British Open: Golfers keep getting interrupted by live coverage from loud TVs at Royal Liverpool
Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott each had to back off the ball suddenly on Saturday after they heard announcers breaking down their shots in real time
As Scottie Scheffler stepped up to hit his approach shot on the par-5 fifth hole at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Saturday afternoon, he suddenly heard his name being called out.
But it wasn’t a fan. Instead, to the right of him, there was a large TV screen playing live golf coverage of his current shot. Analysts were breaking down what Scheffler was about to do in real time, and the volume was loud.
Scheffler had to back off. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.
“That was strange,” he said. “I was standing over my shot and they had the TV going full volume over there and it was commentating my shot.
“So I heard my name in the distance and I was like, all right, I've got to back off. I've never heard a distraction like that before. Usually something that loud it's music or something. Hopefully they turn that down as the leaders get back there. It was very — I've never been so distracted by something like that before.”
Scheffler isn’t the first one to experience this at Royal Liverpool this week. Max Homa heard TV analysts saying he was about to use too much club before his approach on the par-5 18th during Thursday’s opening round.
Homa didn’t back off, and the analysts were right. He had too much club, and he hit it into the grandstands.
“I don't know if anybody has mentioned this before, but you can hear the commentators on the broadcast from the big TV, and I was over the ball and one of them said, ‘This is too much club,’” Homa said Thursday.
“I did an absolutely awful job of not backing off because I knew it was too much club. That was the point … I’m hoping they turn that down tomorrow because it is really distracting.”
Adam Scott experienced the same thing Saturday, too. He backed off after hearing commentators drop his name, which led to a lot of laughter from the crowd around him.
Adam Scott got interrupted by his own commentary at The Open 😂
(via Disastrous-Ad-7173/Reddit) pic.twitter.com/zuohByE2Yd— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) July 22, 2023
Despite the random commentary, Scheffler still made birdie on the hole. It was one of four he had on the day, but he still finished with a 1-over 72. Scheffler, who entered the week ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, dropped to 4-over on the week. He’s well back of leader Brian Harman, who holds a five-shot lead over the rest of the field.
So far, the announcers haven’t impacted anybody’s round too much. And, at least for Scheffler and Scott, they seem to be taking it well.
“It was pretty funny, just hearing your own name on the coverage,” Scheffler said. “It was a weird moment for sure.”
