Sign Up
Log In
Wedge Fund
Search
Newsletter
Apr 14, 2026
The Masters Recap with @CEOofGolf Remec Carlson
The Masters Recap with @CEOofGolf Remec Carlson
00:00
31:47
Transcript
0:00
Welcome to episode two of No Strokes. My buddy Venmo Joe will be the constant here to keep me on the lines. We're adding the CEO of Golf, Remick Carlson, to this episode. Look, Rory ran it back. Rory did it again.
0:13
I did not think that he could do it again.
0:15
We basically handicapped the entire Masters last week around the assumption that the last person to do this was Tiger in '05, and that's not happening again, Rory ain't Tiger, and that Scheffler had no reps.
0:27
And last time I saw him, he didn't make the cuts. I wasn't totally sure. So we literally handicapped the whole thing as if Rory and Scotty were just, like, not part of this. We, we had a couple, right?
0:38
We had Rosie, we had Burns, we had Young in the mix. I fucked up with Ham, with H- Jon Rahm, sorry. But you know what, in general, we were right. We were just wrong about the important part of Rory and Scotty.
0:50
Look, CEO of Golf, Remick, you were there and now you're here. What did you see? What was the Masters like? Was this your first Masters, is probably my first- Oh... question also. Yeah. How you doing, guys?
1:00
Uh, thank you for having me on your show by the way. Really appreciate it. And yeah, this Masters was insane.
1:05
Like, it was my first Masters experience, um, overall, and just being in the atmosphere, just smelling what it's like to, to s- smell Augusta National Golf Club was pretty surreal.
1:17
Being able to touch the grass, see the different undulations and slopes and, uh, hidden t- or, uh, blind tee shots, blind approach shots. Size of the green was very surprising too, size of the greens.
1:30
15, for example, had no idea that landing spot was so narrow. I was...
1:34
I just assumed that that was the biggest green on the property, and it's like, it's gotta be like, I don't know what the depth is, but it's extremely narrow.
1:42
And I can see why a lot of people find the water there or go long, 'cause it's like, it's such a hard landing spot, especially from, like, 200 plus.
1:48
But kind of early on, I was there during the practice rounds, and I was watching Rory chip on a practice chipping green. And I don't know, just, I, I had a feeling, I put some money on him to win actually.
2:01
I had a feeling that, like, he, he was rounding into form, uh, come the Masters week, just 'cause he looked so confident around the greens. And I'd say, like, that's, like, one of the number one things that... Hold on.
2:14
How's it going? Thanks. Jimmy John's order. There you go. Gotta be- Yes... gotta be productive out here Our first sponsor. [laughs] Gotta be productive out here.
2:21
No, but I, I was just saying, like, that's the one thing that Rory has improved so much since the last time, I guess 10 years ago.
2:29
He won, he won a major last year, but, um, going on 10 years, 10 years ago was the last, last time where he won a major. His short game is, like, so much better, um, compared to before.
2:40
Like, I remember he would duff a couple chips here and there. Even, even we saw in the US Open, he missed a couple short putts, um, to, to beat Bryson.
2:50
Um, but just last year and this year, you could tell, like, he's been getting a lot more confident around the greens, especially with the, with the wedges, and it's a beautiful thing to see.
3:00
Like, that guy is unstoppable. I think he has at least probably another, like, eight years of dominant golf ahead of him, so I wouldn't be surprised if he rattled off, like, five or six more.
3:10
Um- He, he definitely made me nervous on Saturday when he had the, the weird putting flubs all of a sudden. Yeah. It's like, oh shit, here we go. I'm not gonna lie, I mean, I would've loved to see... I love Rory.
3:21
I don't, I'm not a Rory hater by any stretch, but he backs into some of these wins. I would've loved to see the playoff with Scheffler. The golf gods decided that putt that Scheffler made on 17 wasn't gonna go in.
3:31
Joe and I have talked about this during the tournament. You were there, so you probably didn't see it.
3:35
The CBS coverage was so brutal, and I, I'm not gonna harp on it too long, 'cause I think a lot of people have given their take, but I didn't know that Scheffler was making a real legitimate charge.
3:44
It was just sort of like, oh yeah, he's, like, gonna make close and be there. Yeah. I was not thinking there's the possibility of, like, Rory on 18, not just to win it, but, like, to not lose it, right?
3:55
And then he hits the tee shot wayward, and you're like, "Oh shit, here we go." And in general, I just felt like CBS did not set us up here.
4:01
For you on the course, you gotta have felt like things were just mounting Friday and Saturday.
4:07
Like, the, the people who were playing who, you know, even if their score was not, you know, obviously Rory's up six at the end of Friday.
4:14
The people who were not in contention, you had to have known who your, like, seven or eight players were gonna be. Everyone talked about- 100%... Reed. It never felt like he really had it.
4:23
Like, he was great, but didn't feel like he had it. So I, I'm just curious, like, on the, on the course how you can absorb the energy.
4:30
What is it like versus those of us normies who have no choice but to clean our diapers, shit babies while we watch it on a big screen? Yeah, no, for sure.
4:37
It's definitely a different, different feeling being on the ground. It's like that major championship atmosphere, right?
4:43
Um, it's like a, it's a different air that, uh, that accumulates over the golf course where guys are a l- little bit more focused, a little bit on edge. You could cut the tension with, like, a butter knife, right?
4:55
Compared to, like, other tour events that I'm sure you guys have been to, where it's, like, a little bit not as intense and people aren't, like, trying to... Right? Um, it's just really cool.
5:05
It's unlike any tournament I've ever been to. Uh, yeah, I just enjoyed every minute of it.
5:10
[laughs] Hey, hey, Remick, you, you mentioned, like, you know, not getting the apprec- like, for us watching on TV, you mentioned blind tee shots.
5:17
What was the tee shot that, like, we might not fully appreciate on TV that when you saw, like, up live where you're like, "Oh my God, like, th- this is such a tough tee shot. No wonder people struggle on this," right?
5:30
Like, I, I don't know if that's- Yeah. I mean, 18 obviously with the pressure and the fact that, that, you know- Yeah... if you have a good drive, it makes it scorable. If you don't, um, it's not.
5:39
But what was that one tee shot where you're like, "Yeah, I would want no business hitting this tee shot Sunday in contention"? I mean, 18's just, like, the easy answer, right? 'Cause the, the trees are...
5:49
You could kinda see it on TV. Yeah. Um, but I would say, like, honestly, like, 10's pretty difficult. Like, it's a huge dogleg left. Yeah. Um, super downhill.
5:59
And-They had the, I was there during the practice round, so they had the tee boxes kind of back a little bit, and you saw Justin Rose take that line where he just went directly over the tree without having to, to draw it or anything.
6:10
And I'm like, "Man, that's such a, like a risky shot," just 'cause like you gotta clip the tree and just come back down like 100 feet in front of him.
6:18
But I'd say that one's the hardest one 'cause you gotta turn one over or else it's just gonna run out into the, into the bushes there. And, and the rough there is, like, nonexistent.
6:28
Like, it's, it's some of the firmest grass I've ever experienced as, as a golfer. Like, it almost feels like you're walking on artificial turf, uh, when you're out there.
6:37
It's just so compact and, and, uh, pretty much like a, like a green almost. So that one's definitely the most tricky one 'cause you gotta, gotta turn one over if you wanna have like a mid-iron, mid-iron in. Awesome.
6:49
I have to ask you, uh, what would you shoot there? For, for those who are listening to this show probably follow you @ceoofgolf on Instagram. You play golf. I take some tips off you.
6:57
I'm playing irons, uh, because of, of your feedback. That's how much I believe in you. All right. So what are you shooting out there?
7:03
'Cause the average, average guy that I talk to is like, "Oh, man, I'll be lucky if I break 100." I'm like, "You'd be lucky if you broke 150, man.
7:09
You would honestly run out of balls probably before you even get to a number." That's a good question. Like, if I had, like, this is just like, like, no practice round, right? You're just playing, not in the Masters.
7:18
You're not in the Masters- Okay... but you are playing the course as you saw it. Okay. I want to know the answer to in the Masters. That shit's crazy.
7:23
But Remick, but Remick, you're not, you're not playing the membership tees. You're playing the championship tees. Yes, championship tees. Yeah, you're playing pro tees. You're a pro. I gotcha, I gotcha.
7:31
Well, I think it actually might be a little bit, I mean, obviously the pressure of the Masters, but just the fact that there's like a, a gallery and patrons kind of like guarding the, the fairway, almost like a,
7:44
like a bumper, like those- Yeah... little bumpers that you put on on the bowling lane. Yeah. That makes it a little easier, like I would argue, just 'cause like you have people always gonna find your ball.
7:55
If it gets a little bit offline, like it's gonna get stopped, right? It's not gonna go too deep into the trees. But to answer your question, I don't know, I'll be lucky to break 85.
8:03
That's like, 85 would be a good goal, especially like first, first time out there playing the course. Nothing with an eight in front of it even dawned on me for myself.
8:12
Like, are you- [laughs] I mean, I don't, I don't think I'm breaking 85 if I'm starting on the green, like the farthest point of the green.
8:18
[laughs] If I just gotta putt it, I don't think I'm breaking 85, so that, that's pretty good, Remick.
8:23
Somebody asked me the other day, they're like, "If I, if I put you on like the furthest point on the green from the flag stick on every hole, do you think you'll win the Masters?" And I mean, think about it.
8:33
You just gotta, you just gotta three putt every green, right? But I don't know. It's easier said than done. I think I could do it. What about you guys? Hell no. I don't think so. I, I look at- No...
8:43
Sungjae Lee on Sunday putting into the water. Yeah. And I think there was a couple guys that did that, and I feel that would be my fate on a couple of those. But I got faith in you. Yeah.
8:52
Dude, I will 30 putt a muni course. Are you kidding me? Like, shit. That's a joke.
8:57
Hey, hey, Remick, I know you, uh, you had great content from the Masters, and I think you gave us like a, a preview of like how you should do it from a viewing standpoint for, but for our listeners- Yeah...
9:08
can you kind of walk us through where you put your chairs, kind of how you structured the days that you were at Augusta to get your biggest bang for your buck from a viewing standpoint? Absolutely. So what I did was, um,
9:23
I got there super early, and I always got told, I'm like, "You gotta go to the merch shop. You gotta go to the merch shop first," but I don't know if that's the play.
9:32
You definitely need to go at some point, um, to get your chairs.
9:35
But if you already have chairs, I would suggest bringing them and go directly to Amen Corner, set your chairs down, and if it's your first time there like it was mine, you go walk the entire front nine, and then you walk all the way up to the chairs that you put down.
9:50
Sorry, let me start over. So you get there, set your chairs down, you go to the practice facility, watch the guys warm up, enjoy breakfast. It's a great hangout spot, a great meetup spot, too, if you lose somebody.
10:02
And then once you're done with that, go walk the entire front nine.
10:06
Then walk back to your chair that you set down on hole 12, and then grab a sandwich, enjoy some lunch, hang out there for a couple hours, then walk on over to 14, 15.
10:17
Hang out on 16, maybe get another bite to eat, maybe get a beer, uh, whatever your, whatever your shtick is, and then just enjoy the rest of the day. I think that's the perfect setup. And the beers are $1.50, right?
10:27
So you can keep buying them. They're actually, I was shocked. They were six bucks. Is it... Wait, what? I thought that was their whole thing, that everything's like a $1.50 to $3.
10:37
The sandwiches- And then beers were more expensive? The sandwiches are, I think they might have, yeah, the sandwiches are $1.50. I don't know if they raised the price of the beer, but I, I was, I was- Who eats?
10:46
Who eats food? Oh, I had to leave a lot of beers. Um. I'm there to drink. I got, I got a nice stack- I'm there for the beer, man... of Masters cups. Thanks for the pimento sandwich and all, but- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:54
The biggest flex is, like, having people over and just handing them, like, a Masters cup that you got from the, from Augusta. They're like, like, "Do you want any water or beer or anything?"
11:02
You just hand it to them in a Masters cup. [laughs] I love that flex. I love that flex. Yeah. So that was the spot, though, putting the chairs at Amen Corner, right?
11:10
So you see the tee shot on 12, and then you can see them- Yeah... teeing up on 11. That was the vantage point that you had? That's, that's the, my favorite spot just 'cause you're so close.
11:19
The guys are pretty much teeing off like 10 feet in front of you. That was my favorite. I d- I put my chair right behind the tee box on 12 just 'cause I'm a, I'm a golf nerd- Oh...
11:27
so I like to see the golf swing, right, and, like, kind of what they're looking at and the down-the-line angle. But there's other places where you could do it, too.
11:34
You could put off to the side more up on the hill so you could s- have a better vantage point on 11. I wasn't really able to see 11 too well, but 12 I was locked in. Like, that was, that was a perfect spot.
11:46
Um, it's just a great spot to have a sandwich. You know, you don't hang out there all day, even though you could if you wanted to.
11:52
Um, I, you hang out there for a couple hours, see a couple groups come through, and then, uh, walk, uh, 13, 14, 15, hang out there again, enjoy some beers, beverages, um, and watch, watch the guys come in on, uh, 15 and 16.
12:07
Awesome. And then with the, with the vantage at 12, help, help Scott and I understand, right? 'Cause I look at it on TV and I'm like, "This is 150-yard par three. Why does it give- Yeah...
12:17
the pros so much trouble?"Yeah, yeah. It looks like a little bacon strip where you're supposed to land the ball. Like, it, it's, it's very, like, visually deceiving.
12:27
A lot of approach shots I kinda learned at Augusta are visually deceiving, where, um, it might be, like, really uphill so you can't see the green, or there might be a huge slope so you can't really see the surface of the green.
12:38
Or, legit, it, there might just be, like, a bunker kind of guarding it so you can't really see the, the green. And that's, that's what was the case on 12.
12:46
You got the water really close to the green, and a big bunker right in front of, uh, the middle of the green there.
12:52
And so like those two combinations, like, I don't know if that was how, on purpose how it was designed, but that kind of makes the green look a lot smaller than, than it is. And, but it is small to begin with.
13:04
So I think that might be a, one of the more bigger reasons why people struggle with that, that hole so much. And the wind, too.
13:11
You hear about the wind tunnels that that hole brings, and, uh, it's just tough to read the wind out there. No question. I'm not jealous.
13:19
I, I would love to play Augusta, but I, I feel like it would just demolish my game. Last thing I got for you, I wanna, I wanna switch gears with you real quick.
13:25
On a professional level, as a golf creator, right, there was a lot on Twitter about the Kelsey-ification of the Masters, ESPN doing what ESPN does, and people were not thrilled.
13:36
It's like the greatest tournament on Earth, and I feel like it's weird to me, and I'm curious your opinion on this, as digital creators, as a creator in golf, you guys are doing what I think they were attempting to do, which is to bring, like, real-life access to golf.
13:50
Would it not be better, I know you're gonna say yes, you would rather be you than, than Kelsey, but, like, would it not be better that they bring guys like you and, and, you know, the rest of the clan out there, the W- Wesley and the rest, onto the course with a par three or involve you in the pre-Masters as opposed- Yeah...
14:06
to ESPN trying to jam, like, one of these assholes down our throat? Yeah. No offense. No disrespect to Kelsey, it just, he kinda ruined TGL for me, which I'm one of the, like, nine people who love it.
14:16
[laughs] And you were at the TGL event as well, so, like, you've been there. Yeah. And I feel like how long is it before you're on the programming?
14:24
Because I feel like that would be more, for me and guys like Joe and the people who listen to this show, that makes more sense. Like, that's more relatable to me. That makes a better experience- Yeah...
14:32
if you're gonna change it at all. I hear ya. I, I hated the fact that they had Kevin Hart and, and the Kelces out there, too. Um, I just think, like, it's the Masters.
14:43
It's like the most prestigious tournament of the year. I almost kinda like how snobby it is in a way, just 'cause, like- Yeah... that's the one event where, like, it's elite. Like, right?
14:53
Like, they have it there every year. It's, like, so pristine and perfect. I honestly, I wouldn't like the influencers to go, even. I just think, like, just keep it the Masters.
15:03
Like, let all the other tournaments handle that. I'm totally good with that, by the way. I, I just feel like if you're gonna do it, at least go with guys who are golfers. Like, give me the perspective- Yeah...
15:12
of a guy who's, like, the, probably the most elite version of my game. That's way more relatable than watching Kevin Hart, like, smack a ball five feet in front. It's an embarrassment.
15:21
Like, they're taking chunks out of the turf. I was, like, getting pissed about it. Yeah. No, I, I was rattled about it, too. But if they do invite me, I am not gonna say no, so I just wanna make that clear.
15:30
[laughs] If you get extra tickets, just remember old Joe and Scott in your, in your, in your Rolodex. I gotcha. Hey, man, we're gonna finish the rest of our handicap here of the, uh, of the recap of the Masters.
15:41
What are you up to next? You look like you're about to go play some golf. I wish I was playing with you. Yeah. What, where can people find you, and what are you working on next we should be looking for? Absolutely.
15:48
You can find me on, uh, all social platforms at CEO of Golf.
15:53
So the whole overall, um, inspiration of the account name is I want everybody to become the CEO of their own game, and that's what we're here to do, to bring them along this journey, and to, like, better themselves on and off the golf course in order to be the best version of themselves on the golf course.
16:10
So that's what CEOs do in business. That's what we're gonna do to our golf game. So that's why we're here. And they can find me on YouTube, Instagram, a little bit of TikTok.
16:18
I've kind of gone quiet a little bit on there. But, uh, we're up to a lot of stuff, a lot of educational content.
16:24
I try to make it a little bit entertaining, too, uh, to make it not so boring, 'cause, like, a lot of golf stuff, uh, educational-wise is pretty boring. So [laughs] we try to make it as fun as possible.
16:33
I did not hear that. But- I didn't hear that. [laughs] If you could- But yeah, I, I love it... if you could do me a favor and record one, one more video on stingers in slow motion for me.
16:42
I have to hit replay on your video with my thumb as I'm trying to work on that momentum and, and weight on my forward foot, and I catch- Yeah... the heel every time, and it's not what I want.
16:51
So I need another v- video on stingers, please. I hear you. You might need to get a, a club fitting. Clubs might be a little bit too upright. Could be the case, too. All right. See? That's shit I wouldn't have known.
17:02
All right, buddy, we'll catch up soon. All right. Thanks, guys. Thanks for having me on. Hopping back into it, we talked a whole bunch at the beginning of the Masters on exactly who we thought was gonna win.
17:11
We brought this whole tech platform in. Sports Mock rebuilt it. I think that if we enter the fact that we did pull Rory and Scotty out, the only thing that the platform did not really calibrate for was the Liv guys.
17:25
It did not include Hatton. It did not account for Jon Rahm just not showing up until Sunday, which it didn't matter, and, you know, he put up a good round Sunday, but it didn't matter.
17:34
And Bryson, you know, basically not knowing how to hit out of the sand. Maybe he 3D-printed the wrong club. I don't know. But if you took that out, we really did do really well.
17:43
But I think it also is worth having a conversation about, you know, and we probably could've talked about it with Remick, but, like, the tech integration with the game. Some things are chalk.
17:53
Regular tournaments that are just kind of rotating, I think the tech is, probably predicts them, you know, 9 out of 10.
17:59
With the Masters, the Masters is a character in the play, and I think that's the one thing that we forgot, you in particular.
18:04
You and I forgot the fact that no matter what the history says and the statistics of when the last guy did back-to-back or, you know, or the fact that you're joining a, a group that includes Nicklaus, Faldo, and Tiger, if you are an elite ball striker player in the elite class and you've played the Masters and won it or, or many times you've played well and almost won it, th- there is literally not even a single time that you should be removed from the equation.
18:28
We should have started with them and not, not deduced them.
18:31
The fact that Tiger Woods, while he wouldn't win it probably if he wasn't, uh, you know, in rehab in Switzerland or whatever he's doing, he, he could almost win with one leg because he's, he knows the course so well.
18:42
And so the only thing that I would, would probably change is that from now on, a mistake I will never make again, is that if you have won here, I mean, we even talked about Hideki. You kind of pooh-pooh'd it.
18:51
Even Hideki had a Sunday, kind of quietly making his way up the leaderboard. Adam Scott didn't, but he didn't, like, play horrible. He played like a guy who was not on his game and still did all right. So- Right...
19:02
I think that would be the only calibration I would make. If you think of the rounds and the people we talked about, I would love your take on Rose.
19:07
I would love your take-How you felt about that, what happened there, and in particular, I would, I would love to hear your take, you know, where Rory kind of won this thing because this is the thing that I've listened to every golf podcast that, that is out there, not every, but a lot of them, and the one thing I, I have not really heard people talk about, and, and I think I kind of said it to you before, is Sunday should have been, and set aside the CBS, you know, bullshit, it should have been.
19:32
It was lined up to be maybe the greatest finale of all times. All the biggest names in golf right now in real time with a chance to win this thing. Storyline for everybody, right? Everyone's got a storyline.
19:41
And what had ended up happening is that each guy kind of held the belt for like five minutes, two holes, and then that was it, and it, it felt like if you hadn't watched the round, it felt like it was chalk and it just ended how it started.
19:52
But I don't believe that's the story at all. I think if you watched the round, particularly the middle nine holes, you were like, "Holy shit, there was a dog fight- Yeah...
19:59
that took on," and somebody played some seri- you know, like Rory said in his interview, he was scoreboard watching. I don't believe that for one freaking second.
20:07
So you tell me, Joe, you watch this stuff with your apps open and your eyes on.
20:11
Yeah, I mean, I think with what you said at the onset of what we discounted, at the Masters, it's gonna be a guy that's like the face of golf and, like, what you see now over the last five years that it's Scottie, Rory, and Ron have won the last five Masters.
20:26
So next year when we're doing our Masters preview, let's remember that you shouldn't really chase anyone that's like too far down the board because what history has told us at the Masters is that those long shots, at least in today's current state of golf, isn't happening at the Masters, right?
20:43
So it's zeroing in on the guys that have had core success there, and that's always gonna include Rory and Scottie. You know, from a Justin Rose perspective, we were right on, right? He w- Yep...
20:54
he played consistent golf, um, out of anyone, including Rory, 'cause Rory had Saturday where he shot a 73. Rose was either, um, 69 or 70 all four days.
21:06
What I miscalculated with Justin Rose is once he got that lead on the back nine, my assumption was he is battle tested, right? He's a, he's a US Open champion.
21:16
He's a guy that has played in a lot of high pressure moments, specifically in the Ryder Cup, where he has putted really well.
21:22
He's hit big shot after big shot, and what you saw from him on holes 11, 12, and 13, where Rory won the tournament, and we'll get into that, 11 through 13 is where Justin Rose lost the tournament.
21:34
He bogied 11 because he flared out a shot on the right. It was very clear on that approach shot, after hitting a perfect drive, that he was not committed to what he wanted to do.
21:45
He backed off the ball, flares it out right, leaves himself with a pretty impossible up and down opportunity. Got it to like 15 feet, missed the putt, and then you saw the nerves come in on hole 12.
21:57
He pulls it long and left, flubs a chip, another bogey, goes into 13, hits a perfect drive, perfect approach shot. He's got 25 feet for eagle. That's where, you know, me is holding a, a Justin Rose ticket.
22:10
I'm pretty excited 'cause I'm like, "He can get those two bogeys right back, make the eagle, put the pressure back on Rory." What does he do? He three putts it, right? He goes eight feet- Right... past on his eagle putt.
22:21
He can't make the comebacker, and
22:24
Rory McIlroy, that same three hole stretch, hole 11, he makes a 13-footer for par, absolutely nails, takes the most aggressive line that we saw all day Sunday on hole 12, sticks it to seven feet, makes birdie, and then he birdies 13.
22:43
So he, he took Amen Corner in two under. Justin Rose took it in, in two over. Four shot difference, Justin Rose loses the Masters by two shots. When I look back at Rory's Sunday, 11 through 13 is where he won it, right?
22:57
That's where he recaptured the, the tournament. He went one over from holes 14 to 18, and he still had that padding of the, of the one stroke win over Scottie. So well done to him.
23:09
Not something that you and I forecasted, but with his course history, him getting the monkey off of his back last year, it allowed him to play a little bit free, and he didn't, he didn't tremble when he double bogied four, right?
23:22
I think old Rory, with all of the demons, he doubles that, maybe he doesn't get himself back into the tournament. He bounced back on the last couple of holes at the front, and then he dominated Amen Corner.
23:34
Look, I'm not taking anything away from Rory. I- he won the tournament. You've got three, four guys with Scheffler. Scheffler was just too far back, as you've said before.
23:42
He started a little bit too late on the run, but you've got four of the best, hottest golfers in golf right now that he had to fight off and fend off. Where I'm critical, and I, and I, I just, I die on the vine on this.
23:52
I really believe that there's a playoff, Scheffler kicks his ass. That's my personal opinion. Doesn't matter whether it's, you know, it's unprovable 'cause it didn't happen.
23:58
But I would ask you, do you think Rory McIlroy is the back-to-back Masters tournament champion if he starts Sunday with a one or two stroke lead relative to starting off equal to the field?
24:09
Do you think if he goes head-to-head in his match with a lead to hold onto that he walks off Sunday as the, as the tournament champion? I don't, right? Because we saw- I don't either. I don't either...
24:19
what happened when he had the lead on Saturday, and what did he do when he had a six-shot lead on Saturday and it was tur- his tournament to lose? He tried his best to lose that tournament, right?
24:29
He went one over when everyone else that was in that leaderboard went three to four under.
24:35
So if he, if he goes to sleep on Saturday night not, you know, tied up with Cam Young and hadn't, like, let a couple of other guys back into the tournament, I do think he plays a little bit differently.
24:45
I'm not sure he's got the green jacket, but, you know, it was tied going into there and, and he did it.
24:51
I, I'll play the inverse on you 'cause I don't want people to think, yeah, I am talking shit about Rory, so I, I don't care if you think that, but, like, I like Rory.
24:58
But I also don't want people to think that I'm being unfair and it's like, "Oh man," like, "Well, what the fuck would you do?" Here's the reality: It's actually less about Rory and more about the field.
25:06
If he's got a couple stroke lead or he doesn't, you know, he comes in Friday, Saturday, he shoots a little bit better and it's two or three strokes, you've got a bunch of guys, not including Scheffler, who have never won this tournament, Rose, who's, like, legit, this is his probably last one or two more years of last shot at it, being like, "Dude, we gotta make up two, three strokes on the front 'cause you know Rory's good for two or three strokes on the back."So we got to get after it right now.
25:29
And they play aggressively and they're chasing down. And what ended up happening is that they came in even and they're like, well, shit, let's see what Rory does and we'll play our game and adjust.
25:38
And you know what it did? It did it for Scheffler. It ate up four or five holes, four or five holes. The entire field, including Scheffler, were playing conservatively like let's not screw up. Let's not create more debt.
25:48
Let's just get ourselves to a position where when we, when we see amen, we know what we're doing. We're either all in or all out. Scheffler, he turned it on. You've said it before, a little too late.
25:56
I don't know if it was even his choice. It's just sort of what he played. What was, what, I mean, what the hell can you say? No bogeys, you know, perfect Saturday and Sunday.
26:03
So you hit- He played, he played, he played four under. Unfortunately, what was needed that day from him is not a 68. It was a 67 or a 66, a two- Yeah. He needed the 66, 65 round to match.
26:15
To your, and to, to your point- But, but- People weren't playing that aggressively.
26:19
But like I just assumed that someone that was on the top end of that leaderboard would go out and shoot a 65 or 66, and you don't get a 65 or 66 at Augusta if you're not playing your most aggressive brand of golf, to your point.
26:32
Well, and that's how you got Hovland and Hatton and why you got a John Rahm Sunday round, 'cause he doesn't give a shit. He just wants to finish in the top 30 or whatever.
26:39
What I will tell you is this goes back to your Justin Rose piece. Like those guys are playing golf not to lose, not to get too far back. They wanna stay in the game, not to get too far back.
26:50
What ends up happening if you're Rose or you're Young, who had it early in the round, you get the lead and you're not totally sure what to do with it, because now Rory's the one who's gonna start coming at you, and you don't want that.
27:01
He's a ridiculous golfer. So you're kind of like, "I want the lead, but I don't want too much. I either need like five strokes real quick because Rory fell apart.
27:10
If I get hot, he's gonna get hot, and now I'm gonna head-to-head with like the most lethal guy other than Scottie Scheffler, and he's standing nine feet away from me scaring the shit out of me."
27:18
So like I actually think that it was, you know, this is almost like, uh, tanking your last few games in NBA season to like set your matchup. Rory did not do that. He would never do that.
27:28
But what I will say is it accidentally worked out well that Saturday he didn't play his best round. Everyone came back to him, and he starts off like, "Look, I already got a green jacket. Who the fuck are you?
27:37
I'm Rory McIlroy, and I'm gonna go out and I'm just gonna play my game."
27:41
Which, and I know we're gonna, you know, end the show here, but like I wanna go back to some of the stats that we talked about last week about important things.
27:48
You're not gonna win any tournament, let alone the Masters, without being able to make, make putts, scoring, okay? There's a difference between scoring and overall like, you know, gain strokes on putting.
28:00
You can be like more or less an okay average putter, but drain a few important putts and win. Rory proved that. He also proved you don't wanna be the best putter 'cause he missed a shit ton.
28:08
Koepka and a handful of others, Patrick Reed, all in contention, did not putt particularly well. Great ball strikers. What did we say? Driver doesn't matter on this course today with the, with the weather as it was.
28:18
Rory, until Sunday, it's like 90 out of 90, 91 golfers in far- Yeah... driving and gains, and strokes gained to golfing off the tee. Didn't fucking matter. You know what did matter? Second shot, approach, short game.
28:29
Remick brought it up. He saw Rory practicing. We found out after, you know, after the tournament started that he's been playing it for a month straight. But like that is what won this tournament.
28:37
You either know the course, you know where not to go, or you're practiced and skilled enough that when you do end up there, you can get out of there. And you gotta make- Yeah... a handful of putts and chips.
28:45
And we saw it, despite the fact that CBS did their best job to not make you know it, Rory McIlroy standing where Tiger Woods once was, chips the ball almost the exact same line. His doesn't go in, but it's a tap in.
28:55
And on, on the hole to win it all, you know, he's got the shot here of him making his putt from here. He put himself in that position. And in the end, Rory McIlroy, in my opinion, did absolutely win it.
29:06
But it was not without, uh, the, some serious golf gods' nods and- Yeah...
29:10
and letting him- I mean, if I would've, if we would've had the, uh, the Remick intel that like Rory was just walking around with his wedge and a bag of balls, and all he cared about was chipping,
29:23
uh, our, our bets might have been a little bit differently, 'cause that's the right, to your point, that's the right way- Yeah... to approach Augusta.
29:29
It's about approach, and then if, if you are off line on that approach, it's you've practiced enough and you're comfortable enough with how nippy you've gotta hit the ball around the Augusta greens to get up and down.
29:40
And he did that better than anyone, right? You saw that on Friday on 17. Like that was an impossible chip that he made. Oh. He did the same thing, like you said, on 16, right? Like such a dicey shot, puts it to a foot.
29:54
17, same thing. He flared out right. Um, not as good as Friday. He didn't make it, but he gave himself like a two-footer- Yeah...
30:01
stress-free kind of putt to retain that two-stroke lead heading, heading into the 72nd hole.
30:07
And if he hadn't had that up and down game on 17, when he goes wayward, um, on 18, now all of a sudden it's a completely different ballgame, 'cause he's got one stroke to play with versus two.
30:18
We saw last year when he had one stroke to play with, he ended up in a playoff. That happens this year, like you said, it's not Justin Rose in the playoff, it's Scottie, and you have to think- No.
30:26
We're talking about Scottie Scheffler, three-time Masters champion, is what we're talking about if that happened. That's just my opinion, but that does not take away from, from Rory's incredible week.
30:34
He, from day one to, to Sunday, he felt like he was the winner or gonna be, or be one or, one of three guys to win it, and Scheffler kinda came roaring back. He did not feel that way until really midday Sunday.
30:44
So all in all, really enjoyed the tournament. I would grade it a B, around a B as far as our ability to, to handicap this with the tech. I think that we, we got pretty close. We buried the lead. That was about it.
30:55
Generally speaking, it proved out all of our points. In retrospect, you know, would've changed a few things. The tournament itself was fantastic.
31:02
I think that if CBS covered it better, Sunday would've felt a little bit more momentous.
31:06
But as a person like you, me, and those listening who really love the game of golf, I can say this much: It's fantastic how many incredible players we have in the PGA.
31:15
And despite the fact that Tiger is not around anymore really in the way he was, I feel good about the game, and I'm excited for major season. We are in it now.
31:22
Weekly, Joe, I appreciate you joining us on this show- Absolutely... and, and going on this journey with me.
31:27
And also, I wanna thank the CEO of Golf, Remick Carlson, for being our first, and not the last, guest on this show. Hopefully you guys enjoyed him. He will, uh, easily be found on Instagram at CEO of Golf.
31:37
Joe, it's good to see you. Talk soon, my friend. See ya. [dramatic music]
No Strokes Podcast
Listen on
Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts
Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts
Recent episodes
Buddy Week On Tour, RBC Heritage Recap and The $500M Man
Apr 22, 2026
LIV is Cooked, RBC Heritage Picks and Golf's Media Problem
Apr 15, 2026
A Masterful Podcast Debut
Apr 8, 2026
