Ep18: Merger Update, US Open, & Mark Names a 'Mongrel Golfer'

Today we're live from the awesome Peter Thomson Room at Australian Golf HQ, surrounded by memorabilia and history. One thing we're not surrounded by, in amongst the hundreds of golf books, is Nick O'Hern's book....Nick is going to fix that major problem.On the show, Nick O'Hern and Mark Allen discuss the Canadian Open, and the great performance of Nick Taylor. Mark was impressed with Tommy Fleetwood, even though he just fell short in the playoff - Nick thinks he had his chance and just didn't take it. A highlight of the event was Adam Hadwin getting tackled by security guards after Nick Taylors massive putt to win the Open.The boys reckon that for non US golfers there are 5 majors - the Canadian if you're Canadian, The Australian Open if you're an Aussie.Mark asks Nick about his approach to tapering before tournaments, and explains why he couldn't taper.To the biggest golf news in the world. The PGA / LIV merger. A few days in, we still don't know the detail, Nick and Mark discuss. Nick and Mark point out that at this stage there is no deal, rather there is a non-binding agreement to make an agreement, and there is an outside chance it could fall over - although they don't believe it will.Mark asks Nick a bunch of questions about the merger and what it means for some of the players to come back to the PGA tour. Mark reckons the big names are straight back into the PGA tour. Nick disagrees and doesn't believe they will be welcomed back, at least not initially.Mark believes that there is only one pathway forward for Jay Monahan, and outlines what he believes should happen with the schedule.With the US Open this weekend, Nick and Mark talk about LA Country Club and how great the course is looking.A mountain of feedback this week, and Nick and Mark run through your comments. Plenty of feedback on the show (mostly good, but a couple of whacks), and a bunch of questions for the boys.Mark chats about Dick Kirby's OAM in the Kings Birthday honours list, a great honour for a great servant of the game.Nick runs through a bunch of results from around the world - Mark is impressed with Anne Van Dam's name and reckons, along with Elvis Smylie, she is a shoe-in for Top 5 best golf names ever.Top 5 this week, with the US Open, Mark gives his favourite US Open venues and tells a story about the time he was screwed out of a spot in the US Open by a guy who he calls a 'mongrel'.And this week in the Masterclass, Nick O'Hern talks about hitting out of the rough, the kind of club to use, and how to play the shot.Talk Birdie To Me, new episodes weekly wherever you get your podcasts.If you've got a friend who is into golf, we'd love you to share the podcast with them, and rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partnerBMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;And Southern Golf Club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.