FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 26th, 2017

GOLF CHANNEL TO SHOWCASE MORE THAN 30 HOURS OF NEWS & TOURAMENT COVERAGE FROM 2017 EAST LAKE CUP, MON-WED, OCT. 30-NOV. 1

Reigning NCAA National Champions (Oklahoma – Men, Arizona State –Women);
Top-Ranked Amateurs Headline Elite Field of Golf’s Future Stars

The Golf Fix Originating From On-Site at East Lake Cup, Monday, Oct. 30 

Men’s Field: Oklahoma, Oregon, Illinois and Vanderbilt
Women’s Field: Arizona State, Northwestern, Stanford and USC 

Free General Admission and Public Parking;
School Mascots in Attendance on Monday, Oct. 30 

Website: East Lake Cup

 

ORLANDO, Fla. Oct. 26, 2017 – Golf Channel will dedicate more than 30 hours of on-site news, instruction and tournament coverage to one of the final collegiate events of the 2017 fall season, the East Lake Cup presented by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Monday-Wednesday, Oct. 30-Nov. 1. A collegiate match play championship featuring the eight semifinalists from the 2017 NCAA Division I men’s and women’s golf championships, the East Lake Cup will take place at historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., and benefit the East Lake Foundation.

REIGNING NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS HEADLINE ELITE FIELD: The men’s division of the East Lake Cup will include the reigning NCAA national champions University of Oklahoma; 2017 NCAA runner-up and 2016 national champion University of Oregon; two-time East Lake Cup defending champion University of Illinois, and Vanderbilt University.

The women’s division will be headlined by reigning national champions Arizona State University, 2017 NCAA runner-up Northwestern University, 2015 national champions Stanford University and 2015 East Lake Cup champions University of Southern California.

The field also will feature several of world’s top-ranked amateur golfers, including Oregon’s Norman Xiong (6), Illinois’ Dylan Meyer (8) and Nick Hardy (12), Stanford’s Albane Valenzuela (3) and Andrea Lee (5), and Arizona State’s Linnea Strom (9).

GOLF CHANNEL NEWS AND TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: Live tournament coverage of the East Lake Cup will air on Golf Channel from 3-6 p.m. ET Monday-Wednesday and will replay in primetime. In addition, Golf Central and Morning Drive will be live and on-site at East Lake Golf Club, surrounding live tournament coverage with pre- and post-event news coverage.

THE GOLF FIX ON-SITE: Hosted by 2012 PGA of America Teacher of the Year – Michael Breed, The Golf Fix, Golf Channel’s Monday night instruction show, will originate from the East Lake Golf Club driving range, airing Monday at 7 p.m. ET. Guests will include Arizona State’s Linnea Strom, Illinois’ Dylan Meyer and Nick Hardy, Vanderbilt’s Theo Humphrey and coaches Missy Farr-Kaye (Arizona State) and Mike Small (Illinois).

BROADCAST TEAM: Golf Channel’s on-air team for the East Lake Cup will feature Hall-of-Famer Lanny Wadkins as lead analyst and Bob Papa as play-by-play host. Curt Byrum and Steve Burkowski will serve as hole announcers, with Notah Begay, Billy Ray Brown and Kay Cockerill reporting from the course. Lisa Cornwell and Chantel McCabe will host and report for Golf Central, with Gary Williams hosting Morning Drive. Burkowski, Golf Channel analyst Charlie Rymer and Golf Channel Digital senior writer Ryan Lavner will contribute to both Golf Central and Morning Drive throughout the week.

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE: Lavner will report on-site from East Lake with daily blogs and features. Golf Channel’s on-site social media coverage will include dedicated Facebook Live activations, as well as Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter content via the network’s social media handles. Social media host Alexandra O’Laughlin will contribute to the network’s social media channels with several live activations on-site with on-air personalities and players in the field. Golf Channel also will integrate social media into East Lake Cup live tournament coverage. Fans also can stay connected with the championship on social media using the hashtag #EastLakeCup.

News, instruction and tournament coverage of the East Lake Cup will be streamed live via Golf Channel Digital Golf Channel Digital. Complete information on the East Lake Cup can be found on the tournament website here.

Golf Channel East Lake Cup News / Tournament Coverage (live, all times ET)
Monday, Oct. 30         Morning Drive                                    7-9 a.m.
Monday, Oct. 30         Golf Central Pre Game                                   2-3 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 30         Individual Stroke Play Championship        3-6 p.m. (live) / 8-11 p.m. (replay)
Monday, Oct. 30         Golf Central                                                    6-7 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 31         Morning Drive                                    7-9 a.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 31         Golf Central Pre Game                                   2-3 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 31         Semifinals, Match Play                                 3-6 p.m. (live) / 8-11 p.m. (replay)
Tuesday, Oct. 31         Golf Central                                                    6-7 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 1    Morning Drive                                    7-9 a.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 1    Golf Central Pre Game                                   2-3 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 1    Finals, Match Play                                        3-6 p.m. (live) / 7-10 p.m. (replay)
Wednesday, Nov. 1    Golf Central                                                    6-7 p.m.

FEATURES:

  • Oklahoma Junior Brad Dalke – Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner shares the story of Oklahoma native Brad Dalke. The 20-year old junior committed to Oklahoma at 12-years old and was a junior golf star on the rise. Dalke opens up to Golf Channel on fighting through struggles at Oklahoma to become part of the national championship team and ultimately sinking the winning putt at the 2017 NCAA Golf Championships.
  • Stanford Sophomore Albane Valenzuela – Stanford sophomore Albane Valenzuela discusses how golf helped her forge a relationship with her brother, Alexis. Diagnosed with Autism after he was born, Alexis was thought to never be able to speak. Today, he speaks three languages and is Albane’s caddie.
  • Oregon Men’s Coach Casey Martin – Golf Channel’s Notah Begay sits down with Oregon men’s coach Casey Martin – former teammates at Stanford – on a wide array of topics, including Martin’s historic lawsuit against the PGA TOUR, their time at Stanford together as Tiger Woods’ teammates and Woods’ impact on the game. Martin also discusses the current state of Oregon golf and how they plan to take the next step forward in becoming a perennial power in college golf.
  • Northwestern Women’s Coach Emily Fletcher – Golf Channel’s Chantel McCabe sits down with Emily Fletcher to reflect on her journey in overcoming breast cancer in 2010 during her third year at the time as head coach for Northwestern – not missing a single tournament and being named Co-Big Ten Coach of the Year. Fletcher also discusses with McCabe the years following in returning Northwestern to national prominence and reflecting on the 2016-17 year that saw her program finish runner-up at the 2017 NCAA Golf National Championships.
  • East Lake Foundation and History of East Lake Golf Club – East Lake Golf Club’s rich history and legacy was overshadowed by the deterioration of the community in the late 1980’s-1990’s. Golf Channel takes a look at the vision of Tom Cousins and the East Lake Foundation’s revitalization of the East Lake Community, which today is a benchmark for Purposed Built Communities currently in development nationwide.

TOM COUSINS AWARD PRESENTATION, MONDAY, OCT. 30: The East Lake Cup features the presentation of the Tom Cousins Award, an annual recognition of an outstanding male and female golfer who exemplify the values of the East Lake Foundation: excels in academics, is engaged in his or her community and demonstrates an ability to overcome adversity. The 2017 Tom Cousins Award presentation will take place at the East Lake Cup Celebration Monday night, Oct. 30 at East Lake. This award is named after Tom Cousins, founder of the East Lake Foundation, which transformed a community in despair into a thriving neighborhood, now a national model for community redevelopment through Purpose Built Communities. Stanford’s Casey Danielson and Vanderbilt’s Patrick Martin were the recipients of the 2016 Tom Cousins Award.

MASCOTS TO INTERACT WITH FANS AT EAST LAKE CUP: The mascots for the respective universities will be in attendance at East Lake Golf Club on Monday, Oct. 30 interacting with fans and participating in Golf Channel’s news and tournament coverage.

FREE GENERAL ADMISSION FOR EAST LAKE CUP: General admission and parking for the East Lake Cup is free and open to the public. Complimentary tickets are available here and free parking is located at the Charles R Drew Charter School: 301 East Lake Blvd., Atlanta, Ga. Shuttle service will be provided to and from East Lake Golf Club.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: The East Lake Cup will be contested over three days, following the format from the NCAA men’s and women’s golf national championships. On Monday, Oct. 30, the eight teams will compete in individual stroke play competition to determine the individual champion and to seed for two days of match-play competition. Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 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.

Teams for the East Lake Cup will compete on the championship golf course at East Lake Golf Club, home of the TOUR Championship, the season-ending event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs. The East Lake Cup benefits the East Lake Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to helping families build better lives and children reach their highest potential through its holistic approach to community revitalization incorporating mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education and community wellness. The East Lake Cup, in association with presenting sponsor Hewlett Packard Enterprise and associate sponsor CSX, has raised nearly $1 million for the East Lake Foundation since its inception in 2015. Buick, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, joins CSX as an associate sponsor for the East Lake Cup in 2017.

ABOUT THE EAST LAKE FOUNDATION
Founded in 1995 on the belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, the East Lake Foundation collaborates with public and private organizations to provide tools that enable Atlanta’s East Lake residents to build a better future through its model for community revitalization.

The East Lake model includes cradle-to-college education at Charles R. Drew Charter School and its early learning partners, mixed-income housing at The Villages of East Lake and community wellness through programs including The First Tee® of East Lake, the Resident and Community Support Program, and the Start:ME East Lake micro-entrepreneur program. This approach to building a strong community not only helps break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, but creates a place where people of all ages and incomes choose to live. East Lake has become a national model for holistic community revitalization programs through its sister organization, Purpose Built Communities. Additional information is available at www.eastlakefoundation.org.

ABOUT EAST LAKE GOLF CLUB
Located in Atlanta, the East Lake Golf Club is the home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones and is the oldest golf course in the city of Atlanta. The Club is not only historic, but philanthropic as well. Proceeds from operations support the East Lake Foundation, now serving as a national model for holistic community redevelopment across the country through Purpose Built Communities.

Over the years, the golf course has hosted many national and regional championships, including the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1963 Ryder Cup, and 2001 U.S. Men’s Amateur.  It is now the permanent home of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, the culminating event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.  Additional information may be found at www.eastlakegolfclub.com

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 to nearly 500 million viewers in 78 countries and nine 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. Delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through Golf Channel Digital and the NBC Sports App, powered by Playmaker Media. 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.

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