Jerry Foltz, 51, lives in Orlando, Fla., and has worked 19 years with The Golf Channel. He is a play-by-play host for the network’s Nationwide Tour and select PGA Tour coverage as well as serving as an on-course reporter for PGA Tour and LPGA Tour broadcasts.
Q• What was your first role with The Golf Channel?
A• I helped out the first tournament they ever did in the trucks. I was playing the Nike Tour [now Nationwide Tour], they would point at a player and I would tell them who it was. That turned into a guest commentator spot with another commentator a couple of weeks later. He was an English guy and I made fun of him, and they liked me. A few weeks later they gave me a microphone and four years later a full-time job.
Q• What is tournament week like for you?
A• I get here Tuesday or Wednesday, have a meeting, get familiar again with the course and some of the story lines and show up Thursday morning ready to go.
Q• What are your impressions of Arkansas?
A• Been to Fort Smith a dozen times, here four times, Hot Springs a few times. It’s one of the bestkept secrets of the flyover states. The people in Arkansas are as good as you will find anywhere. This whole Northwest Arkansas area is a hidden gem.
Q• Who do you have winning the tournament here today?
A• Michelle [Wie]. When she is making putts, it’s not a fair fight.
Q• What makes Wie so special right now, having won the U.S. Open a week ago and doing well here?
A• She has so much experience dealing with all the ups and downs, and she is only 24. She has been doing this in the public eye for 12 years. She doesn’t let her emotions get the best of her on the course.