Terry Gannon Facts: 15 Things To Know About The Golf Channel Broadcaster

Terry Gannon has been a regular on the Golf Channel since 2010, but that is just one aspect of an extraordinary career in broadcasting that followed an equally fascinating life growing up and during his time at university.

Here are 15 things you may not know about the American.

Terry Gannon Facts

1. Terry Gannon was born on 1 November 1963 in Joliet, Illinois.

2. As a youngster, he took up tap dancing for four years, which was intended to improve his coordination for basketball.

3. He enrolled at North Carolina State University, where he was part of the legendary "Cardiac Pack" basketball team that won the 1983 NCAA Division I Championship.

4. He was an All-American twice and the university’s leading free throw shooter that year.

5. Gannon graduated with a degree in history in 1985, and initially worked as a graduate assistant under his coach Jim Valvano for a year, intending to become a basketball coach.

6. He briefly played professional basketball in Europe.

7. Gannon began his broadcasting career announcing for a variety of sports on cable outlets, before moving to ABC in 1991.

8. He joined the Golf Channel in 2010 and nowadays is a play-by-play announcer and host for the network’s PGA Tour and LPGA Tour coverage.

9. However, his expertise stretches far beyond golf. He is known as "the man who knows every game," and has covered a wide variety of sports for both ABC and NBC, including gymnastics, college basketball, volleyball, skiing, mountain biking and tennis.

10. He has covered five Olympics for NBC Sports, where he is particularly known for his work as a studio host and play-by-play commentator for figure skating, alongside Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir.

11. His colleagues have each credited him with their development as analysts.

12. Gannon, Lipinski and Weir have also hosted the closing ceremonies of four Olympics, including the 2024 Games in Paris.

13. He hosted the 2002 men’s soccer World Cup and the women’s equivalent in 2003.

14. For three years, he hosted the Tour de France.

15. In 2018, Gannon told sports reporter Helen Ross that of all the sports he has called, he found golf the hardest, even though he plays it and has been a lifelong enthusiast of the game.