ESPN's Senior NFL Reporter Adam Schefter Swapping Gridiron For The Golf Course At The Travelers Championship

ESPN's senior NFL insider Adam Schefter is making his debut as an on-course golf reporter at the Travelers Championship - following Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley in the first round

NFL reporter Adam Schefter will work for ESPN's golf coverage at the Travelers Championship
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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The new PGA Tour CEO is coming from the NFL, and the crossover continues at the Travelers Championship as one of ESPN's top reporters will be swapping the gridiron for the golf course.

Brian Rolapp was among those being talked about as Roger Goodell's successor as NFL commissioner before making the move to replace the departing Jay Monahan at the PGA Tour.

And now, ESPN's senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, one of the biggest names covering the biggest sport in America, will be part of the coverage of the Travelers Championship.

ESPN revealed that Schefter will debut as an on-course reporter at TPC River Highlands on Thursday - following Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley's first round for PGA Tour Live.

He's more used to reporting on the Bears and Bengals than birdies and bogeys, dropping exclusives on Patrick Mahomes rather than Rory McIlroy, but Schefter will be walking the fairways on Thursday.

It's the final Signature Event of the PGA Tour season, and with ESPN headquarters in nearby Bristol, Connecticut, the network is making a big thing of its coverage.

Schefter has been breaking the biggest NFL stories on ESPN for 16 years after joining from the NFL Network, where he performed a similar role from 2004.

The 58-year-old has also dabbled in NBA coverage for ESPN, but told the Pat McAfee show that he may well fancy a move into golf in the future.

"Well, it's just tomorrow's the opportunity to be honest, but I do think there is an opening in the golf space,” he told McAfee. “And I think that in time, that’s something that would interest me.

We've seen Schefter suited and booted with cell phone in hand breaking NFL stories for decades, but even he admitted that a change may be a good thing.

"I love what I do," he added. "I’m very happy doing what I do. I want to keep doing it. But I’ve done it for 35 years, too.

"And if you have grilled chicken every night, every once in a while, it’s nice to have the stir-fried chicken and just mix it up a little bit, right? And so try some different things. And that's all this is."

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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