Mark Immelman | |
---|---|
Born | Mark Immelman October 2, 1970 Somerset West, South Africa |
Education | Columbus State University |
Occupation(s) | Sports announcer, golf coach, author |
Website | Official Website |
Mark Immelman (born October 2, 1970) is a South African sportscaster, golf coach and author.
Immelman is currently the host of the On the Mark podcast on pgatour.com. [1] He also covers live golf for the PGA Tour on ESPN+ for PGA Tour Live, and CBS Sports. Mark is also an analyst on the CBS Sports digital podcast “The First Cut” and a golf analyst for CBS Sports HQ. [2] In addition to his broadcasting career, he's also a published author. [3]
Mark is the older brother of 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman [4] and son of former South African Sunshine Tour commissioner, Johan Immelman.
In four seasons playing for Columbus State, Immelman was a three-time All-American (1992, 94, 95) and a two-time Academic All-American [5] while winning multiple national championships (1992, 94) with Columbus State. [6]
Immelman has had instructional articles published in Compleat Golfer (South Africa) and Golf Digest South Africa. He has also authored the swing sequences of a number of leading golf professionals, including Major Champions, for both publications. He has also been published in Golf Digest USA [7] and has had some of his "On the Mark – Tips from The PGA Tour podcasts" published in Golf Magazine. [8]
He is also a published author of two eBooks. His first effort, Scandalously Simple – The Easy Way to Accurate Golf Shot was published and then recrafted; and a second edition of the book is for sale on Apple Books. [9] A second eBook, Golf is a Game of Recovery is also available.
Immelman got his start in golf broadcast when he made a number of appearances as a guest announcer on SuperSport TV in South Africa for various co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour events including the South African Open and the Alfred Dunhill Championship. In those early days, he was also afforded the opportunity to be a part of the European Tour Productions broadcast crew for the Joburg Open on the European Tour.
His career in broadcast on the PGA Tour began when he was included on the SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio crew for the 2012 A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. Immelman parlayed that outing into a 6-year tenure as one of Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio's leading play-by-play voices. His radio experience led to him hosting his own live streaming radio show called "On the Mark" on pgatour.com. The show aired for three days per week in 2015 and after one season the PGA Tour driven radio initiative morphed into a podcast called "On the Mark." [10] The first podcast was released in February 2016, and to date it has been downloaded over 6 Million times in over 125 countries.
Immelman's broadcast work for the PGA Tour also included him being a part of the "Live @" crew for pgatour.com for a short stint. The PGA Tour Entertainment Network grew steadily and became a digital subscription-based streaming service called PGA Tour LIVE. [11] Immelman (among others) was hired as one of the in-studio analysts as well as an on-course announcer for PGA Tour LIVE and has been a prominent announcer with the network since its inception.
While working for PGA Tour Live, Immelman has also appeared on DirecTV's featured groups coverage of various PGA Tour events, and the DirecTV LaunchPad Channel as an announcer and analyst. [12]
His work on PGA Tour Live led to him being hired by CBS Sports as a part of their 4K Television broadcast of the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol, NJ. His work in 4K expanded when he was offered analyst roles on The Masters broadcasts of "Masters On the Range," “Featured Groups" and "Amen Corner." [13] His career in the 4K broadcasts also had him being used as an on-course announcer, and he continued to grow and impress in his role at CBS Sports and he was eventually promoted and became a member of the Golf on CBS Sports network show announce crew in 2018. [2]
Immelman is also an analyst on the CBS Sports digital podcast "The First Cut" and a golf analyst for CBS Sports HQ. [14]
In his combined radio and television career, Immelman has broadcast two of the four Majors in professional golf (The Masters and the PGA Championship). He has also been an announcer at a number of World Golf Championships (WGC) events. He has also announced and called three Presidents Cups.
2009 NCAA Division II Coach of the Year [15]
2017 Columbus State Athletics Hall of Fame inductee [16]
Immelman lives with his wife, Tracy, and two daughters in Columbus, Georgia.
Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN).
James William Nantz III is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has anchored CBS's coverage of the Masters Tournament since 1989 and been the lead play-by-play announcer on CBS's NFL coverage since 2004. He was also the lead broadcaster for the NCAA men's basketball tournament from 1990 to 2023.
Gary Dennis McCord is an American professional golfer, commentator and author.
David William Feherty is a Northern Irish-born former professional golfer and current golf broadcaster. As a touring professional he won five European Tour events, competed at the Open Championship twice, and played on Europe's 1991 Ryder Cup team. Late in his career he joined the PGA Tour. Since retiring, he has worked as a television personality; from 1997 through 2015 Feherty served as an on-course reporter for the PGA Tour on CBS. In 2011, he introduced a self-titled interview series on the Golf Channel and subsequently joined NBC Sports full-time in 2016. In July 2022, it was announced that Feherty would depart NBC and become an analyst for LIV Golf.
Robert Daniel Clampett Jr. is an American television golf analyst, golf course architect, writer, and professional golfer, who played on the PGA Tour from 1980 to 1995. Clampett began playing on the Champions Tour in April 2010.
Trevor John Immelman is a South African retired professional golfer and television commentator who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tournament.
William August Kratzert III is an American professional golfer and sportscaster, who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.
Stephen Paul Marino Jr. is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.
Colt Knost is a retired American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. Beginning in January 2022, he became a regular analyst and on-course commentator for PGA Tour events televised by CBS Sports.
Golf telecasts have aired on NBC since 1954, with some of its earliest telecasts having included the 1954 U.S. Open, and the first televised coverage of the Ryder Cup in 1959.
PGA Tour on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of the PGA Tour that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States.
PGA Tour on ABC was the de facto branding used for telecasts of the main professional golf tournaments of the PGA Tour on ABC Sports in the United States until 2006. ABC broadcast at least one PGA Tour event from 1962 to 2009, focusing before 1995 on the majors, with the network serving as the primary television partner of the PGA Tour from 1999 until 2006.
Golf coverage on ESPN has been a regular feature of the cable sports channels' programming since soon after ESPN's launch in the United States in 1979.
Golf on USA is the umbrella title for USA Network's coverage of the PGA Tour and other golf events. in the United States. USA Network's own coverage of the PGA Tour ended after the 2006 season. USA also covered the early rounds of The Masters Tournament from 1982 until 2007. The network also carried the Ryder Cup Matches regularly from 1989 until 2006, as well as overflow coverage in 2010.
The PGA Tour's broadcast television rights are held by CBS Sports and NBC Sports, under contracts most recently renewed in 2021 to last through 2030. While it considered invoking an option to opt out of its broadcast television contracts in 2017, the PGA Tour ultimately decided against doing so. Golf Channel has served as the pay television rightsholder of the PGA Tour since 2007, and its current contract will also expire in 2021. Under the contracts, CBS broadcasts weekend coverage for an average of 20 events per-season, and NBC broadcasts weekend coverage for an average of 10 events per-season. Golf Channel broadcasts early-round and weekend morning coverage of all events, as well as weekend coverage of events not broadcast on terrestrial television, and primetime encores of all events. Tournaments typically featured in NBC's package include marquee events such as The Players Championship, the final three tournaments of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and the biennial Presidents Cup event. The 2011 contract granted more extensive digital rights, as well as the ability for NBC to broadcast supplemental coverage of events on Golf Channel during its broadcast windows.