Jim Nantz was added to the Hill of Fame at Oak Hill Country Club on Wednesday.
The hour long ceremony opened with a bagpipe procession and ended with an incredible acceptance speech from Nantz himself. He was funny. He was humble. He was exactly what one would expect such an accomplished broadcaster to be in front of a microphone.
Nantz thanked his CBS family for their support. He explained that the infamous “Hello, Friends” welcome was a message to his father, who was struggling with Alzheimer’s (Nantz said the first “Hello, Friends” came at the 2022 PGA Championship).
Josh Allen and Von Miller were in attendance from the Bills and Nantz recounted how grateful he was for the support of the organization after his mother passed away last fall. His next game for CBS was Buffalo hosting the Steelers and Nantz was enveloped with support from the team. Allen sent him a note. BillsMafia even did their thing, flooding his Alzheimer’s charity fund with money.
“The list of donations blew my mind,” Nantz said.
After the ceremony, Nantz stopped with WROC-TV sports director Thad Brown for an exclusive interview. Nantz said his head was “still spinning” after receiving the award.
“I make my living with my words, Thad. I’m having a hard time trying to find the right ones,” he said with a smile.
Nantz explained what he thinks is his contribution to the game of golf. He also related how awestruck he is seeing the new version of Oak Hill, why he’s watching Jordan Spieth this weekend and whether he thinks another major will ever come back to Oak Hill.
