Hour 1: CJ Stroud Extension Debate, plus Alan Shipnuck Talks New Rory Book, Tiger & The Masters

23:32And, you know, this is not a hagiography like I've definitely, you know, get into the I have a clear eyed view of Rory's mistakes and his missteps and his flaws and his foibles. But on the whole, I just think that it's a feel good story because Rory has completed this long journey that we've all been on. And it's it's been gratifying to watch him look as happy and content as I've ever seen him this week. And that's kind of the spirit of the book, I think.

24:00Rich Eisen:So what what did you learn, though? that you might not have known about Rory going in, having probably known everything that you thought you did. You're an infancy? No, there were many revelations for him because, you know, Rory's amateur life, his early years on the European tour, this was before, you know, 24-7 news cycles. And, I mean, I learned so much about how he came up. Like, okay, everyone knows that he's from this blue-collar family. I did not grasp that his dad would get up in the morning at 6 a.m. and go to this rugby club and serve as the janitor and clean toilets and the whole bit.

24:35Then he would go to this little scrappy golf club where he learned how to play golf and he would serve as the bartender. He'd come home, have a quick dinner with the family, kiss his wife on the cheek, go back to the rugby club and serve as a bartender until midnight. He would come home and his wife, Rosie, would walk out the door to go pack boxes all night in this factory. and the fact that they sacrificed everything has become kind of part of the McElroy lore but to get into the granular details were incredible and the fact that Rory carries this gratitude with him it explains so much about him and to go to this little town, Hollywood, outside of Dublin and go to the golf club, go to the pubs and just bring that to life in a more dynamic way and just some of the intrigue early in his career.

25:29I would say every chapter is packed full of new stuff. There's not the earthquakes like in the Mickelson biography. Rory does not have those kind of secrets to hide. But this is really the first big book about McElroy, and it was just fun to get into all the granular details and collect all the mythology and folklore in one place.

25:51Rich Eisen:Yeah, so there won't be any Rory tweets calling you names or saying this is BS. We're not going to see any of that coming out of this publication. He did throw a couple F-bombs at me on the driving range at Oakmont at the U.S. Open because just the very notion of this book had gotten in his head. And for Rory and anyone in this position, they're so used to having total dominion over there, their public image. They control everything on their social media feeds, on their ad campaigns, on the content that the tours put out. And it was unsettling for him that he would not have control over this process.

26:26But I actually gave Rory the book at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. And I said, I wouldn't give this to you if I thought you were going to hate it. And I caught up with him later in the week. He started to read through it. He said, oh, it made me laugh. I like it. So I think I'm in a good place to Rory. But part of me doesn't care at all because, you know, my role is to write for the readers, not for the players. And that's the audience I really care about. And, you know, the mandate on a book like this is to capture the totality of the person, the good, the bad, the otherwise. And I think I did that.

27:00In Rory's case, there's probably more good than bad. And so it has a little different tenor than the Mickelson book. And I was fine with that. I don't want to do the same things over and over. And Rory's a different person.

27:12Rich Eisen:This is a different story. Alan Shipnuck here on the Rich Eisen Show. Rory, the heartache and triumph of golf's most human superstar. Do you think he does it again this week? Because last year is now out of the way, and he plays with a different way, different manner because of it. House money, if you will. Oh, for sure. I mean, Rory is having the time of his life as defending champ. He's swanning around Augusta National in his blazer, and he showed up early to go to the women's amateur, the drive chip and putt obviously hosted the dinner last night he was always on a knife's edge during master's week the pressure the stress the tension he's been so relaxed and carefree like i would not be surprised if he shoots 62 on thursday the golf he's ever played because he's completely unencumbered now and he's cracked the code on this golf course he continues to evolve as a player uh he's addressed his weaknesses that's what carried him the green jacket he kept he's kept going and he's in such a great place in his life and his career like i actually think rory mccleroy's best golf is in front of him and it would not surprise me at all if it starts this week alan shipnuck here on the rich eisen show all right um listen if tiger had only ubered i wouldn't even be bringing him up you know he might be there and we'll talk about the fact that he was potentially playing or not or what have you uh it although it does appear uh he wasn't going to play based on what was found in his pocket and his body breaking down and things of that nature.

28:43Rich Eisen:And obviously things broke down again for him. I'll give you the floor on what you made of that escapade, Alan. It's just a very melancholy feeling. Tiger Woods enriched all of our lives so much as sports fans. He gave us so many thrills, unforgettable moments. And he kind of represented the peak of human performance. and it was incredible to watch that up close as I was lucky to do. And now we're going on two decades of this sad sort of disillusion of his life, of his public image, of his legacy. And so I have empathy for Tiger. He's clearly struggling with some serious addictions and probably all of us have people in our lives who have done that.

29:28It's a tough battle and it never really ends, but it's also okay to be frustrated that he keeps doing this to himself he keeps doing this to the golf world to his family and he's lucky he hasn't

29:39Rich Eisen:killed anybody on the road that's it alan that's it man that's it because we could sit here and say it's it is too bad what he's doing to himself and his family and those around him who love him but thank god he hasn't done something to somebody he's never met you know and the decisions that he makes um puts those puts that at risk um yeah and and and is there anybody in his life who could tell him that that he'd hear it or or is that person got to be him and is this moment do you think gonna bring that about i mean it's just wildly irresponsible what he keeps doing and the problem is he's surrounded by yes men and enablers and somebody you know earl woods could speak truth to power and he kept tiger in line and it's not an accident everything has gone sideways for tiger since his father died and you know the one person who i think could actually look tiger in the eye and fill that role is Rory McIlroy because they are co-equals.

30:34They are part of this very exclusive club of Grand Slam winners. There's only four on earth right now. And that's how Tiger measures worth by trophies. Rory has earned that station. And Tiger was his role model, his hero. He has a lot of love and affection for Tiger. We're business partners through the Tomorrow Golf League. And I think that Tiger has a lot of respect for the way Rory has lived his life. It's so different. You know, Rory can go anywhere and be welcomed, and he spreads goodwill and cheer. And, you know, Tiger's become this very sad figure in the game. And so if Rory wants that burden, I think he's maybe the guy who could do it.

31:11But you would think that, you know, we're now going on. It's tough to keep track of all the incidents. Are we talking about the DUI in 2017? Is it the rollover in 21? Is it the most recent rollover? Like how many times does Tiger need to, you know, catch the hint? So I think it's going to take an intervention. I don't think the people close to him right now can do it. It's going to have to be a powerful outside voice. And I actually think Roy could be that guy.

31:36Rich Eisen:All right. So let's widen the lens out a little bit here before I send you across the street to Augusta National. The chief executive officer of the PGA Tour is a guy I know very well from the National Football League and Brian Rolap. and it does appear he's brought a lot of NFL sensibilities to try and eventize the tour, to try and create tent poles in the schedule. And, you know, Tiger was definitely somebody who he was reaching out to to try and to energize fans and things of that nature. Those plans might now be by the wayside. What do you think about the state of the game, relationship with Liv, those players, all of it, Alan?

32:17Rich Eisen:What do you got for me there? You know, it's clear now that the PGA Tour has won the war in this battle with the live golf and sort of this existential, you know, feud for the soul of the game. And Roll Up is a piece of that. Rory is a piece of that. Like, you know, Rory and Tiger basically reshaped the tour on the fly. And Rory did most of the heavy lifting. Now Roll Up has come in as kind of this Mariano Rivera figure to close the deal on some of these things. And the tour is the healthiest it's ever been. They're well capitalized with this private equity investment. They have fresh new leadership.

32:56They're going to shrink the schedule and improve the product because it was always so bloated. And the stars would sit out two-thirds of the events. And now it's going to become, as you say, bigger markets, bigger tournaments, better fields. So the tour has won the war. And, you know, the fact that the role of his CEO, He's not commissioner. And it was always this question. Does a commissioner work for the players? The players work for the commissioner. Nobody really knew is this weird, awkward dance of the structure of the tour as this not for profit. Now it's a money making machine. And there's no doubt who's in charge.

33:32And it's Brian Rolap. So I think he's been impressive. And I think he's brought a new thinking. He's actually not even a golfer. So he's not beholden to the old way. This is how we do it. This is how we've always done it. He looks at it through the lens of the NFL where the product is king and that's where all the decisions are flowing. So I think he's been great, and I'm looking forward to seeing that continued evolution of the PGA Tour.

33:56Rich Eisen:Yeah, I had a front-row seat to, you know, obviously when Roger Goodell took over with the NFL and everything was on the table. And Roger came, obviously, from within the NFL to say, the way we've done everything, everything's on the table to reimagine it, that there really is nothing terribly sacred, other than the fact we're going to call the Super Bowl the Super Bowl and the draft the draft, and everything has been somewhat reimagined, and I think Rolap is bringing that to the table. You could see that. Yeah, and come to think of it, he and I never really ever spoke about golf, ever. But he does have a sensibility and ability that you could see what he's brought to bear already.

34:40you know well pga tour was vulnerable to a challenge like live golf because it never had competition unlike any business with no competition it had gotten a little stale it had gotten bloated it needed some to be reinvigorated with some fresh thinking and so you know live golf may not have succeeded on its own but it has it did spur this innovation and it did force the pga tour to evolve And so, you know, live will continue to endure. It's not about golf. It's an exercise and soft power for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It serves these larger strategic needs. And so right now it's probably the second best tour in golf as the players age out of their contracts and they come home to the PGA Tour.

35:26Live might become the third or the fourth or the fifth best tour, but it's not going anywhere because it's not really about golf. The balance sheet doesn't really matter. it's about sports washing it's about getting into these halls of power it's about creating these larger deals when when live goes to these foreign markets whether it's singapore it's tokyo it's mexico city they take over the town they entertain the business and the political elite and the amount of deals that flow out of that for the public investment fund that will cover bryson de chambeau's contract and then some and so people who who think of this as as a golf uh you know lead as They have to balance the books.

36:05They have to get a return on their investments. They're getting a return on their investment. It's just not coming through golf. And so in that context, Liv is here to stay in some capacity. But as the premier destination for big time golf, it's obviously the PGA Tour now. You have Rory, you have Scotty, you have Brooks, and they have this pipeline of young talent and they have this new model of these signature events. And so the landscape has changed a lot in four years. There's no doubt.

36:31Rich Eisen:So before I let you go, do you think Rory does take it? Who do you think wins it this week? For weeks I was picking John wrong because since he went to live golf and he was the last important player to go to live golf three years ago, he's kind of disappeared. He hasn't contended in a major. He has immense pride. He's been playing at a very high level. But watching Rory the last few days, he's so jaunty and he's so carefree. He's my pick now. A lot of guys have won one Masters, whether it's Danny Willett or it's Trevor Emelman or it's Charles Schwartzel, and they kind of just faded away. Rory does not want to be in that category.

37:09He wants to be in the elite, back-to-back, multiple Masters winner. That's the kind of thing that fires him up. So I think he's my guy now.

37:20Rich Eisen:Okay. Let's go. All right. Rory, the heartache and triumph of golf's most human superstar, Alan Shipnuck's new book, released yesterday, where all books are acquired. It's great to have you here back again, Alan. We're always here for you. You've always been here for us. And again, I kind of don't know who you are anymore. You're zooming in from Wheels Up just for their Wi-Fi, which is cool. And then this photograph, we have this photograph for you. Look at you, man. Silvery in the forest, you know? You know, look at that. down rich you're making me uncomfortable no no no no well you want to be uncomfortable the rich eyes and show is an exclusive you want to see what the original photo was yeah here here alan this is for you we'll send it to you right there there's the original photo that's so good um text that to me i knew that in the archive yeah you got it it's really it's with that's now that's creepy that's creepy man well it's always a delight thanks for having me you got alan shipnuck Everybody right here on the Rich Eisen show.

38:21Rich Eisen:Send that to Alan. See that one more time.

38:29Rich Eisen:Weird smirk. Give it to me one more time, please. Oh, my God. Staring all right through him. That was so fun. It's weird. That's the weirdest stepbrother sequel I've ever seen. Oh, man. Did we become best friends? Nope. Nope. Nope. Oh, my gosh. All right. Dude, you're like the biggest Rory fan I know. I am. Without a doubt. Yep. Second jacket for him. Oh, baby. And back to back. I mean, I'm not saying I got some 13 to 1 action, but, you know, I'm saying. Okay. Sounds good. Yeah. It's fine. I can now talk about it. Rich, you're talking about it. Oh, can we talk about it then? Okay. So, last, I have a great parlay going right now.

39:12Being Monaco in the back. Now I'm uncomfortable. Cooked this up yesterday morning. I'm not there yet.

39:16Rich Eisen:I can't go parlaying. I mean, you know, maybe 13 to 1 odds is a baby step here. I'm cool with talking about that. I like to juice odds like that by doing something kind of off the hill. Word alert. So I got Pirates. This is great. Pirates, first five innings, skeins over five strikeouts, hit last night. So now I have Rory to win the Masters combined with the Celtics to win the East for 78 to 1. Let's go. The Masters was, I'll tell this story. I will tell this story on the air. I don't think I've ever told this story on the air about Roger Goodell and betting on the Masters. No. Okay. You haven't played Augusta and been like.

39:55I've never played Augusta.

39:56Rich Eisen:Being like holding out. No, no, no, no. Okay, good. No, no, no, no. I was going to, because you know, Roger. But Roger is, again, my old boss, or technically 10 % my boss, because he owns 10 % of ESPN. Yeah. but just so generous when it comes to like wanting to, you know, hey, you want to play golf? We'll play golf. And certainly in the early parts of NFL Network, he called me up. He's like, he invited me to, I won't say which, but a beautiful golf course and say, we can stay overnight. We'll have dinner. We'll play golf like a weekend and fill out the foursome. He says, I'm like, Oh, I'm like, are you serious?

40:37Rich Eisen:Like fill out the foursome. Like you're the commissioner of the NFL. like you probably never get time away and you want to want me to fill out a foursome me and my two so yeah the people you've never met and he's like absolutely that i'm serious like i know what his people think of roger from like boom at the draft whatever roger is a cool guy whatever don't ruin the story so at any rate um i i get two guys who are good players but are also are not going to like so what about that decision you made what about this what about the leave him alone right so leave him alone i'm out so we're having dinner and um i'm having a little bit of red and at one point because you can bet on individual yes sports not team sports you can that was the way it was described to me when we first started nfl network yeah we could bet tennis right individuals not team sports so i complained about you know i had ernie elson in a pool or in a tournament or whatever and he blew it and roger goes what did you do at dinner like got really serious what did you do and i told him what i did and he goes you're not allowed to do that and i'm like um yeah i am and he popped open a phone in the middle of the dining room to call the head of NFL security to ask if that was in fact the case.

42:08Rich Eisen:And I'm flop sweating now and decide to go to the men's room to comport myself. Like Michael Corleone? To comport myself. I came out with just nothing in my hand, as you know, to use the line. Yes. So I go to the bathroom and I'm like, racking my brain like, please. I come back and my two friends are like in a funeral, like staring straight ahead and roger's like i just got my call back and you are not allowed to do that and he kind of gently laid into me in front of my friends and then 30 seconds later goes i'm just kidding and my friends start laughing at me he told when i went to the bathroom he's like okay i'm gonna get rich rich is right all color which is right but this is what we're gonna do to rich to two guys he never met before and they were like the commissioner of the nfl is like come on like get in and then he looks at me he goes but don't do that anymore yes sir but i'm i'm i'm back you're back you're back slow sorry take it slow sorry when you're talking to me about this juice stuff can't believe i just told that story on the air but it's the truth that's pretty good i also like peace agreed 35 to 1 obviously i'm i i i love that man.

43:26Rich Eisen:Jake Knapp, 70 to 1. All right. And I need to hit that white ball. I just don't do it enough. But after this weekend, I'm going to want to keep doing it over and over. I know, but I have plans Sunday, which I'll announce tomorrow. Don't go anywhere. The Rich Eisen Show. The Podcast.

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45:04Rich Eisen:Back here on the Rich Eisen Show, 844-204-RICH is the number to dial here on the program. What would Rory winning it again mean for you, buddy? Oh, my gosh. You'd be crying. I was, you know, definitely crying last year. I've been watching all the Masters YouTube channel put together this thing with Rory where he relived and talked through every shot of the final round last year. That was awesome to go back through and watch with him. And then his documentary on Amazon Prime, which kind of recapped his journey, you know, chasing the Masters, you know, for 15 years and completing the Grand Slam.

45:40his like Alan said his story he is from the odds of someone coming from this very small town in Northern Ireland and becoming probably the greatest European golfer ever is minuscule and his blue collar family is what his parents went through to get him to this point traveling the world all these junior tournaments it's really inspiring especially for someone like me my son is six and he really enjoys playing golf and so you know he said to me the other day I'd like to win a green jacket someday and it's like wow that's really amazing that you can sit here take all of that in and and say and speak that and want to speak that into existence and it's like yeah why not look what look what this guy has done with his life and his career and where he came from and uh it would it would be a phenomenal weekend if rory can take home another one

46:28Rich Eisen:he's just um true to himself it seems and stays uh home um uh emotionally spiritually which is why people were asking him about his menu choices being very un-irish like his answer also shows how chill and relaxed he is i was trying to achieve something that i would enjoy but also some and ties back to experiences that i've had um but also wanted it to be something that all the other people in that room would enjoy as well um people keep asking me why didn't you go more irish and I say because I want to enjoy the dinner as well.

47:12So I tried to do a few things that I thought everyone would eat. The club encouraged me to do one vegetarian dish in the appetizers, so that's where the peach and ricotta flatbread came from. I think that one was probably for Gary Blair. Yeah, it's been fun. You know, it's been fun to work through. The club have been amazing, amazing to work with. And as I said, the fun part was getting access to that wonderful wine cellar that they have. And, you know, I'm excited to share those wines with everyone tonight as well.

47:50Rich Eisen:Man, I can only imagine what the Augusta National Wine Cellar looks like. Rich. Did we have a caller say it's probably one of the best in the world? Oh, my gosh. I can only imagine. And I'm just kind of stunned also how far Augusta Nationals come that they want a vegan option for the Masters championship dinner. Guys want it multiple times. Doesn't eat meat, Mr. Player? That's what happens. But, I mean, you're supposed to eat your greens. I guess that's what you need to do to win the Masters is chew up the greens. Yeah. You know? The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.