A Pod Unlike Any Other

It's U.S. Open season! So we traveled back 10 years to Pebble Beach and the demise of Dustin Johnson ... and Tiger Woods ... and Phil Mickelson ... and Ernie Els. Four future hall of fame golfers wilted while Graeme McDowell and Gregory Havret (who?) took the spotlight. The 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach is one of the biggest what ifs in modern golf history. Alan Shipnuck joins the show for a look back on what could have been.

The year is ... 2009. Phil Mickelson has never played better. Tiger Woods has scraped his way into contention. Kenny Perry is chasing that elusive major and Angel Cabrera is just ... hanging around. This may be the most underrated final rounds of the Masters ever. Alan Shipnuck and Jonathan Wall break it all down in this season finale of A Pod Unlike Any Other.

The year is 1996 ... and Greg Norman has been leading this tournament all week. After an opening 63 (the best first round in Masters history) he's led wire-to-wire. After sleeping on a 6-shot lead, Norman begins to leak oil. And leak some more. Until there's no more lead on the 12th tee. Luke Kerr-Dineen and Dylan Dethier join to break down one of the more confounding finishes in Masters history.

The year is 2016 ... and the Golden Child, Jordan Spieth, is in the zone at Augusta National. There isn't another contender who has won a major, let alone a green jacket. Who could beat him? A water hazard. In this episode we break down Spieth's epic collapse at Amen Corner, and everything that happened around it.

The year is 2010 ... and everything is going in. Tiger Woods just holed out on No. 7. So did Adam Scott. Anthony Kim goes WILD, there are two aces on the 16th and Phil Mickelson his hitting driver all over the planet. That will put him in position for one of the best shots of his life... Or is that shot overrated? We discuss that, our affection for AK, and more from the 2010 Masters. Sorry, Lee Westwood.

In 1968, one faulty scorecard changed golf history. On this episode of A Pod Unlike Any Other, we go back to this show's roots with a discussion from two years ago about the saddest Masters finish of all-time. Roberto De Vicenzo will become more famous for his blunder than the man who actually won this Masters, Bob Goalby. But you'll have to listen to understand why.

Tiger Woods is on the verge of history. The man currently holds the rights to every other major championship besides the Masters, and he's waited more than eight months for his chance at another green jacket. Standing in his way are two of the top 10 players in the world, Phil Mickelson and David Duval. Alan Bastable and Sean Martin join the show to break down just how wild (or not so wild) it was watching Peak Tiger do his thing.

As Jim Nantz will soon say ... the green jacket is going north of the border, and we've got native Canadian Adam Stanley joining us to break it down. Little Mike Weir is about to win the Masters for all of Canada, but not without one helluva fight from Len Mattiace. (And apologies to Len, at times our accents pronounced is last name a bit funny!) Mattiace shoots one of the greatest what-if rounds in Masters history. Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh play left-handed and Phil Mickelson makes one of the greatest recoveries golf has ever seen. That and more in this episode of A Pod Unlike Any Other. Enjoy!

Something weird is happening at Augusta National. The leaderboard is tight, but at the top of it is 43-year-old Ben Crenshaw, who said goodbye to his longtime coach Harvey Penick just a few days prior. While the broadcast channels Angels in the Outfield, Crenshaw makes every damn putt he looks at, Davis Love and Greg Norman give him one helluva run, and Tiger Woods finishes as the low amateur before jetting back to Stanford. All that and way more from the mid-90s in Georgia.

Apologies to Scott Hoch, but our title was used in the Sports Illustrated game story from 1989! Augusta National is soaked this year. It's been raining for days, but we are about to see one of the best final rounds in Masters history ... and one of the worst flubs ever. Alan Shipnuck and Luke Kerr-Dineen join to discuss ... Seve trying to swindle a ruling in his favor, why Ben Crenshaw was one of the greatest putters who ever lived, how the name "Hoch" rhymes with choke and how Nick Faldo's ascension was only just beginning.

The year is ... 1981. Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus are dueling again, this time for another green jacket. Michael Bamberger and Dylan Dethier join the show to kick off Season Two. In this episode we'll talk about the PGA Tour of the early 80s, how dominant Tom Watson was at his peak, how Augusta National played differently back then, and why the broadcast team was certain that a blonde would win this Masters. Enjoy! We'll be publishing two episodes per week throughout March and into April. Subscribe and share this episode with other golf fans who might be starved for content. Let us know what you think on Twitter at @golf_com or @sean_zak.

A Pod Unlike Any Other is back! Albeit on sadder terms of the 2020 Masters being postponed. We will still be bringing you plenty of Masters content and hope you follow along and watch while you listen to appreciate all that is Masters history. Subscribe to A Pod Unlike Any Other and you'll have the first episode of season two in your library on Monday morning, with many more episodes to follow. Enjoy!

Phil Mickelson's U.S. Opens are just getting good. On this special episode we begin with the most upsetting of them all: Winged Foot. Then we revisit Bethpage at an emotional time in Lefty's life before finishing with Merion, where Phil's trusty wedge game failed him.

In the first of TWO special U.S. Open episodes, Sean Zak dives into the history of Phil Mickelson's runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open, told through the lens of people who saw it up close and personal. In this episode, we discuss Mickelson's first three runner-ups: 1999 at Pinehurst, 2002 at Bethpage and 2004 at Shinnecock Hills. Enjoy!

The year is ... 2011. All kinds of madness is about to ensue. 21-year-old Rory McIlroy has a four shot lead, but not for long. Seven different men will hold at least a share of the lead during an epic final round. In this episode, we explore why Tiger Woods should have won, how Rory's putting issues glared through the screen, and how we thankfully saw the last of long, baggy slacks on Tour.