Jack Nicklaus will welcome the best players in the world to Muirfield Village for the latest version of The Memorial Tournament this week.
Nicklaus is considered by many to be the greatest golfer to have ever played the game, certainly if we’re going by his record in the major championships
The 86-year-old won 73 PGA Tour tournaments, including an incredible 18 major championships.
That record gives Jack Nicklaus the authority to be more outspoken on certain topics in the game than others.
The 18-time major champion will speak to the media on Tuesday ahead of this week’s Memorial Tournament.
The field is stacked at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial event, with Muirfield Village set to play host to the very best golfers the PGA Tour has to offer.
What Jack Nicklaus said he ‘can’t stand’ about modern-day golf while watching The Memorial in 2025
Nicklaus was on commentary duty during last year’s tournament when Scottie Scheffler won the tournament.
And the Golden Bear noticed something which really irritated him.
When speaking during the broadcast of The Memorial in 2025, Nicklaus was not happy when Ben Griffin was approached for an interview midway through his second round.
“I can’t stand that, the interview on the golf course,“ the tournament host exclaimed.
“Let me tell you how I think, how I feel…I mean, seriously, here’s a guy, leading the golf tournament, he’s just hit the edge of the rough, he’s got a very difficult shot on a very difficult hole, and you’re talking to him about stuff that totally takes his mind off of what he was doing.
“How do you think Hogan would respond to that question? You would not have any teeth left if you did. He’d hit you right in the face with it.”
That was a very fair observation from Nicklaus, and it’s worth pointing out that the players surely don’t like taking part in mid-round interviews.
Why mid-round PGA Tour interviews should be scrapped
There is absolutely no way that professional golfers can undertake a mid-round interview while maintaining 100 percent focus when they are competing.
It’s fair to argue that the fans don’t actually gain anything from the mid-round interviews either.
The golfers never say anything insightful anyway because it’s clear that their focus is on their round, rather than the interview, understandably so.
I feel like a better course of action would be to make it an obligation for the very biggest names to address the media after their rounds.
As golf fans, we have all been desperate to hear the likes of Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau speak after particularly challenging rounds, only to be let down when they choose to skip media duties.
Making it non-negotiable for players to speak to the press would definitely enhance the experience for golf fans, whereas mid-round interviews don’t really offer anything, as Jack Nicklaus rightfully pointed out.
