Sorry to be negative but ABC's coverage

[DCronan]

is perhaps the worst of all-time.

Even if one is strong enough mentally to freeze out the insipid comments from the announcers, as well as Strange and Azinger's inability to stay quiet for more than 4 seconds at a time, it is agonizing.....

I taped today's telecast (which is the way to do it, by the way....) and after they came back from commercial break, we were treated to watching 6 putts (3 of which were Eldrick's....2 putts and a replay of his first) and then they went on to another commercial break. This seems to be a pattern.

I wonder how much they are making from this telecast? It has more commercials/minute coverage than anything I've ever seen. Sort of the antithesis of The Masters. Give me Jim Nantz in Northeast Georgia all year over this heap of steaming........

Simply brutal.

Thanks. I feel better.

[Bill_McBride]

Tirico is terrible.  He should be announcing reruns of All Star Bowling.....at 3 am.

[BHoover]

Tirico is terrible.  He should be announcing reruns of All Star Bowling.....at 3 am.

Could be worse...ESPN could have trotted out, gulp, Chris Berman.
 

But there are WAY too many commercials and WAY too few golf shots being shown, especially early this morning.

[Mac Plumart]

Brandel Chamblee, please.

[ed_getka]

Just mute the TV and enjoy the golf that gets squeezed in between commercials.

[BHoover]

Much more enjoyable when you're watching on a delay and can use the remote to fast forward through all the commercials.

[Ed Brzezowski]

Tirico is terrible.  He should be announcing reruns of All Star Bowling.....at 3 am.

Yo dude I watch that sometime , how about the local forecast on the weather channel?

[BHoover]

Much more enjoyable when you're watching on a delay and can use the remote to fast forward through all the commercials.

True, but it illustrates just how many commercials they have because I'm now aware at how many times I hit the fast forward button.

No doubt it's ridiculous. But it's the only way to make the best of the poor coverage.

[Bill Gayne]

The quality of camera work and the resolution provided by HD TV is excellent and that's what a telecast is really all about. Years from now we won't be looking at a grainy replay of the 2013 Open. The camera positioning and angles are outstanding.

[Greg Beaulieu]

In Canada, up to a few years ago we were treated to the BBC feed over the first 2 days of The Open, at least for the first few hours of coverage each day. It was truly enjoyable to watch. I don't know why TSN doesn't buy those rights for the whole telecast, unless their relationship with ESPN requires them to use the ESPN feed now.

[RJ_Daley]

....now that we've had our obligatory major championship tournament thread about, "I hate the announcers, network producers and directors, and all asshats associated therewith" ... 

How can you rip on the decision to cut twice to Lindsey as her man approaches the 18th to her adoration, and then her taking a 'selfie' to memorialize the auspicious moment.  Who says the broadcast direction isn't 'relevant' ? 

Com'mon gents, there are some bright spots!  I love the tracer of ball flight, and generally the camera angles are good.  Some announcers and interviewers are naturally better than others.   

[Anthony Butler]

Might I suggest ESPN 3 through your laptop or iPad... They offer the International feed which is the BBC coverage with no commercials, instead of Paul Azinger and his empty headed drivel, you get Peter Alliss and Ken Brown with a little Frank Nobilo thrown in.

[Chris Buie]

When they finally take me down to stay with that chap who has the pitchfork I just know they are going to make me listen to the charm free commentary of Azinger and Strange over and over.
I'll bet you a considerable sum that other than possibly in school neither of those two have read a significant novel in their life - in other words illiterate. Field and Stream along with Tom Clancy is about as far as their bandwidth can take them and that's reflected in their unbelievably lame commentary. I'd tell them to go back and listen to Longhurst and Alliss do it properly but really I don't think it would do much good.
Other than that it's always enjoyable to watch Scottish golf on American TV.

[Dean Stokes]

And who is the interviewer? It is cringe worthy.

[Dan Herrmann]

DirecTV channel 705 is the BBC feed

[noonan]

Nobilo and Chamblee would be a great team to comment!

[Mark Bourgeois]

is perhaps the worst of all-time.

Even if one is strong enough mentally to freeze out the insipid comments from the announcers, as well as Strange and Azinger's inability to stay quiet for more than 4 seconds at a time, it is agonizing.....

I taped today's telecast (which is the way to do it, by the way....) and after they came back from commercial break, we were treated to watching 6 putts (3 of which were Eldrick's....2 putts and a replay of his first) and then they went on to another commercial break. This seems to be a pattern.

I wonder how much they are making from this telecast? It has more commercials/minute coverage than anything I've ever seen. Sort of the antithesis of The Masters. Give me Jim Nantz in Northeast Georgia all year over this heap of steaming........

Simply brutal.

Thanks. I feel better.

I have to ask: did you watch the PGA last year?

Jerry, Nobilo has been handling some of the play by play duties on the Beeb. Surprisingly good. Of course, there's a philosophical difference between how the BBC commentates golf v the US networks.

[Bill Shamleffer]

I enjoyed ESPN/ABCs broadcast very much this morning.  I watched a bit when they first came on the air, then went out for about half an hour, then watched the rest on DVR, speeding through the commercials.  Then during the tournament during a commercial break I would do some other things around the house for about half an hour, then watch the next 90 mins or so before I caught up with the current broadcast, so I avoided very few long commercial breaks.

I thought the morning portion before the leaders began was very entertaining.  It was like hanging out with some guys around the clubhouse hearing golf talk.  Trico does a GREAT job on golf.  He is much better than Jim Nantz and even better than Dan Hicks (who is fine on golf and also more enjoyable than Nantz.)  Tom Renaldi does fine with the interviews - we are not going to get anything great from a pro golfer at the range or coming off 18.

Scott Van Pelt also does a fine job.  I feel like the Van Pelt and Trico both know they are not golf insiders, but have done a great job truly understanding golf and handling their TV duties just fine for the full audience that covers a wide spectrum of golf knowledge and background.

I always enjoy hearing analysis from Andy North, and Judy Rankin.

Next unlike some others on this site I look foward to the short video essays during ESPN's Open telecast.  The look great, the music is great, and the essays are enjoyable little quick pieces.

But most significantly the technology with amazing close ups, high def, super slow mo, etc. are so good, no matter what one thinks of the announcers, the telecasts of the present are so much better with the modern technology and modern home TVs.

When it comes to golf I would probably be viewed most as a golf snob - I prefer traditional equipment & courses, no carts, shorter courses, match-play, etc.  But I also have VERY much enjoyed ESPN's Open Coverage this year and the last few years.

[Bill Gayne]

For those of you pining for Jim Nantz, I will offer you a sincere "Hello Friends."

[Matthew Rose]

More Andy North and Judy Rankin. And if they could get Alliss for part of the broadcast like they used to.

Less Curtis Strange. Less Paul Azinger. In fact, go deposit Azinger in a Florida swamp somewhere.

Tirico is improving.... he's actually had some good one-liners this week.

Obviously, Chris Berman needs to be as far away as possible. The R & A might have a restraining order on him preventing him from being within 1,000 miles of the British Isles.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Azinger was at his best (which is worst for the rest of mankind) when he presented a soliloquy about Woods' shoulders being "square", as well as his hips. Mind you, "

D Cronan,

I was stunned by the comment.

Unless I heard it wrong, he claimed that "golfers" shoulders weren't level, with one being lower than the other, and, he wasn't talking about their posture/alignment when they were playing golf.

Yesterday, some of Strange's comments weren't even strange, they were just ............ Moronic.




Zinger's" comments were not made while Eldrick was swinging; rather, it was made when he was watching Westwood putt out.

[Ed Brzezowski]

Pat, Strange is beyond moronic and in person is a total asshat.  His commentary is  boorish at best. We morons cannot condone his style nor his existence . He is a total DB

[Dan Herrmann]

Worst of all -- Strange is often just plain mean-spirited. 

[Jud_T]

How many comments have these two made where they had to immediately correct themselves;  a dozen each?  They're incompetant, underprepared and borderline unlistenable.  I picture Tirico going home each night and pouring himself a Quad Glenmorangie.  I can only imagine what class act Rankin thinks listening to these clowns blather on all day.  Ugh.

[Greg Tallman]

The only comments you need to remember from Strange were from The Memorial back in 96 or 97. Something along the lines of "this kid thinks he is just going to come out here and win day 1, he is in for a shock. He is going to have to learn to win just like everyone else."

Oops.