If it’s your job to broadcast professional golf, you know Daniel Berger.
Is he the flashiest guy on tour? Nope. Has he fanned the flames of a viral feud for months or etched his name in a Major trophy? He has not. But he is, in the dialect of the late, great Marlon Brando, a contendah. He is ranked just outside the top 15 in the world. He won the Charles Schwab Challenge last year and the am-less AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year. He’s a dude, a known quantity, a guy who presents great value, if you’re picking up what we’re throwing down.
All of which is to say there’s only one way to view Sky Sports butchering Berger’s name on the first tee box of his first-ever Ryder Cup match:
As an act of war.
We’re not saying for sure that this is an intentional slight, butttt we’re not not saying it either. And if it is intentional, honestly, we welcome it. There’s been a lot of buddy-buddy talk between the Americans and Europeans this week. Fans are even saying nice things to Ian Poulter. Hell hath frozen over. Blue ribbon Wisconsin hogs have sprouted wings. A little lighthearted beef (see what we did there?) might be just what we need to get this tournament up and running, and who better to grill it up than the limey-but-lovable Brits over at Sky Sports?
The ball now comes to a rest in NBC’s fairway. Will we see an act of retaliation before the weekend is out? Tyrell Mutton? Ian Poultry? Or perhaps the clapback of all clapbacks:
Bernd WiesBURGER.
Misspell our names all you want. These colours don’t run.
