Golf rants aren't something you see every day in sports talk radio. Outside of Tiger Woods and maybe the four majors golf isn't something that necessarily moves the needle. But when you have Mike Francesa ranting like a madman for 30 minutes over a golfer laying up, we have sports talk radio magic!
It all started when Francesa busted Patrick Reed, winner at Doral in the World Golf Championships event this weekend, for proclaiming himself to be one of the top five golfers in the world and laying up on the 18th hole with a two shot lead. Francesa's thesis was overly simple and obviously flawed – if Reed is really a top five player, he should be hitting a wood off the tee instead of an iron.
Reed's strategy turned out to be incredibly smart. By laying up with a 3-iron off the tee and a 2 shot lead, Reed made an easy 2-putt bogey for the win. That's what it's all about isn't it? Why it matters whether he hit an iron or a wood for his tee shot is such a bizarre argument to have for 30 minutes, even for the most hardcore golfing aficionado, let alone a prominent sports talk radio host. But don't let that stop the sports pope for going on an insane rant about course management!!!!!!!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LDvUMkvHb-M
The funniest thing about this entire argument is Francesa battling callers and challenging them to name one top player who layed up on a Par 4 like Reed in a must-win situation. Mongo Nation disappointed greatly here by failing to mention the most obvious example – David Toms in the 2001 PGA Championship. Toms layed up on the Par 4 18th at Atlanta Athletic Club in the final round, made a par, and won the tournament by a single shot. Nevertheless, the callers put up enough of a good fight to make sure this amazing bit of audio kept going and going and going. Who knew there were so many people dying for the chance to talk about golf?
He may be misguided on his criticism of Reid's layup and the strategy therein, but it's refreshing to hear a compltely over the top rant on golf as opposed to the same ol' same ol' monotony of NFL free agency and spring training. If Mike Francesa spent 30 minutes on a random golf story, I might listen every day… and not just for the prank callers.
There is life after Tiger Woods for the golfing world, as long as we can have Mike Francesa debate callers on course management strategies.
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