It was supposed to be a routine walk with the final group at the 2025 U.S. Senior Open in Colorado Springs, but things turned testy fast. Padraig Harrington, tied for the lead after two rounds and chasing his second Senior Open title, found himself in an unexpected mid-tournament controversy. The spark? A lost tee shot, a lack of assistance, and a tense post-round encounter that has since gone viral. The trouble began Thursday on Broadmoor’s 15th hole. After pulling his drive into a thicket, Harrington, his caddie Ronan Flood, and others began a hurried search for the ball, with the three-minute time limit under Rule 18.2 ticking away. But one key figure, NBC’s walking on-course analyst, stood aside.

“I can’t do it from inside the thick of the trees,” said Roger Maltbie, sharing with GOLF.com, explaining he had been instructed by his producer to remain positioned for an on-air report. “So, I stayed outside.” When Harrington approached him mid-search, Maltbie recalled, “He said, ‘You could help search for the ball,’ and I just didn’t respond.” Tensions escalated at the next hole when Flood reportedly told Maltbie’s spotter to “piss off.”

Then, on Friday, Maltbie confronted Harrington outside the scoring trailer to explain. “So, I should have disobeyed my producer?” he asked. Harrington fired back, “You’ve played golf all your life… You don’t stand looking at somebody looking for a golf ball.” Maltbie didn’t hold back afterward. “Padraig has lots of opinions… But he just doesn’t see it that way,” he told GOLF.com. “I really expected him to understand.” Fittingly, Maltbie will walk with Harrington’s final group again Saturday, drama fully intact. That uncomfortable pairing sets the stage for a broader conversation that’s been brewing across the professional golf landscape all season.

Players vs. press: A growing divide on tour

While Maltbie’s decision not to join the ball search sparked immediate friction, it was Harrington’s reaction, matched by caddie Ronan Flood’s protective intervention, that turned a routine moment into a viral flashpoint. The fact that it garnered over 1.3 million views within hours only underscores how sensitive the player-media dynamic has become.

This isn’t an isolated case. Throughout the 2025 season, several top players have shown visible frustration with media encroachment during play. At the PGA Championship, Shane Lowry clashed with an ESPN reporter who interjected during a live rules discussion, prompting the Irishman to snap, “That’s not for you to talk about.” He later added the interference “annoyed me a lot.” Around the same time, Collin Morikawa skipped press entirely after a runner-up finish, saying he didn’t “owe” media interviews—remarks that drew public pushback from Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley. Rory McIlroy, too, went media-silent for days amid equipment scrutiny.

In Harrington’s case, the timing was delicate. He had just shot 67 and was tied for the U.S. Senior Open lead. But the off-course friction added another layer to what should have been a focused title push. Whether this growing rift leads to policy changes or further flashpoints, it’s clear the relationship between players and press is shifting, and not always harmoniously.