PGA MEDIA WEBCAST NEWS CONFERENCE – June 7
JULIUS MASON: Good afternoon, everyone, I'm Julius Mason, Senior Director of Communications and Media Relations for the PGA of America.
Welcome to the 92nd PGA Championship Media Day, which is also being streamed live on PGA.com.
Before we kick things off, please sit back, relax and enjoy the history and tradition that is the season's final Major -- glory's last shot -- the PGA Championship.
(Video played.)
JULIUS MASON: Right around the corner, ladies and gentlemen. Now I'd like to recognize a few guests in our audience and our very own PGA members who make golf a better game.
From the Wisconsin PGA Section, President, Ike Bailey.
From Butler National Golf Club, District Director, Bruce Patterson.
Right here from WhistlingStraits, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Kohler Company, David Kohler. Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Kohler Company, Natalie Black Kohler.And several members of the 2010 PGA Championship Executive Committee.From the PGA of America, the Chief Executive Officer and PGA Honorary Member, Mr. Joe Steranka.Senior Director of Championships, Mr. David Charles.And from your backyard, the 92nd PGA Championship Director, Barry Deach.
And now, let's hear from the Chairman and CEO of Kohler Company, somebody you may not know, Mr. Herbert Kohler, Junior.
MR. HERBERT KOHLER, JR.: Thank you, Julius. My word, good to see you again. We are honored to host this PGA Championship. The very best players in the field, including a robust international lineup, the quality and impact of this tournament management is a testament to the PGA of America, to the Kohler team, to the media, and to the state of Wisconsin.
As a result, we have the privilege of hosting this great Major in 2004 and 2010 and in 2015.
The 92nd PGA Championship at Whistling Straits will once again draw a worldwide audience with millions of eyes focused on the state of Wisconsin. On SheboyganCounty and on Kohler Golf.
CBS and TNT will broadcast 28 hours of high definition championship coverage to 194 countries and territories, reaching more than 667 million households -- showcasing the raw beauty and challenge of Whistling Straits. Soak it in, those are some staggering numbers.
As you saw this morning, Whistling Straits is ready for this Major. The course is in excellent condition, the grounds crew has cared for each hole meticulously, and mostly, I might add, mostly in the dark morning, so the player never sees them.
It's all in preparation for our normal play, but particularly for this championship.
If I had written a script for the 2004 PGA Championship I could not have created the color and drama of the actual event.
To a person, amongst players and spectators, the 446 million households around the world who watched on television were blown away by what they experienced.
In recalling this 2004 PGA Vijay Singh's final round 4-over par 76 was the third highest final round by a Major Championship winner. And good, barely good, for a 72-hole total of 8-under par, 280.
It was a thrilling conclusion to a historic championship -- with Chris DiMarco, Justin Leonard, and Vijay Singh competing in a three hole playoff using the 10th, the 17th, and the 18th holes.
To win this playoff Vijay let loose with an enormous drive to the front of the green on the 10th. Take a look at it.
Take a look at just what he accomplished. The strategy of it and the actual execution.
He then chipped it, chipped to the pin within 10 feet without crossing the bunker. Unlike the others who couldn't match his power or his strategy.
Vijay then sank the putt for the only birdie of the playoff. It was a thrilling climax.
But then to last year's will champion, Y E Yang, my congratulations on being the first Asian-born golfer to win a PGA Championship and capture the Wanamaker.
Y E, your Sunday performance pitting you against golf's fiercest competitor was also one for the history books. It was the rarest of feats, to best the world's best that final day.
I happened to be standing immediately in back of the left lobe of the 18th green, about 30 feet from the pin that day. When I saw this ball sail from the back of the tree, that 80 foot tree, then over the tree, and bounce within 10 feet of the pin, and then abruptly come to a stop, I thought for a moment that only Tiger could have made a shot like that and then I realized, damn, Y E.
How astounding amidst all that pressure our Korean friend could collect himself once again and make a shot like that. that's what you find in a PGA Championship, the course is played out and the way it's managed, you really can't beat it.
I would like to add for the first time ever at a PGA Championship up to four juniors, young people, will receive complimentary admission with each ticketed adult. I give the PGA of America a lot of credit for this offering as a means of introducing our young people to the values and excitement of thisgame of golf. I know my grandchildren will be there and I hope yours will also. At least some of them.
Thank you very much.
JULIUS MASON: Thank you very much, Mr. Kohler. 10 points for your play-by-play of Y E's 18th hole there. I didn't know you had it in you. Very good.
And now ladies and gentlemen let's hear from one of our key partners who is responsible for the video you saw a little earlier and for bringing the PGA Championship to households around the world, ladies and gentlemen, from New York City, the Executive Vice President of Programming for CBS Sports, Rob Correa.
ROB CORREA: Thank you, Julius, thank you. I would like to thank Jim Remy and his fellow PGA officers, along with Joe Steranka and his terrific staff, it's been a long relationship and believe me, we could not have done it without Joe and Julius and Kevin Carter, Casey Morton, Kathy Jordan, among others. It'sreally been a, it's been a 20 year relationship.
This will be our 20th PGA at CBS. We have seen a lot, as we witnessed in the video, since 1991. I would also like to talk about our relationship with Turner, which has really been, I think been beneficial for us, Turner, and the PGA of America.
Our schedule will be highlight shows Thursday and Friday nights at 12:37 a.m. and then live weekend coverage at 2 p.m. conclusion, likely 7 p.m. eastern on Saturday and Sunday. year over 35 million people watched all or part of CBS's weekend telecast, which was our highest number of viewers since 2002.
Our Sunday rating was our fifth highest since 1991 and the highest in six out of the last seven years. So it never fails to disappoint.
Our production team will be headed by Darrell Bryant, our Vice President of Production, who is in the second row; and Lance Barrow will be our Coordinating Producer; Steve Milton is our Coordinating Director and our all-star cast of talent will be obviously highlighted by headlined by Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo on 18; and also includes Peter Ooesterhuis, Ian Baker Finch, Gary McCord, Verne Lundquist, Peter Kostis and David Feherty.
So we can only hope that we'll be as fortunate in a couple of months as we were the last time we were here. So I think I can speak for everybody at CBS and we are really, really looking forward to the PGA Championship. Thank you.
JULIUS MASON: Thanks very much, Rob.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, all the way from AtlantaGeorgia, our television and digital media partner from Turner Sports, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Matt Hong.
MATT HONG: Thank you, Julius. On behalf of all my colleagues at Turner Broadcasting and Turner Sports we're very happy to be here as well. Turner Sports is looking forward to providing golf fans numerous options for accessing live golf throughout the four days of the 92nd PGA Championship.
And for the championship to return here to spectacular Whistling Straits will only make this year's version of Glory's Final Shot all that much more special.
We're excited to return, this is our 20th year as well, the PGA Championship. The 12th year that the event will air on TNT.
And in addition it that we're excited to continue our partnership with the PGA of America in running PGA.com, which is the official web site of the PGA.
This year our incredibly talented announcer and on-air TNT team will again feature Ernie Johnson, Ian Baker Finch serving as analyst, Billy Kratzert as analyst and course reporter, and Jim Huber, who is here today, who will provide essays and interviews with the tournament participants.
We'll have 18 hours of coverage on TNT, full days of coverage on Thursday and Friday, and early hours of coverage on Saturday and Sunday.
And in years past, as in years past, we look forward to partnering with CBS to cover the championship, both in terms of production and in talent and partnering to bring the telecast to life.
In addition, as I noted earlier, to TNT, we also operate PGA.com. And this will be our ninth year covering the championship with the PGA of America on PGA.com. And our second year covering it via mobile and wireless applications.
So in conclusion, I just want to reiterate how excited we at Turner Sports are to be partnering with the PGA of America, CBS to bring the telecast on TNT, to bring live video on PGA.com and also to provide coverage on our wireless applications.
Thank you.
JULIUS MASON: Thanks very much, Matt. And now, ladies and gentlemen, from Ludlow, Vermont, the 36th President of the PGA of America, Jim Remy.
JIM REMY: Thank you, Julius. And first let me just thank everyone for being here today and welcome. This is an exciting event and it's an exciting day here for everyone. know, I'm fortunate and honored and privileged to be the President of the PGA of America for the last, what will be two years by the end of this year. And I get to go to work every day -- I have the greatest job in the world -- I get to go to work every day and represent 28,000 men and women who go to work every single day in the golf industry all over this country and they teach the game and they play the game and they run the business of golf. And it is a privilege and an honor for me to sit here in front of you at the 92nd PGA Championship Media Day and address you. So thank you for that.
It's going to be an exciting time. Back two years ago when I became president as I looked forward to my presidency and I knew that I would be at Whistling Straits, with the wonderful Kohler family and all of our great friends here at Whistling Straits, as well as CBS and Turner, our partners, I knew that it was going to be special. And in just two months the 92nd PGA Championship will begin and will take place right here at Whistling Straits.
Conducting the PGA Championship again at Whistling continues a PGA tradition of really matching the nation's greatest courses with the world's greatest players.
And we're very proud of that.
And since 1994, the PGA Championship has hosted the deepest field based on the official World Golf Rankings in all of Major golf. With the highest number of official World Rankings members. You may recall that in 2004 Whistling Straits hosted a world golf Ranking record field featuring 95 of the top 100 players in the world in 2004.
And last year, at Hazeltine National Golf Club, the field featured 97 of the top 100 world ranked players and a championship record 69 players representing over 22 countries, the most of any U.S. Major, the strongest field in Major golf.
You know, the PGA Championship is the only championship, only Major Championship that features an all-professional field.
And this year more than 3,000 club professionals of the PGA of America's finest playing club professionals tried to qualify to be here to represent the PGA of America in that field. And there will be 20 club professionals who will be chosen at French Lick, in our Professional National Championship later this month will come here and represent the 28,000 members of the PGA of America and to also be part of, like I said, the only field in golf which is all professional Major Championship.
The excitement of the PGA Championship really commands a global audience. In addition to the millions of U.S. viewers who will watch more than 28 hours of high definition coverage, of viewers in more than 194 countries and territories with a household reach of more than 667 million will also watch the season's final Major Championship.
The PGA Championship really has been fortunate each year to produce special signature moments from the champions who have captured the Wanamaker Trophy. Those images are forever, really, forever be etched in our minds and serve as a wonderful memory for the golf fans throughout the world.
Our defending champion took control last year in the final round at Hazeltine National Golf Club. The PGA Championship was his first Major, and as Herb referred to earlier, he made our champion the first male player from Asia to capture one of the world's four Majors.
If you were watching last year, you will recall his charge down the stretch at Hazeltine, by the way, at the time the longest golf course in Major Championship history. And of those of you who might have some difficulty remembering some of those details, if you just look here at the video, we have some reminders of that great day.
(Video played.)
Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the PGA of America, partners, and certainly our friends here at Whistling Straits, is my pleasure to welcome our defending PGA champion, Y E Yang.
JULIUS MASON: Well, as I wipe a tear from my eye after watching that video, I'm going to let everybody know that joining Y E today is his manager from IMG, Ryan Park, who will serve as our interpreter for the day.
So Ryan, let me just go ahead and put it out there, why don't we ask Y E what his thoughts were as he watches that and then maybe take us back to what the last year's been like.
Y E YANG: First of all I want to thank everybody over here for coming over on such, I don't know if it's such short notice, but thank you for coming.
It's like watching a very good film, a very good movie right now. I didn't want to embarrass myself, so, in front of all these people, so I've been, I'm trying hard right now to hold back some tears, but even though it's been nearly a year now, since I won the PGA Championship in 2009, it feels like a dream still.
And it's like, as I said, watching a nice piece of movie.
JULIUS MASON: Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll go to questions and answers now.
Q. Y E, thank you very much for coming today and is this the first time you've played Whistling Straits?
Y E YANG: Yes.
Q. And since it is, could you sum up your initial reaction?
Y E YANG: I don't know if you played before, but you can't see the fairways over here, it seems like it's just fescue everywhere. You can't really locate the fairways. So it's daunting, difficult, not -- and even though you go on the fairway, not that wide. So it's a difficult course.
Q. One last thing, I saw you hitting balls off the 17th tee there, out to the rock and in Lake Michigan. Were you able to hit the rock?
Y E YANG: You know, actually, I hit with my partner, Jim Remy's clubs, so I think he needs a bit of tweaking on the clubs. If I used mine I would definitely hit it.
Q. What was the reaction in South Korea to you winning the PGA Championship?
Y E YANG: I wasn't there when I won it, so I can't tell you about the actual immediate reaction afterward, but I just felt that there's a huge difference between a win and a Major win. I've won in my career a few times in Japan and in European also in the Honda classic on the PGA TOUR, but I've never had that kind of reception before as I did after my first visit after my PGA win.
I was, I entered the arrival area holding the Wanamaker Trophy replica that I have, and there were a lot more people than there were right now waiting for me. And they were all reporters, the way. So -- and by the way it was about four or five a.m. the morning, so just by that reaction I knew that there was something, that that was something big.
Q. Mr. Kohler, if I may, I remember being out here as a fan in 2004, sitting on hole No. 12, on Sunday, and you came around and the crowd noticed that you were there, kind of just standing in the background and they began to chant, "Thank you, Herb." I wonder, do you recall that and certainly either way how important it is for you to be able to bring this gift to Wisconsin.