As a CBS producer/director for more than 30 years, Frank Chirkinian has seen more than his share of golf and golfers. So when Chirkinian starts tossing his opinions around, people listen.
Especially when the opinions involve the PGA Championship and its status among the other Grand Slam events. Chirkinian`s network will televise the PGA this weekend in conjunction with TBS.
”I don`t see any difference between the PGA and the other majors,”
Chirkinian said. ”There`s nothing discernibly different about it. The problem is the PGA has always been accepted as kind of a stepchild. I don`t understand why. It`s a major tournament as far as the field is concerned. We certainly approach it as a major tournament and treat it as such.”
Last year, CBS was treated with the perfect Cinderella story as John Daly came out of Nowhere, Ark., to win the tournament going away.
”It was a wonderful story last year,” Chirkinian said. ”It made the whole (PGA) Championship. But that doesn`t happen every weekend.”
Chirkinian related Daly`s popularity to that of Arnold Palmer in the years from 1958 to 1962, when Arnie`s Army grew with every televised putt.
”Arnold had tremendous magnetism and great charisma,” Chirkinian said.
”People took to him. The cameras took to him. He was totally blue-collar, as Daly was.”
Daly so far has failed to repeat that success of a year ago, leading Chirkinian, among others, to say: ”I`m not sure Daly was ready to win a national championship. He`s a young man who surrounded himself with anonymity. But I`m not ready to bury him. John`s a great talent.”
Sometimes talent isn`t enough, said Gary McCord, a former Tour player who is a CBS commentator.
”For several years, there have been a number of young players at one time or another who have jumped up to the top,” McCord said. ”Some of these guys are more comfortable being in the middle of the pack or near the top. When they get pointed out as the new Jack Nicklaus or Lee Trevino, they can`t deal with that.”
Daly`s popularity ”has affected the way he lives,” McCord added. ”And that`s going to affect his golf. He can no longer go anonymously about his business.
”He`s dealing with commercials. He`s dealing with people knowing the ins and outs of his social life. A lot of these kids run into the 10-year exemption lull. As soon as you win a major or a tournament that has with it a 10-year exemption, a lot of these guys go away and hide for a while. It`s an attitude you`ve got to watch. Too many of the guys get so far behind they never catch up.”
– CBS, in the second year of its four-year contract with the PGA, treats the tournament better than it does its other major, the hallowed Masters. Chirkinian will have all 18 holes covered, unlike the Masters, and will air 23 hours of play, including coverage on TBS,.
There were gripes last year from one of the TBS on-course announcers about not getting enough air time, something Chirkinian blamed on
circumstances.
”It was an anomaly,” he said. ”We don`t plan to change anything. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Every time we had to go some place, it didn`t involve that particular person. I`m sure if he had to do it over again, he wouldn`t have said anything.”
Chirkinian approaches the 16 hours of cablecast the same way he does the network, with same intensity.
”We`re not doing this telecast to make everyone a happy person,” he said. ”That`s just nonsense. If one guy`s disgruntled, so be it. That`s his problem. He`s got to live with it. I can`t concern myself with petty complaints like that.”
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What Chirkinian is concerned with is a golf show-and a major one-whether it`s on cable or network.
”In essence, we`re doing a telecast that`s going on a different network,” he said. ”We`re using all of our CBS production and technical personnel to put the show on the air, so it doesn`t look any different than what we would do on the weekend.”
– SportsChannel will air half-hour reports on the PGA at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and will have a one-hour wrapup show at 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
– The ratings game: While NBC finished with a national average Nielsen rating of 17.5 for the Olympics, above the 15.3 guaranteed advertisers, its affiliate in Atlanta, site of the `96 Summer Games, finished only 24th among the top 25 markets with a 13.6 prime-time average. While NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol called the ratings discrepancies ”stunning,” Atlanta organizing president Billy Payne said they were ”insignificant.” Portland, Ore., had the top rating of 22.5, while Chicago was sixth with a 21.6 average.
– Terry Boers is leaving the Sun-Times and will join WSCR Radio as a full-time co-host with Dan McNeil on the station`s afternoon drive-time show. ”He has a real talent for this,” Score program director Ron Gleason said of Boers, who had alternated with Brian Hanley. . . . WMAQ-Ch. 5 will telecast the first of two Bears exhibition-oops, preseason-games at 7 p.m. Saturday. NBC`s Dan Hicks will temporarily replace play-by-play man Don Criqui, who will be in Berlin to call the Broncos-Dolphins for the network at noon Saturday. Dan Hampton returns as analyst. Channel 5`s Mark Giangreco again is sideline reporter. Criqui returns Aug. 28 for the Bears-Cowboys contest. . . . Dallas
sportscaster Paul Crane has replaced Hicks as a CNN sports anchor and co-host of ”College Coaches Corner.” Ex-Colts coach Ron Meyer joins host Vince Cellini for CNN`s ”NFL Preview,” which debuts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. . . . SportsChannel`s Steve Kashul hosts ”Spirit of Sports,” a monthly look at the Illinois Special Olympics participants, at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.