When you wake up to one of the most thrilling final rounds in recent women’s major history, you expect your viewing experience to match the moment. But this Sunday, golf fans worldwide were left shaking their heads, not because of Grace Kim’s epic playoff victory, but because NBC and the LPGA fumbled the broadcast of the Amundi Evian Championship so badly, it managed to spoil its own show.

Grace Kim delivered an astonishing come-from-behind win at the Evian Resort Golf Club. Finishing eagle-birdie-eagle to force and eventually win a dramatic playoff against world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul. Her victory wasn’t just an athletic feat; it was pure golf theatre, a moment that should have gone down as an all-time great broadcast. Instead, it was overshadowed by infuriating technical and production issues.

@GolfweekNichols, veteran golf journalist Beth Ann Nichols, nailed it in a single post on X: “I quit watching twitter because the tv coverage was so far behind the LPGA’s feed. How does this happen? Most dramatic event of the year.🙄” But she wasn’t alone. Fans and analysts alike scrambled to mute, log off, or avoid all platforms during the final stretch, not because they wanted to go full radio silence, but because the LPGA’s own account was spoiling results minutes before NBC’s broadcast caught up. And the real sting? This wasn’t some freak technical glitch.

According to Big Randy on the No Laying Up Podcast, this was just another chapter in a long pattern of subpar production at the Evian. “Here’s a problem like that I’ve always had with this tournament—is the mail-in effort that we get from NBC Golf Channel”

Randy criticized the television coverage of the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship, calling it a serious letdown during what was otherwise a remarkable day for women’s golf. He pointed out that the NBC and Golf Channel broadcasts were three to five minutes behind the actual live action, which caused significant frustration for viewers following the event in real time. Social media, particularly the LPGA’s official account, was sharing key moments and results before they appeared on the broadcast, spoiling the drama as it unfolded.

Randy emphasized that there was “a great buzz on social,” describing it as “one of the great mornings we’ve had in a long time” for women’s golf online, but the broadcast lag made it impossible to engage with fans and coverage in real-time. For someone whose job involves being on social media during tournaments, he said it became “the opposite of what my job is at times,” because he had to avoid Twitter to not have the results ruined. He called the delay “very, very bad.”He went on to say this wasn’t an isolated issue. Randy noted previous instances at the Evian Championship were key shots. Including those in the final hole, they were missed entirely because they happened during commercial breaks.

All due to a lack of coordination between the production crew and the broadcast team. He bluntly stated, “I don’t want to hear the excuses,” and said that while he doesn’t know exactly who is responsible..NBC, Golf Channel, or the LPGA…he suspects there’s shared blame across the board. While he acknowledged the golf itself was thrilling, he concluded by saying this broadcast failure was “literally the only bummer of the day.” And it was a bummer. Because when the golf is that good, the broadcast should be right there with it.

Lost Moments, no video of a Hole-in-One? 

If the broadcast delay wasn’t enough, there was another mind-blowing mishap, no footage of a hole-in-one… at a major… by Leona Maguire. Tron Carter, also on the No Laying Up Podcast, didn’t sugarcoat it: “Leona Maguire—she was leading the tournament round one—an ace and they didn’t have video footage of the ace from a major championship. That’s like one of the best players in the world. That’s insane.” Insane is right. Maguire’s ace on the 164-yard, downhill second hole was pivotal in her opening-round 65, which gave her a share of the lead.

A moment that should have been replayed and celebrated across the world was reduced to hearsay and quotes. No clip, not even a slow-mo. Just a black hole where one of the most electric shots of the week should have lived. And this isn’t an obscure player making a hole-in-one on a Thursday morning. Leona Maguire is a two-time LPGA winner, a Solheim Cup hero, and one of Ireland’s most prominent sports stars. To miss that shot is to miss the whole point of covering a major.

What makes this all the more disappointing is how memorable the golf was. Aditi Ashok, the lone Indian in the field, was flirting with a Top-10 before a mid-round collapse saw her slip to T-28. Still, it was her second-best finish at Evian after her T-17 last year. England’s Lottie Woad, an amateur and sponsor invite, tied for third and secured her LPGA eligibility via the new LEAP program. Three-time major winner Minjee Lee was in the mix. Jeeno Thitikul nearly snatched her first major with a flawless bogey-free round. And Grace Kim? She fought through illness and a double on the 12th to play the final six holes like a woman possessed. 

Yet, the momentum of the championship, what could have been an inflection point for growing the women’s game, was dulled by a botched broadcast and a baffling production miss. This isn’t about nitpicking a minor technical issue or being fussy over streaming quality. This is about giving women’s golf the stage it deserves. When a major is decided in the kind of playoff we just saw, and your viewers are actively avoiding your coverage because it’s spoiling itself, something is very broken. It’s not asking too much, just sync the broadcast, show the shots, and most importantly, don’t ruin the moment.