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Stating he “crossed the line,” NBC’s Kevin Kisner apologized to CBS for his critical comments about its coverage of the Masters tournament.
The outspoken analyst previously went scorched earth on his Fore Play podcast, complaining that CBS’s use of too many pre-taped shots lagged well behind live play. The former pro-turned-rising media star used the kind of language that’s frowned upon in the white-shoe golf world. Particularly at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters tournament.
“I was so fucking confused the entire time by trying to keep up with the behind-the-scenes CBS feed. They’re literally showing shit that I knew happened ten minutes ago–all day long. It was so bad that I in fact texted (CBS analyst) Colt Knost during the show and said, ‘Do you all ever show a live shot?’ I’m better off following the fucking app than following your feed,” complained Kisner, who called the Masters Saturday and Sunday rounds for SiriusXM.
“So your entire Masters coverage is a fantasy world. It’s bullshit. Whatever we all watched happened already seven minutes ago. Can you imagine watching the fucking Super Bowl and be like, ‘Oh yeah, Tom Brady threw that touchdown seven minutes ago. We’re going to act like it’s live here so our announcers can sound really smart.’”
By Thursday morning, Kisner made a complete U-turn. He opened his podcast for Barstool Sports by issuing a mea culpa for his now viral rant. The four-time PGA Tour winner was named NBC’s lead golf analyst alongside play-by-play announcer Dan Hicks in 2025.
“I just have to apologize to the golf team at CBS. I crossed the line, probably too much, by talking about that whole content,” said Kisner.
“I know from my short time in the business how wild production is. It is a very difficult thing to produce a live show and make it all work. Everybody does their best. NBC screws up all the time. We’re just trying to do our best. I went too far on being critical on them. I just want all the people associated with them to know I apologize. They’re our partners with the PGA Tour. They continue to showcase in a great way the game we all love. They’re all trying to do their best. And I was too critical of them.”
NBC declined to comment.
Credit to Kisner for manning up and accepting responsibility. But this story might not be over by a long shot. Here’s why:
It’s highly unusual for anybody at NBC to publicly rip CBS for their golf coverage–and vice-versa. They’re the two main U.S. TV networks covering the PGA Tour and golf’s four major tournaments: the Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship.
As such, they have an unspoken gentleman’s agreement to support each other and the game. With his comments, Kisner took a blowtorch to that cordial approach. One source says the CBS golf team was “mortified and infuriated” by the comments. Will they retaliate? We’ll see.
Second, by ripping CBS, Kisner was also effectively criticizing the Green Jackets at Augusta, who wield iron-fisted control over Masters coverage. If CBS likes to “stack” taped shots for replay later, that’s because Augusta wants them to do it. The goal is to build a narrative about the magic of the Masters; not cover one live shot and putt after another.
Was CBS’s coverage perfect? No. The network badly botched coverage of Rory McIlroy’s victory on the 18th hole Sunday. But the Green Jackets have the memory of an elephant. It wouldn’t be surprising if they decide that Kisner’s tell-it-like-it-is style is not for them. And they could tell SiriusXM to find somebody else to call the tournament in 2027.
As former CBS PR guru-turned-consultant LeslieAnne Wade tweeted about Kisner Wednesday: “He might soon find out that this golf television thing is a tight syndicate and this is not how this game is traditionally played and won. Watching the back 9 closely on this…”
