SOUTHPORT, England — Of the relatively small list of potential witnesses to Bryson DeChambeau’s earth-shattering two-shot penalty on Friday at the Open Championship, there is at least one surprise entrant.
His name? Mike Tirico. The NBC Sports lead voice and legendary sports broadcaster is calling the action this weekend on Saturday and Sunday from the golf course at Royal Birkdale, but on Friday afternoon he enjoyed the fun from a slightly different perspective. In a peach-colored NBC Sports polo and pants, he walked all 18 holes with the golfer who blew a hole straight in the side of the golf world: Bryson DeChambeau.
Tirico was not in his usual capacity on Friday afternoon. Rather than taking in the action from the booth overlooking the 18th fairway, Tirico was enjoying the second of two rare off-days in his life as a broadcast star. USA Network has the coverage from each of the first two days at the Open, which means Tirico is not required to spend vast chunks of his days on the air.
And how did Tirico spend his time? By walking 18 holes alongside the group that included DeChambeau, which proved to be rather fortuitous for a golf broadcaster hoping to get the inside scoop on the story of the weekend.
But here’s where things get really fun. Tirico wasn’t just walking inside the ropes as a broadcaster, he’d picked up a gig as a member of the production squad — sporting an earpiece and a microphone as he telegraphed information back to the production truck.
Tirico was working as a “spotter.” It was his job to keep track of players and golf balls and club selections and other developments for the production truck.
“You help the people up there in the truck,” Tirico told GOLF Friday. “You call up and say, ‘so and so’s hitting next, he’s hitting his second shot.’ You’re watching every shot for every player in making sure the broadcast knows the hitting order and what the shot ultimately does.”
The spotter is a vital role in any golf broadcast — a person responsible for keeping the chaos of a telecast organized. But as any self-respecting spotter will tell you, it’s not a job typically occupied by Super Bowl narrators.
In fact, spotters and runners are frequent first jobs for eager college grads, which makes Tirico’s involvement on Friday all the more interesting.
What on earth was he doing in the fray? Simple. He was improving.
“Honestly I just wanted to learn the job,” he said Friday. “If you learn how things work behind the scenes, hopefully it makes you better.”
Tirico did not see anything ground-breakingly untoward with DeChambeau’s shot on the 5th hole that eventually resulted in a two-shot penalty. At least not in the sense that it would be at the top of mind in the minutes immediately following DeChambeau’s round. The memorable shot of the day, he said, belonged to Scottie Scheffler on the 17th.
“Scottie, three, seventeen,” he said, practicing the punchy vernacular he’d evidently learned that afternoon. “Even though he didn’t make the birdies today, that was shot was unbelievable.”
While it might seem strange to witness such a famous sports broadcaster in such an unglamorous setting, the reality isn’t nearly as unusual. In Tirico’s long and decorated career, he has earned a reputation as a tireless worker and a sports experience-seeker. Those who know him say he collects sports broadcast memories like some people collect art — willing to travel vast distances and inconvenience himself enormously for the chance to add another piece to his collection. He does it occasionally out of the hope it will make him better or more dynamic, but mostly out of genuine passion for the work.
As it turns out, few doses of marginal professional improvement are worth 18 holes and five hours of grunt work under the baking sun. You have to love it. Tirico does.
“I’ve covered major championships since 1997, I’ve never been inside the ropes for a full round at a major,” he said. “Every shot was incredible. Bryson’s ball off of the face of the club. The sound of that. The energy in the group. It was all really cool.”
Tirico said he was excited to get back to his real job when play resumed on Saturday morning the Open Championship, and for good reason. In less than two days’ time, he will help the NBC Sports team — from broadcasters right on down to spotters — tell the story of the final golf major of 2026.
But if you wanted to know how he did it? If you wanted to know what it takes to be one of the very, very best?
You just needed to walk Friday at the Open Championship alongside Tirico, where a long journey under the sun culminated in a first-person vantage point into the biggest story of the tournament.
It was a tiny shot of dumb luck, yes. But a much larger dose of good karma.
Mike Tirico has that in spades these days. He’s earned it.
You can reach the author at james.colgan@golf.com.
