Roger Maltbie gives his side of the story in the Padraig Harrington dispute
Andrew Wevers
It was late Friday, following the second round of the U.S. Senior Open, when a video went viral of NBC Sports on-course analyst Roger Maltbie and Padraig Harrington having words toward each other. It was bizarre, coming from two of the more well-liked people in the golf business.
Turns out Harrington was a little miffed that Maltbie didn’t help him find his ball on the 15th hole during the second round at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
"You've played golf all your life," Harrington can be heard saying. "You understand."
Maltbie, who played on the PGA Tour for more than 20 years and has worked for NBC Sports for longer than that, would not back down.
"I'm not a player," he said.
Harrington didn’t seem to care and his contention was that if you’re in the general vicinity it’s proper to help the player look for his lost nugget. (Ultimately, Harrington went on to win his second U.S. Senior Open title, shooting 68-67 on the weekend to end at 11-under total and beat Stewart Cink by a shot.)
“I can’t do it from inside the thick of the trees,” Maltbie told Golf.com. “So I stayed outside, and then [Harrington] walked near me and he said, ‘You could help search for the ball,’ and I just didn’t respond.”
Maltbie continued and said, “the odds of finding it were slim.”
“Every time I tried to explain to him [my position], he said, ‘It’s poor etiquette. It’s golf etiquette to help somebody in search for a ball, and that I should know better after the years of playing,” Maltbie said.
“I tried to say, ‘Listen, I have a boss. I’m not a player,’ and if I were a spectator or certainly playing with him, I would have helped him search for his ball. But I was under instructions. It just wouldn’t work. But he wanted no part of it.
“I was very close to saying, ‘All these years, all these checks I’ve gotten from NBC, your name isn’t on any of them. I mean, his caddie works for him, so I’m sure his caddie does what Padraig tells him to do. Well, I have an employer, and if they tell me basically what I’m going to do or what they want from me, I have to honor that. But he just doesn’t see it that way.”
Maltbie’s friend, and longtime NBC Sports commentator Mark Rolfing sent a note late on Twitter saying, “FYI, everyone, all is good! Harrington has apologized to Roger and Rog has fully accepted.”
So, case closed?
