June 6, 2023, was the day that the golf world was shaken to its core when it was announced that the PGA Tour and the group behind LIV Golf were in talks to merge operations, and that's when Full Swing season 2 episode 2 picks up. The two leagues, which were seen as bitter rivals by nearly everyone, were now shaking hands and promising to work together to build the game of golf. However, nobody apparently gave the pro golfers most impacted by this a heads-up.
Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Joel Dahmen and most notably, Rory McIlroy, were all shocked by the news, with Dahmen saying it was conducted in secrecy and there was no vote by any of the players — a notable thing considering the PGA Tour is supposed to be a player-run league. Meanwhile, many said the players that joined LIV made out like bandits, getting paid hundreds of millions of dollars and presumably now having a way to be welcomed back to the PGA Tour.
The fallout of the announcement shapes a lot of Full Swing season 2 episode 2, but we also get close looks at what's going on with popular players Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, including their performances at the 2023 US Open.
What's next?
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was the driving force behind the merger talks. He basically says the merger was inevitable and hopes he can rebuild trust with the players through actions, though he acknowledges they're probably not happy right now because he can't discuss the details of the merger just yet. Whatever he did tell them in a meeting with players post-announcement was not captured on camera.
Rory, again, says the news blindsided him and others, frustrated Monahan and the PGA helped galvanize people against LIV, only to partner with them. Other players shared their anger with the deal throughout the episode, including Tom Kim, who was skeptical when a PGA Tour player rep said he found out about the deal at the same time as the players.
The other big thing on a lot of people's minds is should the players who remained on the PGA, turning down massive contracts with LIV, be compensated as a result of this move? Rory said yes, while others like Matt Fitzpatrick didn't want to comment. Then there's Dustin Johnson, one of the biggest names that joined LIV, who gave a flat out "no."
Dustin Johnson's new life
Johnson's reason for feeling no extra compensation is needed for those who stayed on the PGA? He believes he and the other guys who left for LIV took the risks and criticism (a montage of some of the harsh online comments flashes on the screen, along with Johnson’s wife Paulina talking about the experience), and it's too bad if the PGA players feel regret over not joining LIV when they could.
(Quick thing to note, despite the announcement coming almost a year ago, there still is no finalized deal on the merger, but talks are ongoing).
Johnson, meanwhile, had no regrets about joining LIV, as he and his wife believe it gave them greater control over their life. In addition, Johnson still is reaping the benefits of his success on the PGA Tour, participating in the majors that at this point in his career are the things that matter. That included the 2023 US Open.
Rickie Fowler's comeback
The other main subject of the episode is Rickie Fowler. While he talked a bit about the merger (he acknowledges he could have joined LIV but thought the PGA Tour had the better competition and now sees the merger as just a chance to ensure the best players are playing in the biggest events), the main storyline was Fowler's attempt to return to the heights of his career.
Fowler burst onto the golfing scene in the early 2010s, and not just because he rocked bright orange attire in final rounds. He won the Players Championship and had a year in 2014 where he finished in the top five at every major. However, Fowler has never won a major and in recent years has seen his play drop, falling all the way to 185th in the world rankings. But reuniting with renowned coach Butch Harmon, Fowler was about to make some noise at the US Open.
Taking place at the Los Angeles Country Club, Fowler stormed out of the gate, shooting a US Open record 62 in the first round (Xander Schauffele also shot a 62 in the first round). When he followed that up with a strong second round, the crowd quickly got behind Fowler, as the always popular player looked poised to finally win his first major.
FYI, Johnson had himself a good tournament, but a few holes where he posted big numbers ultimately didn't allow him to really be in contention.
Going into the final hole of the third round, Fowler had a two-shot lead over Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlory. However, playing in near darkness contributed to Fowler scoring a bogey while Clark birdied, which eliminated Fowler's lead heading into the final round. Fowler and Rory would commiserate about playing in the dark conditions, but the tournament was still there for the taking for either of them.
Unfortunately for Fowler, the wheels came off in the final round. Watching from his home, Harmon said he could tell Fowler had nerves, saying the ability to overcome those only comes from being in those situations. Ultimately, Clark was able to separate himself and win his first-ever major championship (we'll learn more about him in a future episode).
While Rickie was disappointed in his final result, it's clear he's in a good place, as he said once he saw his young daughter he was able to let go of that disappointment a bit.
And he got another shot at it two weeks later at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. In a sudden-death playoff with two other golfers, Fowler hits a bad tee shot. However, he said his experience at the US Open helped him realize winning isn't about always being perfect, it's about being "good enough." And he was that day, hitting a fantastic second shot that allowed him to sink the winning putt, claiming his first victory in more than four years.
The best from Full Swing season 2 episode 2
Here are some of the other highlights from Full Swing season 2 episode 2:
- Love that Joel Dahmen was in a Waffle House when he found out about the PGA Tour/LIV merger announcement, completely different from everyone else shown in either their expensive homes or cars.
- Curious about the clip that had Rickie Fowler rapping? Here is the full music video that he made with fellow PGA Tour players at the time Ben Crane, Hunter Mahan and Bubba Watson.
- The most interesting question posed in this episode came from Fowler: would there be the same negativity around LIV if it was backed by an Amazon or an Apple instead of the Saudi Public Investment Fund?
All of Full Swing season 2 is streaming exclusively on Netflix.
