Golf Channel Notable Quotes
Golf Central Live From the U.S. Open (primetime)
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Erin HillsErin, Wisconsin
On Thursday’s opening round at the U.S. OpenFrank Nobilo –“We need to credit the USGA and Mike Davis today. Under a lot of pressure this week, but they gave us this golf course today. We knew it was going to be long. Today, it weighed in at 7,845 yards and it put the driver back into play. Because the biggest club in the bag was in play, if you drove it well, this course was getable. If you missed the fairway, you paid the price. That is why there was such a huge discrepancy in scores.”Nobilo –“Thumbs up to the USGA and the guys at the top of the leaderboard. If you played poorly today, you only had one person to point the finger at. That was yourself.”Rich Lerner –“The top-6 in the world combined to shoot 21-over par. Wild day at the opening round at the U.S. Open.”Lerner –“This was a deflating day in some ways because so many of the big names struggled in a big way.”David Duval –“It talks extensively about the depth of the talent in professional golf, especially on the PGA TOUR. It also speaks of that if you are not sharp in every aspect of your game in the U.S. Open, you are going to get caught and it is going to expose you. That is what the golf course and the week is designed to do. These guys were just not quite ready.”Chamblee –“Jason Day got tangled up here, there and everywhere.”Duval –“You’ve got to credit the USGA for letting them go out and play today and figuring it out. Not making it tricky and not making it too hard because it is a bit of an unknown entity.”Rich Lerner – “For so long at the U.S. Open the G in USGA stood for grumbling. But now, after two years of gripes, the G stands for group hug.”Nobilo –“We talked this week that this was going to be a week of opportunity. That it was going to favor the guys with the hot driver. The guys in the top-10, they really go caught napping today.”
On Rickie Fowler, opening round leader at 7-under par (bogey-free 65)Chamblee –“In a place where they use a plow and a spade, Rickie Fowler brought a scalpel.”Chamblee –“He was in complete control. This is another level of control. It is one thing to have great technique, but it is another to have great rhythm. It was a clinical performance.”Lerner –“Rickie Fowler put on a clinic. Made it look easy. Stress-free. Bogey-free.”
On Paul Casey, T2 at 6-under par (66)Chamblee –“Really big day for Paul Casey tomorrow. He gets really, really slow and deliberate the minute he gets into contention at major championships. If he can play with the same authority and the same pace, from the first round to the fourth round, he can win major championships. But time and time again, he goes from a running track to quicksand the second he puts himself in contention.”
On defending champion Dustin Johnson, T102 at 3-over par (75 on Thursday)Duval –“Is the golf tournament itself out of reach? Not at this point, but he is going to have to go out and have a couple of excellent days on Friday and Saturday to catch up.”
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