HARTFORD, Connecticut – Aussie Ian Baker-Finch, one of the classiest and knowledgeable people in all of sports, did his final telecast with CBS on Sunday after 30 years of broadcasting the PGA Tour. It was the network’s final broadcast of the season, and Baker-Finch made it a teary-eyed good-bye.
“Since I made the decision, it’s the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Baker-Finch said.
The 64-year-old Baker-Finch said he began considering retiring last year at the Masters and RBC Heritage when he realized it represented his 40th year either playing or announcing at those events.
“That’s what sort of got me thinking, what’s next?” he said.
During his playing career, Baker-Finch’s deft putting touch and competitive spirit were his appeal as he won 17 tournaments worldwide. He lost his game trying to hit the ball farther and then made a successful transition to announcing with his charming personality and soothing voice, spending his last 19 years with CBS.
Baker-Finch’s most memorable line came when Adam Scott became the first Aussie to win the Masters in 2013.
“From Down Under to the top of the world,” Baker-Finch said.
An equally classy Jim Nantz, CBS’s longtime lead golf announcer in the 18th hole tower, had Baker-Finch announce the end of Wyndham Championship in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday in which Cameron Young became the 1,000th individual winner on the PGA Tour with his first victory by six strokes. Trevor Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion, and Frank Nobilo were also in the booth for Baker-Finch’s swansong.
Baker-Finch received countless plaudits of love and respect from players and officials worldwide, including Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. He came a long way from hitting the ball around the Beerwah Golf Club, a nine-hole knockabout in the Sunshine Coast hinterland that his dad helped build. He credits Nicklaus’ book ‘Golf My Way’ for helping him craft his game as a skinny kid when he had a few woods and a couple of irons in his bag before setting out on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
IBF also has a special place in Travelers Championship lore. After winning the Open Championship in 1991, he flew from England to Cromwell for the then Canon Greater Hartford Open with the claret jug and agreed to an interview in the TPC River Highlands parking lot when he arrived. Then he had the Open’s famous trophy put on a stand under glass in the clubhouse, with a security guard nearby, so fans could view one of the most cherished trophies in sports.
To top it off, Baker-Finch returned to the course early Saturday morning because rain had prevented the second round from being completed and the cut from being made on Friday. He birdied the 18th hole from a fairway bunker to make the cut on the number when some players might have withdrawn or not tried to make a birdie to play the weekend.
Plenty of happy days in your retirement, Ian. You earned it and deserve it!!!!!!!
