Reading The Break | Golf Podcast

In March 1999, Tiger Woods wasn't the world's number one golfer. David Duval was. Just eighteen months earlier, Duval was the man who supposedly couldn't win. Seven runner-up finishes, endless questions about his nerve, and a reputation for being one of golf's most talented nearly-men. Then something changed. He started winning. And didn't particularly fancy stopping. In Part 1 of our David Duval story, Rhys and Alex explore the extraordinary rise of one of golf's most fascinating and misunderstood characters. From a childhood shaped by family tragedy and a complicated relationship with his father, through an unconventional swing, trademark sunglasses and years of frustration, to three consecutive PGA Tour victories, an extraordinary round of 59 and a remarkable father-and-son moment at Sawgrass. How did the golfer who couldn't win become the man who knocked Tiger Woods off the top of world golf? And was David Duval ever really the person the golfing world thought he was? Part 2 follows his pursuit of major championship glory and what happened after he reached the top. Reading The Break. Serious golf. Unserious tone. #DavidDuval #TigerWoods #GolfHistory #ReadingTheBreak

One hole left. Three shots clear. A double bogey would win him The Open. Instead, Jean van de Velde ended up standing in the Barry Burn with his trousers rolled up. It's one of golf's most famous images. But it's only part of the story. Carnoustie in 1999 was brutal. Major champions were missing the cut, Greg Norman managed an air shot, and the world's best golfers were being told by the greenkeeper that they simply weren't good enough. Yet a French qualifier, ranked 152nd in the world, somehow found himself five shots clear heading into Sunday. Rhys and Alex revisit the extraordinary championship, the decisions, the ricochets and the recoveries that turned a certain victory into one of golf's greatest disasters. Was Van de Velde reckless, horribly unlucky, or a bit of both? And why does everyone remember the man who lost, rather than Paul Lawrie, who started the final round ten shots behind and actually won the thing? Reading The Break. Serious golf. Unserious tone.

Usually we tell golf’s stories. This time, we’re telling ours. We’re Rhys Prytherch and Alex York. In this episode, we talk about our golf backgrounds, how a conversation in the pub turned into Reading The Break, and why we started a golf history podcast. Playing golf apparently wasn’t enough. We had to get microphones involved as well. Reading The Break. Serious golf. Unserious tone. #ReadingTheBreak #GolfPodcast #GolfHistory

A 20-year-old amateur. A 10-year-old caddie. And the two best golfers in the world. In 1913, Francis Ouimet walked into the U.S. Open at Brookline as a local sporting-goods clerk and produced one of the most ridiculous upsets golf has ever seen. But the bit people remember is only half the story. New Reading The Break episode out now. #GolfHistory #USOpen #FrancisOuimet #GolfPodcast #ReadingTheBreak

Europe arrived on Sunday at Bethpage with a seven-point lead. They left with the Ryder Cup, but the route there was far messier than anyone expected. The USA won the Sunday singles 8½–3½. Europe won just one of the 11 matches actually played. In the final part of our 2025 Ryder Cup series, Rhys Prytherch and Alex York go back through Sunday at Bethpage, the American fightback, the strange moments, the pressure, and how a supposedly comfortable final day became anything but. Reading The Break — serious golf, unserious tone. #RyderCup #RyderCup2025 #GolfHistory #ReadingTheBreak

The Bethpage crowd turned up the volume. Europe turned up the golf. Rhys and Alex revisit Saturday’s matches, the hostile atmosphere, the arguments over where crowd behaviour crossed the line, and how Europe built a commanding lead heading into Sunday.

In Part 2 of our 2025 Ryder Cup Revisited series, Rhys Prytherch and Alex York revisit Friday afternoon at Bethpage Black — the point where the story stops being mainly about atmosphere and starts becoming a proper captain v captain debate. Using the four Friday afternoon matches as evidence, they look at what Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley were actually responsible for: pairing logic, preparation, role clarity, in-session adaptation, and the point where captaincy ends and players still have to hit the shots. Serious golf, unserious tone.

Bethpage Black was supposed to give Team USA the perfect start. Instead, Europe repeatedly stopped American momentum from becoming American control and finished Friday morning 3–1 ahead. Rhys and Alex revisit the opening foursomes: Bryson’s first-tee fireworks, Rahm and Hatton’s relentless escapes, Åberg and Fitzpatrick’s demolition of Scheffler and Henley, McIlroy and Fleetwood’s clinical partnership, and the final match that saved America from a clean sweep. Part 1 of our four-part series revisiting the 2025 Ryder Cup.

Rory McIlroy took a four-shot lead into the final round of the 2011 Masters. Then one drive into the trees on the 10th turned a probable coronation into one of golf’s most painful collapses. In the first episode of Reading The Break, Rhys Prytherch and Alex York retrace that Sunday at Augusta: where it began to unravel, how the collapse gathered momentum and how Rory responded just ten weeks later at the U.S. Open. Reading The Break tells the stories that shaped golf — serious golf, unserious tone. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. #RoryMcIlroy #TheMasters #GolfHistory #GolfPodcast #ReadingTheBreak

Meet Reading The Break: properly researched golf history, delivered with considerably less dignity than the subject normally receives. Hosted by Rhys Prytherch and Alex York.