Tour Champ and Courier Cup get bold new format, NCAA gamesmanship, and Charlie Woods wins
Whiparound Fridays continue as Andy and Brendan cover everything from the quarterback room of the Cleveland Browns to the drinking water at the Austrian Open in this episode. After crowning the Austrian Open as his "Event of the Week," Brendan was swarmed with information about the tournament and its history. He informs Andy about the past "tee up" rounds where every shot could be played off a tee and shares that the drinking water may be causing some issues for players on the course. The main portion of this episode focuses on the changes to the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup Playoffs that were announced Tuesday afternoon. Andy and Brendan discuss the removal of "Starting Strokes" from the Tour Championship and whether these changes will be enough to fix what has become a broken playoff system. With the playing field evened out at East Lake, they then debate who the worst-case scenario winner of the 2025 FedEx Cup would be. Meanwhile at the U.S. Women's Open, slow play is once again the topic of discussion with rounds nearing six hours on Thursday afternoon. Andy and Brendan then recap the NCAA Championship and some gamesmanship by an Oklahoma State player that should have him in Ryder Cup conversations. In other news, Charlie Woods is an AJGA winner, Good Charlotte is headed to Bolingbrook this summer, Blockie's angling for Champions Tour exemptions, and Bryson may have some nice digs in Washington D.C. ahead of LIV Virginia next week. To wrap things up, Brendan shares an amusing story from his trip to a diner with PJ.
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1:04:16
Rory skips Memorial, Signature Event Over-saturation, and boosting NCAA golf
This episode starts with a simple question: why isn't college golf more popular? Andy and Brendan look at this week's NCAA championships and wonder how the college game could raise its profile among golf fans. They compare top players, some of whom have PGA Tour cards already, and top-ranked schools to the top prospects and teams in college football and basketball that become household names during their respective seasons. After the lengthy college golf discussion, the two preview yet another Signature Event as the PGA Tour heads to the Memorial at Jack's Place (proper noun). Rory McIlroy will not be in Columbus, instead choosing to play in next week's Canadian Open in his quest to win every national open possible. One-and-done picks are made with Brendan steering into a bit after Andy boxes him into it. The U.S. Women's Open is at Erin Hills this week, leading to a debate about where the course stands in terms of major venues in the professional game. Andy and Brendan run through some notable groups for the first two rounds and share some excitement for on-location coverage from The Mixed Bag. The Champions Tour treks to Iowa and PJ has some questions about the Schwab Cup standings following the second senior major. Andy and Brendan wrap things up with some LIV contract news as the first wave of players are up for renewal.
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1:00:43
A driver testing accusation, Ben Griffin joins Ryder Cup roster dilemmas, Adventures in Senior Golf
Andy is back from his travels and joins Brendan to get caught up on this holiday weekend of golf. This episode starts with a lengthy Senior PGA Championship recap after PJ's journey down the eastern seaboard to Congressional Country Club. PJ shares his observations from the ground, touching on back-to-back major champion Angel Cabrera's aptly-named equipment, Richard Bland's insistence on hitting driver all over the place, and some substantiated rumors about new podcast folk hero Don Rea Jr. Andy and Brendan then recap the Charles Schwab Challenge where Ben Griffin won his second PGA Tour event of the season. They debate Griffin's early case for inclusion on this year's American Ryder Cup team and Brendan shares a touching moment from Griffin's post-round presser on Sunday. In news, Rory McIlroy is skipping this week's Memorial Tournament, Will Zalatoris undergoes back surgery, and Lucas Glover presents a conspiracy about driver testing on the PGA Tour.
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1:14:48
Scottie gets blunt on LIV-PGA Tour reunion, Golf Advice with The Boys, and Rea Ramblings on Rain
With Andy on the road, "The Boys" join Brendan! for this Friday episode. Joseph is immediately thrown in the fire of a Champions Tour major week with Brendan and PJ sharing the latest news from the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship at Congressional. There's a new Don Rea development that you'll have to see (or hear?) to believe, which leaves everyone in stitches early on in the episode. Scottie Scheffler's outing at the Dallas Stars game is discussed, as well as some insane PGA Tour Live graphics shown during first round coverage of the Charles Schwab Challenge. Scottie also shared some thoughts on a potential deal between LIV and the PGA Tour during his pre-tournament press conference. There's some more Motor City GC chatter as the trio tries to select the perfect team to represent Detroit in 2027 before tackling some golf advice questions, including one submission about a legendary round at the Colonial Pro-Am.
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1:30:20
Can Scottie win 10 majors, Sr. PGA delights at Congressional, and the olds take Colonial
If you're interested in astrology, PGA cleanup, and the most comprehensive preview of the Senior PGA Championship, this is the episode for you! Still basking in the afterglow of Scottie's win at the PGA, Andy and Brendan are in high spirits for this Wednesday episode. They first debate what a fair over-under is for Scottie Scheffler's career major wins and emphasize how hard it is to sustain an elite level of play for ten years. The two then do some more PGA wrap up and briefly look ahead to Oakmont and Royal Portrush, where they expect Jon Rahm to be a contender. On the PGA Tour, Scottie will tee it up again in Dallas for the Charles Schwab Challenge. Joining him there are Corey Pavin, Olin Browne, and David Frost, leading Brendan to question whether these olds will be competitive at Colonial. After making some fire picks for the week, this episode turns into a full-on preview of the Senior PGA Championship at Congressional. Brendan and PJ go through the field and discuss notables, including Andy's favorite, Lee Westwood! There are odds out there for this event, so picks are made for this major championship as well. In news, Detroit's TGL team will begin play in 2027 and some history was made at the USGA Fourball.
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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