THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us today. We have Jim Nantz, our lead golf anchor, Sir Nick Faldo, our lead golf analyst; lead on course reporter, Dottie Pepper; and on course reporter, Colt Knost who will be joining Dottie on the ground; the chairman of CBS Sports, Sean McManus, and lead producer, Sellers Shy.
SEAN McMANUS: Thank you. It doesn't seem like 32 years since John Daly won at Crooked Stick, but that's what it says in the press release so it must be true. Couldn't be more proud of our golf team. I think we have had a great season so far starting with the West Coast Swing and the Masters and the recent events we have done. I think our team is clicking on all cylinders. I couldn't be happier with the job that Sellers Shy continues to do for us.
We are excited about adding two new names to our list of contributors, golf personalities Roger Steele and Hally Leadbetter, who I think will give us a different perspective and some really good context.
We have all the technology that all of you are used to seeing that has been so impressive, a lot of which has been pioneered by CBS Sports. Specifically the drone coverage that we have, I think adds an entirely new perspective. We have over 140 cameras and 150 microphones throughout the course. We've got the Atlas camera back again, which gives a real cinematic and dramatic feel for the tournament. We have got EyeVision, we have a robotic bunker cam in the 17th hole, so we have all of the bells and whistles that we'd like to have.
But the important thing is that we're really storytellers and we plan to tell the story of the PGA Championship. This is the third year of our partnership with The PGA of America and ESPN, and we can't wait to get to Tulsa to cover what should be a really exciting event.
Q. Wanted to remind Jim that the 1994 PGA Championship was your first as the host as Summerall had moved on to Fox by that point. What is your memory of that event, and how much are you looking forward to coming here at a time when the conditions should be exceedingly more pleasant than what we saw here in 2007?
JIM NANTZ: Thanks for that memory. I did not remember that '94 was my first in the 18th tower. I had been the host in 1992, '92, and '93, but not the anchor, which Pat would have been those other three years. But I can remember vividly being there in '94 and Nick Price won kind of in a walk. I think he won by 6 over Corey Pavin.
I loved -- I fell in love with Southern Hills the first time I laid eyes on it, and I just remember Nick Price kind of gaining control of that championship early, and it was kind of just a victory walk, it felt like. It was hard-earned. I think he maybe shot maybe 11-under or something like that at the time, which is pretty good at Southern Hills to be able to shoot a score like that.
And then we came back in 2007 and that's the sweltering heat you're referring to when Tiger won. I've been there for other events in between including the '01 U.S. Open. Had a very memorable night at Southern Hills with Arnold Palmer in '01. We went down to do something together prior to the U.S. Open and had a special night there at the clubhouse. Did a lot of events like that with Arnold, several a year.
For some reason, I remember the one at Southern Hills being extra, extra special, and one of my favorite times ever with the king was right there. So that's probably my favorite memory ever. Broadcast two PGAs, but being there with AP in 2001, that tops them all.
It's a different ballpark now with Gil Hanse coming in and renovating this. And I was at a dinner last week with Gil in Washington, D.C. I saw him Friday night and he is so stoked about what he's done there and the renovation at Southern Hills. We are elated to be here.
I know we're coming back a few years down the road again. There have been seven major championships that have been held in its history. There something about it. You get on these classical golf courses and it feels extra special. I can't wait to get there, this is the kind of thing I live for.
Q. You never know what you're going to get here in May, but it seems a greater potential for jackets in the morning than for 103?
JIM NANTZ: I've been monitoring the weather forecast. I guess it's some of the lingering effects of the heat and humidity the last time. I think we talked 100 three out of the four competitive rounds. That was a tough one, and Tiger beat Woody Austin by a couple of shots.
But the long-range forecast looks fabulous for next week. Looks like we are going to be in the mid-'80s (knocking on wood) dry.
Q. Quick one for Sean or Sellers. Verne Lundquist was not mentioned on the press release. Will he be there next week?
SEAN McMANUS: No, Verne has decided not to do this year's PGA Championship. Nothing behind that decision. He just is going to sit this one out.
Q. I know that Tony Romo has spent a lot of time with that whole group of guys in the Dallas area, and I'm wondering if he tipped you off about Scottie Scheffler. Because to win on the PGA TOUR, we saw that around the game. But to win four out of six and to do what Scottie has done is absolutely remarkable. Is that something that Tony saw coming?
JIM NANTZ: Tony has a great knack for playing a lot of golf during the week with the stars of the game, and Scottie is on that list. Now, I know he hasn't played as much with him as he has with Jordan and Will Zalatoris, but he has a great regard. We've spoken a couple of times since the Masters Tournament. We were texting during the Masters Tournament, even when I was on the air on Sunday, as Tony was forwarding some great information about Scheffler that I actually ended up using some of it on the broadcast.
But this is what he does. He plays with these kids, his in eyes, and he encourages them. I know they all look up to him because they are Dallas area kids and he was their quarterback growing up.
Now the one I've gotten to know the best, Jordan, I knew as a high schooler playing in the Byron Nelson. But I got to know Will Zalatoris through Tony in those lean years where he could not find a place to play. He brought him on the road to a couple of events that we had and I got to know him really well. He's turned into a world-class player now.
And I think he would be the first to tell you that Tony's encouragement has gone a long way in him being able to make that step, that massively important hurdle from being a guy in No Man's Land to having status and being able to not only maintain that status but being able to elevate your game to where you are in the upper echelon of the sport.
I give Tony some credit for his mentoring and tutelage for these guys. Don't kid yourself, he's out there playing and trying to beat them but I hear about the Dallas area guys all the time through him.
Q. You walked with Tiger at Augusta. Were you surprised to see him head down to Tulsa so quickly for the scouting trip?
DOTTIE PEPPER: One thing I've learned in almost 20 years covering Tiger, you never say never. The will he has, the resilience, doing whatever he can to cover every bit of preparation and recovery, you can never doubt the guy, ever.
Q. Sir Nick, got to ask you about what you think you might see from somebody named Phil Mickelson next week or if we are going to see Phil Mickelson next week.
SIR NICK FALDO: Yeah, No. 1, that's the speculation, whether he's there or not. Obviously if he's there, great. Obviously you're defending that historic win. But if he's not, I mean, I personally think it's an unbelievable mental challenge to come play after what he's put himself through, simple as that. I don't think it's as easy as just getting back on the bike and arriving at a golf tournament and going and playing. The attention is going to be monumental. I don't know whether he will be mentally ready for that.
Q. I read the extensive amount of audio equipment, cameras, everything that's going into next week. You'll have to forgive me, what's new? What hadn't you done before that you're doing?
SELLERS SHY: Thanks for asking. You heard me in the past say we are very proud of our complement, and you're able to tell story in a different way just based on the venue.
This venue, I was just there six hours yesterday afternoon, it's gorgeous. It's a real challenge and, you know, listen, I don't want to give it all away, but a couple fly cams. We do have a bunker cam in at 17. I think they are going to make it drivable, more than once, more than one day. A little higher perspective at 16, a very difficult hole. It's par 5 for the members, but par 4 for next week.
So, yeah, a few new additions. But we're very happy with the complement that you just -- that you read off. But 17 could be a very pivotal, interesting hole knowing how Kerry Haigh plans to set it up.
Q. You mentioned Gil's renovation to Southern Hills. How are you guys planning on showing some of the changes to the course to the golf audience?
JIM NANTZ: Thank you for entrusting me with that question, but I think it's really going to be dictated by the man that leads that show and that's Sellers. There's no question that we will be discussing virtually every hole, the differences that are presented at Southern Hills versus the last time there was a major there. It's going to be noticeable. A know a lot of trees have been taken out and the bunkering is prominent and what they have done with the bunkering is beautiful.
Now, I have not been there on site. I've looked at these drones and aerials and some of the footage that's come out and I've spoken to Gil. I'm going to walk the course with him hopefully next week. We tried to make that solid for next Wednesday. We'll sprinkle it in our commentary, but how it's going to be shown, I'm going to hand it off to Sellers.
SELLERS SHY: Had a lengthy back-and-forth with Gil on Sunday night, and he was thrilled with the creeks and how they are more prominent. He was very proud of around the greens. It's not as sharp. It's kind of more of a roll effect. They are subtle. Subtle drops from all corners of the greens.
I will tell you, it's very interesting, the 7th hole is 50 yards longer and a lot closer to the creek. We'll have -- we'll look at it in kind of a 2007 versus a 2022 perspective, very similar to what we did at 11 at Augusta.
And then the other is how close many of these greens are to the tees. You may see that we're talking in feet. I mean, 15, 20 feet from the green-to-tee at like 6 to 7. And 13 is an interesting tee, almost hitting over the 12th green.
How we will document it is via -- we have some fly cams. We have obviously our drones, we have a blimp, and then we also have the relationship to 2007. So we feel like we are prepared to tell Gil's story, to tell Perry Maxwell's story, and then to kind of mesh it with our own. And I know Dottie even may want to add to it. She's meeting with Gil as well next week and walking around with him.
DOTTIE PEPPER: Gil is a close friend of ours and I'm going to walk with him on Tuesday afternoon when he gets in. I've read everything that has been out there and haven't been back there since the 2009 U.S. Amateur. I did that for another network. But love the place.
Just excited to see what -- the thoroughfares have been opened and the creeks are now more in play. I heard a really good comparison earlier this week that a lot of the approaches are more like Augusta National because you're hitting into greens that have tinier sections, and that's what Augusta is. And you have, it looks like, a bigger surface. But the area you need to be in forces you to be really precise, and if you miss by just a yard or two, you can pay the penalty, and all on short grass now, too. So I'm excited to see the changes and get back there and understand more of what Gil was thinking when they do this, really, restoration.
Q. Sellers, you were talking about a few of the different holes that offer some interesting storytelling opportunities. That Toptracer RF that was outlined in the press release is pretty intriguing. Obviously we expect to see Toptracers on tee shots. Are there certain holes that you anticipate that to be a really useful tool for you guys to show where a ball is heading on a player's second shot?
SELLERS SHY: Well, it's been kind of our standard complement. We have a handful of handheld tracers in the fairway and we'll continue to do that.
So I like to say that they are just additional cameras based on the complement being so robust for a major. But no, other than that, I don't see anything out of the ordinary other than just a more ramped-up complement.
Q. And you mentioned the magic word of storytelling, be it camera positions, the types of graphics that you guys use that get more and more advanced by the year. What in your opinion is an enhancement that does maybe the best job of telling the story of what's happening on a golf course at any given moment?
SEAN McMANUS: You know, it's a good question. The constant leaderboard, which we've figured out how to seamlessly place in our coverage, I think has been the biggest development for us in many years. I think the way we use it to show some additional information, I think is unobtrusive, but it's always there when you want it, so I would point to that.
Obviously the increased use of tracers, and you mentioned specifically from the fairway is important. I think we have used our drone coverage to really capture the ambiance of the different golf courses that we're at. I think we've, in the last couple years as an example, seen more views of Augusta National than ever before, a lot of views that have never been seen heretofore when we had the drone coverage. I think we're really good at setting the golf course up and showing a perspective with our blimp coverage, which we have tried to integrate in a little bit more aggressively.
So it's a combination for all of those. And you use the word again, and it's a good one, is storytelling. I think all of those augment the telling of the story of the golf tournament. And I think our production team from Sellers to our director, Steve Milton just do a masterful job of telling these stories both from a visual standpoint and from a commentary standpoint.
Q. Nick, three times you won the Masters and then went to the next major trying to be the only guy really with that chance for a Grand Slam. What is that like for Scottie Scheffler going into this week? And, Colt, along the same lines with Scottie, he has said that this is if not his favorite course, one of his favorite courses. How big of a deal do you think that is for Scottie to have that type of feeling going into this major?
SIR NICK FALDO: Yeah, that's good to know that Scottie is very comfortable. I have to give a shout-out to Colt, and it pains me terribly that he was the one that told us at the beginning of the year watch Scottie Scheffler. Once he learns to win, nothing is going to stop him.
So I will counter that, can I just quickly say that, Colt, it's 8,492 yards to walk this golf course in a straight line. So I know that's not going to happen.
Yeah, going on to play the next major, he's going to feel very good. You feel like, wow, it's possible. He's in a good mental state because he's winning literally every other week. He's had a nice rest and he'll be ready to go on a golf course, as you just said, one of his favorite golf courses.
You have to believe he has a game plan. That's the most important thing. You're comfortable, you know what to practice, you know what the priority clubs are. That's another very important thing, very much like Mr. Hogan used to practice. He knew, well, if you're going to hit all short irons, all mid-irons, go and practice that. He probably has quite a distinct advantage.
And if he putts -- if he pitches, chips and putts like he did at Augusta, yeah, he will be very difficult to beat.
COLT KNOST: Obviously him saying it's one of his favorite golf courses has to be terrifying for the rest of the field. His game is in incredible form. I think Southern Hills reminds him a lot of where he plays here in Dallas at Royal Oaks Country Club. It's tree-lined with some doglegs. It's not a big change for him going up there. I know recently he took a trip up there and cruised around in 64. Shot 61 this past weekend at Royal Oaks. His game is in very, very good form right now, and I expect him to be a factor next week.
Q. You've had a long relationship with Phil Mickelson. What advice would you give to him?
JIM NANTZ: You know what? I'm going to keep that private. I've actually communicated with him and I don't feel like that's something that is something I'm comfortable sharing with everyone else. I'll leave it at that.
Q. If you go look and look at the last ten years, you could make an argument that the PGA Championship is the most exciting of the four majors. Is there a reason for that, either course setup or the field, or why you think that has arguably been the case over the last decade or so?
COLT KNOST: Yeah. The field obviously like all the major championships is very, very strong. The cream rises to the strong. The golf course, Kerry Haigh does such a great job of setting up the golf courses for the PGA Championship, makes it very fair. Wants the best player to win that week. I don't think -- he makes it difficult, but it's very, very fair, and I think that's the difference. That's why we see some of the lower scores for major championships. But I applaud him every time. He just does an amazing job when he sets it up, and it's always an exciting championship.
JIM NANTZ: Just to amplify what Colt said, and your question was spot-on, I think the PGA doesn't get the amount of due it should for how riveting and exciting these championships have been. So Colt addressed Kerry and his setup, but there's a lot to it.
What we had last year, that story last year was one of the greatest stories I've ever had a chance to tell in 37 years of broadcasting primarily the NFL and college basketball and golf. But the year before that was Collin Morikawa driving a green, the 70th hole of the championship, and it goes on and on. The PGA is on a fantastic run. We are so excited to be partnering up with them, and I don't have any question, any doubt in my mind, we are going to have another one that's going to be special and memorable.
And maybe it is Scottie Scheffler. I mean, after hearing Colt with these scores of 64 and 61 in the last week. And he has said that. He has said when he was playing collegiately, he came off of Southern Hills and described it as his favorite golf course he's ever played.
One last footnote on that is when he won the Masters -- and, Nick, maybe you can address this -- we talked on and on about how he just never changed his look. He looked like he was impenetrable as far as pressure. He was completely in control of his nerves. And I came into the cabin and I asked him about that and, you know, he touched on a little bit that explained partly that there was a lot more bottled up than we ever knew. And then he goes into the press room and basically described that he was having some sort of meltdown the morning of the Masters Tournament, which, you know, you never would have guessed that, just the way he handled himself every day at Augusta.
But now that he's won, Nick, and he's overcome whatever that was, I mean, I would think that that fearlessness that we saw, I think it's totally real. He's got his major. He's playing house money now. He's even a better version of Scottie Scheffler than what we saw at Augusta.
SIR NICK FALDO: The goal of a player is who you are Thursday morning, you're also able to be that same person Sunday afternoon. So that's obviously easier said than done. And he had anxiety Sunday morning and caused him -- could have done worse -- to throw up. You're like a duck; once you get on that practice ground -- I've felt that, you feel it, because, you know, pre-ground, it's all apprehension, isn't it? And we're the worst at thinking what could go wrong, and it does in this game.
But it's a wonderful feeling, and I've felt it, you get on the range and you're hitting balls and you're absolutely fine. You are the duck on the pond and you are absolutely happy. He obviously has that ability. I love the fact that, you know, I watch players facial expressions all through the weekend, and the way he dealt with it and joked with his caddie is the ultimate, isn't it? If you hit a bad shot, if you can turn and have a laugh about, it well, psychologists will say that is the most powerful thing. If we can add humor to our mistakes, then it doesn't register in the memory banks quite so deep.
He's got everything, and it's always helpful when you're brushing in 12-footers. That keeps you smiling, I can promise you that. I think we all agree, he is controlling the speed of the race.
Q. Southern Hills, the history -- whether it's Ray Floyd in 1982 or Nick Price from the get-go, Tiger 2007, Tom Lehman, the 1996 TOUR Championship -- Southern Hills, somebody has grasped it by the throat early with a lot of late drama. Is it harder to come back at Southern Hills? Do you feel like you can make a birdie run late in the tournament? What's led to that, do you think?
SIR NICK FALDO: As we've been describing, that's history. And Gil Hanse has changed an awful lot of things, so maybe it's all going to be different.
I was there way back in the '94 one and the heat got me. And when we were there for Tiger, as Jim said, it was 100 every day. So that's all going to be completely different. It's going to be much more playable. Maybe better weather, maybe breezier.
I don't think we can answer that because it's an old golf course, a past golf course to a new one. So I'm sure -- and again, with the style of modern golf that we've seen now for the last ten years or, we've had so many more bunched-up major championships. We haven't had anything like the runaways.
I predict we will have an exciting one right down to the wire.
JIM NANTZ: I don't know that Geoff Shackelford is on this call, but I was reading his Quadrilateral this morning, and if you're on here, please speak up. But I saw an interview with the club historian who I will meet next week, and there have been seven majors, two TOUR Championships -- one you just alluded to, Ken, or maybe both of them you did -- and one Senior PGA. So they've had ten of these events.
The leader after the first round of those ten has won eight times. The leader after 36 holes is 10 for 10. I mean, that's jaw dropping. Or at least they had a lead position at 36 holes. I've never heard of anything like that in my life. We're going to crown a champion, folks, on Friday night, okay? (Chuckling).
It's like Nick said, it's a new course. Pretty amazing stat. Nick, can you believe that?
SIR NICK FALDO: I bet that you one will change, it will be different. Unless Scottie Scheffler is leading by six, oh, boy.
JIM NANTZ: But there's something to be said, you'd better go out and make hay early. That's a history for it there.
Q. What are your reactions to the PGA TOUR denying waivers to play in Greg Norman's first Saudi event, and do you believe players should have the rights to play whenever they want?
SEAN McMANUS: That's a decision that the PGA TOUR made. We're not involved in that decision. We love our partnership with the PGA TOUR and think that it provides the best golf in the world, and we are going to continue with that relationship for many years to come.
But that's a decision the PGA TOUR makes.
Q. Thanks, Jim, for the nice shout-out. Glad you enjoyed the interview. I had one quick question for Sellers and a general question for the group. Sellers, in the press release, there's no mention of anybody handling rules next week. How are you dealing with that?
SELLERS SHY: It will be the standard, what we've had in the past. It's a The PGA of America rules official so there will be a complement. Because we have so many program hours, they're in rotation, so there isn't a full list, but we will have a rules official on site at the ready.
I also liked your article, too, Geoff, about why the shade of pink on the logo. I thought that was very interesting. I forgot about that. Putting the preview show together back in 2007, that was a very nice touch.
Anyway, yeah, that's the answer. It would be a The PGA of America rules official.
Q. And this afternoon -- whoever would like to chime in -- I'm just kind of curious, if you all have been out there the last few weeks, this is now the third PGA in May. It feels like, at least watching from afar, we have fewer stars playing in these events between the Masters and the PGA. And so I guess I'm just curious how you feel this May date is working and what you think of maybe these players emphasizing rest in between and kind of big picture, if this is a good or questionable thing for both the game and the PGA?
JIM NANTZ: Nicky, what do you think? You go first.
SIR NICK FALDO: We talk about stars. We had Jordan Spieth win straight after, we had a thrilling Hilton Head, and obviously Jordan is there this week prior to -- so that kind of makes sense. The guys, they usually have a pretty good Florida run obviously leading up to the Masters. So I think that's a fair sprinkling in between two majors. So one straight after when you're kind of warm, done a lot of work at Augusta, and then he's preparing this week, ready for next week. Well, he's more than preparing. He's a Texas boy in Texas, so he believes -- we haven't even talked about Jordan. Wow, he's trying for the Grand Slam.
And I would love to be going to a golf course like that, the way he -- obviously off the winning at Hilton Head and the way he won with that great scrambling, to go to a golf course when it's kind of new, brand new greens to everybody, so nobody has a huge advantage.
So no, I think we have had very good fields in between. Rory has been around. Rory is gearing up. Excited about his game. So no, I think we are -- everybody has to get breathers all the way. There's 40-plus events on Tour and the best players play 25 to 30, so there's always going to be little lulls. So I don't see anything to that.
JIM NANTZ: I think there's always going to be pockets on the schedule that are not as strong as others, let's put it that way. But we have had qualified winners, Jon Rahm two weeks ago, Max Homa is an emerging star last week. Some might have ranked those fields as not as strong as others at different times of the year. We are seeing great players win.
To Nick's point, I concern myself more with what's happened to those two other events that we had in May. And what happened is we had a Brooks Koepka win at Bethpage and we had Phil winning last year. So I would say two massive successes in May. Of course, in the middle of the COVID year, it got moved to August with Collin winning at Harding Park.
We are all -- I think the biggest concern is the hurdle of Oak Hill and what that will be like next year with the weather and what will that look like. We just had a temperature of 50 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday in D.C. That would be two weeks before next year's date in Rochester. These guys play just fine in 50-degree weather. It's not ideal. I don't think that's what we're going to end up with next year.
But I think some of that kind of goes away, the concerns about May and some of these preexisting, already-assigned sites now running through the cycle. So I think there's something to be said -- I'm not going to kid you. I loved having the last at-bat when it was an August event, so I was all-in on having the book-end majors for us, Augusta and the PGA, and I liked our summer leading up to that.
Once it's moved, I enjoy the fact that golf has this run of events beginning with the PLAYERS Championship of having big events in a number of months in a row. It's worked so far. It's a close call, but I don't think anybody can say it was the wrong decision in any capacity.
Q. From your point of view, how do you feel so far about the move to May versus August, and how are you feeling about it long term?
SEAN McMANUS: I feel great about it. We were supportive when the The PGA of America asked us our opinion. We said we thought it was great. I think it's better from a ratings standpoint in that there are more people in front of their television set in May than in August.
From a sales standpoint, second quarter sales are traditionally better than third quarter sales. And as Jim alluded to, the way the calendar sets up, starting with THE TOUR Championship and then having one really, really important event every month really through the playoffs, the FedEx Playoffs, I think is great. So we are wholly supportive.
As Jim said, it was nice to have the first and the last major championship, but I love our position having the first two and kind of setting the stage for the rest of the golf season.
Q. You mentioned you are thrilled with the job Sellers has been doing. What is he doing well and what are the trademarks of his broadcast?
SEAN McMANUS: It's a good question, and I don't want to embarrass Sellers.
SELLERS SHY: Do you have a slate right now, Sean? Put up a slate.
SEAN McMANUS: He has an amazing knack to tell the story of a golf tournament, and so much of it is instantaneous decisions on what shots to show when, where to go at a particular time, and to work with the announcers and not making it not just shot, shot, shot, but telling the story of how these shots affect other shots that have taken place or are taking place. And then working with announcers and giving them hints during the broadcast and suggestions is something that you can't do too much and, quite frankly, you can't do too little. You've got to find the absolute right mix.
I would say the collaboration on the Tour with the CBS golf team is really solid right now. Everybody gets along with each other really well. We share ideas. Sellers has been very welcoming and solicitous when it comes to asking people for their input, which I think is great. And when he's looking at that bank of monitoring and working with our director, Steve Milton, and all of our announcers, he's calm and he knows what the sequence should be, and he's unflappable.
Most people think golf is, you know, kind of a slow sport and not difficult to cover. I've made the case many times that it's in many ways the most difficult sport to cover. You have 18 holes and anywhere from 5 to 15 golfers who can be in contention, many of whom are hitting their shots at the exact same time. And when that happens, what do you go to live, what you go to on videotape; and it takes a very special mind to take all of that technology, all of that information, and all of those shots and work with the director in putting them in the proper order and telling the story of the tournament.
So, you know, it's not just one thing, it's a lot of things. And I would just finish by saying, Sellers, his entire professional career has been built around CBS golf. It was the first real job that he had at the L.A. Open, as I recall, and he's lived it and breathed it, learned from Frank Chirkinian and Leonard Barrow, the only two people to ever coordinate, be a coordinate producer of golf going back to the 1950s. He's taken all of that experience and those lessons and refined them so that I think our coverage of golf right now is the best it's ever been, and I give Sellers a lot of credit for that.
Q. Do you think Phil should play in this tournament?
SIR NICK FALDO: Well, that's a different one. I think he would love to play. He's defending one of the most historic majors that we've ever seen. When Jim and I were calling that, it dawned on us what we had seen, and we saw Tiger come back, you know, for his 15th and then Phil win at 50. But that's a Phil decision. An awful lot has happened and, as I alluded earlier, I think it's going to be an extremely tough decision, but hopefully he knows exactly what he wants to do right now.
JIM NANTZ: Totally a personal decision for Phil. I'm not going to make any public advisements here, but he will be back. I mean, sometimes we get caught up in the cyclone of the story and we think it's forever. It won't be forever. He'll be back. Of course his age is a factor in how much he'll be able to compete at a high level, but that's what they said a year ago going into Kiawah.
So he'll be back, he'll play, he's got a ton of fans out there. This is a forgiving nation and there's a million examples of people finding their way back to being on top again, and I fully expect he will one day.
Q. You see Jordan more than anybody else in the group here. What do you think his game is -- what shape is his game in for Southern Hills and his chance of completing that career Grand Slam?
COLT KNOST: Yeah, I think his game is in pretty good shape. He won his last start over at Hilton Head. Southern Hills, like I said with Scottie, the golf courses these guys play around here in the Dallas area remind me a lot of Southern Hills. I think for Jordan, the one kind of question, he has not putted the way he did back in 2015 when he was winning majors at a crazy, crazy clip. But the game is trending. The golf swing looks interesting, I would say. Not quite sure what the rehearsal is, still, but he's hitting it honestly better than he probably ever has. If he gets the putter going, I expect him to be a factor come Sunday afternoon. But there is still that pressure of playing, trying to complete that career Grand Slam. I know that's on his mind.
JIM NANTZ: I like the way he's coming into this, not just because he won at Hilton Head, but because he's not the lead story going for the career slam. I think this is kind of an ideal setup for him to go finish it off one of these years. It's ideal in my mind. If he can get that putter working, which has always been his strong suit except for the week at Hilton Head which he still won, I think you've got to put him right up there on the very, very short list of people to win the Wannamaker Trophy.
And it would be right in line with what the PGA Championship has brought to major championship golf in recent years. They find a way to produce the best drama and the most incredible stories. This would fit right in. And what a story that would be.
SIR NICK FALDO: Yeah, I'm on the same theme with everybody. I think a lot of things trending, to get a win, and when the putter wasn't -- he probably was the worst in the field, didn't make the cut. But the scrambling was so darned good, and as we know, we talk about that a lot, that keeps your momentum going. And with a major setup, that's a really key part of your game, if you just know you get away with a few bad shots.
You know he's going to have to lean on it as his strength, but it kind of helps you. It can take a bit of pressure off knowing that the better I play, rather you know in your mind, my scrambling is so darned good so that takes a little bit of pressure off making a mess with the odd tee shot and the odd -- you're going to get away with things. That's key.
It's trying to play momentum on your side. That's probably going to be his key battle for the PGA.
Q. Dottie, do you have an opinion on Jordan?
DOTTIE PEPPER: I thought the statement of the entire week at Hilton Head was that I won without a putter. It shows you how talented he is and how much his ball-striking has improved. Another guy that you just you never say he has no chance because we saw it. I mean, it could take him three to get to the green and still hold out for par. It doesn't seem to matter with that guy. I do think this is -- coming in with some confidence from that win that was scratchy at best really puts him in a good place to try to finish the job here and get that elusive last major.
Q. You referenced the modern style of play, which I think you were lending to maybe more aggressive. With that in mind, you know Southern Hills, even though it's restored, it's going to be pretty much the same layout. How important should patience be in the list of things you know you've got to have to be able to win next week?
SIR NICK FALDO: Yeah, patience is always one of the 15th clubs, especially at majors. You kind of mentally have to say, I know -- as we know with our game, as I've just -- it's apprehension. We don't know what it's going to throw at us each day, and you have to be prepared to duck and dive and deal with everything on the fly. If you can stay calm and not get completely wound up, it's very important. But again, that's really because you trust yourself. You've got self-belief. If you've got all of those things, then impatience is a lot easier to deal with.
All of these guys, all of these great names we are talking about have pretty high self-belief. That's why you can screw up, but it's not going to causes a snowball effect and you can deal with it and then stay strong out there.
Q. Jim, you were gracious to give us an interview on the week in 2007 before it got really hot. Tiger was coming off a win at Akron, and if I remember right, no one had won at Akron the week before the PGA and won the PGA. But you went out on a limb and you told me, he thought he was going to get the job done and he ended up getting it done. In our book, you're 1 for 1 with the last pick. Who is going to win this week? Are they making it easier for you to pick Scottie Scheffler?
JIM NANTZ: I think everybody is wanting to say what I'm about to say, and that is Nance, that was really going out on a limb to pick Tiger Woods to win in 2007. So you can't give me any credit for that one.
Tell you what, you come out to Southern Hills, get me a week to walk the course, get a little scatter talk around The PGA Championship, I'll be happy to come up with a prediction next week.
Q. Only thing I don't have ordered yet is a cot.
JIM NANTZ: I'm going to be in the 18th super tower, as Sellers calls it, on Wednesday from 3:00 to 4:00. We are all going to be checking in. So if you want to get me on the way up or the way down, I'll be there and I'm going to come up with the winning pick.
Q. That sounds right. I'll take you up on that. Thanks very much.
JIM NANTZ: Look forward to seeing you then. Thank you.
Q. I just have a question for the table, anybody that wants to answer. When you're talking about storytelling for next week, Southern Hills is pretty unique in that John Winters was a founding member of the club. Winters, USGA president in the early 1960s, helped unify The Rules of Golf with the R&A. He was Bobby Jones' original selection to present the winning green jacket when Mr. Jones could no longer do it. He even had the unfortunate duty of ruling a rather crucial scorecard SNAFU in the 1968 Masters Tournament, if you remember that one.
But something that's not necessarily told very well is he was one of the individuals that actually walked the area with Perry Maxwell in 1935 as Maxwell was laying out the links at Southern Hills. Even today -- I believe Geoff mentioned this in the Quadrilateral -- his son, Otis, is still alive and volunteers at events at Southern Hills since 1946, a long, long time. Mr. Winters, obviously one of the more influential figures behind the scenes of the game of golf throughout the years. Curious, if his influence on the game will be part of the story you tell next week?
JIM NANTZ: I'm always looking for stories with history and trying to tie things to the present. That's been duly noted. I know Otis Winters from all the years down at Augusta. It's on my list.
You've got to have the right situation, and golf, it's a fascinating thing when it comes to storytelling and when you can go long form or when most of the time you have to be lickety-split, succinct, and get to the next shot.
But if the right opportunity comes up, there's nothing more than I love than trying to tie all that together to the present. Hopefully I can tell it as well as you just did.
Q. I'm sure you'll get this question a lot over, 1982 was your first PGA Championship appearance here at Southern Hills and 40 years later, you're coming back. What do you remember from that week in '82?
SIR NICK FALDO: I remember the heat. It was the first time I had experienced anything like that because I was going nicely day one, day two and coming from a, whatever, 100 percent humidity outside, you were soaked, and you went in the locker room and it was like NAS Station Iceland. It was freezing, and it got to me.
So rookie experience. Probably nothing like that now, fortunately. But yeah, I remember it made me -- it almost made me ill by the weekend. So that slowed me down. Simple as that.
Q. TJ asked you about the '82 tournament, and your first tournament round ever was 67. I don't have a copy of the tee times that day, but Ray Floyd shoots 63 that day. Do you remember, had you finished your round?
SIR NICK FALDO: Gosh, are you kidding me? 40 years ago? I can't remember did I have soup and sandwich or sandwich and soup for lunch. I have no idea what time of day what I played in 40 years ago.
Jim Nantz will know. Ask Jim.
Q. Didn't know if you went out and shot 67 after you knew Floyd had gone out and shot 63.
SIR NICK FALDO: Oh, my goodness, my friend, I have no idea.
JIM NANTZ: Who will know, no matter what you said, Nick, you could have totally made up the card, 135 feet worth of putts. Could have really just run with it.
SIR NICK FALDO: Hit 17 greens, one missed only by an inch at the last, amazing thing, and there was a seagull that came and picked up my ball and dropped in, yeah (laughing).
Q. So Nick has been on property for each of the two 62s that have been shot at that place.
SIR NICK FALDO: I will research that.
JIM NANTZ: By the way, this is going to be -- and I'm sure we're going to have this clip running. But the Tiger 63 was one of the worst horseshoes I've ever seen away from being the first 62 which would have beaten Branden Grace to it by ten years.
So I mean, it was brutal.
SIR NICK FALDO: We were on that call, Jim, weren't we?
JIM NANTZ: Yes, we were.
SIR NICK FALDO: I said, we don't think he's going to make this but win we went, hang on a minute, this is Tiger and it horseshoed.
JIM NANTZ: In 1982, the Ray Floyd 63, I have vivid memories watching that. I was a year out of college. I was 23 years old. And Freddie Couples, you know the story, we go back to school together, and that was his first big presence in a major championship and he shot 29, I believe it was going out first nine on Sunday but he shot 29 and he ended up finishing third. I don't have it in front of me. You can look it up to fact check it.
And one of the thrills for me was the fact that Sean's dad was on the call for ABC and he was talking about my boy Freddie. I just had chills. I was through the roof with excitement to see him go out there and compete with the likes of Ray Floyd and put up a score like that and go on a tear. I know he shot 29 -- I can't be precise as to which nine which day -- but I know it was on the weekend and he had, I believe, a third-place finish. That was a thrill.
I mean, I was watching Southern Hills with such interest. Everything that left Jim McKay's lips sounded like gold to me and when I heard him say Freddie's name for the first time, it meant a ton. It meant a ton.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you and no doubt more memory and history will be made next week when we get to Tulsa. That's all the time we have.
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