FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 25th, 2019

GOLF CHANNEL TO SHOWCASE MORE THAN 30 HOURS OF NEWS & TOURNAMENT COVERAGE FROM THE 2019 EAST LAKE CUP, MONDAY-WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28-30

Eight Team Field Features National Champions, Several of World’s Top-Ranked Amateurs, Participants from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur

 Men’s Field: Oklahoma State, Texas, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest

Women’s Field: Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Wake Forest

 Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Jerome Bettis Featured Speaker for East Lake Cup Celebration

 GOLF Channel’s New Podcast, College Golf Talk, Premieres Today

 Website: East Lake Cup

ORLANDO, Fla. Oct. 24, 2019 – GOLF Channel will dedicate more than 30 hours of news and tournament coverage to one of the final collegiate events of the 2019 fall season, the East Lake Cup collegiate match play championship, Monday-Wednesday, Oct. 28-30. Celebrating its fifth year and taking place at historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, the East Lake Cup will feature a field of eight teams (four men’s and four women’s) who were extended invitations as a result of their finishes at the 2019 NCAA Division I Golf Championships in May.

NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS HEADLINE ELITE FIELD: The East Lake Cup field features men’s and women’s college golf programs boasting national championship resumes and includes several of the top-ranked amateur golfers in the world. The men’s division will be headlined by 2018 NCAA national champions Oklahoma State University; 2019 NCAA national championship runners-up University of Texas; 2017 East Lake Cup champions Vanderbilt University and the current No. 2-ranked team in the country, Wake Forest University.

The women’s division will be headlined by reigning NCAA national champions Duke University; 2019 NCAA national championship runners-up and current No. 4-ranked team in the country Wake Forest University; 2018 NCAA national champions University of Arizona and 2019 NCAA semifinalists Auburn University.

The field also will feature several of the world’s top-ranked amateurs, including Texas’ Cole Hammer (2) and Pierceson Coody (10), Vanderbilt’s John Augenstein (5), Oklahoma State’s Austin Eckroat (21) and Wake Forest’s Eugenio Chacarra (15) and Alex Fitzpatrick (28). On the women’s side, the field includes Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio (14), Arizona’s Vivian Hou (18), Duke’s Jaravee Boonchant (27), Gina Kim (31) and Ana Belac (51).

Several players in this year’s East Lake Cup also competed in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur last April, including Belac, Boonchant, Kim and Erica Shepherd from Duke; Wake Forest’s Migliaccio, Arizona’s Hou and Auburn’s Kaleigh Telfer.

GOLF CHANNEL LAUNCHES “COLLEGE GOLF TALK” PODCAST TODAY: The newest addition to GOLF Channel’ expanding college golf coverage, College Golf Talk will dive into news and stories within the college golf scene throughout the year. Hosted by GOLF Channel college insider Steve Burkowski, Thursday’s premiere episode will feature Burkowski and GOLF Channel associate editor Brentley Romine catching listeners up on what has transpired this fall in college golf. Romine also sits down with Texas men’s golf coach John Fields and his star pupil Cole Hammer to discuss the Longhorn’s 2019-20 season. Burkowski and Romine also discuss the teams and players to watch in the East Lake Cup. College Golf Talk will be available Thursday on GOLF Channel Digital, Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Art19.com.

PRO FOOTBALL HALL-OF-FAMER JEROME BETTIS TO HEADLINE EAST LAKE CUP CELEBRATION: On Monday, Oct. 28, East Lake Golf Club will host the East Lake Cup Celebration, a private event for the participating teams competing in the championship. As part of the celebration, Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Jerome Bettis will be the featured guest speaker, sharing inspirational stories from his competitive playing days as well as some lighthearted and entertaining stories on his passion and love for golf as well as his charity work with The Bus Stops Here Foundation.

GOLF CHANNEL BROADCAST TEAM: GOLF Channel’s on-air team for the East Lake Cup will feature Bob Papa and Curt Byrum serving as play-by-play host and analyst, respectively, from the 18th hole broadcast booth. Steve Burkowski will serve as a hole announcer, with Notah Begay, Billy Ray Brown and Kay Cockerill reporting from the course. Chantel McCabe will conduct interviews, as well as reporting for Golf Central and Morning Drive. GOLF Channel analysts Tripp Isenhour and Paige Mackenzie will join GOLF Channel senior writer Ryan Lavner for Golf Central’s wraparound news coverage of the East Lake Cup.

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 surround live tournament coverage with pre- and post-event news coverage.

Golf Channel East Lake Cup News / Tournament Coverage (live, all times ET)

Monday, Oct. 28         Morning Drive                                                7-9 a.m.

Monday, Oct. 28         Golf Central Pre Game                                   2-3 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 28         Individual Stroke Play Championship       3-6 p.m. (live) / 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (replay)

Monday, Oct. 28         Golf Central                                                    6-7 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 29         Morning Drive                                                7-9 a.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 29         Golf Central Pre Game                                   2-3 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 29         Semifinals, Match Play                                 3-6 p.m. (live) / 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (replay)

Tuesday, Oct. 29         Golf Central                                                    6-7 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 30    Morning Drive                                                7-9 a.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 30    Golf Central Pre Game                                   2-3 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 30    Finals, Match Play                                        3-6 p.m. (live) / 6-9 p.m. (replay)

Wednesday, Oct. 30    Golf Central                                                    9-10 p.m. (live)

FEATURES:

  • Texas’ Cole Hammer – They say everything in Texas is big, even the expectations. For Texas sophomore Cole Hammer, he has been living in the spotlight since committing to Texas in eighth grade. GOLF Channel’s Ryan Lavner takes a deep look into a guy known as the “Next Jordan Spieth,” and how he handles the pressure of being the top player in the country.
  • Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio – One of the top-ranked amateurs in the world, Emilia Migliaccio’s golf bloodline is strong. Her mother, Ricki, was an All-American at Arizona and a teammate of Annika Sorenstam. Golf, however, is only one chapter in Migliaccio’s story. Lavner sits down with the published author to talk about her life and career on and off the golf course.
  • Wake Forest’s Alex Fitzpatrick – Being the younger brother of a PGA TOUR professional can have its perks as well as pitfalls. Wake Forest’s Alex Fitzpatrick enjoys his sibling rivalry with his brother Matthew. As Chantel McCabe reports, Alex and Matthew couldn’t be any more different, but they share one common bond: their love for golf.
  • Reigning NCAA National Champions Duke University – Women’s golf coach Dan Brooks has seven national titles under his name. Since the NCAA’s format changed to match play, however, his teams struggled to bring home another national championship, until this past year. Steve Burkowski shares how Brooks’ Blue Devils finally got over the match play hurdle at the NCAAs.
  • Drew Charter School – The story of Drew Charter School is a remarkable one. Becoming one of the finest schools in what was once a struggling East Lake neighborhood, Drew Charter is now a beacon of hope for children and their families in the community. NBC Sports’ Jimmy Roberts reports how in 2019, the school made even more history, this time on the golf course.

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE: GOLF Channel associate editor and college staff writer Brentley Romine will report on-site at the East Lake Cup with daily blogs and columns. Social media correspondent Nikki Bondura (Nikki B.) will contribute across GOLF Channel’s digital and social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, with exclusive behind-the-scenes content on-site at the East Lake Cup. GOLF Channel also will integrate social media into East Lake Cup live tournament coverage with the Hashtag #EastLakeCup.

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

EAST LAKE CUP FORMAT: The East Lake Cup will be contested over three days, following the format from the final three days of the NCAA men’s and women’s golf national championships. On Monday, Oct. 28, 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, Oct. 29-30, 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 is one of the largest contributors to the East Lake Foundation, having raised more than $1.5 million for the East Lake Foundation since the tournament’s inception in 2015.

TOM COUSINS AWARD PRESENTATION, MONDAY, OCT. 28: The East Lake Cup features the presentation of the Tom Cousins Award, an annual recognition of an outstanding collegiate golfer or team exemplifying 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 2019 Tom Cousins Award presentation will take place at the East Lake Cup Celebration Monday night, Oct. 28 at East Lake. This award is named after Tom Cousins, founder of the East Lake Foundation. Through Cousins’ vision, the Foundation transformed the East Lake community from despair into a thriving neighborhood, and is now a national model for community redevelopment through Purpose Built Communities.

COMPLIMENTARY 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 in the grass lots across the street from the East Lake Golf Club front gate: 2650 Alston Drive SE, Atlanta., Ga.

ZIPRECRUITER NEW PRESENTING SPONSOR; TOPGOLF, UBER NEW TOURNAMENT SPONSORS: Ahead of the fifth playing of the event, ZipRecruiter has become the new presenting sponsor for the East Lake Cup, elevating its sponsorship as part of its multi-year partnership with the tournament. Joining ZipRecruiter as sponsors for the East Lake Cup are existing sponsors Bridgestone Golf, Mercedes-Benz and CSX and new sponsors Uber and Topgolf.

GOLF CHANNEL HOME TO FIVE COLLEGE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS: GOLF Channel is the television home for college golf, televising five college golf championships. Following its announcement in 2013 as the exclusive television provider of the NCAA Golf Championships, GOLF Channel has provided live coverage of the men’s NCAA championships since 2014 and the women’s NCAA championships since 2015, which now are hosted at the same venue in consecutive weeks in May. The 2020 NCAA Women’s and Men’s Golf Championships will take place May 22-June 3 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

GOLF Channel also televises the Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf, one of the longest running college tournaments in the U.S. The 74th edition will be contested at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif., April 13-15, 2020. In September 2020, GOLF Channel will televise a new college championship, the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational, a 54-hole team and individual stroke play championship. In addition, GOLF Channel deploys its comprehensive portfolio of news, digital and social media coverage year-round in covering collegiate golf, including specials for regional and national qualifying, on-site and wraparound news from golf’s biggest college events, and year-end award shows for the Haskins and ANNIKA Awards presented by Stifel.

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, the culminating event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.  Additional information may be found at www.eastlakegolfclub.com

-NBC Sports Group-