GOLF Channel Notable Quotes

Golf Central Live From the Masters – Second Round (In Progress)

Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.

Friday, Nov. 13

**Second Round play was suspended due to darkness and will resume Saturday morning**

On Dustin Johnson (9-under, T-1st)

Brandel Chamblee – “There’s nobody in the game that makes golf look simpler than Dustin Johnson and that was the case today…we talk all the time about how carefree he looks – well I guess it’s easy to be carefree when you know where it’s going, and he certainly knew where it was going today.”

Justin Leonard – “The one concern I have with DJ is the difference between the time it takes him to hit a driver or an iron shot or a chip around the green – the difference between that and his putting routine…part of it I think is the difficulty this week without the greens book…this is anything but a normal week at The Masters because they don’t allow those books. I’m sure he’s come up with some sort of system, but it isn’t what he’s used to.”

On Justin Thomas (9-under, T-1st)

Leonard – “He’s making the adjustment around the greens to suit the conditions of the golf course…just really fun to watch. It’s almost not fair when you’ve got that many tools to play with.”

On Jon Rahm (8-under thru 12, T-5th)

Chamblee – “It’s very likely that tomorrow when he finishes his (second) round, he will have a lead of one, two or maybe even three shots with so many gettable holes right in front of him.”

Leonard – “Two years ago, you could see the frustration…I’d be worried about it (but) I’m not worried about it anymore. He’s shown me enough determination and grit…Jon Rahm is a real student of the game and I think of any Major championship, the history and willingness to get into it pays off most at The Masters…I have no doubt that he will win here at some point in his career and I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s multiple times.”

On Tiger Woods (4-under thru 10, T-22nd)

Chamblee – “Numerous things have impressed me about Tiger Woods…when you see Tiger Woods working it in both directions, it certainly gives you hope for this weekend.”

Leonard – “He needs to get it to 6-under…the four or five shots back doesn’t concern me, but just the number of players and quality players at the top of the leaderboard. I think he’d feel great if he could get into the clubhouse at 6-under through two rounds. He’s got to hope the greens firm up, the pace comes up, and the course gets a little tougher because that’s when real experience pays off.”

On Bryson DeChambeau (1-over thru 12, T-61st)

Leonard – “He’s looked off.”

Chamblee – “I thought you were going to say awful.”

Leonard – “The driver’s been fun to watch. Where he hit it on No. 2, where he hit it on No. 5…but the iron game hasn’t been very good.”

Chamblee – “I think his play has been a reminder just how great a golf course this is and how there’s so much integrity to its design.”

On 2020 Masters Through Friday

Leonard – “A lot of surprises…surprising how soft and slow the golf course still is. A little surprised at how bunched up the leaderboard is. A little surprised that we’ve got massive hitters and a couple shorter hitters (at the top of the leaderboard)…I thought somebody would break out because the scoring is so good.”

Chamblee – “I can’t remember the last time I saw this many great iron shots the first two days at The Masters. Ordinarily these greens are about as hard to hit as a Gaylord Perry spitball. They’ve been more like slow-pitch softball.”

-NBC Sports Group-

GOLF Channel Notable Quotes

Golf Central Live From the Masters – First Round (In Progress)

Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.

Thursday, Nov. 12

**First Round play was suspended due to darkness and will resume Friday morning**

On Paul Casey (7-under, leader)

Brandel Chamblee – “It was an extraordinary day of golf…he’s one of those players that is good enough to get in that position, but whatever it takes to punch it through when he’s in position, hasn’t quite been there…when he has worked himself into a Top 5 position at The Masters, he has really struggled…he’s had eight first round leads in his career. He’s never broken 70 in the next round…I love Paul’s game, I really do. He’s just one of those players that struggles. So I would say, ‘Good round. Do it again.’”

Justin Leonard – “He’s got all the tools to be here. Maybe it’s a good thing this is in the first round. You wouldn’t think he would continue to build on a two-shot lead after the first round. If he does, it will be one of the great performances in Masters history. But he’s off to a great start, he hasn’t played well since the shutdown, coming back he’s already looking forward to 2021. Maybe that serves him well, he’s just enjoying the opportunity.”

On Tiger Woods (4-under, T-5th)

Chamblee – “He did what he needed to do in Round One, which is stay in touch with the leaders…a big part of the process today was that he didn’t have a single three putt and that has really plagued him the last three years…without having great distance…he’s got to do it a different way. He’s got to be just as precise as he was today. It was a thing of beauty to watch.”

Leonard – “In the beginning of his career, he was Nolan Ryan. He could do things that nobody else could do with the golf ball. Now he’s more of a Greg Maddux. He’s got to mix his pitches, he’s got to paint the corners of the plate, he’s got to fool the hitters. I saw him today hit a lot of little knockdown shots…he has to do things differently. (Brandel Chamblee) spoke of it the last couple of days, the softer conditions bring the medium-length hitters back into the fold. Today it was certainly soft and Tiger Woods is certainly now a medium-length hitter.”

Leonard – “The round of golf he played today was Tiger-esque. There’s no other way to put it.”

On Justin Thomas (5-under thru 10, T-2nd)

Chamblee – “To whatever extent he has struggled at Augusta National, it is because of that short stick…he looks like a different man, a changed man. Through 10 holes, just 14 putts.”

Leonard – “He gets to play a lot of golf tomorrow and his game is in pretty good shape. With that ability off the tee…with the way he can chip it and now he’s putting good, if we could go back to last night, I might have picked Justin Thomas to win.”

On Bryson DeChambeau (2-under, T-21st)

Leonard – “Showed a lot of grit today, that’s a really tough start. 2-over through his first five holes, really brought it back nicely on the first nine…it’s a new golf course for Bryson because he’s hitting the ball 20, 30, 40 yards longer than when he played here in 2019.”

Chamblee – “On No. 5, he was able to go right over the bunker. He hit something in the neighborhood of 350 yards. Justin Thomas got up there and tattooed one, looked like to me, down the right side and it went over 300 yards. Justin Thomas had 202 in on No. 5. Bryson DeChambeau had 141. You cannot beat that. You cannot beat that. Nobody can beat that. If he drives it like he did at the U.S. Open, you cannot beat that.”

On Xander Schauffele (5-under, T-2nd)

Leonard – “I don’t know in what area he’s exceptional, other than the fact that there’s no way in which he’s deficient.”

Rich Lerner – “He’s the decathlete.”

Leonard – “He’s the five-tool player, he’s the decathlete, there’s no weakness in his game.”

On Webb Simpson (5-under, T-2nd)

Leonard – “He’s only 35. The beard makes him look 45. He’s 7th in the world…I know he’s won a U.S. Open and he won a PLAYERS’, but he won two times last year in big events, lost a third back in the fall in a playoff. He might be playing the best golf of his career.”

On low first round scores

Chamblee – “This was an historic day here. The lowest first round scoring average ever, prior to today, was 1992, when the scoring average was 72.06…as we speak right now, the scoring average right now is 71.77. They’re on pace to have the lowest-scoring average for Round One.”

-NBC Sports Group-