Famed Player, Announcer Dead at 64

(NationRise.com) – Mark Carnevale, the famous PGA Tour broadcaster and former Tour winner has died at the age of 64. Carnevale passed on Monday this week, only a week after he covered his latest tournament. The news sent shockwaves through the golfing community and resulted in an outpouring of love and support from fans on social media.

Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour Commissioner, responded to the news by branding Carnevale a “beloved part” of the Tour family. Monahan said that he was a member of the “elite” club of those who had won the Tour and held several high-profile roles within the industry at the same time, most recently becoming a voice for PGA Tour Radio’s coverage of the competition. In his statement, Monahan said that Carnevale knew the game well and did a “terrific job” providing his own unique insights into the game, and did so with a great sense of humor.

Carnevale’s unexpected death is still unexplained, with no official cause of death having yet been released. A statement from the PGA Tour only says that the star died “suddenly.”

Golfing fans know that the sports broadcaster’s journey is a remarkable one, having played in a series of mini-tours before joining the PGA Tour at age 31. Carnevale was named the 1992 season’s Rookie of the Year.

Describing Carnevale’s mood at the time, his father, Ben, said that he had called him at a hotel after spending most of the week at the tournament, and he “couldn’t speak” from the amazement. During a 2008 interview with Golf Digest in 2008, Carnevale said that it was one of only a few times in his life that he ever heard his son “choked up” and that it was probably the most memorable moment in “all of golf.”

Broadcaster Ned Michaels took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 23 to express his sadness at the news and share a photograph taken the Sunday prior showing Carnevale and a group of friends celebrating a “strong week” at the Scottish Open.

“Thank You for the friendship, guidance, grace, and many valuable lessons you bestowed upon us all,” Michaels wrote.