Amanda Balionis appears to have changed her tune after taking a thinly veiled dig at Rory McIlroy following the PGA Championship, this time taking to Instagram to document her latest “full circle moment.”
The popular sportscaster made waves over the weekend when she appeared to take issue with the Northern Irishman’s decision to completely avoid all media duties at Quail Hollow, unleashing a subtle swipe at the 35-year-old as she wrapped up her post-round interview with Bryson DeChambeau on Sunday.
“Thank you for taking the time — I know you don’t have to take the time, but we appreciate it,” Balionis said to the American, a line many interpreted as a veiled dig at McIlroy. Then, taking to her Instagram Stories shortly after, she thanked both DeChambeau and Jon Rahm for taking the time to conduct media duties in the aftermath of Sunday’s PGA Championship, which was won by Scottie Scheffler.
READ: PGA Tour stars all in agreement about Rory McIlroy’s behavior on course
“Appreciate these two for taking the time to talk after a gutting loss,” the CBS reporter wrote on Instagram alongside photos of the LIV duo. “Simply a reminder that no one is obligated to talk, it’s a choice. And to bring us in after coming so close to a career accomplishment is awesome for the viewer.”
Having received apparent criticism for her choice of words, Balionis then took to social media once more with a timely reminder for “all my fellow recovering people pleasers.” Sharing a clip of American actress Kerry Washington saying, “I don’t really take criticism to heart from people I don’t admire and respect,” she wrote: “Needed this one today.”
Now, the 38-year-old has opted to divert attention away from the situation by celebrating a recent “full circle moment” with none other than former NFL tight end Greg Olsen, who just so happened to be at the PGA Championship over the weekend. Posing alongside Balionis for a picture, the ex-Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, and Seattle Seahawks star included the snap in a recent post of his own.
Balionis shared the post to her own Instagram account, writing on her story: “Such a great time with Greg Olsen and T-Mobile in Charlotte this week. He was the first NFL player I ever interviewed back in 2009 when I was covering high school football and was doing a story on his family (football royalty in New Jersey)… it was cool to have this full-circle moment!”
Olsen’s appearance at Quail Hollow over the weekend allowed him to catch up with Balionis, who, as her caption alluded to, has known the former Miami Hurricanes star for quite some time.
The 40-year-old reflected on this in his caption, writing: “Spent PGA Championship week with my friends [at T-Mobile] For Business and [Amanda Balionis] talking golf and technology, and how T-Mobile is truly changing the game for fans, players, and even announcers like me. Amazing stuff AND your boy predicted the winner from the start!! Heck of a weekend.”
The former player-turned-broadcaster has made a name for himself since hanging up his cleats in January 2021, immediately joining Fox Sports as a full-time broadcaster and working with Kevin Burkhardt. Ahead of the 2022 season, the pair were promoted to the #1 team, replacing Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
Olsen was then demoted to the network’s second team with play-by-play announcer Joe Davis for the 2024 NFL season following Tom Brady’s arrival, with the New England Patriots icon signing a staggering 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports. Olsen’s move saw his pay drop from $10M-a-year to just $3M.
As for Balionis, she will now be looking to move on swiftly from her recent comments in the hope of avoiding any further unwanted attention, beginning with this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas before next week’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio, one of the signature events on the PGA Tour.
Looking to win his third tournament on the bounce when he takes the stage at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth later this week is Scheffler, who was suffering from an extremely common summertime issue in his recent PGA Championship interview with Balionis.
