It’s almost time for the 2026 Masters Tournament, and Reps. Rick Allen (R., Ga.) and Ralph Norman (R., S.C.) know how to celebrate it in style.

The two helmed the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) latest episode of the Right to the Point Podcast, which was obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter. During the episode, they discussed golf, the Democrats’ ongoing partial government shutdown, and the composition of the Senate.

For Allen, the Masters holds a particularly special meeting. “I was an official there at that tournament for 31 years and when I got elected to Congress they said, ‘well, maybe you’ll just be guest of the chairman.’ So what I do now is go and have breakfast and welcome everybody to the 12th District of Georgia.”

Both GOP lawmakers expressed frustration that the Democrats’ ongoing shutdown of parts of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could cause travel delays to pile up as Americans descend on Allen’s district.

“I hope the American people wake up,” Allen said. “We’ve got the midterms coming up. And the way I view this thing is, you’ve got about 10 percent of the country, who are radical left wing people who basically hate the country. They want to change the country. We had 100 members of Congress vote against the horrors of socialism. What built wealth in this country is our freedom of capitalism and living the American Dream.”

“But they’re indoctrinating young people and the shame of it is that that 10 percent of people are running the United States Senate,” Allen continued. “I tell people New York has got 46 senators because they all fall right in line with Chuck Schumer, even our two Georgia senators. On voter ID, the SAVE America Act, which is probably the most important piece of legislation since you and I’ve been in Congress, they all fell in line behind Schumer…it’s just a real shame that our country is being run by 10 percent of the people of this country that don’t represent the mainstream of the country.”

Norman grilled Allen over the latter’s predictions for the winners of the main events of the Masters. Allen thinks that “Cameron Smith, who had that fabulous finish at the Players Championship,” is well-positioned. “He hits the ball a mile. I love his tempo of his swing. It reminds me a little of Freddie Couples, very smooth, good transition into swing. To go through the pressure he went through on that Sunday at the Players Championship is exactly what he’s going to face on Sunday at Augusta.”

“As far as the other categories,” Allen continued, “my pick is Justin Rose. Justin has already won a tournament this year out in California, and it was a great display of golf. I like him because he’s a little older like we are, and he’s 46 years old. That’s old on the PGA tour, and he’s playing well.”

A big uncertainty remains the status of Tiger Woods, one of the most famous golfers to ever live. “We’ll see if Tiger is going to play,” Allen added. “He played in an event this past week weekend, so we’ll see.”

The full library of Right to the Point podcast episodes can be found here.