Golf analyst/reporter David Feherty will part ways with CBS, and the situation "was soured" by two factors, according to sources cited by Ron Sirak of GOLF DIGEST. First, Feherty "wanted a booth job rather than roaming the fairways, but Nick Faldo already shares that duty with Jim Nantz." Also, Feherty's agency, CAA, was "demanding a salary figure CBS was unwilling to meet." NBC/Golf Channel and Fox Sports figure to be the "main suitors" for Feherty's services. Sources said that the fight for him "would intensify the already bitter battle" between Fox and NBC/Golf Channel, which is "still licking its wounds" after losing USGA broadcast rights to Fox in '13. Sirak wrote Feherty would be a "huge boost for Fox," and it would "appear to be a good fit since Fox has an appetite for the kind of outspoken comments to which Feherty is prone." But the "drawback is that Fox has only the USGA tournaments on its golf schedule." NBC recently landed British Open rights starting in '17, and it also televises the Ryder Cup, the Players Championship and "numerous other PGA Tour events." It also has Golf Channel, where Feherty’s eponymous interview show "already has a life." NBC/Golf Channel would "be extremely unlikely to share Feherty with Fox as it did with CBS." It will be an "all-or-nothing choice for him." Lead NBC analyst Johnny Miller, 68, "may be wanting to cut down on his schedule and NBC [may be] able to offer Feherty that job down the road." But sources said that NBC is "cultivating" Golf Channel analyst David Duval for Miller's position and wants Feherty "as boots on the ground, the job he seems tired of at CBS" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 9/3).
