Rose, Mickelson Lead Field at Desert Classic in Southern California,
as PGA TOUR LIVE Launches on NBC Sports Gold on Thursday
LPGA Tour Season Begins with Inaugural Diamond Resorts Tournament
of Champions, with Live Coverage Airing on GOLF Channel and NBC
Web.com Tour’s Bahamas Great Exuma Classic Continues Tuesday and
Wednesday, Followed by Bahamas Great Abaco Classic (Sunday-Wednesday)
Koepka, Johnson and Fleetwood Headline Field at Abu Dhabi HSBC
Championship, Airing Tuesday-Friday (Overnight) Live on GOLF Channel
PGA TOUR Champions Season Gets Underway with Mitsubishi Electric
Championship at Hualalai, Airing Live in Primetime Thursday-Saturday
Garcia Defends at SMBC Singapore Open, with Four
Spots Available through 2019 Open Qualifying Series
Live Coverage of 2019 PGA Merchandise Show Airing on GOLF Channel
ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 15, 2019) – The PGA TOUR is in Southern California for the Desert Classic, as world No. 1 Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson lead the field, with live coverage airing on GOLF Channel as part of the network’s continuing stretch of 18 consecutive days of live golf. Complementing live tournament coverage on GOLF Channel, this week also marks the launch of PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold, which kicks off on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET with Featured Groups coverage focusing on Russell Knox/Jhonattan Vegas, along with Chesson Hadley/Bill Haas. The LPGA Tour begins its 2019 season with the inaugural winners-only Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, as Ariya Jutanugarn and Lexi Thompson headline a field of 26 professionals teeing it up alongside sports and entertainment celebrities. Live coverage will be shown across GOLF Channel and NBC. The Web.com Tour continues its back-to-back Sunday-Wednesday events in the Bahamas, with coverage airing live on GOLF Channel. On the European Tour, world Nos. 2 and 3 Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson lead the field in Abu Dhabi, with coverage airing Tuesday-Friday (Overnight) live on GOLF Channel. The PGA TOUR Champions also will kick off its 2019 campaign at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii, with live coverage airing in primetime on GOLF Channel Thursday-Saturday. Sergio Garcia will defend his title at the SMBC Sinapore Open on the Asian Tour, with four spots into The Open available to those in the field as part of the 2019 Open Qualifying Series.
PGA TOUR
Desert Classic
Dates: Jan. 17-20
Venue: PGA West (Stadium Course), PGA West (Nicklaus Tournament Course), La Quinta Country Club, La Quinta, Calif.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 3-7 p.m. (Live)
Friday 3-7 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 3-7 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 3-7 p.m. (Live)
PGA TOUR LIVE Airtimes on NBC Sports Gold (Eastern):
Thursday 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups)
- Russell Knox/Jhonattan Vegas; Chesson Hadley/Bill Haas (1st Tee)
- Additional coverage: Justin Rose/Zach Johnson; Phil Mickelson/Aaron Wise
Friday 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups)
- Charles Howell III/Sean O’Hair; Brendan Steele/Jason Dufner (1st Tee)
- Additional coverage: Phil Mickelson/Aaron Wise; Justin Rose/Zach Johnson
Broadcast Notes:
PGA TOUR LIVE launches on NBC Sports Gold: Thursday’s opening round marks the official launch of PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold. Coverage this week will include Featured Groups on Thursday and Friday. In 2019, PGA TOUR LIVE coverage on NBC Sports Gold will feature four days of live coverage from 27 PGA TOUR events, including “Speed Round” recaps for Featured Groups, expansive VOD content and integrated scoring and statistics.
Course rotation: All three courses will be utilized over the first three rounds, with the final round taking place at the Stadium Course on Sunday.
Rahm defends: John Rahm birdied the fourth playoff hole to outlast Andrew Landry and win his second PGA TOUR title.
Headlining the field: Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Cantlay, Zach Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Joaquin Niemann, Bill Haas, Charles Howell III and Aaron Wise.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Terry Gannon
Analyst: David Duval
Tower: Matt Gogel
On-Course: Jim “Bones” Mackay / Curt Byrum
Interviews: George Savaricas
LPGA TOUR
Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions
Dates: Jan. 17-20
Venue: Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday Noon-3 p.m. (Live)
Friday Noon-3 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 2-3 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 2-3 p.m. (Live)
Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday 3-5 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 3-5 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Inaugural event: This marks the inaugural edition of the event, and the first time since 2015 that the LPGA Tour season will begin in the United States. It also marks the return of a “winners-only” event on the LPGA Tour since 2007. The 26-person field consists of winners from the 2017 and 20178 seasons, competing in a 72-hole no-cut stroke play competition. The LPGA Tour players also will be joined by sports and entertainment celebrities who will be competing in their own modified stableford competition.
Headlining the field: Ariya Jutanugarn, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson, Moriya Jutanugarn, Danielle Kang, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome, Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko, In Gee Chun and Amy Yang.
Celebrities in the field: John Smoltz, Jeremy Roenick, Toby Keith, Cole Swindell, Alfonso Ribeiro, Michael Waltrip, Jon Lester, Denny Hamlin, Terry Francona, Roger Clemens and Ray Allen.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Grant Boone
Analyst: Paige Mackenzie
Tower: Tom Abbott
On-Course: Jerry Foltz / Karen Stupples
Interviews: Chantel McCabe
WEB.COM TOUR
Bahamas Great Exuma Classic
Dates: Jan. 13-16
Venue: Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Tuesday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 6-9 p.m. (Replay)
Wednesday 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Live) / 5:30-8 p.m. (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Coverage featuring select players ‘mic’d up’ during their round: Web.com Tour coverage in 2019 – beginning with the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic – will feature select players being “mic’d up” during the course of their round, providing an intimate perspective for fans tuning in. Players mic’d up thus far include Brandon Matthews, Rico Hoey and Maverick McNealy.
Debut of new season-long points system mirroring FedExCup: This event also marks the beginning of a new point system on the Web.com Tour that will be structured in a similar fashion as the FedExCup. Web.com Tour points will be distributed to players earning official money at Web.com Tour sanctioned events, with the top-75 players at the conclusion of the regular season advancing to the Web.com Tour Finals.
Headlining the field: Maverick McNealy, Norman Xiong, Doug Ghim, Andy Zhang, Scottie Scheffler, Henrik Norlander, Jordan Niebrugge, Lee McCoy, Morgan Hoffman and Rico Hoey.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Steve Burkowski
Analyst: Craig Perks
Tower: Phil Blackmar
On-Course: Gary Christian
EUROPEAN TOUR
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Dates: Jan. 16-19
Venue: Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 10:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. (Tuesday Overnight) and 6-8 a.m. (Live)
Thursday 2-8 a.m. (Live)
Friday 3-8 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 3:30-8 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
First event of 2019: This week marks the first European Tour event of the 2019 calendar year, and the sixth event overall in the 2019 Race to Dubai. It also marks the first of eight Rolex Series events in 2019.
Fleetwood defends: Tommy Fleetwood defeated Ross Fisher by two shots to claim his fourth career European Tour win.
Headlining the field: Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and David Lipsky.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Host: Scott Walker
Play by Play: Dougie Donnelly
Analyst: Sam Torrance / Anthony Wall / Ken Brown
On-Course: Jay Townsend / Jamie Spence
Interviews: Tim Barter
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai
Dates: Jan. 17-19
Venue: Hualalai Golf Course, Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 7-10 p.m. (Live) / 8-10 a.m. (Friday replay)
Friday 7-10 p.m. (Live) / 8-10 a.m. (Friday replay)
Saturday 7-10 p.m. (Live) / 7:30-10 a.m. (Sunday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Season kickoff: This week marks the season-opening event in the 2019 race for the Charles Schwab Cup. The field includes PGA TOUR Champions major winners from the past five seasons (2014-’18), active members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and sponsor exemptions.
Kelly defends: Jerry Kelly finished one stroke ahead of Colin Montgomerie to win his third PGA TOUR Champions title.
Headlining the field: Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Steve Stricker, Colin Montgomerie, Vijay Singh, Kenny Perry, Tom Watson, David Toms, Tom Lehman, Jerry Kelly and Mark O’Meara.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Bob Papa
Analyst: Lanny Wadkins
Tower: John Mahaffey / Mark Rolfing
On-Course: Billy Ray Brown / John Cook
ASIAN TOUR
SMBC Singapore Open
Dates: Jan. 17-20
Venue: Sentosa Golf Club (Serapong Course), Sentosa Island, Singapore
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 8 p.m.-Midnight (Live)
Thursday 10 p.m.-Midnight (Live)
Saturday 1:30-3:30 a.m. (Live, Friday Overnight)
Sunday 1:30-3:30 a.m. (Live, Saturday Overnight)
Broadcast Notes:
Garcia defends: Sergio Garcia finished five shots clear of the field to win his first professional event of 2018.
Headlining the field: Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Davis Love III, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Dru Love, Smylie Kaufman and Shugo Imahira.
NEXT WEEK…
WEB.COM TOUR
Bahamas Great Abaco Classic
Dates: Jan. 20-23
Venue: The Abaco Club on Winding Bay, Great Abaco, Bahamas
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Sunday Noon-2 p.m. (Live)
Monday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 6-8 p.m. (Replay)
Tuesday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 6-8 p.m. (Replay)
Wednesday 2-5 p.m. (Live) / 6-8 p.m. (Replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Second Sunday-Wednesday event in as many weeks: This is the third edition of the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, and the event will take place Sunday-Wednesday, with live coverage on GOLF Channel.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Steve Burkowski
Analyst: Craig Perks
Tower: Phil Blackmar
On-Course: Gary Christian
PGA OF AMERICA
2019 PGA Merchandise Show
Dates: Jan. 22-25
Venue: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.
Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Tuesday 7-11 a.m. (Live, Outdoor Demo Day)
Wednesday 8-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Thursday 8:30-11:15 a.m. (Live)
Friday 8:30-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Live coverage of PGA Merchandise Show Tuesday-Friday: Tuesday-Friday, Morning Drive will showcase the golf industry’s latest innovations and line of products and services, beginning with coverage of Outdoor Demo Day on Tuesday morning from Orange Country National golf course. Coverage Wednesday-Friday will originate from the PGA Merchandise Show floor inside Orange County Convention Center and includes guests and industry personnel throughout the week.
-NBC Sports Group-
Media Contact:
Jeff Szklinski
Golf Channel Communications
407-248-3267