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Tilghman has Southwest Airlines Moment

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Kelly Tilghman had a "wanna get away" moment on the air last week when she suggested young challengers to Tiger Woods might want to "lynch him in a back alley".   Oops. Add Ms. Tilghman’s name to that of Gary McCord, Ben Wright, Rick Barry among others who have forgotten to keep a filter tightly in place while on the air or during an interview.  Mr. Woods, who said Ms. Tilghman is a friend, considers the case closed.  No harm no foul.  The Golf Channel is to be commended for taking quick action in suspending Ms. Tilghman for two weeks (one would have been sufficient). 

The response to this is over reaction, but hey we live in an over reactive world where there are hundreds of folks with nothing better to do than watch television waiting for screw ups to occur.  I feel for Ms. Tilghman as she’s taken an undo amount of criticism since she assumed her host duties at Golf Channel.  Thankfully they didn’t fire her.  She’s learned a hard lesson in a very public and painful manner.

Even the Rev. Al Sharpton found this as a means to get himself in the papers again, agitating for her firing.  Fortunately cooler heads prevailed.  What I do find interesting is her choice of words.  The word lynch is one of those I learned not to use because of the images it conjures of a painful past.  Perhaps this is a sign of age on my part as there seem to be many words once offensive in common use today.  The historical reference I have for such words appears lacking in todays generation.  Perhaps a failing of the educational system, which has chosen other standards, thus altering perspective of times and actions long since past.  I don’t know.

I do know that live television is the hardest of the hard, and a golf broadcast is one of the toughest because of the length of time one is on air.  The focus and concentration needed are tremendous because of the need to filter what is about to be said thoroughly before actually allowing the words to be spoken.  I have had to work myself on activating and using that filter both professionally and in my home life.  Those who know me well are aware that what’s inside the head will come out unedited more often than not to my chagrin.  I don’t do live television (thankfully for everyone) and yet have had many "wanna get away" moments.  As have we all. This incident is over, time to move on to the next event.

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16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. fcento

    Jan 13, 2008 at 10:13 am

    First off, I can’t believe Arnold Palmer would stand by and let Kelly be suspended after all apologies were given and received. If Tiger made a public statement about this it would go away. Maybe alls not well in that friendship. As a viewer of the Golf Channel since it’s inception, BRING BACK KELLY IMMEDIATELY!

  2. Young04

    Jan 12, 2008 at 6:49 am

    I agree with everyone’s opinion here that it’s being blown out of proportion. I do think, however, that the punishment that she received is just. The term, “lynch”, undoubtedly has negative racial connotations – anyone who denies that is living in their own little vacuum. That said, while I’m an advocate of free speech, I do recognize that broadcasters (especially for golf) are under a higher level of scrutiny. The Golf Channel can ill afford to have their announcers tossing around potentially offensive terms, even if it’s done with nary of ill-intent. This is different than the Imus thing, in my opinion, because Imus is paid to stir controversy. We expect public announcers to have a high degree of decorum, and it’s arguable that she breached that code of conduct.

  3. Craig

    Jan 12, 2008 at 3:48 am

    Her suspension and the coverage that this comment attracted borders on the bizarre. Karen has my full sympathy, Golf Channel is a Joke for this. A poor reflection of where our society has headed.

  4. Martin

    Jan 11, 2008 at 10:16 pm

    You know lynching is a word that was used long before slavery in the USA, just check WikiPedia. It happened in countries all over the world. I was taught growing up that “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. Why is this world so crazy over a word that was said tongue in cheek. It’s a world gone mad and one that will never move forward as long as people continue to live in the past. I’m sure if we all look back into the history of our ancestors we would find some form of prejudice or violence regardless of race, creed or color. We just don’t have loud mouths like Al Sharpton keeping it alive.

  5. shawn

    Jan 11, 2008 at 9:56 pm

    Don,

    We are saying the some thing, intolerence and ignorance are by products…Ignorance is the start of it all..Looking for offense, yet another by product…..your stats, ingnorance that continues the cycle.

  6. Mark

    Jan 11, 2008 at 9:23 pm

    Some of these responses are pretty shocking.

    Do you guys think jokes about rape are okay too, as long as there is no intent or malice intended? If someone in an office made a joke about the a woman getting raped so loud that all female employees could hear, what would happen to him or her?

    Some sensitivity for the feelings of others in life is required.

    Do I think Tilghman should have been suspended, no she apologized and that was enough in my book. However, this will make sure it’s a lesson well learned. As others have pointed out, using Sharpton as a scapegoat is poor form.

  7. Barry

    Jan 11, 2008 at 9:09 pm

    “The response to this is over reaction, but hey we live in an over reactive world …”

    This is precisely why we live in an over-reactive world. Normal people just toss up their hands, and the Al Sharptons of the world get exactly what they want (again).

    The ridiculous punishment of Ms. Tilghman puts is a step away from racial equality, not toward it. What a cowardly act by the Golf Channel.

  8. Don

    Jan 11, 2008 at 8:30 pm

    Kelly unintentionally used verbage which some people were offended by. Lynching has not been used in comedy enough to desensitize people to the violent imagery of someone hanging. Ironically, if she had said, “Vijay, Phil, and Ernie need to jump the the courtesy car and do a drive by on Tiger at the range” no one would have batted an eye even through young, black males have killed far more young, black males in this manner (and continue to do so today) than were ever hung by ignorant, white racists.
    “…ignorance is the driver of racial tension…”, no Shawn, intolerance and looking for offense is the driver of racial tension.

  9. shawn

    Jan 11, 2008 at 7:17 pm

    Comments by some of the folks in this forum are insensitive and ignorant. Just like Kelly’s….who by the way I like on TGC and in general. See the point is that ignorance is the driver of racial tension from the start. She had a bad choice of words….it was insensitive and ignorant. As a black man, there is a sensitivity to that reference given that many of my ancestors met such a fate and the thought of it is painful. Don’t minimize the insult by deflecting to Sharpton who points out these things regardless of his personal style.

  10. Andrew M.

    Jan 11, 2008 at 6:27 pm

    What this article fails to mention is that Ms. Tilghman apologized to the viewers publicly and to Tiger Woods privately, Tiger’s camp responded graciously and that WAS the end of it. The Golf Channel’s original position was to NOT take any disciplinary action against Ms. Tilghman. Once Al Sharpton injected his poison on CNN, The Golf Channel BUCKLED less than three hours later, deciding to suspend Ms. Tilghman. THAT is where I have a problem with this incident. No one can argue that this wasn’t a poor choice of words. I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone that actually believes Ms. Tilghman to be a racist. We cannot allow people like Al Sharpton (who continue to drive a wedge between the races in this country) to feed the fire instead of extinguishing it. If The Golf Channel had decided to suspend Ms. Tilghman from the start, and Al Sharpton got involved in the same manner, would they have backpedaled and fired her? We can only speculate, but The Golf Channel should NOT have played ball with the likes of Sharpton, and I will be watching less and less of that channel as a result.

  11. Jim

    Jan 11, 2008 at 1:26 pm

    I agree with the Golf Channel and their position with the issue/comment. Her and Tiger have put the issue at rest, thus there should be no more mention of this incident. The situation was handled like it should have been…”I’m sorry…Apology accepted…DONE” Tiger and her will continue to be friends.

    As for you know who…Al Sharpton, well let me hold my tounge, but this guy needs to mind his own and worry about his life and the people looking over his shoulder. All he ever wants to do is hear his voice over the airwaves and see how much controversy he can stir up. I am surprised that he is not hanging around coffee shops waiting for customers to say…Coffee…black please, slobbering at the opprotuniy to play the race card.

    Al, If you want to help, go over to Southeast Asia and help the dolphins.

  12. Dayton

    Jan 11, 2008 at 11:08 am

    I agree 100% with everything that was said about this incident. However, the “criticism since she assumed her host duties at Golf Channel” is mostly warranted. Her performance in the booth is poor and detracts from the enjoyment of watching a broadcast.

  13. David

    Jan 11, 2008 at 10:59 am

    I think the “lynched” comment came off without even a thought from Tilghman. If it was any other golfer being talked about in the same situation (dominating everyone else) I think she would have chosen the same words and it would have been a non-issue. The amount of noise being made by one Al Sharpton just goes to show exactly where the racial prejudice is coming from here. Get over it Al!! Tiger has, as I’m sure the majority of the world has too!

  14. Andrew Aquilini

    Jan 11, 2008 at 10:36 am

    I totally agree that this is an over reaction. I wonder sometimes what is this world coming too.

    As far as Al Sharpton, he is nothing more than a self serving opportunist. Wasn’t it just recently he was under IRS scrutiny for not filing returns. Additionally, has everyone forgotten about “Twana Brawley” (Spelling).

  15. Cangolfnut

    Jan 11, 2008 at 7:56 am

    We all know what she ment. Kelly Tilghman consistantly professional and is getting a bad rap. Can I mention rap?? I wonder if she had of used hitman what the reaction would be.

  16. ken

    Jan 11, 2008 at 7:25 am

    I doubt you are interested in my comments. I personally think the Golf Channel is a joke for doing anything. There was no harm and there was no foul,

    Only and idiot would decide that the word lynch is racist in the first place. They used to lynch rustlers in the old west regardless of race color or creed.

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Morning 9: 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour | Rory on possible return to policy board

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Friday morning, golf fans, may a bountiful weekend of golf be in store for you!

1. 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour

KFT staff report…”Frankie Capan III went crazy low Thursday on the Korn Ferry Tour. Nearly in record fashion.”

  • “Capan carded 13-under 58 in the opening round of the Veritex Bank Championship, matching the second lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history. He fell one shy of Cristobal Del Solar’s record 57, set at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard earlier this year, but it was a heck of a show nonetheless.”
  • “The Minnesota native played an eight-hole stretch in 9-under Thursday, following an eagle at the par-5 ninth with seven straight birdies to begin the back nine at par-71 Texas Rangers Golf Club. He “cooled off” with a two-putt par at the long par-4 17th hole. He arrived at the par-5 18th hole at 13 under for the round, but he found a fairway bunker off the tee, laid up to 134 yards and missed his third shot left of the green. He chipped to 7 feet and drained the par putt to match the Korn Ferry Tour’s second-lowest score of 58, carded by Stephan Jaeger in the opening round of the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae.”
Full piece.

2. Team McIlowery starts strong

Paul Hodowanic for PGATour.com…”Late Thursday afternoon in New Orleans, Rory McIlroy rested his head on Shane Lowry’s shoulder.”

  • “It wasn’t the typical post-round moment, but this isn’t the typical event. McIlroy and Lowry teamed up for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA TOUR’s lone team event, and the all-Irish duo put on a show. Sporting matching pink-on-navy getups, McIlroy/Lowry opened in a best-ball 11-under 61 in Thursday’s Four-ball format at TPC Louisiana.”
  • “This partnership might have stemmed from a boozy brunch last fall, but their opening-round performance at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans gave the field a sobering reminder: They’ll be tough to top.”
Full piece.

3. LPGA Tour: Grace Kim in front

AP report…”Grace Kim shot a 7-under 64 at Wilshire Country Club to take the first-round lead Thursday in the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”

  • “Playing in the morning session, the 23-year-old Australian capped her bogey-free round with a chip-in birdie on the par-3 18th.”
  • “Well, I chunked my tee shot on the last hole 20 meters short and then I chipped it in it,” Kim said. “I think that’s pretty cool, in front of everyone
Full piece.

4. McIlroy on rejoining policy board

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that he is willing to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board if the other player directors want him.”

  • “As first reported by the Guardian, Webb Simpson has submitted a letter stating that he’d like to resign from the board, but only if his vacant seat is filled by McIlroy, who stepped down last fall because of the toll it had taken on him professionally and personally.”
  • “Five months later, what has changed?”
  • “I think I can be helpful,” McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he is partnering with Shane Lowry. “I don’t think there’s been much progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. I think I could be helpful to the process. But only if people want me involved, I guess.”
Full piece.

5. Charlie Woods shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier

Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan…”Charlie Woods is going to have to wait to play in the U.S. Open.”

“The 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods played Thursday in local qualifying for the United States Golf Association’s national championship, set for June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Charlie played at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and he shot 9-over 81.”

“Charlie’s round featured a bogey on his opening hole, the par-4 first. He then doubled the par-5 second. A pair of pars followed before his lone birdie on the front, but another double the next hole, the par-4 sixth, had him turn in 4-over 40.”

Full piece.

6. Photos from the Zurich Classic

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

Check out all our photos at the link below!

Full piece.
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.

Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

 

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Morning 9: Tiger’s TGL teammates | Woosnam’s criticism of Cantlay | Rory’s return to tour policy board

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic.

1. 15-year-old finishes top 20 on KFT

Jay Coffin for Golf Digest…”During a week when most eyes were on Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, the 15-year-old lefty finished off an incredible week with a five-under 66 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood Ranch in Florida.”

  • “After opening with 68-66-70, Russell finished at 14-under-par total to tie for 20th place. The finish in which he jumped 28 positions on the leaderboard on the final day, gives him an exemption into next week’s Veritex Bank Championship at Rangers Park in Arlington, Texas. He’s the youngest player to finish inside the top 20 on the PGA of Korn Ferry tours, according to records that go back to 1983.”
Full piece.

2. Understandably, Nelly WDs

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Nelly Korda’s bid for a record-setting sixth consecutive win will have to wait a few weeks.”

  • “A day after capturing the Chevron Championship during a marathon final round in Houston, Korda announced on social media that she was withdrawing from this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”
  • “It was not an easy decision,” she wrote. “After the unbelievable week at the Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted. With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”
Full piece.

3. Scheffler’s impressive No. 1 feat

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”After Scheffler’s victory Monday morning at the RBC Heritage, Scheffler upped his points average to 15.016 and increased his advantage in the Official World Golf Ranking over No. 2 Rory McIlroy to more than double McIlroy’s 7.365 average, meaning Scheffler is ranked further ahead of No. 2 than No. 2 is ahead of the last-ranked player.”

  • “The last time a No. 1 player had a greater points average was Woods, who was at 15.4564 on Dec. 6, 2009. But Woods was less than seven average points ahead of No. 2 Phil Mickelson at the time. Earlier that year, Woods was 7.735 ahead of Mickelson, which is the last time the gap between Nos. 1 and 2 was greater than Scheffler’s current 7.651 advantage.”
Full piece.

4. Zurich field notes

PGATour.com’s Adam Stanley…”Rory McIlroy will make his tournament debut alongside good pal, Ryder Cup teammate, and Irishman Shane Lowry – a duo that was firmed up during a celebratory lunch after the Ryder Cup last fall… Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele will try to reprise their 2022 win here. Cantlay and Schauffele have both the Foursomes and Four-ball scoring records at this event… Davis Riley and Nick Hardy will defend their 2023 title. No team has gone back-to-back… Three sets of brothers (and two sets of twins!) will play together with twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard and Parker and Pierceson Coody in the field along with Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick. Alex Fitzpatrick and Rasmus Højgaard are sponsor invites…”

  • “Billy Horschel, who won last week at the Corales Puntacana Championship, will be without his previous partner Sam Burns, as Burns and his wife are expecting their first child any day. Horschel will instead be paired with fellow University of Florida alum Tyson Alexander. Horschel has won the Zurich Classic when it was both an individual and team event… Other notable pairings include Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris, and Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. The Canadian duo finished runner-up a year ago and would like nothing more than to show Presidents Cup International Team captain Mike Weir how well they play together… Steve Stricker will play his second TOUR event this season (after earning his way into THE PLAYERS Championship), teaming up with Matt Kuchar.”
Full piece.

5. Tiger’s teammates

Field Level Media report…”Tiger Woods announced Monday that Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner have joined his Jupiter Links GC TGL team.”

  • “The virtual golf league headed by Woods and Rory McIlroy will begin its inaugural season next January. Woods also unveiled the team’s logo.”
  • “I have already shared my excitement and optimism for TGL as a league and product,” said Woods. “Now that we have finalized our roster with a team of world-class golfers, I am even more confident that this group will proudly represent the Jupiter (Fla.) area and connect with our fans for years to come.”
Full piece.

6. Woosnam questions Cantlay’s decision

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After the horn sounded to suspend play due to darkness, Cantlay, who’s ball was in the fairway on the 18th hole, had a decision to make. With over 200 yards into the green and extreme winds working against the shot, conventional wisdom would be to wait until Monday morning to hit the shot.”

  • “On the other hand, if he could finish the hole, he may just want to get the event over with so he could get out of Hilton Head.”
  • “Curiously, Cantlay chose neither of those options. After hitting 3-wood into the green, and still coming up short, the former FedEx Cup champion chose to mark his ball and chip and putt on Monday morning.”
  • “Ian Woosnam, who was watching from home, took to X to give his thoughts on Cantlay’s decision making.”
  • “Cantlay would end up getting up and down for par when play resumed at 8:00 am Monday morning.”
Full piece.

7. JT on Scheffler’s “weird” equipment choice

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After Justin Thomas’ third round of the RBC Heritage, the two-time major champion went in the broadcast booth alongside the CBS crew.”

  • “While Thomas was watching Scottie Scheffler play on the back nine of his third round, he wondered aloud why Scottie uses high-numbered golf balls.”
  • “Does anybody else think it’s weird that Scottie uses high numbers? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an elite player use high-numbered golf balls.”
  • “Amanda Balionis who was on the grounds chimed in, reporting that analyst Dottie Pepper had wondered the same thing earlier that day.”
  • “I’ve been going about this wrong my whole life,” Thomas jokingly said.
Full piece.

8. Rory to rejoin PGA Tour policy board

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy is poised to return to the PGA Tour’s policy board, pending a vote by the board, which could come as early as this week, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.”

  • “One of the PGA Tour’s most vocal supporters during its three-year battle with LIV Golf, McIlroy abruptly resigned as a player director on the tour’s influential policy board in November.”
  • “He is expected to replace policy board player director Webb Simpson, who intends to step away before his two-year term expires in 2025.”
Full piece.

9. Weir names Presidents Cup assistants

PGA Tour report…”International Team Captain Mike Weir announced Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas as captain’s assistants for the 2024 Presidents Cup, which will be played at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada, Sept. 24-29.

Full piece.
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