This week I’m joined by Tom Patri and a trio of Next on the Tee rookies, one of the Top 100 Teachers to Watch for 2024 & 2025 Meaghan Francella, one of the most decorated Amateur players ever Steve Scott, and the Director of Golf at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts Brendan Walsh.
TP and I recap where we aren’t with the PIF/PGA Tour merger, Keith Pelley’s resignation as CEO of the DP World Tour, Martin Slumber’s resignation from the R&A, plus a playing lesson to help you fix your slice.
Meaghan Francella won back-to-back New York State junior championships in the late 90s. She would go on to win the Conference USA title at the University of Memphis before transferring to the University of North Carolina and winning the ACC Championship there. We hear those stories plus her remarkable debut on the LPGA Tour where she beat Annika Sorenstam in a playoff to win the MasterCard Classic in just her second start on Tour.
Steve Scott was another accomplished junior player having won the 1992, ’93, and ’94 South Florida Junior Championship. He was an All-American at the University of Florida, winning 3 individual titles his senior season. He famously battled Tiger Woods in the 1996 US Amateur taking a 5 UP lead into the last 18 holes of their match. If Steve hadn’t reminded Tiger to move his ball mark back on the 16th green, he would have won the match 3&2. Instead, he did the right thing and went on to lose the match on the 38th hole. The golf gods gave him great karma as he went on to a great amateur career including 2 appearances in the Walker Cup and now as a top Broadcast Analyst for ESPN and PGA Tour Live.
Brenden Walsh is the Director of Golf at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is the 12th of 15 children to a father who is a Philadelphia golf legend and a mother who is clearly a saint. Brendan played his college golf over at the College of Wooster just outside of Akron, Ohio. He won the 1996 Connecticut Open. During his tenure at The Country Club, he hosted the 1999 Ryder Cup, 2013 US Amateur, and the 2022 US Open. Hear all those stories and more during our conversation.