Akshay Bhatia joins Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme for his third appearance on the show (rising up the all-time leaderboard - watch out Justin Thomas and James Nitties!).

Fresh off his third straight Tour Championship, Akshay opens up on why he's calling his 2026 season "mediocre," the exact swing changes he's targeting this off-season to fix his driver, and what it would mean to finally crack the top 20 in strokes gained off the tee.

Plus: his partnership with caddie Joe Greiner after their first year together, his cross-handed chipping technique and elite bunker play, the mind-blowing way he uses ball speed as a distance control mechanism with his irons, and with a childhood spent in North Carolina - his go-to Cook Out order.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters
0:00 Intro
2:00 Magic Shoes?
7:07 Ground rules for the dogs at home
8:19 NC golf courses & Cook Out order
11:38 2026 season reflection
14:05 Marriage & life at 24
16:22 Tour friend group & housing
18:33 Tuesday money games
20:39 Three straight Tour Championships
23:04 Caddie Joe Greiner
25:33 Driver rebuild for 2027
33:00 Playing golf with Joe
34:44 Cross-handed chipping technique
40:49 Ball-speed feel for distance
43:28 Best bunker player on tour?
46:54 Lining up the golf ball
51:30 Sign-off & Japan trip

#golf #pgatour #akshaybhatia #smylieshow

Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Ogilvy have set their 2026 Presidents Cup rosters, and Smylie and Charlie break down every pick — starting with the headline move: 21-year-old Jackson Koivun, who was outside the top 40 on points and only a few months into his pro career, getting the nod for Team USA over veterans with far bigger resumes. They get into why the pick makes sense, and what it means for Koivun's career.

Plus: the full US and International rosters for Medinah, the stat-driven case for why Ryan Gerard should've made the team, dream-pairing predictions for both sides, and why Team USA's depth might make this one lopsided on paper. From there, Smylie and Charlie shift into a full 2026 PGA Tour season review — favorite events and storylines, the "old guys" who had big years, feel-good stories, and players who took steps forward and back.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Presidents Cup picks are in — the Jackson Koivun reaction
2:03 Comparing Koivun's pick to Jordan Spieth's in 2013
4:40 Full rosters: all 12 players on both teams
5:40 J.J. Spaun's injury and the roster fallout
9:16 The stat case for Ryan Gerard
13:17 Data Golf's rankings & the match format explained
16:36 Bezuidenhout's surprise pick & Medinah's conditions
18:35 International team culture under Ogilvy and Immelman
20:17 Nico Echavarria, the most underrated pick
20:53 Dream pairings: Team USA
25:07 Dream pairings: the International side
26:09 USA's depth advantage, on paper
28:57 2026 season review begins: favorite storylines
31:31 Theme: the old guys had a year
33:00 Feel-good stories of the season
34:36 No-cut fields and Doral's flat comeback
36:44 Previewing the 2027 Florida Swing shuffle
37:31 Guessing the 7 elevated Challenger Series events
42:15 Valspar's sponsor dilemma & the confirmed Championship Series lineup
43:37 Phoenix Open's Super Bowl date standoff
48:12 Theme: the young guns' breakout stretch
48:49 The Fitzpatrick brothers' year
53:15 Marco Penge: a rookie year bigger than the scorecard
56:14 Steps forward: Burns, Si Woo Kim, Fitzpatrick & Gotterup
58:55 Made it back: Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa
1:03:41 2027 outlook: Jordan Spieth's redemption year?

#golf #pgatour #smylieshow #presidentscup

Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hulme preview the 2026 Walker Cup at Lahinch Golf Club with three guests: Team USA's Ryder Cowan, US Amateur champion Jack Whaley - whose victory at Merion earned him a GB&I roster spot, and Lahinch operations manager TJ Ford, who walks us through some truly stunning flyovers.

Ryder discusses matching Jackson Koivun for low-amateur honors at the US Open, what he learned studying Koivun's game, and the golf balls he forgot before his Round of 64 win over Miles Russell. Jack recaps his US Amateur run at Merion — wasp sting included — and the major exemptions that came with it. TJ takes them through Lahinch's Old Tom Morris and Alister MacKenzie design, the club's famous roaming goats, and tells an incredible stories about some caddie shenanigans on the 5th hole. Charlie and Smylie close it out with the full team rosters and their own final score picks.

Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, and follow us on socials @thesmylieshow!

Chapters

0:00 Intro: Walker Cup broadcast schedule & preview
8:20 Ryder Cowan joins: earning his Walker Cup spot
10:20 Tying Jackson Koivun for low-amateur honors
13:21 What Ryder learned studying Koivun's game
19:09 Forgetting his golf balls before facing Miles Russell
23:20 Beating Miles Russell & Walker Cup teammates
28:39 Jack Whaley joins: US Am win & major exemptions
29:49 Merion's brutal, back-loaded finish
31:19 Wasp sting, a storm, and battling back
36:00 Walker Cup matchups & English course roots
39:10 FSU's pipeline, airport rankings & sign-off
41:40 TJ Ford joins: his game & Lahinch's history
43:50 Course design history: Old Tom Morris & MacKenzie
45:44 Flyovers begin
53:18 2019 Irish Open flashback: Rahm's 62
56:55 MacKenzie's design philosophy & the toughest holes
59:17 Lahinch's famous roaming goats & Jordan Spieth
1:03:12 New clubhouse & TJ's prediction
1:06:14 Walker Cup rosters & matchup breakdown
1:12:09 Final score predictions

#golf #pgatour #walkercup #lahinch #smylieshow #smyliekaufman