Luke Donald to join NBC booth in tryout for lead analyst job: Report

It seems we now know the subsequent candidate to audition for the NBC Golf lead analyst job, and it’s a shock: former World No. 1 Luke Donald.

According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, Donald will join the NBC Golf booth on the subsequent two PGA Tour occasions on the schedule: subsequent week’s Cognizant Classic in Florida and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, which begins March 7.

Sports Business Journal additionally notes that, “Donald is expected to appear in some form on Thursday of the Cognizant broadcast and join play-by-play man Dan Hicks as part of a two-man booth on the weekend.”

Donald, 46, nonetheless performs on the PGA Tour, the place he has collected 5 victories in his lengthy profession, most not too long ago on the 2012 Transitions, to associate with seven DP World Tour wins. He rose to No. 1 in the Official World Golf rating in 2011 and spent 40 weeks in the highest spot.

Though his success on the course has waned in latest years, golf followers are very accustomed to him thanks to his starring efficiency as European Ryder Cup captain final yr in Rome, the place he led his group to a cushty 16.5-11.5 victory over the U.S. group.

Donald’s captaincy was unanimously lauded by gamers, and in November it was introduced that he would captain Team Europe as soon as once more in 2025 at Bethpage Black in New York.

Donald is simply the newest in a rising checklist of individuals to earn a reside tryout for the NBC Golf lead analyst place, which was vacated in November when NBC and then-analyst Paul Azinger introduced they had been parting methods.

Others who’ve auditioned up to now embrace PGA Tour professional Kevin Kisner, who manned the booth at The Sentry and the WM Phoenix Open, and NBC/Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who took the reins on the American Express.

At this week’s Mexico Open at Vidanta, veteran caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay shall be in the NBC booth. However, Mackay’s look shouldn’t be thought of a tryout for the everlasting lead analyst job. Mackay, who’s at present Justin Thomas’ caddie, served as an on-course reporter for NBC Golf from 2017-2021 following an extended profession carrying Phil Mickelson’s bag.

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As managing producer for GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes tales on GOLF.com, and manages the model’s e-newsletters, which attain greater than 1.4 million subscribers every month. A former two-time intern, he additionally helps maintain GOLF.com buzzing exterior the news-breaking tales and repair content material offered by our reporters and writers, and works with the tech group in the event of latest merchandise and revolutionary methods to ship an interesting web site to our viewers.