Kevin Kisner was named NBC Sports’ lead analyst after a yearlong search

NBC Sports has a new lead voice, and his name is Kevin Kisner.

After a year-long search, NBC announced Wednesday that Kisner will become the new lead analyst for golf coverage, ending the revolving door in the lead booth following the departure of Paul Azinger in December 2023.

Kisner, an 18-year PGA Tour professional, will retain limited PGA Tour playing privileges as part of the deal, allowing him the freedom to play the remainder of his tour eligibility while still completing a full-time broadcast program. According to an NBC press release, the deal will see Kisner in the booth for NBC Sports’ coverage of the US Open, Open Championship and Ryder Cup in 2025.

Kisner appeared to be NBC’s favorite choice for the top role since at least February, when he entered the booth for a handful of welcome main chair positions at Sentry, the WM Phoenix Open and The Players Championship. The question, it seemed, centered on whether Kisner was willing to give up the final days of his professional playing career to take the job.

The profession for a long time said Hot microphone in January since he had “no plans” to retire for a job in golf television, but admitted that the realities of pro golf may eventually push him in that direction. In April, he said Loop podcast that upon further reflection, he had decided that he was not ready to leave the golf pros.

“I haven’t played well in two years and I don’t want to go out like that, to be honest with you,” Kisner said. “I feel like I can still compete with the guys if I play well, which I haven’t played well yet I think. So it’s kind of a test for myself to see, hhow hard you can work to understand it?”

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Kisner’s indecision appeared to put NBC in a bind. The network parted ways with Azinger acrimoniously just months ago after an up-and-down five years, and (perhaps wisely) wanted to avoid rushing to name a replacement. As such, NBC waited until May to announce Brandel Chamblee as the lead analyst for its biggest telecast of 2024, the US Open, and Luke Donald for the second-the biggest broadcast, The Open Championship. As part of those announcements, NBC said it would spend the remainder of 2024 experimenting with a series of lead voices under a new “odd-even” television structure. Based on hole number, the new structure would alternate broadcast duties between two sets of analysts and play-by-play broadcasters.

NBC Sports executive producer and head of golf production Sam Flood said at the time that the network could — and likely would WILL – wait until the off-season to hire a full-time voice.

“I think if we find the right person (we’ll hire someone full-time),” Flood said. “But now, we think for the audience, they’re benefiting from hearing all this different perspective. And it’s kind of fun every week to figure out who’s going to be in and how it all comes together. For the rest of this year, we’ve done just that – but who knows what will happen next year?

With Wednesday’s announcement, Kisner becomes just the third full-time lead analyst for NBC since the Clinton administration, stepping into a role long dominated by major league winners (which Kisner is not). Instead, the 40-year-old pro and four-time PGA Tour winner will try to define the next generation of golf broadcasters, relying on his well-regarded sense of humor, relationships with pro players and social media savvy to encourage yourself. a new generation of golf enthusiasts.

By keeping his PGA Tour privileges, Kisner could theoretically change his broadcast schedule significantly with a win. But playing in the events could also allow Kisner to serve a role similar to longtime CBS Sports analyst Gary McCord, who spent the formative years of his broadcasting career covering CBS’s weekend telecasts after cutbacks lost.

“If I won next week, I’d probably say, ‘OK, I can be done,'” Kisner said in April. “I just want to prove to myself that I’m not going to turn out like this.”

According to the press release, Kisner will slide past longtime NBC Sports voice Dan Hicks into the top chair in 2025. Over the summer, Flood expressed his desire to bring back Hicks, who had a contract that expires in 2024. Now, with apparently, Hicks is back in the play-by-play chair, and with a new partner to boot.