'You would not have any teeth left...' Jack Nicklaus slams walk-and-talk interviews on PGA Tour

Jack Nicklaus slammed walk-and-talk interviews on the PGA Tour during the second round of his Memorial Tournament at Murfield Village Golf Club.

Nicklaus, 85, made his feelings crystal clear about on-course interviews while joint leader Ben Griffin was in discussion. 

Walk and talk interviews have been steadily introduced on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour for a number of years now.

Justin Thomas not so long ago urged his fellow peers to be more accepting of walk-and-talk interviews in a bid to build fan engagement. 

A number of high-profile PGA Tour players have agreed to do them in the past, none bigger than Rory McIlroy, who did one during the first round of the 2023 Masters.

That decision stunned Sir Nick Faldo. 

Nicklaus believes an interviewer would have got knocked out by someone like Ben Hogan in his day if you attempted to come up and talk to him while he was locked in during a tournament round. 

"I can’t stand that, the interview on the golf course," said Nicklaus during the second round broadcast of the Memorial Tournament. 

"Let me tell you how I think, how I feel, I mean, seriously, here’s a guy (Ben GriffIn) who's leading the golf tournament, he’s just hit the edge of the rough, he’s got a very difficult shot on a very difficult hole, and you’re talking to him about stuff that totally takes his mind off of what he was doing. 

"How do you think (Ben) Hogan would respond to that question? You would not have any teeth left if you did. He’d hit you right in the face with it."

Griffin went on to card a round of 72 to lie in a tie for the 36-hole lead with Nick Taylor, who posted a 68.

Akshay Bhatia is in solo third on 5-under par after a 69.

Defending champion and World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is then in solo fourth on 4-under after a second consecutive round of 70.

The Memorial Tournament is hosted by golf legend and record 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus.

It is the seventh of eight Signature Events on the PGA Tour in 2025.

With it comes a gigantic $20m prize purse with $4m going to the winner. 

Earlier in the week, Nicklaus admitted he was "surprised" to see McIlroy shun his tournament for the first time since 2017. 

The disappointment was etched on Nicklaus' face during his press conference.

Nicklaus also claimed McIlroy had not even messaged him to give him a reason why he had decided not to play. 

McIlroy will return to action at the RBC Canadian Open next week, an event he has won twice. 

The week after is then the U.S. Open. 

Nicklaus also backed a controversial change coming in the equipment world in 2028.