Veteran broadcaster Jim Gray, playing in American Express pro-am, has a history with desert golf

Legendary sportscaster Jim Gray has covered almost every sport during his career, having worked Super Bowls, Final Fours, the NBA Finals, the World Series, the Olympics, some the biggest fights in boxing and, yes, even The Masters.

He interviewed LeBron James as part of “The Decision” in 2010, interviewed Mike Tyson several times, when Tyson provided several of his most iconic soundbites. Between interviewing presidents on the golf course and chronicling the sport with interviews with the biggest names in the sport, few in sports broadcasting have had a career like the 12-time Emmy winner.

But this week in the California desert, Gray was not the one asking the questions. He was the one swinging the golf clubs.

Gray, 65, is participating in the pro-am portion of The American Express PGA Tour event. He has carded rounds of 5-under 67 and 1-under 71 through the first two rounds.

“I had a few good shots,” Gray said of his first round at PGA West. “Sometime you smile, sometimes you’re aggravated. But that’s the game.”

Gray said that he’s been coming to the Coachella Valley for golf for decades, going back to when former United States President Gerald Ford played these courses from the 1970s to the ’90s during what was then the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Gray said that he’s played Mission Hills, Tamarisk, Madison Club, Porcupine Creek, Vintage, and most recently at Ladera, another exclusive club that opened in Thermal at the end of 2023.

“What a gorgeous place,” Gray said.

Gray, who lives in Southern California, said that he’s been “in and out” of the valley several times over the years to play golf, and that he was invited to participate this week by American Express.

Gray joined several other notables in the pro-am, including WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, tech billionaire Ryan Smith, whose entertainment group owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz and NHL’s Utah Hockey Club, and NBA executive and former player Danny Ainge, among others. Engelbert, Smith and Ainge each played in the pro-am last year as well.

For Gray, whose 2020 book Talking to GOATs chronicled his career talking to the world’s best athletes, it’s especially unique to see him out on the course as the one with the pressure, with the crowd watching.

“My golf should not be on public display,” Gray joked. “But I’m glad to be included in this.”

Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Broadcaster Jim Gray adds to his desert golf history at American Express