FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 25th, 2016
GOLF CHANNEL TOURNAMENT AIRTIMES & NOTES (OCT. 27-30): POWERSHARES QQQ CHAMPIONSHIP; WGC-HSBC CHAMPIONS; SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP; SIME DARBY LPGA MALAYSIA; EAST LAKE CUP
PGA TOUR Champions’ Inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs Kick off with Powershares QQQ Championship in Southern California
McIlroy, Johnson Headline Elite Field at WGC-HSBC Champions in China
PGA TOUR in Mississippi for Sanderson Farms Championship
Korda Defends at Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia
2016 NCAA National Champions and Nation’s Current Top-Ranked Programs Headline 2nd Annual East Lake Cup, Oct. 31-Nov. 2
ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 25, 2016) – The PGA TOUR Champions will stage the Powershares QQQ Championship this week, the first of three events making up the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. Bernhard Langer and Miguel Angel Jimenez are atop the current standings leading a field of 71, with 54 advancing to the second leg of the playoffs at the Dominion Charity Classic in Virginia. Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson headline an elite field at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, featuring 16 of the top-20 players in the world. The PGA TOUR is in Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship, where Peter Malnati will defend. World No. 1 Lydia Ko leads the field at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, along with World No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn. And starting next Monday, Oct. 31, an elite field of collegiate golf programs will convene in Atlanta for the second annual East Lake Cup, a match play competition featuring the reigning men’s and women’s NCAA national champions and the two current top-ranked teams in the country.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Powershares QQQ Championship
Dates: Oct. 28-30
Venue: Sherwood Country Club, Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 5:30-8 p.m. (Live) / 4-6 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 5:30-8 p.m. (Live) / 4-6 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 5:30-8 p.m. (Live) / Midnight-2 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs Begin: This is the first edition of the event, and it is the first of three events making up the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. 71 players will compete based on their standing on the Charles Schwab Cup money list following the SAS Championship two weeks ago. The money list has been converted to points for the playoffs, and following this week the top-54 in the standings will advance to the Dominion Charity Classic in Virginia.
Headlining the field: Bernhard Langer, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Joe Durant, Colin Montgomerie, Woody Austin, Kevin Sutherland, Gene Sauers, Scott McCarron and Billy Andrade.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Play by Play: Whit Watson
Analyst: Lanny Wadkins
Tower: John Mahaffey / Dave Marr
On Course: Billy Ray Brown / John Cook
PGA TOUR
WGC-HSBC Champions
Dates: Oct. 27-30
Venue: Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern)
Wednesday 11 p.m.-4 a.m. (Live) / 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Thursday replay)
Thursday 11 p.m.-4 a.m. (Live) / 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Friday replay)
Friday 11 p.m.-4 a.m. (Live) / 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 11 p.m.-4 a.m. (Live) / 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Sunday replay)
McIlroy, Johnson headline elite field: This week marks the fourth and final WGC event of 2016, featuring an elite field that includes 16 of the top-20 players in the world.
Knox defends: Russell Knox defeated Kevin Kisner by two shots to claim his first career PGA TOUR win.
Headlining the field: Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Justin Thomas and Andrew Johnston.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Play by Play: Warren Humphreys
Analyst: Frank Nobilo / Ewan Murray
On Course: Arron Oberholser / Wayne Riley
PGA TOUR
Sanderson Farms Championship
Dates: Oct. 27-30
Venue: Country Club of Jackson, Jackson, Miss.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern)
Thursday 2:30-5:30 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-10:30 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 2:30-5:30 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-10:30 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday 2:30-5:30 p.m. (Live) / 8:30-10:30 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday 2:30-5:30 p.m. (Live) / 9 p.m.-Midnight (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Malnati defends: Peter Malnati finished one stroke ahead of William McGirt and David Toms for his first PGA TOUR victory.
Headlining the field: Chris Kirk, Ian Poulter, Patton Kizzire, Sam Saunders, Retief Goosen, Angel Cabrera, Geoff Ogilvy, David Duval, David Toms, Robby Shelton and Charlie Danielson.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Play by Play: John Swantek
Analyst: Justin Leonard
Tower: Jim Gallagher Jr.
On Course: Craig Perks / Phil Blackmar
LPGA TOUR
Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia
Dates: Oct. 27-30
Venue: TPC Kuala Lumpur (East Course), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 4-8 a.m. (Tape delay)
Friday 4-8 a.m. (Tape delay)
Saturday 6-8 a.m. (Tape delay)
Sunday 6-8 a.m. (Tape delay)
Broadcast Notes:
Korda defends: Jessica Korda finishes four strokes ahead of Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis and Shanshan Feng to earn her fourth career LPGA Tour win.
Headlining the field: Lydia Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson, Ha Na Jang, Amy Yang, Shanshan Feng, Stacy Lewis, So Yeon Ryu, Anna Nordqvist, Gerina Piller and Suzann Pettersen.
NCAA
East Lake Cup
Dates: Oct. 31-Nov. 2
Venue: East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Monday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / 7-10 p.m. (Replay)
Tuesday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / 7-10 p.m. (Replay)
Wednesday 3-6 p.m. (Live) / 7-10 p.m. (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
2nd annual East Lake Cup: This is the second edition of the East Lake Cup, a match play competition featuring semifinalists from both the 2016 Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division I Golf Championships (quarterfinalist Vanderbilt replaces semifinalist Southern California on the Men’s side). This year, the event has been extended from two to three days, with a stroke play competition on Day 1 determining seeding for the second and third days.
Expanded format for 2016: The East Lake Cup will expand to three days of live tournament action, following a format from the NCAA men’s and Women’s Golf National Championships. On Monday, Oct. 31, the eight teams will compete in individual stroke play competition to determine the individual champion and to see for two days of match-play competition. Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 1-2, two match-play tournaments will be hosted simultaneously for the men’s and women’s divisions, with the semifinals taking place on Tuesday and the finals and consolation matches on Wednesday.
Men’s Field: Illinois (defending East Lake Cup champions); Oregon (defending national champions); Texas (national championship runner-up) and Vanderbilt (current top-ranked team in the nation.)
Women’s Field: Duke; Stanford (national championship runner-up); UCLA (current top-ranked team in the nation) and Washington (defending national champions).
Golf Channel Broadcast Team
Play by Play: Bob Papa
Analyst: Lanny Wadkins / Steve Burkowski
Tower: Curt Byrum
On Course: Notah Begay / Kay Cockerill / Billy Ray Brown
-NBC Sports Group-
