FedExCup Playoffs Culminate with Debut of New Format at TOUR Championship; Weeklong Coverage Airing Across GOLF Channel, NBC
Korn Ferry TOUR Finals Continue with Albertsons Boise Open
Henderson Defends at CP Women’s Open in Home Country of Canada
Langer, Couples Lead Field at Boeing Classic Outside of Seattle
Stenson Headlines Field at Scandinavian Invitation in Sweden
ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 21, 2019) – The 2018-19 PGA TOUR season culminates this week with the TOUR Championship, with $15 million and the FedExCup title on the line for the winner at week’s end. Being staged in August for the first time, the TOUR Championship also will implement a new format this week, with each player beginning Thursday’s opening round with a pre-designated score in relation to par, with their score cumulating from that starting point (No. 1 Justin Thomas starts at 10-under, No. 2 Patrick Cantlay at 8-under, No. 3 Brooks Koepka at 7-under), down to players Nos. 26-30 starting at even par. The Korn Ferry TOUR Finals continue in Idaho this week with the Albertsons Boise Open – the second of three events that will award 25 PGA TOUR cards for the 2019-20 season. Brooke Henderson will defend her 2018 title in her home country this week at the CP Women’s Open in Canada. On the PGA TOUR Champions, Bernhard Langer and Fred Couples lead the field at the Boeing Classic outside of Seattle. The European Tour is in Sweden for the Scandinavian Invitation, where Henrik Stenson leads the field in his home country.
PGA TOUR
TOUR Championship
Dates: Aug. 22-25
Venue: East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga.
Tournament Airtimes on GOLF Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 1-6 p.m. (Live) / 8:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. (Replay)
Friday 1-6 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 10:30 p.m.-4 a.m. (Replay)
Sunday Noon-1:30 p.m. (Live) / 9:30 p.m.-3 a.m. (Replay)
Tournament Airtimes on NBC (Eastern):
Saturday 2:30-7 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 1:30-6 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
FedExCup Playoffs conclude with new format at TOUR Championship: The top-30 in the FedExCup standings convene at East Lake Golf Club this week for the culmination of the 2018-19 PGA TOUR season. GOLF Channel and NBC will combine to air more than 20 hours of live tournament coverage Thursday-Sunday. The TOUR Championship is being contested in August for the first time, and will present a new format to determine the season-long FedExCup champion. Each player will begin Thursday’s opening round with a pre-designated score in relation to par, with their score cumulating from that starting point (No. 1 Justin Thomas starts at 10-under, No. 2 Patrick Cantlay at 8-under, No. 3 Brooks Koepka at 7-under), down to players Nos. 26-30 starting at even par.
Vantage Point with Mike Tirico airing Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET: Originating from East Lake Golf Club, Tirico will host a new episode of the roundtable style show. Vantage Point will feature panel discussions reflecting on the first year of golf’s newly enhanced schedule and also review the current state of the game. Tirico will be joined by NBC Sports colleagues Paul Azinger, Dan Hicks, Justin Leonard and Steve Sands on Wednesday night’s episode.
GOLF Channel, Sky Sports collaborate for On The Range: A special edition of On The Range will air Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET from East Lake Golf Club. The show will air live in both the U.S. (GOLF Channel) and on Sky (Europe) and be hosted by Todd Lewis and Sarah Stirk.
Headlining the field: Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson, Abraham Ancer, Gary Woodland, Tony Finau, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey, Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker, Rickie Fowler, Kevin Kisner, Marc Leishman, Tommy Fleetwood, Corey Conners, Sungjae Im, Chez Reavie, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, Charles Howell III, Lucas Glover and Jason Kokrak.
NBC Sports Broadcast Team:
Host: Mike Tirico
Play by Play: Dan Hicks / Terry Gannon
Analysts: Paul Azinger / Justin Leonard
Tower: David Feherty / Gary Koch / Steve Sands / Jimmy Roberts
On-Course: Roger Maltbie / Notah Begay / Jim “Bones” Mackay
Interviews: Steve Sands (NBC) / Todd Lewis (weekend, GOLF Channel)
Essays: Jimmy Roberts (weekend)
KORN FERRY TOUR
Albertsons Boise Open
Dates: Aug. 22-25
Venue: Hillcrest Country Club, Boise, Idaho
Tournament Airtimes on GOLF Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 6-8 p.m. (Live)
Friday 6-8 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 5:30-7:30 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 4:30-6:30 p.m. (Live) / 5-7 a.m. (Monday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Korn Ferry TOUR Finals continue: The Albertsons Boise Open marks the second of three events comprising the Korn Ferry TOUR Finals, where 25 PGA TOUR cards will be awarded solely on the performance of this three-event series for the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season. The field is comprised of players having finished No. 126-200 in the PGA TOUR FedExCup regular season standings, along with those No. 1-75 on the Korn Ferry TOUR standings.
Headlining the field: Viktor Hovland, Shubhankar Sharma, Richy Wersenski, Doug Ghim, Robert Streb, Beau Hossler, Anirban Lahiri, Harris English, Kevin Chappell and David Lipsky.
GOLF Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Steve Burkowski
Analyst: Craig Perks
Tower: Phil Blackmar
On-Course: Tripp Isenhour / Gary Christian
Interviews: Chantel McCabe
LPGA TOUR
CP Women’s Open
Dates: Aug. 22-25
Venue: Magna Golf Club, Aurora, Ont., Canada
Tournament Airtimes on GOLF Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)
Friday 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Live)
Saturday 2:30-5:30 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 1:30-4:30 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Final opportunity for Americans to automatically qualify for Solheim Cup: This week marks the final opportunity for Americans to automatically qualify for next month’s Solheim Cup in Scotland. The top-8 in the standings at week’s end will earn a spot on the United States’ team roster. Brittany Altomare currently holds the eighth and final spot in the standings, and Ally McDonald would need to finish 17th or better this week in order to have a chance at qualifying.
Henderson defends: Brooke Henderson finished four shots ahead of Angel Yin to become the first Canadian since 1973 to win her national open.
Headlining the field: Brooke Henderson, Lexi Thompson, Sung Hyun Park, Jeongeun Lee6, Ariya Jutanugarn, Jennifer Kupcho, Juli Inkster, Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis and Suzann Pettersen.
GOLF Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Grant Boone
Analyst: Judy Rankin
Tower: Tom Abbott
On Course: Jerrty Foltz / Gail Graham
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Boeing Classic
Dates: Aug. 23-25
Venue: The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge, Snoqualmie, Wash.
Tournament Airtimes on GOLF Channel (Eastern):
Friday 8-10 p.m. (Tape Delay) / 6-8 p.m. (Live via GOLF Channel Digital)
Saturday 7:30-9:30 p.m. (Live)
Sunday 6:30-8:30 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Parel defends: Scott Parel defeated Kevin Sutherland by three strokes to earn his first career PGA TOUR Champions victory.
Headlining the field: Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Jerry Kelly, David Toms, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Scott McCarron, Davis Love III, Darren Clarke and Fred Funk.
GOLF Channel Broadcast Team:
Play by Play: Whit Watson
Analyst: Lanny Wadkins
Tower: Arron Oberholser
On Course: Billy Ray Brown / John Cook
EUROPEAN TOUR
Scandinavian Invitation
Dates: Aug. 22-25
Venue: Hills Golf & Sports Club, Gothenburg, Sweden
Tournament Airtimes on GOLF Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 5-7 a.m. (Live) / 9 a.m.-Noon (Streaming via GOLF Channel Digital)
Friday 5-7 a.m. (Live) / 9 a.m.-Noon (Streaming via GOLF Channel Digital)
Saturday 7-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Sunday 7-11:30 a.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Waring defends: Paul Waring outlasted Thomas Aiken with a par on the first playoff hole to earn claim his first career European Tour win.
Headlining the field: Henrik Stenson, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Alex Noren, David Lingmerth, George Coetzee, Thomas Bjorn, Joost Luiten, Thomas Detry and Alexander Levy.
GOLF Channel Broadcast Team:
Host: Mike Ritz
Play by Play: Dominik Holyer
Analyst: Richard Boxall / Gary Murphy
On Course: Andrew Coltart / Warren Humphreys
Interviews: Shane O’Donoghue
-NBC Sports Group-
Media Contacts:
Jeff Szklinski
GOLF Channel Communications
407-248-3267
Jeff.Szklinski@golfchannel.com
Jeremy Friedman
GOLF Channel Communications
407-355-4058
Jeremy.Friedman@golfchannel.com
