Former CBS golf analyst Peter Kostis is "not bitter" over his recent ouster, but is "disheartened by the unceremonious way" he and Gary McCord were let go, according to Rick Young of SCOREGOLF.com. Kostis said, "I'm surprised Gary and I didn't get the same loyalty other announcers have received who have worked for CBS for a long time. ... I wasn't sure if I was going to work beyond this current television contract (2021) but it would have been nice to have a year to go out and say goodbye to fans, say goodbye to sponsors, friends we've met in different locations. I thought it was a little bit disrespectful." Young noted Kostis and McCord were not given "any specific reason(s) for their sudden departures." Kostis: "All we've really heard is, 'We think it's time, we need a change, things were stale.' ... They haven't really given us any answers whatsoever on why we were let go." He added the "timing and the reason" for he and McCord's departures are the PGA Tour's "ongoing negotiations with a new television contract." Kostis: "That's involved here. I don't know how exactly or what it could be but I do believe the next television contract is going to be radically different. ... I do know the tour is gearing up to be able to handle gambling. I think it's one of the ways they're hoping to grow their fan base with younger people" (SCOREGOLF.com, 10/30).
NOT SHOWING MUCH LOVE: MORNING READ's Mike Purkey wrote CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus "prefers bland over stale," which is why he "hired Davis Love III to join the network's golf team" following McCord and Kostis' departures. Love "has no experience in the TV booth, save for a random guest appearance here and there." The "only way we can assess Love's qualifications for getting this cushy job is to look at the record." He is "one of the most accommodating players on the PGA Tour for granting interviews," but he was "always politically correct, always tried to say the right things, always stayed a proper distance away from controversy and always avoided criticizing other players." Purkey: "He was always plain vanilla. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but is it what you want in a broadcaster for one of the largest and most influential networks? Especially if you're trying to overcome 'stale'?" (MORNINGREAD.com, 10/31).
