NBC apologized after the network twice omitted the words "under God" from a clip of students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as part of its coverage of the U.S. Open.

Speaking on the air, commentator Dan Hicks issued the following apology:

“We began our coverage of this final round just about three hours ago and when we did it was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being held in our nation’s capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone and we’d like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it.”

The omission was immediately noted across Twitter and various blogs, with many viewers irate at NBC. See Chick's THE TRIAL.