Tag: David Feherty

LIV Golf’s Anthony Kim sheds light on his addiction, surgeries and life away from golf over the last 12 years

Kim told part of his story in a sit-down interview with David Feherty.

In the lead-up to his recent return to professional golf and public life, Anthony Kim avoided talking about the last 12 years of his life spent in privacy behind closed doors.

“I’ll tell my story when it’s the right time but right now I’m focused on golf,” Kim said before his debut at LIV Golf Jeddah, where he finished in last place.

A month later that time has (somewhat) come as the 38-year-old sat down with LIV’s David Feherty to talk about his path back to golf and a few of the admittedly self-inflicted challenges he’s faced over the last decade.

“Golf is important to me and not important to me at the same time,” Kim said at the beginning of the video. “I’ve had some very dark moments. I’ve had some very low moments. I felt very alone, even when there’s a million people around. I needed to get my mind on straight and figure out what my purpose was on this planet.”

Kim is saving the details for a documentary on his career that’s in the works and said he wasn’t able to talk about the insurance settlement he received but was adamant he didn’t just take the money and run when he injured his Achilles back in 2012.

“I’ve had multiple shoulder surgeries. Hand surgery, spinal fusion, but had a lot of injuries and a lot of surgeries,” said Kim. “I think I’m actually hitting the ball farther now than when I left the game. So maybe some of this metal is helping.”

The three-time PGA Tour winner from 2008-2010 said he did talk to the Tour about a return, but he wasn’t considering playing golf again until he got a call from LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman three months ago. When asked if Norman was the catalyst for his return, Kim slightly changed his answer and said his wife was the reason he started playing golf again because she wanted to learn the game.

“I have an interesting relationship with golf. I don’t think I ever loved it. What’s very weird to me right now is that I’m falling in love with the game,” Kim explained. “That’s such a weird spot for me, because golf was filled with pressure. Golf was filled with lots of different emotions for me. Because my family had to go through a lot to give me this opportunity to play golf, right. So with that added pressure, I was willing to risk a lot more. That was my nature. I was aggressive on the golf course I was aggressive off the golf course. And that led to my demise.”

The Oklahoma product knew he needed help for a long time but just kept it all to himself until he started turning his life around a year and a half ago. It’s no coincidence that his daughter, Bella, is 2 years old.  In fact, doctors had originally told Kim he wouldn’t be able to have a child given all the things his body had been through with his addiction.

Over the last 12 years, Kim thought he was having a great time but said he “literally doesn’t remember” any of those times. His addictive personality controlled his life and he admitted he was around bad people and “scam artists” who took advantage of him. According to Kim, he’s since shed 98 percent of those people from his circle.

The early results haven’t been great for Kim, which is to be expected when you take a 12-year break and battle the inner demons he’s faced. In two starts with LIV as a wildcard player for 2024, Kim has finished 53rd and 50th in the 54-player field events. That said, he thinks he can still play to the level he once did while on the PGA Tour.

“I believe I can absolutely do it at that level again. I’m prepared more than ever for success,” he explained. “I don’t think in my first career I was because I didn’t know what to expect. It was my mistakes that are the reason that I fell down into this deep hole. Having better people around this time around definitely helps.”

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‘He’s about 200 club lengths from where he was’: Brooks Koepka took relief in Singapore and left announcers confused

“You take them when you can get them. You get plenty of bad breaks. That’s a good one.”

There’s no doubt that Brooks Koepka is back to playing strong golf.

Since moving to play in the LIV Golf League, Koepka has won twice, the only golfer to do so, and even held the 54-hole lead at the Masters earlier this month before a final-round 75 (insert 72-hole tournament jokes here).

Even this week at LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club, Koepka finds himself a shot out of the lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

However, it’s a drop he took during the first round in Singapore that’s making the rounds. It even had LIV announcers questioning what was going on.

Let’s set the scene. Koepka was playing the par-4 15th hole measuring 428 yards when his tee shot went right. When reaching his ball, Koepka and his caddie, Ricky Elliott, said their line to the green was blocked by the LIV Golf Fan Village setup, so they asked for temporary immovable obstruction relief.

LIV on-course analyst Dom Boulet said on the CW live stream, “I’m not sure what he’s asking for,”  who then asked Elliott what was going on. Elliott confirmed Koepka was getting line-of-sight relief and he could drop on either side.

This still left commentators confused.

“It doesn’t appear there is anything between him and the hole,” David Feherty said.

Boutlet responded: “Well, there are toilets over there. Ricky just told me it’s line of sight. I think it’s the port-a-loos perhaps. But I didn’t think that was an option, to be honest with you. I mean, he’s got to go through a couple of trees to take that option.”

Koepka proceeded to pick up his ball and walk toward the 16th past some tents. It was there he spoke with a rule official on where he could take the drop.

“And under the local rule, he can take relief on either side of the TIO,” rules analyst Tony Zirpoli said on the broadcast. “It probably gives him a better shot. So, he’s taking the smart way out by taking that other side relief. And it’s also a long walk.”

Feherty added: “It sure is. It’s an unusual situation that there would be such a gap. He’s going to walk to the point, Tony, where he has a clear look?”

Boulet: “He’s going to drop in the middle of the 16th fairway.”

Zirpoli: “He will have a clear view of the edge of the TIO. He will then get a one club-length corridor, and then from that one club-length corridor, he gets an additional one club length, which is his relief area.”

Feherty: “Well, he’s about 200 club lengths from where he was.”

Koepka proceeded to drop his ball just on the 16th fairway.

“I heard Ricky say 167; that’s what they’re measuring it because that’s where they wanted to take relief — the same distance,” Boulet said. “Now I didn’t think it was an option what he had to go over there — port-a-loo or tent or whatever it was he was going over. But David Blake, referee, gave him the ruling, and he’s got a big break here.”

Added Feherty: “You take them when you can get them. You get plenty of bad breaks. That’s a good one.”

Koepka then hit his second shot over trees in front of him to 8 feet, and he two-putted for par.

Also during the Masters earlier this month, there was a rules controversy involving Koepka and Elliott and Gary Woodland. He was later absolved of the rules violation.

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‘They paid me a lot of money’: David Feherty opens up about why he joined LIV Golf

“People don’t talk about it. I hear, ‘Well, it’s to grow the game.’ Bull … they paid me a lot of money.”

David Feherty is not one to mince words. And he didn’t hold back when explaining reasons why he left NBC/Golf Channel to go to be LIV Golf’s biggest broadcaster.

“Money,” Feherty told the Toledo Blade. “People don’t talk about it. I hear, ‘Well, it’s to grow the game.’ Bull … they paid me a lot of money.”

The LIV Golf Invitational Series is still without a television partner, but Feherty’s move gave the Greg Norman-led, Saudi Arabia-funded upstart circuit a known name on its broadcast team. He made his debut two weeks ago at LIV Bedminster.

Feherty, 63, gave the answer during a fundraiser event in Toledo, Ohio, with former NBC colleague Gary Koch. It brought raucous cheering from the crowd.

He mentioned there were three main reasons for the switch. Money was one. The chance to be a lead analyst was another. Then this.

“An opportunity to be myself again. It’s become more and more difficult, especially in sports broadcasting, to have any kind of character,” Feherty said. “Charles Barkley can say pretty much anything he wants because it’s, ‘Oh, that’s just Charles.’ And it’s just Charles. But I have become more and more guarded over the last few years. There are people waiting around every corner hoping to be offended by something. F*** those people.

“Our lives are being shaped by small groups of mean-spirited people who have no sense of humor. We’re in danger of losing our national sense of humor because of this.”

Feherty also commented on how the 9/11 Commission said the Saudi government was cleared of any wrongdoing in its role on that day. Recent FBI disclosures, however, say otherwise. Feherty also commented on how LIV Golf planned to donate at least $100 million to local charities.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

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Photos: Broadcaster David Feherty is heading to LIV Golf. Here’s a look at his career throughout the years

LIV Golf announced Friday that David Feherty, longtime NBC Sports and Golf Channel analyst and TV host, is its newest broadcaster.

David Feherty is on the move.

The colorful commentator and longtime NBC Sports and Golf Channel analyst is joining the LIV Golf Invitational Series, the league announced Friday afternoon. LIV Golf is still without a television partner, but Feherty’s move gives the Greg Norman-led, Saudi Arabia-funded upstart circuit a known name on its broadcast team.

Feherty, 63, was a part of the 20-person on-air crew at the Old Course at St. Andrews for the 150th Open Championship last week.

He has been with the NBC Sports group in a variety of roles for about seven years. In March, he hosted the World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony that included Tiger Woods.

Feherty will join LIV Golf’s coverage next week during its third event at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey.

Here’s a look at photos of Feherty throughout the years.

Report: David Feherty leaves NBC/Golf Channel to take announcer job with LIV Golf Invitational Series

It appears the latest name to make the jump is a not golfer but a popular broadcaster.

Rumors have been flying about which golfers would be the latest to defect from the PGA Tour to the breakaway LIV Golf Invitational Series, now that the fourth and final men’s major of the year is in the books.

But it appears that the latest name to make the jump for the series that is still without a TV partner is not a player but a popular broadcaster. According to a report in the New York Post, longtime NBC Sports and Golf Channel analyst and TV host David Feherty is making the move.

The report says that NBC has declined comment. Feherty, 63, was a part of the 20-person on-air crew at the Old Course at St. Andrews for the 150th Open Championship last week.

He’s been with the NBC Sports group in a variety of roles for about seven years. In March, he hosted the World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony that included Tiger Woods.

Last week, another popular sports broadcaster confirmed he has had discussions with LIV Golf.

“They called me and asked me ‘Would I meet with them?’ And I said, ‘Yes,’” Charles Barkley explained. “Nothing that’s imminent, I actually don’t know everything they want from me, or what they technically want me to do, but you’ve got to always look at every opportunity that’s available. So the answer to your question is, 100 percent yes, I’m going to meet with LIV.”

The upstart league that is at odds with the PGA Tour has long been criticized as a way for the Saudi government to “sportswash” its human rights record. In 2022, there are eight LIV Golf events, which are 54 holes with no cuts and guaranteed money for the 48-player fields, as well as multi-million dollar deals, some in the ballpark of $100-plus million. Two events have already taken place; the next is set for New Jersey, July 29-31.

LIV Golf events, which have only been available online via live streaming, boast former voice of the Premier League on NBC, Arlo White, who is in his first foray as a golf announcer. He’s joined in the booth by former Golf Channel analyst Jerry Foltz and Dom Boulet.

Golfweek’s Adam Woodard contributed to this article.

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David Feherty named host of World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony highlighted by Tiger Woods

Feherty will serve as emcee of the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony scheduled for March 9.

The World Golf Hall of Fame announced that NBC and Golf Channel analyst and funnyman David Feherty will serve as host of the 2022 induction ceremony, which will air live on Golf Channel at 7 p.m. ET on March 9.

The ceremony on the eve of the Players Championship at the PGA Tour’s ‘Global Home’ headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, will honor the Hall’s four newest members who were chosen in 2020: Susie Maxwell Berning, former PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, the late Marion Hollins and Tiger Woods. The ceremony was postponed for one year due to the global pandemic.

“As someone who has been around golf practically my entire life, I know firsthand that the highest possible honor in our sport is the immortality that is reserved for members of the World Golf Hall of Fame,” said Feherty, the former host of “Feherty Live” and beloved for his irreverent sense of humor. “I’m thrilled to contribute in some small way to what will be a historic evening as the Hall of Fame honors its new inductees.”

The addition of these four individuals will bring the total number of Hall of Fame members to 164.

World Golf Hall of Fame
The addition of four new members, including Tiger Woods, will bring the total number of Hall of Fame members to 164. (Bob Self/Florida Times-Union)

As part of the ceremony, the Hall of Fame also will display its new induction trophy for the first time. Designed by Tiffany Co., the arc of the trophy handle embodies the golf swing and represents the global nature of the sport.

In addition to honoring the 2022 induction class, the ceremony will recognize Peter Ueberroth and the late Dick Ferris as recipients of the inaugural lifetime achievement to honor their contributions to the sport. Renee Powell also will be honored for her spirit in advancing diversity in golf as the first recipient of the Charlie Sifford Award.

The ceremony will take place in Northeast Florida for the first time since 2013, with most recent ceremonies held in California (2019), New York (2017) and Scotland (2015).

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Report: David Feherty’s Golf Channel show is through after a decade

He’s been one of the most candid and influential golf broadcasters for years, but David Feherty’s show on Golf Channel has not been renewed.

He’s been one of the most candid, hilarious and influential golf broadcasters for years, but David Feherty’s popular show on Golf Channel has not been renewed, according to a report from Golf Digest.

The Emmy-nominated series started in 2011 with an interview of Lee Trevino. At the time, it was the most-watched original series premiere in Golf Channel history. But a combination of the pandemic and the Golf Channel’s move to the NBC Sports studios outside New York City conspired against any future plans for the show.

All seasons of the “Feherty” are still available on Peacock, which the NBC streaming service.

“Maybe it was just time,” Feherty said. “I think a lot of people are going to be surprised that it got canceled. It always sort of amazed me the (number of) people that watched. Ten years is a whole lot more than I thought I would do. I loved doing it.”

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Soon after the show’s debut, Golfweek’s Martin Kaufmann wrote this about Feherty:

At his best, Feherty has a unique gift for free-association thinking that manifests itself in creative word play. He can describe a fairly mundane act – say, a 9-iron approach from 140 yards – with a witty riff that distinguishes him from his contemporaries. I think so highly of this skill that two years ago, in a thoroughly unscientific assessment, I went so far as to rank Feherty No. 2 on a list of the top 10 television golf analysts. That proved one of two things: Either Feherty is really good at his main job, or I don’t have a clue what I’m talking about. It’s quite possible that the truth lies somewhat closer to the latter.

The show found its stride and continued on for 10 seasons and a total of 150 episodes. Feherty isn’t going anywhere — his contract is for three more years handling tournament coverage on NBC and the Golf Channel – but the show simply had run its course.

The final episode of “Feherty” ran in September, when Feherty interviewed Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open champ.

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David Feherty: My best round of 61 came in a ‘blind hangover’

The Golf Channel star said his round of 61 came after he stayed out until 4:30 a.m., and included an unsavory moment on the third hole.

David Feherty has a knack for getting others to spill their guts. Certainly, he doesn’t need much of a nudge to spill his own, but give Rich Eisen credit for getting the golf analyst/TV star to tell an interesting anecdote about his golf career this week.

The two celebrities appeared on each other’s shows this week and when Feherty called into the Rich Eisen Show on Friday, he was asked about his best competitive round.

Feherty, who has been open about his struggles with alcohol in the past, recalled a performance back from March 16, 1991.

“The best round I ever shot was from a blind hangover at the Catalan Open in Eastern Spain. I shot a 61 that particular day,” Feherty said.

“I threw up on the third tee.”

Feherty explained that he thought he’d already been eliminated from contention at the event, which was played that spring at Club de Golf Bonmont Terres Noves.

“The night before, I thought I’d miss the cut by a shot. My pal Sam Torrance and I went out and we had a few adult beverages. It was one of those nights where you say, ‘I’ll have one more and then I’ll stay.’ Then I got in about 4:30 in the morning,” Feherty said.

“I just happened to notice on the board at the hotel where we were staying that the draw sheet was up. I was off first at 6:30.”

The lack of sleep didn’t hurt Feherty, who finished with five European Tour victories to his credit.

“I went out in 31, and came back at 30, and I honestly can say that at no stage during the round did I know where I stood,” he said. “I went from just making the cut by a shot to being two behind.

“So, the next evening I decided I better suck it in here and act like an adult. So I did. And then I went out and shot a 75 the following day. I’m not proud of it.”

Truth be told, Feherty’s memory from the event might be a bit fuzzy, Records indicate he shot a 72 in the final round and placed second behind Jose Maria Olazabel, who won by six strokes.

Let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.

While chuckling through the interview, Eisen finally asked, “So what’s the moral of the story, David?”

“I’m not sure moral is the correct word for it,” Feherty responded.

“I tended to play well when I didn’t feel well.  I think feeling ill took my mind off thinking where the ball was going to go and maybe made me relax a little.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.”

David Feherty tabs Patrick Reed Captain Oblivious

The NBC/Golf Channel commentator and host of Feherty calls Reed Captain Oblivious and much, much more.

Captain America? David Feherty, the NBC-Golf Channel commentator and talk-show host, has coined a new nickname for Patrick Reed: Captain Oblivious.

“It’s going to follow him for the rest of his life,” Feherty said of Reed’s rules infraction at the Hero World Challenge in December. Reed made two practice strokes in a waste area that were deemed to have improved his line of play. A camera stationed directly behind him captured the piles of sand that Reed removed with those strokes.

Feherty, in an interview with SI.com promoting the 10th season of his show Feherty on Golf Channel, was then asked if Reed, who won the WGC-Mexico Championship last week, is the most polarizing figure in golf.

David Feherty running through a dress rehearsal for his show.

“I’m not even sure that he’s polarizing,” Feherty said. “I’m not sure there’s too many people on the other side, you know what I mean? I mean, ‘there is no God’ was the first thing I said after he’d won last week. There is no God, you know, that’s proof of it right there. Amazing. I mean, he is amazing. He’s Captain Oblivious, just can let everything run off his back. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Last week, reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and former CBS commentator Peter Kostis both called out Reed for his rules violation. Kostis noted on the No Laying Up podcast that he had observed Reed improve his lie “up close and personal.”

Feherty was also asked if he witnessed a player breaking a rule if he would mention it on the broadcast.

“Yes. You definitely do,” Feherty said. “Not necessarily on the air, but I mean, you point that out to your producer for sure. Tell them that you saw something happen and then, it’s kind of the producer’s decision.”

Feherty’s latest guest on his talk show this Monday is ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt, but it’s safe to say that Patrick Reed won’t be appearing on his show anytime soon.

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David Feherty, Gary McCord reunite for comedy show in Phoenix

David Feherty brings his stand-up comedy routine to Phoenix and will be joined by his former CBS colleague Gary McCord.

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SCOTTSDALE – David Feherty has always been more stand-up comedian than golf-swing analyst as a television golf commentator. So doing a routine in front of a live audience seems like a job he was born to do.

On Wednesday night, the NBC Sports and Golf Channel analyst takes his act to the Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix, where more than 1,100 golf fans will likely be left in stitches from his one-of-a-kind brand of humor.

“It’s kind of daunting, but it’s a real buzz once you get out there and stop (crapping) yourself, which hopefully that happens in the first few minutes,” Feherty said.

The 61-year-old tour-pro-turned-TV-personality began moonlighting from his TV gig in 2017 and quickly discovered during his first show that he had no concept of time once he started his act.

“It went for three hours and 12 minutes. There were people dying in the audience, you know,” he said. “I think we had two natural deaths and I think one guy pissed himself to death because his bladder was too full. And from there we just, we do them in sort of clumps of three, preferably around golf tournaments.”

Gary McCord at the Tavistock Cup at Isleworth Golf & Country Club.

His Phoenix show takes on added meaning as Feherty will reunite with his former CBS Sports cohort Gary McCord, who learned late last year that his contract wouldn’t be renewed. Until Feherty jumped ship for NBC and Golf Channel, he and McCord were golf’s Laurel and Hardy, its Frick and Frack, its Cheech and Chong. When asked if tonight’s reunion would be a one-off or the launch of a two-man show, Feherty said, “We’re going to do it and see how it goes and it’s something that I would like to do more often.

“I miss him. I miss him a lot. Especially with the way things have kind of broken for him. It gives me more of an opportunity to spend time with him, I think. It’s something that I would really enjoy. I’m saying that I am nervous tonight; it’s like being handcuffed to a primate that you’re not quite sure how he’s going to he react. A Capuchin monkey or something, he might bite me.”

The other part of his day job on TV consists of hosting “Feherty,” the popular Golf Channel show where he’s interviewed more than 140 golfers and celebrities. But Feherty’s white whale continues to be Tiger Woods, a player for whom Feherty had a front-row seat to watch the majority of his incredible exploits. He has yet to get Woods to agree to do the lengthy sit-down interview.

“I would love Tiger to be my last show,” Feherty said. “He’s getting to a place where I think he can – I can do the show properly. I want the show to be a service to him and the journalistic integrity is under question there, but I have guests, I don’t have victims. That’s for Piers Morgan or for someone else. And he’s done so much for all of us, hell, I might not have a job if it weren’t for him.

“I’m interested in him being vulnerable and just telling us how he’s felt the last 20-odd years and I don’t think that he’s been in a place where he would be comfortable doing that until it looks like he’s heading in that direction to me. I would love to have him on, but to have the kind of interview that I think would be of a service to him and me and Golf Channel, obviously, I think his stock would go up astronomically if he were to do the show and it were to work out like that.”

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