“A case of, ‘Whatever you can do, we can do better.’ This U.S. team is so strong that it makes you forget how good this International team is.” – Brandel Chamblee on Live From the Presidents Cup
“The Americans are creating all of the highlight reels…they’re loaded with birdie machines.” – Paul Azinger
“They don’t even need to talk to the captains anymore. ‘Just tell us our tee time for the first round and we’ll see you there.’” – John Wood on Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele pairing
“Max Homa is in full show-off mode…what a moment for this guy.” – Azinger following his birdie to win on the 18th hole
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 23, 2022 – NBC Sports presented exclusive coverage of Day 2 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 8 to 2 after Day 2 four-ball matches.
Tomorrow’s Day 3 foursomes and four-ball coverage begins at 7 a.m. ET on GOLF Channel and shifts to NBC at 8 a.m. ET, with all coverage streaming on 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 TWO
UNITED STATES TEAM
Paul Azinger: “The Americans are creating all of the highlight reels…they’re loaded with birdie machines. It’s been clutch shot, clutch putt, one after another.”
Azinger on Max Homa following his approach and birdie on the 18th hole: “Max Homa is in full show-off mode…what a moment for this guy.”
Dan Hicks: “The continues to rise for Max Homa…he’s just been on this surge the last couple of years to prove it to everyone, and himself, and you bet he does belong – big time.”
Paul McGinley on Live From: “The emotion that you are seeing from the American side shows how much this means to them. Even though the scoreline is a runaway success for the Americans, the fact that they are so bought into this tells you a lot about the spirit of the American team.”
Brandel Chamblee on Live From: “This is a case of, ‘Whatever you can do, we can do better.’ This U.S. team is so strong that it makes you forget how good this International team is.”
Max Homa to Steve Sands on winning today’s match on the 18th hole and playing in the last group: “That’s a day I will never forget…it’s pretty surreal to have 10 of the best golfers I’ve ever seen in my life watching me, but then you’ve got to help them. It’s a heavy weight, but it’s also really fun. It’s something that we live for.”
John Wood on the U.S. pairing of Cantlay/Schauffele: “They don’t even need to talk to the captains anymore. ‘Just tell us our tee time for the first round and we’ll see you there.’ Just throwing more and more coal on the fire and when they get the train going, it’s unbelievable how good they play together.”
Azinger on Justin Thomas’ near-ace on the 14th hole: “He blew the lid off this place with that shot.”
Hicks on Sam Burns’ 80-foot eagle putt on the par-5 7th: “That’s just the kind of putt that reverberates around Quail Hollow.”
INTERNATIONAL TEAM
Azinger on what he’d say to the team if he was in captain Trevor Immelman’s shoes: “I’d message to my team, ‘As much as it looks like we’re getting blown out, we’re only a few putts away here from being very close to these guys.’ Tee-to-green, the Internationals have held in there beautifully…At some point, he’s going to have to give a message where those guys have the same kind of confidence they would ordinarily when they play every week. But right now, they look like they feel like they’re second-best.”
McGinley: “Again – a really slow start. I can’t stress enough the importance of the first six holes in these match play events over 18 holes. They came out of the blocks slow and going against a ferocious competitor – which America is this week – it’s a long way back.”
Chamblee on Sungjae Im: “He has been so impressive through these first two days, through this entire year – it’s almost a breakout year for him.”
Azinger on Taylor Pendrith’s birdie make on the 18th hole: “This is what it looks like when you bow up. He did it for his teammate, he did it for his captain and everybody he represents.”
Azinger on Tom Kim: “He’s just incredible. I mean he’s only 20 years old. I just don’t know how we can not be a superstar – possibly a future No. 1 player in the world.”
--NBC SPORTS--