Hot Start in Memphis - 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship Round 1 | The First Cut Podcast

Intro + Trivia Time! freaking first cut golly welcome to the first cup podcast I'm Rick Gan and this is your round one recap for this week's FedEx St Jude Championship the first playoff event of this year Kyle Porter is here KP good to see you good to see you too Rick I've got uh I've got some trivia for you how about that turning the tables on you I hate when I don't know the answers it's so much easier when I know them all right um yeah that's that's for sure both both questions I I looked both of these up today uh not for trivia reasons but because I was curious about things that were happening in the the the golf the St J championship okay and they both relate to guys that were kind of in the mix a little bit so my first question is what is Hideki Mama's best FedEx Cup finish at the end of the year so so through the Tour Championship what do you think his best finishes I don't think it's very good so so I'm gonna say um 10th okay very close it's eighth I was gonna say ninth but I guess and I think he I think he's done it twice I I was intrigued by that I I think of AI as somebody that would have finished higher than that in terms of like a hey if you play 25 events this is one of the four best guys for a year or six best guys or whatever so I was intrigued by that and then the other one is also interesting how many how many uh turn how many times has will salot Horus finished or played excuse me in the Tour Championship it could conceivably be zero because his his his first year he was a special temporary member he did not get into the playoffs what year would that have been could that have been 21 then 22 he won the FedEx and did and then withdrew at the BM W missed basically all of 23 and this is 24 I'm going zero he's play he's hit zero shots at East Lake wow isn't that wild yeah I I knew it was I knew it was gonna be because he also showed up I was running like um best players in the playoffs and I don't remember the number but will zor has played like seven rounds in the playoffs or something and I was like wait a minute what well the one that's surprised me I think it it was in your newsletter um Eric Van van royan was in was in like the top four yeah he's only played like 12 rounds total yeah well remember he he was he was basically the big mover last year he was the guy that started I don't know what he started I was call it like 68th and made the Tour Championship like he got he had like back-to-back top 10 I think yeah so I was I was surprised that he was so far ahead of of uh like Sheffer was way down the list and and Eric Van royan was like was third it was it's a very interesting stat uh because it's sort of coar agnostic and just shows you like okay who's the best guys in the playoffs I don't know if that you know it it's I would probably put more value on like who's good at specific courses but it's I thought it was still interesting yeah and there's you know guys with a with a bigger sample size like Rory's you know played I I don't know how many rounds he's played in the playoffs but I'm sure it's it's a ton but some of those other guys are products of their sample size totally but yeah the zator stat shocked me he he got he was like three under early and I was like huh look up you know where he's at and can he get to the East Lake and how what's his best F and he's never played I me he he finished 30th in the in the FedEx Cup in uh like you said 2022 but it was because he he withdrew or he didn't even show up he he was he was too injured to play so I I was stunned by that stat yeah that's okay that's a good way to start the show now here's what we're going to do we're going to get youall situated for round one here and uh our overnight leader is a guy who went out early so we're just going to talk about him right out of the gate here and it was Chris Kirk who shot a six under 64 KP got off to a roaring start he made the turn in 31 he was five under by the Chris Kirk is the overnight leader and his round featured a hole-in-one time he stepped on the te at number 14 and that is where he made an ace I believe I saw that's his fourth Ace on the PGA tour he would go on to Bogie 18 his only blemish on the card he is in Solo first right now one shot clear of a Chase pack including three names but that moves him so here's here's the big movements with the quadruple points Chris Kirk if it finished right now would move from 28th to third in the FedEx Cup standings yeah and and uh and hideki's up to fourth so yeah it's I mean we've seen this from him before right uh 2014 deche Bank he won over I think that was was it 2014 I think it was around there I think it the same one that Billy hell played so well at in in terms of the FedEx Cup um you know this is this is an interesting one for a bunch of reasons one he made an ace he said it was probably his ninth of his life but he can't remember six Flex awesome uh two he has he only has one top 10 Rick since when at capala yeah he did his work the first week of the year the century wins the century his only other top 10 was a T10 at RBC Heritage it is it's not been a great year no it has not and then I think that kind of leads into the third one which is that right now he's 12th in the President's Cup standings and it ends I think it's after is it after this week or next week I don't know but I'm like 65% sure it's to be W okay I think that's right so he's got a real opportunity to kind of Make Some Noise late and and and either qualify or play his way onto the team so there's kind of a lot of different things going on for for Chris Kirk and and a lot at stake for him right now outside of just playing obviously very well in this golf tournament yeah so he is out in front and there is as I mentioned three guys chasing we'll get to uh a couple of those in just one actually no pendrith was out in the morning so we can talk about Taylor pendrith here he shot a five under 65 it was bogey free and last time I checked I'll have to grab the final numbers here let's see he was losing green yeah he was losing Strokes put he did he lost over a stroke putting he smacked the cover off the ball yeah he's uh he's interesting he's had a better year I think Than People realize seventh in the FedEx Cup um yeah we'll see I Taylor Pendrith and Matthieu Pavon sit one back mean you know it's these guys at the top you're kind of like yeah okay it's been it's the end of the first quarter and you've got you got Scotty and and uh and Xander doing Scotty and Xander thing so uh great great first day for him uh it'd be a fantastic win again another guy that's probably headed to the President's Cup so um really good Tia green for for him and like you said didn't didn't really make anything I would be quite confident he is on that President's Cup team without knowing his standings or anything like that he'll I think he'll be on that team yeah I think he's like the highest ranked of the Canadians I'm pretty sure Nick Taylor uh Connor might be up there Connor yeah Matthew Pavone one of the highest ranked Frenchmen in the world this th he is golf's Ricky Bobby okay if he ain't first you're last that is the motto that he lives by he routin L uh goes from missing three Cuts in a row to finishing solo fifth at the US Open out of nowhere and I'll par lay that into a couple good finishes then it'll go Miss cut t50 58 in smaller field ADV just all over the yard well we got a good one today uh 5 under 65 just won bogy on the card that was on number nine if you look at his stats he lost a little bit off the te but otherwise was great throughout the bag KP he hit 15 Greens in regulation that was the most in the field or tied for the most in the field we talk about it all the time um you know you can do a lot of these guys do get 80% of their production from 10% of their starts Pavone gets like 90% of his production from 10% of his starts yeah I mean that's that's kind of what you want right like you would rather it be that than a bunch of t22 you know you might add up to the same FedEx Cup points but at least you had a chance to win some golf tournaments um now I always struggle with this because a pro would tell you no I want to be more consistent more consistent more consistent and it's like well I I understand where you're coming from but also do you like I think you want to win tournaments you know so yeah he's he's intriguing he's had is he like the breakout guy of the year in terms of barely knew who he was coming into 2024 and now he's I mean he's not a household name he might be a rick Gan and K Porter household name but um is is he is he that guy yeah because I think um well he I mean he wasn't even playing on the PGA tour fulltime before this year and then when he got off to that hot start with the win and then honestly I mean he was playing so well so he wins Farmers I think he was two shots back at Pebble Beach and they did not play that final round there was a there was like there's a there is a universe in which Pavone wins both the farmers and Pebble Beach which is which is kind of crazy right out of the gate so yeah I mean in terms of um I don't know how you'd want to rank it yeah just being more involved in our brains he's got to be the biggest Riser yeah producer Josh brought up OE also which ox's been around forever though for us he's like 22 um you're right uh I I think we were more familiar with oxay coming into 2024 than we were Pavone at least in terms of like hey this guy is super young he could be awesome Pavone's like yeah P like Pavone the name I would recognize scrolling through a field but I don't think I could have picked him out of a lineup yeah ache I could have probably I could have done both for sure uh I I'll throw Aaron Ry up there also um even outside of the Windom last week just been a really I love guys that and I haven't looked at Pavone's numbers but I love guys that improve year-over-year and in terms of Strokes G and Aaron Ry has improved each of the last it's either six or seven years if you look at sort of um normalized Strokes gain to to uh or or weighted Strokes gain to the field so he's been he's been like steady Improvement which I really respect a lot uh he's probably going to be the active leader because I think two of our better streaks Matt Fitzpatrick and Mt Matt Fitzpatrick and Max H are coming to an end this year guys that are probably not going to improve on their numbers yeah that's true oh that'd be a that'd be a fun one is to look up I'm sure you can query that in by the time we're done but you probably can't it's I cannot um yeah that that would that that's a really because you know you could theoretically gain like 01 over last year and you're not you're not really doing much but if you can continually do that by the time you're 34 35 playing some pretty good golf couple of other notables that got off to to really good starts and stop me if you've heard this before uh Tommy Tommy Lad is off to another good start + JT is in his happy place at Southwind Fleetwood was very very good he's in a tie for fifth a four under 66 it was three straight birdies early he went on a streak at two three and four he also birdied eight and that was it finished his round with 10 straight pars uh 14 Pars in total and Tommy the last time we saw him was on the podium at the Olympics and he is searching for another one here oh yeah it would be a a first one I guess uh are you talking about another Podium finish I was referring to another Podium yeah I was not giving him a victory by any stret what how do we feel about Tommy I mean it it's been he's had a good year I guess I mean he finished top five at the Masters weird back door there um there just not there's just not enough wins there's not enough wins to go around there's just I I mean I know it's just because it is top of mind but we have talked about this in a non-olympic years all the time the idea of podiums should be a thing you know what I mean it is it is so who actually wins the golf tournament is not does not always tell the whole story and I just think there's not enough wins to go around for all of these guys and when you've got a couple of hogs in Scotty Sheffer and and and Xander Schley what are these guys gonna do you can't they just can't win well they just can't win yeah I mean I I agree I problem is when you have 27 bronze and no Golds it's like okay well I think that does tell a story that you don't really want it to tell but but there are that story though can change very quickly yeah right like Tony fenal changed his story in back toback weeks or whatever like it just that story the ending of that story changes very quickly yeah I think I think my deal with Tommy is you you mentioned okay not it's not enough wins for sure I would argue it's not really enough uh contention like he he he's had a like if you just look at the spreadsheet you're like yeah okay Tom Tommy Good Year like solid made a bunch of money played well but how many turns have you watched where it's like oh Tommy's in this like not very many right he just uh I've never I don't think I've ever seen him take over a golf tournament um well I'm just talking about like for 2024 though yeah but I'm saying like he you know he it feels like he doesn't always play his greatest golf on Sundays and when he does which I thought his Sunday at the Olympics was awesome I mean he just gets he just gets Scotti but it it never it feels like he's hanging on as opposed to surging on something or when he is surging there's somebody like I think about Port rush there's somebody ahead of him you know yeah yeah uh yeah it'd be cool to see him uh get get a win one of these three playoff events but you know I don't confidence is not super high in in this household no but probably have a he'll probably finish T4 and uh improve his FedEx Cup standings if it were to end right now he'd move from 31st to uh excuse me 32nd to 21st Justin Thomas when he gets TPC Southwind he puts together uh some solid round so this was a three under 67 in which he made 1 2 3 four five six birdies including four out of a five hole stretch on the second nine this is really interesting KP so the scoring average was one under Justin Thomas shot a 67 that is three under he's in a T12 he's losing a position in the FedEx Cup standings right now how's that possible because the guys that because the guys that are above him on the leaderboard were behind him in the FedEx Cup standings that's the only way it's the only way he's the only guy he is the only guy in the top basically 18 or 20 of this event who is not picking up positions but it's got to be the guys right behind him right it's it's Chris Kirk yes it is um I'll tell you exactly who it is it's Matthew pavon yeah so he was 19th it's it's Tommy Fleetwood who was 32nd it's pendrith who was 27th it's Kirk who is 28th um yeah yes it's the guys who are basically within 15 or 20 spots have jumped ahead of him even though he is beating the field right because you're if you're in 50th you would almost have to be leading the tournament to have to have or you probably would have to be leading the tournament to have surpassed uh Justin Thomas Rick I think JT's kind of lur I think he is very lurky careful careful I've been I think he's been lurking for six months he has not well here's the deal like he plays this course great he's kind of not being talked about people presume he's had a bad year he's 19th in the FedEx Cup that is that JT standard probably not is it pretty freaking good yeah absolutely it I he's sixth in the field in or last time I looked he was six in approach play it's a it's something that it's kind of been off and on for the last two years but when it's on it's so good the the the only issue the only problem the only reason I would not take him as a long shot to win this week I mean in terms of like as things stand right now is the I don't trust the putter at all whatsoever he yeah okay so the the round just completed there were the final numbers on Victor pres and Emilo last group out are coming in right now so um Justin Thomas yeah he finished seventh he gained two strokes on approach he lost uh three quarters of a stroke with the putter I will remind you J uh KP that JT has won this golf tournament losing Strokes putting yep I know and he's finished 15th two other or top 15 two other times so I'm I'm very intrigued by the position that he's in going to to Saturday yeah shape enough to be a good one we haven't even spoken about the number two player in the world the number one player in the world the number one player in the world's best friend and toi Matsuyama we're going to cover those guys after a quick word from our partners we you need your sports news anywhere we've got breaking news to bring you then get your sports anytime you want them big trade news overnight to discuss because we know you need Sports all the time a lot of movement in the rankings this week a legend adds to their legacy we're bringing you that breaking news right here on HQ CBS Sports HQ anywhere anytime all the time and we're back I'm just let's just lump these two together Sheffer and shley played together both shot 66s both got off to really great starts Scotty Xander and Scottie carded a pairs of 66s was 4 under through six Zander bird his first three they combined made just one bogey that was Scotty from a greenside bunker on number 133 they both sit Two Shots off the lead they both of course retain their current uh FedEx Cup standings positions which are obviously one and two and they are the first and second favorites to win this golf tournament so I can just put both those guys together yeah I mean the the phrase that comes to mind after round one is total control you know for both of them for this tournament for the FedEx Cup playoffs I mean it feels like I'm not saying this is how it's going to turn out it feels like both of those things are are two horse race right now and and I wanted to point out one thing we we we don't need to spend a ton of time on them because we'll talk about them plenty throughout the week the thing that has impressed me so much and this is Sheffer specific but you could apply some of it to Xander uh Justin Ray tweeted out a stat that uh I think it's not since Tiger have has anybody had a less than 10% bogey percentage throughout the season and th those guys are both in the nines right now right and I thought about that stat whenever Scotty was on the third hole you see on the card it's a five and it was a five that was a circus because he hits his second shot in the water it's it's a par five just a wipy really a bad shot I don't know if it was a mud ball or what I mean there was mud on the ball I don't know if that's what caused it uh and somehow he gets up and down it's a 14-footer for par and I was I had the golf on I was kind of doing something else and I see the the wipy one into the water it wasn't even really that close and I look up like 20 minutes later and he's like three under because he birdied the next two or he birdied the he was four under he birdied the next three holes and you're like wait a second what I thought he like how did that and and and that's the thing he does so well is he keeps his rounds together Xander does it too uh but Scotty just really stands out the way that he does it and that's why he's the number one player in the world and it's and it's a big reason why he's won seven times so far this year it's probably going to win at least once more over the next three weeks yeah that was the moment I I I was thinking about his round as well it's you know you escape three with a par and then you rattle off three birdies in a row just just vintage vintage stuff so it was it was like it if that's the only hole you've ever watched a Scotty Sheffer you you understand the whole thing correct yeah so both those guys in at uh 66 that's four under par Sam Burns got off to a Sam Burns’ tale of two nines + Hideki’s hot putting day really strong start KP he turned in four under and added another Birdie on 10 now he leaked a little oil coming in Bogie's on 14 15 and 17 he also parred 16 which is a par five so really tough stretch on the back he salvages a better day with a birdie on number 18 this is kind of the frustrating thing for me A lot of times with Sam Burns is he possesses some of the best Firepower that we have on the PGA tour but it it can get away from him at times and that's what we saw late in his round yeah it was uh was it 15 where he hit the tree and it was like kind of all over the yard I think he was 15 yeah where he hits it into the hits it right off the te and then he's like long on his second shot and it's yeah it's a kind of a circus from there uh so yeah I agree with you it's it's just a lot of I don't know what don't what do we make of burns like he's obviously so good so talented but I think it honestly it's a little bit of the of what I just mentioned about SC of of it's it's just it seems to be harder for him to keep rounds together to keep that moment going and sounds like such a small thing but at those at that level with those margins it becomes a huge thing over the course of a tournament so yeah um yeah I mean I think he'll get to East Lake I think he's a top you know 30 guy once again but I I just don't know I don't know it this sounds crazy but I don't I just don't know how many guys can compete at the very top right now currently he moves from 29th before the tournament started to 25th so trying to kind of solidify that ticket to East Lake Sam Burns in at three underpar that's three shots off the lead Hideki Matsuyama the last man of that five under Trio and he played it in the afternoon and this was a nearly a two- pencil day for Hideki he makes bogie on the third hole that's the par five so just to be clear here uh the par fives six was actually the more excuse me I'm looking at the wrong here we go the third Hole uh was the more difficult par but still played under par and then 16 was the one that everybody was taking advantage of uh Hideki Bogie's three but makes birdies on four seven and nine then he gets on a hot stretch on the second nine kind of opposite of what Sam Burns did Hideki Bird's 12 14 15 and 16 before boing 17 if you look at the stats uh he led the field in putting which is not something that we get to say a lot about Hideki Matsuyama yeah kind of a wild week for him right he's without his coach he's without his caddy um he's never finished as high as he is right now in the FedEx Cup I know it's round one but there's kind of a lot going on uh with Hideki um a little bit of the burns thing where it's like oh there's there's a lot there you know there's a lot of birdies a lot of boogies we'll see uh I I mean I think I think the thing that I think about himick is I think he's one of those handful of guys that can make it up to the three spot going to the Tour Championship and I think he's had kind of an underrated year I think I mean you think about Riviera um it it's not like a it's not a it's not a Hideki year that necessarily stands out because he hasn't won a major he had that 2017 run at Aaron Hills when he had such a great US Open but I think it's been a really solid Hideki year and one that he could potentially finish the highest he's ever finished in the FedEx Cup yeah and uh certainly trending in that way like Kyle said goes from eighth to fourth in the FedEx Cup standings that third through six or seven very much up in the air and very valuable over the course of the next seven rounds speaking of value producer Josh has our betting odds this round is now officially complete so we shouldn't see too much movement in these numbers and Betting Favorites I've already teased it we've got the same similar names at the top of the board here Scotty Sheffer two and a half to one just a bit shorter than his pre-tournament odds to win now after 18 Xander shley five and a half to one uh Hideki is s and a half to one we didn't even talk about Rory Rory mroy is 12 to one he was two under 68 he had an eagle on the card offset by a couple of uh Bogies so he is in a tie for 18th colum Mora and Tommy Fleetwood are in the mix as well uh I don't I mean Rory obviously could win this tournament I don't know if I I don't really think he's going to I don't I don't really know why that is uh just a lot of guys who are in very much control of their game right now like we're at the point of the Year where you are going in one direction or another some of these guys have it all figured out and some of them are obviously struggling Rory feels like he's maybe Treading Water a little bit by his own standards his own very lofty standards yeah but feels like he's Treading Water a little bit there are some guys who are just just firing right now I I I agree with that I I think I I I would go Xander or JT on this list I think I mean Xander and Scotty have been basically the same for the last two or three months overall Scotty's had I think a better year and and for the if you look at the stats for since January 1 it's been Scotty um by a decent margin but last three months they've been been pretty similar like there's not a ton of difference uh so I you're just I think you're getting value there with Xander and then JT it's just kind of a fire at 28 if he makes anything I think he's gonna get into contention but I don't know if he's going to make anything so we'll see yeah the two like best model guys are pendrith and Thomas of those two I trust Thomas that when he gets into the mix of TPC South Wind he can kind of compete with these other guys at the top but I'll tell you what I still Hideki hideki's been so I'm so bullish on Hideki for these for these playoffs and seven and a half to one you think he's gonna blink you thinki Matsuyama cares at all about Scotty sheffler Xander SCH doesn't even know those guys exist no I I agree uh since the since Riviera uh T12 at Arnold Palmer T6 at the players t7 at the Texas open um he eight at Memorial sixth at the US Open and then third at the Olympics those are kind of his best starts he's said I mean I said this earlier he's had a really good Hideki year it's not a it's maybe not a vintage one but it's been I've got it here like his one two three fourth best year ever in terms of numbers that could change uh over the next three events for better or worse but yeah he's been really good he's a stud I love him I love him I'm just like I'm full circle on Hideki can't get up okay KP did speed excite you today at all oh man um I saw him you know I didn't see a lot of it I was kind of deep in a d a project but I ever I looked up and I saw it like two really weak putts I was like oh God here we go but I but he was three under I think he gave one back late um to finish it two under yeah listen I better than a lot of guys in the field better than I thought he was going to do he seems like he's really struggling through a lot of stuff so hang on put it together he he's he's got to play well over the next three rounds or this will be his last three rounds of the Season yeah he he I I was in and out a little bit as well but he hit some shot that he was yelling about he was he he kept doing this uh like fake Club slam like and it like hurt my back to look at it it's like dude like we're fine you're two under three under like we just need to we just need to just chill a little bit like just enjoy the 67 or I guess it was 68 and move on to Friday he is he is a special boy he was screaming at this ball on it was a part three I can't remember what hole and he yeah it landed on the French and he chipped in for two and it's just like just insane stuff he's sick he is so sick anything else anything else for this Thursday no that's it it was it was a fun first day I'm I'm excited to see how this one kind of shakes out we'll be back uh after the next three rounds uh to break everything down we also have a live show tomorrow so Josh uh correct me if I'm wrong the show tomorrow on CBS Sports Network is at 2 p.m. eastern time that is 2 p.m. eastern time and yes I have confirmed that that is correct uh it'll be myself Patrick and Greg will'll miss you KP and yeah uh kids in school I've got an off I don't know what I'm gonna do oh boy should play golf it's crazy I think I might yeah smart good guy uh so we'll see you a lot more the rest of the week but for now I'm going to say big thanks producer Josh does all the hard work behind the scenes that right there Kyle Porter at Kyle Porter CBS and you can find me at Rick run good this has been the first cut we'll catch you next time [Music]