Golf on Fox

Background

Fox Sports first dipped into golf in the early 1990s by teaming up with Greg Norman to launch the World Golf Tour, a planned six-event series for the network. Legal trouble quickly arose, notably when PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem threatened to suspend any golfer who took part. In 1996, Fox bought a minority share of the Golf Channel. Fox tried to secure a piece of the PGA Tour’s TV rights starting in 1999, but the Big Three networks split the main package. Instead, the Golf Channel began simulcasting its early-round coverage on Fox’s regional sports networks, which reached more homes. Those simulcasts stopped after 2002, when ESPN and USA Network picked up the PGA Tour’s cable rights. Around the same time, Fox sold its minority stakes in both the Golf Channel and Outdoor Life Network to Comcast as part of a deal that gave Fox Comcast’s shares in Speedvision.

In 2011, Fox landed rights to the CVS Caremark Charity Classic, an unofficial PGA Tour event that had aired on the Golf Channel. The tournament ran on Fox Sports Net with Kraig Kann as host, but Fox chose not to renew for 2012. On August 6, 2013, Fox Sports announced a 12-year, $1.1 billion agreement to broadcast USGA events, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open, and U.S. Women’s Open, starting in 2015, taking over from NBC and ESPN. NBC’s lead analyst Johnny Miller said he had suspected NBC would lose the rights and doubted Fox could handle the U.S. Open. As a warm-up, Fox aired the 2014 Franklin Templeton Shootout, introducing its lead commentary team of Joe Buck and Greg Norman.

Fox’s first U.S. Open in 2015 offered 38.5 total hours of coverage: 22 hours on Thursday and Friday, and 16.5 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Fox Sports 1 carried 16 hours on Thursday and Friday, while the main Fox network aired 22.5 hours across the four days. The production introduced several new technologies, including drone flyovers, a camera-equipped RC car for ground shots, a live shot tracer, augmented reality displays of green contours, and a persistent top-five leaderboard in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Theme music

Fox did not use NBC's former U.S. Open theme, "In Celebration of Man" by Yanni, instead commissioning film composer Brian Tyler to create new music. Tyler stated his composition aimed to capture "the epic struggle, the challenge, the history, the heartbreak, and the elation of competitive golf," and noted the connection between sports and music in evoking dramatic impact and nostalgic memory.

Commentators

On April 23, 2014, Fox Sports announced Greg Norman would join Joe Buck as its lead golf commentary team; they first worked together at the 2014 U.S. Open. On November 18, 2014, Fox announced its full golf team: booth announcers Joe Buck and Greg Norman; tower announcers Brad Faxon, Corey Pavin, and Tom Weiskopf; on-course reporters Juli Inkster, Steve Flesch, Scott McCarron, Charles Davis, and Jay Delsing; rules analyst David Fay; course design analyst Gil Hanse; studio host Curt Menefee; interviews Holly Sonders; essays Shane O'Donoghue; featured group Tim Brando, Mark Brooks, Natalie Gulbis, and Buddy Marucci; and U.S. Open 360 Joel Klatt, Joe Ogilvie, Morgan Pressel, and EA Tischler. In January 2016, Greg Norman was let go due to poor reception and replaced by former ESPN analyst Paul Azinger. The 2016 U.S. Open team included booth announcers Joe Buck, Paul Azinger, and Brad Faxon; tower announcers Mark Brooks and Steve Flesch; on-course reporters Curtis Strange, Juli Inkster, Scott McCarron, and Ken Brown; rules analyst David Fay; course design analyst Gil Hanse; studio host Holly Sonders; interviews Shane Bacon; essays Shane O'Donoghue; featured groups hosts Joel Klatt and Justin Kutcher; and featured groups analysts Luke Elvy, Olin Browne, Brett Quigley, and Scott Simpson. In 2017, changes included lead announcers Joe Buck, Paul Azinger, and Brad Faxon; tower announcers Shane O'Donoghue and Darren Clarke; on-course reporters Curtis Strange, Steve Flesch, Juli Inkster, and Ken Brown; rules analyst David Fay; course design analyst Gil Hanse; studio host Holly Sonders; and interviews Shane Bacon. For the 2018 U.S. Open, Fox split its lead commentary booths into two teams to avoid logjams: Joe Buck with Paul Azinger, and Shane Bacon with Brad Faxon. On-course reporters were Curtis Strange, Steve Flesch, Ken Brown, and Brett Quigley; rules analyst David Fay; course design analyst Gil Hanse; studio host Holly Sonders; and interviews Shane O'Donoghue.