Category: Golf on TV

U.S. Open’s Peacock TV debacle is just the beginning for pro golf fans

Did you see Rory McIlroy’s birdie on the final hole of the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday?

Did you see Rory McIlroy’s birdie on the final hole of the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday?

If the answer is yes, and you saw the putt live rather than in a highlight package, then you are one of the golf fans who have Peacock, NBC’s subscription-based streaming service. If you didn’t see it live, you were probably cursing under your breath that the powers that run television and sports have found another way to milk a few dollars out of viewers.

The social media world exploded when the U.S. Open switched from USA Network, a standard network commonly found on most platforms including cable, to Peacock on Thursday afternoon. Those chants grew a little louder on Friday when USA Network wasn’t part of the Open broadcast, but Peacock was the television platform for the morning and late afternoon sessions. NBC carried the Open midday.

The Open might be the sporting event at the center of anger about paywalls for the moment, but in reality this is nothing new. In a search for more lucrative sources of revenue, major sports are increasingly tucking at least some of their content behind streaming services that require an additional subscription.

U.S. OPEN: Leaderboard | Hole-by-hole | How to watch

The PGA Tour has certainly been at the center of this movement with early round action now broadcast on ESPN+ and Peacock for some time now. Other sports are also on Peacock, such as the LPGA, Indy Car racing, boxing, soccer and a ton of U.S. Olympic trials for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris. Much of those Games will be on Peacock as well.

You may also remember that the National Football League put one of its playoff games last season on Peacock. The NFL, never at a loss for a way to squeeze an extra dollar out of fans and sponsors, has already put its Thursday Night Football games on pay service Amazon Prime. Major League Baseball isn’t immune to the movement, taking some Friday games and giving them exclusively to Apple TV, meaning those games aren’t on the regional sports networks fans traditionally watch.

Not going away

If you think your favorite sports moving to streaming services that require an additional subscription is a trend that can’t continue, think again. The NFL recently announced that it will play two games on Christmas Day this year, and both will be on Netflix, another pay service. Meanwhile, NBC is on the verge of announcing a new deal to take over the NBA package currently held by TNT through next season. When NBC does get the pro basketball contract, the scuttlebutt is many of the games (who knows how many games) will be broadcast on – you guessed it – Peacock.

Again, none of this is new. Golf has been on Peacock for a while, and websites like Masters.com have increasingly been showing a more diverse golf broadcast than traditional television platforms can show. Peacock, for instance, shows featured groups on streams that aren’t showing the regular broadcast.

But streaming services cost money, and that starts to add up for fans who watch other platforms, whether cable or outlets like YouTube TV or Hulu for the bulk of their television. Maybe it’s just $10 a month, but consider that the NFL is now asking fans to subscribe to Amazon Prime, Netflix and Peacock to see games.

The reason the trend is actually growing is because fans do follow their sports wherever they are broadcast. Maybe not all fans, but enough fans for the sports and the streaming services to believe the money spent for broadcasting rights is money well spent. If no one was watching, would the NFL hide two Christmas Day games on Netflix?

So if the trend isn’t going away, and is in fact growing, it is easy to start conjecturing what sporting events will be on streaming services next. Early games in the expanded College Football Playoffs could be a target by streaming services. So could the WNBA, which is growing fans quickly in the last year. The Major League Baseball playoffs might send an entire early round series to a streaming platform.

For fans of the U.S. Open this weekend, Peacock only comes into play for targeted feature groups. The main broadcast will be on USA for a few hours and then NBC the rest of the day. But it’s easy to see how the shift to streaming services could continue to shift in the future as cable viewership shrinks and streaming services keep looking for subscribers. If you want to follow the sports to streaming services, just follow the money.

Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan. 

It’s been a decade since Johnny Miller’s last U.S. Open broadcast at Pinehurst. Here’s what he said

Miller in 2014: “I’m hoping Fox will do a good job of keeping it going.”


When Johnny Miller stepped down from the broadcast booth following the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, his body language seemed to convey that he understood this was likely the last time he’d call the national championship.

Miller, whose 1973 win at Oakmont is considered one of the most dramatic in light of a final-round 63 that saw him come from deep in the pack, was proud of the work he’d done on the event with NBC Sports. But since Fox Sports had inked a lucrative deal with the USGA, the 2014 event, which was won by Martin Kaymer, was expected to end NBC’s run with the tournament.

A Golfweek crew that included current senior writer David Dusek stopped Miller as he stepped down from the U.S. Open booth for the final time.

“The way I look at it, 20 years is a pretty dang good run,” Miller told Golfweek at the time. “I didn’t think we’d lose it because I thought we were doing really a good job, but money talks and Fox wanted to get into the golf business. It is what it is. We had a great run. If somebody would have said I could do 20 Opens I would have been very happy and I’m still happy.

“But I’m hoping Fox will do a good job of keeping it going.”

Fox did not, in fact, keep it going.

More: Q&A with former NBC golf lead analyst Johnny Miller

In 2020, the USGA announced that media rights for its championships moved back to NBCUniversal, breaking a 12-year deal with Fox Sports worth about $1 billion.

After COVID forced the USGA to move the dates of the 2020 U.S. Open from June to September, Fox Sports struggled to find the broadcast hours needed for the championship, USGA officials noted, given their additional commitments to the NFL, MLB and college football. Talks that began looking into how Fox Sports and NBC/Golf Channel might work together this year ultimately ended in NBC taking over entirely.

The current NBC Sports agreement runs through 2026, but Miller had already left the network in 2019 when the new deal was forged.

When pressed to recall some of his favorite U.S. Open moments in the booth, Miller talked about his first broadcast when Corey Pavin won the 1995 tournament at Shinnecock over Greg Norman, in which he called Pavin’s 4-wood approach on the 72nd hole the “shot of his life.”

And of course, Miller looked fondly back on Tiger Woods’ dominant victory at Pebble Beach in 2000. Miller knew Woods was clearly in his prime, but he told his NBC partner they were in for something even more special than anyone else anticipated.

“He had only played four holes and Dan Hicks said to me, ‘what do you think Tiger’s chances are?’ And I said, ‘I think he’s going to shoot a record score and win by a huge margin.’ And he looked at me like, what are you smoking?” Miller recalled.

Dude Perfect, Rickie Fowler take Ben Hogan’s circa 1950’s clubs for a spin around Colonial’s Horrible Horseshoe

Fowler estimated that Hogan’s persimmon driver flew 20 yards shorter than his Cobra gamer.

Technology has come a long way since the days of Ben Hogan.

On Tuesday, ahead of this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, Rickie Fowler and three members of the crew from Dude Perfect, the sports and comedy group, played Colonial Country Club’s famed “Horrible Horseshoe,” the nickname for hole Nos. 3-5, with Hogan’s clubs from the 1950s.

Fowler estimated that Hogan’s persimmon driver flew 20 yards shorter than his Cobra gamer.

“With the current ball, it isn’t as much as you would think if you hit it out of the middle,” he said. “Irons are still irons but it’s the mishits where the difference is most noticeable.”

He noted, “The amount of precision it took with the old ball and old equipment is very different compared to today.”

Throwback equipment has developed a niche following in recent years and Fowler is a fan of teeing it up with equipment from another era.

“I still love going back and playing with some old stuff I have,” Fowler said. “It makes hitting current stuff especially driver feel a lot more inviting.”

As for Tyler Toney, Garrett Hilbert and Coby Cotton of Dude Perfect – whose YouTube channel has more than 60 million subscribers – Fowler said they held their own.

“They did not embarrass themselves,” Fowler said. “Ty is the best of the group but Garrett and Colby hit some solid shots considering their handicaps.”

Fowler noted a couple shots were not so great but he cut them some slack as they weren’t given a chance to warm-up with the Hogan relics. Dude Perfect also played in the Wednesday pro-am with Keegan Bradley and K.H. Lee.

The Hogan clubs also made their way to the range at Colonial, where Rafa Campos and Justin Rose put them through their paces.

“They look small, no doubt. No room for error, and yeah, very sharp. Everything is very straight-edged,” Rose said of the irons.

“Why can’t we go back to this?” Campos said after hitting a driver.

Rose took one look at Hogan’s short stick and said, “I mean, no wonder he didn’t enjoy putting.”

Inaugural charity event honoring former Golf Channel host Tim Rosaforte brings in $200K

Many of Rosaforte’s close friends gathered to raise money for a cause that was dear to his heart.

PALM CITY, Florida — The Rosie, the inaugural charity tournament held Monday in honor of award-winning golf journalist Tim Rosaforte, raised more than $200,000 that will be used for college scholarships for First Tee Florida Gold Coast and the Evans Scholars Foundation.

Hosted by the Floridian Golf Club – where Rosaforte was a longtime member and once held court with President Obama on the range – many of Rosaforte’s close friends and colleagues gathered at the picturesque setting to raise money for a cause that was dear to his heart.

“Tim was a vice-chairman of the First Tee and one of our biggest supporters,” said Carl Mistretta, Executive Director of First Tee Florida Gold Coast. “It is heartwarming to have Rosaforte scholarship recipients Katie Harwood and Jacie Goodman join us for this event, which will fund new scholarships well into the future.”

Executives from the PGA Tour, PGA of America, USGA, NBC Sports and more than a dozen local golf clubs were on hand to support The Rosie. Rosaforte moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1981 and spent the next four decades tirelessly covering the sport while his career ascended from the Fort Lauderdale-Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Sports Illustrated, Golf Digest, Golf Channel – where he became the sport’s first true “insider” – and NBC.

Fellow golf writers and peers of Tim Rosaforte participated in The Rosie on Monday: (from left) Randall Mell, Craig Dolch, Bill Davis (pro) and former Golfweek editor Jeff Babineau.

“Scholarships change the lives of these young people and an amazing number of people are supporting this cause because of Rosie,” said PGA Professional Jack Druga of the Evans Scholars Foundation, who spearheaded the tournament for his close friend. “Brad Martin and the Martin Family Foundation and the Floridian, Head PGA Professional Morgan Jewell and owner Jim Crane deserve a special thanks for our success today.”

Rosaforte died on Jan. 11, 2022 at 66 after a two-year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Among his many honors: The PGA of America made Rosie the first journalist – and 12th person – to receive an honorary membership; Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament presented Rosie with the Memorial Golf Journalism Award; and his hometown PGA Tour event (now known as the Cognizant Classic of the Palm Beaches), named its media room after Rosaforte and created the Tim Rosaforte Distinguished Journalist Award.

Inaugural The Rosie was held Monday at the Floridian Golf Club. Here are the hats, balls and markers used by the participants. (Photo: Craig Dolch/Special for USA Today)

“Tim would be humbled and overwhelmed with the love being shown even after he’s been gone for more than two years,” said his wife, Genevieve Rosaforte, who participated Monday with her family. “He would love that kids are being influenced and encouraged through this event. We are all proud that his legacy lives on, but there are also bittersweet feelings of not having him here.”

How to give to Tim Rosaforte College Scholarship fund

Donations and bids on a collection of special golf prizes can still be made to the Tim Rosaforte College Scholarship by visiting www.rosieproam.com.

Brandel Chamblee named lead analyst for NBC’s coverage of 2024 U.S. Open

Chamblee has been a staple of Golf Channel’s “Live From” show after the completion of play at the majors.

Brandel Chamblee recently compared trying to replace Johnny Miller as lead analyst on NBC Sports to following late comedian Robin Williams on stage.

“It’s just not going to look good no matter who you are because Johnny was a god at that role, and I think that was probably – it’s going to be troubling for anybody in that role,” he said in an interview with Golfweek in March.

Well, Chamblee will get to experience that feeling for himself as NBC announced on Monday that the 61-year-old Tour pro turned broadcaster will work alongside lead golf play-by-play voice Dan Hicks at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club (No. 2 course) across NBC, Peacock and USA Network.

Mike Tirico will also work alongside analyst Brad Faxon in NBC’s four-man booth.

“This year we began utilizing an odd/even system of hole assignments for our commentator pairings,” said Sam Flood, executive producer and president, production, NBC Sports. “Our new approach lets our play-by-play announcers give more context for what’s happening, while creating more opportunities for our analysts and on-course reporters to engage with each other and break down the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ before and after each moment.”

Chamblee has been a staple of Golf Channel’s “Live From” show after the completion of play at the majors. Speaking in March, he said he wasn’t opposed to doing double duty.

NBC has been rotating broadcasters this season since deciding not to renew Paul Azinger’s contract.

NBC also announced that Jim “Bones” Mackay and Roger Maltbie will return as on-course reporters and Gary Koch will serve as an analyst. Mackay was lead analyst at the Mexico Open and worked on Golf Channel’s coverage of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. He and Justin Thomas parted ways in April, and he hasn’t hooked up as a caddie for a new player yet. Maltbie and Koch worked at the Players Championship in March during the opening two rounds.

In all, NBC will provide more than 200-plus hours of programming of the U.S. Open, held June 13-16.

Tiger Woods goes on Jimmy Fallon, explains Sun Day Red, has fun with Masters tree memes

Wearing blue, Tiger talks about his Sun Day Red line.

Tiger Woods introduced his Sun Day Red brand in February. Now, his collab with TaylorMade is about to embark on the official launch of his Sun Day Red line.

Woods wore the new apparel at his tournament in Los Angeles, the Genesis Invitational, for the first time after a split with Nike after 27 years. He then sported the new look at Augusta National Golf Club in April, the first time he roamed the fairways there not wearing Nike in almost three decades.

Tuesday night, Woods made a late-night TV appearance on Jimmy Fallon, who asked him about the name Sun Day Red – yes, it’s three words – and how choice to wear red on Sundays came to be.

“Maybe because I’ve won a few tournaments on Sunday and wearing red,” he said, while actually wearing a blue shirt. He then went on to explain how his mom deserves the credit.

“The red story is actually a good one. It comes from my mom. My mom thought it was, being a capricorn, whatever, it was power color, some BS like that. I end up wearing red and winning some junior golf tournaments. So to spite her, I wore blue and I did not win those tournaments so, Mom was always right.”

But perhaps the better part of his visit to the late night talk show set was a bit where Fallon brought out the picture of Woods shaking Verne Lundquist’s hand on the 16th hole at the Masters. From the angle the camera got, it looks like Woods was merely shaking an arm sticking out from behind the tree.

As golf fans know, Memes ensued. Fallon made sure to bring it up to Tiger.

“It was all over the internet,” Fallon said. Tiger, playing along, said, “What happened?”

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Arizona night golf league debut features $1 million hole-in-one contest

The livestream will be from 6-9 p.m. Arizona time (9 p.m. to midnight ET) on the Bleacher Report YouTube channel.

Grass Clippings Rolling Hills has had a smashing debut as the go-to destination for night golf in Arizona.

This week, the golf course debuted the Grass Clippings Open, a two-day, high-stakes par 3 tournament that concludes under the lights Saturday night with a live stream on Youtube and a $1 million prize for a hole-in-one on the 18th hole.

The live stream will be from 6-9 p.m. Arizona time (9 p.m. to midnight ET) on the Bleacher Report YouTube channel.

There are 75 two-person teams competing for a $100,000 purse in a no-stroke, scramble, low-gross format at the City of Tempe golf course, Arizona’s first fully lit 18-hole golf course, which officially debuted night golf on Dec. 1, 2023.

The festivities also feature concerts, with Easton Corbin headlining the Friday show and LANCO headlining Saturday night.

The teams competing consist of 20 “franchise” teams, 18 teams who had to first survive qualifying and 13 sponsor exemptions. Future events will have spots reserved for past champions.

The live stream can also be found on the Bleacher Report website and app.

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Stephanie Sparks, host of Golf Channel’s reality series ‘Big Break,’ dies at age 50

In addition to the “Big Break,” Sparks hosted the “Golf with Style” series on Golf Channel.

Longtime Golf Channel “Big Break” host Stephanie Sparks died on April 13 at the age of 50. Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Robert and Janie Sparks, Mary Stephanie Sparks was an All-American collegiate golfer at Duke.

She won the 1992 North and South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst and in the summer of 1993, rattled off victories at the Women’s Western Amateur, Women’s Eastern Amateur and the West Virginia State Amateur.

Sparks represented the U.S. on the 1994 Curtis Cup team and had a brief professional career that was plagued by injuries. She began her pro career on what’s now the Epson Tour and played only one season on the LPGA in 2000 before chronic back pain ultimately ended her career.

Sparks played the role of three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Alexa Stirling in the 2004 movie “Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius” opposite Jim Caviezel.

In addition to the “Big Break” reality series, Sparks hosted the “Golf with Style” series on Golf Channel as well as “Playing Lessons with the Pros.” She also did some on-camera reporting at tournaments.

During her competitive days, Sparks wrote player diaries for Golfweek, offering an inside look into tour life.

Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott worked seven seasons with Sparks as a co-host on the popular “Big Break” series. Abbott, who is on the broadcast team this week at the Chevron Championship, lauded Sparks’ work ethic.

“She had been a professional golfer herself,” he said, “so she knew what it was like for the contestants, and she wanted them to succeed. She kind of rode their emotions in a way when we were doing the show.

“She knew how tough it was.”

Sparks’ Kepner Funeral Homes obituary page notes that she was an advocate for hospice care for the last several years of her life and supported Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation and the Barber Fund in Orlando.

A private family service will be held in Elm Grove, West Virginia, at Kepner Funeral Home.

Here’s a look back at Sparks’ career:

From Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods, Verne Lundquist explains his favorite Masters calls ahead of his final trip to Augusta National

Lundquist will call his 40th and final Masters this year for CBS.

Verne Lundquist has a plan next Tuesday night to hang around Augusta National Golf Club to say a proper goodbye to both Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the longtime CBS announcer prepares to call his final Masters in 2024.

“Those two guys have had a terrific impact on my professional career,” Lundquist said on a call with the media ahead of the first men’s major championship of the year. “And I’m in deep gratitude to them both.”

Uncle Verne has been a signature voice at the Masters and will make his 40th and final trip down Magnolia Lane next week. The Masters is an event steeped in history, and Lundquist has covered nearly half of the tournaments. For a man who has seen so much action and drama among the Georgia pines, two of his calls come to mind as his favorites, and they’re Nos. 1a and 1b on his all-time list: Nicklaus’ putt in 1986 and Woods’ chip in 2005.

“I lean towards ’86, probably more so because of the fact that Jack is six months older than me, and I tend to remind him every chance I get,” he said with his signature laugh. “Jack hadn’t won in two years at that time and there are many stories about his championship run on Sunday.”

“(Jim Nantz) had a great call. First Augusta, 1986, he was working at 16 and I think the story is, when Jack hit his tee shot at 16, (his son and caddie) said, ‘Be good’ and Jack without looking up said, ‘It is,’ and the ball almost went in the hole. Jim said, ‘The bear has come out of hibernation.’”

Nicklaus was tied for the lead on the 17th tee after Seve Ballesteros found the water on No. 15. His drive went near the green on No. 7 and he then hit a pitching wedge about 12 feet above the hole. Enter Lundquist.

“I can remember thinking to myself as he walked up, ‘Keep it simple and get your butt out of the way.’ And I managed to do that,” Lundquist remembered of the famous putt. “I boldly predicted ‘Maybe’ when it was not that far from the hole, and then I reacted with what I said, ‘Yes sir!’ with slightly more emphasis than that. I think because I know Jack so much better than I know Tiger, I lean toward the Jack call.”

It will be an emotional week for the entire CBS crew as both Lundquist and CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus will be working their final Masters.

“He’s just the voice,” Nantz said of his good friend and colleague. “His calls are truly legendary. … Augusta’s a place that I feel like kind of comes to life every April. It’s not just because it’s a gathering of the greatest players in the world and there’s a golf competition, but it’s a week where history, where voices, they come back. We hear them again. We still kind of feel and have front of mind the legends of yesteryear. The Gene Sarazens, they make an earthly visit every year in April. Byron (Nelson), Ben (Hogan), Sam (Snead), of course Arnold (Palmer), there’s one week a year where they come back in our lives, back on our planet.

“What I’m saying here is Verne’s always going to always have a home in Augusta. He’s going to be a part of Augusta forever. Those calls that he’s made, they’re going to be played back 50, 100, 200 years from now,” Nantz continued. “He’s gonna have a home there, a permanent residence. I’m just really appreciative. I don’t know quite exactly how I’m going to say my goodbyes, but I’ll figure it out.”

When Lundquist and McManus discussed “the proper time to exit stage left,” the pair agreed that 40 Masters had a nice sound to it. He knows the emotions will hit when he arrives on site the Sunday before tournament week, but he’s going to relish every moment of every day at the course.

“I’ll be emotional and there’s a spot on my left thigh that I’ll be pinching to make sure I don’t shed a tear on the air, but it’s been a great run,” Lundquist said of his time calling the Masters. “Hey, I’m 83 years old and I’ve been blessed to have a sensational professional life and a wonderful personal life. I wasn’t the first to say this, but thanks for the memories.”

ESPN anchor who co-wrote golf book with Chi Chi Rodriguez is leaving the network

The anchor mentioned potentially returning to any of the places he lived prior to his ESPN stint, including Phoenix.

One of SportsCenter’s longest-tenured anchors will be departing the show and ESPN in the coming months.

John Anderson, who sits behind the desk for the 11 p.m. ET show typically and has been with the network since 1999, announced that he will be leaving the company at the end of June when his contract expires.

“That will be the end. I’m going to leave the company. I am gonna sort of retire from ‘SportsCenter,’” Anderson said in a clip posted by the “The Inside Wisconsin” show on social media Wednesday.

Anderson joined ESPN 25 years ago as an anchor on ESPNews. Anderson added that he will still be part of ESPN’s track and field coverage, which includes the New York City and Boston marathons on top of NCAA meets, “which I love.” He called track and field for Olympic Broadcasting Services during the Tokyo Games.

He also has an affinity for golf. He co-wrote a book with legendary golfer Chi Chi Rodriquez that was released in 2003. “Chi Chi’s Golf Games You Gotta Play” teaches players how to play better golf and have fun while playing.

“I am incredibly excited about that. It’s been a good run.”

The “operation has changed,” Anderson said, of doing the nightly show.

“I don’t know that it’s passed me by,” Anderson said. “But it’s taken its toll and I still want to be able to do the best shows I can and I don’t know that in years 26 or 27 that I have the stamina to go through it again. So I’m done.”

More ESPN coverage: Longtime NFL insider Chris Mortensen reveals he has retired from TV network

In the short snipped posted, Anderson said he doesn’t know what his future holds.

“I have some things in the fire,” Anderson said. “But ‘SportsCenter’ will not be it anymore.”

Last year longtime SportsCenter anchor Neil Everett announced he was leaving the show after a 23-year run at ESPN.