Kaufman confirmed Tuesday on “Live from The Players” on Golf Channel that he and Kisner would again comment on golf shots live from the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass during the 2024 Players Championship. The duo will team up for Kaufman’s “Happy Hour” for an hour during Friday’s coverage.
Fans have long clamored for golf broadcasts to change and be better for viewers. Kaufman and NBC Sports have taken big steps this year by trying something new and unorthodox, but it’s working.
TPC Sawgrass’ famed Stadium Course hosts the biggest event on the Tour schedule, and there’s a lot on the line this week.
First, a $25 million purse. The winner will receive $4.5 million of that along with 750 FedEx Cup points. It’s also the 50th edition of the Players, meaning the importance surrounding this week is heightened.
The purse at the Players is $25 million with $4.5 million going to the winner.
It’s time for the fifth major.
The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass kicks off Thursday from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who last week won the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the second time in three years, highlights the field, but all of the top players on the PGA Tour are in the field, including past winners Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and more.
The purse at the Players is $25 million with $4.5 million going to the winner. The winner will also receive 750 FedEx Cup points.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the first round of the 2024 Players Championship. All times listed are ET.
It’s time for The Players. The 50th edition, in fact.
It’s time for The Players. The 50th edition, in fact.
The biggest event on the PGA Tour schedule outside of the major championships is here. The 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponta Vedra Beach, Florida, kicks off Thursday, and as expected, all of the best PGA Tour players will be in the field, including world No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, past winner Rory McIlroy and numerous others.
In what some may call a surprise, Tiger Woods will not be in the field at the Players Championship. Last December at the Hero World Challenge, Woods said he wanted to try to play once a month in 2024. thus far, he has played once, the Genesis Invitational, and he made it only 24 holes before withdrawing because of an illness.
We’ll have to wait a bit longer to see Tiger play golf again.
The field for next week’s Players Championship suffered a serious blow with fan favorite and 82-time PGA Tour winner Tiger Woods opting not to play.
Woods, the winner of the Players in 2001 and 2013, hasn’t played in the Tour’s signature event with the richest purse on the circuit, since 2019.
This season, Woods has played just one round, shooting an opening-round 72 at the Genesis Invitational in February before withdrawing from the tournament after hitting his tee shot at the seventh hole, citing the flu. According to Woods’ camp, the WD at Riviera wasn’t injury related.
Woods, 48, competed on Monday at the Seminole Pro-Member with partner Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA of America. They teamed to post a better-ball score of 70 and net 67, finishing outside the top 10 in both divisions. It was Woods’ first time playing in the exclusive club tournament.
Woods will only have three more chances to play competitively ahead of the Masters – at the Valspar Championship, the Texas Children’s Houston Open and the Valero Texas Open. While he has played the Valspar near Tampa as recently as 2018 when he finished T-2, Woods may be headed into the first major with a fresh coat of rust.
As recently as last month during his pre-tournament press conference in Los Angeles, he reiterated he hoped to build his schedule around the four majors and play once a month.
There are four eligible players not committed: Will Gordon, David Lingmerth, Danny Willett and Tiger Woods.
Woods is the winner of 15 majors during his World Golf Hall of Fame career. He joined the Tour’s Policy Board last fall.
Get ready to hear more from PGA Tour veteran Kisner on TV.
Get ready to hear more from PGA Tour veteran Kevin Kisner on TV.
Golfweek has learned from multiple sources that the four-time Tour winner will share lead analyst duties in NBC’s “four-wide” setup of two anchors and analysts at the 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Update: NBC confirmed Kisner’s role in a press release at 6 p.m. ET on Friday.)
Kisner will serve as an analyst for weekend coverage with play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks. Additionally, Kisner and Smylie Kaufman will team up to call “Friday Happy Hour” coverage from alongside the iconic 17th hole on Golf Channel and Peacock.
“Kevin did a great job in the booth with Dan Hicks earlier this year and his work with Smylie Kaufman on the 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open made for great TV, so we’re happy we can once again pair Kevin with Dan and have Kevin join Smylie at the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass next Friday,” said Tommy Roy, NBC Sports’ lead golf producer, in a statement.
Update: The network announced the Roger Maltbie will serve as an on-course reporter during Thursday and Friday coverage, while Gary Koch will join Mike Tirico in the broadcast booth during Thursday and Friday coverage.
“Roger Maltbie and Gary Koch have called some of the most iconic moments at the Players Championship throughout the past three decades and having them on next week’s broadcasts is a great way for NBC Sports to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Players,” Roy added.
Kisner, 40, previously worked for the network at the Sentry and the WM Phoenix Open this season and both times showed he’s more than capable of providing analysis and player insight in an entertaining fashion.
Kisner lost a playoff to Rickie Fowler at the Players in 2016, but he’s not eligible for next week’s tournament after struggling last season. Two years ago, he was a captain’s pick for Team USA at the Presidents Cup, but he has slipped to No. 397 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
NBC has been rotating broadcasters since deciding not to renew Paul Azinger’s contract. A source tells Golfweek that Kisner likely will be offered the job and he will have to decide whether he still thinks he can be a top 50 in the world player and chase the big money available these days or if he wants a guaranteed paycheck and to play a limited schedule as a past champion.
Kevin Kisner and his caddie on the 18th fairway during the second round of the 2024 Puerto Rico Open at Grand Reserve Golf Club. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Kisner, playing in the Puerto Rico open this week, an opposite field-event to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, has missed the cut in all three starts he’s made this season and hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish since June 2022 at the Travelers Championship.
Speaking last month in Phoenix, Kisner told Golfweek, “I have no idea what NBC’s intentions are, but Tommy (Roy) asked me to help them out when they knew they weren’t renewing (Paul) Azinger, so I picked these two to do. I still plan to play a full schedule for the rest of the year.”
European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is serving as lead analyst this week at the Arnold Palmer.
Golfweek also has learned that Brandel Chamblee, who served as lead analyst in the broadcast of The American Express, is expected to fill that role some more, including in three weeks at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. NBC declined to comment for this story.
