Broadcaster’s ‘Large Amount of’ Blunders Sidelines Nelly Korda’s Historic Triumph & Infuriates Fans

A broadcasting blunder took center stage in the final round of the PGA Championship. CBS while airing the schedule for next week, ran the last year’s graphic. The graphic showed the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play in Las Vegas (LPGA Tour) and KLM Open (DP World Tour) next week. 

Firstly, the Bank of Hope Matchplay, which debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2021 has changed its title sponsor. Secondly, the event has already been played on April 3-7 and was won by Nelly Korda on her way to five consecutive victories. The Rolex No.1, meanwhile, has added another title to her resume this year. That’s six in her last seven starts after her one-shot victory at the Mizuho Americas Open. 

Moreover, there isn’t any event scheduled for the next week. After the Mizuho Americans Open, the LPGA Tour pros will head to the US Women’s Open with a week’s break. CBS seems to have mistaken the 2023 schedule for this year. Last year, the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play was scheduled for May 24 at Shadow Creek. 

Besides this, the KLM Open, which was scheduled for May 25 last year, has been moved to June 20 this season. Moreover, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship was mentioned to be played in Frisco, Texas. But this year’s event heads to Harbor Shores Golf Club in Michigan, which is 1000 miles apart. 

Netizens don’t show any mercy to the broadcaster for the slip-up. It is symptomatic of the backhanded treatment reserved for the LPGA Tour, many point out. And, others blame a likely budget cut. 

Netizens refuse to cut CBS any slack for the blunder

Some eagle-eyed fans pointed out this has become very common nowadays. And, not just CBS, they also pulled up ESPN for these types of errors. One of them tweeted, “I’ve noticed these types of graphic errors on telecasts way more often recently, specifically on @espn and @CBS.” Seconding that, another user noted that the broadcasters showed the wrong hole graphic during Jordan Spieth’s round. “They just showed the wrong hole graphic for Spieth’s shot on 13. Weirdly large amount of mistakes Ive noticed this week”

TV coverage of the LPGA Tour has faced questions because of an apparent lack of importance given to the female circuit. Most recently, Nelly Korda lamented that LPGA Tour pros are not given an equal footing. “We need a stage. We need to be on primetime TV, and we need to showcase the talent we have out here, which is a lot. We need the support from not just the crowds but the television networks.”

Fans believe that CBS’s disregard to look for the 2024 schedule before running last year’s graphic is part of a bigger problem. Zephyr Melton, a writer at Golf Digest tweeted, “Not only is the LPGA Match Play NOT next week, but the graphic doesn’t even get the name of the tournament correct. Well done CBS”. Another person tweeted, “@CBS Can we fact check years on tournaments next time? This is from 2023.”

Paul Azinger, former lead analyst at Golf Channel, has blasted the network for ‘budget cuts after budget cuts.’ The former PGA Championship winner lamented that budget cuts affected the broadcasting quality. Some wondered if CBS has also gone through some cost-cutting measures. One of them quipped, “@CBSSports now using @NBCGolf’s budget it seems!” 

CBS rectified the error later during the broadcast. But the damage was already done by that time, as the reactions against the broadcaster evince.