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Saturday, January 19th, 2019

Notable Quotes: Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions – Sat RD 3

NBC Notable Quotes

Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions

Third Round

Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club

Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019

**The Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions kicks off the 2019 LPGA Tour season, featuring a winner-only field of 26 LPGA Tour players (winners from the past two years) combined with 49 celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment.

**Final round coverage airs on Golf Channel from 2-3 p.m., ET, continuing on NBC from 3-5 p.m. ET.

 

LPGA Tour Leaderboard (Stroke Play)

Lydia Ko                    -13

Eun-Hee Ji                 -13

Brooke Henderson    -12

 

Celebrity Leaderboard (Modified Stableford Scoring)

John Smoltz               116 points

Mark Mulder            112 points

Mardy Fish                111 points

 

On Lydia Ko, co-leader at 13-under par (5-under 66 on Saturday)

Jerry Foltz – “Lydia has been such a good bunker player through the years.”

Tom Abbott – “Now that she is back in this form where she can potentially win regularly on the LPGA Tour, we assume that she will get back into the conversation to be one of the greatest ever to play the game. She has been through so many twists and turns. It has been amazing to watch the career of Lydia Ko thus far.”

Paige Mackenzie – “It is always enjoyable to see her playing well, but it also so much fun to see the players embracing the entirety of this tournament, what it means and enjoying their playing competitors like Lydia has this week.”

Grant Boone – “She played with Wounded Warrior Chad Pfeifer earlier this week and she said, ‘If that doesn’t remind you about perspective, nothing will.’ Such great admiration for him, as all of us do.”

 

Lydia Ko (playing with John Smoltz and Mark Mulder) speaking with NBC’s Jerry Foltz

Lydia Ko – “Just being able to play with these guys. I don’t really know a lot about other sports. Through this I’ve been getting to know more about them, especially baseball, and what they do. It is safe to say that I’ve been hitting first pretty much on every hole but this is so much fun and Diamond Resorts does an amazing job with the hospitality and creating an atmosphere like this.”

Ko – “I was telling Jonny [Scott, Ko’s caddie], that man, they should just turn pro and they would do amazing there too. It is pretty hard to believe that this is their second sport, but it just goes to show what incredible talent they have and what amazing athletes they are.”

 

On Brooke Henderson, in 3rd at 12-under par (2-under 69 on Saturday)

Karen Stupples – “She hits it long, straight and she’s aggressive. I like the fact that she grips down on her club to get that extra bit of control.”

 

On John Smoltz, current celebrity field leader with 116 points, (39 points, 2-under 69 on Saturday)

Foltz – “He has probably played more bucket-list golf courses in his career than anyone else I know.”

Abbott – “That is a great look at how he is lining up. That is not a magic trick. He has a special putter designed to stand on its own.”

Foltz – “It looks like a magic trick. Caddie can’t line you up anymore but you can do it yourself.”

 

On Mark Mulder, 2nd in the celebrity field with 112 points (40 points, 3-under 68 on Saturday)

Foltz – “Really hasn’t missed many putts today at all from a makeable length.”

Foltz – “He is a very confident player around the greens.”

Foltz – “There is no fear in making proper contact in his mind.”

 

On Mardy Fish, 3rd in the celebrity field with 111 points (33 points, 3-over 74 on Saturday)

Stupples – “Not only does he come back to this golf course with good memories from how he played and won here, but he also has a good technical way of thinking around the golf course.”

 

On Saturday’s Third Round at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions

Mackenzie – “Not a lot of surprise to see these names at the top of the leaderboard.”

Boone – “Not your typical week on the LPGA Tour, but a great one.”

 

-NBC Sports Group-