The Course Of Life

December is Tiger Month and Karol Priscilla

Golfer and model Karol Priscilla, Tiger's (eventual) return, Cam Smith's final 2022 victory, poor football picks, and soup dumplings sum up this week's episode with hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell.

• Cam Smith wrapped up his 2022 golfing season with a win in Australia, making us wonder if Smith is the best golfer of 2022 (1:34).
• The DP World Tour was in South Africa, and a new tour member with less than five starts under his belt was able to notch a victory (5:01).
• Tiger Woods is poised to return to the golf world this week (even if he postponed his return after we recorded this week's episode), and Alex believed Tiger could beat half of the field in the Hero World Challenge (9:36).
• In Tuned In, Michael is still busy with the puppy, while also watching the new Netflix docu-series, "Pepsi, Where's My Jet?" Meanwhile, Alex is catching up with last week's guest's newest Hallmark movie (14:10).
• This week's guest is golfer, model, and host Karol Priscilla, who chats with Alex about her love of burritos, tequila, and golfing all over the world (14:10).
• Alex's Run Your Pool picks for college football continue to disappoint (kind of like Ohio State this weekend), as he risks the first losing season in some time (40:31).
• In the NFL, Alex's picks aren't much better, and neither where the Thanksgiving games for Alex and Michael's favorite teams (43:12).
• Michael checks in on the podcast's alma mater, the Quinnipiac Bobcats, who are seeing success on the ice and the hardwood (45:12).
• As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex is looking forward to trying out the newest coffee drinks at Dunkin' and Starbucks, while Michael was enjoying some birthday cheesecake and soup dumplings (46:39).

2022 Golf Comes to a Close and Ryan Rottman and Michael Goldman

As the 2022 golf season begins to wrap up, Ryan Rottman returns to the podcast to chat about OSDB.com and Christmas Hallmark movie.

• The RSM Classic was cold and windy, but Canadian Adam Svensson rallied from a poor Thursday start to hoist the trophy (2:11).
• The LPGA wrapped up their season in Naples, FL, where Lydia Ko capped off one incredible season (6:10).
• The DP World Tour's Race to Dubai ended predictable, with Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy hoisting trophies (10:20).
• The golf world is now going quiet, but December has a couple events on the horizon (13:20).
• In Tuned In, Michael is catching a new animated series on Prime, "The Legend of Vox Machina," while Alex is sharing some insight from her recent RunYourPool.com article about how to eat, chat with family, and watch sports on Thanksgiving (14:32).
• Ryan Rottman, actor and business man, returns to the podcast along with his OSDB.com partner Michael Goldman to chat about the new website that combines all the info you want about your favorite athletes, and about Rottman's newest Hallmark Christmas movie (17:53).
• The football world on the collegiate and professional side of the ball saw poor picks from Alex this weekend, but the big headlines were surprise blowouts, and horrible games (49:59).
• As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, desert is on the menu as they look ahead to the Thanksgiving finale, while Michael prepares for his birthday meal on Saturday (52:59).

Finau Wins and Gemma Dryburgh and Elizabeth Diane Martin

It's a special double guest episode on this week's Course of Life Podcast, with hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell:

• Tony Finau roll's to another victory in Houston with a "weak" field (1:48).
• The LPGA is in Florida for its season finale, where Alex walked the grounds during a Monday practice session. But before teeing off during the week, Gemma Dryburgh, fresh off her win at the Toto Japan Classic Championship, chats with Alex about the whirlwind experience of winning on the LPGA Tour (3:56).
• The Champions Tour wrapped up their season long Charles Schwab Cup season, and journeyman grinder Steven Alker raised the trophy (14:13).
• The PGA Tour unofficially wraps up for 2022 with the RSM Classic in Sea Island, GA, and Alex shares a couple early names from his betting card (15:59).
• In Tuned In, Michael is enjoying a new additional to his family, while Alex is excited for the nuptials of two past guests (17:09).
• Elizabeth Diane Martin joins the podcast for the second time to chat about her work for Veterans who golf, and to give us advice on planning our 2023 golf vacation (20:52).
• In the football world, Alex's picks are just "treading water," and Michael wonders why he's sugar coating a bad trend (48:31).
• As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex shares some of the seafood finds he's been enjoying in southwest Florida, and the guys share their Thanksgiving menus as the holiday is fast approaching (51:54).

Tiger Returns to The Match and Chris Wiatr

Resort golf, Tiger's return to primetime, a NOLA weekend, and professional golfer Chris Wiatr headline this week's new episode with hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell.

• Russell Henley wins at Mayakoba, as Alex's picks sniff the top of the leaderboard again, and past guest Taylor Montgomery continues to cash checks (1:47).
• The LPGA heads to Florida is begin their season ending swing, and Alex prepares to head to the LPGA Tour Championship (4:31).
• Bernhard Langer never gets old, wins for 44th time on the Champions Tour (5:40).
• Tiger, Rory, JT, and Jordan will headline this year's "The Match," coming December. Will Tiger and Rory's new venture drop some new tech in the broadcast (8:45)?
• The PGA heads to the Houston Open, where Scottie Scheffler looks to continue his 2022 and strong showing in Mexico. On Monday in Austin, meanwhile, Alex got to see four pros battle it out in a local chip-and-putt (10:51).
• In Tuned In, Michael enjoyed a couple days in New Orleans, while Alex couldn't believe Michael Strahan's man cave on MTV Cribs (13:46).
• Professional golfer Chris Wiatr chats with Alex about life on the Latin American Tour, growing up playing golf in New England, and his favorite sports memories from UCONN (17:05).
• College football has a bunch of big games over the weekend, and Alex continues to have on-again off-again weeks in his picks (44:18).
• In the NFL, Alex's picks where just kind of "meh," while his Pats entered the bye with a win, and Michael's Giants look to come out of the bye and have a strong second half of the season (46:35).
• The Houston Astros won the World Series, and Michael is not all too happy about it (48:58).
• As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Michael recaps his NOLA beignet battle, Alex enjoys another trip to Buc-ees, and the guys start thinking about Thanksgiving appetizers (49:47).

Bermuda Golf Winnings and Brandi Milloy

The PGA Tour rolled through Bermuda, LIV Golf wrapped up their season, and Brandi Milloy joins the podcast for her annual holiday seasons chat. Hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell cover this week:

• Alex's two top winning picks at the Bermuda Butterfield Championship, and how the PGA Tour should handle the fall golf calendar (1:46).
• A different golfer named Jordan posts a -30 to win in Portugal (5:44).
• LIV Golf wraps up the season with a team event at Doral, and literally nobody was watching... again (7:00).
• The Open Championship came out and said that LIV won't be banned from the British Major, but didn't go so far as to say how they'd be able to play (10:25).
• The big names return as Viktor Hovland looks to 3-peat at Mayakoba this weekend (11:52).
• Michael was enjoying some ghost tours while Alex is already getting into the Christmas spirit in Tuned In (14:53).
• Food, parenting, and lifestyle expert Brandi Milloy returns for the third year in a row to welcome in the holiday season, chatting butter boards, mashed potatoes, and more with Alex (17:12).
• The college football world prepares for the marque game of the year as Tennessee and Georgia prepare to face-off (48:00).
• In the NFL, Alex's Patriots go with his least favorite QB, while Michael's Giants take a tumble (49:12).
• The World Series includes the Astros, who literally cannot stop cheating (50:56).
• As they guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex is enjoying a spicy halloween burger, while Michael is getting ready for a quick trip to New Orleans (53:03).

Rory Roars Back to the Top and Daniela Iacobelli

The World's best golfer is once again Rory McIlroy, and he won again, this time at Congaree, the new home in South Carolina to the CJ Cup. Hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell marvel at Rory's 2022 year, when he was a model of consistency while also playing stand-in PGA Tour Commissioner (1:42).

The PGA Tour announced the entire "elevated" tournament list, adding more mainstay tournaments to a list of bigger purse championships (6:04).

The LPGA wrapped up its weekend in Korea, where Lydia Ko continued her great stretch of golf this year with another win (8:00).

LIV Golf heads to Trump Doral for its season finale, where Pat Perez's Four Aces are favorites to win the season long team prize (8:45).

The PGA Tour, meanwhile, heads to the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal, where several past podcast guests headline the field (10:23).

In Tuned In, Michael is marveling at an incredible animatronic Halloween display in a Savannah neighborhood, while Alex went to the theaters for the critically panned "Halloween Ends" (12:25).

This week's guest is Daniela Iacobelli, widely considered the "John Daly of women's golf." Daniela chats with Alex about her many years on the LPGA and Epson Tours, her love of lighting up heaters on the course, and how she may be the only golfer who hates the off-season (15:47).

Alex's college football picks where pretty good this week, but only if you looked at his full slate, and not his Run Your Pool picks. A completely flip of his luck last week (40:24).

In the NFL, Michael's Giants are now Super Bowl contenders, while Alex's Patriots continue to have questions as to who is the started quarterback (43:20).

Major League Baseball heads to the World Series, and Michael's Yankees are woefully absent after an atrocious showing to the Astros. Alex now wonders is Aaron Judge will jump ship to the rival Mets or Red Sox (45:14).

As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex is sharing his Halloween meal plans to avoiding eating all the candy, while Michael is trying out a new sourdough bread combination of figs, goat cheese, and honey (48:39).

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Rickie Fowler is Back and Cailyn Henderson

All the way over in Japan the PGA Tour raced back to 2015 as Rickie Fowler and Keagan Bradley battled it out for the ZOZO Championship. Leading after 54 holes, Rickie fell back and allowed Keagan to notch his first victory of the year after knocking at the door for awhile. Hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell debate whose really back: Rickie or Keagan (1:54).

The LPGA now heads to Asia after having the week off for the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea (5:40).

The Senior PGA Club Professional Championship was held this past weekend at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana, NM, where Alex and Michael enjoyed the beautiful Sandia Mountains just a couple months ago (6:10).

The Champions Tour saw an amazing round for the ages out of Fred Couples, whose 60 propelled him to his first win in five years (7:29).

LIV Golf was in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this past weekend, where it appeared that literally nobody turned out to watch (8:59).

The weekend the PGA Tour heads to the new home of the CJ Cup, Ridgeland, SC and Congaree Golf Club, where Rory McIlroy could claim the #1 golfer in the world crown (10:58).

In Tuned In, Michael was able to enjoy the calmness and magnificence of nature, while Alex is super excited for the newest golf biopic movie to be announced (13:07).

This week's guest is Cailyn Henderson, a newly turned pro-golfer, former Amateur Champ, and content creator known for her "Worship Wednesdays." Cailyn chats with Alex about her golf journey, being a part of the NCAA Championship broadcast team, and how faith plays an important role in her game and life (16:37).

The College Football world was rocked this past weekend, mostly in Knoxville, TN, where the victorious Volunteers carried the goalposts out of the stadium and tossed it into the Tennessee River (39:52).

On the pro side of the ball, Alex's Patriots are now knee deep in a QB controversy, while Michael's Giants just keep finding ways to win football games (42:49).

At time of recording, Michael's Yankees still had one more game to play in the MLB Postseason, but Alex is feeling it's going to be an AL World Series Champ no matter what after the top seeds fall in the NL (46:46).

Michael gives us an Quinnipiac alma-mater update, including a big weekend in North Dakota for the men's hockey team, and a big rise in the national poll (47:44).

As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex is enjoying his Illinois trip of Italian beef, square cut pizza, and wedding food, while Michael is wondering just how many times is too many times to eat out when staying at home (48:49).

Vegas Meltdown and Kristin Truelove

The Las Vegas heat was too much for Patty Ice, as a rare triple bogey propelled Tom Kim to his second PGA Tour victory over Patrick Cantlay at the Shriners Children's Open. Hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell marvel at Kim's rise to fame, and how podcast favorite Taylor Montgomery fared in his hometown (1:39).

The LPGA Tour welcomed their 10th first-time champion in Englishwoman Jodi Ewart Shadoff, making this year one shy of the record of first-time champs (6:44).

Everyone got to learn about the quiet little MENA Tour this week as it entered a "strategic partnership" with LIV Golf, a play done to give those highly-paid players some OWGR points. In Bangkok, however, few fans seemed to show up to watch the 54 hole event (8:20).

This past weekend Alex participated in, and was a "celebrity judge" for the East Side Mini Open, where bars and pubs in Austin, TX made some unique mini-golf holes and offered up some unique grub (11:47).

The PGA Tour heads to Japan for the always exciting ZoZo Championship, which includes almost the entire Presidents Cup International Team in the field (14:30).

In Tuned In, Michael is excitedly watching the third and final season of the British comedy "Derry Girls" on Netflix, while Alex headed to the movies to catch the new rom-com "Bros" (16:35).

This week's guest is Kristin Truelove, better known on Instagram as @kristinlearnsgolf. Kristin chats with Alex about learning to play golf as she started dating a professional, what it is about golf that she loves so much, and what's going through her head during her swing (19:19).

Alex's college football picks were not up to snuff this week, as they also included two unique ties (36:53).

On the NFL side, Michael's Giants continue to find ways to win, while Alex's Patriots may now find themselves in a quarterback controversy. Meanwhile, Alex is getting all the betting angles for who Tom Brady and soon to be former wife Gisele Bundchen may be dating next (38:03).

The MLB postseason rolls on, and Alex's first round picks resulted in not a single correct advancement. Michael is now worried for his Yankees as Alex things they may get themselves a sweep in the ALDS round (43:25).

As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex is getting in on the spaghetti pancake trend, while Michael was venturing the Savannah's 71st Greek Food Festival (45:29). 

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Mississippi Playoff and Carlos Benavidez

Mackenzie Hughes got to work after being left out of the Presidents Cup, notching a playoff victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell ponder what could have been if the consistent Canadian had been on the International team, and shower praise on former guest Taylor Montgomery for yet another top-10 finish (1:44).

The Ascendant LPGA also featured a playoff, and the return to the winner's circle for Englishwoman Charley Hull (6:22).

Past guest Hannah Gregg made an epic ace while playing her final round on the Women's All Pro Tour, and Alex is awfully bitter about it (7:31).

We all got a fake-out this week after Patrick Reed pulled his lawsuit against The Golf Channel, only to refile and add a whole bunch of names to the list (8:57).

Alex is getting ready for the East Side Mini Open this Saturday, including now being a "celebrity" judge for the Austin event (11:37).

The PGA Tour rolls into Las Vegas for the Shriners Children's Open, where podcast favorite and local Taylor Montgomery is poised to finish his breakout start to his PGA Tour career (13:28).

In Tuned In, Michael was bracing for Hurricane Ian that skipped over him, but was still paying close attention to a devastating storm. Alex, meanwhile, got out and saw Don't Worry Darlin, and shares his quick review of the now infamous film (14:44).

This week's guest is Carlos Benavidez, better known as Beautiful Life Golf on instagram. Carlos chats with Alex about how he helps golfers find calm on the golf course, and shares some tips on what to do to improve your mental game (18:25).

Alex's college football picks remain red hot, and he shares why everyone should be paying attention to his money making bets (44:15).

On the professional side of the ball, Alex's Patriots continue to spiral downwards, while Michael's Giants are somehow hanging on to a winning record (45:56).

Major League Baseball is headed to the Postseason, and Alex helps Michael predict the Yankees chances of winning the World Series (48:56).

College hockey season is starting to get into full swing, and the guy's alma mater, Quinnipiac, continues their winning ways in the early season (51:47).

As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex is enjoying the tailgating classics at a Texas Longhorns game, while Michael is making the most of the weather and baking some homemade lunchbox treats (52:34).

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Presidents Cup Rout and the East Side Mini Open

As has become automatic, the US team completed their rout of the Internationals in the Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow. Hosts Alex Lauzon and Michael Russell marvel at the American's great performance, and wonder if the future of the Cup is bright with the new young stars who made up the International squad (1:51).

The LPGA had some fireworks of their own, including an eagle hole-out to force a playoff and a young repeat winner (7:02).

The DP World Tour got going with their Q-School, and past guest Jhared Hack is poised to join the tour that travels all around Europe and beyond (8:44).

The PGA Tour season continues in Mississippi with the Sanderson Farms Championship. While it may be a weak field, it means opportunities for the newest card-carrying members of the Tour (10:25).

In Tuned In, Michael is glued to the newest season of Great British Bake Off, while Alex is laughing his way through the newest comedy special from one of his favorites, Andrew Shulz, while also navigating the car market after a horrible week for his 10-year old auto (11:29).

This week's guest is Jeremy from the East Side Mini Open in Austin, TX. Jeremy chats with Alex about how the event came to be, its peculiar traditions, and the great food and drinks that will be available along the championship mini-golf course (14:09).

Tennis saw the exit of another "Tiger Woods" like superstar as Roger Federer tearily exited the game this past week at the Laver Cup (33:55).

In college football, Alex dominated with his picks, proving that sometimes you pick 'em good, and sometimes you don't (35:45).

On the NFL side, Alex's picks were OK, but his Patriots are leaving Alex down-and-out for the rest of the season (37:01).

Alex's woes didn't end with the Patriots, as Michael's Yankees completed a season-ending sweep of the Red Sox to round out the weekend (38:37).

Fall is truly coming in hot as ice hockey starts to heat up, including the guy's alma mater Quinnipiac whose women's team has already started the season with a clean sweep of Maine (40:05).

As the guys #AlwaysEndWithFood, Alex is still reveling in pumpkin everything, while Michael is sipping mock-tails and enjoying a rooftop bar in Savannah (41:28).

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