FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 5th, 2016
NBC Sports Group Tournament Airtimes & Notes (Jan. 7-10): Hyundai Tournament of Champions; BMW South African Open
Spieth, Day, Fowler Help PGA TOUR Ring in 2016 in Hawaii with Hyundai Tournament of Champions Airing in Primetime on Golf Channel, NBC
European Tour Begins 2016 with BMW South African Open in Johannesburg
ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 5, 2016) – The PGA TOUR makes its 2016 debut in primetime from Maui, Hawaii with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The field of 32 winners from the 2014-15 PGA TOUR season feature four of the top-six in the world in Jordan Spieth (No. 1); Jason Day (No. 2); Bubba Watson (No. 4); and Rickie Fowler (No. 6). Making his return to TV this week is longtime Golf Channel and NBC voice Mark Rolfing, after being diagnosed with a rare form of salivary gland cancer in August. A resident of Maui, Rolfing will serve as a tower analyst for live tournament action on Golf Channel and NBC this week. Golf Channel’s evening news program, Golf Central, will originate on-site from Kapalua Resort, with Ryan Burr (host), Notah Begay (analyst), Rolfing (analyst) and Steve Burkowski (reporter) offering the latest news and insight throughout the week. Meanwhile, the European Tour will stage its opening event of 2016 in Johannesburg, with the BMW South African Open. World Golf Hall of Famer and five-time South African Open champion Ernie Els will serve as tournament host and ambassador.
PGA TOUR
Hyundai Tournament of Champions
Dates: Jan. 7-10
Venue: Kapalua Resort (Plantation Course), Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 6-10 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 6-10 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 6-8 p.m. (Live) / 9 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday 6-10 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday 4-6 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Golf’s top newsmakers and champions from 2015 to make 2016 debut in primetime: The game’s most influential personalities from 2015 will make their first start of the calendar year this week, including four of the top-six players in the world: Jordan Spieth (No. 1); Jason Day (No. 2); Bubba Watson (No. 4); and Rickie Fowler (No. 6). Golf Channel will feature each of the 32 players in the field, live and in primetime, Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 7-10 beginning at 6 p.m. ET, and on Saturday, NBC will provide third round lead-in coverage from 4-6 p.m. ET.
Spieth live news conference airing today at 5:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel: Today at 5:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel will air a special live news conference featuring World No. 1 Jordan Spieth, answering questions from media from the Kapalua Resort media center ahead of his first start in 2016.
Rolfing returns to TV: Longtime Golf Channel and NBC Sports personality Mark Rolfing will make his return to the broadcast team this week. In August, Rolfing was diagnosed with a rare form of salivary gland cancer and took a leave of absence following the PGA Championship for surgery and treatment. Rolfing, who lives in Maui, will work as a tower analyst during the network’s live tournament coverage this week.
Golf Central on-site from Kapalua: Golf Channel’s evening news program, Golf Central will complement tournament action with live wraparound news coverage airing from on-site from a dedicated set at Kapalua Resort. Ryan Burr will host, and Notah Begay and Rolfing will serve as analysts. Steve Burkowski also will provide reports and player interviews.
Reed defends: Patrick Reed defeated Jimmy Walker with a birdie on the first playoff hole for his fourth career PGA TOUR win.
Headlining the field: Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, Kevin Kisner, Justin Thomas and Jimmy Walker.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Rich Lerner
Analyst: Peter Jacobsen
Tower: Frank Nobilo / Mark Rolfing
On-Course: Jerry Foltz / Curt Byrum
Interviews: Steve Burkowski
EUROPEAN TOUR
BMW South African Open
Dates: Jan. 7-10
Venue: Glendower Golf Club, Johannesburg, South Africa
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 3-5 a.m. / 7-10 a.m. (Live) / Noon-5 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 7-10 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 5:30-9:30 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 5-9:30 a.m. (Live) / 3-5 p.m. (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Els hosts: World Golf Hall of Famer and five-time South African Open champion Ernie Els serves as tournament host and ambassador in his native country for the second consecutive year. His charities, Els for Autism and the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation, are the designated charitable beneficiaries for the event.
Sullivan defends: Andy Sullivan defeated Charl Schwartzel with a birdie on the first playoff hole to earn his first European Tour victory.
Headlining the field: Ernie Els, Branden Grace, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman, George Coetzee, Andy Sullivan, Paul Dunne, Gary Stal, David Howell, Marcel Siem and Richard Sterne.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Studio Host: Scott Walker
Play by Play: Dominik Holyer
Analyst: Denis Hutchinson / Jay Townsend
On-Course: Paul Eales
-NBC Sports Group-
