NOTES AND QUOTES – GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM THE MASTERS ON GOLF CHANNEL (SECOND ROUND)

NBC Sports

12-04-2025

'If he can come back and complete his career grand slam, today could go down as the most important round of his career.' – Brandel Chamblee on Rory McIlroy
'He redid all the work that he undid yesterday on 15 and 17.' – Paul McGinley on McIlroy
'Is he now the guy with the 'X' on his back? … Is that a heavy burden or a weight of expectation on his shoulders?'– McGinley on Scottie Scheffler
'He's a pioneer - a maverick – and I think he has taken over as the most interesting man in golf.' – McGinley on Bryson DeChambeau
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 11, 2025 – Golf Central Live From The Masters continued its comprehensive coverage surrounding the 2025 Masters with post-round reaction and analysis on GOLF Channel following the Second Round.
Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee, and Paul McGinley anchored Live From The Masters post-round coverage on GOLF Channel.
GOLF Channel's studio coverage continues Saturday at 8 a.m. ET with Golf Central Live From the Masters, with primetime coverage on GOLF Channel airing immediately following play. Following are notes and quotes from today's coverage.
The Masters – Second Round Leaderboard
On Second Round
Chamblee: 'We have the makings of an epic weekend. We could have an encore performance of Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy… We could have an encore performance of the 2001 Masters with the No. 1 and No. 2 players going head-to-head.'
On Rory McIlroy (-6, T-3rd)
Chamblee: 'If he can come back and complete his career grand slam, today could go down as the most important round of his career. This tournament was a buzz yesterday when he doubled at 15 and everyone was shocked… When he hit the shot into 13 today and made an eagle, everyone was the reverse of that.'
McGinley: 'He redid all the work that he undid yesterday on 15 and 17… It's great, we love a comeback story. We also want the stars atop the leaderboard.'
Chamblee on McIlroy's performance: 'The key is that he was tied for first in strokes-gained ball-striking through the first two rounds… Nobody better than him, and that is the Rory we saw in 2011, 2012, and 2014.'
McGinley: 'I thought he played very well, very solid. He put a spurt on around the middle, that's where the scoring came. He's right there, he got the score that he needed today showing a lot of resilience. People are very quick to dismiss him based on the fact that he hasn't won any majors for 11 years… This guy has got a bit about him, there's no doubt about that.'
McGinley on McIlroy's recent improved play: 'There has been two massive additions to his team in the last couple of years that have really propelled him for this new evolution of Rory McIlroy. One is Brad Faxon with his putting… and the second is Bob Rotella.'
On Scottie Scheffler (-5, T-5th)
McGinley on the pressure of Scheffler not having won this season: 'Is he now the guy with the 'X' on his back? We've talked about how statistically; he's been the closest thing we've seen to Tiger Woods in terms of performance statistics… Is that a heavy burden or a weight of expectation on his shoulders?'
Chamblee: 'Everything is still good… His chipping was really sharp the first couple of days. It's easy to get a little frustrated. When you finish a round the way he did, it's easy to get a little hot and go over to the range and carry that anger over there where you're completely frustrated.'
On Justin Rose (-8, 1st)
McGinley: 'I think he battled well today, don't think he had his best stuff. Burden of expectations after a great day yesterday… A good day's work for him. A workman like day for him, I don't think he found it easy out there. His short game bailed him out and he navigated his way around. There's something going on with Justin Rose that allows him to elevate as he gets older… We're not seeing the week-in-week-out steady Eddie that we saw earlier in his career. We're seeing him come into these big events and dig out a performance.'
Chamblee: 'He plays this golf course like he did win here; it fits him beautifully. For his entire career he has been overlooked and underappreciated for his scrambling.'
On Bryson DeChambeau (-7, 2nd)
McGinley: 'He's a pioneer - a maverick – and I think he has taken over as the most interesting man in golf. He's a guy that draws you in whether it be on YouTube or the practice grounds here or his behavior on the golf course which is very high energy – it draws you in. I have always enjoyed watching him play, I like the fact that he's different… I think he's enjoying being back in the spotlight, feeding off of the great performances he had in majors last year, and on both days, he's gotten off to fast starts.'
Chamblee: 'We had the pleasure of getting to see Steph Curry play basketball and when we left there we were talking about, in golf, who is the equivalent shot maker and showman? They don't come along very often, and it may very well be Bryson DeChambeau because when you think about what he is, I've never really quite seen another player like him. On one hand, he's a lot like John Daly. He plays the game with an audacity, boldness, and recklessness. On the other hand, he's like Ben Hogan. An endless search to perfection leaving nothing to chance.'
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