Smylie Kaufman Gives Insight on the Finish at the Irish Open

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00:00We talk a lot on the show about just the realities of professional golf is of course the pie

00:08in the sky scenario where we get to play all the places we want to and money's not an object

00:13and then there are of course certain reasons why we have to go to certain places not necessarily

00:17that they're bad venues it's just that they are you know there's money behind it their

00:21sponsorship interests there are things like that that necessitate certain tournaments

00:25being in certain places in certain venues being used I think it's so cool when you have

00:29an opportunity to go to a place like Royal County down where it feels like none of that's

00:33attached and it's just a pure form of golf it's just a place that is you know understand

00:39why we can't do it every single time but this venue is exceptional and this finish was exceptional

00:47today I mean I can't believe yet again we're looking at a Rory McIlroy National Open heartbreak

00:54but Rasmus boy guard finishes birdie birdie birdie to get this thing one and on the other

01:00hand Rory goes bogey birdie bogey and narrowly misses an eagle putt makes birdie misses a

01:06playoff by a shot so we were watching this texting together I mean I just I the three

01:12putt for me on 17 for Rory I just I don't know how that happens like that well gosh

01:20let's just kind of take in just can we compare this to anything else like does it feel like

01:29the US Open does it feel like the the Open Championship at st. Andrews and just kind

01:34of compare you know what was today like as far as like closing a golf tournament and was it as

01:40excruciating as some of those felt like they were and and today it just felt like to me you know

01:46when he had a two-shot lead with six holes to go and you look down the board and you're starting

01:51to think yourself it's like man I just don't see a world in which Rory doesn't win this golf

01:55tournament and you know the Open Championship at st. Andrews I would say that you know the putter

02:03you know he just wasn't hitting it close enough and then the putter just went cold on him he and

02:08we talked about the US Open you know even speaking with Rory after it seemed like he got a little

02:13caught up too much in the moment lost focus on 16 and they got too much into what Bryson was doing

02:20and just kind of threw him a little bit out of rhythm and with this one you know when I talk

02:27about how how hard it is to win golf tournaments now when you're in a situation with a two-shot

02:32lead it just seemed like so much had to go wrong if unless Rory played poorly and in this position

02:40I would I would say that he missed two shots right like the 15th hole he had a second shot

02:47there that I felt like he had plenty of room to the left I know miss shots happened but it just

02:52seemed like that was the one place that you couldn't hit it ends up making a bogey there

02:57it seemed like that was an avoidable bogey so there's one shot 16 hits an incredible three

03:03would on that par for drivable and puts himself in a great position to make a birdie and then

03:08goes to 17 where that that second shot was given guys problems the entire day and this is where I'll

03:15bring in Rasmus right so he he was having a day in which everything was going right everything was

03:24going right you know the the stuff that happens to guys on like Thursday morning starting the

03:31tournament they shoot 64 and everything went right his happened to be on a Sunday afternoon within a

03:38couple shots the lead and where it really was it was on the 14th hole for Rasmus on the same on the

03:47same hole where Rory flags an iron shot comes up like 25 feet short on on this par 3 14th hole

03:53Rasmus pushes it right into I would call the their primary rough bounces out of it and inside of 10

04:00feet makes a birdie and then now gets to 16 makes a birdie on that hole so like you get a little bit

04:07of a lucky bounce and a fortunate break and so now he's getting you know he's in that position now

04:13where he's got an opportunity to win can he put the pressure on and post the score gets up and

04:17down out of the bunker on 16 17 hits a very poor shot into the left bunker that seemed like when

04:25Hoyt guard said later he said I thought it was going to plug I get up there it was on enough of

04:30an upslope and hits just the most darling bunker shot you've ever seen goes in the middle of the

04:36flagstick I took a screenshot and you could even see the ball from behind the view of the bunker

04:41because this ball is literally in the middle of the stick and so that was that was it turned out

04:47that to be the difference in the golf tournament right so Rory plays I think the 17th hole the

04:53smart way you know this pin is tucked back in this small small narrow area and it really takes a shot

05:00that if you're gonna get it back there you got to be very brave because you know missing in that left

05:05bunker most of the time is bogey so you got to play short so the difference is is Huy guard gets

05:12it in this bunker finds an okay lie makes birdie and then Rory from 30 feet puts it off the green

05:19misses an 8-footer and now has to make an eagle on 18 which it was a valiant effort I mean to drive

05:25it in that small small amazing like he did hits an 8-iron up there into that front left hole

05:30occasion was so hard to get it close and gives himself an opportunity to make a putt hit a good

05:35putt and and you just leave yourself like I can't imagine when Rory saw what Huy guard did on how

05:43he made his birdies he's just got to think to himself you know what yes I can look back at

05:50those two shots and I probably could have done better and and he should expect that from himself

05:54because that's what you have to do to close tournaments and in this unfortunately in this

06:00situation I will say I feel like Huy guard had a bit of luck on his side and Rory just wasn't

06:07able to do the the simple things on it on I wouldn't call it the iron shot on 15 is simple

06:13shot but something that I would say he regularly would be controlling his golf ball into an area

06:17it's where he would make a par there but I don't know Charlie just leaves me in a like I see the

06:22comparisons now on online it's a man this reminds me a lot of Greg Norman during his prime I didn't

06:27watch Greg Norman growing up as a kid so it's hard for me to to to put that in perspective of is it

06:33is it similar but I know Rory one of he's won a ton of times he knows how to win golf tournaments

06:38so I don't have an issue with it it just seems like it's a much more of a recency thing

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