Newsday Profiles NBC Golf Analyst Mark Rolfing '71

June 18, 2004

June 18, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - "Not golf's typical roving on-course reporter," New York's Newsday writes of NBC golf analyst and 1971 DePauw University graduate Mark Rolfing, noting that he "has [a] knack for being in right place at the right time." The lengthy profile by Steve Zipay follows Rolfing at the US Open. "He prefers watching the flight of the ball from the side and prizes his ability to definitively point out distances from the pin. 'The guys in the booth just can't be sure as somebody on the ground,' said Rolfing, who returned to NBC in October 1997 after spending eight years at ABC. A query will come through the headsets: 'How does it look, Rolf?' The response is delivered, not whispered."

The story details Rolfing's interactions with golf's big names, and with fans of the game. "When Rolfing waited by the ropes on the sixth fairway and Larry Siegel, 49, of Port Chester and Bob Aylward, 43, of Manhattan asked him quietly about [Tiger] Woods, Rolfing responded politely. 'His confidence seems a little low right now,' Rolfing said. 'He only hit five of 12 fairways so far today.' Both men said they appreciated his opinion. That's not surprising. Perhaps Rolfing, a DePauw University graduate, has learned to be politically correct. He once roomed with Dan Quayle." (photo shows Rolfing (r) interviewing Ernie Els)