FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 15th, 2016

NBC Sports Group Tournament Airtimes & Notes (March 17-20): Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard; JTBC Founders Cup; Tucson Conquistadores Classic; Hero Indian Open

PGA TOUR Wraps Up Florida Swing with Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard as McIlroy, Day and Scott Headline the Field

Eight of the Top-10 to Compete in JTBC Founders Cup in Arizona, as LPGA Tour Returns to United States, Airing Live in Primetime on Golf Channel

PGA TOUR Champions Resumes Schedule as Langer, Montgomerie Lead the Field at Tucson Conquistadores Classic

Lahiri, Harrington Headline at Hero Indian Open                                                

ORLANDO, Fla. (March 15, 2016) – The PGA TOUR concludes its Florida Swing this week with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard in Orlando. The field includes five of the top-eight ranked players in the world, including Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Adam Scott. This is the fourth of six consecutive weeks of exclusive live tournament coverage on Golf Channel and NBC, which will continue next week in Austin, Texas with the WGC-Dell Match Play. The LPGA Tour returns to the United States this week with the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix, with eight of the top-10 in the world in the field, including World No. 1 Lydia Ko. The PGA TOUR Champions also is in Arizona this week for the Tucson Conquistadores Classic, as Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie headline the field. And defending champion Anirban Lahiri and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington lead the field on the European Tour this week at the Hero Indian Open in New Delhi.

PGA TOUR

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard
Dates: March 17-20
Venue: Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla.

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday         2-6 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Friday              2-6 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday          12:30-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday            12:30-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)

Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday          2:30-6 p.m. (Live)
Sunday            2:30-6 p.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:
Golf Central player news conference, Wednesday at Noon ET: On Wednesday at Noon ET, Golf Central will present a special player news conference from Bay Hill Club & Lodge, featuring Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott.

Morning Drive, Golf Central on-site from Bay Hill all week: Originating from a new, custom-build set on the driving range at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Golf Central and Morning Drive will air live and on-site, continuing through Sunday, March 20. 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.

Every defends: Matt Every finished one stroke clear of Henrik Stenson to successfully defend his 2014 title for his second career PGA TOUR win.

Headlining the field: Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Zach Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Bryson DeChambeau (a), Ernie Els and Maverick McNealy (a).

Golf Channel / NBC Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Rich Lerner (Golf Channel) / Dan Hicks (NBC)
Analyst: Frank Nobilo (Golf Channel) / Johnny Miller (NBC)
Tower: Gary Koch / Peter Jacobsen / David Feherty
On-Course: Roger Maltbie / Mark Rolfing / Notah Begay
Interviews: Todd Lewis (Golf Channel) / Steve Sands (NBC)
Essays: Jimmy Roberts

LPGA TOUR

JTBC Founders Cup
Dates: March 17-20
Venue: Wildfire Golf Club, Phoenix, Ariz.

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday         6-9 p.m. (Live)
Friday              6-8 p.m. (Live)
Saturday          7-9 p.m. (Live)
Sunday            7-9 p.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:
Castrale joins live tournament broadcast team: Two-time Solheim Cup participant Nicole Castrale joins Golf Channel’s LPGA Tour live broadcast team this week as an on-course reporter. Castrale, who retired from competitive golf in January, also contributes as a studio analyst and is scheduled to work eight LPGA Tour events in total as part of the live tournaments team.

Celebrating the Tour’s Founders: This is the sixth playing of the JTBC Founder Cup, which celebrates the 13 original founders of the LPGA Tour. The tournament remembers the past and looks ahead to the Tour’s future, namely through its more than $2.5 million raised in the past five years for the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program.

Kim defends: Hyo Joo Kim won by three strokes over Stacy Lewis for her second career LPGA Tour victory.

Headlining the field: Lydia Ko, Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis, Ha Na Jang, Amy Yang, Sei Young Kim, Shanshan Feng, Brooke Henderson, So Yeon Ryu, Hyo Joo Kim and Suzann Pettersen.

Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Terry Gannon
Analyst: Judy Rankin
Tower: Tom Abbott
On-Course: Jerry Foltz / Karen Stupples / Nicole Castrale
Interviews: Lisa Cornwell

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Tucson Conquistadores Classic
Dates: March 18-20
Venue: Omni Tucson National Resort (Catalina Course), Tucson, Ariz.

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday              8-10 p.m. (Tape delay) / 6-8 p.m. (Streaming on Golf Live Extra)
Saturday          5-7 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday            5-7 p.m. (Live) / 3-5 a.m. (Monday replay)

Broadcast Notes:
Sluman to join 18th tower as guest analyst during Friday’s coverage: Six-time PGA TOUR Champions winner Jeff Sluman is scheduled to visit the 18th tower as a guest analyst during Friday’s opening round coverage, offering insight and analysis alongside Bob Papa and Lanny Wadkins.

Dawson defends: Marco Dawson finished two shots ahead of Bart Bryant for his first career PGA TOUR Champions win.

Headlining the field: Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Jeff Maggert, Tom Lehman, Mark O’Meara, Corey Pavin, Kirk Triplett, Jeff Sluman, John Cook, Todd Hamilton and Lee Janzen.

Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Bob Papa
Analyst: Lanny Wadkins
Tower: John Mahaffey / Dave Marr
On-Course: Billy Ray Brown

EUROPEAN TOUR / ASIAN TOUR

Hero Indian Open
Dates: March 17-20
Venue: Delhi Golf Club (Lodhi Course), New Delhi, India

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday         5-10 a.m. (Tape delay)
Friday              5-10 a.m. (Tape delay)
Saturday          6-10 a.m. (Tape delay)
Sunday            6-10 a.m. (Tape delay)

Broadcast Notes:
Lahiri defends: Anirban Lahiri defeated fellow countryman S.S.P. Chawrasia with a birdie on the first playoff hole to win his national open championship and earn his second career European Tour victory.

Headlining the field: Anirban Lahiri, Padraig Harrington, Tommy Fleetwood, Paul Dunne, Marcus Fraser, Joost Luiten, Peter Uihlein, Marcel Siem, Scott Hend and Arjun Atwal.

Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Dominik Holyer
Analyst: Dom Boulet
On-Course: Warren Humphreys

COMING UP NEXT WEEK…

WGC-Dell Match Play Bracket Special
Date: Monday, March 21
Airtime: 7-9 p.m. ET (Live)
Venue: Paramount Theatre, Austin, Texas

Golf Channel will feature a two-hour primetime show on Monday, March 21, revealing the 64-man field – to be drawn live and in primetime on Golf Channel – with the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play Bracket Special from Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas from 7-9 p.m. ET. The selection process for the WGC-Dell Match Play – which will be staged at Austin Country Club next Wednesday-Sunday, March 23-27 – will be conducted in front of a live audience at the Theatre under the guidance of PGA TOUR competitions officials. The special also is scheduled to include live interviews from select players in the field, and will feature a conversation with University of Texas standouts and World Golf Hall of Famers Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite.

Host: Ryan Burr
Analysts: Brandel Chamblee / Tim Rosaforte
Reporters: Todd Lewis / Cara Robinson

PGA TOUR

WGC-Dell Match Play
Dates: March 23-27
Venue: Austin Country Club, Austin, Texas

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel & NBC (Eastern):
Wednesday     2-8 p.m. (Live)                        Day One Round Robin           Golf Channel
Thursday         2-8 p.m. (Live)                        Day Two Round Robin           Golf Channel
Friday              2-8 p.m. (Live)                        Day Three Round Robin         Golf Channel
Saturday          10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Live)             Round of 16                              Golf Channel
2-6 p.m. (Live)                        Quarterfinals                            NBC
Sunday            10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Live)              Semifinals                               Golf Channel
3-7 p.m. (Live)                        Championship/Consolation     NBC

-NBC Sports Group-