“Couldn’t this wait?”: Dan Patrick still hasn’t forgiven ESPN for giving his golf job to Mike Tirico

Jul 17, 2026, 5:16 AM CUT

SPORTSCENTER, from left: Kenny Mayne, Dan Patrick, 1979-. ESPN / Courtesy: Everett Collection Ref:TSDSPOR EN005 PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xx TSDSPOR EN005

Dan Patrick is still annoyed with ESPN over how they handled giving the network's lead golf announcer job to Mike Tirico back in 1997. Nearly three decades later, he brings it up on The Dan Patrick Show on YouTube.

Tirico joined Patrick's show on Thursday, July 17, ahead of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, and the two old ESPN colleagues revisited the infamous 1997 decision by ABC/ESPN to replace Brent Musburger.

"I said, couldn't this wait?" Patrick recalled during The Dan Patrick Show. “I’m gonna go do a SportsCenter! So I’m doing the entire SportsCenter thinking about, ‘Well, I didn’t want the golf, but I would have loved to have the golf.’ And now I’m mad that I’m not getting it.”

FOXBOROUGH, MA - JANUARY 11: NBC Sunday Night FootballÕs Mike Tirico on the sideline in warm up before an AFC Wildcard game between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers on January 11, 2026, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 11 AFC Wildcard Chargers at Patriots EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon482260111052

On his podcast, Patrick recalled he was in the middle of the four-minute walk from his desk to the studio to anchor the 11 p.m. SportsCenter. A boss intercepted him in the hallway seven minutes before air to inform him the Open Championship job was going to Tirico instead.

As for the timing, an ESPN executive later explained that the network had heard that USA Today was about to break the news, per Awful Announcing. So, bosses wanted Patrick to hear it from them first rather than read about it.

“Couldn’t you have told me before the story was going to break? Maybe 4 o’clock in the afternoon? Unbelievable,” Patrick said.

Tirico held the Open Championship job for the rest of ABC and ESPN's run with the tournament. And when his contract expired and he left for NBC in the summer of 2016 after 25 years with the network, the Open Championship effectively followed him.

And this week's tournament at Royal Birkdale is Tirico's 28th Open Championship as a broadcaster, the second-most of any American in a host or play-by-play role behind only the legendary Jim McKay. It's also his fourth Open at Royal Birkdale, specifically, following stints there in 1998, 2008, and 2017.

While Tirico’s voice is forever tied to the Open Championship, golf fans will always remember him for his work during Rory McIlroy's Grand Slam win in April 2025.

Mike Tirico becomes the voice of Rory McIlroy’s grand slam win

When Rory McIlroy finally completed the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters in a playoff over Justin Rose, CBS's Jim Nantz let the moment breathe on the television broadcast.

"The long journey is over. McIlroy has his masterpiece," Nantz said as McIlroy dropped to his knees in tears, becoming just the sixth golfer in history to win all four majors, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.

Meanwhile, Tirico gave voice to the moment, working at SiriusXM radio.

"Rory ... back and through. And he's made it! He's done it!!" Tirico exclaimed, per USA Today. "It's a Grand Slam roar at Augusta National! Rory McIlroy, on his knees, bent down in emotion, clutching his head. He's won the Masters. He's won all the Grand Slam events. He's the sixth in the history of the game to enter golf's ... greatest ... group."

Decades later, now that Patrick has opened up about losing his role to Tirico, what are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar