FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 21st, 2017

NOTABLE QUOTES: THE 146TH OPEN, FRIDAY’S 2ND ROUND (7A.M.-4 P.M. ET) – SPIETH LEADS BY 2

Golf Channel Notable Quotes
The 146TH Open
Second Round
Friday, July 21, 2017 (7 a.m.-4 p.m. ET)
Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England

**Live coverage of round three of The 146TH Open airs on Golf Channel beginning Saturday at 4:30 a.m. ET and continues on NBC at 7 a.m. ET.**

On Jordan Spieth, leader at 6-under par after two rounds (1-under par 69 on Friday)
Nick Faldo – “It is a rough brutal day. The average score is going to be in the 75’s and Jordan Spieth sets a goal of 2-under, seven better than the average. That gives you some idea of how he sets his standards.”
Gary Koch – “He is playing stress-free golf.”
Johnny Miller – “You can see his determination this week. You can see that he came here with the right mojo to win this championship.”
Terry Gannon – “This is some golf that he is playing today.”
Gannon – “This has been an old-school post a number round for Jordan Spieth.”
Faldo – “He knows where to miss it. Bottom line he is a master at making a score.”
Roger Maltbie – “It’s an art form.”

Jordan Spieth speaking with Golf Channel’s Steve Sands following his round
Jordan Spieth – “There were a couple of periods where it was as bad as we had last year on Friday. It was off and on. When I look back on the entire day overall, it wasn’t as bad as we thought it was going to be. We thought it was going to be constant rain, sideways rain, sheets of rain, where you are just trying to scrape two up next to the green and see how many pars you can make. We got a horn to blow and some favorable conditions for an hour at a time here or there. In those favorable conditions, we were able to capitalize and I thought that was very important today.”
Spieth – “1-under was a tremendous score today. I’m very pleased with it. Yesterday, I thought I played better than 5-under. Today I didn’t play as good as that 1-under showed. But chip-ins and fortunate eagles made up for that on the card.”

On Matt Kuchar, 2nd place at 4-under par after two rounds (1-over par 71 on Friday)
Steve Sands – “Kuchar is catching a big break today by finishing his second round before the weather comes in.”
Faldo – “Kuchar is going to have more than a day off before he tees off on Saturday. A lot of thinking time. A lot of waiting and a lot of thinking.” 

Matt Kuchar speaking with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis following his round
Matt Kuchar – “You go out and take what the golf course gives you. It was certainly hard. It was hard and it is only getting harder. Same idea of trying to find fairways. If you can’t, try to figure out how to avoid the pot bunkers. From there, try to figure out how to get it on the green and how to give myself a decent leave if I miss the green. It is a lot of scrambling, a lot of thinking and a lot of adjusting to the wind.”
Kuchar – “This is straight defense the entire time. You hopefully are swinging aggressively, trying to make good swings.”

On Ian Poulter, T3 at 3-under par after two rounds (even par 70 on Friday)
Gannon – “A lot of belief coming in and this is quickly becoming real now.”
Miller – “Always has been a terrific putter. His game is coming back.”
Miller – “He has been coming alive lately.”
Gannon – “He had the roughest of the weather and he battled all day. That is a really credible score today.”
Gannon – “He was thrilled with what he did on day one and he came out today and backed it up.”

Ian Poulter speaking with Golf Channel’s Steve Sands following his round
Ian Poulter – “It is amazing. I said to James, who hasn’t been on my bag at a major before, I said this is the best walk in golf. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Every player that has ever played an Open speaks about walking up 18 because it is very special.”
Poulter – “It was a good round. We had 35 mile-per-hour gusts at times. Just predicting how far it was going to travel downwind was difficult. Predicting how far it was going to go into the wind was even harder.”

On Brooks Koepka, T3 at 3-under par after two rounds (2-over par 72 on Friday)
Dan Hicks – “He really gets up for these big events.”
Gannon – “It wasn’t the day he envisioned. 2-over par today but he is right there on the leaderboard.”
Jim “Bones” Mackay – “He is right there in the middle of this leaderboard that is above the 18th green. He got it done today. He’s going to get out of here and look to make his move tomorrow.

On Rory McIlroy, T6 at 1-under par after two rounds (2-under par 68 on Friday)
Faldo – “We know he is an emotional guy isn’t he. He rides emotional waves. When he’s up, you can see the spring in his step.”

Rory McIlroy speaking with Golf Channel’s Jimmy Roberts following his round
McIlroy – “It was tough. I think this southeast wind that we have today is the most difficult wind that you can play this golf course. Some of the pins are on the right side of the greens for the way the wind is and it gives you some chances. I think the back nine is going to play really tough. I feel like on the front nine you don’t have to do an awful lot spectacularly to get out and around at even par, but when you turn for home that is when it gets really difficult. So, to shoot 1-over par on that nine, that was really good.”
McIlroy – “We don’t play in winds this strong very often, and when we do, we have to adjust very quickly and thankfully today I did.”

On Hideki Matsuyama, T10 at even par after two rounds (2-over 72 on Friday)
Miller – “He just is the best player right now day-in and day-out. Dustin is a little bit off and Matsuyama is steadily going about his business. He is due for a major.”

On Alfie Plant, low amateur who made the cut at +4, speaking with Golf Channel’s Steve Sands following his round
Alfie Plant – “It has been amazing. You dream about these days and it is definitely better than the dream.”

On Friday’s 2nd Round at The Open at Royal Birkdale
Gannon – “It is survival today for these guys getting to the clubhouse.”
Mackay – “No question, there were a couple of times out there it was blowing and raining so hard I thought I might see Carl Spackler and the Bishop walking up one of the fairways.”
Brandel Chamblee – “Because this golf course doesn’t go straight out and straight back in like a traditional links golf course, it keeps you off guard.”
Frank Nobilo – “Links golf, if you haven’t played, is like skating for the first time. Trying to keep your balance physically and mentally.”
Miller – “The course is very tough. You’ve got to use your head. You’ve got to hit good quality penetrating shots and let the wind be your friend when you can.”
Miller – “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em on this golf course.”
Peter Jacobsen – “When you play in an Open, you’ve got to deal with just about every conceivable element out here, along with a very difficult golf course.”
Roger Maltbie – “Mentally you have to be ready for it. You have to know that the odds are the weather is going to happen and you can’t let it distract you or you are going to drop shots.”
David Feherty – “In this weather, you’ve got four or five different ways to play the same shot. You’ve just got to pick the right flight.”
Gannon – “The entire afternoon, if you just started your round, you know what lies ahead and you’ve just gotta hang on.”
Chamblee – “These championships are not literally won or lost until Sunday but very often they are days like these that points you to the eventual champion.”

On the Bunkers at Royal Birkdale
Faldo – “It is like hitting through a jailhouse door. There are all of these openings. But you know you’re in jail and thinking, ‘Can I get out? Can I get away with this?’”
Sands – “It is remarkable how well-placed these bunkers are here at Royal Birkdale.”

-NBC Sports Group-