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Dan Hicks’s Legendary Tiger Woods Call Was Just One of Many Moments That Will Be Remembered Forever

Andy Nesbitt|
Dan Hicks was the voice of NBC’s golf coverage for 26 years.
Dan Hicks was the voice of NBC’s golf coverage for 26 years. | Ben Jared/Getty Images

The sports world was dealt devastating news Thursday morning when Hannah Storm announced that her husband Dan Hicks, the longtime announcer with NBC Sports, had died at age 64.

Hicks was the lead voice of NBC’s golf coverage for 26 years and was on the call for some of the greatest moments in the game during that time. He was also the lead voice in NBC’s Olympics swimming broadcasts since 1996 where he called legendary wins by Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and many others. Recently he has also served as the NBC’s play-by-play announcer for Notre Dame football games and was scheduled to be on the call at this weekend’s game in South Bend.

"Our family is heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected passing of Dan following an acute illness,” Storm said in a statement. “He was a devoted husband of over 30 years, loving father to our three daughters, and cherished friend to so many. His loss is immeasurable. Dan was truly one of a kind and, quite simply, the person everyone wanted to be around, When he walked into a room, he brought the energy, the laughter and the people together. He was endlessly kind, thoughtful and funny, and he made everyone feel like they mattered."

Dan Hicks’s call of Tiger Woods’s putt at the 2008 U.S. Open will be remembered forever

Hicks called a lot of incredible moments during his years as the lead golf announcer for NBC Sports. His most memorable one rightfully came on an iconic putt by Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open.

Woods needed to make a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Torrey Pines to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate. After staring it down for a while, Woods curled in the putt and as he pumped his fists in celebration, Hicks summed it all up perfectly by yelling, “Expect anything different!?”

Hicks followed that up by saying, “Rocco, you’ve got Tiger for 18 holes tomorrow,” referring to the Monday playoff that Woods would go on to win.

His call of J.J. Spaun’s winning putt at the 2025 U.S. Open was also awesome.

Dan Hicks had another memorable call at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Hicks was the voice when it came to swimming at the Summer Olympics and one of his most memorable calls came during the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Just listen to his voice down the stretch as Jason Lezak came through in the clutch for Team USA:

NBC Sports remembered Dan Hicks as a great storyteller and friend

NBC Sports shared a statement shortly after Hicks’s death:

“Dan Hicks was an extraordinary colleague, friend and person,” NBC Sports’ Rick Cordella, Sam Flood and Molly Solomon said. “In his 34 years at NBC Sports, he was an exceptional storyteller and caller of games and events who elevated some of the biggest moments in sports history.

“From Olympic swimming and skiing to Notre Dame Football, numerous other high-profile events and especially as the signature voice of our golf coverage for the last 26 years, Dan’s blend of knowledge style, enthusiasm and humor informed and entertained fans for decades. But far beyond his on-air excellence, Dan was a better person who welcomed teammates with a smile, a joke, or a word of encouragement, sometimes all three in the same sentence. Our heartfelt condolences and love to his wife Hannah and his daughters Hannah, Ellery and Riley.”

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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