Players 2026: Smylie Kaufman hits himself with all-time announcer jinx on ‘Live From’ segment
It’s been exactly two years since TV history was made and golf postgame coverage was changed for good. Two years since Johnson Wagner walked onto the seventh hole at TPC Sawgrass for a Golf Channel “Live From” segment and started . . . throwing golf balls.
Wagner was trying to recreate a bounce Rory McIlroy had gotten earlier with a watery drive, but he wound up creating a new popular segment when the video went viral. But with Wagner taking his talents to NBC this year, Smylie Kaufman is filling his void on Golf Channel. And so far, he’s been very entertaining.
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RELATED: All three players in one group find the water on 17
Earlier this week, Kaufman tried to recreate Si Woo Kim’s famed driver-off-the-deck during his 2017 Players win, which Smylie had a front-row seat to. And Smylie hit back-to-back duck hooks.
And on Thursday night, the PGA Tour winner and friend of The Loop podcast went to TPC Sawgrass’ most famous hole, which played particularly tough during the opening round, to hit a shot under the lights. It was then when he hit himself with the ultimate announcer’s jinx.
“Well, Brandel, I’ve never hit a ball in the water here on the 17th,” Kaufman says to the show’s hosts. “So, maybe that’s the announcer’s jinx.”
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You can guess what happened next. See for yourself:
That’s rough. You can sense Kaufman knew that was coming, but yet he still said it. So, as a fellow content guy, respect.
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