Rich Lerner and Shane Bacon Provide Play-by-Play Along with Analysts Justin Leonard, Paul Azinger and Paige Mackenzie
David Feherty, Karen Stupples and Tom Abbott Serve as Tower Announcers; Jim “Bones” Mackay and Kay Cockerill Serve as On-Course Reporters
Anna Whiteley, Todd Lewis and Bacon Host Studio Coverage; Steve Sands and Lewis Provide Reports From Tokyo
NBC Sports Presents More Than 25 Hours of U.S. Women’s Open Coverage Beginning Tomorrow, Thursday, June 3 Across NBC, GOLF Channel and Peacock
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 2, 2021 – NBC Olympics today named its golf announce team for the Tokyo Olympics. The golf competition begins July 28 on GOLF Channel with live coverage of the men’s tournament from Kasumigaseki Country Club.
NBC Olympics will utilize nearly 15 play-by-play commentators, analysts, on-course reporters, and hosts to cover the Olympic golf tournaments, including six commentators who will make their NBC Olympics debuts.
“Golf made a fantastic return to the Olympic Games in 2016 after a century-long absence and we are excited for another compelling event this summer. We can’t wait for the first tee shot,” said Molly Solomon, Executive Producer and President, NBC Olympics Production & Executive Producer, GOLF Channel.
Leading coverage on-site in Tokyo are play-by-play commentator Rich Lerner, analysts Justin Leonard and Paige Mackenzie, tower announcer David Feherty, on-course reporters Jim “Bones” Mackay and Kay Cockerill, host/reporter Todd Lewis and reporter Steve Sands.
Leading coverage based from NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., will be play-by-play commentator and host Shane Bacon, analyst Paul Azinger, tower announcers Tom Abbott and Karen Stupples, and studio host Anna Whiteley.
This week, NBC Sports will present live coverage of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open across NBC, GOLF Channel and Peacock, beginning tomorrow, Thursday, June 3 through Sunday, June 6 from The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif.
Rich Lerner (play-by-play), Paige Mackenzie (analyst), Tom Abbott (tower), Kay Cockerill and Karen Stupples (on-course reporters) will be part of the commentary team at Olympic Club.
Rich Lerner makes his NBC Olympics play-by-play debut providing commentary for both men’s and women’s golf. Lerner has been a studio host and play-by-play commentator for GOLF Channel for nearly 25 years, leading the network’s Golf Central Live From studio coverage from golf’s biggest events, including golf’s return at the 2016 Rio Games. He will be the lead play-by-play voice for NBC Sports’ coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open this weekend.
David Feherty returns for his third overall NBC Olympics assignment and second providing tower commentary after his debut at the 2016 Rio Games in the same capacity. Feherty has been as an analyst and tower announcer for NBC Sports since 2011. He served as an NBC Olympics correspondent at both the 2016 and 2018 Olympic Games.
Justin Leonard makes his NBC Olympics debut as an analyst in the 18th tower at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan. Leonard joined NBC Sports in 2015 as analyst for GOLF Central Live From and PGA TOUR tournament coverage. Leonard won the 1997 Open Championship and was a member of three U.S. Ryder Cup teams, most memorably helping the United States to victory in 1999 at Brookline.
Paige Mackenzie makes her NBC Olympics debut in Tokyo and will serve as the lead analyst of women’s golf from the 18th tower. Mackenzie made her GOLF Channel debut in 2012 and serves as an analyst for NBC Sports’ coverage of LPGA Tour, college and women’s golf events, including the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Jim “Bones” Mackay makes his NBC Olympics debut and will provide on-course reporting from Kasumigaseki Country Club. Mackay joined NBC Sports in 2017 as an on-course reporter following a 25-year stretch as caddie for Phil Mickelson that would encompass five major championships, 42 PGA TOUR wins and 22 consecutive appearances on Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams.
Kay Cockerill returns for her second NBC Olympics assignment as an on-course reporter, following her debut at the 2016 Rio Games. Cockerill has been with GOLF Channel since the network’s inception since 1995 and provides commentary for NBC Sports’ LPGA Tour, college and women’s golf coverage.
Todd Lewis will host NBC Olympics’ studio coverage from Tokyo and conduct player interviews, reprising his role from the 2016 Rio Games. Lewis currently serves as a studio host and on-site reporter for GOLF Channel’s Golf Central studio coverage, and also serves as an occasional tower announcer for NBC Sports’ PGA TOUR live tournament coverage.
Steve Sands returns for his fourth overall assignment with NBC Olympics and his second covering golf after the sport’s return at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Sands serves as lead interviewer for NBC Sports’ PGA TOUR coverage and has previously reported on speedskating at the 2014 and 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
Shane Bacon makes his NBC Olympics debut and will provide play-by-play commentary and host studio coverage. Bacon joined NBC Sports earlier this year and currently serves as host of Golf Today on GOLF Channel. He previously contributed play-by-play at both the U.S. Open (FOX) and for featured groups coverage at The Masters.
Paul Azinger makes his NBC Olympics debut as an analyst. Azinger joined NBC Sports in 2019 and currently serves as the network’s lead analyst in the 18th tower. Winner of the 1993 PGA Championship and a member of five U.S Ryder Cup teams as a player and captain, Azinger’s previous television experience includes stints as lead golf analyst for ABC/ESPN and later FOX Sports for its slate of USGA Championships.
Tom Abbott returns for his second NBC Olympics assignment as a tower analyst following his debut at the 2016 Rio Games. Abbott joined GOLF Channel in 2005 and serves as a tower announcer and play-by-play host for LPGA Tour tournament coverage, along with select PGA TOUR events.
Karen Stupples reprises her role from the 2016 Rio Games and will be a tower analyst for the Tokyo Olympics. Stupples, who won the 2004 Women’s British Open, joined GOLF Channel in 2013 and handles both on-course reporting and analyst duties for NBC Sports’ LPGA Tour and college golf coverage.
Anna Whiteley makes her NBC Olympics debut as a golf studio host. Whiteley joined GOLF Channel in 2019 and serves as a host on Golf Today and Golf Central. Previously, she hosted Golfing World weekly on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and conducted player interviews and presented features for the network.
ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. NBC Olympics is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032. NBC Olympics also produces thousands of hours of Olympic sports programming throughout the year, which is presented on NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms.
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