Tim Rosaforte, a longtime reporter and writer for Golf Channel, died on Tuesday. He was 66.
Rosaforte passed away in Palm Beach, Florida, after brief battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Rosaforte retired in 2019. During his career as a golf journalist, he was at Sports Illustrated, Golf Digest and Golf Channel. He had been with Golf Channel since 2007 though had appeared on the network during the mid-1990s in the network’s early days.
“We at NBC Sports are all so deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our friend and colleague, Tim Rosaforte,” NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua said. “Tim was one of the great voices of the game for many years, and a strong and trusted presence for the entire golf community. On a personal level, I will miss our conversations and the walks we would take around championship venues over the course of the last two-plus decades.”
Bevacqua was among many to pay their respects to Rosaforte, who rose to prominence among golf fans as the Golf Channel’s first “insider.”
“Tim Rosaforte was golf journalism’s original ‘insider.’ He was endlessly curious about people, tirelessly intrigued by golf and blessed with an indefatigable work ethic,” Golf Channel executive producer Molly Solomon said. “He combined all of that to produce entertaining and informative storytelling that distinguished him, first as a newspaper and magazine writer, and then as a television personality. More than that, his gentle, caring demeanor and love for quality conversation made him a singular friend and colleague. All of us at Golf Channel have struggled over the past two years to reconcile that our best teammate was losing his memory, curiosity and perspective to this insidious disease. We send our love to Genevieve, Genna, Molly and his family.”
Golf Channel host Rich Lerner added: “He was a decorated all-star, a legend in our business – but he played like a guy just called up from the minors…as you get deeper into life and further along into a career, what you come to value is working with good people – people who care, people who are unselfish, people who value getting it right, people with heart, people who make you laugh. That’s how we all feel about Tim…there was no one better than ‘Rosie.’”
“Tim brought kindness and empathy and warmth. It was why he had so many sources among the players, caddies, coaches, agents and administrators in golf, and why they always called him back. They knew if the freedom they felt with Tim led them to something more revealing than intended, the reporter would understand and present it in the right tone and spirit. It gained Tim trust and respect, and made him a distinctive among his peers,” Golf Channel reporter Jaime Diaz said.