“He’s not only changing his own game. In the process, he’s about to – because this is only the tip of the iceberg – he’s about to change this game in a very dramatic way.” – Brandel Chamblee on Bryson DeChambeau
“It separates the field…When the golf course is firm and fast, you get penalized for your mistakes, and here at Augusta National, maybe more so than anywhere else.” – Justin Leonard on potential firm and fast course conditions this week
“What you want is a discerning test to where it differentiates between how solid a shot is struck…And when it’s soft…it doesn’t discern.” – Chamblee on the benefits of a firm course
Live From the Masters Begins Tomorrow Morning at 9 a.m. ET and Continues at 6 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 6, 2021 – NBC Sports continued its Live From the Masters coverage from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., today and in primetime tonight on GOLF Channel.
Throughout the week, GOLF Channel’s daily live coverage features more than 55 hours and includes pre-and post-tournament coverage through the final round on Sunday, April 11.
In advance of the 2021 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, NBC Sports Golf’s lead studio team of Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Justin Leonard held a media conference call last week to preview the tournament. Click here for the transcript.
On Bryson DeChambeau
Brandel Chamblee on DeChambeau’s swing: “It’s beautiful to see…He’s taking a great risk at great reward. This is remaking a golf swing, doing something that nobody’s ever done…He already was making a lot of money, he already was having success at the game of golf…Bryson DeChambeau said, ‘I’m going to remake myself. I’m going to take some risk. I’m going to do something crazy.’ … He’s not only changing his own game. In the process, he’s about to – because this is only the tip of the iceberg – he’s about to change this game in a very dramatic way.”
Justin Leonard: “I think he should use his power to his advantage, but maybe be a little more judicious about it than he was back in November.”
On Dustin Johnson
Chamblee on Johnson’s successful development of a fade: “You can see the progression every year with that fade. He got better and better and better...The high fades have certainly served the best golfers of all time well, but it’s another case in point of a decided before-and-after of a fella who wasn’t what he wanted to be, and then became everything that we thought he could be.”
Leonard on Johnson’s wedge game: “That was the second piece of the puzzle in my opinion…It’s a reason why Dustin Johnson has reached No. 1 in the world and I believe it’s a reason why he could stay there for a very long time.”
On Rory McIlroy
Shane Bacon on McIlroy’s major championship drought: “It’s been surprising the way he starts…When Augusta National is expected to play as tough as we can remember it playing this week – you keep hearing firm, you keep hearing fast – for Rory McIlroy, it’s not about going out on Thursday and shooting something silly…Shoot something around even par. Give yourself a chance to get into those final three rounds.”
Damon Hack: “He’s so thoughtful, he’s such a deep thinker that sometimes I think it works against him. I’d love to see him take a more laissez-faire attitude, maybe take a page out of world No. 1 Dustin Johnson going forward this week.”
On course conditions at the 2021 Masters
Todd Lewis: “This golf course is very, very difficult right now. I’ve talked to players and caddies and they said they have never seen Augusta National as fast and firm as it is right now this early in Masters week.”
Leonard on why players like firm and fast conditions: “It separates the field. It separates the players who understand the strategy of this golf course. It separates the difference between a really good shot ending up in a good place, and a mediocre shot ending up in a good place. When the golf course is firm and fast, you get penalized for your mistakes, and here at Augusta National, maybe more so than anywhere else.”
Chamblee on the firm conditions: “What you want is a discerning test to where it differentiates between how solid a shot is struck, how high it is struck, and the nature in which it’s struck. And when it’s soft…it doesn’t discern.”
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