FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 12th, 2019
Notable Quotes: Live From the U.S. Open – Tuesday Primetime
GOLF Channel Notable Quotes
Golf Central Live From the U.S. Open (Tuesday, Primetime)
Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
**Golf Central Live From the U.S. Open continues Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET on GOLF Channel, and in primetime at 7 p.m. ET.**
On Brooks Koepka
David Duval – “Back in the late 80’s winning those U.S. Opens, [Curtis Strange] looked like he couldn’t lose a U.S. Open the way he played golf. Brooks Koepka doesn’t look like he could lose a U.S. Open. He talks about it and [a lot has] been made of him playing with a chip on his shoulder. It’s more like a cinder block, and I hope it turns into a boulder.”
Brandel Chamblee – “I find him to be the most enigmatic figure as a competitor. Almost like the way Howard Hughes was as a man. It is really rare to find somebody who plays major championships like Tiger Woods and regular TOUR events like Matt Every.”
On Tiger Woods
Chamblee – “He remains the preeminent iron player in the game. That certainly matters most in the U.S. Open. When you start to look at Tiger Woods overall, he’s worse now out of the rough than he’s ever been. So finding fairways is more important. He’s the worst he’s ever been in scrambling. So finding the greens is more important. He’s the worst he’s ever been in putting. So finding the greens beneath the hole is really important. Yes, he could still win. Yes, he’s got a chance. But the pressure on him in very key aspects to support that iron play is pretty big. And that’s why he’s not the favorite.”
Duval – “The experience and belief in knowing that around this golf course – certainly there’s a few places you can try to push it – but he doesn’t have to worry about that. He can worry about hitting that shrimp cut out there he does at times, getting the ball in play and putting it on the greens.”
Duval – “The big thing Tiger Woods has tried to figure out over the course of the last year is the balance between preparation and preservation. Preparing for a golf tournament, but preserving his body in the process. We knew at Bethpage that he was more in a preservation mode. He wasn’t in a preparation mode. This week, there’s a lot more preparation. Which tells me that his body is good and that he’s feeling strong and fit. I think that speaks volumes about where he stands.”
1973 U.S. Open champion Johnny Miller joining Golf Central Live From the U.S. Open
Johnny Miller – “You used to have to win eight or 10 times to win a major. Or a 10-1 ratio. Koepka is just blowing that ratio out of the water. He wants to have that chip on his shoulder. He’s an amazing golfer with really no weaknesses. He has very little fear off the tee, and his misses are not that far offline. He might end up winning several more majors the way he’s going.”
Miller – “I love playing at Pebble. It’s my favorite place to play. Pebble loves Californians. Putting on poa annua. If you’re going to pick guys with a decent chance, it’s probably a Californian. I think there’s a lot of local knowledge. It’s what helped me win here.”
On the U.S. Open course setup
Duval – “I think as much as anything the USGA, the mistake they’ve made in the past you could argue is potentially not giving themselves any wiggle room. The PGA of America, they played lift, clean and place at Baltusrol. The Masters Tournament did something they’ve never done in split tees and sending them off in threesomes on Sunday. And yes that’s not necessarily the golf course, but it’s recognizing all the other external factors that go into having a major championship. I struggle to see how this [week] could be messed up. But the difficulty lies in that there is extreme pressure on them as an organization because of all the loud, vocal voices.”
Chamblee – “[The USGA has] lost the confidence for a variety of reasons. They don’t get enough credit for the good things they’ve done. The last four years – a combination of oversights, missed steps and lost identity. It used to be a draconian setup. Very few people had a chance. Now it’s become more democratic. Everybody’s got a chance. It went from Game of Thrones, when anybody could die at any moment, to Friends – let’s all come in and have a beer. This Championship wasn’t the oldest, it wasn’t the most perfect, but with few exceptions it was the most revered championship in all of major championship golf. It’s no longer that, because it is no longer the championship that it used to be. If it gets closer to that, the confidence will come back.”
Frank Nobilo – “We’re fixated on what par is. We’re still locked into this mentality. And I think that’s where it goes wrong, is that a U.S. Open, even par has to be the score. They’re caught between a rock and a hard place. A player has a big voice. Even an analyst. We are collectively in the sport – not just the U.S. Open – in a very, very tough predicament.”
-NBC Sports Group-
