This weekend, NBC Sports is continuing its rotation of lead golf analysts after the departure of Paul Azinger by giving former reporter and current caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay a run in the broadcast booth. Mackay hasn’t even finished his assignment before we know who is next on the conveyor belt of golf personalities to come alongside Dan Hicks as lead analyst. The next man up is certainly a big name in the golf world who accomplished pretty much everything in his career except winning a major – English star Luke Donald.
According to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, it’s the turn of the most recent winning European Ryder Cup captain and former #1 ranked golfer in the world for a tryout in the 18th tower. Donald will get to call two tournaments on the Tour’s Florida Swing – the Cognizant Classic and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is next up in the NBC/Golf Channel booth.
He'll be on the call with Dan Hicks at the Cognizant Classic and Arnold Palmer Invitational: https://t.co/iZ5DS1uzSc
— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) February 23, 2024
At 46 years old, Donald’s serious playing days are behind him. During his career though, he notched five PGA Tour victories and another seven on the European Tour while also spending a total of 56 weeks as the top ranked golfer in the world.
Most recently, he captained Europe to a resounding victory in the 2023 Ryder Cup. His job was so well-regarded that the European team is taking the rare step of having him return as captain for the 2025 edition of the competition.
If Donald is in play as a candidate for the job, NBC could certainly do worse. But it remains to be seen whether he or the network would be interested in a long-term marriage. It’s noteworthy that Donald is getting two weeks as well as a chance at the Bay Hill tournament, which is usually one of the most stacked fields in the early season tour calendar. He joins a list of internal and external individuals who have had a turn in the NBC tower along with Kevin Kisner, Curt Byrum, Brandel Chamblee, Paul McGinley, and Mackay.
