FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 16th, 2019
NBC SPORTS KICKS OFF 2019 LPGA TOUR SEASON THIS WEEK
NBC Sports Group to Air 33 LPGA Events in 2019 Featuring More Than 430 Tournament Hours, Most Number of Hours in LPGA Tour History
NBC Sports to Bookend LPGA Tour Season with Inaugural Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions and Conclude with the CME Group Tour Championship,
Nearly Doubling its Live Hours in 2019
Golf’s First Major of 2019 – ANA Inspiration – Centerpiece of Seven-Event West Coast Swing in Primetime on GOLF Channel
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 16, 2019 – NBC Sports Group kicks off its coverage of the 2019 LPGA Tour season this week with the inaugural Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, the first of 33 official events totaling 435 hours of tournament coverage, marking the highest number of events and most hours ever in a single calendar year for the LPGA Tour.
“We are very happy to continue this great partnership with our friends at Golf Channel and NBC,” said LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan. “Our LPGA Tour players are some of the world’s finest athletes, yet their lives outside the ropes are just as compelling. We look forward to working with Golf Channel and NBC to bring those stories to our millions of fans across the United States and around the globe.”
“NBC Sports’ LPGA Tour coverage in 2019 features our most hours ever, including kicking off and capping the season with broadcast coverage on NBC,” said Molly Solomon, executive producer, GOLF Channel. “We continue to invest in our LPGA Tour coverage, elevating their stars as they travel the globe on this international tour. GOLF Channel will showcase 33 LPGA Tour events, including four of five women’s major championships and the Solheim Cup, making us the home to women’s golf.”
MOST NUMBER OF BROADCAST HOURS ON NBC IN LPGA HISTORY
For the first time, NBC will bookend the LPGA Tour season, beginning this week with the inaugural Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions and concluding with live coverage of the CME Group Tour Championship, the season-ending event on the LPGA Tour in November. NBC also will air live coverage of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the AIG Women’s British Open in 2019, nearly doubling the number of live tournament hours on NBC.
In total, NBC Sports Group’s coverage of 33 LPGA Tour events in 2019 will feature nearly 90% of all tournament coverage live, highlighted by four of the five major championships and the biennial Solheim Cup, taking place Sept. 13-15 in Perthshire, Scotland. GOLF Channel will air live comprehensive coverage of the ANA Inspiration and all three days of the Solheim Cup.
DIAMOND RESORTS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS KICKS OFF 2019 SEASON
The inaugural Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America features 26 LPGA Tour winners from the past two seasons and celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment. GOLF Channel will air live coverage Thursday and Friday (Noon-3 p.m. ET). Weekend coverage will air on GOLF Channel from 2-3 p.m. ET, continuing on NBC from 3-5 p.m. ET.
Paige Mackenzie will serve as lead analyst for live tournament coverage of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, joined by Grant Boone as play-by-play host. Tom Abbott will serve as a hole announcer with Jerry Foltz and Karen Stupples reporting from the course. Chantel McCabe will conduct post-round interviews as well as interviews with celebrities and players on the 18th tee during the tournament telecasts.
GOLF’S FIRST MAJOR OF 2019, ANA INSPIRATION, CENTERPIECE OF SIX-EVENT WEST COAST SWING IN PRIMETIME
Following the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, the LPGA Tour will travel to Australia, Thailand and Singapore for a four-week stretch in February and March before returning to the U.S. in mid-March for a six-week stretch of live coverage in primetime concluding in early May, with the centerpiece being golf’s first major of 2019, the ANA Inspiration (Thursday-Sunday, April 4-7).
NBC Sports Group LPGA Tour Schedule Through West Coast Swing
| Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions | Jan. 17-20 | GOLF / NBC |
| ISPS Handa Vic Open | Feb. 7-10 | GOLF |
| ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open | Feb. 14-17 | GOLF |
| Honda LPGA Thailand | Feb. 21-24 | GOLF |
| HSBC Women’s World Championship | Feb. 28 – March 3 | GOLF |
| Bank of Hope Founders Cup | March 21-24 | GOLF |
| Kia Classic | March 28-31 | GOLF |
| ANA Inspiration | April 4-7 | GOLF |
| LOTTE Championship | April 17-20 | GOLF |
| Hugel-Air Premia LA Open | April 25-28 | GOLF |
| LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship | May 2-5 | GOLF |
ABOUT THE LPGA
The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women. Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla., the association celebrates a diverse and storied membership with more than 2,300 members representing more than 30 countries. With a vision to inspire, empower, educate and entertain by showcasing the very best of women’s golf, LPGA Tour Professionals compete across the globe, while the Symetra Tour, the official development and qualifying tour of the LPGA, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. Additionally, LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals directly impact the game through teaching, coaching and management.
The LPGA demonstrates its dedication to the development of the game through The LPGA Foundation. Since 1991, this charitable organization has been committed to empowering and supporting girls and women through developmental, humanitarian and golf community initiatives, including LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the LPGA Women’s Network and the LPGA Amateur Golf Association.
Follow the LPGA on its television home, Golf Channel, and on the web via www.LPGA.com. Join the social conversation at www.facebook.com/lpga, www.twitter.com/lpga and www.youtube.com/lpgavideo, and on Instagram and Snapchat at @lpga_tour.
ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP’S GOLF DIVISION
NBC Sports Group’s GOLF division delivers multimedia golf content, technology and services. Anchored by GOLF Channel – co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 – GOLF content is available to nearly 500 million viewers in nine languages across more than 70 countries around the world. GOLF features more live golf coverage than all other U.S. networks combined, including global tournament action from the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, European Tour, NCAA, THE PLAYERS, The Open, Olympics, Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, as well as high-quality news, instruction and original programming. Delivering unmatched coverage from the world of golf via GOLF Digital, fans can access GOLF’s 24/7 live streaming through the NBC Sports App, as well as complementary coverage via PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold. In addition to these all-encompassing media platforms, NBC Sports connects the world to golf through a wide array of digital technology and lifestyle services, including: GOLFNOW, the world’s largest online tee time booking platform; Revolution GOLF, the world’s largest direct-to-consumer digital platform in golf, offering best-in-class video instruction and game improvement products; GOLF Advisor, the ultimate digital destination for the traveling golfer, featuring the largest number of user-generated golf course ratings and reviews in the industry; a North American network of GOLF Academy instructional facilities; and GOLF Am Tour, the world’s largest amateur golf tour. With its world headquarters in Orlando, an international office in Belfast, and regional offices across North America, Europe and Australia, GOLF’s global reach also features partnerships with Sky Sports, and St Andrews Links as the Official Media Partner.
-NBC Sports Group-
Media Contacts:
Jeremy Friedman
Golf Channel Communications
407-355-4058
Jeremy.Friedman@golfchannel.com
Christina Lance
Senior Manager, Tour Media
LPGA
908-963-1691
