Last call: After seven years, Ed Clements will announce his final Dell Match Play
On Sunday afternoon, Ed Clements will make the final player introductions in WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament history.
"As you know, I love Longhorn football a lot, but this has become my Super Bowl week," said Clements, Austin's iconic radio host. He has announced every match in the Austin tournament's history. “I just hate like crazy that this is the last time.”
Since Dell Match Play arrived at Austin Country Club in 2017, Clements hasn't missed a moment. He has introduced every group each year — almost without issue, even if sometimes his preparation required months to perfect a name, as he said it did with Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat: “I worked on that for months to get it right, and I did get it right — KEE-rah-debt a-pee-BARN-rat.
“I’ve been lucky enough to announce every match for the last seven years,” he said. “I’ve had a few hiccups with pronunciations, especially with some of my friends from Japan, but it’s just been a blast.”
Clements he isn’t shy about how he feels about this being the tournament's final year.
“This really just breaks my heart because it’s been a part of my life for seven years,” he said. “It’s become a fabric of the community. This is uber successful. This tournament has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger and better every year.”
So why does he think this is the last year?
“We’re kind of going, ‘Gosh, why are you leaving?’” Clements said. “And I think it’s kind of because of LIV (the Saudi-funded tour that has lured may top players with huge payments and smaller fields). I think it’s about a restructuring of the PGA Tour where they are going to have elite 70-player fields.”
Regardless of the reason, what’s done is nearly done. Soon, Austin’s golf lovers — Clements included — will have to make do with the memories they’ve made In seven years of watching top PGA Tour players, including Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. Clements, from his spot on the first tee box, has his share of memories.
His favorite introduction? Tiger Woods
“I consider Tiger and Jack (Nicklaus) the two greatest players of all time,” Clements said. “To walk up and say, ‘Hi, Tiger, Ed Clements, welcome to our town’ and to have Tiger say thank you for having us, to introduce Tiger Woods for three days, what a thrill.”
The most relaxed player he’s come across?
Billy Horschel, the 2021 Dell Match Play winner.
“Man, he is so cool,” Clements said. “He is one of my favorites because he greets all the volunteers like they are old friends.”
The least relaxed player: Ian Poulter
“No doubt about it,” Clements said. “He’d have his ear buds on. He wouldn’t say anything. I’d say, ‘You’re up first, Ian,’ and he’d just kind of look at me. He was all business and somewhat not very nice. But he is in his workplace, and I recognize that.”
Most memorable story: Rafa Cabrera-Bello
The scene: Cabrera-Bello approaches the first tee before his match. Clements sees friends — and wives of friends — in the gallery and begins joking with them.
“He was coming to tee off, and I saw some friends,” Clements said. “It was Ben Crenshaw’s wife and a couple of friends’ wives, and they were below me at the teeing area. I said, ‘Girls, how are you? Good to see you; you look great; let’s go get a drink later. Where are your husbands? Oh, they aren’t here? Well then let’s definitely go get a drink.’ And Rafa Cabrera-Bello said, ‘Señor, you still have game.’ And walked off. That was probably my most memorable.”
Clements thinks, hopes this won't be Austin's last tournament
Clements has been a fixture at the different professional touranments that have called Austin home, and he believes that after Sunday’s final day for Dell Match Play, it won’t be long before a new tournament calls Austin home.
“I’m hopeful that we’re going to have another golf tournament within the next couple of years here in our town,” he said.
If he’s right, Clements will probably be there on the first tee box introducing the players, just as he’ll do Sunday for the last time.
The PGA Tour gives him a script, and for seven years he’s stuck to it.
“’The 1:44 tee time — from the United States, Davis Riley … from the Republic of South Africa, Christiaan Bezuidenhout,’” Clements offered as an example. “’Mr. Riley has the tee. Play away, please.’ That’s it.”
For Sunday’s championship match, he’ll stick to it one more time. Probably.
“I’m going to stick to the script,” he said with a smile. “If it’s Scottie Scheffler, I’d love to say, ‘From the University of Texas and the United States, Scottie Scheffler.’ Maybe I’ll do that since it’s the last time. What are they going to do, fire me?”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: After seven years, Ed Clements will call his final Dell Match Play
