Golf Channel On NBC Notable Quotes: American Century Championship, Second Round

Golf Channel On NBC Notable Quotes:

American Century Championship, Second Round

Saturday, July 18, 2015, 3-6 p.m. ET

Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course

Stateline, Nevada



On Josh Scobee, leader at 57 points and tying the American Century Championship single-round record with 33 points on Saturday (6-under-par 66)

Bob Papa – “33 points, which ties the round record. Even with the bogey at 18, still a great round for Josh today at 6-under.”

 

John Scobee speaking with Golf Channel on NBC’s Steve Sands following his second round

Josh Scobee – “It was a fantastic round. I just tried to stay focused and take each shot as an individual shot. Being a kicker, it is kind of like kicking a football. You have to take each thing individually and focus on that one thing and not try to get anything clogged in your head and play your game.”

 

On the difference between kicking in front of NFL crowds vs. playing golf in front of these crowds

Scobee – “It is completely different because it is a different kind of feeling. Everything is so quiet. I am in my element whenever I am kicking the ball. I have been doing that for 11 years. This is only my second time playing in this tournament, so it might take a little bit before I feel even near as comfortable as I do on the football field.”

 

On Mark Mulder, second place with 52 points (2-under par 70 both Friday and Saturday)

Bob Papa – “Very consistent all week, and always in the hunt here at American Century Championship.”

 

On Justin Timberlake, T30 with 24 points (rounds of 77, 80 first two days)

Gary Koch – “When a golf course sits near a lake, you call it the lake effect. We have the Timberlake effect this year. We saw the largest crowed I can ever remember here yesterday. The excitement level was up, the spectators came out and they got just what they came out for.  Entertainment from one of the world’s true superstars.”

Koch – “He has brought about a new energy at this event. You can feel it from the fans and the other competitors.”

Mark Rolfing – “He really plays to his strengths the way the average golfer should play.”

Koch – “The most impressive thing to me has been his willingness to not try to do anything he knows he can’t do on the golf course. Play to your strengths, and that is what Justin is doing.”

 

Justin Timberlake joined Golf Channel on NBC’s Gary Koch and Bob Papa in the 18th Tower

 

On his first appearance at the American Century Championship

Justin Timberlake – “We are having a blast. “My friend Jon Miller at NBC, we’ve talked about it for maybe 10 years now about me trying to get up here and to be a part of the tournament, and it finally it worked out.”

 

On his golf performance the first two days

Timberlake – “Yesterday was OK, today was a rough day for me.”

 

On his impressive short game

Timberlake – “I had an opportunity to chip a lot today, so one of them has to be good, right.”

 

On Timberlake’s course management and patience on the golf course

Timberlake – “If I am swinging well, I can hit the ball pretty far. But when you are not, you have to dance with the girl that you brought to the prom.”

 

On dancing “The Carlton” with Alfonso Ribeiro on 17

Timberlake – “Alfonso is a great friend of mine. We play together a lot at our course in Los Angeles. That was a Carlton dance that turned into, I don’t know what Jerry was doing, that was something more like a fraternity stop or something, but it was good.”

 

Thoughts on looking ahead to Sunday’s final round

Timberlake – “Today was interesting because the weather was a little spotty this morning. It was hard to warm up. It was really cold. No one told me Lake Tahoe could be this cold. I think our group got off to a pretty slow start. So hopefully we can get off to a better start tomorrow.”

 

On his first year at the American Century Championship

Timberlake – “It was funny, Alfonso told me, ‘This is your first year, just go have fun.’  I told him, ‘Justin Good Time Timberlake, that’s my name.’”

 

On the crowds at Saturday’s American Century Championship

Koch – “I haven’t seen a bigger crowd here.”

Rolfing – “This is the best I have ever seen.”

 

Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers speaking with Golf Channel on NBC’s Steve Sands on 17 (26 points on Saturday, 2-under-par 70; 28 points in total, T20

Aaron Rodgers – “I’ve got a really good group.  Brian Baumgartner and I have been friends for a long time, and AJ Hawk and I played together for nine years, so there is a comfort level for the group. And I have been making a ton of putts.”

Rodgers – “Hole 17 on Friday-Sunday makes the tournament for me. Yesterday there was a ton of people here and we have a caddie race coming up. The 17th hole is what makes the whole tournament for me.”

 

On assessing the upcoming NFL season

Rodgers – “We are going to be in the mix. We have a great group of guys and we are very well coached. It is an incredible organization, one that puts their players first and gives us a chance to be successful. Offensively we resigned Brian Bulaga, Randall Cobb and John Kuhn and added some guys to the mix. Defensively we went a little bit younger but we have high expectations for those guys and the veterans just got to keep playing the way they play.”

 

John Smoltz (T8 with 40 points, 72, 74 first two rounds) speaking with Golf Channel on NBC’s Steve Sands on 17 about his upcoming MLB Hall-of-Fame Induction

John Smoltz – “It is hard to describe what 40-plus years of my life playing baseball, how do you capture that in a speech and how do you thank all of the people? It is hard to believe that all that I went through is going to end up in the Hall of Fame among some of the greatest players in the world, and to do it on the first ballot.”

Smoltz – “I never thought about the Hall of Fame during my career. I changed roles, I pitched hurt, I risked a lot and I changed arm angles. The best way to describe my career is just unique.  It became very special. To win as much as we did and to go into the Hall of Fame with the array of things in risking it all, I’m just glad I played where I did. I had the greatest manager in the world, I had a lot of great teammates, and I get to join two of them next Sunday.”