Alison Whitaker Facts: 15 Things You Didn't Know About The Australian Broadcaster

Alison Whitaker has one of the more familiar voices in European Tour golf, working alongside the likes of Inci Mehmet, Andrew Coltart, Tim Barter, and Wayne Riley as part of the Sky Sports Golf team. Discover more about the former pro golfer via these facts.

ALISON WHITAKER FACTS

1. Whitaker was born November 23, 1985 in Melbourne, Australia.

2. Her father, George, played football for Australia's Under-23 football team.

3. She majored in psychology from Duke University in North Carolina, and minored in theatre studies while also playing collegiate golf. Alison joined the university in 2006, which was the best ranked Women's College Golf School in the NCAA at the time.

4. In 2005, Whitaker reached the semi-final of the US Women's Amateur, defeating future LPGA players Ryann O’Toole, Maria Uribe and Amanda Blumenherst before falling to losing finalist, Maru Martinez.

5. Alison became a professional golfer in 2010, where she earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour for the 2011 season, after finishing 22nd at qualifying school.

6. The Australian then joined the Ladies European Tour from 2012, eventually leading to her invite to commentate on the LET. She first commentated on the LET in 2014.

7. Whitaker's first call-up for commentary duties came despite the broadcaster wanting a European voice for the final round - they had to settle for the Australian's accent instead. She was initially approached to fill in on a temporary basis, before becoming a regular for the 2015 season, going to on to swap her clubs for a microphone.

8. Her stock has risen ever since, and she regularly works on the Men's European Tour and LPGA Tour as part of the Sky Sports Golf team.

9. She transitioned from playing golf professionally to commentating because she was suffering from both glandular fever and vertigo, though she didn't know she had the illnesses when she first picked up the microphone. Her transition into retirement occurred quicker than expected, simply because of the offer of more opportunities to commentate on golf.

10. Whitaker claims that fellow golf commentators Kate Burton and Richard Kaufman are two of her most influential mentors, helping her to develop her skills in describing the action.

11. In 2021, she became the first female to host both The Open and Ryder Cup world feeds; and in 2023 the first female lead on a men's Major golf broadcast for Sky Sports when covering the PGA Championship.

12. Whitaker became friends with Australian professional Lucas Herbert after he made an effort to connect with more European-based Aussies from 2019 onwards.

13. In 2023, Whitaker had much of her hair cut off in support of the Kids With Cancer Foundation.

14. Whitaker describes herself as a food and wine expert and offers tips to her friends on the best spots to go out around the world.

15. Whitaker is in a relationship with a woman called Lena Corrie.