Dan Hicks, 1962-2026

Even if most golf fans felt like they knew Dan Hicks, his death will be felt most sharply by those who knew him best. NBC Golf’s longtime lead play-by-play announcer died at 64 from what his wife Hannah Storm described as an “acute illness,” leading to an outpouring of heartfelt messages from friends, family and colleagues who celebrated Hicks’ kindness, generosity and professionalism.

The larger golf world will likely sense this void in one of those big golf moments for which Hicks had been a capable and eloquent narrator. The U.S. Open’s return to Pebble Beach this June will be a bittersweet bookend. The same venue in 2000, where Tiger Woods famously won by 15 shots, is also where Hicks made his debut alongside Johnny Miller in the lead chair. In subsequent years, he would become synonymous with some of the event’s biggest moments, none bigger than when Woods forced a playoff at Torrey Pines in 2008. This June, a U.S Open at Pebble Beach will be notable just as much for who won’t be there as who will be.

Dan Hicks, longtime voice of NBC Sports, dies at 64

The network's longtime lead golf voice died from what his wife described as an acute illness.

By Joel Beall

What You Need to Know

Coleman Bentley

Let's remember Dan Hicks' most iconic call.

The golf world woke up to sad news on Thursday morning that longtime NBC announcer Dan Hicks—best known for his work covering the PGA Tour and Olympics—had passed away at the age of 64. Tributes poured in from around the sports world, many featuring the same three words:

Expect anything different?

The call of Tiger Woods' putt on the 18th hole of the 2008 U.S. Open to force a playoff vs. Rocco Mediate stands as Hicks' most iconic. Seated alongside longtime broadcast partner Johnny Miller, Hicks summed up the competitive resolve of Woods with a simple query that will echo through golf history for decades to come.

Christopher Powers

Roger Maltbie on Dan Hicks' passing: "This is a tough one."

The tributes are pouring in for the longtime NBC Golf play-by-play man, who passed away at the age of 64. One of his longest-running colleagues, Roger Maltbie, called into Golf Channel on Thursday morning, and did as good a job as he could have at keeping it together. "This is a tough one, Rich [Lerner]," Maltbie said. "I mean, really tough." A choked up Maltbie was able to gather himself and add that losing Hicks was not merely losing a colleague or a nice guy, it was like "losing a pal."  

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