The first round of The Open Championship kicked off on Thursday and as is often the case, Tiger Woods’ round received plenty of attention.
But it wasn’t Woods’ struggles — he currently sits at +7 through 14 holes — that had people talking, but rather a comment that was made by one of the broadcasters during his opening round.
As Woods waited to take one of his shots on Thursday morning, the announcer on Peacock’s featured groups broadcast made a curious accusation regarding the 15-time majors winner’s state during the round.
“You look at the eyes,” the announcer said of Woods. “You gotta think there’s a lot of painkillers being taken to cope with the pain, you know?”
Featured groups basically calling Tiger a drug addict because “you look at the eyes, you gotta think there’s a lot of painkillers being taken.” pic.twitter.com/udylWo5BsT
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) July 18, 2024
Full disclosure: Golf tournaments can be tricky to follow in the early rounds (you can find our announcer schedule here), both in terms keeping an eye on all the groups and rewinding to find previous moments. But multiple social media users and outlets have identified the announcer in question as Mark Roe, with Sky Sports helping supplement NBC Sports’ featured holes coverage of the event.
A little bit odd for Mark Roe to just come out and say that. Not all the silences have to be filled#TigerWoods#OpenChampionship https://t.co/lMMjt7faYb
— EatandSleepGolf (@EatandSleepGolf) July 18, 2024
Mark Roe does not deserve a job at your network. His featured group commentary is an absolute disgrace to the game of golf and Tiger. Speculating about drug addiction on the air? Classless.
— piento (@danielpiento1) July 18, 2024
Regardless of Woods’ past history with painkillers, it goes without saying that the announcer’s comment was out of line. Not only is it absurd to speculate that a golfer is on painkillers during a major tournament — or any tournament, for that matter — but it’s even more absurd to do so based solely on the appearance of his eyes.
Considering Woods is still the most famous golfer on the planet and the viral nature of the clip, one would imagine there will be some fallout here. It’s one thing to comment on a 48-year-old living legend’s decline on the golf course, but another to use it as an opportunity to baselessly accuse him of substance abuse.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.