Genesis doesn’t just sponsor a tournament — they build an experience. From Riviera during the Genesis Invitational, Dan Evans sits down with Ted Mengiste, COO of Genesis North America, to pull back the curtain on what “honored guest” hospitality actually looks like in pro golf.

Ted explains why Genesis and golf are such a natural fit, how Korean golf culture shaped the brand’s approach, and what it means to deliver a luxury standard in an arena where the biggest names have been around for a century. They also get into one of the most talked-about inside details of the week: how Genesis treats caddies at Riviera, and why that matters more than fans realize.

Plus: Ted’s personal journey from Ethiopia to Kenya to Indiana, how he unexpectedly found his way into the auto world, the leadership principle “how we win matters,” what Genesis learned from scaling fast, and how Hyundai Motor Group innovation feeds into what’s coming next.

To close, Ted details Genesis’ wildfire response efforts in Southern California — including major donations, vehicle support, and why the company doubled down on its long-term commitment to the event and the community.

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Dan’s back from Riviera (Genesis Invitational) with the kind of insider texture you don’t get from a broadcast recap — hospitality, media access, and the little “only at Riv” details that show how premium Tour weeks actually work.

Tommy Fleetwood goes sponsor-less… then casually pops up in Augusta/Masters gear (and even borrows a sweatshirt from Jason Day). Is it a negotiation play, a brand reset, or something bigger? From there, the crew digs into the real money and leverage behind apparel deals (and why some numbers never get said out loud), Tiger’s latest “door still open” signals, Scottie’s rain-delay mindset, and two moment-heavy highlights: Max Greyserman’s ace and Neil Shipley’s first-ever TGL hole-in-one.

No leaderboard recap energy — just golf culture, business, and access

Mike and Kass Lazerow join The Dan Evans Show for the full breakdown of their golf-to-tech-to-investing journey: the Golf.com origin story, the dot-com crash and comeback, Buddy Media’s growth and sale to Salesforce, the hard pivots founders have to make, and why they believe The Grass League is a perfect modern golf format.

0:00 Intro
1:57 Golf as the thread + “swing test” story
8:35 Spreadsheet → Golf.com concept
11:48 Chipshot.com deal + dot-com crash
13:35 Medinah lunch pitch comeback
14:00 Tiger’s impact on Golf.com
21:39 Buddy Media + Facebook wave
24:16 Pivot to SaaS + recurring revenue
26:14 Panic-attack pivot moment
32:26 Phish tangent
35:30 Building with kids during the grind
40:02 Salesforce transition + Benioff quote
45:16 Investing checklist
53:34 The Grass League: why it works
1:03:01 Outro + book + New York Bluebirds