FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 3rd, 2017
NOTABLE QUOTES – GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM THE MASTERS (MONDAY, 2-5 P.M. ET)
Golf Channel Notable Quotes
Golf Central Live From the Masters
Monday, April 3, 2017 (2-5 p.m. ET)
Augusta National Golf Club
Augusta, Ga.
**Golf Central Live From the Masters continues live at 7 p.m. ET tonight on Golf Channel.**
On a rain-shortened Monday at the Masters
Brandel Chamblee – “It’s unfortunate, but there may be some sort of benefit whether the players know it or not. Sometimes going into a major championship you can prepare too hard, and [maybe] this is Mother Nature’s way of saying, ‘guys take a little break here.’ But it’s hard to get off this golf course. You don’t ever want to leave it.”
Mark Rolfing – “I could make a vague argument maybe that a first-timer would be at a little disadvantage if he didn’t have a practice round today. But I think you’d be hard pressed to have any player actually tell you that he didn’t think he could win the Masters because his practice round got rained out today. I think it’s going to have very little impact on the players.”
On World No. 1 Dustin Johnson
Rolfing – “I do not see Dustin Johnson changing the way his ball flight is going right now… What I like right now about Dustin is that he is sort of morphing into a chameleon. He can adapt to this environment and play different styles of golf. And his putting now has really become just as brilliant as the rest of his game, at least in this stretch. He’s a favorite, [but] not an overwhelming favorite.”
David Duval – “He knows if he plays his best golf, you’re not going to beat him… Most certainly the favorite. The difficulty I see is coming off of three straight wins. It’s hard to win four in a row. The good thing here at Augusta, there’s not 80, 90 players that can win the golf tournament… He’s obviously [at] the top of my list. I think he’s figured out that if he manages his game and adapts, that’s all he needs to do.”
On the ruling given to Lexi Thompson during Sunday’s final round of the ANA Inspiration
Duval – “The argument becomes should you be able to apply [a ruling] the next day… She didn’t have the opportunity to sign a correct scorecard. So my problem really is with rule 6-6D, and I think that should be looked at just as much as anything.”
Rolfing – “Clearly she played from the wrong place, but there has to be a statute of limitations at some point, and it needs to be sooner than 24 hours. There has to be a mechanism for the committee to waive the rule where she got a two-stroke penalty for signing the incorrect scorecard.”
2017 Masters Tournament invitee Justin Thomas speaking on Golf Central Live From the Masters
Justin Thomas – “I feel like the biggest difference is that I know I can expect better results with not as good golf if that makes sense. I feel that I can manage things better. I feel like I can be smarter out there. I feel like I don’t have to be as aggressive. I can pick my spots to be aggressive… Maybe last year I felt like I needed to play my best golf to have a chance to win. When this year if I play within myself and stay true to me and you know take advantage of some things here and there, then I feel like I should have a good chance.”
Thomas – “The young guys aren’t quite as scared. It doesn’t matter your age, but now it’s just kind of, ‘I’m going to win. I’m going to just go out and get it.’ And it’s interesting, these last couple years when Tiger hasn’t been in it quite as much, that stuff didn’t happen when Tiger was involved.”
