FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 27th, 2017

NOTABLE QUOTES: GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM THE PRESIDENTS CUP, WEDNESDAY (PRIMETIME)

Golf Channel Notable Quotes
Golf Central Live From The Presidents Cup (Primetime)
Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017
Liberty National Golf Club, Jersey City, N.J.

Thursday’s Day 1 Foursomes Matches:Rickie Fowler/Justin Thomas vs. Hideki Matsuyama/Charl Schwartzel
Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar vs. Adam Scott/Jhonattan Vegas
Patrick Reed/Jordan Spieth vs. Emiliano Grillo/Si Woo KimDaniel Berger/Brooks Koepka vs. Branden Grace/Louis Oosthuizen
Jason Day/Marc Leishman vs. Kevin Kisner/Phil Mickelson

On expectations for the 2017 Presidents Cup
Brandel Chamblee – “This has potential to be the most compelling event in the history of these team competitions. If there’s a better venue anywhere in the world for an event like this, I don’t know where it is. And while this may be a patently, patriotic piece of property that we’re on, this whole area and the city is the most diverse area in the United States. So there’s a chance that the International side will have the most support its ever had [in a Presidents Cup].”

David Duval – “The most nervous you get are in events like these as a professional. And the level of performance it seems time and time again defies explanation in some ways. The golf we see, it seemingly goes beyond a player’s capabilities.”

Chamblee – “We love upsets, we do. They may make us a little angry, but they certainly get our attention.”

On Match #1 (1:05 p.m. ET) – R. Fowler/J. Thomas vs. H. Matsuyama/C. Schwartzel
Duval – “Hideki Matsuyama needs to play better than he has the past six or seven weeks frankly. I think almost all of this match falls on him. If he shows up as the player who catapulted himself into No. 2 in the world, it could be a very good promising match for them. If he doesn’t show up, I don’t see them having a chance.”

Chamblee – “If you’ve been watching Hideki Matsuyama the last few times he’s played, he’s really struggled with the driver, and he’s hitting a lot of shots to the left. Schwartzel hasn’t had a top-10 since mid-June, and they’re playing the second and third-best scoring average [players] on the PGA TOUR.”

On Match #2 (1:17 p.m. ET) – D. Johnson/M. Kuchar vs. A. Scott/J. Vegas
Duval – “Adam Scott hasn’t particularly played great this year. But are you really going to be surprised if a pairing of Adam Scott and Johnny Vegas beat those two? No, you’re not. And I think this may be one of the better matches of the day.”

Chamblee – “This could be a pretty tough match. I think the international side could surprise a little bit.”

On Match #3 (1:29 p.m. ET) – P. Reed/J. Spieth vs. E. Grillo/S. Kim
Chamblee – “Couldn’t dream up a better team than Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed… And then they’re going up against the biggest question mark on either team in Si Woo Kim. And that’s a lot to ask a rookie to get paired with Emiliano Grillo. The biggest surprise I think is that Si Woo Kim went out in foursomes.”

Duval – “I just struggle to see how [Grillo/Kim] could keep up with Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed.”

On Match #4 (1:41 p.m. ET) – D. Berger/B. Koepka vs. B. Grace/L. Oosthuizen
Duval – “I think this very may well be the match of the day. Certainly some fire power on the U.S. side, but this is the hardest match to wrap my head around. I’m leaning toward that matchup of Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace. They just are a formidable team and seem to have a chemistry in this event.”

Chamblee – “A lot has transpired from 2015 to 2017. They’re not playing quite the golf that they were then. There’s no way you wouldn’t pair them together. Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger are two of the best drivers in the world. This is going to be a very tough match for Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace to win.”

On Match #5 (1:53 p.m. ET) – K. Kisner/P. Mickelson vs. J. Day/M. Leishman
Chamblee – “Phil may not have had the best record in the Ryder Cup, but he is one of if not the best Presidents Cup players ever. He’s gone undefeated three times and he’s the only player to do that. He was undefeated in 2015 and could very well go undefeated in this set of matches [this week].”

Duval – “The way Jason Day has kind of rounded into form and the way Marc Leishman has been playing of late, that could be a tough get. But at the same time, the experience of Phil Mickelson and the bulldog-ish-ness of Kevin Kisner, how do you pick against that?”

On Liberty National Golf Club
Chamblee – “It is a feat of engineering. This golf course received some criticism from TOUR players in 2009, and that criticism hurt. Since 2009 there’s been 74 changes to this golf course… Sometimes you criticize design before you have all the facts.”

Duval – “I think as a match play golf course it’s going to present itself incredibly well. We talk week after week about the importance of driving the ball. And you have to drive it well here to get around, there’s just no way around it… There’s no way you can win a match here if you don’t drive it well.” 

-NBC Sports Group-