David Feherty

David William Feherty (born 13 August 1958) is a former professional golfer and current golf broadcaster. As a touring professional he won five European Tour events, seriously competed at the Open Championship twice (1989 and 1994), and played on Europe's 1991 Ryder Cup team. Late in his career he joined the PGA Tour. Since retiring, he has worked as a television personality; from 1997 through 2015 Feherty served as an on-course reporter for the PGA Tour on CBS. In 2011, he introduced a self-titled interview series on Golf Channel and subsequently joined NBC Sports full-time in 2016.

"Feherty" redirects here. For the TV series, see Feherty (TV series).
David Feherty
Feherty and Tiger Woods in 2007
Personal information
Full nameDavid William Feherty
Born (1958-08-13) 13 August 1958
Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Nationality Northern Ireland
ResidenceDallas, Texas, U.S.
SpouseAnita
Career
Turned professional1976
Retired1997
Former tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins10
Highest ranking33 (16 February 1992)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour5
Sunshine Tour3
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT52: 1992
PGA ChampionshipT7: 1991
U.S. OpenCUT: 1992
The Open ChampionshipT4: 1994

Golf career

Feherty turned professional in 1976 and spent most of his playing career in Europe, where he won five times and finished in the top ten twice in the European Tour's Order of Merit, placing tenth in 1989 and eighth in 1990. He spent 1994 and 1995 playing mainly on the PGA Tour in the U.S., and the best result on the tour was a second-place finish at the 1994 New England Classic. His combined career earnings exceeded $3 million. Feherty represented Ireland in international competition and captained the victorious 1990 Alfred Dunhill Cup team. Feherty played for Europe on the 1991 Ryder Cup team.

Personal life

Feherty was born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. He lives with his second wife Anita and their five children in Dallas, Texas. They have one daughter, Erin, born in 1998. Anita Feherty has two sons from a former marriage. Until 1995 he was married to Caroline Feherty, a South African beauty queen. They have two sons.

Feherty has had a long struggle with depression and alcoholism, which he publicly addressed in 2006.[2][3] In an interview with Golf Magazine about his problems, Feherty said "I used alcohol to mask my inner demons". The outspoken columnist then took a shot at actor and noted Scientologist Tom Cruise, who has said that therapy and drugs are useless and that depression can be cured by physical exercise: "Actually, some sort of exercise would have helped me. If I kicked the shit out of Tom Cruise, I'd feel a lot better about myself."[4] Along with George Lopez, Feherty hosted the Lopez-Feherty Foundation Anti-Pro-Am in November 2005.

In 2008, Feherty was hit by a truck while cycling. He suffered three broken ribs, which punctured his lung. He was hospitalised for a few days with a tube in his chest. He resumed his broadcast duties at the 2008 Masters Tournament.[5]

Feherty became a naturalised citizen of the United States on 23 February 2010.[6]

In 2012, Feherty was awarded the third-highest honor within the Department of the Army Civilian Awards, the Outstanding Civilian Service Award, for substantial contributions to the U.S. Army community through his work with the Troops First Foundation.

On 29 July 2017, Feherty's oldest son, Shey, died after a drug overdose on his 29th birthday.[7]

Feherty describes himself as a "diehard atheist".[8]

Media career

In 1997, Feherty retired from the tours and joined CBS Sports as an on-course reporter and golf analyst. Feherty is a contributor to Golf Magazine and has his own column in the back of the magazine called Sidespin. He is also the New York Times and Booksense best-selling author of four books, A Nasty Bit of Rough, Somewhere in Ireland a Village Is Missing an Idiot, An Idiot for All Seasons, and David Feherty's Totally Subjective History of the Ryder Cup.[9] On 21 June 2011, Feherty premiered his own weekly primetime talk show called Feherty on the Golf Channel.[10]

Feherty is also a co-announcer on EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour series with Jim Nantz, and Bill Macatee. He is a periodic guest on Dallas' sports radio station, KTCK. He appears in advertisements for the Cobra golf company, showing off his trampolining and cheerleading skills in the advert, to show off the company's Speed drivers and woods.[3]

In September 2005, Feherty guest-starred in the Season 6 episode of Yes, Dear ("Greg's a Mooch"). In the 18 April 2009, issue of D Magazine, Feherty was one of five writers to comment on George W. Bush's move to Dallas. In his article, Feherty uses the article to express his support of Bush and to speak on politics. Criticism was aimed at Feherty for this suggestive comment about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid:

From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death."[11]

Feherty made the following controversial remarks and described his politics as such: "As for me, my politics are somewhere in the middle—and then way outside both wings. I believe in the death penalty, especially for pro-lifers, child molesters, those opposed to gay marriage, and for stupid dancing in the end zone. I believe in the abolition of estate taxes and the Pickens Plan. I'd lower the legal drinking age and raise the driving age to 18 nationwide, make Kinky Friedman governor of Texas, and make all schools, public and private, start earlier with one hour of physical exercise."[11]

CBS Sports distanced itself from Feherty's comments:

We want to be clear that this column for a Dallas magazine is an unacceptable attempt at humor and is not in any way condoned, endorsed or approved by CBS Sports... David Feherty is an insightful and sometimes humorous commentator for CBS Sports' golf coverage...however, his attempt at humor in this instance went over the line, and his comments were clearly inappropriate. We hope he will use better judgment in the future."[12]

On his nightly cable news television show Countdown, Keith Olbermann went as far as to say the "soon to be ex-CBS Sports golf analyst David Feherty", based on comments Feherty made in the D-magazine article,[13] leaving the audience with the impression CBS Sports was about to let Feherty go for his remarks. About two weeks later, Feherty announced the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open, in San Antonio for CBS.

In August 2015, Feherty left CBS following his final event with the network—The Barclays. In September 2015, it was announced that Feherty would be moving to NBC Sports and Golf Channel full-time beginning in 2016, serving a similar role as he did with CBS. The deal also includes a renewal for Feherty on Golf Channel, a first-look development deal with Universal Television, and the ability for the two to collaborate on other projects, including some outside of golf.[14][15]

Professional wins (10)

European Tour wins (5)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 4 May 1986 Italian Open −10 (69-67-66-68=270) Playoff Ronan Rafferty
2 24 Aug 1986 Bell's Scottish Open −14 (69-68-66-67=270) Playoff Ian Baker-Finch, Christy O'Connor Jnr
3 15 Oct 1989 BMW International Open −19 (62-66-68-73=269) 5 strokes Fred Couples
4 5 May 1991 Credit Lyonnais Cannes Open −13 (69-68-69-69=275) 3 strokes Craig Parry
5 25 Oct 1992 Iberia Madrid Open −16 (71-65-69-67=272) 4 strokes Mark McNulty

European Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1986 Italian Open Ronan Rafferty Won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1986 Bell's Scottish Open Ian Baker-Finch, Christy O'Connor Jnr Won with birdie on second extra hole
3 1990 BMW International Open Paul Azinger Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Sunshine Tour wins (3)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 26 Feb 1984 ICL International −13 (67-69-66-69=271) 1 stroke Gavan Levenson, Nick Price
2 24 Jan 1988 Lexington PGA Championship −13 (69-65-66-67=267) 1 stroke Eamonn Darcy
3 1 Feb 1992 Bell's Cup −12 (72-66-70-68=276) 1 stroke Mark McNulty

Other wins (2)

Results in major championships
Tournament 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T26 T6
PGA Championship
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
Masters Tournament T52
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship T68 CUT T55 CUT T4 T31 CUT
PGA Championship T7 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1979 Open Championship)
"T" = tied

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000011
U.S. Open00000010
The Open Championship000122126
PGA Championship00001121
Totals000133168
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (1987 Open Championship – 1990 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 1995
The Players Championship CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut

Professional team appearances

See also

References
  1. "Week 7 1992 Ending 16 Feb 1992" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  2. Selcraig, Bruce (12 June 2007). "Feherty finally as dry as his humour". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  3. Barrett, Connell (17 January 2007). "The Unfunny Life of David Feherty". Golf.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  4. Shapiro, Leonard (2 July 2008). "Feherty Is Back Where He Belongs". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  5. "Feherty Exchanges His Mic For A Bike". WUSA9. 12 April 2009.
  6. Stricklin, Art (23 February 2010). "David Feherty becomes U.S. citizen". Golf.com. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  7. "David Feherty opens up about his sons death". Golf Channel. 26 June 2018.
  8. Selcraig, Bruce (12 June 2007). "Golf: US Open Countdown". Daily Telegraph. p. 12 (Sports). The only thing missing from this tidy story – this is America, remember – is a testimonial from the athlete thanking God for his rescue. That is the way it's done over here. Feherty's not buying it, though. 'I am a diehard atheist,' he volunteers, joining Einstein, Darwin and, hmm, Annika Sorenstam, but clearly crossing into uncharted waters for an American TV personality.
  9. David Feherty profile Amazon.com
  10. Engel, Mac (20 June 2011). "The Golf Channel gives David Feherty another platform". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Texas. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  11. "An F-List Celeb Imagines What Preston Hollow Life Will Be Like For W". D Magazine. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  12. "Feherty under fire for joke". ESPN. Associated Press. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  13. "'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for Friday, May 8, 2008". NBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  14. Guthrie, Marisa (15 September 2015). "Golf Analyst David Feherty Leaves CBS for NBC Sports". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  15. Sandomir, Richard (15 September 2015). "David Feherty Moves From CBS to NBC and Golf Channel". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
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