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Greg Norman out as Fox’s lead golf analyst

Published

10 years ago

Jan 18, 2016

Two-time major champion Greg Norman is out as lead golf analyst at Fox Sports just a year into the network’s 12-year deal with the USGA.

Links Magazine broke the news on Twitter, and Geoff Shackelford filed a report for Golf World confirming the story. John Entz, President of Production and Executive Producer for Fox Sports, later confirmed the company’s decision.

According to a release from Fox Sports, both parties have agreed to “an amicable separation,” and Norman will continue to work with Fox to broadcast the Franklin Templeton Shootout (formally the Shark Shootout), which takes place each December at the Tiburon Golf Club (Naples, Fla.) that Norman designed.

“After careful consideration, we have decided to make this change to our USGA Championships coverage,” Entz said. “We want to thank Greg for his contributions last year, and wish him success in all his current and future endeavors.”

Opinions were mixed about Fox’s first year of coverage, to say the least, and takes on the Great White Shark’s work followed suit.

For example, he was praised for his enthusiastic analysis of Jason Day’s vertigo at the U.S. Open, but widely criticized for going mute when Dustin Johnson missed 72nd-hole putts to win, and then tie, the tournament.

Norman couldn’t have been presented with a nicer lie in the center cut of the fairway, having suffered major meltdowns himself, but he swallowed his microphone at a crucial moment.

“I put a lot into my role this past year and really enjoyed the time I spent with the commentary team,” Norman said. “I have a long history with Fox and wish them well on their journey showcasing USGA Championships. I also want to thank David Hill (former Head of Fox Sports) and the USGA for believing in me and instilling their vote of confidence in me from the outset.”

According to Shackelford, Fox is keen to land ESPN’s Paul Azinger as Norman’s replacement beside Joe Buck.

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Ben Alberstadt

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

39 Comments

don d.

Jan 23, 2016 at 1:47 am

loved norman as a player , I wish he would come back. As a tv commentator he was horrible. The us open at chambers bay was a disaster. I have been to a few and they are awful. Not fan friendly at all. They say Chambers Bay was the worst. The USGA sold out to fox network and look what they got. Look on the bright side only 13 more years to go.

Reply Report comment
Bar

Jan 21, 2016 at 9:44 am

Don’t have a problem with The Shark. Just pray Mark Roe doesn’t get a gig on US Golf. Mind you they are all becoming real luvvies, afraid to open their mouths about each other. This latest horse manure where they all start apologizing when a player says a bad word is silly. Get a life guys.

Reply Report comment
Nihonsei75

Jan 20, 2016 at 8:37 pm

Agree with the Norman’s silence being good…..being golden. As a lover of the game and a spectator in constant admiration, anything said about the misses would have destroyed my internal dialogue, the same disbelief and agony most of us shared, twice in two putts. My living room fell silent. Norman could have spoke from my couch and got kicked out for not allowing us to process. He did well. I remember better Orange Festival coverage from my high school homeroom broadcast teams. And was it The Shark who boiled the pro game down something meaningful while DJ picked up his child and held his child on the way to the scoring table? Topnotch, whoever it was!

Reply Report comment
Bob Jones

Jan 20, 2016 at 8:18 pm

My complaint was that there were so many people sharing broadcast duties it seemed like an on-the-air audition. Norman was OK. Buck is out of his element, like Terry Gannon was when he switched from ice skating to golf, and still is to a lesser extent. At least there was no Chris Berman.

As for Norman’s silence when Johnson three-jacked from 12 feet, haven’t most of us been on the practice green and played the “This putt is for the U.S. Open title” game? We knew exactly what to think without any help from an announcer. This was the perfect time to be quiet.

Reply Report comment
Lou

Jan 20, 2016 at 3:09 pm

Number one reason why my USGA membership is not being renewed this year is the AWFUL mess made of the US Open and other USGA broadcasts which involved Joe Buck. Bad enough he appears in NFL broadcasts where I watch with the sound muted. The Shark was fine, but the Buck must stop where it is.

Number two was the selection of joke golf course selected for the venue. If I wanted to watch the British Open again I would have recorded the original. The USGA REALLY needs to take a hard look at itself and what some believe is “good for the game”. Count me among the disgusted, and you may quote me, Lou Eichler, Hot Springs Village, Arkansas

Reply Report comment
Busterpar

Jan 20, 2016 at 1:54 pm

Fox’s coverage of golf is/was as bad as their so called “news” channels are at covering – well, anything except right wing propaganda.

Reply Report comment
- GMatt
  
  Jan 20, 2016 at 3:42 pm
  
  Yeah, and watching NBC, CNN, and CBS broadcast their “left wing” lies are just as successful
  
  Reply Report comment
sss

Jan 20, 2016 at 1:57 am

Fox golf coverage sucked the big one. Especially their camera angle during crucial putts was really bad – you couldn’t tell whether it was going to be a make or miss. No commentator could make up for those issues…

Reply Report comment
Matthew Bacon

Jan 19, 2016 at 9:31 pm

Thank God, Norman was horrible. Unfortunately the rest of the crew and production wasn’t much better. Heres hoping Norman quietly rides off into the sunset, even though I’m not holding my breath.

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Russell Platt

Jan 19, 2016 at 7:23 pm

Need more shots of the hotties at the game. Jim Nance needs to go, and Norman being quiet was weird, maybe he just related to it soo much…

Reply Report comment
Morgan

Jan 19, 2016 at 10:33 am

Greg was an average commentator … not good, but not bad. His comments felt a little ‘forced’, but his knowledge of the game and being a past champion certainly helped him.

A little silence can be golden when you have 80,000 fans going crazy, and players storming the field. Golf broadcasts need commentary.

When he Dustin choked the putt, Greg probably should have said: “That’s what US Open pressure can do to even a great player. The hole probably looked like a thimble.” and added “trust me, I’ve been there myself … anything can happen in the final round of a major, and it just did”.

Easy for me to second guess 4 months later. Personally, I agree with everyone else here, I would rather listen to Greg than Joe Buck. Joe Buck has forced to me to turn the radio broadcast on during baseball and football. For golf, I will just have to turn the sound off. He is that bad.

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G daddy

Jan 19, 2016 at 9:39 am

Joe Buck is out of his league in golf and a horrible announcer in general. Norman wasn’t great, but it was good to hear his perspective on things. Azinger would be terrific as would a lot of the Golf Channel’s team – they all do a good job (except that clown Chamblee – I love the Golf Channel, but can’t turn off the channel fast enough when he starts speaking).

Reply Report comment
- RoGar
  
  Jan 19, 2016 at 10:26 am
  
  You are disrespecting clowns comparing them to the mouth Cham (who)!!!
  
  Reply Report comment
- MarkB A
  
  Jan 19, 2016 at 6:45 pm
  
  I do not like Joe Buck. Is Johnny Miller still at NBC? I still think Johnny is the best followed by Faldo. I cannot stand Jim Nantz.
  
  Reply Report comment
Matto.

Jan 19, 2016 at 1:14 am

I for one really enjoyed his commentary, but I’ve always been a fan.
His silence during the DJ putt(s) were spot on I thought. It seems U.S sports journalism is always looking for a headline style quote when anything dramatic happens. When in fact, in Greg’s head, he was probably in DJ’s group, paying him the respect he deserved by keeping silent.
I’m quite sure he doesn’t give a sh*t either way to be honest, banking tens of millions every year. Whatever.

Reply Report comment
- Wallace
  
  Jan 19, 2016 at 8:26 am
  
  +1 on the need to fill every second with loads of BS. So irritating, Euro coverage is worlds ahead of the US.
  
  Reply Report comment
john

Jan 18, 2016 at 10:38 pm

i just hope fox ignore the vocal minority and keep showing us the pro-tracer constantly, best thing that’s ever happened to golf coverage… seeing a guy swing, then a ball on a blue background then it landing on a green is so boring it’s ridiculous – how high did he hit it, what shape did he use, did it balloon or did he drill it? I was neither way with greg, he was no worse than any of the other previous experts we’ve had covering golf over the years (Townsend from the european tour is still my favourite)

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ooffa

Jan 18, 2016 at 10:04 pm

I understand. He sucked as a commentator. He had a built in audience that wanted to hear from him and then at a pivotal time during the US Open and he choked. I mean really Fox, you didn’t see that coming.

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Egor

Jan 18, 2016 at 7:34 pm

At the end of the day….

Reply Report comment
Vito

Jan 18, 2016 at 6:09 pm

Now get rid of joe Buck. He’s terrible at everything he does.

Reply Report comment
- Fahgdat
  
  Jan 19, 2016 at 3:37 am
  
  +1 !
  
  Reply Report comment
  - MarkB A
    
    Jan 19, 2016 at 6:46 pm
    
    +1 billion
    
    Reply Report comment
Gordon

Jan 18, 2016 at 11:27 am

And they keep Joe Buck????????????????? I do not know how the rest of you feel but when Joe Buck is doing golf I turn off the sound,

Reply Report comment
- Eric
  
  Jan 18, 2016 at 11:34 am
  
  Joe Buck is excellent. You don’t have a clue. He’s the top NFL guy.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jean
    
    Jan 18, 2016 at 11:44 am
    
    Joe Buck should stick to the NFL and leave MLB and PGA alone
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Billy Walker
    
    Jan 18, 2016 at 1:19 pm
    
    So with that deduction, John Madden would have made a good golf commentator ?
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Mat
    
    Jan 18, 2016 at 2:52 pm
    
    “Oh, awesome! Joe Buck is calling this game!”
    
    -No one, ever.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Travis
      
      Jan 18, 2016 at 5:03 pm
      
      Mr Buck is the reason I quit watching post season MLB…and I love baseball. At least McCarver is out.
      
      Reply Report comment
      - blake
        
        Jan 18, 2016 at 10:03 pm
        
        Go to a Mexican restaurant and watch the Spanish telecast. I’ve done this for the last 2 all-star games and it is much better.
        
        Reply Report comment
        
        Mat
        
        Jan 19, 2016 at 10:16 am
        
        We got some of the Matt Vascursian (sp) call last year with the power outage… and it was glorious. 🙂
        
        Reply Report comment
- Dillio
  
  Jan 18, 2016 at 11:44 am
  
  amen, Joe Buck is terrible, he definitely did not get his fathers talent.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - MarkB A
    
    Jan 19, 2016 at 6:47 pm
    
    Joe Buck is another daddy’s boy who got his gig thanks to daddy.
    
    Reply Report comment
- Mat
  
  Jan 18, 2016 at 2:52 pm
  
  Remember, these are the same geniuses that put Gus Johnson on European soccer…
  
  Reply Report comment
Shortangry1

Jan 18, 2016 at 11:24 am

Greg is an icon, the reason I play this silly game. Admired him then, and now.

Reply Report comment
- Fahgdat
  
  Jan 19, 2016 at 3:42 am
  
  We can’t be all dumb Aussies
  
  Reply Report comment
Rob

Jan 18, 2016 at 10:59 am

Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all. I thought going quiet when Johnson choked was the best thing he could have done, everybody else was speechless in the moment too.

Reply Report comment
- Mat
  
  Jan 18, 2016 at 2:48 pm
  
  Fox is obviously about making noise all the time, and as loudly as possible. It’s an American sports thing. Sometimes the best commentary is shutting up and letting the event speak for itself. To say Norman “choked” is about as lazy as it gets; dragging up a playing career as if it is the same thing is exceptionally weak journalism. EVERYONE went silent on that second putt – except the truck. In the truck, they went bonkers because they got Monday off.
  
  If you think Paul Azinger is going to be the answer, you are in for a shock. You’re as likely to get a take on the GOP as you are golf. In that way, he’s perfect for Fox. Go ahead – look him up on Twitter…
  
  Reply Report comment
Christestrogen

Jan 18, 2016 at 10:37 am

I thought he was good….azinger is a great choice but I had no problem with him going mute when Johnson missed those putts…
He would’ve been roundly criticized had he talked or stayed silent…

I can see it now in the forums:
“Dustin Johnson missed a putt and Greg Norman makes it all about him(also Bubba is a terrible person)”

That looks about right for a forum title.

-Christosterone

Reply Report comment
JJVas

Jan 18, 2016 at 10:14 am

Norman obviously doesn’t need to do this. I always saw him as more of the, “We’d like to welcome Greg Norman to the booth for two segments and get his take” kind of role. I appreciate him in that capacity, but it’s not like he’s traveling with these guys anymore enough to know what’s going on with each of them. The stories from 1991 get old.

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