Golf
Golf Channel Has Silenced David Feherty, 1 of the Most Entertaining Voices in Sports
John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR. Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls. John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.
Get to know John Moriello betterPublished16 Jan 2021
You pretty much knew that David Feherty would have great stories to share after he told the one about how he shot the best 18 holes of his life despite a “blind hangover.” But Feherty was even better at drawing interesting anecdotes out of fellow golfers like Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy as well as other celebrities on Feherty, his long-running show on Golf Channel.
Unfortunately, there will be no more such stories for a while, at least not on Golf Channel.
David Feherty is well-schooled in golf
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Before going into golf broadcasting, David Feherty was pretty good at the sport himself. The native of Northern Ireland won five times on the European Tour from 1986 to ’92, beating Paul Azinger and Ian Baker-Finch in playoffs in the process.
Feherty made the cut at the British Open six times, but it was a cut that he made on the European Tour in March 1991 at the Catalan Open that is the basis for a funny story. Feherty thought he had missed the 36-hole cut on Friday, prompting him to stay out drinking.
“My pal Sam Torrance and I went out and we had a few adult beverages. It was one of those nights where you say, ‘I’ll have one more and then I’ll stay.’ Then I got in about 4:30 in the morning,” Feherty said, according to USA Today.
Feherty surprisingly learned he made the cut after all and was scheduled for a 6:30 a.m. start. He would have to play through what he termed a “blind hangover.”
“I went out in 31, and came back at 30, and I honestly can say that at no stage during the round did I know where I stood,” he said. “I went from just making the cut by a shot to being two behind.”
Throwing up on the third tee taught Feherty a lesson, so he was in bed early to be ready for the final 18 holes.
“I decided I better suck it in here and act like an adult. So, I did,” he said. “And then I went out and shot a 75 the following day.”
Actually, Feherty shot a 72 and placed second to Jose Maria Olazabal.
David Feherty informs and entertains on the air
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David Feherty made the move from playing golf to reporting on it in 1996 when he joined CBS Sports’ coverage of the PGA Tour. He moved to NBC in 2015, but along the way Feherty picked up some work on Golf Channel. His Feherty show began in 2011 and totaled 150 episodes. He even earned an Emmy nomination in 2014.
Along the way, Feherty hosted many of golf’s biggest names like Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Annika Sorenstam, and Rory McIlroy. But the guest list also included celebrities like Michael Jordan, Samuel L. Jackson, and four U.S. presidents.
Whether on his show or covering tournaments, Feherty has developed a reputation for hilarious observations. A few of them:
- On caddie Rodney Wooler: “Not only was Rodney never on the same page as me, he was seldom in the same book and often not even in the same library.”
- On Jim Furyk’s swing: “It looks like a one-armed man trying to wrestle a snake in a phone booth.”
- Reacting to a wayward shot: “That ball is so far left Lassie couldn’t find it even if it was wrapped in bacon.”
Golf Channel has canceled ‘Feherty’
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After having its 2020 season derailed by the pandemic, Feherty will not return to Golf Channel in 2021 or any other year, according to Golf Digest. The network did not make a formal announcement, but David Feherty said he learned early in the pandemic that his show has not been renewed. The final episode, with 2019 British Open champion Shane Lowry, aired in September 2020.
“I think a lot of people are going to be surprised that it got canceled. It always sort of amazed me the (number of) people that watched,” Feherty said. “Ten years is a whole lot more than I thought I would do. I loved doing it.”
The good news for his fans is that Feherty’s contract for coverage on NBC and Golf Channel runs for three more years.
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