A video of Padraig Harrington arguing with NBC on-course reporter Roger Maltbie for not helping him look for a lost ball during his opening round is generating buzz at the U.S. Senior Open.
“Never on a golf course stand and look at somebody looking for a golf ball,” Harrington is seen telling Maltbie on video captured by a local TV reporter outside the scoring area. “You’ve played golf all your life. You understand.”
The argument stemmed from Thursday’s round, when Harrington teed off into a thicket of trees on the 15th hole. After about a dozen people unsuccessfully searched for the allowed three minutes, Harrington went back to the tee box for his third shot. He ended up saving bogey, and went into the weekend tied for the lead.
Maltbie, the longtime on-course reporter who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s and ‘80s, was in the area. He told Golf.com on Saturday he was being asked to report on the scenario and couldn’t step away from his job to help in the search.
A day after the episode, Harrington and Maltbie aired out their differences near the scoring area.
Maltbie can be heard telling Harrington, “So I should have disobeyed my producer?”
In the interview with Golf.com, he said: “I was very close to saying, ’All these years, all these checks I’ve gotten from NBC, your name isn’t on any of them.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.