Fox Sports Confirms Buck & Norman For 18th Tower; The Two Are Expected To Meet Very Soon!
/Fox Sports hosted a conference call to kick of its move to covering USGA golf starting in 2015 and as you'd expect from a network not currently doing golf, this was a first of many baby steps in what will be a tall task in starting a major championship broadcast team.
Joe Buck, who shouldn't have any trouble assimilating after working World Series and Super Bowls, said all the right things about his love for golf, his excitement about the USGA, etc. There were the expected "Tommy" O'Toole references to the current USGA President. So yes, viewers will have to endure in year one of good ole boyisms when the St. Louis natives do everything but engage in leaping man-hugs on air.
Buck admitted that Fox can't "feel our way" as they are starting off with a Super Bowl of a golf telecast and admirably admitted that he has not yet met his announce partner, Greg Norman.
As for Norman, he sounded like he was doing the call in bed. The Great White Shark was asked about his lack of experience as a lead announcer, and "begged to differ," citing the many times he visited the 18th hole announce booth during his playing days. Whether those experiences translate to a six-hour broadcast will be another story.
Regarding a test run, producer Mark Loomis was non-committal, though Norman insisted "whether in Florida" or elsewhere, the team will get together and bond. Greg might even open the wine cellar if you bring the meaning to him boys! Now, wearing headsets, watching golf and trying to simulate an actual broadcast did not sound like a concern for the Shark, who also assured that there will be no "I" in the Fox Sports team. So you can be assured, the cliches will be flowing.
Loomis said the broadcast team would ultimately include 8-10 voices, which would be mirroring the old ABC golf approach. And Loomis said that Norman and Buck will work the big four USGA events: U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur.
The Fox Sports team plans to be studying the "mechanics" of the U.S. Open in June at Pinehurst, though beyond committing to nightly recaps on Fox Sports 1, it was unclear what else the team could do without access to the television production compound and broadcast feed.
Here's the full release, For Immediate Release:
FOX SPORTS TABS BUCK & NORMAN FOR 18TH GREEN TOWER
FOX Sports’ Signature Voice & Seven-Time Emmy Award Winner to Anchor Coverage;
“The Shark” Comes Aboard as Lead Golf Analyst
Duo Calls Action for USGA Championships Beginning 2015
Los Angeles – Joe Buck, a seven-time Emmy Award winner and a signature voice of FOX Sports for 20 years, and “The Shark,” Greg Norman, a 2001 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee who spent 331 weeks ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, have been teamed to anchor FOX Sports’ coverage of the USGA Championships beginning in 2015. The announcement was made today by Eric Shanks, President, COO & Executive Producer, FOX Sports and John Entz, Executive Vice President, Production & Executive Producer, FOX Sports.
“We’re really excited to pair Joe Buck, one of the most talented voices in sports television and himself a pretty good golfer, with Greg Norman, one of the game’s best professionals ever,” said Shanks. “Joe and Greg are sure to bring an informative, entertaining style to the 18th tower, continuing the tradition of talented announcers and analysts who have brought energy and insight to USGA Championship broadcasts.”
“We are fortunate that the long history of our championship telecasts have benefited from the talent, experience and expert analysis from some of the finest broadcasters in the business,” said USGA Executive Director Mike Davis. “With Joe Buck and Greg Norman, the team that FOX Sports has begun to assemble will continue our long run of talented announcers, while maintaining the energy, insight and enjoyment that has become synonymous with USGA Championship broadcasts.”
Buck, an avid golfer currently playing at a 3 handicap, joined FOX Sports in 1994 and has become one of sports’ premier broadcasters. Buck handles lead play-by-play duties for the network’s Emmy Award-winning coverage of Major League Baseball and the National Football League.
Buck has held lead MLB on FOX play-by-play duties since 1996. At age 27, he became the youngest play-by-play announcer to call the World Series since the legendary Vin Scully (age 25) in 1953. Buck has called 15 All-Star Games and World Series and 17 League Championship Series. He has been lead voice of the NFL on FOX since 2002, and has called 12 NFC Championship Games and four Super Bowls including Super Bowl XLVIII, the most- watched television program ever in the U.S.
Norman, labeled the "Great White Shark" during the 1981 Masters Tournament, won 91 professional events in his career, including 20 PGA TOUR titles. Victorious in two majors, he won the British Open Championship in 1986 and 1993, and became the first person in PGA TOUR history to surpass $10 million in career earnings. Norman received the Arnold Palmer Award in 1986, 1990 and 1995 as the PGA TOUR’s money leader, and in 1995, after three TOUR wins, he was named PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Norman captained the 2009 and 2011 Presidents Cup International teams and recently ranked No. 2 on Golf World’s list of Best Modern Golfers.
Off the course, Norman is an incredibly accomplished businessman, serving as Chairman and CEO of Great White Shark Enterprises, a multinational corporation that comprises several companies and divisions, including Greg Norman Golf Course Design, which has completed over 75 courses around the world and has over 30 additional courses in development. Norman’s business portfolio also includes his production company that manages three PGA TOUR events including the Franklin Templeton Shootout, which was founded by Norman in 1989. Norman’s passion and knowledge for course design, as well as his experience in event management, add dimensions of understanding for viewers as he joins Buck as FOX Sports’ lead golf broadcast team.
In addition to course design and event management, Great White Shark Enterprises includes Greg Norman Estates Wine, Greg Norman Australian Prime, Greg Norman’s Australian Grille, Great White Shark Opportunity Fund, Southern Cross Developments, Greg Norman Interactive, Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy, Greg Norman Collection and Greg Norman Eyewear, as well as several other merchandising and licensing ventures. He also maintains business partnerships with several well-known global brands including Dow Chemical, COBRA Golf, OMEGA, Club Car, Sandals Resorts and Pacific Links.
Norman has been involved with the Advisory Council for the Environmental Institute for Golf, which is a collaborative effort between the environmental and golf communities. He also hosts the Franklin Templeton Shootout, which benefits CureSearch for Children’s Cancer. In addition, Norman lends his hand to developing future golf talent through the Greg Norman Junior Golf Foundation, which provides professional guidance and instruction to young golfers in Australia, and his advisory role to the China Golf Association in its bid to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio.
A native of Queensland, Australia, Norman spent his childhood surfing and diving off the waters off Queensland’s coast. Norman was also an accomplished rugby and Australian Rules Football player before taking up golf at the age of 15. Just two years after taking up golf, Norman was a scratch golfer, and four years later he would win his first professional golf tournament at the West Lakes Classic in Australia.
The United States Golf Association (USGA), which governs the game of golf worldwide with The R&A, and FOX, the No.1 network for sports television since 1997, announced a comprehensive multi-media agreement last August that makes FOX Sports and FOX Sports 1 the principal domestic media partner of the USGA and the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open Championships, as well as the USGA’s national amateur championships and other live content, beginning in 2015. The landmark agreement brings premier major championship golf for the first time ever to FOX, home to the country’s greatest sports events, including the World Series, Daytona 500, Super Bowl LI and 2018 and 2022 World Cup.
Mark Loomis is Coordinating Producer and lead event producer of FOX Sports’ golf coverage. John Entz serves as Executive Producer and Executive Vice President, Production, FOX Sports and Eric Shanks is President, COO and Executive Producer, FOX Sports.
