As players registered for this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, they’ve been asked by PGA Tour officials if they agree to being mic’d up during a tournament round for the CBS TV broadcast. However, this idea hasn’t gone down well with some of the stars.
World No.2 Jon Rahm said on: “Selfishly, because of who I am and because I know how I am on the golf course, I wouldn’t support it, because there would need to be a 20-or-30 second delay.
“And I’m not the only one. A lot of people swear or cuss … I don’t think it would be the best thing to do. I don’t think there’s any reason why we should be mic’d up from shot to shot.”
“I see the point, but I think people expect us to talk about more interesting things than we really do. So I don’t think it would be as entertaining as people think. It all depends. If somebody decides to do it and it really works out and it’s fun, cool, go ahead.”
Justin Thomas, who is the cover star for the PGA Tour 2K21 video game which comes out in August, also isn’t comfortable about being mic’d up during competitions with so much at stake. “I would not wear a mic, no – that’s not me,” said Thomas. What I talk about with Jimmy (his caddie) and what I talk about with the guys in my group is none of anybody else’s business, no offense.
“As close as those mics are on the tees and the greens, and as close as they get the boom mics during competition, I feel like I basically am mic’d up. I can’t say some of the stuff I’d usually say. It’s not that it’s bad [but] if I want somebody to know what I’ve said, I’ll say it in a press conference, I’ll say it in an interview or put it out on social media.”
During the charity match between Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady last month, the players being mic’d up worked well with banter flowing between the teams but it’s a contrasting setting to a PGA Tour event. Whereas conversely in the charity skins game involving Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff, the mic’d up element was boring and didn’t add much entertainment or insight for the viewers.
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Three-time Major champion, Jordan Spieth, thinks it’s a great idea when there aren’t any fans but it could be a distraction to your focus. “Am I open to it? Sure, I’m open to it,” said Spieth. “I think if anything, it could be a distraction personally to your play, but I also see what an advantage it could have for the game if you’re able to mic some guys up, especially given there’s no crowd noise, so you get a little extra commentary from the players.”
We will just have to wait and see how it works in the Charles Schwab Challenge with Rickie Fowler amongst others expected to be mic’d up.
