Let the smack talk reign at Skins Game reboot

Having played for the victorious European Ryder Cup at Bethpage, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood would have easy targets in U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley and one of his captain’s picks, Xander Schauffele, for talking smack during Friday’s Skins Game. There’s only one problem.

“Keegan’s already paid me and Tommy extra to not talk about the Ryder Cup,” Lowry said during a Zoom press conference held ahead of the event on Nov. 28.

More: The backstory on how the Skins Game launched made-for-TV golf during Thanksgiving weekend

“I won’t have a walkie-talkie in my hand on Friday,” Bradley shot back. “I’ll have a golf club, which is my chance to get back at these two maniacs down there.”

The Skins Game, which was one of the most successful made-for-TV franchises in all of sports, featuring four of golf’s biggest names competing in a go-for-broke format on Thanksgiving weekend, returns for the first time in 16 years on Black Friday at 9 a.m. on Amazon Prime. Almost as important as the quality of the shots will be the banter between the four players to entertain both the limited crowd and the streaming audience. It’s golf’s Silly Season at its finest and this hit-n-giggle is a chance for the four participants to let their personality shine in a way that doesn’t always come across when FedEx Cup points and the like are on the line. To hear Schauffele tell it, don’t sleep on Fleetwood to show a sneaky-good trash-talking game.

More: Skins Game history: Here's a look at 7 incredible made-for-TV moments

“He’s kind of known to have a bad reputation out here. Seriously anticipate him doing some dodgy things,” Schauffele joked. “Just because he’s cut his hair a little shorter doesn’t mean he’s not going to bring it.”

“Tommy’s like a silent assassin but when he does say something, it’ll be meaningful,” Lowry said.

“If Tommy talked trash to me in a serious way, I would curl up in a ball. I’d be so scared,” Bradley said. “That would be terrifying.”

Fleetwood’s retort: “I guess I’m fourth-ranked,” he said in the smack talk power rankings.

Lowry might be the best of them. He was a late call to the bullpen for the holiday exhibition after Justin Thomas had to withdraw following back surgery that will keep him sidelined until early 2026. Lowry said he’d have been sitting at home watching it on TV, so he preferred the alternative.

Schauffele expressed the most disappointment that Thomas wouldn’t be participating but mostly because he’d prepped his best trash-talk for Thomas, who also consulted on the design of Panther National, the host course.

“I actually had so much material against JT,” Schauffele said. “I feel like I've been undressed during this. I have to ask ChatGPT how to talk smack to these guys because JT was going to be my sole target.

“I’m going to have to do some digging on Tommy…I’m going to have to do some digging on these boys and see what I can come up with,” Schauffele said.

Bradley may be the trickiest foe for Schauffele to deliver the needle. “I’m still scared of him to be honest,” he said.

“You never know what I’m capable of,” Bradley said. “I could snap at any moment.”

“He’s like a lion,” Schauffele said. “He’s not afraid to take out one of his own at times.”

But Bradley admitted that the good-natured and lovable Fleetwood may be the player he can’t bring the hammer with his smack talk.

“If I said anything bad to Tommy, I feel like I’d have to apologize after,” Bradley said.

Could these four competitors in the Skins Game reboot be a little too chummy? That would be no fun. Schauffele joked that it could be one big lovefest.

“We're just going to complement each other to the finish line, high five at the end, and then go drink what we were supposed to drink on Thanksgiving Day,” he said.

Let the smack talk flow like the Thanksgiving Day drinks.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Can Tommy, Keegan, Shane & Xander bring the smack talk to Skins Game?