FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 2nd, 2018

NOTABLE QUOTES – GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM THE MASTERS (MONDAY PRIMETIME)

Notable Quotes – Golf Central Live From the Masters (Monday, primetime)
Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.
Monday, April 2, 2018

**Golf Central Live From the Masters continues Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET live on Golf Channel, and in primetime tomorrow night at 7 p.m. ET.**

FEATURE: An Improbable Journey for Matt Parziale – A former mini tour professional, Matt Parziale assuredly once had visions of walking inside the ropes at Augusta National. As Rich Lerner details, only after Parziale stepped away from the professional game – to instead follow in his father’s footsteps to become an active fireman in his hometown – was he able to fulfill his dream of competing in the Masters.

On the 2018 Masters
Brandel Chamblee – “As loud as the buzz is, the atmosphere here does to you what a James Taylor song does. It makes you slow down and listen. There are a lot of great things about the game of golf, but not many of them are better than the sounds of the game of golf. And there are no better acoustics in the world of golf than the cathedral that is Augusta National.”
Frank Nobilo – “The buzz never left, let’s be honest. But it is richer, it is more vibrant… The blueprint for success we know has never changed, but this year that list of people that are capable of doing that blueprint, I don’t think has ever been better.”
David Duval – “Of those number of players [who can win] which you could say are 10, 12 or, 14, there’s three in particular that myself, like probably many other golf fans in this world, are interested. That’s Tiger Woods – resurgent. Bubba Watson – resurgent. And Rory McIlroy – resurgent.”
Nobilo – “You wonder if it’s like a romantic Masters. You know we’re dreaming of a 1975 or an ’86 Masters.”

On Bubba Watson
Nobilo – “A lot of people if they don’t know Bubba Watson would think he’s more of a Dr. Seuss guy. But really he’s more of an Edgar Allan Poe. There’s a very, very dark soul there… and he goes through these really dark patches… Inside you realize where this brilliance comes from.”
Chamblee – “Bubba Watson has a unique ability to snap slice drives around the corner and then hit these high draws into greens…The idea that you have to putt well around here and that it’s a putter’s golf course could not be further from the truth. This is a ball striker’s golf course.”

On Tiger Woods
Duval – “I think we’re seeing not only a new golfer in Tiger Woods as far as a new body, surgeries, putting a swing together. But also a new man in Tiger Woods, an appreciative man. A thankful man for the opportunity to play again.”
Chamblee – “Not only has he answered questions, but he’s absolutely put the questions in the rearview mirror.”

On Justin Rose
Nobilo – “For some reason it’s always been a love affair [with Augusta National]. When you look at his game, you would think it’s better suited to a U.S. Open, or an Open Championship, maybe even a PGA… He tends to putt better on these greens relative to what he does on other venues. And he is not a good bunker player, he’s a great bunker player.”
Chamblee – “Underrated around the greens, and he’s never putted better. He’s now one of the better putters on the PGA TOUR… I don’t know how you find a player who’s a better pick than Justin Rose.”
Duval – “You could hear him talking about, ‘every blade of grass out there is brand new. Every experience is new. It’s a new tournament. The greens, the golf course doesn’t know anything about what you’ve done’… It’s looking at the glass half full, and he’s taking his experiences in a positive way.”

On Jason Day
Chamblee – “There’s just one part of the puzzle that’s missing as it relates to Jason Day. He’s so talented, but from my view, so easily overlooked. Because he’s such a poor iron player. He’s 185th in strokes gained approach. You look at fairway proximity to the hole, the list goes to 211. Guess who 211 is? Jason Day… I know he’s changed the shafts in his irons, but if he could change his iron swing, that would be more beneficial.”
Nobilo – “He’s [trying to] make this sort of ascent again to be World No. 1 and he’s extremely cognizant of the world of golf how it is right now… His iron play has continued to let him down just purely because it’s more one dimensional.”

-NBC Sports Group-