Tag: Kevin Kisner

Tiger Woods, Max Homa highlight TGL roster for Jupiter Links Golf Club

A rising star and PGA Tour veteran round out the four-man team.

Like most players of his generation, Max Homa grew up idolizing Tiger Woods on the golf course. Now the two are teammates.

TGL, the tech-infused golf league backed by Woods and Rory McIlroy slated to now start early in 2025, announced its latest team roster on Monday morning. Woods’ Jupiter Links Golf Club will feature the fan-favorite Homa, rising star Tom Kim and veteran Kevin Kisner.

“I have already shared my excitement and optimism for TGL as a league and product,” said Woods, who is part owner of Jupiter Links. “Now that we have finalized our roster with a team of world-class golfers, I am even more confident that this group will proudly represent the Jupiter area and connect with our fans for years to come.”

The club said the logo “brings to life the vibrant energy of Jupiter, with the ‘Palm Flag’ signature element combining beach and golf lifestyle with a golf pin flag and palm tree. The handwritten font is a nod to Tiger’s signature and the palm branches breaking the red circle represent the rising sun on the horizon.” As for the colors, the primary is, of course, “Tiger Red,” alongside midnight blue, sand and sunrise.

Jupiter Links logo
Tiger Woods, Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner will play for Jupiter Links Golf Club in the TGL. (Photo: Courtesy of TGL)

David Blitzer, co-founder of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, is personally investing in Jupiter Links GC. Harris and Blitzer’s impressive portfolio include the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, NHL’s New Jersey Devils and Joe Gibbs Racing.

Blitzer is also a co-owner of MLB’s Cleveland Guardians and the NFL’s Washington Commanders, as well as a General Partner of Crystal Palace Football Club in the English Premier League. He also owns stake in Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake of and the Utah Royals of the National Women’s Soccer League.

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Notah Begay joins revolving carousel of analysts to audition for NBC job at 2024 Valspar Championship

Begay’s audition follows appearances from Kevin Kisner, Brandel Chamblee, Luke Donald and Jim “Bones” Mackay.

Another week on the PGA Tour, another tryout for the open chair calling golf for NBC.

Notah Begay is jumping on the revolving carousel of lead analysts for the network for this week’s 2024 Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort‘s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. The 51-year-old has done well in his role as an on-course reporter for NBC and Golf Channel since he joined the network more than a decade ago and has taken a stab at commentary in the past.

“I’m excited and nervous,” Begay said to Golf Digest. “If we go back to (Johnny Miller), he made it look so simple and spoke from a strong position of experience. (Paul Azinger) did a wonderful job with his energy, and you could tell he still really loved to watch the game of golf.”

Begay is the latest talking head to throw his hat in the ring after Azinger wasn’t re-signed for the 2024 season, joining the likes of Kevin Kisner, Brandel Chamblee, and Luke Donald. Jim “Bones” Mackay also sat in the chair during the Mexico Open on an off week caddying for Justin Thomas.

“I mean, there’s a definite pressure, but that’s what professional athletes deal with all the time,” he said. “I spent a career dealing with pressure. … It’s a different kind of pressure because you’re being critiqued and evaluated, and that’s OK. We should be scrutinized and called out when we make mistakes because we should be ready for the big moments.”

“You hate to lose at anything,” he added. “You get to the PGA Tour because you don’t like to lose. But these decisions are made in the best interest of the NBC team, so whatever decisions are made, I’ll support it 100 percent. My job at that point, if it isn’t me, is to support whoever’s in there and allow them to be the best they can possibly be.”

Known for his connections to Tiger Woods after the pair were teammates at Stanford, Begay turned pro in 1995 after the Cardinal won the NCAA Championship in 1994. He won four times on the PGA Tour from August 1999-July 2000 and then struggled with injuries and form before he joined the NBC crew in 2012.

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Smylie Kaufman, Kevin Kisner to broadcast live from 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass

This week, Kaufman and Kisner will get to call shots on one of the most iconic par 3s in the world. 

Last month, Smylie Kaufman and Kevin Kisner made waves when the duo called golf shots live on the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open. It’s a formula that had so much success, it’s coming back.

Kaufman confirmed Tuesday on “Live from The Players” on Golf Channel that he and Kisner would again comment on golf shots live from the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass during the 2024 Players Championship. The duo will team up for Kaufman’s “Happy Hour” for an hour during Friday’s coverage.

Last week, Jordan Spieth and Max Homa joined Kaufman for “Happy Hour” on the 16th hole at Bay Hill, another segment viewers loved.

Fans have long clamored for golf broadcasts to change and be better for viewers. Kaufman and NBC Sports have taken big steps this year by trying something new and unorthodox, but it’s working.

Players: Leaderboard, tee times, hole-by-hole | Practice round photos

And this week, Kaufman and Kisner will get to call shots on one of the best par 3s in the world.

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Confirmed: Kevin Kisner returning to booth at Players Championship; Sources say Brandel Chamblee to serve as analyst in Houston

Get ready to hear more from PGA Tour veteran Kisner on TV.

Get ready to hear more from PGA Tour veteran Kevin Kisner on TV.

Golfweek has learned from multiple sources that the four-time Tour winner will share lead analyst duties in NBC’s “four-wide” setup of two anchors and analysts at the 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Update: NBC confirmed Kisner’s role in a press release at 6 p.m. ET on Friday.)

Kisner will serve as an analyst for weekend coverage with play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks. Additionally, Kisner and Smylie Kaufman will team up to call “Friday Happy Hour” coverage from alongside the iconic 17th hole on Golf Channel and Peacock.

“Kevin did a great job in the booth with Dan Hicks earlier this year and his work with Smylie Kaufman on the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open made for great TV, so we’re happy we can once again pair Kevin with Dan and have Kevin join Smylie at the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass next Friday,” said Tommy Roy, NBC Sports’ lead golf producer, in a statement.

Update: The network announced the Roger Maltbie will serve as an on-course reporter during Thursday and Friday coverage, while Gary Koch will join Mike Tirico in the broadcast booth during Thursday and Friday coverage.

“Roger Maltbie and Gary Koch have called some of the most iconic moments at the Players Championship throughout the past three decades and having them on next week’s broadcasts is a great way for NBC Sports to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Players,” Roy added.

Kisner, 40, previously worked for the network at the Sentry and the WM Phoenix Open this season and both times showed he’s more than capable of providing analysis and player insight in an entertaining fashion.

Kisner lost a playoff to Rickie Fowler at the Players in 2016, but he’s not eligible for next week’s tournament after struggling last season. Two years ago, he was a captain’s pick for Team USA at the Presidents Cup, but he has slipped to No. 397 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

NBC has been rotating broadcasters since deciding not to renew Paul Azinger’s contract. A source tells Golfweek that Kisner likely will be offered the job and he will have to decide whether he still thinks he can be a top 50 in the world player and chase the big money available these days or if he wants a guaranteed paycheck and to play a limited schedule as a past champion.

2024 Puerto Rico Open
Kevin Kisner and his caddie on the 18th fairway during the second round of the 2024 Puerto Rico Open at Grand Reserve Golf Club. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Kisner, playing in the Puerto Rico open this week, an opposite field-event to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, has missed the cut in all three starts he’s made this season and hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish since June 2022 at the Travelers Championship.

Speaking last month in Phoenix, Kisner told Golfweek, “I have no idea what NBC’s intentions are, but Tommy (Roy) asked me to help them out when they knew they weren’t renewing (Paul) Azinger, so I picked these two to do. I still plan to play a full schedule for the rest of the year.”

MORE: Full Kisner Q&A

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is serving as lead analyst this week at the Arnold Palmer.

Golfweek also has learned that Brandel Chamblee, who served as lead analyst in the broadcast of The American Express, is expected to fill that role some more, including in three weeks at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. NBC declined to comment for this story.

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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.

Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim and other big names miss cut at 2024 American Express

These guys are headed home early.

There’s something special brewing in La Quinta, California.

Thanks to a third-round 12-under 60 at La Quinta Country Club, amateur Nick Dunlap (27 under) holds the outright lead at the American Express. Dunlap made 10 birdies and an eagle on the par-5 6th (his 15th hole of the day). If he goes on to win Sunday, he’d be the first amateur to win on Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991.

Sam Burns is alone in second at 24 under, and Justin Thomas is 23 under, solo third and four back.

While the college kid is tearing it up, there are several big names heading home a day early after missing the 54-hole cut.

American Express: Photos

Here are several big-name players who won’t play in the final round of the American Express.

SC: Stadium Course
LQCC: La Quinta Country Club
NT: Nicklaus Tournament Course

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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Fans react to Kevin Kisner’s PGA Tour broadcasting debut at The Sentry in Hawaii

Safe to say fans love having Kisner in the booth.

Kevin Kisner struggled with his game last season, so he didn’t qualify for the first signature event of the year, The Sentry. However, Kisner did make the trip to Kapalua’s Plantation Course in Maui. Why?

To make his broadcasting debut with NBC.

Kisner has long been a fan favorite, known for his great sense of humor, incredible interview moments and lack of pretentious attitude that can be found with some on Tour.

His first appearance in the booth came during the second round Friday, and he’ll be back on the call Saturday and Sunday. NBC’s coverage over the weekend runs from 4-6 p.m. ET before Golf Channel/Peacock takes over until 8 p.m.

The Sentry: Jason Day’s Malbon look | Photo gallery

Here’s what fans had to say on social media about listening to Kisner call the action in Hawaii.

Augusta National, tractor rides and 90,000 Bulldog fans: Brian Harman is giving the Claret Jug a ride

Kisner told Golfweek that the Augusta National staff notified them this is believed to be a first.

As the Champion Golfer of the Year and with possession of the Claret Jug for one year, Brian Harman has been checking off some potential firsts with the famed silver trophy awarded annually to the winner of the British Open.

Harman took the Claret Jug to Augusta National Golf Club in late October during the weekend of the annual Florida/Georgia football game. Fellow Bulldog Kevin Kisner and a couple other friends joined him on the trip.

“Just bro-ing out up there,” Harman said.

Kisner told Golfweek that the Augusta National staff told them it is believed to be the first time that a winner has ever brought the Claret Jug to the home of the Masters.

“I can’t verify if it’s the only time it’s been there and so I feel bad saying that,” Harman tells Golfweek. “If they want to say that, that’s great.”

But he was more confident of another potential first with the Jug.

“It’s been inside my tractor,” Harman tells Golfweek. “I don’t know if it’s ever been inside a tractor. We took it down there and rode around for a minute just so we could say we did it.”

2023 British Open
Brian Harman looks on on the 18th hole on Day Two of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 21, 2023 in Hoylake, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Harman may need to check with Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champ and avid farmer, about being first.

But the highlight of hanging with the Jug so far for Harman, he said, was being honored on the field during Georgia’s home game against Ole Miss in early November, a night game at Sanford Field.

“That was cool because my wife and kid were with me,” he said to Golfweek.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Czj7KoBOCB5/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=9af42ead-6e16-48d8-9c2d-ce2232d1349c

“That was probably the highlight of the partying with it so far,” he said Thursday after his opening round at The Sentry. “It’s quite the party trick. It’s been a lot of fun to possess for a year.”

And enjoy it, he has.

“It’s an antique, it’s a relic,” Harman said Thursday. “It’s like a golfing past.” 

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