Mark Loomis listened intently to the criticism that came his way after last year\u2019s U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. As the coordinating producer for all United States Golf Association events at Fox Sports, Loomis considers it part of his job to read everything that\u2019s written about his broadcasts.<\/p>\n
Last year that required time and a thick skin. The inaugural Fox broadcast was widely panned by television critics and drew loud protests from fans that had become accustomed to watching the U.S. Open on NBC, which held the rights for the previous 21 years.<\/p>\n
Lead analyst Greg Norman, who had little broadcasting experience, struggled in the role. Some viewers and critics had trouble getting comfortable with Fox\u2019s new twists that included tracers that followed the ball after it was struck and open mics on the course that picked up the conversations between the golfers and their caddies.<\/p>\n
Loomis listened to it all. Some of the criticism was justified, he said. Some of it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely pay attention to what people are saying,\u201d Loomis said. \u201cI love to read as much as I can about what people are saying. We take it all in and then we try to address it. I also know there are reasons for things. It\u2019s my job to figure out what we did well and what we didn\u2019t do well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fox Sports, which holds the rights for the next 10 years, gets its second opportunity to broadcast the U.S. Open this week at Oakmont.<\/p>\n