ESPN’s golf coverage is secretly one of the network’s best productions

ESPN is pretty much is getting out of the golf business.

Next year’s British Open at Royal Troon will be ESPN’s finale for a while; a new deal with NBC kicks in for 2017. ESPN is out of the U.S. Open with Fox Sports beginning its deal this year. CBS and Turner Sports have the PGA Championship locked up through 2019. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour’s various pacts are through the early 2020s.

ESPN still has a premium nugget with the first two rounds of the Masters. But after the 2016 British Open, ESPN will watch the other networks cover golf’s biggest tournaments.

That’s too bad, because after consuming ESPN’s vast coverage of the British Open many golf fans, including this one, are longing for more.

Noted golf reporter Gary Van Sickle, who never is easy to please, wrote at Golf.com wrote:

“Suddenly, I’m disappointed that the Open is leaving ESPN in 2017 and going to NBC. This has been the best ESPN golf production I’ve ever seen. A lot of it has to do with having Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger in the tower most of the day. Tirico is a pro’s pro and never forgets that he’s the host and not the color analyst, unlike some other hosts. Azinger, meanwhile, re-established that he’s the most entertaining analyst in golf. Johnny Miller is the best and most insightful in the game but Azinger is Johnny’s slightly-more-contemporary equal but more conversational and irreverent and funnier. Nick Faldo at CBS? He can’t even caddie for Zinger in the booth.”

Even Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, who is even tougher to please, had some praise:

“ESPN’s most telling shot from the British Open, thus far, wasn’t of golf; it was of the invisible — the wind. Saturday, a bottle of water was held directly over a cup, inches away. As the water was poured, it blew sideways. Not a drop in the cup. Great TV.”

Fox Sports showed that trying to air 10-11 hours per day of golf is no easy task. Surely, Fox will adjust its coverage and get better for future U.S. Opens.

ESPN, though, showed how great golf coverage can be if done well. I go way back with Tirico to when he was breaking in as ABC’s host for golf. I remember telling him once at a Western Open in Chicago that I fully expected him to be the host of an Olympics some day. It still might happen if he ever leaves ESPN, but the Monday Night Football gig keeps him very happy. Bottom line: You could see back then that he is a true talent and that he would make it big.

So it always is a treat getting to hear Tirico navigate ESPN’s coverage of the British Open. The same holds true for Van Pelt. The former Golf Channel anchor not only knows the game, he has a passion for it. I would be thrilled to hear his voice on every golf telecast.

Azinger always has been a favorite. As he showed as the last victorious U.S. Ryder Cup captain, he has a bit of an edge to him. He is an entertaining listen.

Did anyone note that two of ESPN’s on-course reporters were women? It is great that Judy Rankin still is walking the fairways at age 70. Dottie Pepper also is solid with her analysis.

After watching Holly Sonders stumble her way through questions at the U.S. Open, you have more appreciation for how Tom Rinaldi handles post-round interviews. And praise to Gene Wojciechowski, one of the best in the business, for accentuating the coverage with his various features. Loved the one about the Old Course Hotel being pelted by balls by the recreational players on St. Andrews. I am proud to say I once bounced a drive off the hotel.

ESPN will have one last shot next year at Royal Troon. Expect the crew to go all out. Here’s hoping they get another tournament as good as this year’s. ESPN deserves a fitting finale at the British Open.