The Fried Egg Golf Podcast

On this two-part episode, Andy Johnson first previews the upcoming U.S. Amateur Golf Championship, taking place at The Olympic Club in San Francisco next week. Andy provides insight into the golf course and recent changes made by architect Gil Hanse before diving into four players to watch as next week's tournament progresses. Andy then sits down with Hazeltine National Golf Club superintendent Chris Tritabaugh to discuss the new short course at the club, setting up championships for both the USGA and PGA of America, and his career in turf management.

Andy Johnson is joined by Fried Egg Golf's Joseph LaMagna for a comprehensive look at the 2025 men's major season following the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. The two share takeaways from each of the four major championships in 2025 and discuss storylines such as the ups and downs of Rory McIlroy's Masters, Scottie Scheffler's struggles on the front nine of Sunday at Quail Hollow, and a U.S. Open that was anyone's to win until the final putt dropped. After going through all four majors, Andy and Joseph highlight players who had disappointing years and make their picks for the best 2025 major seasons without a win.

2008 Masters champion and CBS Golf analyst Trevor Immelman joins Andy Johnson to discuss the Open Championship and wrap up the 2025 men's majors. The two unpack Scottie Scheffler's resounding win at Royal Portrush and the historical context of his fourth major championship before turning 30. Andy and Trevor also talk through Scheffler's comments about the place golf has in his life that made headlines earlier last week. After closing out the Scottie discussion, the two then move on to a brief Ryder Cup preview after strong performances from Chris Gotterup and United States Captain Keegan Bradley overseas.

As a special bonus episode ahead of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, enjoy an interview with Rory McIlroy from our Eggsplorations feed in March 2024. The greatest golfer in the history of Northern Ireland discusses his roots there, his favorite golf memories growing up, and his favorite courses and earliest memories of Royal Portrush and Royal County Down. Rory fields questions from TPC Sawgrass as he prepped for The Players while Andy Johnson and Brendan Porath were across the Atlantic in his home country acquainting themselves with the golf culture and a few of the world class courses that Rory came to know in his earliest days as a junior standout. He also explains this golden age of pro golf success for the island, which boasts five different major winners since 2007 after a 60-year drought. There’s also plenty of banter and insight into what it was like growing up at Holywood, how different it is now as a big shot on the PGA Tour, and much more.

It's time for the final men's major championship of 2025 as the 153rd Open Championship heads to Royal Portrush. To preview this week's tournament, Andy Johnson is first joined by Fried Egg Golf producer PJ Clark to run through the top storylines to watch. They discuss the course setup at Royal Portrush, the 2025 Player of the Year race between Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa's recent struggles, and more. Andy then chats with 2024 Open Championship runner-up Billy Horschel (42:31) about his thoughts on the field at Portrush and his first-hand experience playing in The Open. The two also touch on Billy's rehab as he works to return to play after hip surgery, his thoughts on television coverage of the PGA Tour, and the importance of continuity in a tour pro's life.

Andy Johnson is joined by Fried Egg Golf's Joseph LaMagna and Sean Martin of the PGA Tour for a Ryder Cup discussion ahead of the final men's major of 2025. The three discuss storylines they're watching as the season wraps up and give their rosters for both Team Europe and Team USA as things stand today. Andy, Joseph, and Sean also debate the impact of course setup at Bethpage Black and wonder how the Americans will change things up in order to gain in advantage in September.

Andy Johnson and Garrett Morrison open up the mailbag and answer golf architecture questions from Fried Egg Golf Club members. The two discuss the Gil Hanse-designed Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco following the KPMG Women's PGA in June and the impact of "fairness" on designs hosting major championships. Andy and Garrett also talk through factors such as spectator experience and other limitations that architects have when building championship venues. They then discuss the influence of Scottish courses on American architects who built some of the best courses in the United States after spending time overseas. To wrap things up, Andy and Garrett look ahead at future major championship venues on the men's side, sharing some insights on future PGA Championship host sites in particular.

Andy Johnson is joined by Fried Egg Golf's Joseph LaMagna to discuss the PGA Tour's hire of Brian Rolapp as its first ever CEO. The two look toward the future of the Tour and professional golf as a whole, wondering what Rolapp will bring to the sport after a career in NFL leadership. From there, Andy questions Joseph's about his ranking of U.S. Open venues featured in his last column on TheFriedEgg.com. To close out their conversation, Andy and Joseph list five players that need a strong showing at Royal Portrush in order to not have a lost season of majors.

With another men's major championship wrapped up, Andy Johnson is once again joined by 2008 Masters champion and CBS lead analyst Trevor Immelman to recap J.J. Spaun's victory at the U.S. Open. The two dive into Spaun's winning performance at Oakmont, his golf swing, and his continuing development as a player in his mid-30s. Andy and Trevor also discuss the Sunday rain delay and the impact that it had on the contenders during the final round. The USGA's setup at Oakmont is covered at length with some comparisons to what may happen next year at Shinnecock Hills. To wrap things up, Andy and Trevor run through some players who did not win at Oakmont, including Bob MacIntyre, Cameron Young, Adam Scott, and Sam Burns.

Andy Johnson is joined by 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy to preview the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Andy and Geoff discuss the setup at Oakmont as the club prepares to host the U.S. Open for a record 10th time. Geoff shares insights from his experience playing at the 2007 U.S. Open as the defending champion and emphasizes the unique challenges that Oakmont presents. The two discuss the mental strategy needed to contend for 72 holes at one of the toughest courses in America and focus on players such as Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, and Xander Schauffele as potential winners.

Andy Johnson gets a head start on U.S. Open week with a two-part look at Oakmont Country Club. First, Andy chats with Gil Hanse, consulting architect at Oakmont, about his recent work on the course and his expectations for how it will play for the pros next week. The two discuss possible pin placements for the tournament and the history that guided Gil's renovation. Andy is then joined by Oakmont superintendent Mike McCormick to discuss the turf management at the club and how his team is preparing for the U.S. Open. Mike shares details about the culture at Oakmont and the daily challenges of maintaining one of the toughest courses in America.

Halfway through men's major season, Andy Johnson has Joseph LaMagna stop by and trade questions about the current state of the pro game. They discuss a potential "golden-era" of major championships, Patrick Cantlay's puzzling career, and a potential Team Europe victory on the road at this year's Ryder Cup. To close, Andy and Joseph go down the Ryder Cup points lists and debate what the back half of each team may look like for this year's event at Bethpage Black.

Andy Johnson is joined by 2008 Masters champion and CBS lead analyst Trevor Immelman to recap Scottie Scheffler's win at the 2025 PGA Championship. The two discuss Scottie's closing stretch to the tournament, his putting improvement in 2025, and the historical context surrounding his third major victory. Andy and Trevor also talk about contenders Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, how Quail Hollow played as a major venue, and Rory McIlroy's disappointing week at a one of his favorite courses. They close the episode with a small preview of next month's U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Andy Johnson is joined by former PGA Tour winner and current Golf Channel star Johnson Wagner to preview the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The two run through our traditional "five things" ahead of this major championship, discussing major storylines such as Rory McIlroy's dominance at Quail Hollow, Bryson DeChambeau's continued success at majors, and Jordan Spieth's latest attempt at the career slam. Andy and Johnson also discuss the golf course and some of the changes that Quail Hollow has made in order to become a better venue for major golf events.

Immediately following U.S. Open Media Day at Oakmont Country Club, Andy Johnson is joined by Garrett Morrison to discuss some initial takeaways from their first time at the course. The two discuss their favorite holes, the challenging greens, and the minimalistic design of Oakmont just hours after playing a full round. On the back half of this episode, Andy recaps his recent weeklong trip to Scotland with Fried Egg Golf Club members.

Andy Johnson is joined by "Designing Golf" host Garrett Morrison for a look at the current state of men's professional golf following Rory McIlroy's win at the Masters. The two prepared three storylines each that they're looking forward to for the rest of this year, leading to discussions about McIlroy, Jon Rahm, the American Ryder Cup team, and more. Andy and Garrett also share one course they're looking forward to seeing host a major tournament this year, prompting breakdowns of Cypress Point and Royal Portrush.

With the 2025 Masters wrapped up, Andy Johnson returns with a two-part episode focusing on golf architecture. First, Andy is joined by Fried Egg Golf creative Cameron Hurdus to recount Cameron's round at Augusta National. Cameron, a winner of the media lottery, played ANGC on Monday afternoon following Rory McIlroy's win. The two discuss highlights from Cameron's round and takeaways from another year roaming the course as media members. Cameron shares insight from actually being on the fairways of the course versus shooting photos from outside the ropes during the tournament. On the back half of this show, Andy chats with architect Brian Schneider about three courses that are at the top of his mind. Brian speaks about some of his current projects and land he's been viewing and compares these sites to courses such as Seminole and Garden City Golf Club.

Andy Johnson is back from Augusta and ready to recap the 2025 Masters with 2008 champion and CBS lead analyst Trevor Immelman. Andy and Trevor compare notes from their time at Augusta National, with Trevor sharing insights from the booth and Andy recounting his time following the marquee groups throughout the week. The two discuss Rory McIlroy's historic win, his rollercoaster of a Sunday round, and the historical context of completing the career grand slam. They also touch on Justin Rose and his second Masters playoff loss and look ahead to the rest of a major season that sets up well for Bryson DeChambeau following a strong performance at Augusta National Golf Club.

The traditional "five things" major preview returns as Andy Johnson is joined by legendary golf writer Jaime Diaz to discuss the 2025 Masters. Jaime and Andy begin this episode by chatting about the current state of golf media and highlights from Jaime's past work at Sports Illustrated. From there, the 2025 Masters preview begins with the two diving into the top storylines of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy entering this week's tournament. They discuss expectations for Scheffler following a slow start to 2025 and the important historical context of McIlroy's week ahead given his strong play so far this season. Andy and Jaime then debate whether any LIV players will make an impact at Augusta National this year, discussing the current state of Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm. The two highlight other players to watch at ANGC such as Akshay Bhatia, Jordan Spieth, and Ludvig Åberg. To wrap things up, Andy and Jaime discuss the best players to never win a Masters before making their picks to win the 89th playing of the tournament.

In preparation for this week's Augusta National Women's Amateur and next week's Masters tournament, Andy Johnson is joined by Geoff Shackelford and Rob Collins for an in-depth discussion about the golf course at Augusta National. To start, Geoff and Andy break down the routing at ANGC and detail the strategy of getting around the course throughout four rounds of competition. In the second half of the episode, architect Rob Collins shares his favorite greens on the property and provides insight on what makes these greens such a challenge for the best players in the world each April.