Where have we heard that before? Oh right, Fox Sports with Greg Norman as its lead analyst. We know Fox did end up innovating, raising bars and showing new ways to televise golf. Perhaps the LIV streams will do that, though given the complexity of televising golf on short notice, the first impressions could be rough.
“The LIV Golf broadcast will be unlike anything fans have seen before,” said Will Staeger, LIV Golf Chief Media Officer. “The innovations we are introducing to the sport will be distributed to existing and new audiences all over the world as we deliver golf coverage dedicated to entertainment and access. We’ve built a world class production team that has combined the industry’s best practices with a reimagined experience for viewers to create a one-of-a-kind broadcast. We’ve been counting down the days to Thursday’s start so fans can tune in and watch what we have been working on.”
The broadcast will be available on LIVGolf.com, YouTube and Facebook.
Besides prying Jerry Foltz away from Golf Channel LPGA on-course reporting duties to be the analyst after Darren Clarke said no, the rollout suggests plenty in the golf broadcasting world passed. From Bob Harig’s Morning Read story:
Arlo White, the voice of the Premier League in the United States for nearly a decade, will handle lead play by play duties.
Foltz, who played professionally for more than 15 years, has spent more than two decades as an analyst, play-by-play host, studio host, instructional series host and on-course reporter. Foltz has been an on-course reporter for various tours, with a focus as a leading voice for the LPGA Tour.
The three-person booth will be completed with Dom Boulet, a former player on the Asian Tour who is widely known throughout Asia as the voice of golf.
Well he’s got that going for him.
Su-Ann Heng, a former No. 1 ranked golfer of her native Singapore and six-time member of the Singapore Ladies National Team, will lead on-course commentating. An experienced golf analyst with networks including FOX Sports Asia, she has covered women’s major championships and hosted marquee global events for more than seven years.
Troy Mullins will serve as an on-course reporter and social influencer for LIV Golf. Mullins is a former Women’s Long Drive Record Holder (402 yards) and a regular contributor on the Golf Channel.
White was expensive to pry away from his NBC duties hosting Premier League, reports Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
And White, not surprisingly, will be paid very handsomely, according to sources. We do not have exact figures, but White has gone from making hundreds of thousands per year to millions in the move, according to sources. And we are told besides the eight-to-ten events for LIV, White is still allowed to add a soccer component to his duties.
White had been NBC’s lead Premier League soccer play-by-player and has been the game-caller on Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” series. (By the way, he will continue on “Ted Lasso,” The Post has learned.)
The shows will be run by former Golf Channel producer Keith Hirshland, the husband of current United States Olympic Committee CEO and former USGA executive Sarah Hirshland.