Tom Abbott facts for kids

Tom Abbott, born on December 7, 1981, in London, England, is a well-known sports commentator and broadcaster. He is famous for his work with The Golf Channel and NBC. Tom works as a presenter and commentator for major golf tournaments. These include the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and European Tour. Since 2010, he has also been a co-host of the TV show The Big Break.

Early Life and Golf

Tom grew up in Cheam, a suburb near London, England. He went to Wilson's School, which was an all-boys' school. When he was young, Tom loved golf. He was a very good golfer, playing for Surrey at both junior and adult levels. He also played for the England Schools' golf team.

Tom went to Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, USA. He played on the university's golf team there. In 2004, he graduated with a degree in Media Business. In October 2015, Tom was honored by being added to the Mercer Athletic Hall of Fame.

Starting His Career

Tom began his broadcasting career while at Mercer University. He helped create a TV station on campus called Mercer99. While in Macon, he also worked with a local TV station, WPGA-TV. He appeared weekly on their "58 Sports Show."

Later, Tom worked as an intern at WGCL-TV in Atlanta, Georgia. His first full-time job in broadcasting was in 2004. He joined a brand-new CBS TV station, WCAV-TV, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Tom was the first-ever sports anchor for this station. He helped launch their first news show in November 2004.

Working with Golf Channel

In November 2005, Tom joined Golf Channel. He started as a reporter and presenter for the network's UK channel, based in Orlando, Florida. He worked on the news show Golf Central. He also hosted LPGA Tour coverage with Laura Baugh.

The Golf Channel UK stopped broadcasting on December 31, 2007. However, Tom stayed with the network to work for their main U.S. operations.

New Roles and Big Events

In January 2008, Tom started hosting European Tour coverage. He also continued reporting and anchoring Golf Central. For one season, Tom was also the voice for the Top 10 series. Later in 2008, he began appearing on the network's LPGA Tour coverage.

In 2009, Tom reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, about golf being included in the Olympics. Seven years later, golf returned to the Olympics at the games in Rio. Tom was part of the NBC Sports broadcast team for this event.

Hosting The Big Break

In 2010, Tom took over from Vince Cellini as the host of Golf Channel's popular show, The Big Break. Tom has hosted eleven seasons of the show. This includes Big Break NFL, where he worked with Michele Tafoya. He also hosted the latest season, Big Break, The Palm Beaches, Florida, which aired in early 2015.

In June 2015, Golf Channel made changes to its original programming. This put The Big Break on hold. It is not clear when the show will return or if Tom will continue to host it.

Major Golf Tournaments

In 2012, Tom first appeared on Golf Channel's PGA Tour coverage. A year later, he worked for NBC for the first time as an announcer and interviewer at the U.S. Women's Open. Two years after that, Tom was part of the BBC commentary team for the Ricoh Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. Later in 2014, he was a tower announcer for NBC's coverage of The Ryder Cup.

In 2015, Tom called the winning putt for the US team. This was during their victory over Europe at the Solheim Cup in Heidelberg, Germany. A few weeks later, he was part of the commentary team for Golf Channel and NBC's coverage of the President's Cup in Songdo, South Korea. This meant that by the age of 33, Tom had commentated on the Ryder, President's, Solheim, and Walker Cups.

Golf Channel and NBC began a 13-year agreement to broadcast The Open in 2016. Tom was part of the commentary team at Royal Troon.

Personal Life

Tom Abbott lives in Orlando, Florida.