Bob Harig among those laid off as Sports Illustrated dismantles its golf vertical

Veteran golf journalist Bob Harig was among the writers laid off in Sports Illustrated’s latest round of cuts last week. Editors Jeff Ritter and John Schwarb, who were central to SI’s golf coverage, were also let go as part of the sweeping changes to the outlet’s sports coverage, according to Front Office Sports.

Golf.com columnist Michael Bamberger, a former SI staffer himself for nearly 23 years, wrote a tribute to Harig and the broader loss of SI’s golf coverage over the weekend, noting that SI has a singular place in the history of American golf journalism — from Herbert Warren Wind to Dan Jenkins to Rick Reilly — and that the sport will be worse off without a publication of its stature covering it seriously.

Part of what makes this news so painful to hear is that SI has a singular place in the history of modern American golf coverage. If you care at all about the game’s written tradition, you know these names and their good works: Herbert Warren Wind, Dan Jenkins, Rick Reilly, to start with the Big Three, but also Jaime Diaz, John Garrity, Gary Van Sickle, Alan Shipnuck, Tim Rosaforte, among others. There were more than a few world-class editors behind these writers as well, but for now I’ll offer just two: Mark Mulvoy and Jim Herre. Then there were the brilliant SI writers who dipped into golf now and again, including Gary Smith and Steve Rushin. Much of what I know about this game came from reading the writers cited here, and many others with the SI stamp on their work. The photography that accompanied all of these stories was often artful and unique. This was all expensive to produce. People were willing to pay for quality, and you could always go to your library, too. Some of you will remember libraries.

The author of three books — Tiger v. Jack, DRIVE: The lasting legacy of Tiger Woods, and Tiger and Phil: Golf’s most fascinating rivalry — Harig spent more than 25 years on the golf beat, including 15 years at ESPN, and was decribed by Bamberger as a “tireless, connected, and fair-minded as any reporter could be,” in the well-written tribute.

“Being one of the subjects of a story is admittedly uneasy,” Harig wrote on X. “But this is so incredibly nice of Michael Bamberger, one of the all time best in golf. Thanks to those who have reached out here and elsewhere. It is much appreciated. More to come.”

The layoffs were part of a broader round of cuts at Minute Media, SI’s publisher, which eliminated approximately 12% of its global workforce, citing changes in the media market and the rise of AI, according to a report from CTech. The company also terminated its integration with VideoVerse, an Indian video technology company it had acquired last September for approximately $200 million

Stephanie Apstein, Greg Bishop, Mike McDaniel, Tyler Lauletta, Madison Williams, Kyle Koster, Stephen Douglas, and Michael Rosenberg were among the other prominent names affected.