Golf coverage on

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

properties have occurred occasionally since 1999. From

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through

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, its

regional sports network In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region. ...

group

Fox Sports Networks Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

(FSN) sub-licensed early-round coverage of

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

events from

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television television network, network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ...

(a network in which Fox was an early investor). From 2015 to June 2020, Fox served as the broadcaster of the national open tournaments and amateur championships of the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

(USGA), including the U.S. Open — one of the four

Men's major golf championships The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the major championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Historically, the national open and amateur championships of Great Britain a ...

, under a 12-year deal. Coverage aired on the

Fox broadcast network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports 2 ...

Fox Sports 2 Fox Sports 2 (FS2) is an American List of sports television channels, sports-oriented pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based a ...

, and

Fox Deportes Fox Deportes (formerly Fox Sports en Español and stylized in all caps as FOX Deportes) is an American pay television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming in Spanish, aimed at the Hispanic population in the United States. ...

. In late-June 2020, however, Fox announced that it would opt out of the contract, and sell the remainder to former USGA broadcast television rightsholder

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

Background

Early Fox Sports golf involvement

Fox Sports partnered with

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

in the early 1990s to create the World Golf Tour, which would have consisted of six events televised on Fox. However, the proposed events were met with legal issues (including a threat by

commissioner

Tim Finchem Timothy W. Finchem (born April 19, 1947) is an American lawyer and retired golf administrator, who served as commissioner of golf's PGA Tour from 1994 to 2016. He served in the White House for two years during the administration of President Jimm ...

to suspend any golfer who participates). In 1996, Fox acquired a minority stake in

. Fox Sports bid for a portion of the PGA Tour's television rights starting in

. Although it did not gain the broadcast package (which was divided among the

Big Three networks In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their longev ...

), Golf Channel would

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

its early-round coverage on Fox's

s group

, as they had wider carriage. These simulcasts ended after 2002, when the PGA Tour's cable rights were acquired by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

. Fox had also sold its minority stakes in Golf Channel and

Outdoor Life Network OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian English-language Category A specialty channel. OLN primarily broadcasts factual-based and adventure-related reality programming aimed at male audiences. OLN is wholly owned by Rogers Sports & ...

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

, as part of its acquisition of its stake in

Speedvision Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...

. In 2011, Fox Sports gained the rights to the

CVS Caremark Charity Classic The CVS Health Charity Classic is a professional golf tournament. It is contested annually as a one-day, three-person team event. Each team is made up of one player from each of three Tours: PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, and LPGA Tour. The top tw ...

, which is an unofficial money event on the PGA Tour, and had been previously televised by Golf Channel. The coverage aired on

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

, with

Kraig Kann Kraig Kann (born on May 3, 1966 in LaGrange, Illinois) is a former on-air personality on Golf Channel, former chief communications officer of the LPGA, and current Managing Director of Kann Advisory Group and Host on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio.Golf Ch ...

hosting. Fox did not renew its rights for 2012.

USGA coverage

On August 6, 2013, Fox Sports announced a 12-year, $1.1 billion deal to broadcast the open tournaments and amateur championships of the

USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

, including the U.S. Open,

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

, and

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...

, beginning in 2015. Fox would replace

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

and

as the rightsholders of the events. NBC's lead analyst

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ra ...

expressed disappointment at the loss, saying that he "had a feeling" NBC would not retain rights, and that Fox would not be able to "fall out of a tree and do the U.S. Open." As a prelude to the new package, Fox televised the 2014

Franklin Templeton Shootout The QBE Shootout is a team golf event that takes place on the PGA Tour as an unofficial money event. It was originally played during the off-season, but now it is played during the wrap-around season's December break. The event began in 1989, as t ...

, debuting its lead commentary team of

Joe Buck Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster. The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's Nation ...

and

. Fox's first U.S. Open had a total of 38.5 hours of coverage, with 22 on Thursday and Friday, and 16.5 hours on Saturday and Sunday; the Fox Sports 1 cable network had a total of 16 hours of coverage on Thursday and Friday. The Fox broadcast network had a total of 22.5 hours of coverage Thursday through Sunday, with six hours Thursday and Friday, and 16.5 hours Saturday and Sunday. Fox utilized a number of new technologies during its production, including

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

flyovers, a camera-equipped

RC car 'Radio-controlled cars'' (or RC cars for short) are miniature model cars, vans, buses, trucks or buggies that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter or remote. The term "RC" has been used to mean both "remote contro ...

for ground perspectives, and new graphics—including a live shot tracer, an

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

display of green contours, and a persistent top-5 leaderboard displayed in the bottom-right of the screen. Fox's coverage received mixed reviews by critics and viewers, noting technical issues with on-air graphics during early coverage of the first round, on-air personnel (including the chemistry between Buck and Norman, and use of NFL reporters such as

Curt Menefee Curt Menefee (born July 22, 1965) is an American sportscaster who is currently the play-by-play commentator for Seattle Seahawks preseason football, play-by-play commentator of the 2020 XFL on Fox, the 2022 return of the USFL on Fox and is the ...

), and missed shots due to poor camera angles or other on-air segments, although Buck did receive positive reviews by some, as well as Fox's technical innovations. In the lead-up to the 2016 U.S. Open, Norman was dismissed by Fox, and replaced by

Paul Azinger Paul William Azinger (born January 6, 1960) is an American professional golfer and TV golf He won twelve times on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 1993 PGA Championship. He spent almost 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official ...

End of coverage

On June 29, 2020, it was announced that Fox Sports had opted out of the remaining seven years of its contract to cover USGA events, and had sold the remainder of the contract to

. The re-scheduling of the 2020 U.S. Open to September due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

had caused conflicts with Fox's football coverage, and the USGA ruled out moving the tournament exclusively to cable instead. While the network discussed the possibility of partnering with NBC on the 2020 tournament, this eventually "led to a broader conversation and eventual agreement for NBCUniversal to take over the USGA media rights".

Theme music

Fox did not carry over "In Celebration of Man", the

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthand ...

-composed music that had been used by NBC for its U.S. Open coverage, choosing to commission film composer

Brian Tyler Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor, arranger, and record producer, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 24-year career, Tyler has scored '' Transformers: Prime'', ''Eagle E ...

to compose new music (after acquiring rights to

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

beginning in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, NBC instated an updated version of "In Celebration of Man" as its theme music for the tournament). Tyler explained that his composition was intended to "capture the epic struggle, the challenge, the history, the heartbreak, and the elation of competitive golf," and acknowledged that "Sports and music have always had an important connection for me. I love the way iconic sports themes evoke the spirit of sporting events and can provide dramatic impact and nostalgic memory."

Commentators

On April 23, 2014,

announced that

would join

as its lead golf commentary team. Buck and Norman worked together for the first time at the 2014 U.S. Open, where Fox produced studio programming that aired against ESPN and NBC's studio shows.

2015 U.S. Open

On November 18, 2014, in advance of its coverage of the

, Fox announced the full layout of its golf team. *Booth announcers:

*Tower announcers:

Brad Faxon Bradford John Faxon Jr. (born August 1, 1961) is an American professional golfer. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Faxon was born in Oceanport, New Jersey and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island. He attended Fu ...

Corey Pavin Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and currently on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 150 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1986 and 1997 ...

Tom Weiskopf Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, inclu ...

*On-course reporters:

Juli Inkster Juli Inkster (born Juli Simpson; June 24, 1960) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. With a professional career spanning 29 years to date, Inkster's 31 wins rank her second in wins among all active players on the LPGA ...

Steve Flesch Stephen J. Flesch (born May 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, and worked briefly as a TV golf analyst for Fox Sports and Golf Channel before joi ...

Scott McCarron Scott Michael McCarron (born July 10, 1965) is an American professional golfer who was formerly a member of the PGA Tour but now plays on the PGA Tour Champions. McCarron was born in Sacramento, California and graduated from Vintage High School i ...

, Charles Davis,

Jay Delsing Jay Delsing (born October 17, 1960) is an American professional golfer. Delsing was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He played college golf at UCLA with Corey Pavin, Steve Pate, Tom Pernice Jr., and Duffy Waldorf. He graduated from UCLA in 1983 w ...

Rules analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

: David Fay *Course design analyst:

Gil Hanse Gilbert Hanse (born August 12, 1963) is an American golf course architect. Hanse, along with his business partner Jim Wagner, was selected to design the Rio 2016 Olympic Golf Course, the first Olympic venue to host golf since 1904. Education A ...

*Studio Host:

*Interviews: Holly Sonders *Essays: Shane O'Donoghue *Featured Group: Tim Brando, Mark Brooks,

Natalie Gulbis Natalie Anne Gulbis (born January 7, 1983) is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. Golf career Gulbis was born and raised in the Sacramento, California, area. She has Latvian ancestry. Gulbis started finding ...

Buddy Marucci George Edward "Buddy" Marucci Jr (born March 6, 1952) is an American businessman and amateur golfer. He has played in more than 50 USGA amateur championships, and is perhaps best known for battling 19-year-old Tiger Woods in the final round of the ...

*U.S. Open 360:

Joel Klatt Joel Klatt (born February 4, 1982) is a college football color commentator and analyst for Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports. Klatt played college football for the University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado (CU) Colorado Buffalo ...

Joe Ogilvie Norman Joseph Ogilvie (born April 8, 1974) is a retired American professional golfer. Ogilvie was born in Lancaster, Ohio and graduated from Duke University. He played on the PGA Tour and picked up his only win on tour at the U.S. Bank Championsh ...

Morgan Pressel Morgan Pressel (born May 23, 1988) is an American professional golfer and golf commentator who played on the LPGA Tour. In 2001, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She was the 2005 American Juni ...

, EA Tischler

2016 U.S. Open

In January 2016, Greg Norman was let go by Fox in response to poor reception towards his performance during the U.S. Open, and was replaced by former ESPN analyst

. The network's 2016 U.S. Open team: *Booth announcers:

*Tower announcers: Mark Brooks,

*On-course reporters:

Curtis Strange Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is the winner of consecutive U.S. Open titles and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He spent ...

, Ken Brown *Rules analyst: David Fay *Course design analyst:

*Studio Host: Holly Sonders *Interviews: Shane Bacon *Essays: Shane O'Donoghue *Featured Groups Hosts:

Justin Kutcher Justin Kutcher is a sportscaster with Fox Sports. He is the play-by-play broadcaster for Atlanta Falcons preseason games, and was formerly the play-by-play announcer for the Washington Wizards on NBC Sports Washington. Kutcher joined Fox Sports in ...

*Featured Groups Analysts: Luke Elvy,

Olin Browne Olin Douglas Browne (born May 22, 1959) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and now plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Browne was born in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H. in 1977. He ...

, Brett Quigley, Scott Simpson

2017 U.S. Open

In 2017, Fox made several changes to the commentator team: *Lead announcers:

*Tower announcers: Shane O'Donoghue,

Darren Clarke Darren Christopher Clarke, (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has previously played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide on a ...

*On-course reporters:

, Ken Brown *Rules analyst: David Fay *Course design analyst:

*Studio Host: Holly Sonders *Interviews: Shane Bacon

2018 U.S. Open

For the 2018 U.S. Open, Fox announced that they would be splitting their lead commentary booths into two teams. This was done in an effort to avoid the occasional logjam caused by a three-man booth, which had been Joe Buck with analysts Paul Azinger and Brad Faxon. Therefore, Azinger would now be paired with Buck, and Faxon would be paired alongside Shane Bacon. *Lead announcers:

*Secondary announcers: Shane Bacon,

*On-course reporters:

, Ken Brown & Brett Quigley *Rules analyst: David Fay *Course design analyst: Gil Hanse *Studio Host: Holly Sonders *Interviews: Shane O'Donoghue

References

External links

* {{s-end Fox Sports 1 original programming Fox Sports original programming Golf on television