The Shotgun Start

Despite this week having two (2) PGA Tour events and two (2) major championships, this episode must kick off with a Soccer Minute following the USMNT's 4-1 loss to Belgium on Monday night. Andy and Brendan compare the aftermath of the loss to that of a Team USA loss at the Ryder Cup and also try to figure out which golfer is most like Christian Pulisic. After selecting teams to support for the rest of the World Cup, the two move on to this week's Scottish Open. They wonder about the future of the co-sanctioned event and whether it'll appear on the "Championship Series" in 2028 and beyond before absolutely detonating on the final Sponsor Exemption into this week's field. Andy's list of 5 Guys to Monitor This Week has a distinctly DP World Tour feel, as he highlights the Bumblebee, Dick Sterne, and other SGS favorites teeing it up at The Renaissance Club. PJ leads a game of In/Out/Alternate for the ISCO Championship, making Andy and Brendan guess whether the likes of Sangmoon Bae and Dru Love are playing this opposite field event. There's a debate between which of this week's two "majors" - the Amundi Evian Championship and the Kaulig Companies Championship - is more fake, before the American Century Championship and its celebrity field rounds out the Schedule for the Week. In news, Lasagna-Gate continues after Sergio's bad lunch, and Brendan is a big fan of the Open Championship's new "last chance" qualifier for the final spot in the year's last major.

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Sure, Chris Gotterup just won for the fifth time on the PGA Tour, but this episode could only really start in one way. Andy and Brendan immediately discuss the influx of social media content from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding guests, because if you don't post a picture of you attending a wedding, did you really attend any wedding at all? Justin Thomas took a break from defending the Travelers Championship to appear at MSG this weekend, so Andy gives him a chance to get back in the comments by pointing out some similarities between the Travelers and the John Deere Classic. He makes a compelling case, dubbing the JDC "just the Travelers with a worse field." As previously mentioned, the event was won by Chris Gotterup after firing a 62 on Sunday ahead of the final groups. Andy and Brendan discuss Gotterup's continued rise to superstardom and look ahead to what he may be able to do overseas after a strong run at the Scottish Open and Open Championship last year. They also discuss Ben Kohles, who was unable to force a playoff on the 72nd hole, Zac Blair, and Blades Brown before PJ shares a distressing update from the Spieth Trackers following a t58 finish for their favorite player. Brendan throws out a Game Within the Game for Birkdale of Spieth vs. Padraig Harrington, moving things along to a U.S. Senior Open recap. Harrington won for the second consecutive year, putting an end to Stew Cink's run for the 2026 Champs Tour Grand Slam. Michael Block finished t31, but continued to make "headlines" by finding himself in some YouTube Golf drama on Sunday morning! After running through the rest of the results from across the globe, Andy and Brendan briefly discuss Brooks Koepka's WD from the Scottish Open before wrapping things up with a Soccer Minute ahead of the USMNT's Round of 16 game on Monday night.

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The impending holiday weekend has Andy and Brendan in a chipper mood for this Friday recording, although Andy is questioning whether the 4th of July being on a Saturday is actually a good thing. After "Federal Holiday Minute," there's a quick check-in on early returns from the U.S. Senior Open - including plenty of Blockie, already - and the John Deere Classic, where the leaderboard is serving as a warm welcome to "tier two" for Brian Rolapp. Andy and Brendan then discuss which "tier two" events should be bumped into "tier one" in 2028, highlighting longtime Tour stops like Colonial and PGA National that shouldn't be "relegated" for good. In perhaps the biggest news of the week, Sergio Garcia revealed that his quest to qualify for the 2026 Open Championship was derailed by eating lasagna for lunch in the middle of the two 18-hole rounds. Nobody can believe that a 46-year-old major champion would make such a ridiculous mistake, so Andy, Brendan, and PJ submit their own lists of Worst Meals to Eat Between Rounds. This discussion serves as a great segue into SGS Golf Advice, where listener questions about a Pinehurst trip, the Old Course Singles Ballot, and a YouTuber stiffing their country club are answered.

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It's not just a First of the Month recording - it's a First of the Month recording during the Summer of Cotton! After Sunday night's passionate discussion about the Travelers Championship and TPC River Highlands, it's only right that this Wednesday episode begins with a recap of Viktor Hovland's playoff win over Scottie Scheffler. Andy and Brendan discuss the one-hole finish on Monday morning and (sarcastically) wonder if Scottie actually hit his approach "too close" to the hole, forcing him to miss a four-footer to extend the event. They give Viktor Hovland his flowers before transitioning to this week's schedule, packed with Open qualifying, a senior major, and perhaps the PGA Tour's most preeminent "Track 2" event. Brendan runs down the early results from the Open Championship Qualifying Series, where podcast favorite Matthew Jordan has found his way into the field at Royal Birkdale! The Bryan brothers were among those who did not qualify, but that didn't stop the YouTube chat from badgering the R&A to show more of their shots on Tuesday afternoon's livestream. At the John Deere Classic, Zach Johnson is set to make his 24th start at his home event. He chose to skip out on this year's U.S. Senior Open in order to play the Deere and provided plenty of color in his pre-tournament press conference. Jordan Spieth also took to the microphone to pop Long Island golf fans and golf gamblers alike, even though he is a FanDuel Sportsbook ambassador in his free time. Andy shares his "5 Guys to Monitor This Week," leading with a former Deere champion and a big-name player making his professional debut. Lastly, PJ pops in for a brief preview of the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club as we all wait to see what's next for Michael Block on the Champions Tour.

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A Monday playoff between Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler will serve as an exclamation point to one of the best golf weekends of 2026 thus far. Andy and Brendan! are fired up for this episode, recorded after watching a birdie-fest at TPC River Highlands, another women's major, and Blockie's near-perfect Champions Tour debut. They can't help themselves and begin with a brief section on the Dick's Open, an event that made some consider if the Champions Tour really needs Tiger Woods at all. Upstate New York's finest sporting event provided plenty of fodder, from Bob Papa singing Zac Brown Band, to the emergence of a "Paddy Stopper," and so, so much Michael Block content. The two then move on to the unfinished Travelers Championship, where a score of -21 got into a playoff to be held on Monday morning. Andy and Brendan discuss Viktor Hovland's turnaround from hitting hundreds of balls on the Shinnecock range after a missed cut last week to now potentially a Signature Event win in just seven days. They also debate whether Scottie Scheffler already missed out on multiple chances to win the tournament in regulation on Sunday afternoon on an extra-soft course after a lengthy rain delay. Andy is hung up on a Keegan Bradley quote from earlier this week alluding to the Travelers as a "vacation week" after a tough U.S. Open, and openly wonders if TPC River Highlands can fit into the PGA Tour's new Championship Series model. While the event itself is enjoyable, does the golf course leave too much to be desired as true test of professional golf? Haeran Ryu won her first major championship at the KPMG Women's PGA at Hazeltine, holding off a charge from Brooke Henderson, Ina Yoon, and Nelly Korda. The broadcast coverage was the big story of this Sunday, with a weather delay pushing the finish off of NBC and moving it to Golf Channel. A lengthy discussion about rights deals and coverage windows ensues, with ideas about ways for the LPGA to branch out and not be buried by non-major PGA Tour events on its biggest weeks of the year. Lastly, Andy and Brendan react to Alan Shipnuck's latest article on Phil Mickelson, full of more scandalous details following up on the Golf Digest report about Phil being removed from The Farms in San Diego.

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