Golf Q&A: Mike Tirico
MI Golf Journal covered the U.S. Sr. Women’s Open played at Barton Hills in Ann Arbor, the club that well-known NBC-TV sports host Mike Tirico has called home for more than two decades. Tirico is NBC’s lead play-by-play announcer for NFL Sunday Night Football, for NBA games, is the primary primetime host for NBC’s Olympics coverage – and has both horse racing and golf duties where he has hosted the Triple Crown races, and golf majors like the U.S. Open and The Open Championship.
Question: Who would you pick at age 30, Tiger or Jack?
Answer: “Here’s what I learned a long time ago covering sports. Comparisons are stupid. Why? They create great conversation. They’re circular. There are no definitive answers. I’m a black and white answer kind of guy more than anything else.
“Both of their careers are exceptional. If you ask me who ends up the best, I think most of the counting gets done by major championships. Jack at 18 and Tiger looking to be on his way there and never got there. So, their impact on the game was incredible, like Palmer’s impact on the game was incredible, because Arnold not only had the victories, but the popularity of the sport changed, especially when he went over to the British in the early 60s… and the impact of more Americans playing the global game.
“So, all of that factors in at the end of the day, but for me I think you can pick Jack or Tiger, just like you pick Michael or LeBron. There’s no definitive right answer. And I personally would be a little skewed, unfairly, having experienced Tiger in person. I didn’t experience Jack’s success in person. I’ll let everyone have their debate, and who you don’t take, I will,” he added with a chuckle.
Q: Of all the voices in golf history, who would you pick as host, your two analysts and an inside the ropes reporter?
A: “So many great people have done the job; my pal Dan Hicks and Dick Enberg (a Michigander). But Jim Natntz has to be that guy. He’s one of a kind, and he’s had a run like nobody has or will in the 18th tower of this sport. So, Jim would be that guy.
“Johnny Miller was an incredible analyst. I thought he was just spot on and sharp. There are so many others, but I’d say Johnny and Curtis Strange. Curtis is my guy. He helped me get into this. And every time Curtis is on the air you’re like, ‘you know what, he’s pretty darn good.’
“And on course, man, there’s so many choices. The current group is great. I’d have to go back to the original, Bob Rosburg. Rossie really invented the position if you will. There weren’t many on course before he started doing it, and he had a flavor and color that really brought you right into the pressure of the shot, and setting up the moment. I think everybody is a by-product of Rossie’s vision of how to do the job.”
(Side note on Rosburg: He played golf as a junior at the Olympic Club in San Fransico, and at the age of 12, he faced the then-retired baseball Hall of Famer from the Tigers, Ty Cobb, in the first flight of the club championship. He beat Cobb 7 and 6.
Tirico went on to praise Dottie Pepper and Julie Rankin, plus Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, and that “Roger Maltby is unbelievable still. There are a ton of great options with that question. Faherty was one of a kind with McCord and they would go back and forth. All great stuff.”
Q: Do you have a dream foursome?
A: “It’s the one that I get to play with every summer up north – my wife, my daughter and my son. There’s nothing like that. We’re lucky enough to play golf in the summer, in Michigan, which is great. And we’re all healthy and strong enough to carry our bags. A walk with the family. I’m so happy to play with a group I’ve known for life. It’s great that we can share the game with our families.”
Q: What are some of your thoughts on how the PGA Tour Rocket Classic turned out with Rocket’s sponsorship ending this year – and are their other options for the PGA Tour to stay here?
A: “I hope there are. I’ve worked PGA Tour events for the better part of 30 years now. And the Tour is certainly going through an adjustment period, because of LIV Golf and because of the way the ecosystem of the sport is changing. And that’s a reality that happens in every sport. We’d like to go back to simpler times, at times, but that’s not the case. And current conditions set the tone.
“You know, the PGA Tour really always aspired to have an event like you had in Detroit, at the Rocket. The gallery was a great cross section demographically, where we had a gallery that looks very different from most galleries on the PGA Tour. It was played downtown in one of America’s historically, foundational cities, Detroit. A third part is, the charitable giveback was significant – and was really impactful to bridge the digital divide (lack of Internet in many neighborhoods for example) in the city of Detroit.
“So, this is what the Tour always wanted, and if Rocket couldn’t continue to support the new level they’re asking for in support for the Tour, then maybe some others could have joined... I think the PGA Tour without a stop in Detroit is a PGA Tour that’s not as good as it can be.”
Q: can you summarize what the 8th U.S. Sr. Women’s Open was like at Barton Hills Country Club, how it all turned out from your viewpoint?
A: “First off, it’s a national championship, and there are so few of those. It has such importance in the world of golf. And just looking at the international winners in this event tells you how much it’s mattered internationally. Three Swedish winners now, with Laura Davies (2018) winning the first one. (Also won before by Annika Sorenstam in 2021, who also was runner up to the 2026 champion, Sweden’s Maria McBride.)
“Then you look at what it means for a club. We were lucky enough to host the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1998, and the Mid-Am in 2008. So very few clubs, beyond Michigan and around the country have hosted three different USGA Championships. For our club, it’s such a thrill to be in the spotlight and to be a part of the history of women’s golf in America.
“I’m so proud to be a member of this club… which has been here for 107 years – and I’ve been a member for just 25 of those years – but I’m pretty damn sure this is the best week that we’ve ever had a Barton Hills. What an honor to be attached to it and a small part of it.”
