FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 21st, 2017

NOTABLE QUOTES: THE 146TH OPEN, FRIDAY’S SECOND ROUND (1:30-7 A.M. ET)

Golf Channel Notable Quotes
The 146TH Open
Second Round
Friday, July 21, 2017 (1:30-7 a.m. ET)
Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, England

**Live coverage of round two of The 146TH Open continues on Golf Channel today through 4 p.m. ET**

On Friday at The Open and the impending weather
Colin Montgomerie – “I think the early starters have a break today. It can only get worse as we go through.”
Montgomerie – “You can have a game plan in America because the weather is that more consistent. You can say, ‘Yes I am going to hit a 6-iron here if the tee is there.’ Here, you can’t. I mean, look at this, you wake up and you take the weather as it is. The weather forecasting here is terrible because we have the Atlantic Ocean in the way. So you just have to take every shot on its own merit. A game plan here is really thrown out the window this morning.
Mike Tirico – “It will test everyone today.”
Justin Leonard – “Staying competitive at The Open is all about adjusting. Making adjustments on the fly.”
Curt Byrum – “Just can’t afford to throw away shots on a day that is as difficult as today is.”

On Rory McIlroy (currently 1-under par for the championship, 2-under for the day)
Montgomerie – “You miss two putts in a row, 5-over at the turn, of course self-doubts creep in. That is when the caddy earns his stripes. Definitely. That is when you need a good caddy.”
Montgomerie – “This is a very different and much more confident Rory McIlroy than what we saw yesterday.”
Brandel Chamblee – “Everyone loves a good comeback story and boy do we have a good one brewing here at The Open being authored by a man who won four major championships but perhaps being inspired by his caddy J.P. Fitzgerald.”
Chamblee – “It [Fitzgerald’s conversation with McIlroy] did the job and sparked quite a comeback yesterday which has continued today.”
Tirico – “He looked indifferent for a couple of weeks and indifferent for the first part of yesterday. He has gone from indifferent to dialed in just like that.”

On Phil Mickelson
Todd Lewis – “Phil Mickelson decided he is going to put the driver back in the bag because of the wind direction. He feels like he will have many holes off the tee with the wind in his face which is exactly why he decided to put the driver back in the bag today.”

-NBC Sports Group-