Music plays.
An arial view of ocean waves crashing on the rocky shoreline of the St. Andrews golf course in Scotland. Throughout, Iona is out on a golf course, walking, playing, watching others play, or working as a broadcaster.
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Charles Schwab Presents
Iona Stephen: Golf makes me feel like I’m at home. It gives me a deep sense of belonging, and that’s very comforting.
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The Challengers
A series about people who
Question. Engage. Succeed.
Iona Stephen
Iona: My name is Iona Stephen, and I’m a golfer and a storyteller.
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St. Andrews
Scotland
Iona: I didn’t start playing until I was 19. I was studying architecture at the time. I quickly realized I needed to get myself somewhere that I could play more golf. So, luckily, I was able to transfer my degree into the University of St. Andrews.
[standing on the St. Andrews course] Look at this. Have you ever seen anything so gorgeous in your life?
But I didn’t do a lot of studying. I did a lot of playing golf.
Love you, Crail [laughs and kisses a golf ball she’s carrying].
Eventually I got my handicap down to plus four. I was playing at the top elite competitions, and I started to get this niggle in the back of my wrist. I had never had an injury in my life before, so I kind of just thought that it would go away. And it didn’t go away. And in fact, it kind of continued to get worse. I had three operations. And at the end of all those treatments, I couldn’t even brush my hair with my hands, I was in so much pain. And I flew to see some doctors in America, actually, eventually to get some stem cell treatment, and they were the ones that looked me in the eye and said, “You’re never going to play professional golf.” It was probably the hardest five minutes of my life.
A road sign says, “Welcome to the Royal Burgh of Crail. Drive safely.”
It took me a while to kind of reimagine my relationship with the game because I’d only known it as a player, and that’s how I wanted it to be.
Holding a microphone, Iona watches golfers play, and then, in different settings, records on-camera reports and interview with golfers.
Iona: But I just transitioned into talking about golf and speaking to other people about their golf. I’m lucky enough to follow the very best male and female players in the world and cover them playing under the gun. To witness that and be part of that, especially from inside the ropes, is a great privilege.
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Ken Brown
Professional Golfer & Broadcaster
Ken Brown: I first met Iona when she started her embryo career as a broadcaster. Instantaneously, you knew there was something special about her. She had a fantastic voice, a joyful delivery, and she knew the game pretty darn well.
Iona [speaking into a microphone]: Many will opt for the left-hand route, but if it plays into the wind...
Iona sits in a chair indoors, a golf course and the ocean the ocean out the window behind her.
Iona: There’s lots of little technical aspects to it before you even say anything. And then you’ve got to make sure you say the right thing and it’s actually going to be valuable to the listener.
Video clips show Ken giving golf tips.
Ken [holding up a handful of grass]: This rough this week is nasty. Keep out of it.
Iona: I’ve really listened a lot to the way Ken does that and been so grateful for any advice and feedback and mentorship that he’s given me.
Live TV is a bit of a blur. It’s fast pace. It’s snapshots. It’s 30 seconds here. It’s 30 seconds there. And it’s very quick. We might find ourselves on air for five, six hours, but during that show I will contribute really small sound bites here, there, and everywhere.
Iona [interviewing someone on-camera]: So summarize what the open has meant to you, in a short sentence.
Interviewee 1: In a short sentence, well, yeah...
Iona: If I speak to a player, it’s usually one question, two questions, and they’re off.
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How could I make broadcasting and professional golf more human?
Iona: I wondered to myself, how could I make broadcasting and professional golf more human? I think sometimes when I’m covering a live tournament, I will catch players off guard by maybe just asking them something a little different. And sometimes it’s so simple like just, "How are you doing? How are you?"
Iona [interviewing someone else on-camera]: Is there a more proud dad in the whole of St. Andrews today?
Interviewee 2: I don’t know.
Iona: And I feel like sometimes that catches them off, and it’s nice for them to be reminded that, yes, while they’ve got all their professional face on in this kind of corporate sporting environment, they are still a human being in the end of the day. They’re busy. They’ve got a tournament to focus on. They’ve got a tournament to win. So you really get little moments in time over a long show, like a four- or five-hour show.
In contrast to that, On the Road with Iona is a channel that I founded and created about a year and a half ago, which tries to take media at a slower pace.
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On the road with Iona
Iona: Welcome back to On the Road...On the Road with...On the Road with Iona.
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We try to have longer, slower, deeper conversations.
Iona: And we try to have longer, slower, deeper conversations.
I think I was a bit nervous about how that would be received because so much content these days is about grabbing people’s attention. My content isn’t designed like that. It’s meant to be savored over a slow cup of tea. And I was nervous that it wouldn’t be received well at all and that we wouldn’t get many people wanting to watch it. And in fact, the opposite has happened. The feedback and the reaction from people has been absolutely amazing. I think people are looking for something that gives them permission to slow down.
Ken: She’s got a special ability with people. She instantly makes friends with them and has that ability to get the most out of them and make them relaxed and feel they’re having a chat and a conversation. And I think that’s why she’s done so well.
Iona: I aspire to share golf with the world in the way that Ken does. It’s full of joy because if I’m going to ask somebody to give me 60 seconds or 60 minutes of their time, I want them at the end to feel like, "I’m really glad I did that. I’m really glad I took time to watch that."
I feel like right now, I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. And a lot of that’s to do with On the Road with Iona and the possibility of who I might speak to next, and what piece of content might we create next and bring to the world. But also, there is a great excitement that comes with following the best players in the world around and being part of some great sporting moments from one of the best seats in the house.
[reporting from St. Andrews] Here I’m standing in the heart of history.
Iona is again sitting indoors, with the ocean behind her.
Iona: There are probably two that really stand out.
[speaking into a microphone] Welcome to St. Andrew’s.
The first was presenting the Claret Jug here at the 150th Open Championship in St. Andrews, where I have such a personal connection to, having been a student at the university and my family living here now and myself calling this place home.
[speaking into a microphone] Signore e signori.
Then a year later at Marco Simone in Rome, presenting the Ryder Cup to the winning team, with Donald and his Europeans, in front of millions. I can’t believe I found myself in that situation. That really was just such an unbelievable moment in my life, and I will never ever forget that.
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Ask questions. Be engaged.
[Charles Schwab logo]
Own your tomorrow®
Iona: I just think it doesn't get much better than this. Whatever is going on in your life, come down to Crail, and get out here to the second green, and things feel a little bit better.
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[Charles Schwab logo] [PGA Tour logo]
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©2025 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC. (0225-GDT9)
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Thanks to:
The PGAA
The R & A
Fox Sports
Crail Golfing Society
Music fades.
