FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 28th, 2016

COUNTDOWN TO RIO TO PREMIERE THIS SUNDAY, JULY 31 AT 9 P.M. ET ON GOLF CHANNEL AHEAD OF 2016 RIO OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 5

Countdown to Rio Follows Seven-Year Journey of Golf’s Return to the Olympics from: Golf Being Voted Back in as Olympic Sport in 2009; Initial Course Architect Pitches; & Building of the Course Venue

“The gold medal is going to be the biggest prize in golf” – Jack Nicklaus

“As you look out to 2020, 2024 and 2028… And let’s just assume golf is in there. This Rio design job is going to carry that torch.” – Greg Norman

“The Olympic Games, that’s the ultimate” – Gary Player

Special Episode of Feherty with Olympic Athlete, Basketball Coach Doug Collins to Premiere Monday, August 1

Golf Channel Digital Features Exclusive Tour of Olympic Course Venue Front & Back Nines with Architect Gil Hanse & Frank Nobilo’s Tee-to-Green Segments Featuring Hole-by-Hole Overview of the Course

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 28, 2016) – After the most recent major champions in the 2016 professional golf season are crowned this Sunday at the PGA Championship and RICOH Women’s British Open, the golf industry will turn its attention to the sport’s return to the Olympics for the first time in 112 years, with Golf Channel providing coverage from the first tee shot to the final putt of both the men’s and women’s competitions. Golf Channel will kick off its more than 300 total hours of Olympic-themed programming with Countdown to Rio, premiering this Sunday, July 31 at 9 p.m. ET, immediately following Golf Central Live From the PGA Championship.

Seven years in the making, filming for Countdown to Rio dates back to when the IOC officially voted golf back in as an Olympic sport in October 2009, and closely follows the events that unfolded in the subsequent years, including:

October 2009 – Vote Returns Golf as an Olympic Sport for the 2016 Rio Olympics

Countdown to Rio chronicles the steps taken leading up to golf’s return to the Olympics, including the 18-month process of the International Golf Federation (IGF) making presentations to the IOC. Much of the focus centers around the potential for golf in the Olympics to act as a major catalyst in development of the game around the world.

January 2012 – Legends, Golf Architects Pitch to Design Olympic Golf Venue

With Golf Channel’s exclusive, inside access as the only cameras present in the room, Countdown to Rio reveals never previously seen footage of the architect’s presentations from the eight finalists who pitched to design the Olympic golf venue in Rio. The eight finalist groups feature some of the game’s biggest legends and golf architects, among them: Jack Nicklaus/Annika Sorenstam, Greg Norman/Lorena Ochoa, Gary Player, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Tom Doak, and Gil Hanse/Amy Alcott. Cameras capture the moment in which Gil Hanse learns his team had been chosen to construct the course.

“You sort of start to handicap [your chances] from a design standpoint. ‘Could we hold our own with these eight groups?’ And I felt like we could. Then you start to think politically. ‘Are we as connected? Do we have as big of a presence?’ No. So then it becomes, ‘We really need to work our butts off to design something good.’” – Gil Hanse

“The gold medal is going to be the biggest prize in golf” – Jack Nicklaus

“As you look out to 2020, 2024 and 2028… And let’s just assume golf is in there. This Rio design job is going to carry that torch.” – Greg Norman

“The Olympic Games, that’s the ultimate” – Gary Player

Spring 2012 – Following Hanse and His Initial Work in Rio

Countdown to Rio follows Gil Hanse in the subsequent months after he was initially awarded the job to construct the Olympic Golf Course. Cameras follow Hanse from the early days of the construction process, where bulldozers are used to clear the land and route the holes, and ultimately begin to shape the land into a golf course setup suited for competition.

September 2013 – “Check-in” Survey Evaluating Progress of Olympic Golf Venue

Representatives from the IGF and Rio Organizing Committee meet with Hanse to survey the progress, and areas still needed to address on the course project.

March 2016 – Olympic Test Event Staged at Newly Designed Golf Venue

In an effort to gauge the readiness of the newly constructed course setup for Olympic competition, a dedicated test event was held earlier this year to ensure the playability of the venue. Cameras were on-site to chronicle the competition and capture the reactions from those in the field after having played the new layout.

Hanse Offers Exclusive Tour of the Olympic Golf Course for Golf Channel Digital

Following the completion of the golf course design process, Gil Hanse welcomed Golf Channel cameras for an exclusive tour of the golf course. Hanse shares insight on the course’s front and back nines, and explains what went into constructing an ideal venue fit for a global Olympic test for both the men’s and women’s competitions. Golf Channel Digital features the respective front and back nine tours:

Frank Nobilo’s Tee-to-Greens Prepare Viewers for New Venue

Golf Channel analyst Frank Nobilo spent time in Rio filming his signature Tee-to-Greens segments on the Olympic Golf Course. Nobilo details which holes will likely prove pivotal as players compete for their chance to win an Olympic medal. Golf Channel Digital highlights Nobilo’s Tee-to-Greens segments:

Olympic Athlete, Basketball Coach Doug Collins Joins Feherty for a Special Episode Premiering Monday, August 1

Next Monday, August 1, former Olympic athlete (1972 Munich Summer Games) and basketball coach Doug Collins will join David Feherty at 9 p.m. ET on the latest episode of Feherty. Among other topics, Collins recounts having been on the losing end of the controversial 1972 gold medal game between the United States and the Soviet Union, and what it was like to have coached Michael Jordan.


NBC SPORTS’ GOLF OLYMPIC PROGRAMMING PLANS

Men’s Olympic Golf Broadcast Team (August 11-14)

Johnny Miller, World Golf Hall-of-Famer and NBC analyst of more than 25 years will lead the network’s live tournament coverage of the men’s competition, rotating lead analyst roles with six-time major champion and Hall-of-Famer Nick Faldo in the 18th tower. David Feherty, Emmy-nominated sports personality and longtime golf broadcaster, will split time as a tower analyst and on-course reporter, and Peter Jacobsen will serve as a second tower analyst. Roger Maltbie and Curt Byrum will offer insight from inside the ropes as on-course reporters along with Feherty. Veteran NBC Olympic personalities Terry Gannon and Steve Sands will join Miller and Faldo in the broadcast booth, rotating play-by-play duties. Todd Lewis will serve as a reporter and conduct player interviews.

Women’s Olympics Golf Broadcast Team (August 17-20)

Gannon and Sands also will handle play-by-play during the women’s competition, where they’ll be joined by two additional Hall-of-Fame personalities in 10-time major champion and winner of 72 tournaments on the LPGA Tour, Annika Sorenstam, who will rotate lead analyst duties with Karen Stupples. Byrum also will join the 18th tower as an analyst, while Tom Abbott will be positioned as a tower analyst, and Jerry Foltz and Kay Cockerill will work as on-course reporters on the grounds. Lewis will conduct player interviews.

Live From the Olympics News Coverage Team

Golf Channel will provide wraparound news coverage immediately prior to and following live coverage of the competition via its Golf Central Live From the Olympics programming. Rich Lerner will host coverage from Rio’s Olympic golf course and will be joined by Faldo (men’s competition) and Stupples (women’s competition), as well as Golf Channel’s roster of analysts taking part in the network’s live coverage of the Olympics. Golf Channel insider Rex Hoggard and Lewis also will provide daily reports and offer interviews with players on-site.

Golf Makes Historic Return to the Olympics

Golf’s return to the Olympic Games for the first time in 112 years represents a modern-day first as Golf Channel joins NBC Sports’ unmatched Olympic heritage to become the first single-sport cable network to provide live coverage of its sport’s Olympic competition. Golf Channel will feature more than 130 live hours of Olympics programming, and nearly 300 hours in total. Similar to NBC Sports’ all-encompassing coverage of marquee events like the Ryder Cup, NBC Olympics’ live coverage of the men’s and women’s competitions in Rio will begin with the opening tee shot and continue until the medals are awarded.

The International Olympic Committee in 2009 voted to bring golf back to the Olympics for the 2016 and 2020 games, after the sport had been absent in the Olympic program since the men’s competition in 1904 and women’s in 1900. Athletes will compete on the newly constructed Olympic Golf Course, which was designed by Gil Hanse and Amy Alcott in Reserva Marapendi, located in Rio de Janeiro’s neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca. Additionally, Olympic gold medalists will receive exemptions into all of their respective major championships, including: The Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship in 2017 for the men, and the Evian Championship (in 2016) and ANA Inspiration, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, U.S. Women’s Open, and Ricoh Women’s British Open in 2017 for the women.

NBC will feature live look-ins, highlights and updates on the golf competition throughout the Games. All Olympic competition, including golf, will be live streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports Live Extra app, (Powered by Playmaker Media), both of which require authentication.

The Olympic golf competition will consist of 60 players on both the men’s and women’s side, competing in a 72-hole stroke play competition based on world golf rankings. The top-15 players in the official world golf rankings are eligible, with a maximum of four players allowed from a given nation. Outside of the top-15, each nation is allowed a maximum of two players (based on world ranking). If a country has already qualified two or more players within the top-15, additional athletes are not eligible.

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. The 2012 London Olympics were watched by 217 million Americans across the networks of NBCUniversal, making it the most-watched event in U.S. television history.

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 Championship, 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 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.

Rio 2016