Bryson trending toward Augusta, Valspar as rollback antidote, & Slow play shaming

Mar 23, 2026

College basketball chatter and Big Ten braggadocio kick things off. They debate whether the Valspar deserved its calendar spot and praise Copperhead’s unique challenge. Matt Fitzpatrick’s comeback win and his slow-play callout get attention. Bryson’s emotional playoff triumph in South Africa and LIV’s sellout viability spark discussion. Scheduling, course variety, and ranking implications round out the conversation.

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INSIGHT

Valspar Proves Diverse Course Tests Matter

The Valspar Championship shows value in varied course tests by penalizing distance and rewarding precision rather than raw length.
Innisbrook forced irons and small greens, producing a winning score around -11 and highlighting alternative setups to rollout rollbacks.

ANECDOTE

Fitzy Wins And Publicly Calls Out Slow Play

Matt Fitzpatrick used public criticism on pace of play to call out Adrien Dumont de Chassart after his Valspar win.
Fitz pumped his fist after holing a 15-footer and then publicly shamed slow play in the press conference.

ADVICE

Start Routine Behind The Ball To Speed Play

Reduce slow play by starting the player's routine behind the ball and keeping caddy conversations off the clock.
Brendan Porath argues coaches created overlong pre-shot routines; have players hold club and begin timed routine when crowd settles.

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Welcome to yet another Victory Monday episode of The Shotgun Start! Andy and Brendan went LIVE on YouTube on Monday morning to recap the Valspar, LIV South Africa, and more. Andy and PJ are rolling into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, so a brief Basketball Minute kicks off the show. Brendan shares some tales from his experience at the first round in Philadelphia, where he learned that UConn might be the new Duke for kids growing up in the 2020s. Andy continues to tout the Big 10's supremacy and that even extends to golf! Northwestern's own Matt Fitzpatrick avenged his loss at The Players by winning the Valspar Championship, his first PGA Tour win since 2023. Despite Brendan's uncertainty that we need an event the week after The Players going up against the NCAA Tournament, the Valspar delivered with a tight finish on Sunday. The two discuss Fitzy's win and continued ascendance back into the game's top tier, something that was improbable to judge at this time last year. They also give Fitzpatrick credit for calling out the slow play of his playing partner, fellow Big 10 legend Adrien Dumont de Chassart. Strong showings from Brandt Snedeker, Marco Penge, Brooks Koepka, and Jordan Smith are mentioned before Andy and Brendan give the Valspar some credit for being a different test than what is presented week-to-week on the PGA Tour. The biggest win in golf came at LIV South Africa as Bryson DeChambeau secured his second-straight playoff victory. He defeated Jon Rahm in the individual playoff and also led the Crushers to the team title, taking down the Southern Guards in their home event. Bryson was quite emotional throughout the week and Andy highlights that DeChambeau finds himself in his best form entering Augusta in recent memory. South Africa seemed like it was a massive success as a host for a LIV event, but Brendan wonders if these sellouts in Australia and South Africa are making the league truly viable. Jon Rahm, the loser of this week's playoff, has dug in even further in his fight with the DP World Tour and his 2027 Ryder Cup status is now really in jeopardy. Elsewhere in golf, LPGA's Founders Cup provided some great visuals and possible safety hazards, an American won on the DP World Tour, and the Champions Tour found a new level of social media innovation. Things wrap up with a brief bit of news on more PGA Tour scheduling possibilities and a further delay of the rollback by the USGA.