NBC Has Void to Fill With Its Top Golf Analyst. It’s Trying Something Different

NBC Sports will bring a new approach to the world of golf broadcasting as it tries to pick a new No. 1 analyst before its two major championships next summer.

Kevin Kisner, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, will enter the NBC Sports booth for two tournaments in early 2024, including the season-opening event in Maui during the first week of January. Kisner, 39, is still a full-time member of the PGA Tour, but he isn’t eligible for The Sentry and The WM Phoenix Open, the two $20 million signature events he will be calling on Golf Channel and on the main NBC broadcast network.

Golf analyst jobs have typically gone to former players who no longer compete full-time. Top CBS Sports golf analyst Trevor Immelman is 44, but the 2008 Masters champion began exploring broadcasting in the late 2010s as injuries plagued the latter half of his playing career. It’s unclear whether Kisner would be interested in joining NBC full-time.

Why There’s an Opening

Last month, NBC Sports parted ways with Paul Azinger, who held the network’s top golf job for five years. Several internal candidates are believed to be under consideration to replace Azinger, too. Sports Business Journal reported that Geoff Ogilvy, a former U.S. Open champion, is also being targeted, but that he could end up calling only a handful of events.

NBC will broadcast the Players Championship in March and, more importantly, the U.S. Open in June and the Open Championship in July. Finding a full-time top golf analyst before the latter two events is expected to be a priority for NBC, which is believed to pay close to $100 million annually for the two majors’ media rights, in addition to its part of the $680 million annual deal for PGA Tour rights, along with CBS Sports and ESPN.