LIV Golf hot stove signings, Jay Monahan’s salary, and LPGA’s leadership problem

The Shotgun Start

Things are back to normal on this Wednesday episode as Andy and Brendan pause the Year in Review to discuss the Hero World Challenge and plenty of news from across the world of golf. Brendan recaps an amazing Browns loss on Monday Night Football to start things off and Andy wonders what the career of Justin Thomas would look like if he took a Jameis Winston approach to improvement (praying to be delivered from pick sixes). From there, the two recap Tiger's annual press conference at the Hero, where he claimed that his competitive fire is still burning but he's unable to compete physically right now. Andy and Brendan discuss key takeaways from the media session and wonder if Tiger's waning energy is being wasted on the PGA Tour-PIF negotiations. Meanwhile, the LIV Hot Stove is scorching as Thomas Pieters was dealt from the RangeGoats to the 4 Aces in exchange for... nothing and Tony Finau is rumored to be the latest to make the jump after withdrawing from the Hero on Monday. An all-new "Commissioners Minute" segment leads to debates about Jay Monahan's place among sports commissioners after it was revealed that his 2023 salary totaled $23 million. "Commissioners Minute" continues with the news of Mollie Marcoux Samaan's resignation as the LPGA's leader also breaking on Monday. Andy and Brendan then move to the metaverse, where Tiger claims that he will be ready to play when Jupiter Links GC hits the SoFi Center for the first TGL season in January. Unbeknownst to this podcast, the NYGC squad had a media day in New York, where a non-invited PJ missed out on a chance to have Mets/NYGC owner Steve Cohen compare Matt Fitzpatrick to Sean Manaea. The premier golf gambling podcast then makes some picks for the Hero World Challenge before running through notables at the DP World Tour's Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa. To close things out, PJ recaps the first round of Champions Tour Q-School's final stage, where some SGS favorites are looking to secure status for next year.