Amanda Balionis: Who is The CBS Golf Reporter?

Dustin Johnson’s 2020 Masters win last weekend led to a major moment for CBS’ on-course reporter Amanda Balionis.

Following the conclusion of the final round, Balionis spoke with Johnson, who was clearly emotional about an hour after winning his second career major.

“It’s a dream come true. As a kid you always dreamed about becoming a Masters champion,” Johnson said while getting choked up. “It’s just incredible, obviously, as you can tell.”

Balionis drew praise for how she handled the interview. Afterwards, she summed the situation up by saying it was “a Masters, and a Champion, unlike any other” on Twitter.

“I can’t thank you enough for all of the kind words!” she added in a subsequent tweet. “Somehow The Masters, no matter when it is played, always creates historic moments, memories & Champions. This year was no exception & I feel so lucky to be a part of this amazing CBS Sports team & to have been a small part of it.”

With all of that out of the way, it’s time to take a deeper look at who Amanda Balionis is and get to know more about her.

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Last weekend wasn’t her first rodeo.

While Sunday may have been Balionis’ biggest moment on camera, it is far from her first. She’s been part of CBS’ PGA Tour coverage since 2017 and has also served as a sideline reporter for NFL and college football games on the network.

Prior to joining CBS, she worked at the PGA Tour and Callaway Golf. As a result, she’s had a long history of interviewing Dustin Johnson, which is why she admitted she was a little taken aback by seeing the 36-year-old golfer so emotional.

“I’ve been interviewing Dustin since I started covering golf in 2011 and you kind of know what to expect,” Balionis told The Big Lead. “He’s going to answer the question that you ask and he’s going to underplay his performance and always chalk it up to executing and being in command. When he’s not playing well, he’s very honest about that too but he’s generally unemotional. Even when he won his first major there wasn’t a lot of emotion.

“I think what happened, though, is he was wearing the green jacket on the practice putting green, Tiger had just put it on him and it really just hit him in that moment that he’d accomplished his childhood dream. You know, he grew up an hour away from this golf course. This was the one and when I asked him the question, I think he really took himself back to when he was a little kid dreaming of the moment and it finally hit him. It was pretty incredible to see because we usually see a very in-control Dustin Johnson and we kind of got a peek behind the curtain, which I think was wonderful.”

A graduate of Hofstra University on Long Island, Balionis got her broadcasting start with MSG Network.

(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for The Match)

Amanda Balionis, off the golf course:

Balionis is a yoga teacher and a dog lover. She’s active with the charity “K9 for Warriors,” which rescues dogs from shelters and trains them to be service animals for veterans suffering from PTSD.

The 33-year-old Balionis is herself also an avid golfer, having played the game since she was a child. She even included golf in her Halloween costume this year.

Additionally, Balionis is a partner with BioSteel, a sports drink and nutrition company that features an impressive list of athletes as brand reps, including Patrick Mahomes, Ezekiel Elliott, Gleyber Torres and DeAndre Hopkins.

Now that we’ve looked at her background a bit, let’s check out her love life.

(Photo by Noah Graham/Getty Images for PGA of America)

Does Amanda Balionis have a boyfriend?

Balionis is currently in a relationship with former University of North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner. The 30-year-old Renner played for the Tar Heels from 2011-13, spent time with several practice squads in the NFL before getting into coaching in 2017.

Renner is in his second season as the cornerbacks coach at FIU after serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator in 2017 and 2018. It seems like his future is on the sidelines.

Because of their careers, Balionis and Renner are both busy, but judging by their respective social media profiles, they still find ways to spend time with each other.

Best of luck to the two of them as their relationship and respective careers progress.

What’s next for her?

Simply put, if there’s golf to be played, Amanda Balionis will be there to cover it. Whether it’s The Masters, another major tournament or “The Match: Champions for Charity” showcase, you can count on Balionis being there to provide a professional on-course interviewing experience.

As well-established as she is in the golf world, it will be interesting to see if Balionis’ career as a football sideline reporter takes off.

She’s already been trusted to cover pro and college football for CBS, which is an encouraging sign for her future with the network.

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