The Open commentator forced to issue grovelling apology after X-rated live TV outburst when he thought his mic was off

A GOLF commentator was forced to issue a grovelling apology after an X-rated outburst live on TV during The Open.

NBC’s on-course reporter Smylie Kaufman dropped the F-bomb when he thought his mic was off on Friday.

Smylie Kaufman was forced to issue a grovelling apology after an X-rated outburst live on TV during The Open

The Open commentator forced to issue grovelling apology after X-rated live TV outburst when he thought his mic was off

It came as Jon Rahm was putting for a long birdie on hole 13.

On the mic, Kaufman said: “This is one of the more difficult holes today.”

And as challenging as the hole may have been for Rahm and the other golfers, it was equally difficult for Kaufman.

After a few seconds pause, Kaufman could be heard ruffling around before blurting out: “What the f***?”

About 15 minutes later, host Mike Tirico was tasked with issuing an apology for Kaufman and NBC.

Tirico appeared to blame the headsets at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

And now Kaufman himself posted his own apology on X.

He said: “I guess there’s a first for everything. First off I want to apologise for the audio blunder that happened today.

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“I heard a pop in my ear and it went radio silent, which typically signals to me that my mic is down.

“But clearly it wasn’t, so I want to apologise for what happened and to the team that was listening and of course I’m going to move past this one.

“It definitely won’t happen again and I’m looking forward to a great weekend. Sorry guys. See ya.”

As of Friday, Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler were tied at the top of the Open Championship leaderboard at nine-under-par.

H.T. Li and Brian Harman trail closely behind at eight under, with five other players at five under.

Masters winner Rory McIlroy is in contention at three under, with home crowd at Royal Portrush roaring him on.

Kaufman, who played collegiate golf at Louisiana State University, turned professional in 2014 and played until 2017.

The Alabama native boasts two professional wins, one on the PGA Tour and one on the Web.com Tour.

He burst onto the PGA scene with a win in the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Five months prior, he won the United Leasing Championship, joining NBC in 2023.

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