FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 22nd, 2022
NOTES AND QUOTES – THE 2022 PRESIDENTS CUP ON GOLF CHANNEL AND PEACOCK (DAY 1)
“It’s another resounding lead for the Americans after foursomes play.” – Dan Hicks on the United States’ 4-1 lead over the Internationals
“It looked like a blowout coming in on paper. It smells like a blowout after the first sessions.” – Brandel Chamblee on Live From The Presidents Cup
“It’s just taking a risk. It makes it hard to go in there and be a motivational guy if you just got beat 6-down or 5-down.” – Azinger on sending Adam Scott/Hideki Matsuyama pairing first
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 22, 2022 – NBC Sports presented exclusive coverage of Day 1 of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., followed by Golf Central Live From The Presidents Cup post-round coverage, on GOLF Channel and Peacock. The United States team leads the International team 4 to 1 after Day 1 foursomes matches.
Tomorrow’s four-ball coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. ET on GOLF Channel and Peacock.
Dan Hicks (play-by-play) and Paul Azinger (analyst) led NBC Sports’ coverage, along with holes announcers Justin Leonard and Gary Koch. Roger Maltbie, Notah Begay III and John Wood served as on-course reporters, while Steve Sands and Kathryn Tappen handled reports and interviews.
Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley anchored Live From The Presidents Cup post-round coverage. Following are notes and quotes from today’s coverage.
DAY ONE
UNITED STATES TEAM
Dan Hicks: “It’s another resounding lead for the Americans after foursomes play.”
Brandel Chamblee on Live From: “It looked like a blowout coming in on paper. It smells like a blowout after the first sessions.”
Paul McGinley on Live From: “It’s what many of us expected, that the Americans would be dominant – and they were.”
Paul Azinger on the U.S. pairing of Collin Morikawa/Cameron Young: “In this format, you want to get players who complement each other’s games. This team could be a force.”
Hicks on Americans’ hot start: “The last thing that (International captain) Trevor Immelman wanted to see is this American juggernaut get out and get the steam rolling down the tracks.”
Azinger on Young’s 25-foot birdie make on 17th hole to close out match vs. Kim/Lee: “That’s a big confidence booster for Cam Young. He missed a few putts today that he could have made, but that was a big putt to close it all out.”
Hicks: “Jordan Spieth calls Xander Schauffele the funniest guy in the team room. You might not see that because he’s all business here, but he’s called the silent assassin as well. There’s not a more respected player on the American side than Xander Schauffele, and he and Cantlay just proved it again.”
INTERNATIONAL TEAM
Azinger on strategy of Adam Scott/Hideki Matsuyama International team pairing: “It’s just taking a chance…it’s like when all of the (American) captains would put Tiger Woods out first. If they beat Tiger Woods, the other team would get so jacked up. I’m afraid the same thing could happen here with Adam Scott, the team leader, and Hideki Matsuyama getting waxed. It makes it hard to go in there and be a motivational guy if you just got beat 6-down or 5-down…you can be critical or second-guess Trevor Immelman, but the American team is loaded. He strategically said I’m putting my veterans out there first, but there’s risk in that. They’re the team leaders, the guys that put their arms around the younger players. If they go out there and get walloped, it going to be difficult to do that.”
Azinger: “They’re clearly overmatched on the greens. Tee-to-green there hasn’t been that much of a difference.”
McGinley: “Dispiriting for the Internationals. It ends up being a demoralizing day for them…the mountain was high and it just got higher.”
McGinley on Si Woo Kim/Cam Davis coming back to defeat Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns: “A little bit of shining light here for the Internationals. This was a really good comeback, a great fight by the Internationals.”
Chamblee on Cam Davis: “You have to tip your cap to Cam Davis. He hit some of the best shots of the day.”
John Wood on the Scott/Matsuyama vs. Schauffele/Cantlay match with the Americans up 5 on the 13th hole: “If you’re way up in these matches, a funny thing starts to happen. The carts start to follow you around for the shuttle ride in because they think you have a chance to close it out. It’s great when you’re up, but when you’re down, it feels like the buzzards are circling.”
Azinger on the International team: “You can’t expect to win holes with pars. (The Americans) are too good.”
Azinger following Adam Scott’s birdie putt miss on the 10th hole: “It’s easy to see why the International side is behind right now. They’re just not holing any putts…the Internationals have five players outside the Top 100 in putting. That’s not to say they can’t run the table. It’s the difference-maker so far today.”
–NBC SPORTS–
