The Shotgun Start

This revelrous Friday episode begins with an appreciation for the early leaderboards across the globe from the LPGA to Dubai to Georgia. The RSM Classic is a cornucopia of Shotgun Start favorites and Brendan and Andy run through some of the regulars as well as update low and “high Davis” on the leaderboard. Over in Dubai, they praise Frenchman Mike and discuss Rory’s outrageous shot and opening ro...

This Wednesday episode begins with another celebration of Brendon Todd, a Shotgun Start favorite son that was never doubted. Todd’s Masters odds are discussed as well as the unexpected debate about whether he should replace Brooks Koepka on the Presidents Cup team if BK were to WD. Then they get to the schedule for the week, where we marvel at the abundance of Davises (Davi?) in the field at the R...

This Monday morning episode is full of anticipation about the possibilities of Brendon Todd going back-to-back on the PGA Tour. Brendan and Andy discuss the Mayakoba leaderboard with a few holes left to go on Monday morning. They also discuss Vaughn Taylor’s sweaty hat, why Mich Ultra would choose him to sponsor, the alcohol content of Mich Ultra, Zach Johnson playing ahead, Matt Kuchar’s bar tab...

It’s Friday! This recording came prior to an angsty, brown-sauce fueled Thursday Night Football viewing. Andy and Brendan begin with a celebration of all that happened in the opening round at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa. They start with hailing the Mattress King, Louis Oosthuizen, and his heroic effort posting an opening round 63 to lead while battling kidney stones. There’s also mu...

This Wednesday episode previews one of Andy’s favorite weeks on Tour, the event with no fans, the Mayakoba Classic. Brendan and Andy have a more-extensive-than-is-warranted conversation on the annual fall event in Mexico, reliving the glory of some past random champions, debating the course design, and receiving an education on mangroves. A short diversion on Aaron Wise and Joaquin Niemann leads t...

Brendan and Andy return from the weekend ready to discuss some senior circuit golf, notably Jeff Maggert’s hole out to beat the Goose in Phoenix and also deliver Ron Burgundy the overall Schwab Cup title. Was this an appropriate way to award a season-long title? The crowded European Tour playoff in Turkey is also reviewed as a bit of a pillow fight, despite some clickbaity headlines to the contrar...

This Friday episode begins with some immediate reactions to the televised conference call from The Woods Jupiter on Thursday night. Brendan and Andy discuss the restaurant scene and the conference call choppiness from the entire production, which left them delightfully entertained. Who forgot to mute their phone? Who came on late and needed info repeated? Who went MIA in the middle of the call? Th...

The PGA Tour is off this week but the Shotgun Start marches on with a preview episode and a conspiracy theory for why the Tour might be off -- it involves a quid pro quo with a certain brokerage firm. A diversion into a fantastic Daniel Chopra story leads to a discussion and a ranking of the national chain pizza joints. The event of the week will not be televised but Andy runs through some names t...

After an extended break, Brendan and Andy return to discuss a joyous weekend of winners in the world of golf. They begin with Rory McIlroy’s WGC victory in China, crediting him with winning the first ever (and newly created) LUP Slam, a more prestigious offshoot of the Grand Slam or Tiger Slam. This also provokes a discussion on if this win, or any non-major win, matters anymore for a talent like...

A Wednesday episode begins with a rundown of the schedule for the week. Brendan and Andy start with the WGC in China, which has a deep-ish field despite the current best player in the world playing the opposite field event. They discuss why this WGC feels low stakes and some of the issues with the host course. Then the opposite field event in Bermuda is put squarely in the crosshairs. The list of...

The weekend is over but Tiger is a winner again, completing a dominant four rounds at the Tour’s first ever event in Japan. Before getting to Tiger’s chase for records that may or may not matter, the Browns and Bears get their lashings and Andy confides he might have set a record himself this weekend: time spent at The Woods Jupiter. Then the Zozo is given the treatment: the badass trophy, what th...

This Friday episode begins with a chat on Tiger Woods’ season-opening round in Japan and if he’s now a comp to Jon Rahm. After running through some updated results, Brendan and Andy hit on news, discussing the reduced Bio Kim suspension, a 15-year-old winning an OWGR event, and Bryson’s big beef-up. This leads to a hypothetical of Bryson doing the pommel horse at the Olympics and not golf, as well...

This punchy Wednesday episode includes an all-time story about Andy purportedly getting hit by a bike, so hang in there for that. The non-golf opening includes a discussion on Bears starting QB odds for next year and why Illinois’ revenue sports can’t keep talent at home. In golf matters, the schedule for the week segment begins with praise for the Zozo Championship bringing PGA Tour golf to Japan...

A shortened Monday podcast begins with Brendan and Andy trying to record while also watching the Bears and Mitch Trubisky unraveling against the Saints. But there is some solace from Saturday, where Andy’s alma mater pulled off the second biggest upset in Big Ten history. Then in golf matters, the two react to Justin Thomas winning the CJ Cup for the second time in three years and what it might me...

This Friday episode begins with a Happy Birthday wish to Ernie Els, Andy’s idol. There’s also a brief discussion of his Presidents Cup roster and one particular star that might be apathetic about team building. Then we get to the Brooks Koepka comments on the lack of a rivalry with Rory McIlroy, discussing both sides, dismissing both sides, and just walking away happy that these quotes exist. The...

This Wednesday episode begins with an Andy conspiracy theory that the NFL is fixing games for the Packers. After a needless digression on some daunting yardwork, the CJ Cup, or CJ Plaque, is previewed with a look at the field, the lucrative purse, and the course, which has received a dubiously high ranking thanks to some rumored quid-pro-quo schemes. There’s also a brief and amusing story on the u...

A worse-for-the-wear episode begins with Andy recounting his weekend and the circumstances of his injury in South Carolina and Brendan calling for the firing of Freddie Crockpot. In golf matters, the two discuss Lanto Griffin’s win in Houston, Brandon Wu’s impressive debut, and the sparse attendance. On the Euro Tour, they crown Bernd Wiesberger the greatest Austrian golfer of all time and stumble...

A delayed Friday podcast begins with an apology tour as Andy recounts the many logistical mishaps of getting to Aiken while Brendan plays a potentially age-inappropriate movie for his kids while trying to record. Eventually, they get to golf and discuss some early Houston Open scores, including Cole Hammer’s impressive 1st round and Rich Beem popping back at our frustration with his being in the f...

Brendan and Andy return from the weekend to discuss the playoff finish in Las Vegas. They run through some of the astounding stats from a weekend when it seemed like everyone was posting numbers in the low 60s. If ever there was a week for an adjusted par, this was it. They also wonder if Rory’s FedExCup title should have an asterisk based on the schedule changes and if Brooks potentially got marr...

This Friday episode begins with a brief check-in on the early leaderboard in Vegas. Brendan and Andy discuss Nick Taylor’s start and how it fits in with his elite Mariokart skills. Then they hit on Phil Mickelson chasing a Presidents Cup spot. Smylie Kaufman’s ugly opening round prompts empathy and also a discussion on professions where you might have to work through it in full view of the public....

The usual Wednesday segment running down the week’s schedule is promptly de-railed by discussion of the news that five players failed the new PGA Tour driver testing at the Safeway Open. Brendan and Andy react to the news being broken by a non-golf entity like Reuters and posit that it might be time for more outside voices to get involved in the regulation of this issue. They react to the player r...

Victory Monday on the Shotgun Start is loaded with content goodies from the weekend. Brendan and Andy begin with a cursory review of the Bears and Browns success, as well as debate on if backup QB is the best role to have in the NFL. After those pressing non-golf matters, they jump immediately into Rory McIlroy’s comments on the European Tour setups being too easy. They hit on the hypocrisy of the...

A Friday episode of the Shotgun Start begins with Brendan’s Romo reckoning. The QB-turned-Skechers pitchman posted a 2-under 70 in the first round of the Safeway Open, which puts him safely inside the cut line. Andy and Brendan discuss his day watching Romo hang on with the possibility of $10,000 from a hasty and stupid bet hanging in the balance. Then they move to less stressful matters, like Lee...

This Wednesday episode previews the weekend to come in golf and it’s a loaded one with discussion on the Safeway, Dunhill, LPGA inside the Brickyard racetrack, Asia Pacific Amateur, Crump Cup, and the Senior Tour event at Pebble. But first, Andy reckons with a Bears MNF win that may be more concerning than encouraging. For the Safeway, Brendan and Andy finalize their wager on Tony Romo making the...

Brendan and Andy return from the weekend worse for the wear but ready to discuss a tremendous finish at the Peacock Championship. Sebastian Munoz’s win in Mississippi is hailed, as well as the Tour now delivering consecutive winners from South America. This prompts a quick monologue on the diversity that does exist at the top of the pro game and a call to promote and spotlight that more. Sungjae I...