The Shotgun Start

In this bonus edition of The Shotgun Start, Brendan Porath and Joseph LaMagna take a trip down memory lane after rewatching the final round of the 2017 Open Championship. The two recount Jordan Spieth's roller coaster of a final round, his famous drop on the 13th hole, Matt Kuchar's heartbreak, and forgotten moments and amusements from a memorable finish. They hand out a few awards, including Worst Dressed and Favorite Commentary, before a quick lookahead at what's to come when we return to Royal Birkdale for next week's 149th Open Championship.

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At long last, Coffee Golf season is here! Andy and Brendan are just about ready for the final major of 2026 and kick off this Whiparound Friday episode with some more discussion about the jumbled pro golf schedule this week. Andy was especially excited to watch the Scottish Open on Thursday morning and was befuddled that it wasn't on television, further exemplifying why events like the Evian Championship and Scottish Open shouldn't share the same week. Brendan brings up a Padraig Harrington quote from last week at Scioto to kick off a discussion about the continued evolution of the pro game and how today's top players can differentiate themselves from the pack. One of these ways is to spend your time preparing for the Open with a film crew in Canada, which is where Bryson DeChambeau has apparently found himself this week. Andy wants to get to the bottom of who the best player without a major is, but first pops PJ about the continued breakout of Pete Crow-Armstrong for a mid-episode PCA Minute. After things get back to golf, PJ sticks around and quizzes Andy and Brendan on some of the players filling out the bottom of the field at Royal Birkdale next week. Kevin Van Valkenburg then jumps in for a Mercedes Flashback on the 1961 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale before Brendan chats with Matthew Galloway about his belief that the Evian is actually worthy of being a major championship. We will return on Sunday evening to recap the Scottish Open and more as Brendan heads overseas for the last major of the year!

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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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