Amanda Balionis (formerly Renner) is an American broadcast journalist who is part of the CBS Sports golf team and has quickly become one of the best reporters covering professional golf. Discover more about her life and career via these facts...
AMANDA BALIONIS FACTS
1. Her full name is Amanda Jacqueline Balionis.
2. Balionis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 20, 1986 but moved to Lancaster, PA when she was 10. She now lives in San Diego, California.
3. She started playing golf at the age of nine and also enjoyed swimming and playing volleyball. “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,” Balionis told Golf Digest.
4. She majored in broadcast journalism at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, graduating in 2008. Balionis had attended Kutztown University of Pennsylvania for a couple of years before that.
5. While at Kutztown University, Balionis played Division II volleyball.
6. Her grandparents met through golf and her parents both also used to play the game regularly.
7. She has worked for CBS Sports since 2017 and helped cover every Masters tournament since 2018.
8. Before joining CBS, Balionis started out at the PGA Tour before moving on to Callaway Golf, where she worked as an in-house reporter producing digital content for the golf manufacture's media production team.
9. As well as golf, Balionis also covers the NFL for CBS and worked at her first Super Bowl in 2018, as the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots at US Bank Stadium in Minnesota. Her dream was to be an NFL sideline reporter - a role she now carries out every week.
10. Balionis received widespread praise for her post-round interview with Dustin Johnson when he won the 2020 Masters in the year where no patrons were allowed. Usually a measured and level character, Johnson was moved to tears when trying to describe what the achievement meant to him, with Balionis showing great emotional intelligence to navigate Johnson through.
Winning the Masters is a dream come true for Dustin Johnson. pic.twitter.com/2gGJ9HuMSJNovember 15, 2020
11. Balionis works with the charity 'K9 for Warriors', which helps to train dogs to become service animals for post-9/11 military veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
12. She is trained as a yoga teacher.
13. In March 2022, she married former University of North Carolina and Baltimore Ravens quarterback - and current FIU Quarterbacks coach - Bryn Renner. However, since March 2024, it appears the pair are no longer romantically involved with Balionis reverting to her original surname.
14. Balionis featured in both seasons of Netflix's golf docu-series, Full Swing.
AMANDA BALIONIS HUSBAND
Amanda Balionis became Amanda Renner in March 2022 when she married former University of North Carolina and Baltimore Ravens quarterback - and current FIU Quarterbacks coach - Bryn Renner.
They met in November 2019 and got engaged in February 2021 in San Diego, California. However, it was noticed in February 2024 that she was no longer wearing her wedding ring, while all references to her former married surname on her social media and television platforms were gone by March 2024.
