FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, January 20th, 2019

Notable Quotes: Eun-Hee Ji and John Smoltz Win 2019 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions

NBC Notable Quotes
Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions
Final Round
Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019

LPGA Tour Leaderboard (Stroke Play)
Eun-Hee Ji -14
Mirim Lee -12
Nelly Korda -11

Celebrity Leaderboard (Modified Stableford Scoring)
John Smoltz 149 points
Mark Mulder 146 points
Mardy Fish 140 points

On Eun-Hee Ji, 2019 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions winner at -14 (1-under 70 on Sunday)
Grant Boone – “Her friends call her Mickey Mouse, and this is the happiest place on Earth right now for Eun-Hee Ji.”
Boone – “A major champion. She played like one today.”
Paige Mackenzie – “It was not flawless but it was hard fought. She kept her composure throughout the day and ultimately that is what she needed.”
Jerry Foltz – “She made some clutch putts today.”
Tom Abbott – “She is in top form. Great work over the offseason and it is paying off with the way she is playing this week.”
Mackenzie – “We haven’t seen the kind of long careers out here on Tour that we have seen from Eun-Hee Ji. The perseverance that she has had throughout to go winless for the number of years that she did speaks to her character and her ability to stay at the top while the game has changed around her.”

On Lydia Ko, co-leader heading into Sunday, finishing 8th (6-over 77 on Sunday)
Boone – “Not the day Lydia Ko was hoping for and not the day we were expecting.”
Foltz – “A big surprise for Lydia Ko not to be a factor late in the game here today with all she has done, starting to show signs of returning to that form that took her to a once, almost dominant, World No. 1.”

On John Smoltz, 2019 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions celebrity winner with 146 points (3-over 74 on Sunday)
Boone – “He showed us this putter this week that stands up on its own. He couldn’t do that today because of the winds, but he stood up on his own to take the win.”
Mackenzie – “He has been in control of his game most of the way. A lot of players have appreciated his game this week. It is not his first sport, but he takes it very seriously. He takes the time to try to get better. Continues to ask questions of the players and has become a student of the game in this point of his post-baseball career.”

John Smoltz speaking with NBC’s Jerry Foltz following his victory
John Smoltz – “I’m having a blast and if the opportunities are there I am going to look forward to playing in them. For me, if I can continue to get healthy…athletes are competition addicts and this helps fill the void of the competition I haven’t had in quite some time.”

On fellow Atlanta Braves catcher Greg Olson as his caddie this week
Smoltz – “It was awesome. We didn’t talk about re-enacting that pose because I don’t think I can catch him anymore, but he kept me loose. Great friend, obviously we played together, had the time of our lives when I was pitching and he was catching. I’m sure I drove him a little nuts on the last couple of holes getting really, really defensive. We went into today saying that par is our friend and on the front nine, I couldn’t have played it any better. The back nine I got a little tired.”

-NBC Sports Group-