Golf Channel Notable Quotes
Golf Central Live From The Open
Monday, July 11, 2016
Royal Troon Golf Club
Troon, Scotland
**Programming Note: Jordan Spieth’s press conference will from Royal Troon Golf Club will air live within Morning Drive on Tuesday (6-8 am ET). Spieth’s press conference is scheduled to begin at 7 am ET. Golf Central Live From The Open will immediately follow at 8 a.m. ET.
On the 145TH Open
Brandel Chamblee – “Old, nostalgic, revered. That pretty much sums up The Open. It is man against the elements. The history and tradition of these venues. There is so much variance in the tee times and the vagaries that play a factor in the outcome of this championship.”
Frank Nobilo – “You are going to have the fight the elements. You are going to have to fight yourself as well as 155 other competitors. It is a quintessential Open Championship.”
Chamblee – “You might say that this is the final examination of this game. It takes the most time to do all of the things and learn all of the things that you need to be successful in this championship.”
On Jordan Spieth Withdrawing from the Olympics
Chamblee – “I’m not really surprised. Since Adam Scott’s statement, a lot of us that are close to the game saw this coming. I think there will be some regret once the Games get underway and once the players step back and realize the enormity of the event they are missing. As it relates to the players, I think this situation is unique in some aspects to tennis. There is no nostalgic aspect of Olympics in golf to allure the players to entice them into playing. In a lot of ways you can say it is similar to tennis.”
Chamblee – “If these players had grown up watching Jack Nicklaus make a 10-footer to defeat Johnny Miller for the gold medal, there would have been some nostalgic element. It’s hard to say that their concerns are not legitimate.”
Chamblee – “As the Olympics unfolds and the enormity and the novelty of what someone is accomplishing and will accomplish in winning a gold medal, I promise you, some of those players who are saying ‘I’m going to pass,’ maybe should have rethought that.”
Frank Nobilo – “It (the Olympics) is a priority on the LPGA. When you look at the men’s game, there are so many more options. They make so much more money than the LPGA. The LPGA pushed their schedule apart. This is so important to them.”
Nobilo – “The one thing the PGA TOUR didn’t do was acquiesce at all when you look at their schedule. The schedule is jam packed, and there is no consideration for the Olympics. If it was that important to the governing bodies of the professional game, they would have created space. That was never done.”
On the 123-yard 8th hole at Royal Troon – “The Postage Stamp”
Chamblee – “There are many things that make that hole a formidable challenge.”
Nobilo – “I put this in what I call the ‘memorable holes category.’ No. 12 at Augusta and the Road Hole, for example. The holes that no bulldozers should ever touch. You have to leave them that way and also history adds to it. They add to the moment.”
On Royal Troon Golf Club
Nobilo – “I always refer to this place as ‘beautifully unbalanced.’ Growing up, we would say the definition of a level-headed person is a chip on both shoulders. You sort of feel that way when you play through 10 and 11. They are great holes on what I think is perhaps the strongest closing nine on any of the championship Rota golf courses.”
-NBC Sports Group-