Dottie To CBS; Will Be First Female On A Masters Broadcast

I was just formulating the "where will ESPN's talented broadcasters" post and already one of the gang has been taken, as Dottie Pepper heads to CBS where she will primarily serve as on-course reporter. One of the CBS on-course roles was available after David Feherty moved to NBC.

Doug Ferguson reports that Pepper was not hired because of her gender and while the CBS release (below) didn't make a big fuss about that, not mentioning her planned role on the Masters broadcast will be historic.

“We didn’t hire Dottie because she’s a woman,” McManus said. “We had been considering for a long time adding a woman to our crew, and this turned out to be perfect.”

The full CBS press release:

DOTTIE PEPPER JOINS CBS SPORTS GOLF ANNOUNCE TEAM

Dottie Pepper, veteran broadcaster and winner of 17 tournaments on the LPGA TOUR, joins CBS Sports as an on-course reporter and analyst for the CBS Television Network’s golf coverage beginning in 2016. The announcement was made today by Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports.

“Dottie is one of the most respected and insightful analysts in golf,” said McManus.  “She has played and covered the sport at its highest levels and her reputation, contacts and relationships within the game are outstanding.  We have the strongest ensemble of voices in golf, and the addition of Dottie to our team makes us even stronger and deeper.”

“I am excited to join CBS Sports and return to covering live golf full time,” said Pepper. “As an analyst you want to cover your sport at the highest level and being a part of the CBS Sports golf team with the strongest and best schedule in golf, including two majors, affords me the opportunity to do just that.”
Pepper will debut on CBS Sports on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 for the Network’s coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open. In addition to broadcasting CBS’s full slate of golf in 2016, she will remain with ESPN as an analyst for their golf coverage.

Pepper played on the LPGA TOUR for 17 years and was a 17-time winner, including two major championships; the Nabisco Dinah Shore (1992, 1999). She was named the 1992 LPGA Player of the Year and was the Vare Trophy Award winner for low-scoring average that same year. A six-time member of the U.S. Solheim Cup team and 2013 Assistant Captain, Pepper also was the 1991 and 1992 South Carolina Professional Athlete of the Year and the 1993 Jim Thorpe Award Winner.  In addition, she collected nine unofficial LPGA Tour wins and one win on the Japan LPGA Tour.

Pepper is currently a golf analyst with ESPN.  Upon retiring from the LPGA Tour in 2004, Pepper joined The Golf Channel as lead LPGA analyst and held that position until 2009. She was an on-course commentator/analyst for NBC Sports for the LPGA, Champions, PGA TOUR, PGA and USGA events from 2004-12, as well as a regular contributing columnist for Sports Illustrated Golf Plus from 2005-12.

She is a member of the PGA of America Board of Directors for a three-year term that began in November 2012 and a member of the KPMG Women’s PGA Leadership Advisory Council. Pepper is a co-author of Bogey Tees Off and Bogey Ballton’s Night Before Christmas children’s books and is a partner in ScooterPines Holdings.

Pepper earned a bachelor of arts degree from Furman University where she was the 1987 Furman University Athlete of the Year. She was born in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where she currently resides with her husband, David Normoyle.

Considering the volatile state of golf announcing right now and a recent exercise by another writer, Martin Kaufmann picks his dream team of announcers and Pepper is on the list.