Two press releases from TNT/Turner Sports regarding the PGA Championship. First, we have quotage from the 3rd round.
Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the PGA Championship from Hazeltine National Golf Club – Round Three – Friday, August 15, 2009
TNT’s coverage of the PGA Championship will continue with final round coverage on Sunday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET
Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Ian Baker-Finch, Bill Kratzert and Jim Huber
Baker-Finch on Tiger Woods leading the field after the second round: “We basically gave (Tiger Woods) the Wannamaker Trophy (to Woods) yesterday afternoon with that four shot lead coming up the 18th. It’s going to be really hard to beat Tiger Woods, he’s plotting his way around, he turned an over-par round into an under-par round with some brilliant putting. He didn’t seem to really have his touch yesterday, but he certainly has his game face on and knows what he’s doing. He’s actually driving the ball very nicely and that’s an ominous sign for the rest of the field. When Tiger is driving the ball well it seems in the past to be the only thing that holds him back, but it’s certainly not holding him back here.”
Baker-Finch on Phil Mickelson changing his putting technique: “It seems strange doesn’t it, that someone can win 39 events and three majors and then decide to change his putting. (Mickelson) is the second best player in the world for the last decade and he’s going to go change his putting, it’s hard to get confident (after doing that).”
TNT’s Jim Huber interviewed 2009 Open Championship winner Stewart Cink prior to his round
Cink on tweeting about a party he had last night with the Claret Jug: “Yeah, I got together my closet team; my caddie, my trainer, my mental coach, Butch Harmon and my agent. We had a private room, a celebration and we sipped some champagne out of (the Claret Jug), told some good stories and had a great steak. It was a great.”
Cink on how is life has changed since winning the Open Championship: “My life hasn’t changed at all, obviously I was a little busy right after the Open Championship. But I’m 36 and I’ve been doing this a long time, it’s not changing a whole lot. Inside the ropes I feel like I’ve changed a little bit. The crowd support has been phenomenal and I really like that. I feel little more confident as a player, but other than that I’m the same old guy and hopefully I’ll pick up a few more majors.”
Baker-Finch on the advantage of playing a round early in the day: “That’s the advantage of playing early, the balls stops quickly (on the greens). You play early and there is still some moisture in the greens before the wind and the sun bakes it out and gets it crusty and dry by the end of the day.”
Baker-Finch on golfers using long putters: “One thing we don’t talk about is the long putter. People go to the long putter when they don’t feel comfortable and they feel like their wrists are breaking down a little bit. But no one has won a major championship yet with a long putter, so it’s not automatic that you’re going to go to a long putter and become a good putter, you just may feel a little more comfortable.”
Kratzert: “If you go to a long putter you’re just trying to avoid the bad one. You’re trying to do something to clear your mind and perform in the other areas that you need to perform in. I’m going to put the putting to the side, the long putter is going to take care of it and now I can concentrate on other areas.”
TNT’s Jim Huber interviewed Graeme McDowell prior to his round
McDowell on being eight shots off Tiger Woods’ lead before he started his third round: “I think historically (Tiger Woods) has been a pretty good front runner, let’s be honest, but you really can’t let that bother you. I’ve got to play my own game today and try to get myself back in position. I guess the way I look at it is I’m four shots out of second. If I can play my own game, if I can go low today and get myself in position…Tiger’s going to do what Tiger’s gong to do. Let’s hope he makes a few mistakes but he doesn’t do that very often.”
Johnson on noted outdoorsman Boo Weekley: “I guarantee you Boo (Weekley) was looking onto Lake Hazeltine and wondering, ‘what can I catch here?’”
Baker-Finch on what golfers with late tee times are learning from watching the early rounds: “They are learning the greens are a lot more receptiv
e. A lot depends on the severity of the sun and the wind and if the greens bake out a little bit, but there’s certainly an advantage being out there. (The balls are) holding, the putting looks a lot easier. A lot depends on the temperature this afternoon and if we get a little bit of rain as well.”TNT’s Jim Huber interviewed defending PGA Championship winner Padraig Harrington prior to his round Harrington on not playing with Tiger Woods in the third round: “It would be nice, I’m disappointed I’ve not shot better. It would be nice to play with Tiger and keep an eye and see what’s happening. It’s not great to be watching the leaderboard because you can never really tell how players are playing with the scores going up. I’ll just mind my own business for two days and do my own thing, play my game. I’ve got to be a little more aggressive or at least a little more trusting when I am being aggressive. The first day I was good and yesterday I got a little bit cautious in the wind.”
Baker-Finch on Woods hitting from the rough of the 15th hole in the second round: “That’s like being caught in Rory McIlroy’s hair there.”
And Turner says PGA.com set another viewing record for online streams of the PGA Championship for the second round on Friday.
PGA.com Posts Best Day in Site’s History for Second-Round Coverage of the 2009 PGA Championship from Hazeltine National Golf ClubSite Sets Single-Day Unique Users, Page Views and Live Video and On-Demand Video Records
Turner Sports, which has exclusive first and second-round coverage of the 91st PGA Championship in Chaska, Minn., announced today that PGA.com delivered its best day in-site, history-setting, single-day records in traffic, page views and video streams. PGA.com set a single-day site record on Friday with 1.7 million unique users, topping its record-setting day from first-round coverage the previous day when it recorded 1.4 million unique users. In addition, it also recorded a record 66 million page views, topping its previous best from the second-round of the 2007 PGA Championship (57.1 million page views). Overall, Turner Sports’ online golf portfolio, which includes PGA.com, Yahoo! and PIP streams, delivered 1.1 million live player streams (+209% from 2008) and delivered a single-day, record-setting 1.3 million live player and on-demand video streams.
For the second straight day on television, TNT saw dramatic increases in its overnight metered market ratings for its six hours (2 – 8 pm ET) of exclusive second-round coverage, enjoying a 110% increase over last year (2.1 metered market rating vs. 1.0 in 2008). First-round coverage on TNT on Thursday saw a 43% metered market rating increase (1.0 vs. 0.7 in 2008).
TNT’s coverage continues into the weekend on Saturday (11 am – 2 pm ET) and Sunday (11 am – 2 pm ET), as Ernie Johnson hosts alongside analysts Ian Baker-Finch and Billy Kratzert with contributions from Jim Huber (essayist/interviewer).
PGA.com will feature two marquee groups during the final two rounds, marking the first time the site will follow more than one group for four days of the event. In addition, PGA.com will also provide up-close footage of golfers’ play on challenging Par 3’s on holes #4, 8, 13 and 17.
Looking forward to more quotage tomorrow.
