TNT's Coverage The First Two Days
/Did anyone else watching the first two days of TNT's Open Championship coverage here in the States feel that the network had an excellent two days? They announcing mixes were kept fresh, preventing Bobby Clampett from ever being on the air long enough to start reaching into his bag of mysterious comments. Paul Azinger was a nice edition, though it would be nice to let Peter Alliss work alone for his hour. Jim Huber's pre-packaged pieces on Hogan and the Carnoustie 10th tee tea bar were excellent, and despite the BBC's typically wretched production values, the pictures were pretty interesting.
Of course, there were the announcing highlights that I know you all want to relive.
Peter Alliss on Tiger Woods’ second round struggles: “Well the old boy is out of sync. I don’t know if he’s missing mommy or daughter or son or whatever it is. It’s not like him to look bothered. He is looking like the American version of Colin Montgomerie.”
Ouch.
Clampett on Jim Furyk’s second round : “(Jim Furyk) has been so close lately. I look for Jim to continue this run; he’s such a steady player right at the peak of his game. Carnoustie is a golf course that as it dries out more, we can see a little sunshine in the distance, the wind is supposed to pick up, that will favor a guy like Furyk.”
Uh huh.
Terry Gannon on European drought of winning a Major : “There are a million reasons that people come up with why the Europeans have not won a Major yet. They (do) win the Ryder Cup. I’m not sure there’s one that really holds water in the end. There’s a guy named Tiger Woods who wins a lot of (tournaments).”
Thankfully, some common sense!
Clampett on Garcia’s cautious play : “(Sergio Garcia) is just tentative and that’s really going to hold him back, because that’s indicative of what’s going on in his mind right now. He knows he has the lead and he’s a bit protective.”
Uh, Bobby it's Friday and the holes were tucked. Cut the kid some slack!
Clampett on Vijay Singh’s out-of-bounds shot on the 18th fairway : “That’s what I feel is unfair about 18. I would prefer them to grow rough over there (instead of bleachers). It just makes the penalty so unfair. I know other players share my sentiments as well.”
Hey, good point!
Johnson on Choi’s successful shot from the “Barry Burn” : “That shot had YouTube (website) written all over it.”
Ernie, uh how do I put this? Not enough people watch golf for items to get posted on YouTube. Sadly. Maybe that'll change one of these days.
Nick Faldo on how he feels after his second round: “I’m feeling old. There are three departments of this game. There’s the swing and everyone’s different. There’s the physical side and everything aches. There’s the mental side and I’m shocked. Apart from that, I’m feeling spot-on.”Ah, glad he's joining the booth this weekend!Faldo on his son, Matthew, being his caddy : “That’s probably the number one reason why I’m out there doing this because I’m standing there thinking, ‘Why am I doing this?’ He’s great; he was encouraging me all the way. Every time I hit a shot he’d say, ‘Forget it, come on. Stay loose, relax. You can birdie this one.’ And I’d say ‘Matthew, we’re in the ditch.” But he’s always positive.”
Johnson on Woods wearing gloves to warm his hands as the temperature drops at Carnoustie : “The gloves have come out. Tomorrow, the gloves come off in round three.”
Oy.
