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.
“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.
Tirico is set to broadcast his 24th British Open this week at St. Andrews.
Mike Tirico is set to broadcast his 24th British Open this week at his favorite venue, the Old Course at St. Andrews.
Tirico did his first Open in 1997 for ESPN/ABC and after broadcasting last year from NBC/Golf Channel’s Connecticut studio, he’s happy to be back in Scotland in the Old Grey Toon.
Thursday and Friday he’ll be in the booth for three hours each day, doing what he did for 18 years at the Open. In a nod to the halcyon days of the Tirico/Paul Azinger/ Nick Faldo announce team, they will partner up once again on Friday from 1-2 p.m. ET in a final tip of the hat to Faldo, who announced he is retiring later this year.
“We did one couple-hour stint at the Players a few years back, maybe three years ago I think it was,” Tirico said. “That was the only other time we’ve done it since we did it many moons ago (at ABC/ESPN) since we stopped. This will be the second time in the last 15 years.”
Since coming over to NBC, Tirico made a smooth transition into the host role.
“I guess my job is get us on the air, set the scene a little bit, especially since we’re on for so long, resets, highlights, things like that,” he said. “I think here it’s a little bit more perspective I can add because I’ve been here for 23 of them, this being the 24th, so I can add just some historical stuff, things I remember from being here and all the stuff we’ve seen over the years with Jack and Tom playing their last, Spieth going for the career Slam, all that stuff.”
Tirico has been involved in the U.S. and British Opens, the Players Championship and the Tour Championship, and the occasional odd event here or there.
“This is 25 years for me of doing golf as a whole,” he said. “It’s made this 25 years great, absolutely great.”
Brandel Chamblee on Banks: ‘There’s a level of competence that comes through, like she could handle anything.’
Nearly 10 years ago now, Cara Banks switched on the Golf Channel in her hotel room at the PGA Championship and watched Kelly Tilghman host “Live From” onsite at Oak Hill Country Club. Banks, who was there working for Sky Sport’s Golfing World, immediately knew that’s what she wanted to do.
“It is a bit pinch-me,” said Banks of how that dream became reality.
Banks, 37, heads over to Scotland on Saturday evening to prep for the 150th British Open Championship at St. Andrews, three nights after husband Ollie’s departure. She’ll stay through the week working as host for Golf Channel’s “Live From” shows as well as play-by-play of streaming coverage from the Old Course.
Ollie, managing director at CM Management, will head from the Scottish Open to the British and then home for a few days before flying to meet client Kipp Popert at the U.S. Adaptive Open at Pinehurst.
They’ll then meet back home in Connecticut, pack up their two young children and return to the U.K. to visit family. What sounds slightly chaotic actually makes a lot of sense given that the children tend to do better at home in their routines with a nanny, while mom and dad work the long hours of a major championship.
“Everyone warns you that having two is like 100,” said Banks, who gave birth to daughter Tiggy in November. Son Jesse turned 3 in June.
“One is one and two is 100. … I was joking with my friend, why didn’t you shout this from the rooftops? This is mental!”
Banks family left to right: Ollie, Jesse, Cara and Tiggy (courtesy photo)
Obviously, neither of the Banks would change a thing. There are no typical days in the Banks home, with both traveling and Cara heading into the studio at varying hours when not working from the kitchen table. They’re currently in the midst of a remodel of their Fairfield home, turning the garage into a second office.
“What I say to everyone,” said Banks while in the midst of a 12-day trip in Augusta, Georgia, last April, “is that I think working makes me a better mom.”
***
Cara Banks’ (formerly Robinson) career inspiration began with Davina McCall, a British presenter who rose to fame as the host of the television series “Big Brother.”
“I loved how it felt like she was talking to you,” said Banks, who studied politics at Newcastle University but took her first job as a runner on a Saturday night chat show making cups of tea.
Banks realized early on, however, that sport suited her more than entertainment and the 6-foot-1 netballer, having been brought up in a golfing family, took a job as production secretary for European Tour productions at IMG. Then, when managing director Rupert Hampel’s personal assistant went on maternity leave, Banks reluctantly put in for the job on the advice of others.
“It was the best thing I ever did,” admitted Banks, who had the post for two years.
During the week she’d take minutes for the European Tour board meeting but on the weekends, she’d travel to places like Scotland and Wales to log video for the European Senior and Challenge Tours. While her friends were at the pub, she’d be angling for a seat next to the producer on the flight home to watch him put together the run-of-show.
When Sky Sports’ Golfing World first launched, Banks took on the role of “preditor,” which is industry slang for a job that combines the duties of both producer and editor. She traveled the world with her camera in tow as a sort of one-woman band, setting up the interviews and equipment to put together her own voice-over features.
Eventually, it was decided that the show needed a presenter, and Banks moved to on-camera work, now traveling with a preditor.
“I’ve always found it helpful that I know how it works behind the camera,” said Banks, “I understand how to run a highlight show and script-writing. I know what the guys in the control room are looking for.”
In the midst of this on-the-job training, tragedy struck the Robinson family in 2009 when Cara’s brother Myles never came back from a night out at a Swiss ski resort. The entire family was there on holiday, and he was found dead at the bottom of a cliff. No one could answer the how or why.
Myles was 23 years old and on the cusp of a career in finance in London. He and Cara were very close.
“We were just so lucky,” said Banks, “the four of us were so blessed living in this bubble and then real life struck. I just remember being very pragmatic about it, probably to support my parents, who were going through hell.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNmn_IbB1uz/?hl=en
Myles loved golf and his favorite player was Luke Donald. All Cara wanted to do while working the range at Doral for Golfing World was call her younger brother to tell him all about it. As fate would have it, she met Ollie while working at IMG, and he happened to manage Donald during the Englishman’s stint as World No. 1.
The Myles connections continue on now as son Jesse’s best friend in nursery school is a boy named Myles, even spelled the same.
“I think you just have to think of things positively,” said the strong and affable Banks.
***
After several years of working as a presenter for Golfing World, Banks was approached by Golf Channel, coming aboard in 2015 as a co-host for “Morning Drive.”
She now serves as studio host of “Golf Central” and hosts “Live From” shows at big events, occasionally working as a reporter, too.
“She is the point guard,” said Golf Channel analyst Paige Mackenzie. “She sets the tone for everything going on on the desk.”
Coordinating producer Matt Hegarty notes that Banks stood out immediately because she worked straight through commercial breaks, no matter how long the show was on the air. That was a first.
Banks loves a good nugget, and often weaves in interesting tidbits to make the storytelling as full and rich as possible. Her passion for the game and genuine curiosity shines through everything she does – whether as host or reporter.
She likes to treat the camera as another person in the room, remembering what it felt like to watch McCall growing up.
“I always try to be the same person on camera as I am off,” said Banks, “because the audience isn’t stupid. They’ll see through you.”
Ollie marvels at his wife’s ability to compartmentalize as a working mom who still has time for the gym and friends. He also appreciates her “inane skill level of being able to remember facts.” Though the same can’t be said for song lyrics.
“I think she likes to understand not just on the surface level what’s going on,” said Ollie, “but the deeper-rooted cause of why things are occurring.”
Cara Banks with children Tiggy and Jesse (courtesy photo)
Before Banks took on play-by-play duties for the first time last year at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, Mike Tirico reached out to offer not only his congrats, but the use of his templates so that she could see how he prepares.
“He has an excel document, and he has everything on one page,” said Banks. “It’s all split like a mathematical equation. It’s fascinating.”
Banks hopes to follow in the footsteps of a Jim Nantz or Tirico as a host and play-by-play announcer for a variety of different sports at the highest levels. She has recently covered the Premier League for NBC Sports and reported on a variety of events during the Summer and Winter Olympics.
“For me, I feel like I’m a bit on a back foot because I didn’t grow up here,” she said. “I didn’t watch the NFL my whole life or have a college team.”
Banks’ ambitious personality, coupled with a love of learning, however, certainly makes that next dream appear achievable. She wants to do all she can to push the barrier for women in sports.
“She’s really become as well-rounded as anybody,” said Hegarty.
From left, Cara Banks, Notah Begay, Mark Rolfing and Michelle Wie West on the Golf Channel set during a practice round prior to The Players Championship on The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 11, 2020 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Mackenzie first started working with Banks on “Morning Drive” and says their conversations often revolve around the search for a good nanny.
While the nonstop juggling act can get crazy at times, Mackenzie has always admired Banks’ ability to navigate what can be the chaos of live TV to deliver a product that’s exceptionally smooth.
“You would never know as a viewer what kind of storm or hurricane may be going on in her ear,” said Mackenzie. “She’s just always had such command.”
Ollie was en route to the airport when he took the call to talk about his wife. The couple started dating in December of 2011 and were married in 2017. He’s fond of sharing her story with others who want to build a career in sports.
“Look, if you really want something badly enough, don’t say no to any opportunity,” he said. “Show your personality, show your skills. You never know what might become of it.”
Brandel Chamblee, a former PGA Tour player and longtime analyst for Golf Channel, worked with Tilghman for years and describes her as formidable and competent, with a great sense of levity. Tilghman, who became the first female play-by-play host for the PGA Tour, understood that TV is meant to be entertainment.
Banks, he says, is much the same.
“She has a commanding and I would say comfortable presence on-air, the same way Kelly did,” said Chamblee. “But above all that, there’s a level of competence that comes through, like she could handle anything.”
One of the things Chamblee said he enjoyed most about late-night host David Letterman was that he’d take a funny comment at the top of the show and find a way to thread it throughout, giving the show a beginning, middle and end. Banks does the same.
She’s also keen to challenge analysts to expound on a point, not so much to hold them accountable, said Chamblee, but to let them shine. While Tilghman, who left the Golf Channel after more than two decades to focus on her family, was very organized, he continued, host Rich Lerner is more in the moment. Banks is a blend of both.
“As an analyst,” said Chamblee, “you feel very comfortable sitting next to her because you know she’s got it. She can bring us in, she can take us out, she can keep the ball in the air.”
Shortly after Brandel Chamblee noted on Golf Channel’s “Live From the U.S. Open” show that Phil Mickelson had taken “a flamethrower to the very PGA Tour that provided a great stage for you to amass unimaginable wealth,” it became abundantly clear Chamblee had his very own flamethrower in the form of his carefully crafted words. He aimed it at Mickelson and other supporters of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league.
Chamblee has never been shy to share his opinion, but he arguably has been at his most outspoken in addressing the raging war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Just last week, Chamblee said the debut of LIV Golf near London made him “want to puke.”
“When it comes to the richest sports stars in the world, Phil Mickelson is 11th. He’s ahead of Kobe Bryant, he’s ahead of David Beckham, he’s ahead of Kevin Durant, he’s ahead of Lewis Hamilton,” Chamblee said. “You’re talking about him being ahead of icons in sports that are far more popular worldwide than the game of golf. And yet why is it that golf has four of the highest paid athletes of all time? Why is it that Phil Mickelson is 11th, in terms of the stratosphere he does occupy, as an athlete … that athletes who have made less money than him but play a sport that is widely more popular? Why is that? It’s because of the image of the golfer.
“Because of their independent-contract nature. Because they show up and, generally speaking, play a game that is self-governed and self-policing. It is a game of integrity. It’s because corporations want to align themselves with these players. It’s because of the philanthropic aspect of the game of golf.
“So when I hear these players say that they are ‘growing the game’ … it makes me want to puke. They’re destroying the game. And they are destroying their reputations.”
He concluded: “This is one of the saddest days in the history of golf. Watching these players come together for money and show to the world … they are showing us that they are the greediest, most self-serving, self-interested, willfully blind players in the world of golf today.”
In short, Brandel gonna Brandel and he isn’t pulling any punches. Chamblee picked up where he left off Monday during Golf Channel’s “Live From the U.S. Open.” He directed much of his vitriol at Mickelson, who reportedly jumped to the Saudi-league for a reported $200 million.
Of Mickelson’s performance in his pre-tournament press conference, Chamblee said: “He’s suffering the consequences of a decision he made that some believe he was taking a flamethrower to the PGA Tour. By my count there were 22 questions and not a single question about being the oldest major champion of all time, not a single question about trying to complete the career Grand Slam. It was all about his decision to join a league that I think many view as an attempt at a hostile takeover.”
Phil Mickelson speaks in a press conference at the U.S. Open at The Country Club. (Photo: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)
Chamblee noted that the Mickelson who broke on the scene with his “pop collar, saccharine smile and playing with so much joy for the game of golf” had changed. Chamblee highlighted an incident dating to the 2014 Ryder Cup that gave golf fans an early peek at the character of a man who would be willing to get into bed with people who that man described as “scary mother——.”
“He’s been pretty darn successful in the media center at manipulating to whatever extent he can, but there have been moments over the years where he’s been atrocious in the media center. Most notably in 2014 at the Ryder Cup, where we got I think a real glimpse into who Phil Mickelson is. Machiavellian? Sure,” Chamblee said. “Blaming Tom Watson for his failures in the Ryder Cup, and then when asked after literally denigrating one of the greats in the game in front of the whole world by a media member, why would you do such a thing? He almost acted incredulous and said, ‘How could you take what I just did as denigrating Tom Watson?’ Everyone in that room knew what they were seeing. It was disingenuous at best, but duplicitous more accurately describes it.”
“Nothing I’ve seen from Phil Mickelson from that moment to this moment has changed,” Chamblee later added. “It turns out when you’re trying to sell a lie, it’s hard to talk with a great deal of comfort and ease.”
Chamblee didn’t spare other defectors to LIV, including Bryson DeChambeau, calling out his inconsistent comments and giving the 2020 U.S. Open champion a tongue-lashing for the ages.
Bryson DeChambeau plays a shot during a practice round before the U.S. Open at The Country Club on June 14, 2022 in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
“More recently, he’s been talking about how he’s found God and become a Christian and I just wonder how he squares accepting money from a regime that is anti-Christian,” Chamblee said. “You can’t pull a Bible out in Riyadh without going to jail. They are misogynistic, they are anti-Semitic, there’s no freedom of speech. He talks about his charities, about going home to do things, but meanwhile he’s taking money from people who oppress the things he purports to stand for, which is philanthropic enterprises. That’s where the money is coming from. He says he’ll have a new legacy. He absolutely will have a new legacy, and it will be tarnished as a 100-year-old silver trophy that has been untouched up in a closet.”
That is the type of commentary from golf media directed at a player that is sorely missing. Later, when Jim Gallagher Jr. observed that everyone has a price, Chamblee circled back to that comment and said, “I’d like to think not. I’d like to think there are plenty of people with enough money to say no. There are loads of people who have said no. … Rory (McIlroy) has said no. Justin Thomas has said no. I don’t believe $200 million, I don’t think $500 million, I don’t believe a billion dollars would get Rory to say yes. I don’t think he will.
“Have they exposed a weakness? Yeah, OK. A lot of people can be paid enough money to not care about how their wives would be treated in Saudi Arabia, to not care how women are treated in Saudi Arabia, to not care about how gays are treated, to not care about people with no freedom of expression and no real freedom at all. There are people that will take enough money to turn a blind eye to that. But there are plenty of people I believe who say hold on a second, if you want to run this tour let’s see real reform, let’s see real measured reform, let’s hear from the women of Saudi Arabia, let’s see pictures of them actually out in Riyadh without a burkha on, let me see them driving, let’s see them going out on a date, let’s see them out playing golf. Let me see real measured reform. Let me see freedom of expression.
“It’s never going to happen there. Not certainly under the rule of MBS, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. He couldn’t be more oppressive. He couldn’t be more in favor of centralizing power within himself to an extent that has never happened in Saudi Arabia. There’s no evidence of reform in that country. Zero, other than his words, which were about as empty as Phil’s were in his press conference.”
That is as good as it gets from a golf analyst giving a group of pampered, well-compensated golfers some grief for selling out and supporting sportswashing.
Chamblee also gave equal praise to the high drama and sporting battle that was the final round of the RBC Canadian Open between eventual champion Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Tony Finau.
“It’s one of the most significant wins in the history of the game,” Chamblee argued. “It was almost as if they took it upon themselves to say this is what the highest pursuit of this sport looks like, this is what great competition looks like. It was almost like they said to themselves not on our watch, we’re going to put on one heckuva show to remind you of just how competitive the PGA Tour is and has been for all these years.”
“Live from the U.S. Open” is just getting started this week, but Chamblee already has shown he’s prepared to dish on the hard topics that are rocking the golf world and he’s not afraid to call it like he sees it.
The Charles Schwab Challenge will get underway with Round 1 on Thursday morning from Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Charles Schwab Challenge will get underway with Round 1 on Thursday morning from Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
With over 120 golfers ready to take the course we have six of the top 10 players in the world that will be competing this weekend. Last week’s PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, and Collin Morikawa will tee off on Thursday.
This will be a great weekend of golf, here is everything you need to know to follow the action with PGA TOUR LIVE which is available exclusively on ESPN+.
PGA Tour odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Thursday at 9:00 a.m. ET.
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The Final Round of the PGA Championship will take place on Sunday afternoon from Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Final Round of the PGA Championship will take place on Sunday afternoon from Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Mito Pereira is currently leading as they head into Sunday with a 9-under and Will Zalatoris behind him at 6-under, will anybody be able to catch up with Mito Pereira this afternoon?
Tune in and find out, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action on Sunday.
PGA Tour odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
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The 2022 PGA Championship will continue with Round 2 on Friday afternoon from the beautiful Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The 2022 PGA Championship will continue with Round 2 on Friday afternoon from the beautiful Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
We’ll see the leader, Rory McIlroy (-5) tee off at 2:36 p.m. ET with Justin Thomas, who is currently playing and has just caught up to Rory and now sits at 5-under as well.
This will be a great weekend of golf, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action on Thursday.
2:36 p.m. ET: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth
PGA Tour Odds and Betting Lines
PGA Tour odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
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The PGA Championship will continue on Friday morning from beautiful Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the first time since 2007.
The PGA Championship will continue on Friday morning from beautiful Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the first time since 2007. Rory McIlroy is still leading the pack heading into Round 2 on Friday with a 5-under followed by four golfers at 4-under and right on Rory’s heels.
Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and expanded coverage on ESPN+.
PGA Tour odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Friday at 9:00 a.m. ET.
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We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
The PGA Championship will be held on Thursday morning from beautfiul Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the first time since 2007.
The PGA Championship will be held on Thursday morning from beautfiul Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the first time since 2007.
We have a loaded field of golfers this year including the favorite, Masters Champions Scottie Scheffler as he leads the pack behind Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and so much more this tournament.
Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and expanded coverage on ESPN+.
PGA Tour odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Thursday at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Want some action on the PGA Tour? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO & NJ.
We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
Just how good was Tiger’s swing at age 6? Never-before-broadcast video shows Tiger compete on his birthday.
How good was Tiger Woods’ swing when he was 6 years old?
Rare footage of a nine-hole exhibition match from December 30, 1981 – his sixth birthday – shows the brilliance of the child prodigy. The footage, recently discovered by the Golf Channel, will air for the first time on Monday’s 7 p.m. ET edition of Golf Central Live From The Masters.
The feature includes interviews with Woods’ childhood coach, Rudy Duran, and his opponent that day, 12-year-old Michele Lyford-Sine, who also went on to attend Stanford and compete on the golf team.
“I was nervous,” Lyford-Sine told the Redlands Community News in 2019. “I couldn’t let this 6-year-old beat me. I was twice as old as he was and he was half my size.”
In the end, she rose to the occasion, shooting 41 on the front nine of the par-35 Redlands Country Club in Redlands, California, to beat Woods, who shot 51. She got to eat cake, too.
“I remember,” said Lyford-Sine, “we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him and he blew out candles on a cake inside the restaurant at Redlands Country Club.”
