Faldo is leaving as lead CBS analyst, replaced by Immelman
CROMWELL, CONN. — Nick Faldo is leaving after 16 years as the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports. In his place will be another former Masters champion.
No, not Phil Mickelson. CBS announced Tuesday that Trevor Immelman of South Africa, who won the 2008 Masters and will be the International team Presidents Cup captain this year, will step in for Faldo starting next year.
Faldo, the three-time Masters and British Open champion, came over to CBS in 2007 as the lead announcer after having previously worked at ABC. His last broadcast on CBS will be the final round of the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 7.
“Nick brought the same passion and dedication that propelled him to the world’s number one golfer to our broadcasts,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said. “He combined his profound knowledge of golf with his wit and charm, enlightening viewers and elevating our coverage.”
Mickelson, meanwhile, made a guest appearance for CBS after the third round of the PGA Championship at Harding Park in 2020 and received overwhelming reviews, prompting speculation that he might be carving a path for a career after golf. And then he won the PGA Championship a year later at age 50, only to lose corporate sponsors for his comments and involvement in the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series.
Immelman is only the fourth lead golf analyst for CBS in the last 50 years, following Faldo, Lanny Wadkins and the late Ken Venturi, who spent 35 years with the network.
Tuning in
NBC Sports says the final round of the U.S. Open had a total audience delivery of 5.41 million, the mostwatched final round for a U.S. Open in the Eastern time zone since Justin Rose held off Mickelson to win at Merion in 2013.
This year’s edition also came down to the wire between Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, with Fitzpatrick winning by one shot. Viewership peaked at 9.2 million when the last group was playing the 18th hole. NBC says viewership was 65% more than Winged Foot in 2020, which Bryson DeChambeau won in September during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Money matters
Few records on the PGA Tour are more vulnerable when they involve money, from the spike in prize money and inflation.
The latest to fall was Jordan Spieth’s record from 2015 when he won five times in 25 starts and made $12,030,465 in official money. That included a sterling mark in the majors with two wins, a runner-up and a tie for fourth.
Scheffler broke that record Sunday when he tied for second in the U.S. Open and earned $1,557,687. It was his second runner-up finish in his last three tournaments, this after running off four wins that included the Masters and a World Golf Championship. He now has $12,896,849 in 18 starts. And he still has two months left in the season, including a major and two lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs events.
Zalatoris set a money record, too, when he tied for second at Brookline. He now has $6,441,437, the most of any player for a single season without having won. That breaks the mark set last year by Louis Oosthuizen ($6,306,679).
Short stuff
The USGA moved to a forward tee and a front pin on the par-3 11th for the final round at The Country Club, making it play 108 yards. That’s the official number, but adjusted for elevation, USGA officials said it played 98 yards.
That would appear to be keeping with a short-term trend, no pun intended.
Next year at Los Angeles Country Club will make it three times in the last four years the U.S. Open had a hole that played under 100.