Walker and Solheim Cups help prove: Team golf is undefeated

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1:03Welcome into this edition. Dr. Podcast with Rex and Lab a lot to get to folks in this midweek edition. It is a Soul Hunt Cup week coming off. What was an epic walker cup just a couple of days ago at LeHedge with GbNi staging an incredible final day rally to beat the Americans will see what sort of drama and excitement and tension unfolds this week and the Netherlands have a preview on that and a little bit also some news on the live golf front as expected. The League filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday evening but Rex you are not in your backyard. In fact, you have a jacket on so it's clearly not in Florida. You are covering for the very first time the folds of honor collegiate. It is an honor and a privilege to bestow the title of golf channels college golf expert onto you if for just a couple of days how are things going in Michigan. Yeah, I don't want it. I hate to do this. It pains me. Long time listeners, the podcast

2:04will know how much this hurts me. You're the expert when it comes to college golf at golf channel and it's going to stay that way. You have to work so hard at these events and I'm doing the double header as we were just talking about the men and the women are competing this week but it's on the PGA tour. I don't think I realize this is this is good for me. I realize how good I have it on the PGA tour because every year you and I have to worry about three, four, maybe five new players get to know them, get to know their stories, get to know their teams a little bit. There's everybody's a new player. There's freshmen leading on for both the men and the women. Every team is a complete makeover. Georgia check and the Ryan Hibble air have begun with a brand new team. I mean, it is so much work. I give the title back to you. I don't want it. You're the expert. It's all yours. College golf coverage has exploded over the past couple years. Of course, golf channel was the first one to put the NCAA championship back on TV back in 2014. I saw a new story yesterday that golf channels, college golf

3:05coverage is up 9% year over year. There's a lot of interest. I think there's even going to be more so Rex. Wouldn't you get Charlie Woods miles rostle in the fold? Open next couple years. Very exciting time. Says a Georgia grad is very painful to see famous alum Ryan Hibble leading my alma mater's chief rival at Georgia Tech. But he's a phenomenal coach. It's clearly going to do a great job for the L jackets. He is and he's so intense and having a chance to talk with him this week and sort of talk about the team that he's building. I think he had one player coming back this year. So he essentially had to completely remake his roster. I think it's going to be amazing for Georgia Tech. Not so great for your Bulldogs and it's we can get into that later. I know that's a source subject for you. I did want to touch on it. So this event, it's the Fulge of Honor Collegiate. It's at a golf course called American Dooms. It's in Grand Haven, Michigan. This is God's country. I've come to find out. And this is essentially the home now. A Fulge of Honor. If you don't know what that is, charity. It's a foundation and it rewards those or it takes care of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Those in the military who've made the ultimate

4:07sacrifice, making sure their families have opportunities. As of right now, Bulldogs, Honor since 2007 have given out 85,000 scholarship recipients to those of fallen military members and first responder family. So it's an amazing journey. But this place is amazing. And I'm going to say this and I'll make it quick as I know you hate talking about golf courses. Maybe the best off Jack Nicholas golf course I've ever played in my entire life. And I'm not the only one that says it. I've been amazed. How many people, players, coaches, fans have come up to me and said the same thing. It's fun. I've had a chance to play it for mere mortals. Like you and I, we can have some fun on it. And it's testing the world's best young players this week, which is cool. But they might have the best food. Check that out. That's that's sandwiched breake. Can you see that? Oh, I know. We're not very good. Just weekend. Can you can you describe it for those of us who are watching along on YouTube? I just ordered it because I'm absolutely starving, but it looks like a fried egg with cheese. There's a hash brown on there and I got the sausage and it's on like a brioche bun. Is that not amazing? It is amazing. American dudes look looks awesome on

5:12television as well. For those who have been watching the coverage which began on Monday afternoon on golf show. I'm glad you're getting some sustenance at this point. We're recording this at 8 a.m. Eastern time. You do have a double header day, both the men and the women's competing. It's going to be a long championship Wednesday for Rex at the full divotter collegiate. All right. Let's touch on the news of the day they came out on Tuesday. That was live golf. Again, as expected filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of some sort of restructuring agreement with BC partners. Again, that was also rumored over the past couple weeks that it hopes will keep the league alive in 2027 and beyond. According to live Rex, this agreement which obviously came in the wake of the Saudi Piff pulling his funding earlier this year will make the players the majority owners of the league that at least right now it is intending to restart in early 2027 when live does if live does

6:12the plan is to also make some competitive format changes as well increasing the field size. It's a 75 introducing a 36 hole cut and going back to some of the places that have been successful whether it was Hong Kong, England, Australia and the like. It was a busy news day on Tuesday. Again, with news that was widely anticipated after live season ended a couple weeks ago prematurely in Indianapolis, but what was your biggest takeaway? I know, but this was the only path forward. So not only was this inevitable, but it also if there is going to be a live golf 2.0 in Skydo, Neil talked about this a few weeks ago at their season finale in Indianapolis, that this is the way it had to happen. There was no path forward with all of the debt that they had acquired with all of the guaranteed contracts. I guess the most eye-opening part to me and what came out yesterday, the public statements, the lawsuit, everything that we've dug into, is the level of debt that they had. I think the estimate is between 500 million and 1 billion

7:16dollars in debt. And between I think they had about they said somewhere between maybe 100 million and 500 million dollars in assets, which that seems to be a really big window as well. But then once you start looking at all of those, how many people are owed money at the top of the list, it's the players. It's John Rom, it's Bryson, it's Dustin Johnson, it still works Keppka, which is pretty amazing considering that he left them. He's been on the PGA tour for a year. There's going to be a lot of people who end up getting shorted on this. And I do feel for the players, like I know they're millionaires and billionaires, but you still feel formed, but it's going to be the independent contractors. All of those folks that did all of that work for Liv Gough that are, and there's multiple lawsuits already. I think that was the most eye-opening part for me because the, a cleaning chapter 11 was inevitable. Everyone that I spoke to that was associated with Liv Gough, everyone that I spoke to that had an idea of where they were going to go. Business-wise going forward, there was only one path forward now, chapter 11. Yeah, I don't feel badly for John Rom, a Bryce Nishambu. No, Agent Lovato has been shorted.

8:20No, I feel poorly for the vendor, so at this point have been out millions of dollars, and it's unlikely they're ever going to see that repaid and full. You mentioned the money and the liabilities. Rex, they burned through more than $5 billion, according to court records. And right now, as we sit here in early September, 2026, have only about $15 million in cash on hand. And so the John Rom's, who's reportedly still owed nine figures in his remaining Liv contract, obviously, is never going to see that in its entirety. I think obviously the big question moving forward, the only question moving forward is which players are going to sign on for Liv 2.0, as it stands right now, listening to Jody Balsam, who appeared on Gough Central on Tuesday night. This is a 180-day stay. And bankruptcy, and filing this at bankruptcy court, does not prevent those players from exiting. And so this is still going to be a process that plays out

9:26in the end of 2026, maybe even bleeds into early 2027. So if you're looking for some sort of resolution from John Rom, if you're expecting John Rom to stand at the Irish open this week and announce what his intentions are going to be, I think you're going to be left waiting for a couple of months at this point. But again, as it relates to Liv's future, if it's even going to happen, it has to be on the backs of these great players who at this point have not signaled their intentions one way or another for Liv 2.0. John Rom said on Tuesday, at the Irish open, he fully intends to honor the contract of Liv 1.0, which is certainly something that a lawyer might tell on the side. And I apologize. That's so much just delicious. And I do have to get to work at 9.30. So this is going to be a quick turnaround. So for everyone who is tuning in for the visual media, I apologize for eating on discussion. But I am starving to death and I do have to get to work to that point in Indianapolis. I did had a chance to talk with some of the GM's for some of the teams on Liv. And it

10:28was interesting hearing their take on it because for the players, John Rom being the primary example here, there is no rush. I know when you say 180 days, you think to yourself, well, that means these players are in limbo for essentially half a year. That's true. But the clock has already started for all of those players. If they want to come back to the PGA tour, essentially it's going to be a one year suspension for all of those players who played in the Indianapolis event. So they won't be able to participate in a PGA tour sanction event until essentially next August. So for them, they can just sit around and wait and see what's going to happen. John Rom is playing on the DP World Tour this week. That would be an option for a lot of those players. But there is no rush for these players. They want to sit back. They can sit back and wait. The rush is when it comes to Scotto Neil and trying to close this deal and get this lead investor and all of the limited partners on board in time to do something, anything for next year. That's where the rush is. We'll continue to monitor the story on golf sale.com. Again, it could be a slow trickle of news as it lets the live future in 2027. Liv did say that it's hoping to launch most likely in February

11:362027 with their next event if Liv 2.0 does it on the ground. Rex, what do you make of Liv's competitive format changes? At least the proposal increase in the field sizes, having cuts, even having Monday qualifiers potentially in other tournaments to me, this seems as the one and only way that they're going to please an acquiesce themselves to the official world golf ranking, knowing that the partnership and the pathway with the Asian Tour has now been shut after 2026, Spain the field, having a cut, having Monday qualifiers as a way to get into the tournaments, it seems like a way to please the OWGR. The OWGR is a problem for Scotto Neil and Liv Goff. It's obviously not the biggest problem. It's not the problem when it comes to what he's dealing with. I did have a chance to talk with him about this. This is a nod. Trying to make it easier for the world golf ranking, just keep things status quo as it is right now. They got points this year. I think Liv Goff wasn't happy with the number of points they got, but they have to be able to cling

12:37to those points. If anything is going to survive into 2.0, this was a nod to that. I don't think it creates any problem from a competitive standpoint for them anyway. They're leaning in to where they had success, which is internationally. It's talking about Australia and South Africa, and a lot of those international markets. It will be curious to see where they decide to pick and choose to play in the US going forward. This is going to be what? Ten events. Essentially is what Scotto Neil said. It's going to be a scaled down schedule. It is going to be interesting going forward. Where are you going to get those pathways? Essentially the Asian Tour split off from Liv Goff with the announcement a few months ago that they're going to partner with the DP World Tour. He has a problem there as well, but again, it's not the problem. Folks, I'm not sure you understand what a privilege it is to have Rex on the show because not only to see the foremost college golf expert for golf channel, folks, he's also a soulheim cup expert. Keep in mind, just a couple weeks ago, he was in Stanford, Connecticut with US soulheim cup captain, Angela Stanford, as well

13:43as the three captains picks for this year's team. So he is well versed in what's happening later this week in the Netherlands playing at Bernardo's golf club. Looks like it's going to be a very rainy week in the Netherlands. When you look, Rex, and you were talking to the captain, what sort of stood out to you as the Americans, their makeup, what they're hoping to accomplish. It seems very data driven with friend of the program former colleague Justin Ray. At the data center, making a lot of these decisions for the captain. She was on golf today a few weeks ago when she made her captains picks. It was Damon and I. We're in the new studio. I can't tell you how cool that was to have one studio. Awesome. In the light. In the new studio, you, however, will be sitting on the couch next to Grumpy Aiman today. We all know how slow that is and how dark that can be sometimes. But it was one of the more enjoyable shows for a lot of reasons. But because she really did talk about it is data driven. I have to give Justin Ray, our colleague, a lot of credit because I think he's

14:45been such an asset to not just this team, but a couple of Soul Heimkup teams. But also there was a personality driven part of this. I think if you're looking ahead to next year and Jim Furek, I hope, is taking a really hard look at how the preparation is going in because it's not as though the US Soul Heimkup team has had a just a monsoon of success overseas. They too have struggled trying to win an overseas Soul Heimk. It's hard. It's not easy. That's sort of the point here. I know it's sometimes we can as fans, we can become very myopic. And what's wrong with Team USA? Well, it's not easy. You have a lot of things going against you when you're trying to win one of these overseas. I want to talk about the Walker Cup in a minute because that to me was just brilliant TV. If you didn't enjoy that Sunday of the Walker Cup, I don't know if you're a fan of golf because that was so much fun to watch just because of the drama and the performance of it all. There's probably a lesson there for the US team as well. If you go overseas and you kind of dismiss this this week and I'm going to circle back around, I was amazed how much the US captain leaned into the idea that putting is important.

15:48And again, you and I went back and forth on this. But and I know you can make a statistical argument that it hasn't paid off recently, at least at the Ryder Cup for the US team, but you still have to lean into it. Look, you can be a great ball striker. But eventually your team has to make puts and it's as simple as that. And the US team, the only chance they're going to have is to make those puts and make sure that she sort of have those personalities. I love the data side of it. But it's when you come up with those teams, at teams, especially in the alternate shot format, you have to have the personality is meshing. If not, we've seen so many times in the past. It just doesn't work. Those captains picked this year, Rose Zhang, even at her young age, less than 25, is a veteran of these teams. Megan Kang, you mentioned personality, great player, great fit in the team room as well, as well as one of the oldest players ever as a captains pick and a rookie in Lindy Duncan. It is going to be an interesting mix, Rex, just sort of dive into this, listening to Amy Rogers,

16:50our colleague who's on the ground this week. And then at the end of the year, at least there's a little bit of drama roster-wise with the Americans and something to monitor Angel Yinn, who is number two in the American point standing. She's been dealing with some sort of stomach issues. She was hospitalized or energy has been off. She hasn't played a whole lot over the past couple of months. They actually have an alternate on site that's Lily of Vue. You might remember her, the former world number one has really fallen on hard times over the past couple years. She got injured, has been out of form the last couple years. Rex, she has missed 10 consecutive cuts on the LPGA. And yet that is who Angela Stanford has tapped potentially as an alternate of Lily of Vue. Excuse me, if Angel Yinn is unable to compete on Friday, as we sit here right now on Wednesday morning, it looks like she will be able to compete. Interesting choice, though, with a couple extra players thinking of former world number one amateur, a Kiarrao Merro, a Jenny Bay who was also

17:51top 50 in the world right now. It could have been other options for Angela Stanford, but obviously Justin Ray and his backroom staff had a reason to put in Lily of Vue in that next. You want to mention the Walker Cup. Some people are saying, many people are saying, one of the events of the year just because of the improbability of the comeback three points down heading into the final session. What stood out to you? Because again, team match play is undefeated. I don't care who's playing, I don't care which sides, I don't care what time. And again, these are going to be one 30 AM Eastern time for the Soulheim Cup. Team match play always, always delivers. It's why we're looking forward to the presence cup even though at least on paper, looks like it's going to be very one sided. And you and I did this about two weeks ago. So I like for Brian Rola, the PGA tour to meet me on caramel one, my one shot, because I can't make this any more clear. When we talk about making the president's cup more relative, when we talk about making the president's cup more competitive, you and I have leaned into the idea. They play too many matches. The reason behind that, maybe the

18:51international team is not as strong every two years, you two years and two years out as the US team. So playing fewer matches allows them to be a little bit more competitive. It gives you a better chance of having a compelling match. The Walker Cup being the primary example, you and I have argued that the president's cup needs to go to what the rider cup does, which 28 matches. They do 26 at the rider at the Walker Cup. And it was brilliant play. And I love the fact you don't have any any four ball play because that to me is kind of ridiculous. It should be alternate shot and it should be singles play. I thought it was brilliant from start to finish. And not only was it competitive, then it came down to the last match at a really cool golf course. But you had the one player that you could probably argue for both teams that probably shouldn't be there. I think he was the highest ranked player in the world, amateur rankings as anyone in the field 94. I think if I remember that story correctly, he had absolutely had a horrible NCAA's. He talked to ballers. On the final hole, like I had to go back and watch this just after I read the story because I'm

19:52like, well, how bad was it? It was really, really bad. And I encourage everyone to go back and look at it and to be the hero of all of GB and I with everyone sitting there watching knowing this is what I have to do. I have to get up and down from this really difficult bunker just to earn my side the victory. I mean, you cannot script that any better. And it's because of the format. 26 points instead of whatever it is 30 right now for the president's cup. It's because there's no four ball play. I mean, it's so many things that factor into this that I'm like, it doesn't take hard. So look at this format and realize that that's successful. Why wouldn't we just copy that at the president's cup and create something really cool? And I'm also going to say that what Brian Rolap wants to do with the torch championship, taking it to smaller classic venues venues that don't have a footprint that could host a regular PGA tour event. That's 72 whole stroke play, full field PGA tour event that maybe doesn't have the yardage that you would want for the best players in the world to play stroke play on. Look at how much play it's not a long off course.

20:54I've played it. It's brilliant. It's small. I know the crowds were not what you would expect to see at the players championship, for example. But the vibe was incredible. Again, anyone who watched that Sunday Mass can attest to that was a great vibe. So on that front, I would say Brian Rolap is heading in the right direction because that to me is perfect. Yeah. I thought the atmosphere and the scene is exactly what they're envisioning, particularly if you're the PGA tour and you want to have sort of a smaller footprint, you want to go some of these prestigious, lustrous golf courses that have never been seen before on television. That was really the direction you want to go. I've covered a couple walker cups and so I've come around on this idea. It used to drive me nuts. At the Walker Cup was only a two day competition. I thought for a two-year run-up just have an extra day. It just seemed like it happened a little bit too quick, but now that I'm not covering it on-site, now that I'm watching on TV, I actually really like it the fact that you have four sons leading into singles, four sons leading into singles. Anything can happen over two days.

21:55It happens so quick. There's no turnaround. These are some of the best players in the world, obviously. You put them in 18-hole match play. It just creates a lot of volatility. It creates a lot of excitement. It creates a lot of drama, intention, and again, anything can happen in that sort of format. I still love the Ryder Cup, obviously. I think the Presence Cup is one day too long as well. I know why they do it, getting an extra day that you can squeeze out of your sponsorships and TV reds and all the like. But Rex, one of the main deficiencies of the Presence Cup is that the depth of the international side again and again gets exposed over a four day competition with 30 points. On offer, trim the number of days, trim the number of points. It is an easy way to make the event more competitive. I also love Rex the fact that this is a pretty sleepy time in the PGA Tour schedule. Understandably so. You just have the main season wrap up. You have two weeks and then the fall season kicks off next week as you had the players who were vying for eligibility.

22:58It's clearly planned this way, but I love the fact that the Walker Cup and the Soul Heimcup in particular are getting some extra shine in what is a sleepy period for the PGA Tour that was absolutely a home run. I think the Walker Cup last week in particular really showed itself as one of the premier events in all of golf. All right. That is going to do it for this edition. We got to a podcast with Rex and Lav, we'll be back early next week to recap the Soul Heimcup or hoping fingers crossed. It's going to be as exciting and thematic as the Walker Cup was just a couple of days ago. Also, keep in mind, Rex will be on site for the double header. It feels folds of honor collegiate double header men's and women's on Wednesday. You'll be seeing him from sun up to sundown. I'll be co-hosting golf today with Amalynch, hopefully he's in a better mood today on Wednesday. Also shout out to my daughter, Lily. It turns five today. Happy birthday, Lily. Later today. Thanks for listening. Thanks for sport. Have a great rest of your week. We'll talk to you guys on Monday. There's bacon on that thing too.

24:26Like weekly game nights at mom's house and tostitos, crafted with masa made the traditional way, starting with whole corn kernels, with flavors worth gathering around, like a hint of lime and Mexican street corn and no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. That's the tostitos way. Bring tostitos to your next game night and you'll be winning either way. Tostitos, tradition matters.