FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 24th, 2017

GOLF CHANNEL TOURNAMENT AIRTIMES & NOTES (JAN. 25-29): FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN; PURE SILK-BAHAMAS LPGA CLASSIC; COMMERCIAL BANK QATAR MASTERS

Woods to Make 1st Official PGA TOUR Start Since 2015 This Week at Farmers Insurance Open                            

LPGA Kicks Off 2017 Schedule with Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic

Cabrera-Bello, Els & Kaymer Lead Field at Commercial Bank Qatar Masters

Bahamas Great Abaco Classic Continues on Web.com Tour; Final Round Coverage on Wednesday, Jan. 25 on Golf Channel

ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 24 2017) – Tiger Woods will make his first official PGA TOUR start in 17 months this week when he tees it up at the Farmers Insurance Open. The event marks the first of four scheduled events on Woods’ calendar over the next five weeks. World No. 1 Jason Day and No. 3 Dustin Johnson also are in the field. The LPGA Tour will kick off its 2017 season this week at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, with Ariya Jutanugarn (No. 2) and Lexi Thompson (No. 5) headlining the field. The European Tour will stage the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, with Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Ernie Els and Martin Kaymer leading the field. And the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic continues on the Web.com Tour, with final round coverage airing Wednesday afternoon live on Golf Channel.

PGA TOUR

Farmers Insurance Open
Dates: Jan. 26-29
Venue: Torrey Pines Golf Course (North & South Courses), La Jolla, Calif.

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday         3-7 p.m. (Live) / 8 p.m.-Midnight (Replay)
Friday              3-7 p.m. (Live) / 8 p.m.-Midnight (Replay)
Saturday          1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 7-11:30 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday            1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 7:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. (Replay)

Golf Central Pre and Post Round Coverage on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday         2:30-3 p.m. (Live) / 7-8 p.m. (Live)
Friday              2:30-3 p.m. (Live) / 7-8 p.m. (Live)
Saturday          2:30-3 p.m. (Live) / 6-7 p.m. (Live)
Sunday            2:30-3 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-7:30 p.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:
Woods making first official PGA TOUR start since 2015: Tiger Woods will compete in an official PGA TOUR event this week for the first time since the 2015 Wyndham Championship, 17 months ago. A seven-time winner of the Farmers Insurance Open, Woods’ start this week will be the first of four events he is scheduled to play over the next five weeks.
Course rotation: Players in the field will tee it up for one round each at the North and South courses at Torrey Pines over the course of the first two rounds, Thursday-Friday. Those making the cut will play in two additional rounds on the South course on Saturday-Sunday.
Snedeker defends: Brandt Snedeker finished one stroke ahead of K.J. Choi to claim his eighth PGA TOUR win.
Headlining the Field: Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, Jimmy Walker, Phil Mickelson, Brandt Snedeker, Andrew Johnston and Tiger Woods.

Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Terry Gannon
Analyst: Nick Faldo
Tower: Matt Gogel
On-Course: Arron Oberholser
Interviews: Todd Lewis

LPGA TOUR

Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic
Dates: Jan. 26-29
Venue: Ocean Club Golf Course, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern)
Thursday         11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday              11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday          3-5 p.m. (Live)
Sunday            3-5 p.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:
LPGA Kicks off 2017 season in Bahamas: The 2017 LPGA Tour season gets underway this week, with the first of 33 events airing on Golf Channel in the season-long Race to the CME Globe, the most-ever in network history.
Madelene Sagstrom to be featured in “Rookie Spotlight” during Friday coverage: This week’s “Rookie Spotlight” during Friday’s second round coverage will feature LPGA rookie Madelene Sagstrom. The Swede is coming off a historic season on the Symetra Tour where she claimed three victories and 11 top-10 finishes in just 14 starts.
Kim defends: Hyo Joo Kim finished two shots ahead of Stacy Lewis, Anna Nordqvist and Sei Young Kim to earn her third LPGA win.
Headlining the Field: Ariya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson, Lexi Thompson, Charlie Hull, Sei Young Kim, Stacy Lewis, Gerina Piller, Brittany Lang, Hyo Joo Kim and Morgan Pressel.

Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Whit Watson
Analyst: Judy Rankin
Tower: Tom Abbott
On-Course: Jerry Foltz / Karen Stupples
Interviews: Lisa Cornwell

EUROPEAN TOUR

Commercial Bank Qatar Masters
Dates: Jan. 26-29
Venue: Doha Golf Club, Doha, Qatar

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern)
Thursday         1:30-4:30 a.m. / 6-8:30 a.m. (Live)
Friday              4-6 a.m. (Tape delay) / 6-8:30 a.m. (Live)
Saturday          4-8:30 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-Noon (Replay)
Sunday            4-8:30 a.m. (Live) / 10:30 a.m.-Noon (Replay)

Broadcast Notes:
Headlining the Field: Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer, Alex Noren, Tommy Fleetwood, Thorbjorn Olesen, Graeme Storm, Andy Sullivan and Bernd Wiesberger.

Broadcast Team:
Studio Host:  Mike Ritz
Play by Play: Dom Holyer
Analyst: Jay Townsend / Tony Johnstone
On-Course: Ken Brown

WEB.COM TOUR

Bahamas Great Abaco Classic
Dates: Jan. 22-25
Venue: The Abaco Club on Winding Bay, Great Abaco, Bahamas

Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern)
Wednesday     2-5 p.m. (Live) / 6-8 p.m. (Replay)

Golf Central Pre and Post Round Coverage on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday     1:30-2 p.m. (Live) / 5-6 p.m. (Live)

Broadcast Notes:
Inaugural event the 2nd of two Sunday-Wednesday Bahamas tournaments on Web.com Tour: This marks the second consecutive event on the Web.com Tour to be played in the Bahamas, with each following a Sunday-Wednesday format.

Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Grant Boone
Analyst: Craig Perks
Tower: Steve Burkowski
On-Course: Tripp Isenhour / Gary Christian

-NBC Sports Group-