FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 10th, 2016

NBC AND GOLF CHANNEL ROLL OUT COVERAGE FIT FOR ‘THE KING’ AT ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD

Nearly 50 Live Hours of News and Tournament Coverage on Tap Next Week from Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, the Most in Tournament History

Golf Central and Morning Drive on-site Monday-Sunday, March 14-20

Professionals in the Field to Hit Arnold Palmer’s Original Golf Clubs for Special Features Running Thursday-Sunday, March 17-20

‘The Golf Fix’ From Bay Hill Monday; Pro-Am Special Airing Wednesday

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 10, 2016) – NBC Sports Group will deliver nearly 50 live hours – the most in tournament history – of comprehensive news and tournament coverage on-site at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge next week when the PGA TOUR’s Florida Swing moves to Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

GOLF CENTRAL AND MORNING DRIVE ON-SITE MONDAY-SUNDAY: Golf Central and Morning Drive will commence from a new, custom-built set on the driving range at Bay Hill Club & Lodge all week beginning Monday, March 14. The multi-purpose set will utilize both the driving range and the clubhouse as backdrops and will be used in collaboration by both shows throughout the week.

Morning Drive will expand its coverage to three hours Monday-Wednesday beginning at 7 a.m., featuring daily guests on-set leading up to the start of the tournament. Thursday-Sunday, Morning Drive will air beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Golf Central will provide wraparound news coverage on-site all week at Bay Hill beginning Monday at 6 p.m. ET with interviews, highlights, analysis and features.

Ryan Burr, Lisa Cornwell, Notah Begay, Tripp Isenhour, Mark Rolfing and Tim Rosaforte will lead Golf Central’s coverage Monday-Wednesday, with Kelly Tilghman, Brandel Chamblee and former World No. 1 David Duval anchoring weekend coverage. Chris DiMarco, Damon Hack, Cara Robinson, Charlie Rymer, Lauren Thompson and Gary Williams will be-onsite for Morning Drive.

20 HOURS OF TOURNAMENT COVERAGE:  Golf Channel and NBC combined will air 20 hours of live tournament coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Golf Channel’s tournament coverage includes a one-hour, pro-am special on Wednesday; eight combined hours of early round coverage on Thursday and Friday; and four total hours of coverage leading into NBC’s coverage on Saturday and Sunday. NBC will deliver a combined seven hours of live tournament coverage on Saturday and Sunday.

Golf Channel and Golf Channel on NBC’s 18th tower broadcast teams will include Rich Lerner and Frank Nobilo (Golf Channel), and Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller (NBC). For telecasts on both networks, David Feherty, Gary Koch and Peter Jacobsen will report from tower positions, while Notah Begay, Roger Maltbie and Mark Rolfing will walk with the players on the course. Steve Sands and Todd Lewis will conduct player interviews, while Jimmy Roberts’ signature essays will be highlighted during the weekend.

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard Air Times (all times Eastern):

Wednesday (Pro-Am Show)   5-6 p.m. Golf Channel
Thursday- Friday 2-6 p.m.  Golf Channel
Saturday-Sunday  12:30-2:30 p.m. Golf Channel
2:30-6 p.m. NBC

 

‘ARNIE’ TO RE-AIR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY: Arnie, Golf Channel Films’ four-part, critically-acclaimed documentary film on the life and legacy of Arnold Palmer, will air in its entirety on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Arnie Air Times (all times Eastern)
Tuesday           2-6 p.m.
Wednesday     1-5 p.m.; 8 p.m.-Midnight

PROFESSIONALS TO TRY OUT ARNOLD PALMER’S ORIGINAL GOLF CLUBS: Golf Channel cameras will shoot players in the field hitting original golf clubs belonging to Arnold Palmer for special “MasterCard Gets You Inside the Game” features that will air Thursday-Sunday on Golf Central, including:

  • Driver: Players will hit the driver Arnold Palmer used to win the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, in what is known as the greatest comeback in U.S. Open history.
  • 3-Wood: In one of the most amazing shots he ever hit in a golf tournament, players will use the same 3-wood Palmer hit on the 18th hole at Pecan Valley Golf Course in the 1968 PGA Championship, where he hit his shot from out of the pecan trees to inside 10 feet of the hole.
  • 5-iron: Palmer recorded two holes-in-one on the same hole in consecutive days in 1986 at the Chrysler Cup Pro-Am on the 182-yard 3rd The feat had never been accomplished prior or since in professional golf. Players will hit Palmer’s 5-iron with which he recorded both holes-in-one.
  • Sand Wedge: Players will hit the same sand wedge Palmer used at the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills during his comeback in winning the championship.

 

INSTRUCTION:  Golf Channel’s Monday night instruction program, The Golf Fix, will be shot on-site from the driving range at Bay Hill and air on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Titleist club designer Bob Vokey and European Tour winner Chris Wood are scheduled to join host Michael Breed for instruction during the hour-long episode.

DIGITAL: GolfChannel.com’s Jay Coffin, Rex Hoggard and Will Gray will report on-site at Bay Hill throughout the week with daily blogs, features and columns.

STREAMING ON GOLF LIVE EXTRA/NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA:  All the news and tournament action surrounding the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard can be accessed at any time on any mobile device and online through the help of Golf Channel’s Golf Live Extra. Fans also can stream Golf Channel on NBC coverage of live golf with NBC Sports Live Extra.

-NBC Sports Group-