Jim Nantz delivers dig on LIV Golf before Dustin Johnson teed off at PGA Championship
The LIV Golf/PGA Tour rivalry is back at the forefront this week as golfers from both tours head to Rochester, New York for the PGA Championship. And for the second straight major, Jim Nantz saw an opportunity to have some fun at LIV’s expense.
As Dustin Johnson stepped to the tee, Nantz pointed out that the former world No. 1 won last week’s LIV event in Tulsa. He did so by indirectly — and very cleverly — pointing out TV stations cutting away from the tournament with a few holes to play.
“Not sure if you had a chance to see it, but he was a winner last week in Tulsa in a playoff over Cam Smith and Branden Grace,” Nantz said.
During the event in Tulsa last week, The CW opted to cut away from the tournament and instead show regular programming. That means no one got to watch the incredible finish between Johnson, Smith and Grace. Instead, fans got to watch everything from Black-ish to Young Sheldon to even Penn & Teller “Animal Style” on their screens.
However, LIV is going to stop reporting its TV viewership from U.S. broadcasts, according to Golf.com. Ratings have been very low since the tour launched last year. Now, it’ll be tougher to find out just how low they are.
Jim Nantz previously took a shot at LIV Golf during The Masters
This isn’t the first time Nantz has taken a shot at LIV’s TV reputation. During The Masters, as Brooks Koepka walked up to his ball, the legendary broadcaster said Koepka was walking up to the “CW.” Of course, he meant the crosswalk, but it was a word-play on the fact that LIV is broadcast on The CW.
“And there he is, right on The CW…the crosswalk,” Nantz said.
Johnson managed to turn in a solid first round of the PGA Championship on Thursday, finishing tied for third at 3-under after day one. He’s one of three players tied for third place, joining Corey Connors and Scottie Scheffler. Eric Cole leads the field at 5-under, closely followed by Bryson DeChambeau, who also plays on the LIV Tour.
Things haven’t been easy for the players this week, though. Through the first round, only 19 players shot under par and the scoring average was 73.64 on the par-72 course at Oak Hill. Round 2 will get underway Friday morning as the players look to make the cut.