The Smylie Show

Charlie Hulme and Smylie Kaufman break down Michael Thorbjornsen's first PGA Tour win — a bogey-free final-round 63 at the Rocket Classic, sealed by a long birdie putt on 18 that held off a hard-charging Xander Schauffele. Thor's putting coach, Stephen Sweeney, joins the show to explain how a stance and ball-position overhaul helped refine a raw approach into more short makes and better speed control on long putts.
With the final PGA TOUR regular-season event up next, we take a bigger-picture look at the rest of the season and beyond. Which players are in danger of losing their cards, missing the playoffs, or not qualifying for signature events? And how would all of this look via a restructured competitive format in 2028?
Plus: Detroit Golf Club's Donald Ross restoration, debating our favorite golf course design features, and the fantasy game Smylie would like to see in 2028 with the Championship and Challenger Series in place.
Check out our original putting instruction video with Stephen Sweeney here: https://youtu.be/JVh5Xy7YRQM
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro: Charlie's HVAC and studio backdrop saga continues
3:15 Smylie plays through a mild flu — new Sam Burns/Scottie Scheffler swing thoughts
6:58 Charlie's putter and grip breakthrough
8:14 Detroit Golf Club's Donald Ross restoration & tour's vanishing classic courses
16:03 What makes a golf hole memorable
19:16 Favorite/least favorite design features: cross creeks & sloped tee boxes
23:52 Caddie yardages: raw numbers vs. adjusted advice
27:39 Stephen Sweeney joins to talk Thorbjornsen's win
33:36 Thorbjornsen's raw putting DNA — from cross-handed to fundamentals
39:12 Video breakdown: fixing Thorbjornsen's stance & ball position
45:14 Thorbjornsen's ceiling
47:27 Sweeney's new ventures: Golf.com content & The People's League
55:25 Rocket Classic recap: Thorbjornsen's bogey-free 63 & the winning putt
57:37 Xander Schauffele's runner-up finish & 2026 bounce-back
58:21 FedEx Cup Playoffs / Top 100 PGAT Bubble Discussion
01:08:00 Presidents Cup Outlook
01:12:00 Future PGAT Changes
#golf #pgatour #rocketclassic #MichaelThorbjornsen #SmylieShow #SmylieKaufman 
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Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme break down Jackson Koivun's stunning 3M Open win — his first PGA Tour title in just his third start as a pro, holding off a hard-charging Scottie Scheffler at TPC Twin Cities. They revisit Smylie's April prediction that Koivun could make the Presidents Cup team, along with a deep dive into Brandt Snedeker's Presidents Cup roster dilemma (young guns vs. proven veterans).
Other 3M topics include a fifth runner-up finish for Scottie Scheffler, an ode to Grumpy Old Dudes after a viral Lucas Glover metal spikes moment, and “3Minutes” with producer Jaxon Brown.
Before all that: Smylie tweaks his back wrestling his kids into car seats in the rain during a solo parenting weekend, and Charlie gets torched by a mineral sunscreen mishap on the beach.
Tune in soon for a fuller breakdown of the state of LIV Golf after a brief discussion to close the episode. Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!
Chapters
0:00 Intro & episode preview
1:48 Smylie's parenting-duty weekend and "dad back" tweak
4:13 Charlie's beach vacation and sunscreen sunburn saga
9:06 Jackson Koivun's 3M Open win and duel with Scottie Scheffler
13:10 Brandt Snedeker's Presidents Cup roster dilemma: youth vs. experience
22:54 Presidents Cup standings and proposed format changes
25:39 Comparing Koivun to golf's great young major winners
28:08 Scottie Scheffler's incredible, win-light runner-up season
32:14 Scheffler's costly miss on 18 and Koivun's closing par
34:28 Koivun's caddie David Flynn's backstory
35:57 Lucas Glover's shoes-off, metal-spikes controversy
42:52 3M Minutes: Jaxon Brown's on-site report from the 3M Open
53:22 Smylie's neck injury and driver breakthrough
56:23 LIV Golf's collapse and stranded players
1:02:07 Sign-off and next episode tease
#golf #pgatour #smylieshow #jacksonkoivun #3MOpen #golfrecap #golfhighlights

Fresh off a thrilling finish at Royal Birkdale which saw him hoist the Claret Jug, Ryan Fox joins Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme to relive his first major win at the 2026 Open Championship — only the fourth Kiwi to win a major, and the first to bring the Claret Jug home to New Zealand since Bob Charles in 1963. Fox walks through his major championship record-tying 62 on Saturday (and the improbable fairway bunker shot on 18 that capped it off), the driver decision on the 13th that swung his Sunday momentum, an incredible approach at 16, and the nerves he felt reading the winning birdie putt on 18.
Plus: A brand new Srixon driver responsible for some of the most clutch shots he hit all week + the Z-STAR ball that gave him an edge over the rest of the field in the windy conditions, his dad Grant Fox's legendary All Blacks career and 1987 Rugby World Cup win, New Zealand's golf course boom, whether a PGA Tour event or Presidents Cup could ever land in New Zealand, and a detour into Fox's Bordeaux-heavy wine cellar.
Before all that: the saga of getting the real and replica Claret Jugs through airport security and onto the flight home — including an awkward moment in line next to runner-up Cameron Young.
Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!
Chapters
0:00 Intro & Ryan Fox's dad, All Blacks legend Grant Fox
2:39 Has life changed since becoming Champion Golfer of the Year?
3:39 New Zealand's 4th major champion & ending a 63-year Claret Jug drought
4:29 The Claret Jug's wild flight home
9:19 Echoes of Hideki Matsuyama's Masters travels
10:19 Friday's grind just to make the cut
12:12 Saturday's record-tying 62
13:14 The bunker shot and putt that closed out the 62
18:29 The 13th hole driver gamble and riding the wave of momentum
23:24 The approach at 16 and feeling the crowd's energy
29:03 Composure and nerves on the 18th green
32:45 The backstory on Ryan's putter
34:42 No snakes in New Zealand???
35:57 The 2014 Muriwai Open and New Zealand's links golf
38:00 The 2021 Muriwai win with Steve Williams caddying
39:48 Touring New Zealand's booming golf course scene
42:50 Could the PGA Tour — or a Presidents Cup — come to New Zealand?
46:25 Wine talk: Bordeaux, Hawke's Bay, and the Claret Jug
48:23 Sign-off

Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme recap the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where 39-year-old Ryan Fox closed with an aggressive nine-iron to 11 feet on the 72nd hole and drained the birdie to win his first major, clearing Cam Young by a shot. They break down his decisive back nine and journey to the top: turning pro at 25, not reaching the PGA Tour full-time until age 37.
Plus: Cam Young's fateful bunker gamble on 18 and the way his narrative has shifted rhe past year, heartbreak for Sam Burns with another near-miss at a major, controversy surrounding Scottie Scheffler’s 17th-hole TIO ruling, a bigger picture discussion about rules enforcement in the wake of Bryson DeChambeau’s two-shot penalty, and whether Royal Birkdale's firm-and-fast setup played as a true links test.
Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow! Thanks for watching our major championship coverage all year long.
Chapters
0:00 Intro — Smylie's last dispatch from Royal Birkdale
2:11 Ryan Fox's Open Championship win, recapped
3:25 Cam Young's early charge sets the clubhouse target
7:05 Sam Burns' back-nine bogeys + live show bloopers
10:11 Scottie, Fleetwood, and Bryson fall out of contention
12:40 Fox's decisive back nine and winning approach
16:39 Ryan Fox's Swing and Background
18:22 Sam Burns' heartache and the "can he close" question
20:06 Cam Young
29:53 Scottie Scheffler's major-less season, dissected
33:36 Scottie's TIO ruling and the Bryson "careless" debate
39:14 Rules consistency
47:07 Golf's mental game and controlling emotions on tour
51:12 Tommy Fleetwood, Si Woo Kim, and Royal Birkdale's true links test
59:14 Ryan Gerard and sign-off from Major season!
#theopen #golf #ryanfox #smylieshow #smyliekaufman #camyoung #samburns #scottiescheffler

Coming off a wild Friday night with a two-shot penalty assessed to Bryson DeChambeau - and a third round on Saturday where Smylie Kaufman was calling all the action in the Bryson & Sam Burns group - Smylie joins Charlie Hulme to break down all the major storylines on Saturday from Royal Birkdale.
SK and CH discuss some pointed comments from Rory McIlroy directed at Bryson, and general player reaction to the fallout from Bryson's penalty ... but while in the middle of that discussion, are joined LIVE by Ryan Gerard, in the second-to-last group on Sunday! Ryan gives us the details on his round with hickory clubs at North Berwick, plus his favorite pizza spots on the road.
What will the final score be? Who will hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday? Let us know in the comments, and come right back here tomorrow for a full recap of the 154th Open Championship!