FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 16th, 2022
NOTES AND QUOTES – NBC SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF THE 122nd U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP (FIRST ROUND)
“I’ve been a close follower of Rory since he was a kid coming through the amateur ranks in Ireland and I’ve never seen him play so well.” – Paul McGinley on Rory McIlroy (-3, T-2nd)
“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the golf course. Quality shots being rewarded, primarily from the fairway…that’s what the U.S. Open is all about.” – Notah Begay III on The Country Club
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 16, 2022 – NBC Sports presented first round coverage of the 122nd U.S. Open Championship from The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., across NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, capped by Live From the U.S. Open on GOLF Channel.
Exclusive second round coverage begins tomorrow at 6:45 a.m. ET on Peacock and continues at 9:30 a.m. ET on USA Network.
U.S. Open – First Round Leaderboard
| Player | Total |
| Adam Hadwin | -4 |
| Rory McIlroy | -3 |
| Callum Tarren | -3 |
| David Lingmerth | -3 |
| Joel Dahmen | -3 |
| MJ Daffue | -3 |
Friday-Sunday Coverage Schedule
| Day | Peacock | USA Network | NBC/Peacock |
| Friday | *6:45-9:30 a.m./7-8 p.m. | 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. | 4-7 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m.-Noon | Noon-8 p.m. | |
| Sunday | 9-10 a.m. | 10 a.m.-Noon | Noon-7 p.m. |
*coverage will begin shortly before the first scheduled tee time at 6:45 a.m. ET
ON THE COUNTRY CLUB
Notah Begay III on Peacock: “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the golf course. This has been a fine, fair test out there. You’re seeing quality shots being rewarded for players taking on certain hole locations, but primarily from the fairway, and that’s what the U.S. Open is all about. It rewards accuracy and a little bit of aggressiveness.”
Paul McGinley on Live From the U.S. Open on GOLF Channel: “I loved it. We got the mixture of the old and the new, the modern style adjusting to a golf course that’s 140 years old…it’s firm, it’s a little windy…there are so many questions being asked of these players.”
Brandel Chamblee on GOLF Channel: “This is exactly what a U.S. Open should look like…these golden age golf courses just look like a U.S. Open.”
ON STATE OF PROFESSIONAL GOLF
Paul Azinger on NBC: “There’s a cloud hanging over the game of golf. There’s no doubt about it. This is unprecedented and kind of unthinkable – the enormous amount of being pushed at these guys – and they’re turning their back on the (PGA) TOUR to go over there and get that money to play in a 54-hole event that’s a shotgun start. It’s just about the money. I was able to get in pretty close to some of those guys and have some intimate conversations. Some of them may say it’s to grow the game or whatever, but in the end, it’s about the money. Golf is in a tough spot and we’re just going to have to see how it plays out.”
ON ADAM HADWIN (-4, Leader)
Begay III on Peacock: “He took advantage of the good breaks and he manufactured some great saves like you have to if you’re going to win this championship.”
ON RORY MCILROY (-3, T-2nd)
Azinger on USA Network: “The cloud hanging over the sport feels like it’s energized Rory McIlroy a little bit. He’s become the guy doing the bidding of the PGA TOUR as a player and he’s doing a good job of it as well. But it seems to have added a real spark to his game.”
Chamblee on GOLF Channel: “This putter was hot today…watching him today, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him play with such clarity…I see freedom in his (putting) stroke. This is the fourth-best putting round that he’s ever had and it’s the best he’s had since 2015.”
McGinley on GOLF Channel: “He is playing as good as I’ve ever seen him. I’ve been a close follower of Rory since he was a kid coming through the amateur ranks in Ireland and I’ve never seen him play so well…I think the competition is more now and I think he’s more prepared now to win a major championship, certainly since he won his last one.”
ON MATT FITZPATRICK (-2, T-7th)
Dan Hicks on USA Network: “A lot of talk about him coming into this championship…he just seems to be one of those guys that’s due to win a major at a tough place where you’ve got to grind it out.”
Azinger on USA Network: “He’s always given you that feeling. He’s so meticulous and thorough with how he goes about playing golf. A ‘no stone unturned’ kind of guy.’”
ON PHIL MICKELSON (+8, T-145th)
Mike Tirico with Justin Leonard on USA Network: “Nonstop conversation around the golf world with Mickelson being at the forefront of all of it with the real fissure in professional golf…there are legitimate conversations by people – who are not prone to hyperbole, who you respect – who think that professional golf may not look the same anytime in the next few years. That’s the path that we are on – and Mickelson has become the face of that.”
Leonard: “It’s interesting to see where he was about 13 months ago coming off winning the PGA Championship at 51, and now he has thrown a bit of a divide into the game. He’s certainly at the forefront of it.”
Tirico: “Do you think any of the outside stuff impacts the score he puts on the card at the end of these two or four days?”
Leonard: “How could it not? I think he’s been through a lot and facing the media and fans, I think he’ll get good support from this Boston crowd. But…he’s been a fan and media favorite for a long time, and now he’s cast a shadow on that.”
Dan Hicks on Mickelson’s three-putt on the 6th hole on NBC: “This is a mini-disaster.”
Azinger on missed par putt: “It’s hard to miss the hole from that distance…14 putts through six holes for Phil. Wow.”
ON JON RAHM (-1, T-14th)
Leonard on USA Network: “There’s something going on in that golf swing that he hasn’t quite figured out yet.”
ON JUSTIN ROSE (-2, T-7th)
Gary Koch on USA Network on Rose making a long putt on 17th hole, similar to Justin Leonard’s putt in 1999 Ryder Cup: “That looks like a putt we’ve seen before at 17! And that’s a pretty good imitation (of the celebration).”
–NBC SPORTS–
