FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 30th, 2016
GOLF CHANNEL’S LIVE COVERAGE OF THE 2016 NCAA MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGINS TONIGHT IN PRIMETIME
15 Teams and Nine Individuals Advancing to Compete for National Championship Honors
Oregon’s Aaron Wise Leads Individual National Championship at 6-Under Par
Live Action of the Individual National Championship on Monday, May 30
Three Rounds of Team Match Play Tuesday-Wednesday, May 31-June 1
Invitations to the East Lake Cup Determined at NCAA Golf Championships
Live Scoring and Information: College Central
EUGENE, Ore., May 30, 2016 – Coming on the heels of the dramatic finish at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships last week that saw Washington win its first golf national title in school history, Golf Channel returns to Eugene Country Club to deliver comprehensive news and tournament coverage of the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships. Live coverage begins tonight at 6 p.m. ET with Golf Central Pre Game followed by live tournament coverage of the individual national championship at 7 p.m. ET.
Tonight’s tournament coverage will include the crowning of the individual national champion, as well as tracking the teams attempting to qualify for the eight-team match play championship. Golf Channel’s coverage will continue Tuesday and Wednesday with the three rounds of the team match-play championship. In addition, Golf Central will surround live tournament coverage with pre-and post-event news coverage produced on location, as well as daily news updates on Morning Drive and online via Golf Channel Digital. News and tournament coverage also will be live streamed on Golf Live Extra powered by PlayMaker Media.
Golf Channel NCAA Men’s Golf Championships Coverage (all times ET)
| Monday, May 30 | Individual National Championship | 7-10 p.m. (Live) |
| Tuesday, May 31 | Quarterfinals, Team Match Play | 1:30-3:30 p.m. (Live) |
| Tuesday, May 31 | Semifinals, Team Match Play | 6-10 p.m. (Live) |
| Wednesday, June 1 | Team Match Play National Championship | 6-10 p.m. (Live) |
NCAA Men’s Golf Championships Format: The championship format consists of 30 teams and six individuals (not on those teams competing) in 54 holes of stroke play, which began on Friday, May 27. Following Sunday’s third round, the top-15 teams along with nine individuals not on an advancing team will compete on Monday to crown the individual national champion. The top eight teams from the 72-hole stroke play championship will advance to the team match play championship on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 31 and June 1.
The 15 teams advancing to compete today (Monday) are:
1 Vanderbilt
2 Texas
3 Southern California
4 LSU
5 Oregon
6 Arkansas
7 Arizona State
8 California
T9 Oklahoma State
T9 Illinois
11 Kentucky
12 South Carolina
13 Florida
T14 Louisville
T14 Oklahoma
Individual National Championship to be Decided Monday: Oregon’s Aaron Wise leads the individual national championship after three rounds at 6-under par. In addition to the 15 teams, nine players not on an advancing team will compete on Monday to determine the national championship. Players include: Derek Bard (Virginia), Paul Barjon (TCU), Chelso Barrett (TCU), Lee McCoy (UGA), Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego State), William Rainey (College of Charleston), Antoine Rozner (Missouri-Kansas City), Robby Shelton (Alabama), Will Zalatoris (Wake Forest).
Semifinal Teams in Match Play to Receive Invitations to Compete in East Lake Cup: The East Lake Cup, taking place in late October at historic East Lake Golf Club and featuring the top-performing teams from the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships, will expand to a new three-day format for 2016. Invitations for the field will be extended to the semifinalists of the team match-play tournaments at both the 2016 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships. Modeled after the NCAA Golf Championships, the new format for the East Lake Cup will consist of an opening round of stroke play to crown an individual male and female champion and determine seeding for the following two days of match play competition. Golf Channel will air live coverage of the East Lake Cup Monday-Wednesday, Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
Cook and Oberholser Join NCAA Broadcast Team: Newcomers to Golf Channel’s NCAA on-air team include 11-time PGA TOUR-winner John Cook, a member of the 1979 NCAA Team National Champions at Ohio State University, who will serve as a course reporter, and Golf Channel analyst Arron Oberholser, who will serve as a news analyst.
Men’s Golf Championships On-Air Teams: Golf Channel’s on-air team for the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships will feature Hall-of-Famer Lanny Wadkins as lead analyst and Bob Papa as play-by-play host. Curt Byrum will serve as hole announcer, with Billy Ray Brown, Cook and Nicole Castrale reporting from the course. Golf Channel’s college insider Steve Burkowski will join the broadcast booth as co-analyst and hole announcer. Ryan Burr will host Golf Central, joined by Oberholser, former Florida men’s golf coach Buddy Alexander, Burkowski and Golf Channel Digital senior writer Ryan Lavner.
College Central – Golf Channel Digital Coverage: Golf Channel will provide comprehensive coverage via College Central, Golf Channel Digital’s home for college golf. Led by Jay Coffin, Lavner and Burkowski, College Central will be the source for all things college golf, including tournament results and scores, features and columns, video highlights and breaking news.
Haskins Award Winner to be Announced on Golf Central Tuesday, June 7: Golf Channel will announce the winner of one of the most prestigious awards in college golf –the Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel – following the conclusion of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, on a live edition of Golf Central, Tuesday, June 7 at 6 p.m. ET. The show will include profiles on the top candidates for both awards and live interviews with the winner, who also will receive an exemption to compete in the 2016 Greenbrier Classic on the PGA TOUR. The Haskins Award honors the nation’s most outstanding male Division I collegiate golfer as selected by her peers, coaches and the golf media.
ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and fairness to create greater opportunities for nearly a half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in NCAA championships each year. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association and the corporate partnerships that support the NCAA and its student-athletes.
ABOUT GOLF CHANNEL
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. Serving the most-affluent audience in all of television, Golf Channel – co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now part of NBC Sports Group – is available in more than 200 million homes in 84 countries and 11 languages around the world. Golf Channel features more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, including tournament action from the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, The Open, Olympics, and Ryder Cup, as well as high-quality news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platforms, headed by GolfChannel.com, deliver unmatched coverage of the world of golf. Fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through Golf Live Extra and NBC Sports Live Extra, both powered by Playmaker Media, and select programming is simulcast via SiriusXM’s PGA TOUR Radio. In addition, Golf Channel connects the world to golf through a wide array of digital and lifestyle services including Golf Channel Mobile, a comprehensive app covering golf’s latest headlines, scores and analysis; GolfNow, the world’s largest online tee time booking platform and golf course technology partner, which includes the GolfNow Mobile App, featuring on-course GPS tracking, in-round scoring and game tracking; GolfAdvisor.com, the world’s largest golf course ratings and review resource for golfers, by golfers; a North American network of Golf Channel Academy instructional facilities; and Golf Channel Am Tour, the world’s largest amateur golf tour.
-NBC Sports Group-
