FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 20th, 2021

“GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM THE RYDER CUP” ON GOLF CHANNEL KICKS OFF NBC SPORTS’ WEEK-LONG COVERAGE OF 43RD RYDER CUP

More Than 100 Hours of Live Tournament and Studio Coverage Begins With Live From The Ryder Cup Today at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel

Cracking The CodeNew Documentary on 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captained by Paul Azinger – Debuts Tonight at 9 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel Following Live From the Ryder Cup

“These will be the weeks you remember more than any others, because these weeks are bigger than yourself.” – On-Course Reporter and Six-Time U.S. Ryder Cup Caddie John Wood on Memories of The Ryder Cup

Transcript – NBC Sports Golf Commentators Preview the 43rd Ryder Cup

STAMFORD, Conn. – September 20, 2021 – NBC Sports begins its comprehensive week-long coverage of the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits Golf Club in Kohler, Wis., with GOLF Central Live From the Ryder Cup today at 4 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel.

Following tonight’s 7 p.m. ET edition of Live From The Ryder Cup, GOLF Channel will premiere its new documentary, Cracking The Code – the inside story of captain Paul Azinger’s groundbreaking strategy inspired by the Navy Seals to reinvent the idea of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2008 – tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Click here to watch a preview of Cracking The Code.

NBC Sports will present coverage from the first tee shot of the Ryder Cup to the final putt from Friday-Sunday, totaling 100-plus hours of live coverage during Ryder Cup week from Whistling Straits including on-site studio coverage and featured groups.

Over the course of the week, more than 35 on-air talent provide live commentary throughout live event and studio coverage across NBC, GOLF Channel, and Peacock. Click here for more information on NBC Sports’ live event and studio on-air teams for the 43rd Ryder Cup.

CRACKING THE CODE – NEW DOCUMENTARY ON 2008 U.S. RYDER CUP TEAM CAPTAINED BY PAUL AZINGER – DEBUTS TONIGHT AT 9 P.M. ET ON GOLF CHANNEL

Debuting on GOLF Channel tonight at 9 p.m. ET following Live From the Ryder Cup, Cracking the Code details how Paul Azinger enlisted the help of clinical therapist Dr. Ron Braund, using personality tests and the now-famed “pod system,” to structure the American team that ultimately went on to upset the European team at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

Cracking The Code was filmed extensively at Valhalla Golf Club and includes interviews with 2008 Ryder Cup captains Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo; U.S. Ryder Cup assistant captain Olin Browne; 2008 Ryder Cup team members Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, Boo Weekley, and J.B. Holmes; 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup caddies and current NBC Sports on-course reporters Jim “Bones” Mackay and John Wood; and NBC Sports’ Dan Hicks and Gary Koch.


INSIDE ‘THE ROOM’ AND 20 YEARS’ WORTH OF RYDER CUP MEMORIES
FROM JOHN WOOD

NBC Sports on-course reporter and six-time U.S. Ryder Cup caddie John Wood shared 20 years of Ryder Cup memories in an article for GOLFChannel.com earlier today. In the piece, Wood discusses his passion and love for the Ryder Cup, what it meant to him to be a caddie for six Ryder Cup teams and an assistant for a seventh, and shares some unique insights that only someone inside “The Room” can truly speak to. Following are excerpts from the article:

Wood about the uniqueness of the Ryder Cup: “Jordan Spieth will play in the Masters for the next 25-30 years. Justin Thomas will be in the PGA for a long, long time… But you know how many Ryder Cups they’re guaranteed to play in going forward? One. Just this one, just this week…treat it like it’s your last one and give everything you have to the team for the entire week because two years from now, you have no idea if you’ll be back. And when you’re all done, playing these will be the weeks you remember more than any others, because these weeks are bigger than yourself.

Wood on “The Room”: “The Room is something you cannot possibly understand unless you’ve been in one. When I hear criticisms and critiques from those who have never been lucky enough to be in a Team Room, I always have to say to myself, ‘You have no idea’… It is in The Room where I have seen players win matches they weren’t even playing in because of a word they said the night before to a teammate, because of a little needle or a word of praise during a practice round on Tuesday, in a phone call when they were picked for the team.”


NBC SPORTS GOLF COMMENTATORS PREVIEW 43RD RYDER CUP

Last week, NBC Sports play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks, analysts Paul Azinger and Justin Leonard, on-course reporter John Wood, and producer Tommy Roy previewed the upcoming 43rd Ryder Cup on a media conference call. Click here for a full transcript.

–NBC SPORTS–