Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:03 But this time around on the early line, it's Charlie Hulme.
00:05 Joining us here on this Wednesday, live from the 10th T,
00:10 inside the T-Mobile Club Magenta.
00:13 The presenting sponsor this week for the Smiley Show,
00:16 of which Charlie is a co-host and a producer, of course,
00:19 alongside his guy, our guy, Smiley Kaufman.
00:22 All live round recaps from this week's 2024 PGA Championship
00:27 at T-Mobile's Club Magenta.
00:29 And Charlie, you're looking good, bright and early on this Wednesday morning.
00:32 >> Thanks, yeah, it's great to be here with both of you all, Ben and Donnie.
00:36 We were lamenting this in the break.
00:39 There was some T shots here on the 10th, John Rahm among others.
00:42 And I was really excited to get my Smiley Kaufman, Golf announcer voice on and
00:46 just go really low.
00:48 And okay, here's the balls in the air.
00:49 But we're here now, maybe we'll get the chance to call a few more shots.
00:54 It is looking great out here.
00:56 We thought there was gonna be rain, weather's fantastic.
00:58 So I'm fired up for a big major week here at Valhalla.
01:01 >> Charlie, you are truly on site.
01:04 Listen, we've got about eight, nine more minutes left in this segment.
01:07 Hopefully we have some golfers in their practice round that we can get
01:10 that on course reporting voice live here on the early line.
01:14 So let's look at where things stand, Charlie,
01:17 from the odds perspective leading into this second major championship.
01:21 And it should be no surprise to see Scotty Scheffler on top of this odds board and
01:25 more than likely on top of the leaderboard in these next few days in Louisville.
01:30 Four to one price on Scotty.
01:32 Let's start there.
01:33 How does anybody get in front of Scotty Scheffler this week
01:37 with his recent form entering the second major championship?
01:40 >> So this is such an interesting one because I could not possibly be more excited
01:46 for the way this tournament is setting up with the top of that odds board there.
01:50 You have two guys, you have the number one and
01:52 the number two players in the world and Scotty Scheffler and
01:55 Rory McIlroy who have both won in their last two starts.
01:58 And Scotty's price was actually a little bit shorter heading into the week.
02:01 He was around plus 350.
02:03 But he's had that layoff, of course, for the last three weeks for
02:06 the birth of his son.
02:07 And so this is the first tournament back and
02:09 I guess maybe odds makers are a little unsure as to what sort of form he's going
02:13 to be in.
02:13 I mean, I think the interesting thing about the core set up this week is that
02:18 in contrary to the masters where there was a ton of wind and
02:21 the conditions were tough, and that maybe kind of forced some mistakes and
02:24 rule guys out.
02:25 I think the conditions here are gonna be very good for scoring.
02:29 And I think that brings more players into play.
02:32 So whereas Scotty might have a better chance to separate himself from
02:35 the rest of the field at a tougher venue, not saying Valhalla isn't tough.
02:39 I just think with the rain, it's gonna be a soft course.
02:42 Anyone who hits the ball a long way and
02:44 can have like top tier iron play should have a good chance out here.
02:47 There's not a ton of undulation in the greens.
02:49 So that's why I'd say I still like Scotty.
02:53 I think it's tough to not bet on him.
02:55 But I think maybe with a lack of value there and other guys that are in play,
02:59 I'd maybe look to put some different sort of wagers in play this week rather than
03:04 like an outright on Scottie or maybe even anyone else.
03:07 >> If we do take a look at Scottie Shefflin rightfully so,
03:10 I mean just in a major tournament, a major favorite here.
03:13 But obviously as we know, golfers very strict usually on their game plans,
03:17 how they work out, how they get to the golf course, plenty of time to get ready.
03:20 Now we saw him take a couple weeks off, he's back in a major tournament.
03:24 Do we expect things right out of the gate?
03:25 Or is this one thing that you approach and say, let's see how Scottie does in round
03:29 number one and then see if we have those advantages on Friday, Saturday, Sunday?
03:32 >> Yeah, that's a great question because I think the thing that Scottie is
03:39 maybe the best ball striker we've seen since prime Tiger Woods, right?
03:42 So I think the question mark again is gonna go back to the putter.
03:46 That's a feel thing, right?
03:47 And that's the thing that was plugging Scottie prior to his switch to the spider
03:51 putter that he won everything with in the month and
03:54 a half until he took the break for the birth of his son.
03:57 So I'd say that if the putter, if it looks like there's a little rust on it round one,
04:02 maybe cool off on his prospects.
04:04 But if he comes out of the gate and he's making everything he looks like he has
04:07 been, he's gonna be hard to beat.
04:09 >> So Charlie, we'll get to Rory McIlroy in just a moment and
04:14 the numerous headlines and storylines that follow Rory this week to Valhalla.
04:18 But when you see two guys at plus 750 or shorter and
04:21 everybody else at a 14 to 1 price nearly double the two front runners,
04:26 it does provide those value that you might not even have necessarily on long shots,
04:31 but just some names to monitor throughout this week.
04:34 So you mentioned it might be a little bit more difficult for
04:37 the likes of Scottie Sheffler or Rory McIlroy to pull away this week at Valhalla.
04:42 Who are some names that you are keying in on for the 2024 PGA Championship?
04:47 >> I mean, I'm looking at the graphic you just displayed with Brooks Koepka at 16 to
04:51 1, a guy who's won three of these things and it could not set up any better for
04:55 Brooks cuz he loves having a chip on his shoulder.
04:58 He loves feeling like the underdog.
05:00 He's the defending champion here.
05:01 He should be the prohibitive favorite.
05:03 But we're coming into the week and all we're talking about is Scottie and Rory.
05:06 I feel like Brooks,
05:07 that's gotta be a ton of motivation to come out here and play well.
05:11 My pick, my one and done pick this week, I came on this show and
05:14 I told you after the Masters that I love Ludwig.
05:17 He withdrew from last week's Wells Fargo with the knee injury.
05:21 I still think his game is so perfect for this venue.
05:24 I just wonder the extent of that injury and I think he's around 20 to 1 right now.
05:30 So I'm looking at Brooks and Ludwig and I love those two plays.
05:33 >> Getting momentum heading into a major championship.
05:37 Sometimes we don't see all that often because typically some of those tournaments
05:40 pre-major guys are off the course getting ready and
05:42 not playing in those lower level events.
05:44 Well, the PGA Tour says, you know what, let's ramp up some signature events.
05:47 You have that momentum with Rory Mackerel.
05:49 And the one thing that amazes me is how talented a golfer he is, but
05:52 hasn't won a major championship since Valhalla at 2014.
05:55 A decade has passed.
05:57 Is it the week that you can look for Rory and say,
05:59 now is the time he's gonna seize it?
06:01 Because being comfortable on a golf course knowing you've won a championship here
06:05 already in this course has to go a long way, Charlie.
06:08 >> You gotta love Rory this week.
06:09 And in fact, there have been a ton of course comparisons made between Valhalla and
06:14 Quail Hollow where he just won.
06:16 I mean, golfers so often are doing their best to pull on a memory bank of
06:21 good shots and good feelings and he doesn't have to think too far back.
06:24 Just go back to last week when he lapped the field.
06:26 The interesting thing I think for Rory this week is going to be,
06:29 there are obviously reports yesterday about him filing for divorce on TMZ.
06:33 I'm not here to talk about the guy's personal life, but
06:35 I do know that often pro players will talk about some of the best golf I play
06:41 is in times of the greatest turmoil off the course.
06:44 Cuz it's kinda like you're just focusing, you're locking in,
06:46 you're working on your craft.
06:47 And so I wonder if, in a way, that's what's helped Rory focus and
06:52 play good golf right now.
06:53 So all those things considered, it's like, man,
06:56 it kinda feels like the right time for him to break the major slump here at a place
06:59 he's already won and has good vibes around.
07:01 >> It has been a decade.
07:04 That's one of the many storylines for
07:06 Rory McIlroy entering this week of the 2024 PGA Championship.
07:11 His last major title, as that graphic explained, here at Valhalla in 2014.
07:18 So as we go elsewhere, of course, one of the storylines anytime,
07:22 he is in a field, Charlie Eldrick, Tiger Woods.
07:27 It's not going to be easy at a hilly golf course in the hills of Louisville,
07:31 Kentucky, what is your expectation for Tiger Woods this week at the PGA Championship?
07:37 >> Yes, Smiley and I talked about this last night in our preview show.
07:42 And the question posed was, does he make the cut?
07:46 I think he does make the cut.
07:47 I think we saw enough from him at Augusta through two rounds to think that
07:52 it's not an issue of the quality of his game.
07:54 The guy is still one of the best ball strikers on the planet and
07:58 probably will be for the rest of his life.
08:00 It's just the, can you go through the physical grind on a four day stretch?
08:04 So I think you see him make the cut.
08:07 And I think the scoring starts to tail off in round three and round four.
08:12 And I really think this is gonna be a big inflection point for
08:14 Tiger this week of just taking stock of what it takes to gear up for
08:18 a major and how many more times this can be done.
08:21 I will never doubt him, but I think this is gonna be after the Masters,
08:24 especially it's gonna be a big barometer on how many more of these things he does
08:27 in this sort of way.
08:29 >> Yeah, certainly so.
08:30 We know he is comfortable at Augusta.
08:32 It's the one major venue that does not change on an annual basis.
08:36 But how about getting ramped up for the PGA Championship?
08:39 I am a simple man, however.
08:41 If you give me a plus money price on Tiger Woods to make a cut at a major,
08:45 I will bet that number.
08:47 Charlie, any golfers there in the final 20 seconds to display that on course
08:51 reporting voice?
08:52 >> I just saw Minwoo Lee walk by.
08:55 He's wearing a nice pair of Lululemon shorts.
08:58 I need to get a pair of those and no t-shots to report on.
09:00 That's all I got for you boys from Valhalla.
09:03 >> Listen, Smiley better be scared.
09:05 That was pretty good, Charlie.
09:06 We appreciate the time.
09:08 More on the early line next.
09:09 [MUSIC]