Category: Golf on TV

Verne Lundquist announces the 2024 Masters will be his last behind the microphone on CBS

Lundquist admittedly doesn’t get around like he used to.

Verne Lundquist called his final college football game at the 2016 SEC Championship, but the legendary broadcaster couldn’t give up one of his favorite plum jobs, coming out of retirement once a year to partake in the Masters.

Lundquist, now 83, hinted in previous years that he might stop his annual trek to Augusta National after his 40th year of broadcasting the event, and on Wednesday he made it official — the 2024 Masters will be his last behind the microphone.

Lundquist, whose famous calls at the Masters include Jack Nicklaus’ birdie putt on 17 – “Yes, Sir!” – in 1986 that gave him the lead and Tiger Woods’ dramatic chip-in birdie on the 16th hole – “In your life!”– in 2005, admittedly doesn’t get around like he used to. The national broadcaster has a home in picturesque Steamboat Springs, Colorado, while he and his wife, Nancy, purchased a small condo in Austin, where he attended high school and started his illustrious career.

During a podcast done in 2022 with the Ringer, Lundquist said he had a plan in place for the finale after talking with CBS Sports executives.

“Sean (McManus, CBS Sports Chairman) and I had a recent talk about my work at Augusta,” Lundquist said at the time. “But in all likelihood, number 40 will likely be my last. Just because it will be time. I think that’s the plan.”

Lundquist’s call as the Dallas Cowboys radio voice of Jackie Smith’s drop in Super Bowl XIII remains one of his most recognizable. And he was the voice of SEC football on CBS as well as a yearly contributor during the NCAA Tournament for decades. He has made occasional cameos outside of golf in recent years, like one before Georgia and Alabama kicked off in the 2023 SEC championship game.

But when it comes to golf, little tops Lundquist’s call of Nicklaus’ putt at the 17th hole of the final round of the 1986 Masters. We all know the call – “Maybe … Yes, sir!” – that would mark Nicklaus’ final push in a stunning Masters win at the age of 46.

Of course, Lundquist was also the TV announcer for the golf classic “Happy Gilmore,” the Adam Sandler movie about a failed hockey player who takes his talents to the golf course in order to save his grandmother’s house. The comedy has undeniably become a part of golf’s culture.

The Masters will be held at Augusta National Golf Club from April 11-14.

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Netflix’s Full Swing teaser shows what fans can expect from season two

Season two drops on March 6.

Last month it was announced that the second season of “Full Swing,” the Netflix docuseries that goes behind the scenes of professional golf, will be released on March 6, 2024.

On Wednesday the streaming service dropped a 27-second teaser video that featured the titles of all eight episodes and a sneak peek at who would be featured in each. The players involved in Season 2 include the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rickie Fowler, Joel Dahmen, Keegan Bradley, Tom Kim, Luke Donald and Wyndham Clark, to name a few.

The season starts and ends with two-part episodes titled The Game Has Changed, which presumably will detail the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s struggle for professional golf supremacy and ends with All Roads Lead to Rome, which unfortunately for American fans will go in-depth on everything that happened at the 2023 Ryder Cup.

Check out the teaser clip below.

Full Swing: Ranking all the episodes in Season One

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Fans were loving Smylie Kaufman and Kevin Kisner commentating the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open

Yup. Kiz was booing bad shots all afternoon.

Announcers openly booing players? Acceptable at the WM Phoenix Open.

And there were no shortage of boos Saturday afternoon and evening at TPC Scottsdale, especially on the 16th tee box. The rowdiest hole in golf is known for good shots being praised and bad ones being ridiculed.

But the announcers getting in on the fanfare? That’s what Smylie Kaufman and Kevin Kisner did on Saturday’s broadcast. NBC Sports set the duo up a few yards from the 16th tee box, and from the first tee shot, they provided a different type of commentary than we’ve seen from an NBC broadcast in some time.

Sure, Colt Knost and Amanda Renner have set up shop on this hole in previous years and done a stellar job, but with the CBS crew having the week off thanks to the Super Bowl, it was NBC’s time to showcase something new.

They may have struck gold.

Fans chimed in on social media in support of the duo and their non-stop debauchery from the 16th tee. Kisner even had a football he would pass to players for them to toss into the crowd, but the duo didn’t hold back commentating on the golf.

They praised good shots and boo’ed bad ones. They were clearly having fun, and the excitement of the 16th hole truly came through on the broadcast.

Kevin Kisner and Smylie Kaufman on the 16th tee box. (Photo: NBC Sports)

Here’s some of the best reactions to the duo making their debut from the tee box.

Q&A: Kevin Kisner on roasting players at WM Phoenix Open, who he’d like to see in the booth & why he’s OK with the PGA Tour partnering with Saudi Arabia

“Saudi Arabia is involved with almost everything in the world. That whole argument is kaput in my opinion.”

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Kevin Kisner always has talked a good game.

After being widely praised for his TV commentating debut for NBC/Golf Channel at The Sentry in Hawaii, Kisner is back behind a mic this week at the WM Phoenix Open. He’ll take part in a four-man booth paired with host Dan Hicks and alongside Steve Sands and Brad Faxon, flipping odd and even holes. On the weekend, he’ll be stationed at TPC Scottsdale’s iconic par-3 16th alongside Smylie Kaufman and 20,000 rowdy fans and said he just hopes he can hear himself. If ever there was a week that Kisner could openly roast players as only he can do, this is the week.

“That’s what I’m definitely doing,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday.

Kisner wishes Boo Weekely could get a turn in the booth — wouldn’t that be something! — riffs on the PGA Tour’s new business moves and how everyone thinks they’re part of the media these days. That and more from Kis in a rollicking Q&A that ain’t no hobby.

Despite canceled final round at Pebble Beach (and no NFL playoffs), LIV Golf still struggles in TV ratings

LIV Golf’s event still drew a rating well below that registered by the PGA Tour.

With a number of factors lining up during the opening weekend of the LIV Golf season, the fledgling circuit had all the pieces in place to capture a significant TV audience.

However, a playoff between a pair of big names did little to draw viewers to the CW Network, according to reports.

Joaquin Niemann went wire-to-wire to claim his first win on the Saudi-backed circuit at the league’s 2024 opener at Mayakoba’s El Camaleon Golf Course in Mexico following a four-hole playoff in the dark against Sergio Garcia on Sunday. Niemann, who shot a blistering 12-under 59 in the first round, made one final clutch putt to seal the deal for his first win since joining the league. Also, Jon Rahm made his LIV Golf debut, and his newly formed expansion team, Legion XIII, won the team title by four shots at 24 under.

But despite the impressive leaderboard, the cancellation of the final round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and no NFL playoffs on the schedule, LIV Golf’s event still drew a rating well below that of the PGA Tour, according to Sports TV Ratings.

Although the head-to-head numbers on Saturday were strongly in favor of the PGA Tour (168K to 1.91M), the Sunday number for LIV Golf did show a significant year-over-year improvement.

LIV’s first event in 2023 received 291K viewers on Sunday, according to Josh Carpenter of the Sports Business Journal. The 2023 Honda Classic, on the other hand, reeled in 2.38 million.

The numbers do not include streaming, which is available on LIV Golf Plus as well as via a pay-per-view YouTube option.

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Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson to play in first mixed edition of ‘The Match’

Now this is going to be fun.

For the first time in its history, “The Match” series will feature two of the biggest stars in the women’s game, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson. Joining them will be Rory McIlroy and Max Homa, with the event slated for Feb. 26 at The Park golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Golfweek‘s Adam Schupak originally reported Zhang and Thompson’s involvement back in November 2023.

The made-for-TV event will be 12 holes, and the format will be skins. For a player to win a skin, they must win the hole outright. If two or more players tie for the best score on a hole, the skin carries over to the next hole.

All four players will use the same tee boxes on par 3s, while varying tee boxes will be used for the remaining holes. This match will benefit the First Tee program.

TNT’s broadcast team will include Charles Barley, Ernie Johnson, Trevor Immelman, Kathryn Tappen, Christina Kim, Paul Bissonnette and DJ Khaled.

The event will also be available to stream on Max.

Photos: TV personality Blair O’Neal through the years

O’Neal played on the then-fledgling Symetra Tour, then joined TV’s “School of Golf” show in 2015.

Blair O’Neal had a successful youth golf career that included highlights such as winning the 1997 Arizona Junior Golf Association Ping Phoenix Junior Championship, being a member of the 1997 U.S Junior Ryder Cup Matches and the AJGA West Canon Cup Team, and playing for the Arizona State golf team. Twice she was NCAA long-drive champion.

What helped O’Neal get back into golf was a chance to appear twice on the Golf Channel’s Big Break. She finished second at Prince Edward Island despite having only a month to prepare. She won in the Dominican Republic. She played on the then-fledgling Symetra Tour, which began in 2004, then joined the network’s “School of Golf” show in 2015.

A participant in the 2024 Tournament of Champions, O’Neal made headlines in the 2020 edition of the event when she played while six months pregnant. She finished sixth, playing from the same set of tees as the men.

“I figured it would be a really cool experience to be able to look back on and say that I did it with my little baby,” she said with a smile that lit up the Four Seasons Orlando.

Her first son, Chrome, was born later in 2020 and she had a second son, Canon, in 2022.

Aside from making regular appearances on Golf Channel, O’Neal has played in numerous celebrity golf tournaments and has been a popular influencer with more than a half-million Instagram followers.

Here’s a look at some of her career in photos.

Brandel Chamblee to serve as NBC Sports lead analyst for 2024 American Express coverage

A familiar face will be in the booth.

As NBC Sports continues its search for a full-time analyst to work alongside Dan Hicks in the booth for its coverage of the PGA Tour, a familiar name will be in the seat at this week’s American Express in La Quinta, California.

Brandel Chamblee will assume the role of lead analyst for this week’s coverage. Terry Gannon will have play-by-play duties, as the duo will lead the coverage on Golf Channel and Peacock.

Four-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Kisner was in the booth at The Sentry, and longtime analyst Curt Byrum took over last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii as NBC Sports looks to fill the role formerly occupied by Paul Azinger.

Paul McGinley called the action at the Hero World Challenge in early December. Chamblee is the latest in what appears to be a rotating cast of characters, but he has appeared plenty before for NBC Sports, including at the Open Championship.

Chamblee has become a figurehead in the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf debate with his staunch defense of the PGA Tour, and he even got into a social media debate in recent weeks about commercial load for events on television.

Golf Channel and Peacock will air live coverage of the American Express from 4-7 p.m. ET from Thursday to Saturday.

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Watch: Smylie Kaufman calls golf shots from kayak in Pacific Ocean at Sony Open in Hawaii

Sit back, relax and enjoy this hilarious clip.

Seven years ago, Smylie Kaufman and Jordan Spieth had a rough time on a kayak in the Pacific Ocean.

Following their first round of play in the 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii, the duo took a kayak out on the water near Waialae Country Club in Honolulu to do some fishing. However, the waves had a different idea.

There’s some epic video of the two being tossed around, losing a lot of the gear and personal items they had on the kayak. Nevertheless, they were laughing the whole time and it made for incredible footage.

On Friday during the second round of the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii, Kaufman had his chance at redemption. He got back into a kayak, with a microphone in hand on the Golf Channel during live coverage, and called golf shots on the par-3 17th, which runs next to the ocean.

Sit back, relax and enjoy this hilarious clip.

Kevin Kisner tells hilarious behind-the-scenes stories while grading his NBC, Golf Channel debut

Kisner joined Smylie Kaufman’s podcast to detail his first broadcast appearance and had some great stories to tell.

NBC’s lead golf producer Tommy Roy has been interested in Kevin Kisner as a broadcaster for some time and told him the opportunity was available whenever the fan-favorite was ready to quit playing.

After a quiet fall, Roy approached Kisner at Sea Island in Georgia and called him a week later to get his schedule so they could find a time for Kisner to try out on the mic.

“I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to Honolulu to play so I can do Maui,’” said Kisner. “(Roy’s) like, ‘Alright, perfect. I’ll see you there.’ I was like, what? Next day I know I’m talking to a guy about a contract.”

The four-time PGA Tour winner made his first of two appearances for NBC and Golf Channel at last week’s PGA Tour opener, The Sentry, and received rave reviews from media and fans. Kisner, 39, will also be on the call for the WM Phoenix Open later this year. Before making his first start of the new Tour season at the Sony Open in Hawaii this week, Kisner joined fellow player-turned-commentator Smylie Kaufman on his podcast to talk about his broadcast debut.

Kisner said he called his wife because he didn’t think he could do the job after watching what happened behind the scenes for an hour during Thursday’s first round but stuck it out and joined the broadcast on Friday. He was funny, told great stories about the players and brought a new element to a broadcast that has grown stale over the last few years.

“From what I heard, having a guy that’s been in there close with the guys recently, it helped. I’ve got stories on all of them because I’ve been around, now some of these young guys I don’t have any stories on,” Kisner said. “If (Akshay Bhatia) went and got hot (Sunday), I’d have probably just sat there twiddling my thumbs the whole day. I don’t have any dirt on him yet. But it was nice to have some of the guys I know well rolling and that I could pull from my old memory bank.”

Watch the full podcast here.

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