Release

CBS SPORTS' FALDO ON DONALD HOLDING NO. 1 AND MEMORIAL FIELD AS CBS BROADCASTS PGA TOUR'S "THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE INSURANCE" JUNE 4-5

 DONALD, MICKELSON, McILROY AND WATSON AMONG TOP FIELD AT "THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE INSURANCE" ON CBS SPORTS JUNE 4-5

  

One of the year's top fields is competing with eight of the top-10 players and 25 of the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings, including No. 1 World-ranked Luke Donald and No. 4 World-ranked Phil Mickelson, at THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE INSURANCE.  CBS Sports broadcasts the third and final rounds of the Memorial Tournament on Saturday, June 4 (3:00-6:00 PM, ET) and Sunday, June 5 (2:30-6:00 PM, ET), live from Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

  

Jim Nantz, two-time Emmy Award winner for "Outstanding Sports Personality - Play-by-Play" and five-time National Sportscaster of the Year, now in his 26th year with CBS, serves as anchor of CBS Sports' golf coverage. Sir Nick Faldo, winner of six major championships and more than 40 tournaments worldwide, serves as lead analyst. Ian Baker-Finch calls the action at the 17th hole and Gary McCord at the 16th hole.  David Feherty and Peter Kostis serve as on-course reporters.

 

Last year Justin Rose, at age 29, came from four strokes behind third-round leader Rickie Fowler to win his first PGA TOUR event. Rose and Fowler return to take on a strong field that includes, Donald, Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, K.J. Choi, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els,  Camilo Villegas, Jhonattan Vegas, Lucas Glover, Charl Schwartzel,  Kenny Perry, Angel Cabrera,  Edoardo Molinari, Jonathan Byrd, Vijay Singh, D.A. Points, Ricky Barnes, Ryan Palmer, Bo Van Pelt, Charlie Wi, Sean O'Hair, Stewart Cink, Robert Allenby, Davis Love III, Charley Hoffman, David Duval, last week's Byron Nelson winner Keegan Bradley and 1998 Memorial winner Fred Couples, making his 20th start here and first since 2008.

  

OFF THE TEE WITH SIR NICK FALDO

  

(On Fellow Englishman Luke Donald now No. 1)

 His eye on shots, his short game, his putting - everything is as good as anybody right now on TOUR. You have to believe that his consistency is going to continue. And if he keeps that up, he is probably going to maintain his No. 1 one spot for quite a while. If he can add something even bigger to it, like a major, then it looks like he could hold No. 1 for quite some time.

 

(On Phil Mickelson and Favorites to Watch For)

If Phil is well rested, which he is, he got a couple of weeks off now. So I think that's important to him. He'll be starting to prepare physically, mentally and technically to get himself ready for the U.S. Open.  The Memorial is a great tournament and he'll be a fan favorite...It's a strong field with just about everybody out there. You've got some of the youngsters there obviously.  It will be interesting with Bubba Watson. He said he was tired from his run after the Masters; winning in New Orleans.  He was worn out. So it will be interesting to see what he's like now. His length could become very useful around Jack's course. But, you need your accuracy there as well. I wonder if Rory McIlroy feels under pressure to erase the Masters?  He told me he is playing well.  K.J. Choi is very strong. Look out for him. He is a past winner there so he has a good opportunity.  Nick Watney hits it very long. Look for him. He's a pretty long, straight player tee to green which usually stacks up pretty good at Jack's tournament.  You need to do that well. It's a tough tournament to scramble a week long. The defending champion Justin Rose would like to get back in there. He had two wins last year and has gone a little quiet. That will inspire him to really try and make something happen this week.  You have to believe he will be in the running by the end of the week.

 

(On Tiger's Injuries)

Tiger's injuries are really kind of ruling his career now. The most interesting thing for me is he took about a month off after the injury from Augusta, then goes to play and literally between one and two competitive shots, the injury flared up again. So it shows the difference between practicing under relaxed conditions as opposed to playing golf under tournament conditions. That's going to be a real concern for him.  If he thinks it's going to go again, what does he do? Does he have to back off and be very cautious on how much strain he puts on it or can he compete if it's slightly injured? Or if he completely injures it again, what does that mean for the rest of his recovery? If he keeps taking a month off and then it blows again, then, wow! I think he's going to be very concerned with how well it's all going to hold up.

 

World Golf Hall of Fame member Jack Nicklaus hosts this tournament, which he won twice, on his signature designed Muirfield Village Golf Club.  The tournament is themed around people who have contributed to the game of golf and the 2011 Honoree is LPGA Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez.

  

Lance Barrow is Coordinating Producer and Steve Milton is Director of CBS Sports' golf coverage.  Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

 

 

  

  

 

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2011 CBS GOLF  SCHEDULE

 

 

Broadcast Dates

And Times (PM, ET)                         Tournament                            Location         

 

June 4 (3:00-6:00 PM)                         the Memorial Tournament    Muirfield Village Golf Club

June 5 (2:30-6:00 PM)                         presented by                           Dublin, Ohio

                                                            Nationwide Insurance

 

June 11 (3:00-6:00 PM)                       FedEx St. Jude Classic          TPC Southwind

June 12 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                       Memphis, Tenn.

  

June 25 (3:00-6:00 PM)                      Travelers                                 TPC River Highlands

June 26 (3:00-6:00 PM)                      Championship                       Cromwell, Conn.

                                                                                                            

July 2 (3:00-6:00 PM)                          AT&T National                      Aronimink Golf Club

July 3 (3:00-6:30 PM)                                                                          Newtown Square, Pa.

 

July 9 (3:00-6:00 PM)                      John Deere Classic                    TPC Deere Run

July 10 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                       Silvis, Ill.

 

July 23 (3:00-6:00 PM)                      RBC Canadian Open            Shaughnessy Golf and CC          

July 24 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                       Vancouver, British Columbia

 

July 30 (3:00-6:00 PM)                      The Greenbrier Classic           The Old White Course TPC

July 31 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                        White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.

 

Aug. 6 (2:00-6:00 PM)                       WGC-Bridgestone                   Firestone Country Club                    

Aug. 7 (2:00-6:00 PM)                        Invitational                              South Course

Akron, Ohio

 

Aug. 11 (12:37-1:07 AM)                   PGA Championship                 Atlanta Athletic Club

Aug. 12 (12:37-1:07 AM)                                                                    Johns Creek, Ga.

Aug. 13 (2:00-7:00 PM)                      

Aug. 14 (2:00-7:00 PM)

 

Aug. 20 (3:00-6:00 PM)                     Wyndham Championship        Sedgefield Country Club

Aug. 21 (3:00-6:00 PM)                                                                       Greensboro, N.C.

 

Aug. 27 (3:00-6:00 PM)                      The Barclays                         Plainfield Country Club

Aug. 28 (2:00-6:00 PM)                                                                      Edison, N.J.