FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 31st, 2018
NBC SPORTS TO AIR 28 LIVE HOURS OF THE RICOH WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN FROM ROYAL LYTHAM & ST ANNES; MOST LIVE HOURS FOR LPGA TOUR EVENT IN 2018
Each of Top-50 in World Convene for WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio
PGA TOUR in Nevada for Barracuda Championship
PGA TOUR Champions in Minnesota for 3M Championship; Nicklaus,
Player, Lopez & Sorenstam Headline “Greats of Golf Challenge” Saturday
Singh, Els Lead Field at European Tour’s Fiji International
ORLANDO, Fla. (July 31, 2018) – NBC Sports Group will dedicate nearly 30 live hours to the Ricoh Women’s British Open, being staged Thursday-Sunday at Royal Lytham & St Annes in England. The top-50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will convene in Ohio this week for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club’s South Course. The PGA TOUR is in Reno, Nev., for the Barracuda Championship, where Chris Stroud defends. The PGA TOUR Champions are in Minnesota for the 3M Championship, and on Saturday the “Greats of Golf Challenge” will feature World Golf Hall of Fame members including Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam. On the European Tour, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh headline the field at the Fiji International.
R&A
Ricoh Women’s British Open
Dates: August 2-5
Venue: Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lytham St Annes, England
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 6 a.m.-1 p.m. (Live)
Friday 6 a.m.-1 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 7-11 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 7-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
28 live hours of coverage: Thursday-Sunday, Golf Channel and NBC will combine to air seven continuous hours of live tournament coverage each day, equaling 2017 as the most in tournament history and the most number of live hours for an LPGA event during the 2018 season.
Kim defends: I.K. Kim finished two strokes ahead of Jodi Ewart Shadoff to earn her seventh LPGA Tour win and first major championship victory.
Headlining the field: Ariya Jutanugarn, Inbee Park, S.H. Park, So Yeon Ryu, Shanshan Feng, I.K. Kim, Minjee Lee, Jessica Korda, Cristie Kerr, Brooke Henderson and Michelle Wie.
Golf Channel/NBC Sports Broadcast Team:
Host: Mike Ritz
Play by Play: Rich Lerner
Analyst: Judy Rankin
Tower: Tom Abbott
On Course: Karen Stupples / Jerry Foltz
Interviews: Cara Banks
PGA TOUR
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Dates: August 2-5
Venue: Firestone Country Club (South Course), Akron, Ohio
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 1:30-6:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 1:30-6:30 p.m. (Live) / 11:30 p.m-2:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday Noon-1:45 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday Noon-1:45 p.m. (Live) / 10 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay)
Golf Central Pre and Post Round Coverage on Golf Channel (Eastern)
Thursday 1-1:30 p.m. / 9-9:30 p.m.
Friday 1-1:30 p.m. / 11-11:30 p.m.
Saturday 11 a.m.-Noon / 1:45-2 p.m. / 9-10 p.m.
Sunday 11:30 a.m.-Noon / 1:45-2 p.m. / 9-10 p.m.
Broadcast Notes:
Player news conference airing on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET: Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11 a.m. ET, Golf Channel will showcase a player news conference special from Firestone Country Club. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, along with Tiger Woods are scheduled to be included within the news conference special where they’ll field questions from on-site media.
Elite field: The field of 73 players includes each of the top-50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, along with 26 of the 32 winners to-date on the 2017-18 PGA TOUR schedule.
Matsuyama defends: Hideki Matsuyama finished five shots ahead of Zach Johnson to earn his fifth PGA TOUR victory.
Headlining the field: Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Francesco Molinari, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and Tiger Woods.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Terry Gannon
Analyst: Nick Faldo
Tower: Curt Byrum / Matt Gogel
On-Course: Phil Blackmar
Interviews: Lisa Cornwell
PGA TOUR
Barracuda Championship
Dates: August 2-5
Venue: Montreux Golf & Country Club, Reno, Nev.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 6:30-9 p.m. (Live) / 4-6 a.m. (Friday replay)
Friday 6:30-9 p.m. (Live) / 4-6 a.m. (Saturday replay)
Saturday 6-9 p.m. (Live) / 4-6 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Sunday 6-9 p.m. (Live) / 4-6 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Stroud defends: Chris Stroud defeated Greg Owen and Richy Werenski with a birdie on the second playoff hole to claim his first career PGA TOUR win.
Headlining the field: Bill Haas, Norman Xiong, Doug Ghim, Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen, Nick Hardy, Chris Stroud, Graeme McDowell, Dylan Meyer and Trey Mullinax.
Tournament Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Steve Sands
Analyst: Justin Leonard
Tower: Trevor Immelman
On-Course: Jim “Bones” Mackay / Craig Perks
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
3M Championship
Dates: August 3-5
Venue: TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minn.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Friday 9-11 p.m. (Tape delay) / 5-7 p.m. (Streaming on Golf Channel Digital)
Saturday 4-6 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 4-6 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
“Greats of Golf Challenge” on Saturday: The annual “Greats of Golf Challenge” once again will be staged at the 3M Championship on Saturday, with Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam, Pat Bradley, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin and Tom Weiskopf taking part in the competition.
Goydos defends: Paul Goydos birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Gene Sauers and earn his fifth PGA TOUR Champions win.
Headlining the field: Kirk Triplett, Tom Lehman, Jay Haas, Kenny Perry, Tom Kite, John Daly, Paul Goydos and Mike Small.
Tournament Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Bob Papa
Analyst: Lanny Wadkins
Tower: John Mahaffey
On-Course: Billy Ray Brown / John Cook
EUROPEAN TOUR
Fiji International
Dates: August 2-5
Venue: Natadola Bay Golf Course, Natadola Beach, Fiji
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern)
Wednesday 8 p.m.-1 a.m. (Live)
Friday 2-4 a.m. (Tape delay) / 8 p.m.-1 a.m. (Streaming Thursday, Golf Channel Digital)
Saturday 2-4 p.m. (Tape delay) / 7 p.m.-Midnight (Streaming Friday, Golf Channel Digital)
Sunday 2-4 p.m. (Tape Delay) / 7 p.m.-Midnight (Streaming Saturday, Golf Channel Digital)
Broadcast Notes
Norris defends: Jason Norris finished four strokes ahead of the field to claim his first European Tour win.
Headlining the field: Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Gavin Green, Marcus Fraser, Scott Hend, Jason Norris, Andrew Dodt, Daniel Fox, Shiv Kapur and Wu Ashun.
-NBC Sports Group-