Garbage Plate, Oak Hill fans in spotlight during ESPN broadcast of PGA Championship
Unseasonably frigid weather may have caused a nearly two-hour delay on the first day of play at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
But by 9:40 a.m., ESPN commentator Scott Van Pelt declared the resulting pre-dawn frost “long forgotten.”
As temperatures started to climb, the warmth flowed: “Oak Hill is taking its rightful place in the sun,” he said. “It’s going to be a great day.”
Indeed, the Pittsford club’s famed East Course looked picture perfect under clear blue skies and amid birds loudly chirping birds.
Oak Hill golf fans earn praise from ESPN announcer
Van Pelt also praised local spectators.
“They love their golf up here, the fans are so passionate,” he said.
And he and David Duval, ESPN’s lead golf analyst, noted that a lot of them seem to be rooting for Rory McIlroy, whose wife, Erica Stoll, grew up in Irondequoit.
“Rory, staying with the in-laws this week,” Duval said. “His wife is from right around the corner.”
“Big week for him,” said Van Pelt, noting that McIlroy is an honorary Oak Hill member.
Sunday updates from Oak Hill: Follow the PGA Championship here all day long
Garbage plate gets a moment during PGA Championship broadcast
A little after 11 a.m. during a brief break in the action, Rochester’s culinary claim to fame made a brief appearance, when the broadcast aired footage of a Garbage Plate being assembled at Nick Tahou Hots.
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Van Pelt didn’t miss a beat: “Garbage Plate, give me some,” he said. “I’ll destroy one immediately. Somebody bring me a Garbage Plate, I beg of you.”
“Make it two,” Duval said.
Later, ESPN+ aired a full Garbage Plate segment in which they quizzed players about the messy entrée:
Had they ever heard of it?
“Nope,” said Brooks Koepka.
“Uh, you got some context?” asked Scottie Scheffler, at which point a narrator rattled off the list of components: home fries, mac salad, bake beans and cheeseburgers (or hamburgers or hots) smothered with a meat-based hot sauce and topped with raw onions and mustard.
Said Brit Matt Fitzpatrick: “That’s America in one long sentence right there.”
After being handed a photo of the dish, Shane Lowry said, “I’m afraid to look.”
Examining the same image, Xander Schauffele said, “I mean, I’ll take a bite before I knock on it. Is that egg under there?”
Justin Thomas said he’d try it, too. But, “I’m taking the afternoon off if I’m having that.”
Said Jordan Spieth: “Yeah, I’ll eat that. Probably not before the night I play in the PGA this year. But maybe, like, Monday.”
At press conference on Tuesday, McIlory said, “I’ve only had one Garbage Plate in my life. I haven’t went overboard with that.”
More: 'I was hooked immediately.' He's 63 and still eats a garbage plate every day
Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Oak Hill fans, garbage plate noted in PGA Championship 2023 broadcast
