The Loop

British Open 2017: NBC golf producer manages to show 84 percent of players in first-round coverage

July 20, 2017

When NBC and the Golf Channel had the U.S. Open, it was one of producer Tommy Roy’s quest to show every player in the field at least once over the first two rounds. And the quest hasn't changed now that the networks televise the British Open.

He came close in the first round on Thursday at Royal Birkdale, showing 131 of the 156 players, according to a Golf Channel PR Tweet, or 84 percent of the field.

Last year, at the British Open, Golf Channel’s executive producer Molly Solomon duly noted in a Tweet that Roy had touched them all in the first two rounds of at Royal Troon, as he is likely to do again in the first two rounds at Royal Birkdale.

Fourteen hours of coverage, as the Golf Channel had in the first round of the British Open and will do so again in the second round, no doubt simplifies the effort.

Wesley Bryan was the highest-ranked player in the field who has not been shown, according to Golf Channel's scorecard. Bryan is ranked 36th in the world. Brendan Steele at 51st and J.B. Holmes at 52nd in the rankings were the second and third highest-ranked players not yet shown.

Former British Open champion David Duval, a Golf Channel analyst, has not yet gotten airtime.