Kevin Kisner Talks NBC Analyst Debut, Needing a 'Bleep' Button and How LIV and PGA Tour Could Coexist

Kisner will sit next to Dan Hicks as the lead analyst for NBC Sports this weekend at The Sentry in Kapalua.

This week at The Sentry—the PGA Tour’s first event of 2024—Kevin Kisner will temporarily swap out his Wilson Golf hat for a headset. 

The four-time PGA Tour winner from Aiken, S.C., is set to join Dan Hicks in the NBC Sports booth as a lead analyst during Saturday and Sunday’s rounds at Kapalua’s Planation Course. Golf Channel also intends to bring him on as a guest for Friday’s broadcast as he completes his “tryout” for NBC’s vacant analyst role.

Kisner’s new gig comes in the wake of Paul Azinger’s split from NBC. After five years in the lead analyst position, Azinger did not receive a contract renewal from the network. Since then, NBC has been alternating analysts in a series of mini trial-periods. Paul McGinley stepped into the role during the Hero World Challenge and reports say Australian major champion Geoff Ogilvy will be given serious consideration. 

But this week in Hawaii and next month at the WM Phoenix Open, the channel is set to give Kisner—who has long been a fan favorite and infamous trash talker—a fair shot, too.

In an all-encompassing interview with Sports Illustrated, Kisner made it abundantly clear that he is thrilled to be dipping his toes into the media side of things, but he also has a lot to learn. On Wednesday afternoon, the 39-year-old sat in on his “first meeting as an employee, ever.” All week, he has been training and familiarizing himself with the flow of the broadcast in advance of his Saturday debut. Tommy Roy, NBC’s lead golf producer, was pivotal in recruiting Kisner for the job.

It’s unclear exactly how Kisner will balance a potential full-time NBC role with his PGA Tour career, which he asserts is not over. Despite struggling through the 2023 season and taking an extended hiatus from competition, Kisner feels like his game is in a solid place now. Three months of time at home with his wife and three children allowed him to reset completely. To start off the season, he’ll play in the Sony Open next week, followed by The American Express. (Oh, and he’s looking for a sponsor’s invitation for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He specifically asked for us to make note of his pursuit for a spot in the field.)

On top of the NBC job and his career intentions, we talked to Kisner about the plethora of developments in the golf world over the past six months including the framework agreement, Jon Rahm’s departure, Rory McIlroy’s softened LIV stance, team golf, and more.

Sports Illustrated: Congrats on the new gig. How did conversations with NBC first start?

Kevin Kisner: I’ve always had a good relationship with NBC. Tommy Roy, Curt Byrum, Dan Hicks—Steve Sands is a great friend of mine. Tommy and I have always flirted with it. He’s always said to me, “When you quit, I want to talk to you about coming over to our side.” Obviously, I haven’t thought about quitting the game yet, but he came up to me at the RSM Classic this year in November and said, “There may be an opportunity. I may need some help. Can I call you in a couple of weeks?” We talked about it the week after and he said, ‘Will you just give me a couple events on your schedule that would work?’ I thought, I’m already playing in the Sony Open, so why not fly over here earlier and see what I can do?

SI: Is TV something you’ve always wanted to do?

KK: I don’t think I’ve ever thought about wanting to do it. To be honest, I probably thought if I ever did do it, I’d be an on-course reporter, discussing the shots. [Roy] asked me to do the analyst side, and I’m not even sure what that entails. But I’m getting ready to find out. I’m going in blind. I’m just gonna wing it and see how I do, and let them tell me if I need to get better.

Kisner, 39, will serve as a lead golf analyst for NBC Sports at both The Sentry and the WM Phoenix Open.  :: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

SI: What are you most looking forward to about being an analyst? When you watch golf, do you ever think to yourself, “If I were announcing right now, this is what I’d say?”

KK: I don’t watch a ton of golf. I think what I’m gonna try to do is have a more personal level with each player, because I obviously spend a lot of time with all these guys and I’m friends with most of them. I want to describe golf more in “the wide.” I can explain why things happen, why guys are trying to do certain things and hit certain shots, because I’m still intimately involved in the game. The game is rapidly changing, so I think a newer perspective and a younger generation talking about it is going to be helpful.

SI: To follow up on that—how much golf do you actually watch? Did you grow up watching a lot of tournaments?

KK: I watched a ton of golf growing up with my dad. I remember watching the European Tour in the mornings on weekends. But most of the time in the afternoons on the weekends, I wanted to play golf or whatever sport I was playing at the time. The only tournament I watched in 2023 was my buddy Brian Harman winning the British Open. And I only watched the last couple of holes that he had pretty locked down at that point. So I don’t watch enough to be able to tell you what I’m doing to do differently on the broadcast. But I’m going to tell you exactly like it is all the time. That’s kind of how I roll.

SI: Have they made you a custom bleep button?

KK: (Laughs) The No. 1 and No. 2 questions I’ve gotten are: “Are you retiring from golf?” and “How long of a delay are they putting you on?” I asked [Roy] that question and he said, “Oh, no, there’s no delay.” I said, “Well what happens if I mess up?” And he said, “Well, you get canceled. I don’t.”

SI: How personal do you intend to get with your commentary on these players? What kinds of anecdotes can we expect?

KK: I’m going to get as personal as I can. I was on a trip with Brian Harman, Hudson Swafford—who’s on LIV now—Greyson Sigg. It’ll be cool to tell you what guys did over winter break, or I was on a trip with this guy and we did this or that. Once I get out there and start talking to players, that’ll start spurring the stories.Then I have to decide which ones are NBC-appropriate or not. I’m not going to ask anyone. I can’t give away my secrets. I’m just going to come home and think about how I can actually say it without getting in trouble.

SI: What would 2024 look like for you, ideally, if you could map it out right now?

KK: Well, hopefully I broadcast this week and [Roy] says I’ll do anything to pay you to come work for NBC. Then I’ll win next week at the Sony Open, and I can sit around and discuss my options after that. I think that sounds like a good 2024.

SI: You took a long break from the PGA Tour this summer. How is your game feeling at the moment?

KK: The game is better, it’s just the amount of reps. I’ve only played three tournaments since June. It’s going to be rusty and anxious trying to get off to a good start next week, but the game is way better. I have more confidence. Waialae Country Club (host site of the Sony Open) is a place that I can compete on. There are fewer and fewer courses out here like that each year. I miss the competition of trying to win or trying to be in the top 10.

SI: As the year went on, there were some pretty big developments in the men’s game. Jon Rahm left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. The framework agreement deadline was extended. The PGA Tour is now also negotiating with Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a private investment firm. What do you make of it all?

KK: I’m mostly glad that I’m not on the [PGA Tour Policy] board anymore. I finished in 2022, so I’m not having to be on the phone three times a week anymore. Who knows where the world’s gonna land? I think the framework agreement is just a way to make the lawsuits go away. I have no idea if they’ll ever come to an agreement. I’m not in the negotiating room, but the lack of communication seems to show me that they’re not really getting close. We don’t get updated enough to make it feel like they’re getting close. And then you bring in another group in the negotiations—if I was trying to negotiate with one person and then they brought in someone else, it wouldn’t make me feel great.

[Rahm] did what he needed to do for his family. I’m never going to criticize a person when it comes to the amount of money that they’re talking about. We work too hard and too long to say that he shouldn’t be able to do that, if that’s what he wants to do. Hopefully it all gets worked out and we can have the best players compete against each other more often, which is the goal from both sides.

SI: In a new interview, Rory McIlroy seemed to soften his stance on LIV. He said he might have been “too judgmental” when LIV emerged. What are your thoughts on his comments?

KK: From the get-go we were led down a road and led to believe that LIV wasn’t going to take off. That’s the feeling all of us had—and then “Bam!” All of a sudden, they did. Now they’re here and they have stayed in power, because they have more money than anybody. So I think guys are just tired of it. Nobody really cares anymore, honestly. They want it to be constant. They want our future to be figured out, and right now, it’s very uncertain.

SI: You’ve always been open about respecting players’ decisions when it comes to LIV Golf. Do you still feel that way?

KK: For sure. Hudson Swafford is a good friend of mine. We discussed him leaving [the PGA Tour] right as he was leaving. Harold Varner called me 10 minutes before he signed with them to ask for my advice. I’m never going to be critical of those guys. They didn’t do anything to affect me or my livelihood. I don’t love when they were suing the PGA Tour. I thought that was pretty weak on their part. But I understood that’s what they were told to do, and I get both perspectives.

If guys want to compete not for world ranking points and the biggest trophies in the game, but for money, they can have at it. No shame.

SI: What do you think the men’s professional game will look like if a deal is finalized? How would it work?

KK: I would imagine it would look similar to the 2024 PGA Tour schedule. The designated events would be their top players and our top players getting together for the biggest purses. Then the back half of their fields and the back half of our fields can substitute in. The product that we’re seeing now, I think is the future product.

SI: What about team golf? Do you think it’s a serious part of the game’s future?

KK: In my opinion, you have the perfect opportunity in the fall to do that. You play the FedEx Cup and then the fall could be LIV Golf—or whatever name they come up with.

I think team golf is part of the future, but it doesn’t do anything to get me excited. It’s not like a part of me is missing [team golf] in this game. I grew up trying to beat you and everyone else out there as an individual. I played at Georgia, but we were so competitive against each other, that’s why we were so good as a team. In the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, everyone is there on an individual basis and they come together for one week. I don’t think the team aspect will stick. These guys are so selfish. They do what they have to do to be the best. It’s a hard deal to make them want to be part of a team. You’re already seeing LIV guys trading and changing teams, or whatever they’re doing—I don’t understand it. But obviously, they can’t even make it two years together.

SI: O.K., ending on a lighthearted question. There’s a social media trend going around where people are listing what’s “in” and “out” for 2024. Can you point to anything you think is “in” or “out” in golf? For example … vintage-style golf attire instead of dry-fit performance wear?

KK: So joggers are gone?

SI: Yes. Precisely.

KK: I saw Jason Day’s new gig today on an Instagram ad. That was hilarious. The shoes really made me laugh with the little flaps on them. It was so good. That’s out for me. I’m not going to be wearing those shoes, that's for sure.

SI: Wow. What about slow play? People are saying it should be considered “out.”

KK: Slow play is never going anywhere. They play for too much money and the PGA Tour can’t fine them enough to make them hurry up. If you start penalizing them, then they’ll start going faster. I would propose a three-hole system. If your group’s not on that tee after three holes at a certain time, then the group is getting stroked. So we’d be like, “Gabby, hurry up and hit or I’ll get a penalty.” The problem is nobody likes to tell their peers to hurry up. That way I’ll tell you to hurry up because I don’t want a penalty. Usually when someone is slow, I’ll tell them, “I really enjoyed watching you play all day.”