3M Open Recap: Jhonattan Vegas victory + POY Discussion + Ireland Trip Sneak Peek

Intro [Music] H Smiley caufman for 61 wow I'm Smiley caufman and this is the Smiley Show welcome back to the Smiley Show and man good to see smiley koffman's face State Side once again uh I'm Charlie Hume uh I am I was recently back from a Scotland golf trip he is more recently back from an Ireland golf trip and I am fired up for the episode that is dropping on Wednesday Smiley because not only is it going to be an Ireland golf trip recap it's the guys you're doing it with Justin Thomas and Jordan spe hopp on the show once again for a very unique one-of aind golf trip recap like this is this is going to be amazing stuff it sure will be and as it stands right now it's almost 800 PM here's central time in Birmingham see the last like three nights I think I've gone to bed at like 7:45 so we are we are ining entering the candl light hours here for me so bear with me if I just like fall over at 8:30 in the middle of this but yeah no the I got some of the boys joining like you said JT and Jordan are going to come on talk a little bit about the trip uh but man it was epic we had a great time Ireland uh weather from what I was told could be really poor but we got like some of the best weather compared to where I was over in TR the week before so huge win uh awesome trip can't wait to recap it all but uh we got some I think we got a good episode coming up I think we got a lot of fun stuff to talk about we we got we do have a good episode because we have of course we're going to recap the 3M open uh Johnny Vegas gets a win for the first time in a long time so cool seeing a guy like that you know uh sort of a long shot to open the tournament get it done uh we're going to recap that we have a couple of things that feel like topics we we need to sort of revisit things that we've been talking about all year long we've been kind of checking in on and topics that it's worth kind of bringing back together in a week like this it's sort of in between major season but heading into FedEx Cup playoff season so we're going to talk a little bit about just that signature event the the composition of the points that are being handed out there and kind of look at some some sections of that list to see how guys are doing relative to you know the events that they're qualified into uh we're going to talk a little bit about the the Scotty sheffler and Xander shafley Player of the Year race because uh that one is heating up a little bit uh and we're going to dig into a little bit of looking at the the PGA Tour schedule compared to the Liv uh schedule as we had you know a week where John Ron wins his first event on live against the 3M open the field is maybe a little bit lighter than than before so all stuff we're going to dig into but let's start there with a win for Johnny Vegas and this is a guy that went from 149th on 3M Open Recap the FedEx Cup list to up to 66 that's an 83 spot jump uh and right behind him too Max graser goes from from 88th up to 63rd so those are two guys that big weeks big weeks big weeks listen I I've been the guy that I've been banging the drum all summer long I thought it was going to be the summer of mad McNeely I've had some near misses how about my guy MAV going from 68th up to 57th feels like good little week at the wind him he should be in there I'm I'm happy to see map up there what were your takeaways from from Johnny Vegas's win uh at TPC Twin Cities um my takeaway just the field man it just wasn't doing it for me the the backup on the 18th just felt like the tournament was never going to end I feel like if there was a playoff I probably would have turned it off I just was overwatching it it was nothing against the broadcast it just was they just couldn't get this thing to the Finish Line the names there was there wasn't any like great shots being played over the last you know hour or so that I was watching um I don't know man the Feld just right after an Open Championship it it totally was uh lacking um some Firepower which you know I think in some of these events like this year like for instance like a Honda or John Deere uh rocket mortgage I've found you know that I've enjoyed watching those weeks but for whatever reason this week I I just was not just not feeling up to it um and I I imagine that I'm not the only one though i i i how am I going to put this I I don't disagree with you uh it was a tough scene looking at some of the name in fact this is no better encapsulated than sitting watching the end of this tournament with my wife and son on her couch and she's I think we're W this is like the 18th hole you know Johnny Vegas is on the T and she's like I don't know who any of these guys are like you're not the only one Amanda uh but and but kind of to your point though like there have been tournaments we've seen a lot of different ones dating even back to last year how about a tournament you were at at the Sanderson Farms I guess ludig was in the mix there but just like a a ton of guys coming to the Finish many of whom you don't know but a lot of exciting young players and storylines that could develop and guys you'll end up following down the road where there was some sort of juice there I think maybe it was just the way that it finished like Max grer earned it today you shot eight under par was right there looked like he might get into a playoff um you know Johnny Vegas scraped his way to a one-on round today to win by a shot but we had a lot of big left misses off the te it wasn't like one it wasn't I I'd say maybe the most intriguing storyline out of kind of that final group was MAV M NE I think at one point it only hit like seven or eight greens and was just like scrambling his face off to stay in competition uh this week but yeah I mean I think that's maybe it's some of these lower profile events you want to see sort of an exciting finish and a guy go out and get it and make a name for himself this you know for the first time um and we had some names there that could have gotten it done like s hit the g was kind of in the mix at the end and it just kind of sputters out a little bit nothing nothing happened at the end of this like the last hour that you watch all you watched were players misreading putts like by a pretty hardge Mount and then uh just guys not being able to hit it anywhere near the pin and I I've played this golf course when when it's windy like it is I mean the greens looked relatively soft but still it just there was like hardly any just epic golf play down the stretch so it just felt like there was um down down however long the last hour however long you were watching it just uh there was no juice in it yeah I mean there's like this pool events that they're always like a fun kind of Midsummer watch where you sometimes you get the fireworks but they can't all have fireworks like I pull this one in with you know the John Deere and the rocket mortgage where it's in and around major golf in and around signature event Golf and you just look you can't they can't all pan out to give you cool names or young names at the top of the leaderboard and that it just it just was one of those weeks uh but we do I mean we have Olympic Golf coming up which should be interesting we also have to figure out how we're gonna award one of done points for Olympic Golf that's like we have to assign we have to assign points to medals uh is is Johnny Vegas playing for Venezuela in that like I don't I Haven looked at the field for that but uh as you as you do a little typing I'll give my just general thoughts about Johnny Vegas for those that that don't know his game what he's like nicest guy in the world uh when you meet him in person and you're standing next to him he's a type of guy that you're like man you could have played whatever sport you wanted to play you could have played rugy you could have played linebacker the guy's huge and I played with him in Columbus one year uh at the web.com tour championship and we were paired together I don't know what round it was but I remember on this on the 11th hole I'm sitting there watching him t off and it was the first time i' played with him and just the sound that his ball made and just you you could almost hear him pushing off the ground but his feet were stuck to the ground you're like this guy is an epic hitter of the golf ball and if you go look at his stats throughout his entire career guy's been just an elite ball Striker just puts it right down the middle of the fair away hits it hard um and uh if anything you if you critic any part of his game and why he hasn't been more successful it's been uh wedges and putting that's kind of always been his his Bugaboo but he's been a great um ball Striker which for the most part when you look at PGA Tour and guys that have been out there a really long time most of the time those are the guys that hit it pretty dang good um because most of the time the putters uh and the really good chippers have bad years and guess what when you're hitting it bad uh you're going to play your way off the tour uh but Johnny Vegas that he's been a main say on the PJ tour and you look at his stats like I said he's seventh this year shks gain off the t uh actually green green in regulation percentage Charlie he's number two but the one that I thought was the most interesting which turned out to be the reason why he won the 3M was the seven irony hooks left the very far left side of the green and you're like oh boy this just seems like three putt Central but he's actually leading the tour this year in approach putt distance like from the hole yeah so he's uh he's first in that category so I mean the lag that he hit both he and graser from very similar locations on the 18th green at TBC Twin Twin Cities hit amazing putts to leave themselves I I think grman might have ended up a little bit closer but you know it was uh a relative gimme for Johnny Vegas uh to make that that birdie and win by a shot uh yeah the guy is somehow not in the Olympic field don't ask me about how the I don't know how like we the off is on no CL on um like what nations get get a guy or what who that who doesn't I don't know if there's a list or how it works but I feel like I'm just going to see the field next week and be like oh okay I'm looking at the field and and there are a lot of names I know and there are a lot of names where I'm like I I don't think I've ever seen you on many ever I mean it looks like it's uh let's see here uh I'm going to guess around 100 uh that seems about right maybe a little bit less than yeah I mean somewhere in that neighborhood we'll have to go over that we'll have to get a full download on next week yeah but I mean Johnny I mean guys 63 230 turns 40 in in a couple weeks here 63 230 I mean dude he's I'm telling you when you shake this guy's hand he's get some mths on him it is T there it is impressive to watch this guy hit the golf ball um but when you look at did it come out of nowhere I mean I think you could have made a case uh coming in the week if You' have said um hey this is going to come out of nowhere but I actually like Johnny Vegas this week and you would have said you know what I like I like that he's finished top 30 in his last three weeks this is a ball striking Golf Course um if the wind blows which it's projected to blow uh he's a guy that might be able to hit a lot of Fairways drives it straight hits all the greens now can he get a hot putter uh seems so that he actually had a nice putting week so that's why I like Johnny Vegas this week Charlie if you'd have said that that would have made for one hell of a clip that would we can we can uh back dat that we'll have Jackson do his magic in Premiere and make us look really really smart uh boy we need a little reverse Magic on our one of done picks this week because uh dude that's bull crap what happened to me with uh Thor bjornson he finish shoots five under on Thursday yeah and and you're he's in T5 and I I was listening to SiriusXM driving down the road and they were projecting that like Friday afternoon the winds were going to be really bad I'm like goly my guy's teen off at 2 pm shoots six over misses the cut like this is bull crap and and actually before we hopped on I wanted to see uh of of the late early wave which was the better wave how many of those guys were inside the top 10 and actually it it it went to let's see one two it went to 11 guys so 11 guys in the top 10 so um there was seven seven of the 11 were in the late early draw T tough scene for a guy Thor and Johnny Vegas Johnny Vegas Max graser Matt coocher Maverick mcney all four of those guys are in the late early yeah I mean look you hate to say it because those guys all earn their way there but guys you don't normally see near the top of leaderboard maybe got a little bit of a boost for the draw this week so uh still name you want to name him I'll give it to you Patrick Fishburn that's my guy though no no Patrick Fishman slander on this pod okay all right former cor tour proam partner char teed me up man he teed me up and I'm a little upset too that Kurt kitama was actually a guy I liked this week and unfortunately uh I went to Dublin and I kind of forgot about all the guys I liked that morning it was just like ah who do I like and so I wish I had have probably done um a little better for all the viewers but also Thorne Bon was supposed to win this week it was supposed to be his week to win it felt like it uh Harry Hall tried to do a little little back door top 20 situation for me it felt like he was he was moving up a little bit on on uh Sunday Burns eagled 18 didn't he he had a good week he did but he I think he he doubled or tripled 10 he had a bunch of big numbers out of knowwhere I guarantee if he take his big numbers away he wins by four probably oh yeah no without a doubt yeah but that's what I told you I just he had driver accuracy just some just some issues with some drivers like just a little left a little right but when he hit it good it was great yeah yeah it's it's it's interesting if you look at his Strokes game profile yeah he's he's slightly positive off the T but I think it's probably he had some really good ones and he had some really bad ones and it kind of came out in the wash a little bit maybe so yeah so uh I mean three the 3m's behind us I was going to say I'm I I I I think we've done almost uh 14 minutes on the 3M at this point and that feels like enough minutes on the 3M where where I think it Signature Event Points Breakdown makes sense to go next is this is something you and I have been tracking a little bit just the the the obviously this week was not a signature event but just as we approach you know the Windom and then of course the FedEx Cup playoffs following that MH is is the signature event category the guys playing out of that category this year um and how many points they earned in those events relative to the guys in and around them who did not play in the majority of those events unless they played their way in through the swing five category or next 10 category or they were a tournament winner or a number of different ways they could have played their way in without being part of that top 50 list from the 2023 FedEx Cup uh playoffs and so the guy that's been been sort of our our bellweather all year long it's been MMI a guy that we we want to see playing these events and who actually did play in one event he he swing fived his way into the Arnold Palmer Invitational but that was the only one he played in and so looking at mimo and we got a little spreadsheet here that we pulled up together and just a couple of guys I took the four guys behind him in the in the current FedEx Cup standings and the and and the four guys above him in the current FedEx Cup standings that qualified through for Signature Events through last year standings and I know that that's I know that's a little convoluted but just no no I got you I give an example like I have Bryan Todd currently 69th Sheamus power 68th emilano guo 67th and Jordan Speed 62nd who all were in the top 50 category last year minwoo is 61st and then above him I'm looking at Taylor Moore 58th can you share the screen are you able to share your screen you know what I guess I could share the screen well I mean watching my might as well do it cuz I got I got it pulled up yeah so so and then above mimu Le we have Taylor Moore uh Victor havland uh Eric Cole and Justin Rose and the Taylor 58th Victor 55th Eric 54th and Justin 52nd and so looking at their their points that they've earned this season but then looking at the percentage of the points they've earned that are from Signature Events and this is actually this is an interesting disparity so starting with Justin Rose he's earned 23.5 one% of his points through Signature Events Eric Cole little north of 61% Victor havlin about 57% Taylor Moore about 21% mm has mentioned 2% Jordan spe 61% amelan guo 60 almost 62% Sheamus power 83% and Bryan Todd 56% um just First Reactions to this list Smiley is there anything that like surprises you here jumps out to you just feel about right well I think the the one that jumps out would be okay who's who's kind of you know if if you if it's a normal PGA Tour year where we didn't have Signature Events let's let's take us back however many years ago where 500 points was normal everybody kind of had the same points distrib distribution list a similar playing field uh we didn't have you know just the skewed system that it is now and who would be struggling in that system versus in this year like being able to potentially play their way into the playoffs and I think I mean when you see the percentage of total points at 83.2 4% Shamus power sticks out like a sore thumb right and on the other side of it this is how we got into the into to this discussion was minw Lee was never granted any opportunities to play in any Signature Events this year and just playing in one you know 2.0 2.06% of his points were from Signature Events and you go and look at how many points were available in those Signature Events and that he only got to play one you could always used to think play better but also Min woo to me seems like he's in the category of a guy like you want to see this guy in these in these events so if you say look at a guy say hey you got screwed this year Min mui is that guy who's been lucky to be like still in the bubble contention to be in the playoffs you look at shames power um guys that are kind of um a little surprising to me I I think Taylor Moore uh would be a guy I think he's not played up to his capabilities um clearly in in Signature Events I think we both we both uh see his game and we see um a lot of talent and ability but hasn't been able to quite play up to the standard in which maybe he set for himself and that maybe we see for him as um as well but yeah I I I I that's what I kind of see I think Justin Rose uh it's a little skewed obviously with this as being a PGA Tour um list and we're excluding the majors from the point so you see Justin Rose only 23% but really you know you could kind of look at Justin Rose R and after this season be like man what do you remember about Justin Rose's season it's like well he played amazing at the Open Championship uh earned a ton of points for that during um for the FedEx Cup so that's kind of my takeaway I don't uh what else you got what do you think well so and I've broken these out kind of Page by Comparing Min Woo Lee to Signature Event Players page for each of these guys we've talking about and and Sheamus power let's start with him because this is just so interesting to me so 83% whatever we said 82% of his points are from signature right but look at his list of finish in these events so he played in all uh let's see 1 2 3 4 five six seven eight Signature Events he played in and so and we of course just so people know as well for people who aren't watching Along on YouTube we're we're not including Majors we're not including the PLAYERS Championship these are just strictly the PGA Tour sanction events that fall in the signature category so here is finishes Century t50 18 T proam t31 Genesis t31 Arnold Palmer Invitational t21 RBC Heritage T12 Wells Fargo t16 Memorial t27 Travelers T20 so this isn't necessarily like an earth chattering year right like no one's like I mean you didn't play bad as worth finish was tied for 50th it's a pretty honestly it's that's not that bad it's not it's not that bad but I guess the question that we'd be asking then is you know is not that bad worth 561 points and have you sitting inside the top 70 Line and and making it into the playoffs I don't know I don't know I don't know if if I'm look I disclaimer not a statis there are probably a lot of people out there who are a lot smarter than me who are just like yelling at their screen right now being like you're so dumb this is how this thing supposed to work but to me it's if you look at a guy where he's playing that type of golf and he's earning 82 2% of his points via these tournaments I don't know like it's it's it does he deserve to be 60 you know 68th on that list perhaps but it's a little bit of a head scratcher to me you know and and so that that's on one end of the spectrum and then if you look at you mentioned a guy like Taylor moris so Taylor Morris only earned 21% of his points through through these events he's earned 796 points total and 166 through these Signature Events and so you know he he's finished finished T25 of the century t47 at the TT pram t31 of the Genesis t-48 the API t58 the RBC Heritage t-38 the Wells Fargo Championship missed the cut at the memorial and t68 The Travelers so to your point like not you know has not played up to his standards in these events but he still scraped 166 points for them and and you know again I credit he still played good the rest of the year right like 100% And so that one is is the question I ask in my mind not knowing if it's right or wrong is like is it is is is the inflation for those finishes relative to their position in the field versus a regular points event enough to keep him in and around that top 70 sort of cut off like has he earned enough there to where his 58 if it was coming from regular events would be closer to a 70 or on the wrong side of it I mean we could calculate out this math and kind of try to you know make better sense of this but that's just the first question that comes in my head when I'm looking at these lists this list I'm looking at the outliers on either side yeah I mean it's a it's a great question to ask about um I I think PGA Tour Goals and Objectives we're just in this middle middle ground right now doesn't it feel that way it just feels like we're we're not all the way jumped in to 70 dudes uh playing you know our best venues and our biggest events with the most dollars and the most eyeballs and then we have all these other PGA Tour events like we just recapped 3M and and and shoot like when we do our we look at our numbers for the show I I just don't think people really care quite as much about the events because all the top guys aren't playing now if we had you know a really nice field for some open field events I I think people would really listen and care more because they know the players and they and they can relate to them because they've watched them for years so right now I I just and I know I'm not trying to get into a full debate on what what they need to do but it seems like to me that if it's is there's about 10 guys that you can pick out Min wo Le just happens to be one that we picked out I think you could go and find a handful more where you're like man Keith Mitchell Maverick mcney um Billy horel these are kind of the group of players that have had really nice years um that maybe haven't been getting into signature rents that if they would have been getting into all the Signature Events so let's say instead of 70 guys let's say there's 80 or let's say there's 90 and let's say that's their schedule for the year that's all they play Just against each other all year that seems to me the way to go and then have a bigger corn fairy tour um that has you know the John Deere type events and and that to me it it it makes it more clear to the players but also it doesn't confuse the fans either because they know what they're watching they can't say and look at names and the leaderboard and be like wait that's just not the PJ tour that I grew up watching and not knowing weer boards right yeah PGA Tour Information Gathering Insights it's an interesting one because it's like we're evolving this conversation a little bit to kind of reflect on the 3M and and you know I mean of course there is you know a part of this relates to Signature Events but it it's almost I think the thing we've said pretty consistently is you you stratified this tour without like telling us you're stratifying it and and of course we can watch and know that it's stratified like we can watch the 3M this week and say that is not like a a PGA Tour event doesn't feel like it's PGA Tour quality and I think I think it's fine if it's sold as such and and I get that there are realities of this where it's like you're not going to you're not going to you know call the the good events and Signature Events then call the other ones like the these are the bad events don't watch them like you know you you you have to market the the league you have to do things around this to get people watched I get that but I just I think the thing we're learning through this whole process is you know and this is and this is why I I give the tour a Grace on this for sure is like this is this has to be an information gathering period there's been a level of disruption in the sport that has created some good things some cool things I think that the the Liv has played an XFL style role in comparison to the NFL where it's doing things that are now being adopted and brought to the PGA Tour and making that product better but part of that process is going to be a little bit of information gathering and trying to figure out how do we evolve this league to make it more compelling so that it's you know whatever whatever the goal is like just to take into the next iteration of modernity and and I think that that it's a little bit like I like I like where we're going with the Signature Events if you kind of just fully take us there and say there's this Strat tier of of the tour and then there's a lower strata of this tour and and we're not going to make this one have inflated purses and do all this sort of stuff that that's just it's clearly not that we're and we're we're we're fans of golf we're fans of all the events I'm not just somebody that only watches the top field events like I love watching like even today even though I'm I've said it wasn't as interesting it doesn't mean I didn't love watching it I love watching guys careers change because I I know exactly what it feels like to not be a top player I've I've felt it for a minute but for the most part I was always for hey the more the marrier so when I was playing That's Where I Stood on everything but the more I've been in the TV side it's just the tour can't feel good about where they sit right now with their their TV partners for for instance this week and go to their sponsors and be you know hey 3M what's you know you paid us $8 million last year but we actually need to up it to 10 it's like what what it just does it doesn't reflect and unfortunately um they're forced to do do it a little bit because of of live golf tour and how much money these players are are making and trying to keep players on the PJ tour but um you know I don't know I I just you just have to wonder how how the guys inside the offices of the pj2 are feeling about um the events that they've kind kind of just said hey hope hopefully you get a field you know like we're going to put you after the open good luck well you know what's interesting to me on this one is we talked a lot about this um you know this SSG investment the tour and I think at the time you're getting quotes from guys who are well spoken and and well thought like Max H who were talking about hey um we're going to need to take you know more risks in in in making this product something new and unique and allow more access and get more creative and how we're presenting this thing I think that's a a true statement but I actually think it applies to not the premiere product like I think that if you're if you're talking about any Primo sport where you want to see the top of the top play of course you can dress that up with with graphics and and you know do kind of you know Insider coverage and things like that and people are going to eat that type of stuff up it's going to rate well but I I think that by and large if you're like hey we're getting the the band back together it's going to be all the elite guys from Liv it's going to be the best from the PGA Tour they're going to come together you know there's going to be the majors and there's going to be x amount of these other Platinum Tour events like people are pretty much going to sign up to watch that regardless I think you could get really creative with the second tier tour of just look look around you and look at the the audiences the demographics the way they're consuming golf now the way that's changed and like YouTube content creators like I think we saw almost on the other side of it where they had those guys play in that qualifier to play into the Myrtle Beach event right like I think it's flipped like I would try to be presenting some of these lower tours closer to the way people consume YouTube golf now it's easy for me to just throw that idea out and not you know have step-by-step execution of what that looks like but I I think that could be an information gathering process too of like let's find a way to get creative with how we're attracting new audiences and Catering to people and the way those things get sold and things like that because that's where I think you can cater to the hardos like us the sickos that are just like let me watch live golf and and I don't care you know I'm going be interested in basically all of it but also like a newer sort of fan attracting new eyeballs and getting people interested in this game from a different sort of level that's where I'd be really intrigued of you know revolutionizing whatever that that media product looks like yeah totally I think the biggest issue you're going to run Reality of Relegation Systems in Golf into is is like if it's a relegation type system which we've always had which is shuffling of cards year in year out um competing for a limited amount of cards so let's say you you cut it to 80 or 90 cards you know how many cards are you saying are safe you know if you're saying 70 cards are safe and 20 guys got to go down a tour you know 20 cards for the rest of professional golf is not many cards right like we're talking about we're we're shrinking from 125 down to to 70 which is a very big jump as far as just how many good golfers there are in the world right now compared to let's say it was a couple decades ago is probably you know just the talent pool is just shrinking as far as just how good everybody really is it just is getting tougher and tougher because I think that TV players are realizing that hey we have a rival tour we can't just roll out the same product and and expect uh that not changing is going to help so all going to be interesting I I hope I hope they make big radical changes versus just rolling out a similar method that they've had over how many years which is just um yeah I don't know I'm a big big fan of going to good venues going to big cities going where the juice is um let's let's not screw's let's not overthink is it's not that difficult I I I think you make a a good point there too of like I think it's very easy to critique without offering suggestions I think the one thing that you know as people talk about shrinking shrinking shrinking is think about how many good young players have come up from some of these feeder systems and are we eloa opportunities for those guys and creating a new system like there has to be a not a not a fake we're paying lip service to there has to be a real pathway for young talent to come up because even even look at this now like and I know people say the cream rid of the yeah yeah yeah but like guys like Luke Clanton Michael thoron you know Jackson kin you know even like the Nick Dunlap of the world who are now on tour need Pathways to play themselves into Comfort level at these at these you know in these big tournaments and and find a way to be like okay this guy has a chance to legit make it at the next level and and maybe some guys I mean even like Davis Thompson was didn't like you know jump right out of the blocks you know what I mean like he's a guy that took a little bit of time to get comfortable on tour and now he's a tour winner he's got you know an amazingly solid game looks like a guy that's going to be around for a number of years and there needs to be a way to help nurture that guy and help that guy grow and make sure that he gets a chance to make it while also saying yeah we we understand the reality of a television product we understand that we need to have names that attract and names that sell to get people to pay for this whole thing so otherwise it ain't going to pencil yeah yeah exactly um yeah it's yeah the whole because I I do believe in in that I do believe that there should be a cut every week I think that's part of professional golf I I don't want it to be 70 dudes nobody makes a cut because then it's you're becoming way too much like live golf in which you know I think we've we've been you know very vocal and and been very tough on just hey if if you're not having to make a cut but um it's it's just not it just doesn't it just doesn't do it for me right like when you're watching you know these guys are just um they don't I mean just look at a a lot of guys really you know like Dustin Johnson being a guy that goes over there and just feels like just not the same guy he used to be um and I think it's has a lot to do with just not working at it I just don't want the tour to turn into guys being comfortable I think professional sports should all be about you know got to earn earn what you get and the PJ tour's always been that way so I I like I want the PJ tour to be a healthy environment to where guys can come up come down but young guys like you just mentioned with Luke Clan Nick Dunlap that they have a a legit Avenue now they've created Pathways but a legit Avenue to where they actually can play their way onto the tour to where they have actual opportunities instead of like Nick Dunlap whens the MX it's like oh now you're tour you have no points but here go start guess what he's had to do he's had to claw his ass U off this year to even have a chance to make the playoffs or he be in the exact same position that a guy like AA batia was in last year which is a guy that misses the playoffs not in the Signature Events and has to go and just continue to prove himself that he's worthy to be in these events and we know that aay was good enough and the system didn't allow him to be playing in the big events because he didn't earn the points which is just the whole thing was stupid and same with Nick Dunlap who's if you go look at his his position on the FedEx cupy wins the 300 points at the Barb uh the Barracuda now he's now he's in the top 70 but he's still not safe yeah I mean it's it's interesting in compiling the research for the signature event piece the amount of guys in that category we're looking at who did miss a cut in the Signature Events like they are sure they're free points to a certain extent but they're like not fully free and you compare that to a live ecosystem and it's even interesting just you know talking about this week about you know that these major governing bodies are making more and more of an effort to get these guys um you know guaranteed spots into the into these Majors which I think is ultimately a good thing I mean we've said it every single major I think now that we miss a lot of these live guys you know especially a guy like Bryson did ROM won this week man like I mean it it's it we it's just how do you find a fair way to get them there and and that's and ultimately I think that's the place I come back to is what is fair anymore anyways it's like we've had this disrupting force in this game you know this influx of money this new league and it's part of us has to just kind of let a piece of what was die and live in the past and this this it's a new reality and how do we make the most Fair setup going forward from there like where it's a combination of the a merit based system as golf is always been while acknowledging for realities of Superstar power and where money's coming from and that's just the way it is like you know listen we'd all love it if it was just this perfect system that made everyone feel happy and good about it but you also got to be just realistic about it you know and just how is the next professional iteration of this game going to look and how do you keep it healthy and surviving because if it gets torn apart then nobody wins well before Liv golf players of mainly top players PGA Tour Card Allocation felt like there were tooo many cards to begin with so 125 uh was always been the number uh that that we that that was the number you had to be under every single year and players still felt like that was too much they felt like 100 was a better number and this is before live golf so they take you know 40 some players now we're really that it really should be a little tighter and which is why we're at 70 to make the playoffs which makes sense but but we go and play this FedEx C fall and if you stay inside the 125 you still keep your card it's just there's there's too many cards it's too the system in the fall makes zero sense to me um I have to understand it but it doesn't mean it makes sense I I feel like the season should be over the Tour Championship and then those who did make it are are secure for next year but those that didn't they start their Journey the FedEx Cup um in January where they either on the PGA tour or they're on the cord fairy tour and it just seems way simpler to me that way yeah I mean I I'll say this you know and you might have additional thoughts but for me this is kind of where I arrive on this whole thing is uh you know there are definitely there are parts of it that don't make sense to me there're definitely parts of it where I feel like the it's always sunny Charlie Day meme where I've got like all the yarn behind me and I'm trying to like connect what the Aon swing five how that you know connects to this just in this category like what you know what's going on here but with that said I get that this is I get that we're still information gathering like maybe happening at a slower rate than we would all prefer and like and that's probably the tour included and you said this all along and I I'm the same place as you he's like I really hope we see something soon like 2025 that is a legit like we we've taken all that testing and this is the new program and we really feel good about this the it starts with list right it starts with the FedEx Cup that to eligibility to me is one of the biggest things of how many guys play in an event how many cards are available the the schedule for the year I don't think you're going to see a huge blow ups in that like I don't think we're going to see on the schedule in 2025 like Pine Valley you know like or Cypress Point right like I like Beck that's that's the blow up we all want but I think if if you get the eligibility right if you get how many players are playing in in the signature event correct and then you also somehow mix in two or three more locations in the country that were missing like just ones that that bring the juice Chicago New York La I mean Boston these are all just huge markets and then look at where Liv has been able to capitalize Nashville was a huge huge hit now is there a golf course there in Nashville that that's PJ tour worthy maybe there's maybe there is and Austin we've that's been a great event for years that unfortunately we left that town so there's just these amazing amazing cities that that that love to watch golf that we I feel like are really poor about going to not very fun places at times where you're where you're just lacking even even though there's there is a little bit of juice on a Sunday it's still not the same as going to a a phoenix or Scottdale which is one of our best events of the year that we need more events not necessarily like Scottdale but in that Avenue of that demographic and crowd showing up and realizing that hey we're out here to have a good time let's round up all the live Charters and we're flying everybody to mull Nebraska for the Smiley Show classic at Sand Hills Middle in the middle of nowhere no I I think that that's uh that's actually that's a great segue here we're going to save our Scotty Xander talk for the end LIV vs. PGA Tour Schedule Comparison of the show because this is something you and I were looking at uh you know again something we've been keeping tabs on all year long but specific to this week um you know the strength of this field and the result for the PGA Tour against the way the Liv scheduled this entire season this is another one where I'll go ahead and share my screen here so we have a reference point for anyone who's who's also watching uh on YouTube but it's just it's interesting because here's a thing here are a couple things that struck me first um that you I would have assumed that Liv would be playing a tuneup before every major championship and that being the case I'd say you know no matter what the strength of that event is I understand why Liv's going against it because they're trying to get their guys ready it's actually interesting they did not do a tuneup for the PGA Championship this year and there is a rumored schedule floating around for Liv next year and they it the same thing holds for whatever reason they've decided that that may stretch is just a soft spot that they don't really want to go for um this year they played an event May 3rd through 5th and their next event was June 7th through 9th um and you know just went straight from the they went against the the CJ cup and then they went against the the memorial ahead of the US Open so you know they played three events that were sort of um tuneups for Majors then they played an additional four well they theyve played three thus far that went head-to-head with PGH hor Signature Events they'll have a fourth the the Green Brier that's going to go up against the the uh first FedEx Cup playoff event uh and then the other events that they chose to go up against this year will be um the WM Phoenix Open the cognizant classic and the Palm Beaches the Zurich Classic the CJ cup Byron Nelson the 3M open uh the Nappa Valley Golf Championship and then their team championship will it will be an off week for the PGA tour in the fall so you know I I I think it's it's an interesting mix um it's it's curious to me that they that they went up against W and Phoenix open because I feel like that's kind of your target demo for live what else stands out to you from this list Smiley well when I look at this list I start to think about all right let's let's use the hypothetical of live golf let's just say they're going to be here for five to 10 more years and if and if the PJ tour is going to coexist with Liv golf tour how can we have something to where Charlie the viewer wants to watch both and to me right now they just they haven't figured it out initially it felt like their their strategy was to go against the the worser of the events but like you said going up against going up going up against Phoenix makes no sense right like that's like just an event you would never want to go up against uh the weeks in which I would want to turn on live was I even textt you like I actually want to watch Liv today because I didn't really have I didn't really care to watch the 3M just because I felt like the leaderboard were good um it seemed like they had a decent crowd uh did I watch I didn't but it's still I thought about it um I did think about what been like if you did and I have watched live golf just for those that that do uh consume both products and um listen I mean the they have great players I I love watching John ROM he's still one of my all-time best players I've ever played with and I wish I could watch him more because that's it's so fun to watch him play golf he's he's an angry person when he plays but uh so is darl haton the guy that finished second this week but I I would I would like to see now ideally I would rather live not be around and everybody playing together again but if live is going to exist I would like to see them really just avoid all the big PJ tour events and have it to where and and maybe that doesn't fit the major schedule when you get into the summer kind of uh like you were talking about maybe before the Masters or before uh the Open Championship maybe it can't be perfect but in the early part of the Season maybe you can make it work a little bit and that that's really just my only thought is um is that but I I just think that the times like and and just looking at even like their schedule projection for next year dude I I just I'm not turning the TV on when unless it's like near Prime Time right I think a lot of American viewers feel that way and I know Liv's whole thing is going global um and and and spreading golf around the world but from an American audience I think the PJ tour is great for an American because hey it's like clockwork you turn on the TV at 4:30 p.m. and you can watch you know the last four or five holes of the golf tournament if you turn your TV on and Adela for the last four or five holes you need to do it in the morning right so it's just a it's a totally different uh viewing cycle and maybe it fits a an international viewer much better than an American viewer but I that's that's the hold up for me is is the time in which you can watch and then the fact that they go up against each other too much yeah it it's it continues Future of Golf Predictions it folds right in with the discussion that we're having this entire show which is what does the future of golf look like and how are we sort of composing that in a way that makes sense for the viewer like the most important piece of this whole machine which is the person that spends money on professional golf to keep the thing going and I think that there are I absolutely agree with you on I think the timing of it is interesting and and we could even pull up here because there there's a rumored live schedule uh you know yeah for next season I think kind of interesting and so looking at this right now we have Saudi they've shoveled some tournaments around they they've you know opening Saudi Arabia in February and then going to Adelaide in February which is a bump up I believe from May this past year then going to Hong Kong in Singapore um and then the the week leading into the Masters will be in Austin Texas um then going to Tokyo Japan later in April and then South Korea in May which is interesting then the week before the US Open they'll go to Washington DC uh and then they will go to Nashville on the back end of DC uh the week leading into uh the Open Championship will they'll be in it's a to be determined location in Europe and then on the back in the Open Championship they'll be in in the United Kingdom and then it looks like we don't know the exact dates for the 2025 FedEx Cup playoffs yet but it looks like they have three events that should go up against those in Mexico City Indianapolis and Dallas to close out the year so here's what here's what I kind of 2025 LIV Golf Schedule Overview like about the way the schedule feels a little bit different from past years is opening in some of these locations that if we're in the States and it's still really cold in a lot of locations and there's still kind of snow on the ground um you're watching this sort of exotic Golf and it looks warm and guys are wearing shorts and you're kind of saying like this is uh you know this this looks like this gets me kind of interested in this it it's the same thing of you know PGA Tour doing the Florida swing you know or even some of the events in sort of Arizona in California and stuff like that it kind of gets you warmed up for golf so oh yeah gets you excited gets you excited and then you look out the window you're like oh not quite time yet not quite I can't quite play golf but I I I like that piece of it but I do think like in a larger sense it is you know whether or not the two tours are actually going to mesh or whether or not they're going to coexist um how do you find spots that are are open and I don't know if it's if it's literally getting to the point where there's some sort of a deal with the PF and they're saying you know hey our tour players are going to be released to play in these events these weeks and we're going to have kind of smaller you know weaker field events here on whatever version of the PJ tour it is there like I think that's a one solve that could work um or if they're just going to say hey we're just going to go head-to-head but you know it's obvious that that you know the fields going to migrate I I don't know I don't know what I mean that's so far down the road but like i' I'd like to see it fold together better to kind of further your point yeah I the what would make me interested in watching Liv golf is if there was something to follow with with a points race that that got you into Signature Events let's say the top five of of their order of Merit hey that qualifies you for Signature Events and maybe vice versa for PJ tour events if that's if that's like a a thing in which you can do both um I I would be interested in following Liv golf much more in that case because I'm now I'm tracking to say okay who's going to be playing at the Players or who's gonna be playing at Bay Hill they've had a great year like that's awesome um so that that would be something that's interesting but just like running the numbers a little bit too on it live golf tour I think they started with 12 events they're up to 14 last year and projected to do the same next year and if you kind of look at just the general calendar of of maybe how many guys or excuse me how many events PJ tour top players would want to play let's let's put that number at right now there's eight Signature Events is that is that correct correct yes plus the majors what's plus Majors plus to uh I mean a a Players Championship I'm sorry yeah let's say there's um a a PJ tour um schedule that has 12 to 16 events and let's just use a let's use 14 as a base number because that's that's easy because that's what Liv is doing so now we're talking about 28 weeks and we're talking about four majors so we at 32 total available weeks of golf now there's got to be a way to make all of that work because we're talking about 52 weeks in the year so we got 20 extra weeks in which you can kind of you know not compete with football but also you can mesh maybe one or two here and there in the fall but I I just think there's a world in which it works um I think if you had a a a smaller PJ tour deal but I know these guys probably these tough guys play oh gosh how many events do they play probably closer to 20 is probably about right so 14s on the low side so you're gonna have some tough crossovers like we kind of just talked about where hey you just can't do anything about the week before a major I mean you're going to have guys playing that week and it you're just have to pick and choose which one you watch but maybe there's a way in which both coexists um I think it starts with the PJ tour looking internally it's like let's get the best product that we can possibly do get the best players playing where guys turn on the leaderboard it's like boom that's the leaderboard we got it and I think the tour needs to focus on that um get the eligibility right get the amount of players right and then get the locations right because that's the one thing I will commend live golf schedule on in the states they've nailed where they've gone they've they really have um to a degree maybe not quite as much greenb that's not quite as poppy as as as Nashville or Austin or DC that's potentially going there but they've gone to Chicago they've gone to Boston so commend them on going to the big cities where the action is I mean here's where again my content brain Wheels start to spin a little bit is like cuz just as you're laying that out there you're like okay we have 2 free weeks of the year like I would go so far as to as to be like let's not season yeah well that's that's football season also but but even even like for golf for people who are always consuming golf content like I know I am and like I know many of my friends are it's like let's go send some cameras like rotate pick a new guy a new handful of guys every couple weeks they're not doing it all the time and let's let's have like a YouTube series where everyone's miked up for a money game like something that's more authentic than the match and less produced than a match like I want you to take the production value of like a good good or a bob does Sports and I want to just mic these guys up at their home club and just let them let it rip and and and just see just see what that does try to sell ads against that try you know see if see if that all of a sudden opens you up to a whole new Lane of viewers you know on YouTube or somewhere else or on socials that that you know grows a different type of interest because I mean if you're telling me that there are you're shrinking this thing you know by 60% you know whatever there's like they're they're they're 40% less events out there you know there half as many events out there well I know for sure I'm absolutely going to be tuning in to those events and I know the best players are going to be there so those are going to be the Marquee events it gets you excited to watch golf right you so excited like yeah we we can't miss this week and then in the interum it's like you're trying to prep for some sort of deal it's like oh yeah we've got you know Scotty sheer and and and Jordan Speed playing you know Austin Golf Club you know for for high stakes and and you know you got you know Bob D Sports and fat Perez is out there commentating on the thing and it's it's a nice hang it's like a two-part series you know there's like we cut it down to an hour for the first night an hour for the second night I can just you know crack beer anytime I want to and watch it on an off night like that to me is like yes like that sounds like the type of content I'll consume um I'm dis disappointed in you why CU I just lost a job opportunity I mean I I could have been commentating at Austin Country Club and you there Bob does Sports and fat Perez out there man I could have been hold the mic we're going to be playing in this it's going to be you and I as a Content unit we're going to like what the hell man you just just gave somebody a job right in front of me we're gonna we're going to have jobs dude I'm creating the ecosystem we will have jobs all right we're going to have big Corner offices and you know feel like a gazelle just listen I'll take care ofat Lie by fat Perez right here on live on the air and I love fat breads I'd love to listen to FP but we we'll get you on that was tough we'll get you broadcasting jobs with there there are a whole Litany of jobs I have earmarked for you smiley don't you worry you'll be taken care of well and this new this new ecosystem uh I gotta as as we wrap up the live thing I get gotta once again give a shout out to our guy sea Lori who just every week he's got a new stat packet ready for me oh yeah what do he got this week what stands out so here's your trivia Richard Bland Lifetime Earnings Overview question for the week oh okay how much what do you think Richard Bland's lifetime earnings are on on live oh man I'm gonna guess that he's made 20 million oh wow you guessed High everyone's hot on Richard Bland 13 million all time he's never but he's only played 31 events and he's never finished worse than 40th so that was May that was maybe a bad trivia it is the summer of Richard Bland after all winning all he got any other ones any other good uh questions he has well how about this one so oh are you going to you going to ask it to me or you going to tell it to me well I what I'm going to tell you I'm I'm going to tell you one piece and I'm going to ask you a piece of trivia about one of these players so okay there are a couple things going on here some moves that are happening Harold Varner looks like he fin he finished top 20 this week it looks like he's earned himself an open spot for 2025 on the other side of that is what do you mean like like like he's earned his like even if he's not staying with his team he's playing the league next year looks like this might have locked out for him is there certain number that you can get to that there's like a whole relegation section there are guys that you know happened last year to certain set guys so looks like Pat Perez and and Brandon Grace are gonna are going to be relegated so Pat Perez how much money do you think Pat Perez has made all time on this well is the team included in that you know it it's not clarified in Sean's note I'd have to assume so but you know that that number is so I mean the aces have been like for the first two years they were the team to beat so I don't I can't even give you a number because that they're so different you know with how much you making the team just take a flyer guess how much you think pass and unfortunately unfortunately I I think the cleeks team is included in the Richard Bland number because they just they probably haven't made you should have factored that in probably made a lot of money all right so I'm gonna go I mean he's probably made oh gosh he's probably made 22 million wow high again really he's 18th all time on the money list 17.2 million that's pretty good getting that's a lot of money that's a that's a lot of cash uh so listen thanks LIV Trivia to Shan Sean I might teed up soon Sean's Sean's a local in the Triangle here so oh perfect looking forward to that all right so here here's the place where we'll finish the show Smiley and you know we're almost an hour in here so we'll keep this relatively but some of you not have been kicking around here and I'm going to share my screen one final time the player of the U debate Scotty Player of the Year Debate sheffler Xander Schley I mean I think it you know just even a few weeks ago it would have been absurd to suggest anybody other than Scotty Sheffer uh winning this thing but I think there's an argument to be made I I think if I was in the court of law and I was and I was on the stand and I'm presenting a case for Xander Sha uh it's going to be contingent on future events like I think that Xander is the East Lake Whisperer so I think that like we have to factor in what's going to happen the rest of the year but do you think this thing is is close right now like we're looking at some stats here what's popping for you six wins is currently popping yes that good uh four signature event wins that's popping two majors means a lot though that that honestly counts for you know you could double the wins on that so count them as two uh so be total of uh yeah because he didn't wi any other events it's four events he's I I would put that if you if you do my my uh my double here so uh that that stands out I mean gosh the fact that neither miss a cut surprising at all 34 BS played combined and big fat zero miscuts for these two I mean stats we all know how good that they're great at everything uh the putting stats for Scotty I mean there's nothing nothing that we didn't learn looking at um this besides that I I agree you know in the court of law if he had to argue for Xander scha he' say hey what needs to happen um what needs to happen I think he's got of he's I don't know if gold is is the answer but if he medals I think is is a start so Xander shle gets a medal I think gold obviously would would be that gold is nice that means a lot gold means a lot but I think uh I think that TOUR Championship you know it's that's gonna that's gonna what be what's kind of sitting in everybody's back of their brains where R finishes out because I think the voting goes late in the fall right because I remember last year thinking why are why isn't the voting done now like well cuz remember it that was that was the weird year last year that was the double wrap round that's why ludvig and Eric Cole the the Rookie of the Year race went so late whereas I think this year it might actually be earlier it should be right after like why do I have to find out the player of the year that much later yeah I mean in looking at this list like I I just love the scoring average thing where it's like they're just one two like it's so clear that these two guys are the best players on tour this year Scotty at 67.97 Xander at 68.5 57 and then you look at X you're like man he has made $15.9 million this year like that's a lot of money you look over Scot he's made north of 28 million and he has a lot of tournaments left to play uh so smiley let me throw a hypothetical at you here because this is we're just we're we're fully dabbling at this point let's say Xander medals let's say Xander earns a medal better than whatever Scotty medals like like you know whether it's you know they both medal and he earns gold Scotty earns silver or silver and bronze or he earns a medal and Scotty Doesn't and Xander wins the Tour Championship but Scotty wins one of the FedEx Cup playoff events what would you say at that point okay here's can I kind of hypothetical your hypothetical oh please you can't triple stamp a double stamp has there ever been a player win player of the year to never win a PGA Tour event that year oh wow that just break your brain wow let's say let's say Scotty goes and just absolute shoots the wad in the playoffs plays terribly and Xander wins he miss he would he he's he's he's already in East Lake right like he he forgets how to tie his shoe at all three events and Xander wins gold but let's say Xander finishes second second second in all the playoff events and I mean is there a case to be made that guy won a gold two gold medals excuse me a gold medal and uh two major championships didn't win a PJ Tour event can you give that guy the player of the year for not winning a PJ Tour event so okay I was just I was just Xander schley's attorney now I'm the judge like if you there is no resume coming from Xander schley's camp that is going to have me award him player of the year that does not include a TOUR Championship win like I'm I'm saying like I think he needs to win the Tour Championship for this to even be a discussion Kudos well said Jud kudos to the BMW Championship all of which we're looks like we're going to be at so excited for that but he has to he has to win he has to win the Tour Championship for this to be a conversation and he very well Mike because he's plays fantastic at this place we have to figure out is is he gonna play good at the the new Gil Hance or or Andrew Green I'm sorry with no disect to Andrew Green the new Andrew Green renovated East Lake because that is that is the question I I wonder I'm wondering if it's I mean will the changes be drastic enough to where it's going to make a huge impact on him I don't know only time with tell are we gonna have like a uh I'm already taking Xander just so you know I I'm taking Xander East like well we have a ton of work to do on the one andone front because we have to figure out how many points we're assigning Olympic medals and we now have to figure out how we're converting points to dollars do you want to do points for that like I mean we can do One and Done Update whatever we want to do we can just give picks out for the Olympics and just be done with it well cuz we cuz it you get points for or no you don't get points for the for the two first defied cups it's just it's all an order of finish yeah yeah no but but isn't the No No but but you you get points you get points to finish yeah you get points the first two weeks you get points the first two weeks right so we can do it for those we just got to figure out a system for yeah get we got we'll get there I'll tell you what if anyone has good suggestions if you first of all if you made it this far on this podcast congrats thank you for joining us for this uh second of all find us on Instagram Twitter Tik Tok YouTube find a place comment your suggestion for our one ofone point system for the Olympics and for uh the Tour Championship and then we'll we'll take the best one we'll use it yeah there you go we do kind of got to get Olympic picks in but I think we have a few more days before we do that so yeah that's uh it's next week so I I'm excited to see actually this week right oh yeah what week are we in now well like this coming week oh yes true today Sunday yes it's this week slay for both of us yeah yeah yeah uh yeah we'll past both of our bed times at this stage in the game so uh Smiley do you have any final thoughts for the people we put a Final Thoughts and Reflections lot thoughts out there this week let's see uh one thing I'll say about my travels to Ireland is that I think Dublin Airport's my favorite airport in the world and you know why to it's because you get to clear customs in Dublin so when you land in JFK Atlanta wherever the heck you're flying to the States you just go to your next gate and I think that's so sick so shout out to Dublin for being really good at pouring beer but also having a great airport that's interesting we need to unpack that so you just literally you just you do all your custom stuff running and nothing happens when you get to the states I literally went to my gate that's amazing was awesome I amazing I got to say like Customs has gotten LAX in recent years I was stunned I was stunned at the processes coming back from Scotland JT had global entry and we were just like oh God I got to get Global Entry we're talking about um me and Jill were talking about just like man we're going to be in line this and that because we were thinking we saw to do it in the states and then we get there and uh we we go in just like this lane and then JT goes in the global entry and then Jill and I both beat him like through I was like ah sucker that was that was it was the easiest thing ever so shout out to up airport that's makes you another reason to go back because you don't have to deal with it like it just didn't feel like international travel I I love that I was I was in JT's position in a similar way because I did that thing where you pay for you get like the double up you get TSA and Global Entry at the same time for like a slightly increased price so I was telling my dad and the whole lead of Scotland dad you got to do this you got to do this and and then he didn't get I'm like ah Dad it's going to be really tough you're going to be holding this up here and then we got there and like there wasn't there was just no line oh okay well I guess I guess that was a not a great tip so but when you need it like when there's that one time you need it and man it's nice to have yeah yeah well there you go that's a little teaser as mentioned off the top of the episode do Like & Subscribe not miss the second episode of this week Smiley Coffman alongside Justin Thomas and Jordan be recapping an Ireland golf trip I don't that's just about as good as it gets so uh look forward to that and appreciate you sticking with us watching listening this whole thing tonight and yeah we'll be back here and talk to you very soon you know I listen to this podcast is really cool and all of 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