NOTES AND QUOTES – THE 2025 PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP ON GOLF CHANNEL (SECOND ROUND)

NBC Sports

14-03-2025

'Are you kidding me? I've got goosebumps, guys! Sorry I wasn't looking, JT – I was trying to be a broadcaster.' – Smylie Kaufman on Justin Thomas' birdie at 17 during Happy Hour, prior to tying the course record with 10-under 62
'I think his whole goal was getting off to a nice start today where he could get the momentum going, and then turn the brain off and ride from there.' – Rickie Fowler during Happy Hour on Thomas' 10-under 62
Live From THE PLAYERS – Saturday at 10 a.m. ET, Leading into Third Round Coverage at 2 p.m. ET Live on NBC and Peacock
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 14, 2025 – NBC Sports presented comprehensive coverage of the second round of The PLAYERS Championship from The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on GOLF Channel. Golf Central Live From THE PLAYERS followed with post-round coverage.
Saturday's coverage from TPC Sawgrass begins at 10 a.m. ET on GOLF Channel with Live From THE PLAYERS followed by live third round coverage at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
Dan Hicks, Terry Gannon and Steve Sands handled play-by-play duties, while Brad Faxon, Curt Byrum, Gary Koch, and Notah Begay III served as analysts. Jim 'Bones' Mackay, Smylie Kaufman, John Wood, and Roger Maltbie served as on-course reporters, while Cara Banks handled reports and interviews.
Today's championship coverage also featured the latest edition of Happy Hour with Smylie, as 2015 PLAYERS Champion Rickie Fowler joined Smylie Kaufman and Kevin Kisner alongside the 17th hole.
Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee, Paul McGinley, Johnson Wagner, and Todd Lewis, anchored Live From THE PLAYERS post-round coverage on GOLF Channel. Following are notes and quotes from today's coverage.
The PLAYERS Championship – Second Round Leaderboard
ON JUSTIN THOMAS (-4. SECOND ROUND 62 TO TIE COURSE RECORD)
Rickie Fowler on how to stay present during an exceptional round: 'I think his whole goal was getting off to a nice start today where he could get the momentum going, and then turn the brain off and ride from there...if it's not broken, don't fix it and just go from there.'
Kaufman on the energy as Thomas came to the 17th hole at 10-under on his round: 'How about the buzz on this hole right now?'
Kisner: 'The whole vibe changed when this group got to the tee. I stood up just because I felt like I had to.'
Kaufman on Thomas making birdie at 17 during Happy Hour to go to 11-under on his round: 'Justin Thomas at the 17th to get to 11-under! Are you kidding me? I've got goosebumps, guys! Sorry I wasn't looking, JT – I was trying to be a broadcaster.'
Kisner: 'You can't make it more center cut than that....and he gave us a little shoutout there.'
Fowler: 'This is a lot easier than hitting shots (laughs).'
Koch on Thomas hitting his second shot in the water on 18th hole: 'It has to be a shock to the system. When so many things have gone right and you've done everything you expect...you've got to regroup. The first real adversity that he has faced all day long. It's very easy to keep it in your mind and second-guess it...take your time and get refocused.'
Wood after Thomas' pitch shot on 18th hole to two feet: 'JT marked his ball, came over to the back of the green, looked at me and just gave me a big wink. He is cold.'
ON AKSHAY BHATIA (-11, T-1st)
Maltbie on Bhatia's decision to lay-up on the 18th hole en route to a birdie: 'I really like the way he thought this one out. He certainly had the distance to be able to reach the green with his second shot, but he really thought it through. You know, today's player's first tendency is to be very aggressive, and I think he made a very wise play in leaving it back there and giving him something he can spin.'
Bhatia to Banks post-round on the 18th hole when his third shot clipped a tree: 'I believe this is one of the best par fives in the world. I was telling my caddie that and he said, 'Oh maybe it was just a little good luck there talking good about the hole.' But yeah, very lucky. Kind of when it's your day and you get some of those breaks, it's huge out there and so it's nice to finish with a birdie.'
ON MIN WOO LEE (-11, T-1st)
Lee to Banks post-round on his use of the 2-iron: 'I love the course, I love how it shapes, and the 2-iron becomes a weapon especially when it gets a little firm, which it has. It's nice to bomb the 2-iron and then have short irons. I love hitting driver of course, but some holes it doesn't let you do it so it's quite nice to hit that 2-iron and get it down there.'
Begay III: 'He really seems to have found a nice groove out here in this difficult layout that takes players quite a few years to get to know and to get comfortable on…Just such a tremendous talent.'
ON RORY MCILROY (-9, T-4th)
Begay III: 'If you got up bright and early to catch the early action, you got to see something special from Rory getting things off to a quick start...Rory had a little bit more control over the driver more so than he did yesterday.'
McIlroy to Banks post-round on his driving today: 'Much better off the tee today. Golf's an amazing game. I obviously didn't shoot quite as good of a score as yesterday, but I felt like I played much better. So, I'm really encouraged with how I hit it off the tee and the work that I did last night. I've got a good feel for it now and hopefully that can continue into the weekend.'
ON SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (-5, T-17th)
Begay III on Scheffler: 'We're starting to see some definite flashes of some good golf from Scottie, especially in the wedge area. You start to sync up the wedges, you know your sequence is in a good spot.'
--NBC SPORTS--