Golf announcer Peter Oosterhuis says he has early-onset Alzheimer's - Washington Post (blog)

Peter Oosterhuis, who stepped down from his longtime role as a golf analyst for CBS Sports and the Golf Channel in January, has publicly announced he is coping with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Oosterhuis, 67, had been with CBS since 1997. He learned of his diagnosis in July 2014 and, as reported by Yahoo Sports, shared the news during a private fundraising event in May hosted by CBS lead golf announcer Jim Nantz, who lost his father to Alzheimer’s disease.

According to a story in Golf World, Oosterhuis began to experience some memory loss that affected his television commentary, and a visit last July to a neurologist near his residence in Charlotte revealed the condition.

“Maybe in the course of my commentary, I wasn’t giving a lot of information like I used to; I would just talk about what’s on the screen,” he told Golf World. “But I didn’t feel like I had those things ready in my mind to call on to make a point, like I used to.”

After his CBS contract expired in November, he announced his retirement in January, saying “I feel it is the right time to step away to focus on things in life that I have always wanted to do.”

Oosterhuis is taking part in a trial program for an experimental Alzheimer’s drug at the Nantz National Alzheimer’s Center, part of Houston Methodist Neurological Center. He still drives and plays golf occasionally near his home while also hosting a Saturday-morning radio show on SiriusXM.

The British-born Oosterhuis won just once on the PGA Tour as a player but finished tied for third at the 1973 Masters â€" he led by three shots after 54 holes â€" and twice finished second at the British Open.

“There is no sweeter, kinder, more humble person in all of golf,” CBS counterpart Ian Baker-Finch told Golf World. “I’m sure he is sad, but when we get together, he doesn’t dwell, and we follow his lead. But sure, we miss him, and he misses us.”

After spending the first 17 years of his Post career writing and editing, Matt and the printed paper had an amicable divorce in 2014. He's now blogging and editing for the Early Lead and the Post's other Web-based products.