Kasich: “I basically watch the Golf Channel when I’m traveling"

Republican presidential hopeful and Ohio Governor John Kasich was asked by CNN’s “State of the Union" about his viewing habits.

The governor, who faces possible elimination if he doesn't win Ohio Tuesday, said he passes on the news for...Golf Channel.

“I don’t watch the news,” Kasich told Jake Tapper on  on Sunday, according to Yahoo. “I basically watch the Golf Channel when I’m traveling, believe it or not.”

Here was the governor on Morning Drive last year.

Video: Phil, Spieth Kick Off Golf's Talk Show Season

I forgot to mention in my Forward Press column on golf's two cutting-edge talk shows that in addition to landing big "gets", the shows were likely to deliver entertaining fodder that most pre-scripted talk shows fail to produce.

Jordan Spieth's part-one sitdown with Feherty was interesting in ways I hadn't quite expected and the subsequent viewer reviews have been glowing for the season debut. (The show also drew a 325,000 avg. and was the second most-watched Feherty premiere ever). You can get a flavor of the first episode from this page of clips. The talk of Tiger has gone viral-ish because of Spieth's claim that players do not respect Tiger's greatness enough. His comments on underestimating Jason Day will appear in part two next Monday, March 14.

And Phil Mickelson was as engaging as expected on the season two debut of Callaway Live. What I didn't expect was the display of acting chops from Phil in this bit:

Update on 2016-03-12 16:51 by Geoff

**The full episode with Mickelson.

Poll: Should Adam Stick With Stevie?

Following his second win in two weeks and his obvious role as Masters favorite headed to the year's first major a month from now, Adam Scott reiterated that he will stick with Stevie Williams on his bag.

This, after two wins with caddie Dave Clark, who NBC's stellar sound team picked up a few times Sunday playing the role of forceful but comforting bagman. (Martin Kaufmann notes the great sound work but embarrassingly suggests this was a new thing for NBC. Let it go Marty!)

Jim McCabe at Golfweek.com even highlights Clark's pep-talk role early in round four of the 2016 WGC Cadillac at Doral.

Ben Everill reports on Scott putting to rest any doubts about who his Augusta bagman will be.

Englishman Clark took the job and despite helping Scott back into a rich vein of form, his time at the majors will have to wait.

"The plan is set. David is doing an amazing job and we are working very well together but you could offer Steve the job to any player in the world for Augusta and they are going to want to take him," Scott told AAP.

"His experience is amazing and we work very well together. Loot at our record the last few years."

No one can blame Scott for wanting the same looper that helped him win the 2014 Masters, but it's also hard to fathom how his game, his confidence and his comfort level on the course could be any better than it is right now. And Clark certainly has played a role in that fine form.

So who should Adam Scott have on the bag as he goes for his second Masters?

Who should caddie for Adam Scott at The Masters?

Dave Clark

Steve Williams

 

pollcode.com free polls

This PGA Tour Entertainment clip cuts out Clark's commentary prior to the shot:

And the full round highlights:

Fox Going With A Three-Man Booth: Azinger Joins Faxon On 18

The formula that proved successful for producer Mark Loomis at ABC will define year two of USGA golf on Fox. With the expected announced of Paul Azinger's hiring, Fox also mentioned in its press release that Brad Faxon has been promoted from 17th hole tower to the 18th hole broadcast booth, with Joe Buck playing traffic cop. The banter should be lively, funny and edgy between the three.

The full press release:

PAUL AZINGER NAMED FOX SPORTS’ LEAD GOLF ANALYST
 
Major Champion to Team with Seven-Time Emmy Winner Joe Buck in 18th Tower
New York – Paul Azinger, winner of the 1993 PGA Championship and veteran broadcaster, has joined FOX Sports as lead analyst for its golf coverage, beginning in 2016. Azinger joins seven-time Emmy Award-winning announcer Joe Buck and analyst Brad Faxon in the 18th Tower for FOX Sports’ USGA Championship telecasts. The announcement was made today by John Entz, President, Production & Executive Producer, FOX Sports and Mark Loomis, Coordinating Producer, USGA Studio & Event Production.
 
"Paul is a respected and trusted voice in the golf community, and he has the credibility of being a major champion with a strong track record of experience in the broadcast booth,” Entz said. “He has been one of golf's most candid and thoughtful analysts and we are excited to add him to our team.”
 
A 30-year PGA Tour veteran, Azinger was a 12-time winner on the tour, highlighted by his triumph at the 1993 PGA Championship at Inverness Club. Azinger joined the tour in 1981 and hit his prime later in the decade, earning PGA Tour Player of the Year honors in 1987 and spending nearly 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1988 and 1994. He also represented the United States on five Ryder Cup teams, participating four times as a player and serving as captain of the victorious 2008 squad.
 
"I am honored to partner with FOX Sports and the USGA to provide analysis for the compelling slate of USGA Championships,” Azinger said. “It will especially be an honor to call our nations national championship, the U.S. Open, beginning in June at storied Oakmont Country Club."
 
Azinger began his broadcasting career serving as an analyst for ABC’s PGA Tour golf coverage for 2005 and 2006, quickly becoming one of the most well-respected voices in the industry. He remained at ESPN through 2015 and has called early round coverage of the U.S. Open Championship, anchored coverage of the British Open Championship and contributed to early rounds of Masters Tournament coverage.
 
In his new role at FOX Sports, Azinger is scheduled to broadcast the 116th U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont Country Club, the U.S. Women’s Open at Cordevalle and the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club. He will also broadcast the 116th U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club and the 2017 Walker Cup Match at Los Angeles Country Club.

Paul Azinger Taking Over For Greg Norman At Fox Sports

This should sharpen the announcing focus and also de-burden the Fox crew of Greg Norman's presence, despite the views of one that moving on without Norman will be tough.

Jaime Diaz at Golf World with the report citing sources who say Azinger will work the big events for Fox (the U.S. Amateur was not mentioned).

When news of Norman's firing was first reported by Links, it was reported here that Azinger was the likely and inevitable choice given his excellent analysis for ABC and ESPN over the years.

Update on 2016-01-27 05:59 by Geoff

**A year removed from Fox's big USGA roll-out at the Waldorf Astoria, M. James Ward explains why Norman was such a letdown in light of what was said in New York City last February.

The Shark was touted as the new voice—the man best able to provide the overview during the telecast given his prominent standing in the game as a top tier player for many years. The sad reality is that Greg was ill-prepared for the role. During key moments of the ’15 U.S. Open he failed to add anything of depth or meaning, often with long periods of silence and when eventually speaking only doing so in reaction to what others were saying. In short, the man who was hailed initially as a new voice had developed self-inflicted bouts of stage fright and allowed key moment after key moment to simply go unnoticed. Often when Norman did speak his contributions were fairly pedestrian in scope and limited in his overall golf knowledge of the different players—save those from his native land of Australia.