Veteran golf broadcaster Roger Maltbie is set to return to television coverage of five major PGA Tour events this year with Golf Channel. The 74-year-old analyst, whose contract was not renewed by NBC and Golf Channel in 2023, will start at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He expressed excitement about continuing his career as a fan of the game.
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — After NBC and Golf Channel opted not to renew his contract in 2023, popular golf analyst Roger Maltbie is making a comeback to PGA Tour broadcasts. Golf Digest reported that Maltbie, 74, has signed a deal to cover five key events for Golf Channel as the lead on-course reporter during weekdays and part of the weekend lead-in coverage.
The schedule begins this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a venue special to Maltbie who grew up in the Bay Area. He is best known for his memorable line, “It's just not a fair fight,” during Tiger Woods' dominant 15-shot victory at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Other events include the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, The Players Championship, the new Cadillac Championship at Doral, and the Memorial Tournament, marking the 50th anniversary of his 1976 win at Muirfield Village.
For the first time in his career, previously spent entirely at NBC since joining in 1991, Maltbie will work with CBS productions at Pebble Beach, Doral, and the Memorial. “That’s something I am really looking forward to, working with Jim Nantz and the CBS team, because it’s something I’ve never done before,” Maltbie told Golf Digest. “We’ve been on opposite deals, so that’s going to be interesting. You know, this is what I like to do. And I do what I’m told to do. Maybe that’s why they still use me some.”
Maltbie, who began broadcasting at the 1989 Ryder Cup, also has a separate agreement with NBC for the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open, and Senior PGA Championship. “I’m excited that they still want me to do this, and I guess they feel like I am still someone viewers want to listen to,” he said. “The bottom line is that I want to keep going because I’m a fan of the game.”
Following a limited role after his 2022 departure from NBC, Golf Channel executive Tom Knapp reached out in December, praising Maltbie as an institution in on-course reporting.
