“I felt like the receptionist at an endodontist’s office – that’s where you go in to get your root canal.” – Justin Leonard on difficulties of 17th hole
“Every champion knows, even in the practice rounds, you’re preparing your mind for if you’re there on Sunday, ‘Can I do it?’” – Paul Azinger on 17th hole
“He plays well here primarily because this golf course puts a premium on ball striking…The equivalent to him of clay to (Rafael) Nadal.” – Brandel Chamblee on Sergio Garcia
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 11, 2021 – NBC Sports began its comprehensive coverage of the 2021 edition of THE PLAYERS Championship today on GOLF Channel from The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Friday’s second round coverage begins with Live From THE PLAYERS at 8:30 a.m. ET on GOLF Channel, and continues with second round coverage at Noon ET on GOLF Channel.
THE PLAYERS Championship – First Round Leaderboard (Play Suspended Due to Darkness)
| Player | Total |
| Sergio Garcia | -7 |
| Brian Harman | -5 |
| Matthew Fitzpatrick | -4 |
| Corey Conners | -4 |
| Shane Lowry | -4 |
On Difficulties at 17th Hole at TPC Sawgrass
Justin Leonard: “I felt like I was the receptionist at an endodontist’s office today – that’s where you go into to get your root canal. That’s what it felt like today…‘You’re going to hurt by the time you get out of here, but trust me, you need to go through this.’”
Paul Azinger: “It’s a long wait until that tee time and you can’t get 17 out of your head. That’s the hole that gets you…It’s all about 17. Every champion knows, even in the practice rounds, you’re preparing your mind for if you’re there on Sunday, ‘Can I do it?’ And that’s what it’s all about, but it is an emotional roller coaster for these guys.”
Brandel Chamblee: “This golf course teases you, tempts you, torments you. You want to get up on the 17th hole and have a nice, quiet ballad playing in your head. But invariably, the theme from ‘The Exorcist’ comes to mind. It is the most daunting of golf courses, and that particular shot is the most harrowing shot in all of golf.”
Shane Bacon: “The 17th hole woke up today on the wrong side of the bed.”
Azinger: “This is a sucker pin and (the players) cannot take their eyes off it. It’s just a wedge, and so many of them want to just still get it on there hole-high.”
On Sergio Garcia (7-under, leader)
Chamblee on Garcia’s career success at TPC Sawgrass: “He plays well here primarily because this golf course puts a premium on ball striking…This is the equivalent to him of clay to (Rafael) Nadal.”
On Jordan Spieth (2-under, T-12th)
Leonard: “He should look at today as a big victory. He hasn’t had a round like this where he drove the ball consistently good throughout the entire day, it’s been too long of a time…For him to get over the hump, he needs to do what he did today more often.”
Chamblee on Spieth’s driving accuracy: “I didn’t see this coming. He drove it better last week, I’ll give him that, but he spent most of the year hitting right around six fairways per round. He hit double that today.”
On Bryson DeChambeau (3-under, T-6th)
Leonard on the advantage of DeChambeau’s distance: “Angle of descent - when you can come in with a short iron like he is (on the 16th hole), the water isn’t even a consideration.”
--NBC SPORTS--
