The Shotgun Start with Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath of Fried Egg Golf is a podcast waiting for you early in the morning that quickly blasts through a variety...
TGL goes out with a bang, Billy Boy for Ryder Cup, DLF intel
TGL Tuesdays come to a close, as this episode was a YouTube live recording following Billy Boy's crowning moment in the SoFi Dome! Andy and Brendan begin by discussing the Atlanta Drive's SoFi Cup win, rounding out the TGL season. They share some overall takeaways from the inaugural screen golf season, Andy breaks out his data-driven power rankings one last time, and PJ is reeling after yet another New York sports loss in a playoff environment. There are pleas for Billy Horschel to take his (rightful) place on the Ryder Cup team this fall, with his MVP-worthy screen golf performance showing he's ready for the main stage. In real golf (37:50, for all of you timestamp fans), Andy deems this week's Hero Indian Open "the Event of the Year" with the DP World Tour heading back to DLF. A listener writes in with some in-person insight from our favorite course, complete with an SGS legend sighting in the clubhouse! Picks are made for the Houston Open, which Tony Finau believes is the best Masters prep on Tour. The LPGA returns with the Ford Championship in Arizona and Brendan passes on some insight from the latest episode of The Mixed Bag. The Champions Tour continues its California Swing, but you'll have to chase down how to watch it across multiple platforms. Finally, the NFLPA Classic at Mayakoba is filling some airtime on Golf Channel this week, so PJ gives an in-depth breakdown of the field and some quotes from on-course reporter Jameis Winston. To wrap things up, Andy, Brendan, and PJ discuss how one would fly to India to make it out to DLF for the Indian Open this weekend.
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1:18:16
Love is in the air for Tiger, Lost Viktor clips JT, LIV boys get into The Open
This recording was delayed until Monday morning because life is better with Andy by Brendan's side! Andy's in the dumps following the Illini's loss to Kentucky in the Round of 32, but his spirits were lifted by Tiger Woods hard-launching his relationship with Vanessa Trump on Sunday night. Brendan and Andy unpack all aspects of Tiger's post, from the bizarre caption to the posed photos prominently featuring the Sun Day Red logo. After a quick spin through Vanessa Trump's Wikipedia page, the two move on to the golf, where a "lost" Viktor Hovland ran down Justin Thomas to win the Valspar. Brendan is fired up about how great the PGA Tour's Florida Swing was and imagines Luke Donald is thrilled with back-to-back wins from European Ryder Cup stalwarts. Andy shares some appreciation for Viktor Hovland's openness with the media when discussing his struggles and compares how Hovland and JT played the final few holes down the stretch in different ways. It was a week of viral moments - Billy Boy showed off some ambidextrousness, making a birdie after hitting his approach left-handed, Adam Hadwin broke a sprinkler with a club slam, and Patton Kizzire perfected the "putter punt." Elsewhere in golf, Dick Mansell won on the DP World Tour, the Sunshine Tour is back in the Coetzee Zone, and Miguel Angel Jimenez secured his second Champions Tour win of the 2025 season in California. There's also plenty of chatter about the PGA Tour's DMCA habits, which are back and possibly better than ever! Things wrap up with some March Madness talk following Andy and PJ's trips to their respective regional sites to watch their teams lose in the second round.
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1:17:36
Scottie on golf’s divide, The most gutless layup ever, and SGS Golf Advice
It’s a throwback episode, with PJ on a boat sailing to the St. John’s NCAA tournament game. There are some Wifi issues, technical difficulties, and just Andy and Brendan on their own like the old days. They discuss some quick news on Scottie Scheffler laying the blame squarely at the feet of one cohort for the current fracture in men’s pro golf. Then they get to some SGS Golf Advice on a member at a club frustrated by some notable rich and famous people jumping the line into full status privileges. Then Andy closes it with a fantastic mini spotlight or flashback, or a flashlight, on Chip Beck, who carded the second ever 59 on the PGA Tour, but not without some major controversy. The Mac O’Grady disciple is covered in some depth, including a few close majors calls and Ryder Cup run-ins with Woosie.
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57:33
The Florida Swing argument, TGL Fatigue, and AI (w)rec(k)s on Sawgrass
To the surprise of no one, what was supposed to be a quick, 40-minute Wednesday episode ended up pushing an hour. Andy and Brendan are fired up after a week at The Players and are ready to watch a strong field at the Valspar Championship to round out the Florida Swing. This episode starts with some TGL notes after barely watching the semi-finals, leading to agreement that the indoor league needs to wrap before The Players takes place in 2026. Speaking of The Players, Andy recalls J.J. Spaun's "Blockie" moment on the 17th hole on Monday, asking Rory where his ball was. This leads to today's Masters Fact of the Day, which then ends up in a discussion about who would play Michael Block in the Disney movie about the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill. For the last bit of Players cleanup, Andy shares some AI findings that PGA Tour Championship Management could have used to set up TPC Sawgrass last week. On the outdoor golf front this weel, Brendan declares he's back "in" on the Florida Swing after some exciting events to this point and a Valspar field that includes 24 of the top 50 players in the world. The DP World Tour is in Singapore and Big Shot Bob MacIntyre is in the field, which has Andy and Brendan wondering what direction he flew to get there from Jacksonville. PJ goes down the tee sheet for the Hoag Classic's Pro-Am on Sunday, filled with NFL stars and athletes of all levels - an elite test of Remembering Some Guys. In news, the LIV Singapore ratings were quite poor, but Peacock and Golf Channel drew a big number for the Monday playoff finish at The Players. Finally, Andy unveils the latest data-driven TGL Power Rankings heading into next week's final series between NYGC and the Atlanta Drive.
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1:00:16
Rory McIlroy wins The Players in windy, ‘nervous’ playoff after busy, contentious week at Sawgrass
“The boys” gather to fully debrief on the The Players Championship after Rory McIlroy came out on a Monday morning to beat J.J. Spaun for his second gold man trophy at TPC Sawgrass. Andy and Brendan discuss the golf nerd delights of the three-hole playoff in whipping winds on some of the most iconic and nerve-wracking holes in pro golf. They touch on Rory’s resume, current status, and future prospects with the Masters bearing down on the season. They review J.J. Spaun’s touch ‘em all ball into the water at 17, and his overall performance up against Rory. They discuss Scottie’s temper and the weird contentious vibes at times with the press between him and Morikawa, and Rory’s kerfuffle with a heckling fan earlier in the week. They ponder Scottie’s current trajectory, some other names that impressed and disappointed, and how the course, specifically the tree at 6, stacked up against the pros. They close it with some LIV Singapore thoughts and a look at the current Ryder Cup situation.
The Shotgun Start with Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath of Fried Egg Golf is a podcast waiting for you early in the morning that quickly blasts through a variety of topics (usually) related to golf and (ideally) relevant to the day. It covers news from the pro tours around the world, amusing and important topics from the amateur game the rest of us play, and some irreverent stuff in between. There will be short interviews, previews, reviews, and dives into the archives. It provides what you need to know on golf through a rapid and fun catch-up discussion.
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