Analyst apologizes for swearing on Olympics broadcast

Morgan Pressel apologized Saturday, one day after the Golf Channel analyst swore during the Olympics women’s golf broadcast.

As Lydia Ko and Morgane Metraux warmed up on the Le Golf National range ahead of their final round, Pressel and announcer Steve Sands had this exchange:

Said Sands: “It’s a lonely place on the range when you’re in one of those last two groups, but that’s exactly where you want to be, Morgan. 

Said Pressel: “Yeah, what’s going through these players’ minds right now, but Steve, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge something that I said yesterday during the broadcast. I stumbled over my words and unfortunately it sounded as if I said something inappropriate and I am so sorry that it came across as such because I would never say that on the air in a broadcast. 

“But that being said, we have one of the greatest days of golf ahead of us. Just look at these players, getting ready to warm up. Head to the first tee, probably nervous. Even now, listening to those cheers, especially for that Nelly [Korda] and Celine [Boutier] group, hoping to take a medal home for their country. I mean, it is so cool, Steve. I don’t know about you, but I’m so fired up for this round.”

Notably, the words “fired up” were part of what led to the apology. 

On Friday, during third-round play, while watching Brooke Henderson hit her second shot on the 478-yard, par-5 14th hole, Pressel said this:

“Yeah, she needs to start to make a move. And here, aggressive play, going for this green. We’ve hardly seen anyone get on this green in two. Yeah, let’s get Brittany [Henderson, Brooke’s sister and caddie] a little pump. She’s f***ing fired up. You love to see it.”  

Swearing in golf, of course, is nothing new; hot mics often pick up unsavory words from pros. But to hear them from announcers is rare, and clips of Pressel’s commentary circulated online.

Below is one of them, and the not-suitable-for-work moment happens at the 18-second mark.  

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.