
The Herd with Colin Cowherd Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts - Rory McIlroy Stories, The Masters, Lakers Are COOKED, Jokic vs. Wemby
Apr 11, 2026
Alan Shipnuck, sportswriter and author of 'Rory', offers a concise take on Rory McIlroy’s three-act career and evolving, more open persona. Jason Timpf, host of 'Hoops Tonight' and NBA analyst, breaks down the Lakers’ brutal April outing, injury and minute-load debates, and the Jokic vs Wembanyama OT showdown. Short, lively conversations jump between golf history and high-stakes basketball matchups.
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Rory McIlroy Career Is A Three Act Story
- Rory's career reads like three acts with a liberated prime ahead.
- Alan Shipnuck says act one was prodigy success, act two the Ryder Cup/struggle, and act three finds Rory unburdened and arguably with his best golf still to come.
Rory Is More Polarizing But Emotionally Open
- Rory has become more polarizing yet emotionally available compared with peers.
- Shipnuck notes Rory now trolls, takes strong public stands (PGA Tour vs LIV, Olympics), but still shows rare openness unlike Tiger or Phil.
Masters Win Lifted Pressure And Sparked Joy
- Winning the Masters freed Rory from a pressure that defined him in earlier years.
- Shipnuck describes Rory swanning around Augusta in a green jacket with a lightness he's never shown and no longer playing on a knife's edge.



