Kaufman, once a rising player on the tour whose game disappeared with a string of missed cuts in his last three years, proved to be a breakout star working for Golf Channel and NBC last year. That’s true in any part of media or entertainment.įaxon has some experience in broadcasting and has shown he can hold his own. But inevitably, older voices get pushed aside by younger voices. It’s not that Maltbie or Koch or McCord or Kostis did a bad job on reporting on PGA Tour events or were rapidly deteriorating as broadcasters. So younger voices might seem like the right thing to do. But the sport needs younger viewers, too, fans who will embrace the sport now and follow the young stars for the next 15 or 20 years or even longer. It’s great that people 50 and over love and watch the sport, because that demographic tends to have more leisure time and more disposable income - things that advertisers crave in a viewer. Networks understand that golf needs to appeal to a younger audience. But remember, it was just 20 years ago, in the 2002 season, that Ken Venturi ended a run of 35 years as the lead analyst for CBS. That might seem like a lot of changes in a short period of time. John Wood, another longtime tour caddie, is drawing raves for his work for NBC. Jim “Bones” MacKay, longtime caddie for Phil Mickelson, became a respected on-course commentator for NBC before returning to caddie duties for Justin Thomas. Changes happening all the timeĪnd there have been other changes. That was about the same time, by the way, that CBS, in an effort to freshen its golf broadcasts, said goodbye to Gary McCord and Peter Kostis, a pair of voices who had been with CBS for three decades themselves. Former PGA champion and Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger stepped in for Miller. But it was only 2019 when he ended a nearly three-decade career with the network. Remember Johnny Miller? It might seem like a long time ago when Miller stepped down as a straight-talking lead analyst for NBC. But have things really changed that fast this year, or is it just the world of social media that has pushed the idea that changes have come at a break-neck speed? So the voices get younger as 2023 begins, and it seems like a lot of change for the two main networks that cover the PGA Tour (Golf Channel covers its own PGA Tour tournaments as well as sharing producing and voices at times with NBC and CBS). CBS decided that didn’t work for the network, so Faldo retired. Faldo is 65, and he apparently wanted to work a more limited schedule. Immelman, who was already on the CBS team, is 42. Faldo will be replaced by Trevor Immelman, a former Masters champion. More: Rickie Fowler, Stewart Cink added to American Express tournament fieldĪt CBS, Nick Faldo left as lead analyst at the end of the network’s coverage in 2022. View Gallery: Photos: Helping Hands breakfast for American Express charity distribution
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