Amanda Balionis showed her followers how she lets her hair down on Saturday – sharing snaps of a girls day out at Soleta Golf Course.
The 39-year-old reporter for CBS Sports is adored by fans worldwide thanks to her coverage of the PGA Tour, and it seems as though her love of the sport doesn’t end in her reporting duties. Balionis took to Instagram on Saturday to share several snaps of herself and friends at the renowned golf club in Myakka City, Florida, with her 320,000-strong following.
She was accompanied by her mother Dana Caplan Balionis, as well as instructor Carolin Pinegger and content creator Holly Lead, as the group enjoyed a round of golf and even some pro tips from David Leadbetter – who has designed a 30-acre practice facility at the club.
One photo showed the group enjoying drinks at the course, while another was taken from the inside of a golf buggy as they traversed the course in style. Another even showed Leadbetter giving Balionis tips on her swing, captioned: “Bless @davidleadbetter for never giving up on me.”
After graduating from Hostra University in 2008 with a major in broadcast journalism, Balionis found work with Verizon Fios Channel 1 and MSG Networks covering high school sports. She joined the PGA Tour as an in-house reporter in 2011, producing highlights, events and shows for the banner’s official website.
In 2016, Balionis made the move to Callaway Golf to produce digital content for the brand’s media production team, before she was hired by CBS the following year as a part-time golf reporter. However, the company promoted her to full-time the following year, while adding college football and NFL games to her list of duties.
Her full-time presenting job is reported to bring a salary of $100,000 (£79k) home, and it is estimated that Balionis has a net worth of around $1million (£788k) thanks to her career to date. Despite being heavily involved with the golf game from a media perspective, Balionis has never played the game professionally.
As Golf Monthly, she in the past admitted: “I played junior golf for a few years. My parents loved playing with me, but the minute I had to carry my own bag and walk nine holes by myself, I was like, ‘Eh, you know what, I’m gonna go join the swim team.”
