The 19th Hole Golf Show

Tiger Woods had a fourth back surgery in a little over three years, presumably Wednesday or Thursday, to fuse together his L5 and S1 vertebrae. He's gonna be out at least six months. So why was there talk of him trying to play the Masters or the U.S. Open? Who is deceiving who, and why?

PGA Tour pro Willy Wilcox is our guest this week, as he prepared to head to Texas for the Valero Texas Open (which he got in as first alternate not long after we recorded). We talk about his journey on the PGA Tour, trying to fulfill a major medical, how his game and personality have evolved and a whole host of other topics.

Sergio Garcia is a major champion! El Nino became El Hombre by winning a sudden-death playoff against Justin Rose to win the Masters at age 37 and in his 19th try. Ryan Ballengee joins GNN Live host TJ Rives and Grant Boone, who called the action for Masters Live, to talk about a spectacular Sunday.

We have a great, fascinating leaderboard for Sunday at Augusta National, and we get ready for the final round with a review of the third round and predictions for Sunday in this episode of our majors special, GNN Live. Ryan Ballengee joins TJ Rives and Will Haskett.

A highlight of Masters Week for the last several years has been a visit with nine-time major winner Mr. Gary Player. He joins us again this year to talk about Day 1 of the Masters, his experiences at Augusta National and in majors, as well conversation about hot topics in the sport.

Clark Burroughs played in the 1984 Masters, making the cut en route to successful professional golf career. He joins us each year around big tournaments to talk betting lines, wagering and pools with BetDSI.com . We talk all kinds of lines, teasers and match-ups and props for the 2017 Masters.

This week marks the first Masters since Arnold Palmer's passing last September, and the feeling of absence will likely be profound. Our guest is award-winning and best-selling writer Tom Callahan, whose new Palmer biography, "Arnie," hits stores on April 4. We talk about Palmer's life, his impact on golf and the Masters and delve into the details that illuminate the legend.

1995 PGA champion and 11-time Masters contestant Steve Elkington joins the show to preview the year's first major. Elk talks about his experience at Augusta National, how the club is looking from his recent trip there, the psychology of winning golf tournaments and why Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth are so tough to beat. Elk also talks about Secret Golf, the instruction there and insight into am...

On this edition of "The 19th Hole Golf Show," defending KitchenAid Senior PGA champion Rocco Mediate joins us to talk a slew of topics. We also start the show by talking about Jason Day's revelations about his mother's cancer diagnosis and why it's a lesson that we sometimes are too quick to draw to conclusions.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational will be played this week for the first time sine the passing of Mr. Palmer last September. While PGA Tour players have been critical of their peers for, in some cases, skipping the event, Ryan Ballengee implores golf to look after the longer-term future of the event. That could include breaking up the Florida Swing as we know it to make sure Bay Hill has a proper, im...

On this episode of The 19th Hole, we dig into Pat Perez's comments about Tiger Woods, why he was shouted down for having an opinion and the comparison in reaction to him voicing his views as opposed to the reaction to Steven Bowditch's DUI arrest.

Tiger Woods withdrew from the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Friday, citing back spasms, his fourth WD with such issues since 2014. So now what? Is this who Tiger is for the rest of his life? Unless he makes drastic changes, Woods' career could be over.

We open up the 2017 season with a look at Justin Thomas' dominating performances in Hawaii, as well a look at how Donald Trump probably won't impact golf at all as President. We also set the table for the year on the podcast and Golf News Net.

We put a bow on 2016 in the final 19th Hole podcast of the year, and we close it with a great guest in up-and-coming PGA Tour stud Jon Rahm. We spoke with Rahm at TaylorMade Golf's 2017 line reveal about his crazy early run as a pro, his equipment, his goals for next year and some of the people who have helped him get to this point. Then we close the show and the year with some news items, includi...

We look at how Tiger Woods did in his return to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge and what the takeaways should be from his week. We also discuss Hideki Matsuyama's rise with his fourth win in his last five starts. We're also joined by Harvey Silverman, one of the creators of Quick.golf , a pay-by-the-hole concept that's looking to change how golf operators and golfers see their time an...

On this week's show, we look at why golf media is struggling and what it means for you as a golfer and consumer of golf news and entertainment. We also talk about how we're going to try to tackle the problem at Golf News Net. Then, Jim Varney joins us from Sentio Golf for a fascinating discussion about his company's new line of putters and all of the little details that go into the flat stick.

As the PGA Tour wraparound season starts, it seems like the golf year is dragging. So why do pro golf tours insist on playing tournaments when the audience is so small? Also, we talk about the possibility of a total shakeup in the world of golf equipment.

Tiger Woods shocked the golf world again on Monday, announcing he was pulling out of his intended comeback at the Safeway Open because of a "vulnerable" game. Will he play again? What's holding him back? Our guest is PGA Tour winner Pat Perez, who will make his own comeback to golf after 7 months out following surgery to repair a torn labrum. We'll talk his return, his relationship with Bill Murra...

The 2016 Ryder Cup will be remembered for Patrick Reed's domination, Rory McIlroy's performance of a lifetime, the successes of the Task Force and Phil Mickelson. We talk about it all and look forward to the future of the matches.

Three of four wild-card picks have been added to the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and Davis Love III didn't pick Bubba Watson. Why? Will he anyway? We discuss. We also talk about Golfsmith's bankruptcy filing just a little. Then we're joined by EZLinks CEO Gary Cohen to talk about his company's growth, how the game is faring in his view and how technology can help golfers enjoy the game more.

We now know 20 of the 24 players who will compete in the 2016 Ryder Cup. Ryan takes a look at the 12 European players and the potential snub of Russell Knox, as well the eight automatic U.S. qualifiers and who could fill out the team with Davis Love III's captain's picks.

Golf's return to the Olympics is a success, both with the men's tournament and the Rose-Stenson showdown, as well the women's event with a strong, yet varied, leaderboard. Now, what can golf do better in four years in Tokyo? We look at that this week.

Tom Watson is one of several keynote speakers at an important Friday night dinner put on by Travelers and the Travelers Championship. The dinner will benefit the Bruce Edwards Foundation and is expected to raise more than $1 million that will support research toward a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), which claimed Edwards' life. Mr. Watson speaks about his works with ALS since Edwards' passing...

Jimmy Walker won his first major championship at the PGA Championship, with an exciting final 30 minutes against Jason Day. How does his win rank against the other three majors of the year? We're joined in the second half of the show by two-time NBA champion and Duke legend Shane Battier. We talk about his foundation, the parallels between golf and basketball, as well his quest to get to a single-...

It was the greatest golf duel in major championship history, and Ryan Ballengee talks about Henrik Stenson vs. Phil Mickelson at the 2016 British Open, including what it could mean for both players at the PGA Championship. Ryan is then joined by Billy Casper Golf CEO Peter Hill and Fisher House Foundation president David Coker to talk about the World's Largest Golf Outing, which is a simultaneous...