| Golf on Fox | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Fox Sports |
| Starring | Joe Buck Paul Azinger |
| Opening theme | "USGA" by Brian Tyler |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 6 hours or until tournament ends |
| Production company | Fox Sports |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 2 Fox Business Network Fox Sports app |
| Release |
|
Golf coverage onFox Sports properties have occurred occasionally since 1999. From1999 through2002, itsregional sports network groupFox Sports Networks (FSN) sub-licensed early-round coverage ofPGA Tour events fromGolf Channel (a network in which Fox was an early investor).
From 2015 to June 2020, Fox served as the broadcaster of the national open tournaments and amateur championships of theUnited States Golf Association (USGA), including theU.S. Open — one of the fourMen's major golf championships, under a 12-year deal. Coverage aired on theFox broadcast network,Fox Sports 1,Fox Sports 2, andFox Deportes. In late-June 2020, however, Fox announced that it would opt out of the contract, and sell the remainder to former USGA broadcast television rightsholderNBC Sports.
Golf coverage will return to Fox in 2025 after the broadcaster reached an agreement withLIV Golf.
Fox Sports partnered withGreg Norman in the early 1990s to create the World Golf Tour, which would have consisted of six events televised on Fox. However, the proposed events were met with legal issues (including a threat byPGA Tour commissionerTim Finchem to suspend any golfer who participates).[1] In 1996, Fox acquired a minority stake inGolf Channel.[2][3]
Fox Sports bid for a portion of the PGA Tour's television rights starting in1999.[4] Although it did not gain the broadcast package (which was divided among theBig Three networks), Golf Channel wouldsimulcast its early-round coverage on Fox'sregional sports networks groupFox Sports Networks, as they had wider carriage. These simulcasts ended after 2002, when the PGA Tour's cable rights were acquired byESPN andUSA Network.[5][6] Fox had also sold its minority stakes in Golf Channel andOutdoor Life Network toComcast, as part of a transaction that saw Fox acquire Comcast's stakes inSpeedvision.[2][3]
In 2011, Fox Sports gained the rights to theCVS Caremark Charity Classic, which is an unofficial money event on the PGA Tour, and had been previously televised by Golf Channel. The coverage aired onFox Sports Net, withKraig Kann hosting. Fox did not renew its rights for 2012.
On August 6, 2013, Fox Sports announced a 12-year, $1.1 billion deal to broadcast the open tournaments and amateur championships of theUSGA, including theU.S. Open,U.S. Senior Open, andU.S. Women's Open, beginning in 2015. Fox would replaceNBC andESPN as the rightsholders of the events.[7][8] NBC's lead analystJohnny Miller expressed disappointment at the loss, saying that he "had a feeling" NBC would not retain rights, and that Fox would not be able to "fall out of a tree and do the U.S. Open."[9]
As a prelude to the new package, Fox televised the 2014Franklin Templeton Shootout, debuting its lead commentary team ofJoe Buck andGreg Norman.[10] Fox'sfirst U.S. Open had a total of 38.5 hours of coverage,[11][12][13] with 22 on Thursday and Friday, and 16.5 hours on Saturday and Sunday;[14] the Fox Sports 1 cable network had a total of 16 hours of coverage on Thursday and Friday. The Fox broadcast network had a total of 22.5 hours of coverage Thursday through Sunday, with six hours Thursday and Friday, and 16.5 hours Saturday and Sunday. Fox utilized a number of new technologies[15] during its production, includingdrone flyovers, a camera-equippedRC car for ground perspectives, and new graphics—including a live shot tracer, anaugmented reality display of green contours, and a persistent top-5 leaderboard displayed in the bottom-right of the screen.[16][17]
Fox's coverage received mixed reviews by critics and viewers, noting technical issues with on-air graphics during early coverage of the first round, on-air personnel (including the chemistry between Buck and Norman, and use of NFL reporters such asCurt Menefee), and missed shots due to poor camera angles or other on-air segments, although Buck did receive positive reviews by some, as well as Fox's technical innovations.[18][19][20][21][22][23]
In the lead-up to the 2016 U.S. Open, Norman was dismissed by Fox,[24] and replaced byPaul Azinger.[25]
On June 29, 2020, it was announced that Fox Sports had opted out of the remaining seven years of its contract to cover USGA events, and had sold the remainder of the contract toNBC Sports. The rescheduling of the2020 U.S. Open to September due to theCOVID-19 pandemic had caused conflicts with Fox's football coverage, and the USGA forbade Fox from carrying the event exclusively on cable. While Fox discussed the possibility of partnering with NBC on the 2020 tournament, this eventually "led to a broader conversation and eventual agreement for NBCUniversal to take over the USGA media rights".[26][27]
Due to being the only one of the four major networks that does not have any ties to the PGA Tour's media rights, Fox was anticipated as a potential US broadcaster forLIV Golf—a Saudi-backed golf competition also led by Norman; in September 2022,Golfweek reported that LIV was reaching atime-buy agreement to carry its events on Fox Sports 1.[28][29] However, LIV denied the reports,[30] and ultimately signed withNexstar Media Group andThe CW in 2023. The agreement would run through the2024 LIV Golf League.[31][32]
In January 2025, Fox announced an exclusive rights agreement with LIV Golf. Half of the events will air on Fox or Fox Sports 1, with the remainder onFox Sports 2,Fox Business Network or theFox Sports app. Unlike Fox's agreement with the USGA, LIV will handle all production of the tournament. As of 2025,Arlo White is the lead play-by-play commentator,David Feherty andJerry Foltz are the lead color commentators, andDom Boulet andSu-Ann Heng are the lead course reporters.[33]
Fox did not carry over "In Celebration of Man", theYanni-composed music that had been used by NBC for its U.S. Open coverage, choosing to commission film composerBrian Tyler to compose new music (after acquiring rights toThe Open Championship beginning in2016, NBC instated an updated version of "In Celebration of Man" as its theme music for the tournament).[34][35] Tyler explained that his composition was intended to "capture the epic struggle, the challenge, the history, the heartbreak, and the elation of competitive golf," and acknowledged that "Sports and music have always had an important connection for me. I love the way iconic sports themes evoke the spirit of sporting events and can provide dramatic impact and nostalgic memory."[36]
On April 23, 2014,Fox Sports announced thatGreg Norman would joinJoe Buck[37][38] as its lead golf commentary team.[39] Buck and Norman worked together for the first time at the 2014 U.S. Open, where Fox produced studio programming that aired against ESPN and NBC's studio shows.
On November 18, 2014, in advance of its coverage of theFranklin Templeton Shootout, Fox announced the full layout of its golf team.[41]
In January 2016, Greg Norman was let go by Fox in response to poor reception towards his performance during the U.S. Open, and was replaced by former ESPN analystPaul Azinger.[43] The network's 2016 U.S. Open team:[44]
In 2017, Fox made several changes to the commentator team:
For the2018 U.S. Open, Fox announced that they would be splitting their lead commentary booths into two teams.[47] This was done in an effort to avoid the occasional logjam caused by a three-man booth, which had been Joe Buck with analysts Paul Azinger and Brad Faxon. Therefore, Azinger would now be paired with Buck, and Faxon would be paired alongside Shane Bacon.
| Preceded by | U.S. Open (golf) network television broadcaster 2015 –2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | LIV Golf television broadcaster 2025 – present | Succeeded by – |