricky you know where where you get some of these playoff events two of them where a bunch of guys could play their way back in all of a sudden that number changes so that's an interesting one to kind of keep track of but it's it's one I definitely want to kind of dig into his list in the off season and and honestly maybe try to kind of profile the type of guy that moved in to see if we can't predict what's going to happen next year we we just want the most Fair system and I think that's all what the players want uh to where you know you don't feel like you're at such a disadvantage to start the year to be not in the Signature Events and I think what we learned this year is how important it is to get into that next 10 category and to to make that something that you're striving for you know when you get an opportunity at these open events and you're near the lead like that's you know to get into these Aon next Aon swing five and the next 10 you know these players are going to start putting an emphasis on these open events uh to make sure that the guys that are not in the top 50 you know it's so so uh crucial to just get you know whether it's just two events of Signature Events how much that can help at the end of the year when it comes down to like what we saw uh yesterday at the St Jude he can come down to you know only a couple points it's amazing and and Eric Cole will just play all of them anyway because he just loves golf he you y'all two need to go on a tour man how much y'all like playing a golf o a little golf trip with their that's the one thing I regret not ask him in our interview is like Eric what are your top three Hobbies outside of golf like do you have any cuz I actually think about this sometime about myself it's like I really don't I'm just kind of boring I just I like to play golf watch golf and then drive my son around my golf cart I need to really I need to read a book or two no you're a podcaster I'm a podcaster so that's uh yeah that's that's a hobby I guess question mark but yeah it's something I don't know what it Outro is but uh well this has been a fun little debut little little kicking our week off here on the Range here at Castle Pines and we have more content coming of course on site the rest of this week got a Wednesday show where we're going to we're going to preview the tournament this week we're going to have a player join us uh we might have uh not only a current player but a a legendary former PGA tour pro who has a real strong connection and affinity for this place to help us kind of get a feel for this golf course and the tour stop that was here for a number of years before it went away so that'll be a lot of fun and of course we'll bring you the one andone picks which I think we had an okay respectable week this last week but I'm just upset I had Hideki on my brain the whole week and end up going Sun JM so that's that's how it goes sometimes goes I need to be more more uh have a little bit more conviction in my picks next week we have a couple more chances to cook up some winners for you we we will hopefully do that this week but we of course appreciate you watching and listening and we can't wait to have your right back here join us again for more content from the BMW Championship on Wednesday talk to you then you know I listen to this podcast it's really cool and all have our fans and subscribers but make sure you like And subscribe it's cool to see what you guys are doing I know golf fans appreciate it but we we do too so please keep it up for all the good people YouTube like And subscribe you guys have some good takes so I'm happy to come on and and shoot the