Q&A with John Sutcliffe on PGA TOUR LIVE's first Spanish-language stream

This week marks the first time that a Spanish-language stream will be available on PGA TOUR LIVE, allowing fans to watch the Mexico Open at Vidanta in the language of the tournament’s host country. The feed will be entirely in Spanish, from the interviews and features to the commentary. The Spanish-language broadcast will also include digital coverage across Latin America, including Mexico, on ESPN and Disney’s Star+ platform.

“This is a milestone moment for the PGA TOUR as we continue to make our product more welcoming to fans worldwide,” said Luis Goicouria, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President, Media. “The PGA TOUR is incredibly appreciative of the support and collaboration ESPN has shown for this initiative as we bring golf closer than ever before to our Spanish fans.”

The broadcast crew will feature Spain’s Hugo Costa on play-by-play, Korn Ferry Tour player Marcelo Rozo as lead analyst, Sara Diaz as relief and legendary reporter John Sutcliffe on the course. Sutcliffe has been ESPN’s Spanish sideline reporter for Monday Night Football since 2005. He also covers the Mexican National Team and has announced the past 23 Masters. Sutcliffe, a Mexico native who has covered some of the most important events in golf over the last few decades for the Spanish-speaking world, sat down with PGATOUR.COM to discuss the impact of the upcoming Spanish-language broadcast, Jon Rahm’s stardom in Latin America and his stories with Tiger Woods and Lee Trevino, among others.

PGATOUR.COM: Why do you think a Spanish-speaking stream is so important for golf and for this Mexico Open?

JOHN SUTCLIFFE: The largest minority in the United States is Latino, is Hispanic. I think it’s where the biggest growth of golf is in the U.S., forget about Latin America. The broadcast of ESPN+, PGA TOUR LIVE, is also shown in Latin America on Star+. I think right now, we're talking about creating more followers in Spanish in the States. It's something that we've been waiting for. The first time I did on-course reporting for golf, for ESPN in Latin America, for ESPN International, was Valhalla 2000 when Tiger beat Bob May in a playoff. I think everybody wants a piece of the Latino market in the U.S. The game is going to grow, and after the pandemic, I know it's been growing a lot, it has to be through the Latinos. I think the message the PGA TOUR is sending is saying, “Hey, we want you with us. It's not all about football or soccer or basketball. We want you to be involved.” And I think this is a great message. I hope this is the beginning of doing more Spanish feeds on PGA TOUR LIVE because that's a way to grow the game in the U.S.

PGATOUR.COM: For people who may not know, how has the game been growing in Mexico and Latin America?

SUTCLIFFE: I think over the years – I live in Mexico City – we've been very lucky to have a lot of events. I belong to the Golf Club of Chapultepec, so that's where we hosted the WGC-Mexico Championships. For many years there was an event in Mayakoba. And now the TOUR will be playing in Los Cabos. That gives me good memories because probably one of the first events I ever broadcasted was a Senior Slam out in Los Cabos in the 1990s. You also have the Dominican Republic which has a PGA TOUR event. Chile has a Korn Ferry Tour event. The Mexican Tour (Gira de Golf Profesional Mexicana) now has world ranking points. It tells you that everybody knows there is a huge opportunity also in Latin America. We've had Mexican winners on the PGA TOUR.

I grew up watching when I was a little kid, I wanted to be Lee Trevino. I think doing a Spanish feed, it's all about creating new stars. I think this is going to help. You have Jon Rahm and maybe somebody in Chicago, Los Angeles or Dallas is turning on ESPN+, and they’re going to hear some golf in Spanish. I think it's really going to help them communicate with fans.

PGATOUR.COM: Jon Rahm is from Spain, but with him being a Spanish speaker, how impactful was his win at the Mexico Open last year?

SUTCLIFFE: I think it meant a lot. That tournament has had a lot of history through the years. Roberto De Vicenzo won the Mexico Open. I remember David Graham, Bob Tway, John Cook. I think he went into part of our history of the Mexican Open, and I grew up when Seve Ballesteros meant a lot. The fact that Rahm speaks Spanish, there's a special connection always, and the fact that he's a Masters champion, the No. 1 player in the world, and he's willing to come back and defend his title, I think it’s huge. How many tournaments around the world this year are going to have Jon Rahm playing? I think the connection the Mexican fan had with Seve Ballesteros in the 80s is now refreshed through Jon Rahm. I think the fact he speaks Spanish goes across many countries, regardless of if he's from Spain, Chile or Mexico.

PGATOUR.COM: You mentioned Lee Trevino. What’s your relationship like with him?

SUTCLIFFE: I interviewed him in La Costa in Carlsbad, California at the beginning of the 90s. I met him in 1981 at the Mexico Open when Ben Crenshaw beat Raymond Floyd. When I grew up, my idol was Lee Trevino. He was always an example for us. He was the first one to connect the borders of the U.S. and Mexico for us.

I'll tell you a funny story they told me that happened last year at St Andrews and the 150th Open. The R&A got a phone call and it was Tiger Woods saying, “Hey, Rory and I would like you to put Trevino with us to play the four-hole event before the tournament starts.” They said, of course. So they all tee off and Lee Trevino is the last one to tee off, and everybody's standing there and he says, “Well, once again, you leave the Mexican last.” And everybody started laughing. It's something that I always do when I do a speaking engagement or something, I say, “like Lee Trevino would say, once again, the Mexican is last.” That's a little bit of his humor.

PGATOUR.COM: Where does your enthusiasm come from?

SUTCLIFFE: I love what I do. I try and communicate to people what I'm feeling. Every day, I could pinch myself. We get paid to read the sports section every day. I think it's the way I am. I try to communicate and have fun with people. There's nothing wrong with next week, if Jon Rahm hits a perfect, high shot into a par 5, saying, “OH, WHAT A GREAT SHOT!” There's nothing wrong with that. It’s giving it a little bit more than, “Oh, what a great shot.”

You can have fun and trust that you're doing something professionally. With Jon, we can be talking about many other things. We could probably be talking about Bad Bunny. That's another great story. We know before he tees off, he listens to Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican singer, who right now, is the most-streamed singer in the world. And he is making people listen around the world in Spanish. That tells you a lot.

I'll tell you something. When Jon Rahm was going to come to the WGC-Mexico Championships they sent me to interview him in Arizona. One thing we clicked on that day, I said, you know, the workers on the golf course, the caddies or the waiters here in this club I'm interviewing you at, have you ever realized that you represent them because you are Hispanic? Because you speak Spanish? They're always going to see you on TV as that guy given the opportunity because the U.S. gives opportunities to many people in the world. He said, “I never thought about that. But now that I realize that, you’re right.”

PGATOUR.COM: Wow, that’s a great story.

SUTCLIFFE: I think golf also gives a lot of people the opportunity to follow their dreams. I get to play Cypress Point sometimes. How do I play Cypress Point? The head gardener, the head maintenance guy, the guy who's in charge of the most private golf course in the world is from Oaxaca, [Mexico]. He started cooking in the kitchen of Cypress Point, and he asked them for an opportunity to go on the golf course and learn to be a gardener on the golf course. Now 30 years later, he's the head of the golf course at Cypress Point. Those are the stories that I would like to say on the air. And I try to say on the air because I think that’s also what the U.S. needs, even on the golf course. If you met him, you wouldn't believe it. It's like, wow, what a story!

PGATOUR.COM: What do you see for the future of golf in Mexico and Latin America?

SUTCLIFFE: I think we'll develop more new stars. I think Mexico is spoiled in many ways within the rest of Latin America. We have two PGA TOUR events. Imagine what that means. When my club had the WGC-Mexico Championships, I always said, some kid’s going to say, “I started playing golf because I saw Tiger in Mexico. I saw so-and-so.” We have the opportunity. The same Sunday that the Mexico Open will be played, we'll have official Major League Baseball games with the Padres and Giants playing next week in Mexico City. We have NBA games, we have NFL and Formula One. So that's incredible. Basically, all we need is the NHL to come to Mexico.

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.