by Gary Williams | Apr 14, 2023 | Blog
When was the last time you thought about your own greatest personal and most profound physical achievement? It probably presents itself in your mind periodically and it is rightfully a tremendous source of pride. It may also feel as if it took place many more years ago than it actually did. In men’s professional golf the resumes of the greatest players are a testament to the achievement and can also be amplified by the longevity of the individual. Jack Nicklaus won his first major in 1962 and famously won his last in 1986. Tiger Woods expanded the breadth of his major championship career by winning the 2019 Masters, which lengthened the time between his first and his last by 11 years. Eleven years is equivalent to two lifetimes in elite professional golf as “prime” windows open and close coldly and constantly on players. Which brings us to the supreme challenge that Rory McIlroy faces four weeks every year.
In 2014 South Carolina beat Georgia in football, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA title, Germany blitzed Brazil in a world cup semifinal and went on to win the entire thing, and UConn won the national championship in basketball. The number of things that have happened to each school or organization since those achievements were realized makes it feel like they happened decades ago. In August of 2014 Rory McIlroy was asserting himself as the best player in the what would eventually be the post Tiger Woods era. Rory had held off Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler a month earlier to win his first Open Championship. The Open was considered to be the one that would be most elusive for McIlroy to claim. He sauntered around Valhalla at the PGA as the clear best player in the world and proceeded to essentially play through Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson to win his second PGA Championship and his fourth major in a three-year window. Rory was unencumbered with a wife or a family at the time and appeared on a fast track to rarified major championship achievement. Now, almost nine full years removed from his bullish play in Kentucky his major championship haul remains four and his quest for the career grand slam will head to the year 2024 and his tenth attempt at a Masters tournament title and golf’s holy grail.
Rory’s performance at the Masters was deflating. He had solved some issues after the missed cut at the Players with a deep run at the Match Play championship and every indication was that a Sunday in the throes of the second nine was more than a likelihood. His pre-Masters press conference was introspective and pragmatic. While taking on the role of front man for all the changes occurring on the PGA Tour, McIlroy has remained an engaging participant with the media. He’s complimentary of the work of many people in the industry who cover the game and sat for a lengthy and entertaining conversation with the No Laying Up team less than two weeks out from the Masters. He is an exceedingly curious person with redeemable traits that fly in the face of many egocentric and narcissistic superstars of global sport. Maybe he would be better served to shut it all down or resort to curt and less thoughtful answers as to why this has gone on so long but it’s simply not his nature. For a sporting icon, not to mention an only child, McIlroy possesses one of life’s most redeemable qualities, he’s unselfish. McIlroy is also very close with several members at Augusta National which makes his fondness for the club genuine beyond just the golf course itself. It is not unreasonable to consider that Rory could very well become a regular member at the club like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus did before him. However, he will never accept the invitation if he has not won a green jacket for his play in their annual tournament. Rory’s decision to work with Dr. Bob Rotella, starting a few years ago, is an indicator that “headspace” is a challenge for McIlroy and the weight of crossing the career grand slam line is fatiguing. The prolonging of the achievement is not making it easier and he’s now swimming in uncharted waters as it relates to the time required to accomplish the feat and its being compounded by his inability to win any major title in almost nine full years.
The list of players who won 5 major titles in their careers is royalty from generations long, long ago to more modern legends. J.H. Taylor, James Braid, Peter Thomson, Byron Nelson and Seve Ballesteros all won five majors and most of them only had a gap between numbers four and five of 2 to 3 years. Only Peter Thomson had a prolonged drought before he won his fifth Open Championship and his fifth overall major in 1965 – a gap of seven years which likely felt longer for the legendary Australian. Then consider the timeline of the five men who have achieved golfing immortality in achieving the career grand slam. Gene Sarazen won the third leg at the 1932 Open Championship and completed the slam less than three years later by winning what was then The Augusta National Invitation Tournament. Rightfully, Sarazen retroactively won the grand slam but the players, the media, the fans and the co-founder of Augusta National, Bobby Jones, had no idea what the event was going to become. The club had unsuccessfully attempted to convince the USGA to conduct the US Open at Augusta 
National and the genesis of what would become the Masters had as much to do with drumming up interest in potential members to the new club as it was to stage one of the biggest events in golf. No player has gone to Augusta National with anywhere near the pressure that McIlroy has, with the exception of Tiger Woods when he was trying to complete the Tiger Slam in 2001. He accomplished the feat but assessing its place historically was different without simply admitting how ludicrous it was that he owned all four trophies simultaneously. Ben Hogan won the 1951 Masters and completed the slam just over two years later at his lone appearance and win of the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 1953. Gary Player won the third leg at the PGA in 1962 and completed the slam in 1965 at the U.S. Open. Jack Nicklaus was tidy in securing the third leg in 1963 at the PGA and put a bow on his first slam in 1966 at the Open Championship at Muirfield. Finally, Tiger made quick work of the slam from the U.S. Open in June of 2000 at Pebble Beach to his own coronation at the Old Course in a blowout and his first Open Championship a month later. Whatever sense of unfinished business they each felt to win the final leg they didn’t allow it to persist beyond even a third year. Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson were 31 and 32 when they secured the third leg of the slam and neither man ever closed the book. Lee Trevino was 34 with only the Masters needed for entry into the fraternity but his feelings for the club and the style required never made the pursuit seem practical. Finally, Phil Mickelson was 43 when he won the Open Championship and his heartbreak at the U.S. Open was already legendary including just a month before winning at Muirfield when he was denied his national championship at Merion. Rory finds himself now looking toward his tenth attempt at Augusta National but the current in his Rubicon is turning into a riptide because of his inability to close any major anywhere. Cam Smith’s performance to deny Rory his second Open Championship at the Old Course allowed everyone to say Smith won it, but Rory had his chances, actually he had many chances, and he simply couldn’t make any crucial putts in the final round. His overall play didn’t suggest that he succumbed to the pressure, but he was the man to beat, and someone beat him. His overall performance in every major, not just the Masters, over the last nine years has been very good, with many chances to win indicated by his result in all four majors in 2022. However, the close calls may only make the divide seem wider and not closer as the years continue to pass on by. When and if Rory wins a major, he will now share it with his wife Erica and their adorable daughter Poppy, which will be different from 2014. Who knows if the family will be larger by the time he crosses the major line again, but one thing that I believe is likely true is that the pursuit of the career grand slam cannot be running concurrently with his quest for any major championship title. If Rory is ever going to don a green jacket, I believe he will need to have the memories of another major victory much clearer and fresher in his mind.
by Gary Williams | Apr 10, 2023 | Blog
Sunday at Augusta National is a long day and this year made longer by the weather delays that forced a resumption of the third round after 8 AM. The final group would wind up playing 30 holes on the final day, and for Brooks Koepka, it would be only the second time this calendar year that he would play 72 holes in one tournament let alone 30 holes in one day. The radio team was on the air at 8 AM and me, Taylor Zarzour and Mike Tirico set up the final day for 30 minutes on SiriusXM and then I made my way out onto the golf course to assess the conditions. Cold and still very damp was what the players found upon their routine to the golf course, and scoring in the morning was tough sledding.
I watched several groups play the 13th to get a sense of how long it was playing and despite playing into a north wind, both Cam Young and Jordan Spieth were able to fly their seconds onto the green. The hole requires two big strikes and we saw late in the day that Jon Rahm was able to hit a mid-iron into the green. The change to the tee was a big project and in time it will prove to be a smart and successful decision by Augusta National.
By the end of morning play it was Rahm and Koepka in the final group, but I found myself intrigued by the pairing of Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson. When my radio work was done, I made my way out onto the golf course to follow two guys who have won the tournament and have tremendous records in the Masters. They didn’t talk much at all, but they fed off each other and hot quality shot after quality shot. They were both too far back but watching them go around in 66 and 65 was the best two ball of the day. Phil Mickelson received what you would expect he would receive from the people on the golf course… adulation and appreciation for the play and the history he has at the Masters. That was no surprise, but his play was a surprise. He actually displayed a genuine smile when his round was over, which was the first one I saw from Phil all week.
The final round was about the coronation of Jon Rahm. He’s special in every way. His appreciation for the history of the game, his understanding of historic achievement and his performance in the final round was rock steady. He didn’t waiver and gave no crack to anyone at any time on the second nine.
I will end with these few thoughts. I’m exceedingly grateful to attend the Masters and I’m blessed to attend with a clear mind and full heart. I love being a part of a team and the SiriusXM team knows the game and collectively has golf bonafides. Sitting with the production team back at the command center and hearing Mike Tirico signing off and expressing his appreciation for the week and the collaboration made me very emotional. I have been gone from the Masters since 2019 as I was transitioning to a new chapter in my life and finding peace with the responsibilities that are required every day to live a sober life. Thanks for the support to all of you near and far, because these weeks are a reward for the empathy and love I have received.
Let’s go to Oak Hill.
by Gary Williams | Apr 8, 2023 | Blog
Catching up at a professional golf tournament can be an unnerving exercise for the players, caddies, television partners, tournament staff and the fans. The finish line is Sunday night and few other sports deal with the prospect of the event being pushed into an extra day. The 87th Masters felt the pressure of playing golf on this Saturday because in the absence of at least finishing the second round, a Monday finish was very much in play. When play resumed on Saturday morning it was in the upper 40’s with light rain but they were playing golf at 8 AM in Augusta and that was a good start to the day.
Our team at SiriusXM was in place when play resumed which meant we were all in route to the course at 6 AM. The Masters spectators are not an arrive early and leave late, kind of crowd. The traffic was legit on Washington Road at 6:15 for the gates to open at 7 AM. After a quick breakfast of egg whites and bacon I was prepared to go on the air in the event of a stoppage at any point in the morning. Golf writers and media members are very in-tune with the potential weather changes and despite the tedium of packing for four seasons the scribes in the Press building were outfitted for the extreme change in the weather conditions. Being able to drive from Charlotte allowed me to bring way too many clothes and I had four layers on Saturday morning. I would only need them for an hour because by the time I got on the golf course at 2:15 PM I knew that the amount of time they would continue to play was dwindling down to very few minutes.
Before going on the air today I spent an hour talking to Mike Tirico who is anchoring the radio broadcast after doing three hours on Golf Channel. He’s a generational broadcaster with greater range than anyone of his or any other generation. Mike isn’t just an elite broadcaster, he’s a sports nerd and broadcasting savant. We went from discussing the sports broadcasting landscape to talking about the careers of some of the top analysts in sports, not as broadcasters but their athletic backgrounds. Mike is a superstar in the industry but he’s the consummate team guy.
I walked out on the golf course to find Phil Mickelson, Gary Woodland and Joaquin Neimann playing the 8th hole and to observe three elite players today all have to play it as a legit three shot par 5 is rare. The golf course was beyond saturated, and the greens were approaching the unputtable stage. Mickelson currently being in the top 10 amplifies the adage that talent is timeless. He has institutional knowledge of Augusta National, but he has no form to speak of late so his place on the leaderboard is more than a little bit surprising.
I told you I was going to step out for my lunch order, and I did with an order of fried chicken and mac and cheese. It was pretty good but there were way too many breadcrumbs on top of the mac and cheese and the flavor was ordinary. I make a four-cheese mac and cheese a couple times a year and my standards are high, and their offering was average. The fried chicken was nicely done but I want some spice and they are trying to satisfy the masses so there was no kick. I dined with Taylor Zarzour, Justin Ware, one of our lead producers and Rocco Mediate. Producing golf on the radio is an art and science and Justin is Michelangelo and Einstein in one. He’s tremendous at his craft. Rocco is dipping his feet in the broadcasting waters this week and I appreciated his ordering of a cheeseburger with no bun. A naked burger is underrated especially if the bun offering is poor.
It was an early departure for our team when play was called at 3:15 PM. We recorded some segments for the postgame show, and I grabbed an oatmeal and raisin cookie for the road before heading to the media lot. Eating this garbage is research and not an indictment on my discipline. Maybe it’s both.
Best dressed media member… Brandel Chamblee. I saw the junior senator walking through the press building and he was resplendent in a muted maroon plaid jacket, adorned with a navy pocket square, and taupe-colored trousers.
It’s going to be a long and wonderful Sunday.
by Gary Williams | Apr 8, 2023 | Blog
I have never taken great interest in the weather forecast except when it may affect my ability to play golf or cover golf. Since last week I’ve been aware of the potential for rain to play a part in the 2023 Masters and that the weekend looked particularly dodgy. Friday morning started the way Thursday had ended with warm and humid conditions with barely a trace of wind and a very receptive golf course.
I shared breakfast on Friday with Max Adler, the editor of Golf Digest, and it was enjoyable and educational to learn about the vision he and his team have for the rapidly evolving digital medium that was once simply “print” media. They have a significant piece that will be a big part of their next issue that examines the dissolving of the relationship between Jack Nicklaus and Golf magazine and the lawsuit filed against Nicklaus by the company that bears his name, The Nicklaus Companies. If you noticed Jack was wearing an Augusta National logo sweater and Masters hat on the first tee on Thursday compared to the customary Golden Bear logo he has worn for years. Max replaced the legendary Jerry Tarde and the thrust of Golf Digest is now a combination of writers, contributors and content creators which is the new world of sports media content.
Being on the air at 10 AM the first two days of the tournament didn’t provide me with an opportunity to go out on the golf course before going on the air. However, I did jump on a cart with an engineer to go and pick up Johnson Wagner on the 10th tee since he was going to contribute to the broadcast for SiriusXM. Johnson has joined our team at 5 Clubs and his first show with Brendon de Jonge will be next with tennis great Andy Roddick. The transition Wagner is making into media has been impressive as he is gaining more and more experience with Golf Channel in studio and on the ground as well as working for PGA Tour Live. He had not been back to Augusta National in a decade and his dumbstruck look at his first impression of the present footprint was telling. Augusta National embodies the term, “success is always under construction”. His jaw dropped when walking into the press building and was miffed to know that he didn’t have to pay for his breakfast in the dining room.
Quick thoughts on Friday play
- Brooks Koepka is stalking like it’s 2018/19. His ability to clear the clutter of a major week is noteworthy and his place at the top of the leaderboard is a hell of a storyline.
- Rory McIlroy not only not contending but missing the cut is deflating. For all the chatter about the career grand slam, he has three majors left to avoid going a decade without winning any major. The vortex he has to break back through only gets thicker.
- Tiger resuming his 2nd round on Saturday morning on the 12th tee is symbolic. He starts his Saturday sitting on the cut line as he tries to extend his cut streak at the Masters to 23 straight. At some point you see things you never thought you would and Tiger beginning on the 12th tee is a powerful image not knowing how many more Masters he will play in.
- Sam Bennett is a tough little nut (I covered the US Amateur last summer at Ridgewood Country Club where he was overlooked early in the week) and he has similarly received little attention compared to Vanderbilt sophomore Gordon Sargent this week. Two 68’s and he’s now in the deep end of the pool.
- The falling of the three trees just off the 17th tee was horrifying and harrowing for those in the immediate vicinity. It’s simply miraculous that NO ONE was injured and that becomes amplified with each additional video angle that is put out on social media.
- I couldn’t pull the trigger on a different lunch item on the press building dining menu other than the seared chicken breast, however, the tenderness of the asparagus spears was wildly impressive. I am going rogue on Saturday, I promise, and its either going to be the fish tacos or the caprese grilled cheese sandwich.
- I made one additional trip into the merchandise building for a few odd items for Christmas gift exchanges including a Masters Christmas tree ornament and a coffee mug. I have a number of thoughts on the overall merchandising approach of the Masters and that will be part of the wrap up at week’s end.
- Best dressed media member on Friday, Brad Faxon of Golf Channel and on loan to Sky Sports this week. A beautiful burgundy plaid sportscoat, navy slacks and cognac toned leather shoes. Fax has excellent style.
- Let’s hope we play a lot of golf on Saturday.
by Gary Williams | Apr 6, 2023 | Blog
The Masters is the youngest major, yet it has established several traditions because of the returning to Augusta National every year that has allowed the tournament to catch up in some ways to the other three monster events in the men’s game. The honorary starters have transitioned from generation to generation and currently the combined Masters titles of Nicklaus, Player and Watson is eleven and their overall major championship haul is 35. Their mere presence together on Thursday morning on the first tee made me emotional watching from a monitor in the press building. I saw Gary Player in person 50 years ago at the Greater Greensboro Open in 1973 when I was six years old. I was on the grounds in 1980 at U.S. Open when Nicklaus shot 63 in the opening round and went on to win that year at Baltusrol. On that same Thursday in 1980 I saw Tom Watson make a hole-in-one on the 4th hole at Baltusrol. These three men are part of the soundtrack of my life loving golf, and you simply don’t know how much longer they will do this wonderful exercise together.
My day centered on four live hours hosting the radio coverage on SiriusXM with a rotating cast of people from Carl Paulson, Brian Katrek, Taylor Zarzour, John Maginnes, Fred Albers and Chantel McCabe. All with the gift of gab that is essential on radio, and we were focused primarily on the featured group of Tiger Woods, Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele. Tiger was simply not sharp. He labored all the way around, and on a day ripe for scoring, his 74 felt higher. Hovland was almost spotless and produced a stellar up-and-down on 10 to hold the round in place and after thirteen holes he was 7-under and looked like he might be headed to something very low.
I got out on the golf course at 2:30 and caught up with the group of Jason Day, Zach Johnson and amateur Gordon Sargent. Having attended Vanderbilt, I was able to catch up with their terrific golf coach Scott Limbaugh as well as a dear friend and Sigma Chi fraternity brother who flew in to meet his two sons who attend Vanderbilt. I bumped into the Walker Cup captain Mike McCoy, the reigning British Amateur champion, who was out watching Sargent who is destined to be on the US team next fall at St. Andrews. Conditions could not have been better for scoring, and it showed on the white, hand-operated scoreboards.
Quick hits
- The tenth hole is the most majestic inland hole in my estimation in the world. Grand in scale with big and bold features from the Mackenzie bunker to the cascading loblolly pines it embodies the grandness of the golf course.
- The landing zone for good tees shots from the new tee on hole 13 make the hole what Bob Jones intended. The decision to go for the green should be “momentous” and it is once again.
- From the top of the hill on 15, the green looks like an extended island green with the pond on 16 at the far exterior of the 15th green.
- No lunch report today as I simply did not have time to grab anything, and I was not eating a pimento cheese sandwich on the course because they are grossly overrated. My Mom makes great homemade pimento cheese, so the bar is high but the sandwiches here are living on a reputation that is part nostalgia and maybe an ounce of fear that you shouldn’t say anything negative about the staple Masters food item. Sorry, they are not good, its o.k. The event’s reputation will be unaffected.
- Best dressed media member. Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press. He’s a lion in the business and his uniform of a Hawaiian shirt and shorts with his well bronzed face is one of the iconic looks in any media center.
- We wait for the impending weather rolling in late tomorrow.
by Gary Williams | Apr 6, 2023 | Blog
The eve of any major championship is challenging for players, fans and the media. With the constant flow of content being put out into the ether, even world-class media gasbags are about tapped out with thought or original conversation by Wednesday. How many times can we extrapolate whether Rory is in the right headspace? Players have installed their game plans and any player searching for a swing thought on the eve of the Masters will be on a Delta regional jet connecting in Atlanta or heading to Hilton Head on Saturday morning in a courtesy car.
Wednesday morning for me started with breakfast with Taylor Zarzour. Taylor has followed me at three different stops in my career. When I left local radio in Charlotte he arrived at the station, WFNZ, that I had departed and quickly became a valuable voice in a market that is still experiencing rapid growth. When I left SiriusXM to head to Golf Channel in 2011 he took a position with the network in varied roles. He also currently handles the play-by-play job for the Carolina Panthers television preseason package, a position I occupied from 2006 to 2008. Taylor has become the visionary for the PGA Tour radio network, transforming the channel’s line-up into a collection of voices with personality and relationships with every top player in the game. It’s nice when you have a meal with a good friend who can nerd out about golf like I can and it was a super geeky conversation about distance reduction, the champions dinner and broadcasting ideas for round one coverage on SiriusXM for Thursday. When you eat in the dining room in the Press building, you order and within five minutes your food is delivered piping hot. How can a facility that operates one week out of the year with part-time help be so courteous and efficient? I don’t know, but the organization could teach virtually every other business in the service sector how to do what they do better. Egg whites and bacon for me. Rock solid.
Fred Ridley’s annual state of the Masters commenced at 11 AM sharp and it was standing room only. The weight of the Augusta National voice in the industry of golf is unmatched and Ridley holds the position to not only speak for the club, but to lead it into whatever is next, and their reach in the game is boundless. I asked the second question of Mr. Ridley after he finished his opening remarks and despite him touching on the recent announcement by the governing bodies on their proposed modified local rule on the golf ball, I felt it was necessary to get clarity on their position. I simply asked if they supported the proposal and he stated that they did, which came as no surprise. He spoke for 45 minutes and was asked about Greg Norman not being invited this year as a past major champion, the future exemptions of LIV players, the changes to hole 13, his own experience playing in the Masters and the Champions dinner.
The SiriusXM team had our final production meeting and just a reminder to those in the broadcast field, if you are standing next to Mike Tirico in a production meeting it means your career has not bottomed out just yet. Mike will be the lead play-by-play person for the radio broadcast because why wouldn’t he? He’s the most versatile and committed broadcaster in the industry and with some of the most significant assignments in all of sports television he’s willing and enthusiastic about doing radio. He also is a team guy, in every way.
After lunch with Eamon Lynch of Golfweek and Golf Channel, I had a cup of soup and a Caesar salad with grilled chicken and was anxious to get on the course for the first time. I always make my first trip around Augusta starting on 10 tee and the view is the most majestic on the golf course. Cascading loblolly pines are the backdrop behind the tenth green and the distinctive Mackenzie bunker that is recessed from the front of the putting green by 60 yards are the most profound images of the hole. The Mackenzie bunker lacks the uniformity and homogenous appearance of most of the other bunkers on the golf course and even though it is rarely if ever in play, it is one of the defining design features on the course from its original creation. You descend from the top of the golf course to the bottom in two holes. Walking downhill 350 feet to the 11th green and the stage that is Amen Corner. I grew up sledding on the hills of Arcola Country Club in northern New Jersey and I gaze at the hills and slopes at Augusta National and marvel at the potential for the greatest sledding experience in another lifetime. The hills on 10 and 11, the hill as you turn the corner on the second fairway, the hill on the 8th going back to the tee and the side slope on hole number five. The 12th hole is golf’s greatest stage. I mean that in the sense that the audience can’t actually approach the stage. Once the players hit their tee shots, they head to the solitude that exists across the Hogan bridge. Looking back at the new tee on 13 from afar, I can tell you that I love it. It’s elevated and it looks natural, and I’ve always been a fan of true chutes on back tees and the new tee is a cylinder in appearance. A few other quick observations on seeing the course again. The climb from the 14th tee to the apex of the fairway is underrated, the severity of the drop off in front of the third green is dramatic and the original range which sits between 9 and 18 is the perfect wide corridor for fans to make their way out onto the golf course.
A few final quick hitters:
- Steve Elkington still has great style. Five pocket pants, stylish shoes and a killer belt. Elk looked good.
- Gary Woodland is a good athlete. His wife might be a better athlete having seen her climb a rock wall years ago in the Bahamas and seeing their little kids has me betting on their athletic futures.
- The Oak Tree adjacent to the clubhouse is the greatest outdoor meeting area in golf industry history.
- Best dressed media member. Eamon Lynch in a light grey suit and a dark solid tie accenting by carmel-colored leather boots. Not bad for a writer.
- My pick is Scottie Scheffler. Let’s start this thing.
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