Whit Watson '89

Whit Watson '89 joined the Golf Channel in August 2010 and serves as a play-by-play host for the network’s Web.com Tour,PGA Tour, and LPGA Tour tournament coverage. In addition, Watson works as a host for “Golf Central”, the network’s daily evening news program, as well as co-hosting “Morning Drive”, Golf Channel’s daily news and lifestyle show. He has anchored many of the network's most popular series: Sun Sports daylong “Chevy Tailgate Weekend” block of college football programming, including “Rec Warehouse College Kickoff; Seminole & Gator Games” presented by Geico, “Tailgate Overtime” presented by AT&T, and the Emmy Award-winning “Chevy Florida Fishing Report” which he co-hosted with Captain Rick Murphy. Wastson also hosted a variety of speciality shows from the Sun Sports/FSN Florida Studios, including the all-access series “Under the lights and in my own words.”

Prior to joining Golf Channel, he was a host for Sun Sports and FSN Florida. As a play-by-play announcer, he called the action on numerous games/events on Sun Sports and FSN Florida, including college basketball, college baseball, the FHSAA high school basketball and football finals, arena league football, and more. In addition, he has served as a sideline reporter and pre-game host for select Orlando Magic and Miami Heat games on Sun Sports. Watson also contributes his own entertaining and informative blog on the Sun Sports & FSN Florida website, commenting on the latest sports news in Florida.

Watson joined Sun Sports after nearly seven years as an anchor at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut (April 1997-August 2003). There, he hosted evening and overnight editions of SportsCenter and was featured during primetime news hours on ESPNews, including intermission and halftime reports for hockey and college football/basketball. He hosted a variety of specialty shows, including RPM2Night, NBA2Night, and NBA Matchup, and filled in as a host for ESPN Radio.

A native of Winter Park, Watson was both a National Merit Scholar and a Cornell National Scholar at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where his broadcasting career began in radio at WVBR-FM (1990-1993). Having served as the station's sports director and morning sports anchor, Watson moved back home to Orlando upon graduation and joined the broadcasting department of the Orlando Magic as an intern. Later hired by the team as a television producer and radio reporter, he created special features for Magic TV programming, worked on the Magic's local weekly magazine show, and was the sideline reporter and secondary host for Magic Radio Network game broadcasts (1993-1997).

Watson's diverse freelance broadcasting background includes stints with several Orlando radio stations, play by play in minor league baseball, radio coverage of PGA and LPGA tour events, and production support for soccer's World Cup.