The revolving door for NBC Sports’ lead expert position continues to walk around and around.
The network will have Jim “Bones” Mackay in the cubicle today at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, which Golfweek initially reported.
It will be the very first time an active caddy acts as a broadcaster for a PGA Tour occasion, as Mackay presently loops full-time for Justin Thomas. He has actually been on Thomas’s bag given that 2021, that includes Thomas’s 2022 PGA Championship victory at Southern Hills.
Mackay is no complete stranger to broadcasting.
He functioned as an on-course press reporter for NBC and the Golf Channel from 2017-2021, in between his caddying stints for Phil Mickelson and Thomas.
Throughout that period, Mackay got significant appreciation for his understanding and insight, providing a point of view rarely heard by golf fans and audiences.
Justin Thomas and Jim McKay go over how to play a shot throughout the 2023 Hero World Challenge. Image by David Cannon/Getty Images
Definitely, numerous fans will invite Mackay back with open arms.
For Thursday’s opening round of the Mexico Open, Mackay will go back to his previous function as an on-course press reporter, strolling the course together with highlighted groups. For Friday, Saturday, and Sunday’s telecasts, Mackay will sign up with host Dan Hicks and seasoned Brad Faxon in the cubicle.
NBC Sports has actually had various characters fill deep space left by Paul Azinger, who left the network following the Ryder Cup.
At The Sentry and the WM Phoenix Open, PGA Tour fan preferred Kevin Kisner sat along with host Dan Hicks in the lead expert chair. His calm, lovely disposition, together with his excellent funny bone, served the broadcast well.
Brandel Chamblee delved into the fray, too, acting as the lead expert at The American Express, which saw amateur Nick Dunlap catch the title.
Paul McGinley and Curt Byrum have actually beinged in that seat, too, providing their fantastic know-how to NBC’s audience.
Mackay’s function with NBC Sports will be brief. With Justin Thomas taking the week off, Mackay had a break in his schedule and hence decided to assist his previous company. All indications suggest that this will be a one-week gig.
This is not always brand-new, per se. McKay likewise provided an assisting hand in 2015 at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
Jack Milko is a golf personnel author for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Make sure to have a look at @_PlayingThrough for more golf protection. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko .
