Trevor Immelman Talks CBS’s Coverage of Phil Mickelson, the Golf Ball Rollback, and the Key to Walk-and-Talk Interviews

Trevor Immelman was just 23 years old when he arrived at Oak Hill Country Club in 2003 for his first PGA Championship. Accustomed to European Tour-style courses at the time, his first impression of the Donald Ross design would stick with him: “I had never seen a golf course that difficult in my life.”

Now, 20 years later, Immelman returns to a newly restored Oak Hill in a totally different role, but one that still demands a complete understanding of the major championship test that lies ahead in Rochester. Following Nick Faldo’s retirement from the CBS Golf team in 2022, the South African was brought on as the network’s new lead analyst alongside Jim Nantz, and this week’s PGA will be his second major broadcast in the chair.

We caught up with the 2008 Masters champion to discuss the proposed rollback of the golf ball, complaints about Phil Mickelson’s Masters coverage, finding balance during mid-round player interviews, and more.

Sports Illustrated: What stands out to you about Oak Hill?

Trevor Immelman: The thing that really jumps out to me is that even though the tree-lined corridors aren’t going to be as narrow, the fairways are still going to be tough for these guys to hit. With the course being long and the potential for some cold weather, who are the players that will have both distance and accuracy off the tee? We have an inkling: it’s McIlroy, it’s Rahm, it’s Scheffler. But we’re at a point, much the same as Winged Foot, where the fairways become so difficult to hit for even the best drivers, and you’re in a position where almost everybody is hitting from the rough. That becomes a different challenge.

SI: Oak Hill’s length will undoubtedly bring up the hot topic of the golf ball rollback. Do you think the rollback is the best way forward?

TI: We probably need a couple of hours to get to the bottom of that one. I’m still trying to figure out a lot of it. I’m not completely against a golf ball rollback. That doesn’t really scare me in any way. I think golf will still be extremely exciting and may even add a few more wrinkles that could make it even more interesting. Where the rollback becomes tricky is, where do you institute these changes and at what level of the game? How muddy do the waters become? But if we’re just talking about professional golf, I don’t have a problem.

I think these governing bodies and the committees that set these great championships up will have a bit more leeway, but they’ll also have to adjust. Am I interested in rolling back the ball by 5% or 10% and then still watching these guys go play a U.S. Open at 7,800 yards? No, I’m not interested in that at all. I think that’ll be boring as heck. I can go with you on a rollback, but then I want to see some great imagination from these set up committees. I want to see 6,800-, 7,000-yard championship courses with a lot of strategy, with a lot of nuance to the shot shaping and options off the tee, and shaved areas on the green. I’m going to be watching closely to see how they adjust to what they’ve become accustomed to over the last decade to keep it interesting and a great challenge, not just for the players but for the fans on site and millions tuning in on TV.

SI: How does preparing for a major as a PGA Tour player compare to preparing as a broadcaster?

TI: You have to immerse yourself in it much like the players have to. They’ve been tweaking their equipment, they’re getting a feel for something they need to change. At this point with broadcasting, it’s similar. For a couple weeks now I’ve been diving into the golf course, getting to know things about Andrew Green. Listening to everything I could about the restoration. And there’s just so much history in our sport, plus following the trends with the players. What are they doing? Have they switched caddies? Have they played this venue before? I try to get to know as much as I can and then you just hold on tight, because in live sports anything can be thrown at us. That’s where I start to get anxious, but my security blanket is that I have Jim Nantz sitting next to me, and he’s the best in the world at this.

SI: Has Jim Nantz given you any advice in your new role, and what has it been like working with him?

TI: Our main goal is to make people feel like they are sitting on the couch with us at home, talking about golf. The thing Jim and I constantly talk about is adding layers to whatever people are seeing on the screen. Telling the story of what that player has been through to get to that point. It’s about the golf, the technique, the strategy, it’s about how much nerve you have. But really when it comes down to the last toll, you want to know a bit more about the individuals. We love the history of the game and Jim’s recall on history is second to none. I’d put him up against any historian out there.

SI: After Masters Sunday there were some comments about Phil Mickelson’s round not being properly covered by CBS, and that’s obviously up for interpretation. What do you think about covering LIV Golf from a broadcast perspective?

TI: That’s a perfect way to describe it—interpretation. Because Jim and I actually did some research into people complaining about it. I don’t believe that was accurate. Phil Mickelson was shown for a number of shots, a lot of shots, starting from the 6th hole in the final round and pretty much every shot that he hit from the 12th onwards was shown. So my interpretation was that we did a great job covering the Masters and all the storylines during that final round. As far as LIV golfers, we’re not in the business of deciding who to cover. We are partners with Augusta National at the Masters and with the PGA of America at the PGA Championship to cover these great events and every single player that has qualified. Our focus is telling the story of the golf course, telling the history of the course, and then all of the players—all of them.

SI: What are your thoughts on the CBS walk-and-talk interview and would you have participated if it existed during your days on Tour?

TI: I probably wouldn’t have because I would have been too scared. I had to be hyper-focused when I was competing. My wife will tell you, I didn’t see or hear anybody when I was out there. I crawled into my own shell. You could set a bomb off next to me and I wouldn’t notice it. So I wouldn’t have been the right candidate, and there are a number of players out there now who feel the same. But we’re in a different era of golf now. Players are starting to see how advantageous it is to them, not just for sponsorships, but to lean into making it more fun for the fans at home. Players are starting to understand that even if they don’t hit the great shots with the AirPods in, fans appreciate them making the effort and inviting them in. I give a lot of credit to the PGA Tour, CBS and our lead producer Sellers Shy. I’ve been a huge fan of it.

SI: Is there anything you have to make sure not to say or ask players during those mid-round interviews?

TI: It’s really tricky, because we’ve worked closely with the Tour to make sure we’re not giving these players any advice. It takes certain questions away from me, because I can’t ask Justin Thomas, well, “a number of players have missed this green left, why do you think that is?” It would be so cool if he said to us, “you know, there’s a grandstand behind the green and maybe the players can’t quite feel the wind,” which is such good insight from someone in the arena. But I have to steer clear of stuff like that, which could be giving them an advantage. I also don’t want to plant negative seeds in their head. It’s a nerve-wracking 10 minutes, because I’m thinking on my feet trying to come up with the right questions.

Once I know who the player is going to be over the weekend, I make a point to go out and see them on the range and speak to their caddie. They always ask me, “what must I do with the AirPod? Do I take it out? Keep it in?” And I always say "look, that’s up to you. We’re not going to get in the way of you hitting the shot. You can trust us on that." I just try to put them at ease.