News
What should Tiger, Rory and Fallon talk about?
As you may have heard, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will be appearing together on the August 18 episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Many elements here are familiar: Woods and McIlroy have interviewed together before and both guest-starred on Fallon’s late night show in the past (Woods in 2011, McIlroy in 2012).
But this appearance remains a first. It’s the duo’s initial joint interview on Fallon, or any comedy show for that matter, which raises the question: What should we expect from this talk?
All three men love some degree of back and forth. And it doesn’t take long for it to get vulgar. If Fallon comes out firing, the discussion will be quite entertaining real quick.
In that vein, we look into the topics Fallon could bring up to incite relentless teasing. Fallon also loves to play games with his celebrity guests, with some contests related to the star’s talent while others are more tangential. This portion of the show could also be a goldmine of laughter with the Woods/McIlroy duo at hand.
Maybe our ideas aren’t what Jimmy has in mind, but they create the best opportunity for a hilarious sit down with golf’s two leading figures.
Without further ado, here they are:
Remind Rory that he’s still short of Tiger’s pace
McIlroy has been far and away the world’s best golfer since May and appears to be the game’s next “great.” Yet even his four major championships at age 25 falls below Woods, who held six such titles at the same point.
In other words, Fallon can say, “Rory, according to this comparison, you’re just not very good at golf. Sorry buddy.” Woods, ever the trash talker, is pretty much guaranteed to pile on, and McIlroy can fire right back.
This could really get the teasing juices flowing early.
Point to Rory’s engagement break off as it pertains to Tiger
If you don’t think Fallon would go here, remember that he openly addressed Woods’ scandal in their previous interview and mockingly thanked Tiger for all of the comedy his embarrassment and pain engendered.
Fallon could go a couple different ways here. Maybe the host suggests that McIlroy’s decision to end his engagement could have served as a blueprint for Woods—whose marital troubles were plenty public. Or possibly just a snide remark could do the trick, something along the lines of “Man, Rory you dodged a bullet. Am I right, Tiger?”
This may be an awkward discussion point, but awkwardness can greatly aid comedy. This would be a prime example of that concept.
Offer Rory and Tiger an additional “PGA Championship superlative”
Earlier this week Fallon did a bit called “Tonight Show Superlatives: 2014 PGA Championship,” where the host brought up professional golfers’ official PGA Tour photos and gave the players intentionally ridiculous “Most likely to…” tags.
It was some hilarious material that didn’t spare Woods or McIlroy, nailed Chesson Hadley and absolutely annihilated Kevin Stadler (joining those USGA bullies in picking on Stads’ weight).
So, why not give the Woods and McIlroy another “superlative”? People loved this gag, and there’s the added element of the subjects being at hand to offer live reactions.
This stuff pretty much writes itself.
Show the duo a compilation of their 2014 highlights, omitting Tiger
A mean-spirited ploy for sure, but evidence already suggests that such a tactic yields great laughs.
The way I see it, begin the video with Rory’s best on-course moments of the year, make it clear that you are about to transition to Tiger, and at that moment, abruptly cut the video.
That should lead to maximum laughter and a way by which McIlroy can goad on Woods.
Delve into the age and health gap between Tiger and Rory
Obviously Woods has struggled massively with injuries, and he’s getting to the age where golfers tend to start a steep decline. Rory, on the other hand, is young, spry and not hampered by significant physical ailments.
In this way, Fallon could poke fun at Woods for being a battered old man next to his robust and intact contemporary. Maybe McIlroy chimes in too, but whatever the case, this is an additional chance for some quality gut-busting.
Compare Tiger’s recent withdrawals to Rory’s history in this department
This is a way to use something currently relevant to point back to McIlroy’s “toothache” episode at the Honda Classic in 2013.
There’s no shortage of potential verbal sparring on this topic. Considering the extensive wit Fallon has employed throughout his career, he can certainly supply an array of jokes at a golfer quitting mid-tournament due to “wisdom teeth pain.”
Celebrity games:
Tiger Woods video game
OK, not incredibly creative, but the precedent is too strong here to delve on that point. Woods has competed in his own video game against Fallon twice on TV now, and both occasions proved quite entertaining.
There was the first time when Fallon won and gave us some television gold with him demonstrably celebrating his triumph. On the rematch, Woods won, but only because Fallon was hilariously awful, which was no less entertaining.
We’re two-for-two here then. A third installment should produce similar comedy.
Imitating other professional golfers
Athletes impersonating their peers is a very bankable comedic concept, as fans are more than eager to see these sportsmen unleash their personality.
So let’s give Woods and McIlroy a chance to show off their chops in this area. There’s no dearth of heckling between players in the professional golfing ranks, which means the duo must have some sort of practice in impressions of their fellow competitors.
The potential names that top the list here are Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner, but any number of names could be the target of a fantastic imitation.
Lip-Synching Contest
Fallon has frequently carried out lip-synching contests with his guests. Maybe Tiger and Rory join that group?
If you’re looking for the most ideal songs for entertainment purposes here, there are plenty of options. Among the ones that come to mind for me are Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” (Adele’s music helped McIlroy during his triumph at the 2011 U.S. Open) and Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You” (Already been done in a Fallon lip-synch off but Boyz II Men is one of Woods’ favorite groups). Hootie and the Blowfish played at Woods’ wedding, and John Daly has performed with them. Their single “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” (with Daly if possible) would fit in well. Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” would be intriguing as well, for obvious reasons.
And of course we have to ponder what it would be like for Woods and McIlroy to sing either of The Golf Boys’ musical masterpieces. In a word, epic.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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Equipment
Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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nikkyd
Aug 18, 2014 at 2:07 pm
All i know is….jimmy fallon is a great entertainer /singer/guitarist…..but is not a good nightshow host. Imho
Kevin Casey
Aug 18, 2014 at 2:23 pm
I’ve never been a big Fallon fan, but he’s pleasantly surprised me as a Tonight Show host. He’s been better than I thought, although it definitely helps that Lorne Michaels is his EP. Just my opinion though.
Out of curiosity who would your ideal Tonight Show host be at the moment? Do you wish they had let Conan had his own long run or is there someone else you have in mind?
josh
Aug 18, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Talk to tiger about taking a 15 year break to heal up then start the champions tour
Kevin Casey
Aug 18, 2014 at 2:19 pm
I like that line of thinking. Kind of goes with what I said about delving into the age and health gap between Rory and Tiger. Any old jokes Fallon can throw at Tiger (and for Rory to pile in on potentially) are worthwhile in my opinion.
Mark
Aug 18, 2014 at 5:53 am
To Tiger: who’s career go down hill quicker yours or Lindsay’s ?
To Rory: Was Caroline trying to smash & grab your recent Nike deal ?
Desmond
Aug 17, 2014 at 3:49 pm
Both should discuss blondes who follow them on the course… and how they should avoid them.
HackerDav31
Aug 17, 2014 at 2:12 pm
This is great for golf… regardless of the topics at hand…
Chris
Aug 17, 2014 at 11:53 am
Rory to Tiger – Dawg, Dump the Man Bag Swing
Pingback: What should Tiger, Rory and Fallon talk about? | Spacetimeandi.com
Nath
Aug 16, 2014 at 10:04 pm
Ahh, I wonder if they will talk about a nike equipment release. Seeing Nike website has “08/18/14 THERE’S ALLWAYS BETTER” . Hmm coincidence maybe, maybe not
bradford
Aug 18, 2014 at 7:46 am
Not seeing this on Nike’s site?
Inthejonzone
Aug 18, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Look at “the oven”
bradford
Aug 18, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Yup, and thanks–now I’m hooked on trying to figure out what they’re holding out on. I guess we’ll know in a bit.
rgb
Aug 18, 2014 at 10:40 pm
Perhaps its
Nike Golf Unveils Vapor Iron Franchise: The Iron Reimagined
Insights from Nike Golf athletes inspire engineering and design for perfected precision and power.
http://nikeinc.com/nike-golf/news/nike-golf-unveils-vapor-iron-franchise-the-iron-reimagined
rgb
Aug 18, 2014 at 10:41 pm
The Vapor irons will be available on nike.com and at select retailers Oct. 31.
Vapor Pro Irons
Specifications: 3-PW, True Temper Dynamic Gold X/S/R (RH/LH);
MSRP: $1199.99 3-PW Steel
Vapor Pro Combo Irons
Specifications: 3-AW; True Temper DG Pro (RH/LH)
MSRP $1,319.99 4-AW Steel
Vapor Speed Irons
Specifications: 3-SW; True Temper Dynalite 105 Steel S/R (RH/LH); MRC Fubuki Z graphite S/R/A/W
MSRP: $959.99 4-AW Steel; $1079.99 4-AW Graphite; $944.99 5-PW Women’s