Tag: John Wood

John Wood: Alex Pereira ‘breaks game first and shoots on Khalil Rountree’ at UFC 307

John Wood thinks Alex Pereira will resort to wrestling Khalil Rountree at some point during UFC 307.

[autotag]John Wood[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] will resort to wrestling [autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] at some point during UFC 307.

Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) challenges light heavyweight champion Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the Oct. 5 main event from Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Rountree vowed not to wrestle the former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion to find success. His head coach Wood doubled down on that promise, and went as far as saying it’ll be Pereira needing to change up his game plan.

“I believe, honestly, my gut, I think Pereira shoots on Khalil,” Wood told ESPN. “I think he’s the one that breaks game first and shoots on Khalil to try to get that takedown, because that’s actually something he’s done. I mean, we ain’t shooting over here, I can tell you that.

“Khalil can – it’s not like we don’t train MMA, wrestling, wrestling defense, all these things. … I think Alex shoots first, but yes, I would be shocked if this fight goes five rounds. Someone is going out on their shield. It’s going to happen, and obviously I think I know who it is.”

According to DraftKings, Rountree is a +350 underdog against Pereira, who’s a -455 favorite to retain his title. Pereira is coming off knockouts of Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka in the past six months. Rountree made it five straight wins when he knocked out former title challenger Anthony Smith in his most recent appearance in December 2023.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

John Wood Q&A: On watching wolves, his Olympic medallion, and rolling back the ball

John Wood is a lone wolf out on Tour in his main addiction these days — which is wolf watching.

John Wood was managing a bookstore in Sacramento when PGA Tour pro Kevin Sutherland asked him if he’d like to caddie for him during the 1997 season. Wood figured why not give it a try for a year or two?

Fast-forward 26 years later and he’s still part of the traveling circus, having made a seamless transition from caddie to on-course commentator.

“I’ve avoided getting a real job my entire life,” he says.

Wood always has stood out for his ability to communicate his thoughts about a golf course and the inner workings of a caddie-player relationship, including a stint as a Golfweek contributor.

“A good caddie has the answers to 10 questions that never get asked,” says the 53-year-old Wood, who caddied in 14 Cups – seven each of the Presidents and Ryder Cups and was an assistant at the 2018 Ryder Cup.

He has been on a winner’s bag 10 times at PGA Tour events, working primarily for Sutherland, Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar. (He came out of retirement for a one-week gig at the Fortinet Championship in September for Stewart Cink.) He joined NBC/Golf Channel in 2021, saying, “It was time for a new challenge,” and bringing a refreshing new voice and insight to the network’s coverage.

But it’s his off-course hobbies that may be the most interesting part of this Q&A. Wood is a music buff, who travels the Tour with a guitar, released his own album on SoundCloud and dragged his parents to an Elvis Presley concert in Tacoma, Washington, at age 7.

He’s also a passionate San Francisco Giants fan, but there are plenty of golfers and caddies who still rep the team that they grew up supporting. Wood is a lone wolf out on Tour in his main addiction these days, which is wolf watching. Wood makes frequent trips to Yellowstone to watch the wolves.

“Sometimes you see 50 wolves in a day and one is taking down an elk and other days you might see two or three jumping out of a bush, you never know,” he says. “I kind of feel like that’s my tribe now. I’ve become part of the community.”

Here’s more from Wood on the heartache of the 2017 British Open, why he thinks it’s time to roll back the ball, and more on wolf watching.

Father-son caddie duo of Stewart and Reagan Cink calls it a day; veteran looper John Wood filling in for Napa

“He threw in his Jani-King towel,” Stewart Cink said of son Reagan.

NAPA, Calif. – As Stewart Cink made his way to the practice tee at the Fortinet Championship, he confirmed a change to begin the 2022-23 PGA Tour season – son Reagan is off the bag.

“He threw in his Jani-King towel,” Stewart Cink cracked.

It was here at Silverado Resort’s North Course that son Reagan subbed as his dad’s caddie at the 2020 edition of the tournament formerly known as the Safeway Open and guided his old man to his first victory in more than nine years. A few tournaments later, at the RSM Classic that November, they made it official as a permanent relationship. At the time, Reagan, an industrial engineering graduate of Georgia Tech, put on hold a technology product management job with Delta Airlines.

The caddie gig began on a lark when Reagan, who had been living at home with his parents during COVID-19, told his dad he’d like to caddie for him at an event.

“I said, ‘How about the Safeway?’” Stewart recalled.

Fortinet: Tee times and TV info | PGA Tour on ESPN+ | Yardage book

He credited his son with being a calming influence, as at age 47, he shot a final-round 7-under 65 to win the tournament by two strokes over Harry Higgs.

“He’s a great caddie, he’s doing a great job, but I don’t think I want him to become a caddie,” Stewart said at the time. “He’s just a little bit too good at doing this to where I think if he keeps going, he might find a home out here.”

The duo went on to win again at the 2021 RBC Heritage, but this is Cink’s first start at the Fortinet as he missed his title defense to attend Reagan’s wedding last year. Cink, who will turn 50 in May and become PGA Tour Champions eligible, said he wasn’t sure what was next for his son.

“It’s changing on a daily basis,” he said.

And who will be on the bag this week?

Veteran caddie turned NBC/Golf Channel analyst John Wood, who last caddied for Cameron Champ 18 months ago, is hoping to repeat the magic at Silverado as a one-week wonder on the bag. But first Stewart made him walk on a treadmill to make sure the retired caddie could still handle lugging a bag.

Stewart Cink practices ahead of the 2022 Fortinet Championship with fill-in caddie John Wood. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)

“I was going to ask if he needed all 20 of those tees in there,” quipped Wood, a Northern California native who has caddied for the likes of Kevin Sutherland, Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar.

Asked if he’s settled on a permanent replacement for his son, Stewart said, “I’ve got a couple of guys in mind.”

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Schupak: Everyone is a critic of NBC’s TV coverage of the 2022 U.S. Open

On a wild Saturday with a bunched leaderboard, NBC faced a difficult task of showing the drama unfold.

When it comes to watching professional golf tournaments on TV, everyone is a critic.

That goes double for the majors. On a wild Saturday with a bunched leaderboard, Tommy Roy, NBC’s lead golf producer, faced a difficult task of showing the drama unfold. Where was local boy Keegan Bradley? Why was the final group, with Collin Morikawa sputtering, ghosted? How many “Playing Through” commercials could we possibly see?

The complaining on social media was plentiful, and we’ll get there, but first a couple of plaudits do need to be passed out. Watching the early morning broadcast some six hours before the final group teed off offered some great insight as analyst Arron Oberholser explained the risk-reward challenge of the tee shot at 18 with help from Justin Leonard in the booth. About 10 hours later, defending champion Jon Rahm drove into the left fairway bunker that Oberholser warned viewers about and hit the lip with his second shot, eventually making double bogey and squandering his lead. If you watched this segment, you were prepped for Rahm’s 18th-hole disaster.

Another highlight was a segment with former caddie turned analyst John Wood, who took viewers inside the yardage book and explained the ins and outs of how a caddie preps in order to assist their player that the casual viewer probably didn’t know. No Laying Up also pointed this out on social media.

Wood also is proving to be a good foot soldier and helped viewers understand how on a breezy day the course was changing into a fast-and-firm test that led to scores ballooning in the afternoon.

“I’m 220 yards from this green and I could hear that ball bounce like I was standing next to it,” he said. “These [greens] are firming up.”

One more standout: the 4D replays. It’s sponsored content but these visuals are a significant upgrade from the days of CBS’s Peter Kostis and the Minolta Biz Hub Swing Vision, although I’d take Kostis breaking down swings over NBC’s Paul Azinger any day. It feels like the swing nerds out there could really learn something watching the best players in the world through this technology.

All right, I promised a roundup of some of the most scathing social media criticism of the broadcast and the reactions came fast and furious in real time. Ryan Ballengee of Golf News Net encapsulated the discord between fans and the viewing experience in a nutshell in his tweet.

I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m pretty sure the “market research” that deepfriedegg refers to below doesn’t exist.

There were several complaints that various players went into the witness protection program during the telecast at times and weren’t seen for long stretches, including this tweet from Josh Babbitt, wondering what happened to Bradley.

This tweet from No Laying Up’s D.J. Piehowski made me laugh. NBC likes to tout how it shows every player in the field because if they earned a spot in the field they deserve to be shown. Piehowski took a playful shot at too many commercials (in its defense, NBC’s forking over big bucks in rights fees and they’ve got to pay the bills) and I can confirm that Mike Tirico didn’t actually say this…but, oh, if he did!

No Laying Up could be accused of piling on with its multiple tweets, but that doesn’t mean the takes are wrong.

Last but not least, Geoff Shackelford couldn’t help but point out that the ads didn’t slow down as the telecast reached its climax.

The good news is Golf Twitter can breathe a sigh of relief: the final hour of Sunday’s broadcast is presented commercial-free thanks to the good folks at Rolex. There’s still one more round to go and with a tight, star-studded leaderboard we are bound to have Sunday drama. And perhaps free golf: every championship held at The Country Club has been settled in a playoff. Enjoy the final round beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Peacock, switching to USA Network at 10 and finally to NBC at 12 ET. Let’s have a day.

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Catching up with John Wood | Off Guard

You never know when “Gorgeous” George or “Goze” will catch somebody “Off Guard.” This time they catch up with Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood.

You never know when “Gorgeous” George or “Goze” will catch somebody “Off Guard.” This time they catch up with Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood.