Tag: Golf Channel

Blair O’Neal dishes on motherhood, ‘Big Break’ re-runs

Blair O’Neal was part of the cast of The Big Break Dominican Republic, the 14th season of the series. It’s playing on Golf Channel today.

Blair O’Neal is hoping to get a little reminiscing in this Monday, as she sits on the couch and watches herself on the Golf Channel’s “Big Break Mondays.”

But the former Arizona State star and host of the Golf Channel’s “School of Golf” has her hands full these days with another project — she welcomed her first child on April 7 when Chrome Andy Keiser was born. Chrome weighed in at just over eight pounds.

“It’s wild. This little 8-pound being is ruling every move that I make now. He’s the new boss in town. But it’s so fun,” O’Neal said from her Arizona home during Monday’s Morning Drive on the Golf Channel. “We’re still learning every day. He is the cutest, sweetest little thing.”

O’Neal was part of the cast of The Big Break Dominican Republic, which marked the 14th season of the series. It initially aired back in 2010, and featured a reunion cast of a dozen former Big Break competitors.

All 10 episodes of the season will air today until 6 p.m. ET, and the final two episodes will re-air from 9-11 p.m. ET.

“It’s going to be so much fun to watch. I’m a little biased, but I think this season was such a great season overall. There was a lot of great golf,” O’Neal said. “The cast of characters; everybody brought something to the table. This show really was my big break in my career.

“It opened up a lot of doors for me.”

So what will O’Neal be watching for, since she lived through the experience?

“One (thing) I’m looking forward to are some Brian-isms, from Brian Skatell,” O’Neal said. “I feel like he was a little bit ahead of his time with the reality TV world. He definitely made for some good TV.”

Rory McIlroy to join rebroadcast of 2019 Players Championship win

The world’s current No. 1 player fired a two-under 70 in the final round at TPC Sawgrass, ending the tournament a stroke ahead of Jim Furyk.

The string of champions walking us through rebroadcasts of their victories continues this week with another doozie — Rory McIlroy will provide commentary as Golf Channel airs his win at the 2019 Players Championship.

The event will air Tuesday on Golf Channel as part of a simulcast with Sky Sports and will include McIlroy taking part in a live feed through the closing stretch of his win. The entire final round will be aired, starting at 1 p.m. ET, while McIlroy will join the broadcast at 4:30 p.m. ET.

McIlroy fired a two-under 70 in the final round at TPC Sawgrass, finishing the tournament a stroke ahead of Jim Furyk for his first Players crown.

The world’s current No. 1 player will be joined by Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee and Sky Sports’ Nick Dougherty on the broadcast.

Fans can take part, using the Twitter tag #WatchalongWithRory, and Chamblee and Dougherty will be among those offering commentary and answering viewers questions before McIlroy joins in.

It’s a boy! ‘School of Golf’ star Blair O’Neal has her baby

O’Neal, who played at Arizona State and hosts the Golf Channel’s “School of Golf,” had a baby — Chrome Andy Keiser

It’s been a busy year for Blair O’Neal, the former Symetra Tour player-turned-model and TV personality.

O’Neal, who played at Arizona State and hosts the Golf Channel’s “School of Golf,” played in the celebrity pro-am division of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January, well past the midpoint of her pregnancy.

On Friday, she announced another accomplishment — the birth of her son, Chrome Andy Keiser.

O’Neal, 38, started a modeling career after college. In 2010, she won the Golf Channel’s Big Break Dominican Republic and then played on the Symetra Tour for several seasons before joining the “School of Golf” show in 2015.

O’Neal is married to Jeff Keiser, who works in finance at PetSmart’s corporate headquarters in Phoenix.

 

‘Epic’ fall ahead: November Masters could play right into Rory McIlroy’s hands

Having the Tour Championship, U.S. Open and the Masters later in the season could help McIlroy’s chances.

With a new November date for the Masters, and a revamped golf schedule that could see a number of key tournaments played in late summer and through the fall, golf great Jack Nicklaus said earlier this week that he thinks Rory McIlroy could be poised for a huge second half of 2020.

“He seems to play better in the fall,” Nicklaus said on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive. “… He’s won the Tour Championship a couple times. Played in Atlanta, very similar conditions. I think this scheduling will be to Rory’s favor.”

The Golden Bear isn’t the only one who feels the fall conditions could set up nicely for the world’s current No. 1 player.

During a call on Thursday, Golf Channel analysts Justin Leonard, Brandel Chamblee and Rich Lerner all backed up Nicklaus’ comments, suggesting McIlroy could win multiple events.

“I think if we are able to play the schedule as it is laid out right now, I think it does favor a guy like Rory McIlroy, who can get on a run, keep putting himself in contention. From what I hear, I’ve never been to Augusta in November, but my guess is that the golf course could play a little bit softer. It could be a little bit cooler,” Leonard said. “You know, coming off of the summer months, my guess is that the golf course is typically a little wetter that time of year. We know how well Rory McIlroy plays in kind of softer conditions.

“I think it is an advantage for a guy like that, and also, as good of shape as he is in, too, to make a lot of big tournaments there in a short period of time, I think that not only the physical aspect of it, but the mental aspect of it will be tested when you’ve got a number of large events, talking about the PGA, the U.S. Open and The Ryder Cup in September, and then the Masters there in the middle of November. I definitely think it suits Rory McIlroy.”
— Justin Leonard

Lerner, the longtime Golf Channel host, went a step further, saying he thinks McIlroy is poised to make his mark on history with the revised slate. If the new schedule is carried out, the Tour Championship in Atlanta will be played from Sept 4-7, and the U.S. Open will now be played Sept. 17-20. The 84th Masters, which was supposed to be played this week at Augusta National Golf Club, has been re-scheduled for Nov. 9-15 in Augusta, Georgia.

“I think McIlroy could become the first bona fide legend of the post-Tiger — we’re still in kind of the Tiger era, but the post-Tiger generation, let’s just put it that way,” Lerner said. “And I think he could also lay claim to the title —  maybe the best European player ever.”

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Augusta National will certainly be impacted by the schedule change, as the course will not play the same. But Brandel Chamblee also noted that cooler temperatures will impact the field’s veterans.

“I was looking at some weather charts from November for Augusta, and in 2014, the average temperature for the entire month was 49.2 degrees, and on November 19 of that year, it was 15 degrees. It can be quite cool there, obviously, that time of year,” said Chamblee, another Golf Channel analyst. “My friends who have played there in November tell me the golf course plays quite long. There is, on one hand, I think the sort of thought that the postponement of the majors in general would help, you know, the likes of Tiger (Woods) and (Brooks) Koepka and (Louis) Oosthuizen and Jason Day, who are dealing with some injuries.

“So it’s good news on that front if these events actually come forward because there were some hobbled superstars and there’s a chance they could show up in better physical condition, which is really good news. But cold temperatures are not particularly good on old backs. So yeah … I can’t imagine any scenario that doesn’t favor Rory.”

Rory McIlroy on the 18th green during the third round of the 2019 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. McIlroy won that tournament, following a win in the 2016 event. Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Chamblee added that McIlroy has plenty to gear up for — if the schedule remains intact, he’ll have a chance to become the first back-to-back FedEx Cup champion. He also was the PGA Tour Player of the Year winner in 2019, the first time he won the award since award 2014.

“Rory seems to be playing — which is hard to believe, as close to playing the best golf of his life,” Chamblee said. “So yeah, I think it is setting up to be another epic year for Rory, and I would have thought and I think most people would agree, he’s easily a favorite to win his next major championship at some point this year.”

So can anything slow McIlroy down at this point? Notah Begay III said the one thing that could cause a hiccup for the four-time major champ is the current delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Any time you’re forced to take time off playing the kind of golf he was playing, it’s like, I finally got this thing where I want it, and now I can’t run with it,” Begay said. “I think that is a bit of a hindrance as far as, OK, how long is it going to take him to get back to running at the same sort of pace he was running at?”

CBS, ESPN, Golf Channel to re-air classic Masters, ANWA tournaments

Relive some of the greatest Masters final rounds, as CBS, NBC and Golf Channel will re-air some of Jack’s and Tiger’s most memorable wins.

While many hoped to see watch the 2020 Masters Tournament during the second weekend in April, a few networks are re-airing some classic rounds in an attempt to fill the void.

CBS announced Thursday it updated programming for April 11-12 — when the third and final rounds of the 2020 tournament were scheduled to be played — with broadcasts of the final rounds from the 2004 and 2019 Masters Tournaments.

While fans lose the privilege of watching another champion crowned at Augusta National due to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, they can watch Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods win two of the most memorable Masters Tournaments of all time.

ESPN will also provide classic coverage in place of the 2020 Masters by replaying Tiger Woods’ 1997 and 2005 wins and Jack Nicklaus’ 1986 win during what would have been Masters week. ESPN+ will also offer on-demand Masters films beginning the week of April 6.

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NBC announced it will re-broadcast the 2019 Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. Golf Channel will also re-run the final day on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.

CBS Sports’ broadcast will be available on television and the CBS All Access subscription service. Additional coverage throughout the week will be available on the CBS Sports HQ streaming sports news network, CBSSports.com and The First Cut podcast.

The Masters website and social media accounts will also feature never-before-seen content from both final rounds.

Augusta National Golf Club announced on March 13 that the 2020 Masters will be postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus fears. In the meantime, there has been some speculation that the Masters could be staged in October.

The TV schedule for all Augusta National re-broadcasts is below. All times listed are ET.

Saturday, April 4

2019 ANWA final round, 1 p.m., NBC
2019 ANWA final round, 9 p.m., Golf Channel

Wednesday, April 8

2018 Masters Par 3 Contest, 1 p.m., ESPN
1986 Masters final round, 3 p.m., ESPN
2018 Masters Par 3 Contest, 8 p.m., ESPN2

Thursday, April 9

2012 Masters final round, 2 p.m., ESPN
1997 Masters final round, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Friday, April 10

2013 Masters final round, Noon, ESPN
2005 Masters final round, 6 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, April 11

1975 Masters final round, 1:30-2:30 p.m., CBS
2004 Masters final round, 2:30-6 p.m., CBS

Sunday, April 12

2019 Masters final round, 12:30-6 p.m., CBS

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

Watch the full collection of official Masters films, which has a one-hour recap of every Masters from 1960 all the way up to 2018.

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Two Oklahoma men, one woman named to Arnold Palmer Cup teams

Oklahoma golfers Quade Cummins, Garrett Reband, and Kaitlin Milligan were named to the Arnold Palmer Cup USA Team.

With the NCAA canceling all sports for the rest of the academic year, everyone’s eyes turn to summer events.

Oklahoma golfers Quade Cummins, Garrett Reband, and Kaitlin Milligan were named to the Arnold Palmer Cup USA Team.

The APC is a Ryder Cup-style event that showcases the best collegiate golfers in the world. 12 men and 12 women from the United States square off against 12 men and 12 women from around the world in a three-day event which will be held at Lahinch Country Club in Lahinch, Ireland July 3-5.

Both Cummins and Reband had their senior seasons cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic but managed to keep Oklahoma at the top of the standings as the Sooners finished No. 1 in the final GolfWeek poll of the abbreviated season.

Fort Worth native, Reband, ranked No. 3 nationally by GolfStat and No. 21 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, secured five top-10 finishes and a shared individual win at the Puerto Rico Classic earlier this spring.

Cummins, a Weatherford, Okla., native is ranked No. 5 in the nation by GolfStat and No. 25 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. His play led the Sooners to two team wins with his best finish of the season coming at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic in the fall where he finished second at 20-under-par.

The duo automatically qualified for the event based on the Cup’s points system.

Milligan, a junior from Norman, Okla., was a coaches/committee pick. Ranked  No. 58 in the nation by GolfStat and No. 137 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Milligan has been on a hot streak over the past season with 15 top-20 finishes in her last 18 events.

This will not be the first time the APC has had representatives from Oklahoma. Just two years ago, Brad Dalke and Sooners head coach Ryan Hybl led the way for Team USA with a win over Team International in Evian, France.

For more information regarding the APC, click here.

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How to watch the 2020 Players Championship

NBC Sports will dedicate 22 hours of live tournament coverage across Golf Channel and NBC, in addition to the new Every Shot Live service.

For viewers who are so inclined, the Players Championship will offer an opportunity to watch more golf coverage than ever before. For the first time, NBC Sports will collaborate with the PGA Tour to live stream every player in the field’s every shot throughout the Players Championship, to be played March 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass’ Players Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Every Shot Live coverage will be available only to subscribers of PGA Tour Live on NBC Sports Gold. It’s the result of a colossal effort consisting of nearly 120 cameras positioned throughout the course, with each group having its own dedicated live stream.

Outside of that specialized coverage, NBC Sports will dedicate 22 hours of live tournament coverage across Golf Channel and NBC. Golf Central’s Live From show as well as Morning Drive will supplement that. Michelle Wie West, a five-time LPGA winner, will serve as a contributing analyst on Golf Central.

As for views of the par-3 17th, the daunting island green, NBC Sports will use eight high-definition cameras to cover the hole from all angles. That includes a microscopic lens embedded in the lip of the tiny bunker fronting the green.

Players Championship week on TV

All times Eastern

Monday

Golf Channel
Morning Drive: 7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 7-9 p.m.

Tuesday

Golf Channel
Morning Drive: 7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 7-9 p.m.

Wednesday

Golf Channel
Morning Drive: 7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 7-9 p.m.

Thursday – Round 1

Golf Channel
Morning Drive: 7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Players Championship: 1-7 p.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 7-9 p.m.
NBC Sports Gold
PGA Tour Live: 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Friday – Round 2

Golf Channel
Morning Drive: 7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Players Championship: 1-7 p.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 7-9 p.m.
NBC Sports Gold
PGA Tour Live: 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m.

Saturday – Round 3

Golf Channel
Morning Drive: 7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 7-9 p.m.
NBC
The Players Championship: 2-7 p.m.
NBC Sports Gold
PGA Tour Live: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

Sunday – Final round

Golf Channel
Morning Drive: 7-9 a.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Golf Central Live From the Players: 6-8 p.m.
NBC
The Players Championship: 1-6 p.m.

NBC Sports Gold
PGA Tour Live: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

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PGA Tour’s new long-term media rights deal includes ESPN+ streaming component

NBC and CBS maintain weekend coverage of most tournaments, with Golf Channel providing early-round and early-weekend action.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Amid the latest debate concerning distance in golf, the PGA Tour has delivered one of the most powerful displays both in scope and length in the game.

Culminating negotiations that began in late 2016, the Tour announced Monday a new nine-year domestic media rights portfolio that expands its reach across television, streaming and emerging technologies.

The agreement beginning in 2022 includes existing partners ViacomCBS and the Comcast/NBC Sports Group and a new relationship with Disney and ESPN+. The deals unite with the Tour’s $2 billion deal with Discovery signed in 2018 for the organization’s digital rights outside of the U.S. through 2030.

Through the decade, the deals ensure stability, substantial purse increases, a larger charitable arm and an opportunity to broaden golf’s audience, and they allow for increased investment in production, personnel and technology, according to the Tour.

“We are extremely well positioned to serve our growing fan base with our incredible set of athletes for the next decade,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said at the Tour’s headquarters at TPC Sawgrass, home to this week’s Players Championship. “To know that we’re with CBS, NBC, Disney and Discovery, it’s extremely gratifying. And it’s a reflection on our athletes, our tournaments, our fans, our sponsors.”

The Tour would not disclose financial details of the new deals. Sports Business Journal reported in December that the TV rights alone would increase to $700 million from $400 million a year. The current deals expire in 2021.

“There’s a tendency when you get into deals like this to focus on the financial outcomes, but really when you think about how fast the world is changing, you are trying to see where it’s going to be and where you want the fans to be,” Monahan said. “With the commitments we have, it allows you to plan, allows you to spend your time on thinking longer term, operating longer term, and it allows you to continuously think about improving.

“When you’re in shorter-term deals, typically, when you’ve completed them, you’re working on the next one. Now we are going to have stability and the strength of time.”

NBC and CBS maintain weekend coverage of most FedEx Cup tournaments, with CBS averaging 19 events and NBC eight events each season. The networks will alternate coverage of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and Tour Championship, with NBC broadcasting five years of the postseason and CBS four.

NBC will continue as the Tour’s cable partner, with Golf Channel providing early-round coverage and early-weekend coverage of every FedEx Cup event, along with PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry Tour events.

In a major addition, the new deal will put PGA Tour Live – the subscription video service launched in 2015 – on ESPN+, which has a current reach of 7.6 million subscribers, with projections reaching 12 million by 2022.

PGA Tour LIVE on ESPN+ will air more than 4,000 hours of live streaming coverage annually. It also will feature on-demand replays of PGA Tour events, original golf programming and edited speed round recaps.

Per the arrangement, ESPN+ subscribers will not see an increase in cost with golf’s addition. Current PGA Tour Live subscribers will need to move to ESPN+, where they also will be able to call up 12,000 other live sporting events.

“When we enter into this new deal with ESPN+, there is this element of being inside that sports ecosystem and the reach of that that is going to be as strong a direct-to-consumer model as you are going to find,” Monahan said. “For (Disney) to get behind the PGA Tour and our athletes and tournaments going forward is huge. We are going to diversify our audience, reach a younger segment of viewers, and add 52 million uniques to the promotion of our tournaments and our Tour.”

Under the new agreements, the PGA Tour will assume responsibility of the onsite production area and technical infrastructure, with CBS and NBC still using their own production and announce teams.

The LPGA will benefit from the new agreements, as well. The PGA Tour, negotiating on behalf of the LPGA, secured an extension of the LPGA/Golf Channel partnership through 2030, with programming set to include a season preview, season review and a show on the Road to the CME Group Tour Championship, the tour’s season-ending event. Golf Channel also will provide programming for the Symetra Tour each year.

In addition, LPGA commissioner Michael Whan said at least 10-plus tournaments will be broadcast each year on CBS and NBC, including the Solheim Cup. The tour has aired from four to six events on network TV.

“We just need to give our fans, and the ones who aren’t our fans yet, a steady diet of bumping into us, and that’s what network TV give us,” Whan said.

Whan also said the new deals will allow the LPGA to pursue a broader digital platform.

“We’ve never really had the ability, or the ownership, quite frankly, to pursue how we could deliver to both the U.S. and global audience an even greater amount of coverage in terms of a digital platform,” Whan said. “Our tournaments are going to see a difference in terms of the production, the promotion, the marketing support of their events. These are all things that have not been a part of our regular diet.”

Contributing: Beth Ann Nichols

Michelle Wie joins Golf Channel’s ‘Live From’ team in 2020

Michelle Wie will join Golf Channel’s “Live From” team in 2020. The LPGA star will travel the Masters among other events.

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Michelle Wie’s television work schedule is ramping up as the Masters nears. The Golf Channel announced on Wednesday that Wie will join “Golf Central Live From The Players” March 9-15 as a contributing analyst. Justin Leonard will move to the show’s primetime telecast beginning at the Players Championship.

Wie and husband Jonnie West are expecting their first child, a girl, later this summer.

“I am excited to join the ‘Golf Central Live From’ team at the Players next week,” said Wie in the release. “I learned a lot from working with the ‘Live From’ team at the Solheim Cup and I am honored to have been invited back to be a contributing analyst alongside some of the best for this prestigious event.”

In addition to The Players, Wie will also work “Golf Central Live From’ at the PGA Championship in May and the Ryder Cup in September. She debuted as a Golf Channel analyst last September on “Golf Central” during the Solheim Cup while sidelined with an injury.

She’ll work the Masters next month for CBS.

Leonard, a 12-time PGA Tour winner and major champion, joined Golf Channel as an analyst in 2015.

“I’m looking forward to joining Rich (Lerner), Brandel (Chamblee) and David (Duval) in 2020,” said Leonard. “For years, they’ve been a well-oiled machine, recapping and analyzing the best golfers in the world at the biggest events. I’ve been fortunate to work with the ‘Live From’ team for the past few years, and it’s an honor to expand my contributions and continue to bring my personal experience to educate and entertain our viewers.”

GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM – 2020 BROADCAST TEAM:

Hosts Cara Banks, Ryan Burr, Rich Lerner, Lauren Thompson, Gary Williams
Analysts Notah Begay, Brandel Chamblee, David Duval, Trevor Immelman, Billy Kratzert, Justin Leonard, Arron Oberholser, Mark Rolfing, Michelle Wie West
Reporters/Insiders Steve Burkowski, Jaime Diaz, Rex Hoggard, Ryan Lavner, Todd Lewis, Chantel McCabe

GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM NEWS PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE IN 2020:

Date Program
March 9-15 Golf Central Live From the Players
April 6-12 Golf Central Live From the Masters
May 11-17 Golf Central Live From the PGA Championship
June 15-21 Golf Central Live From the U.S. Open
July 13-19 Golf Central Live From the Open
July 27-Aug. 7 Golf Central Live From the Olympics
Sept. 21-27 Golf Central Live From the Ryder Cup

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Golf Channel confirms plan to move its offices from Orlando

As part of a geographic consolidation, Golf Channel is relocating its offices from Orlando, Florida to Stamford, Connecticut.

Golf Channel is moving its offices from its longtime home in Orlando, Florida to Stamford, Connecticut, the network has confirmed.

“Our aim is to be as transparent as possible with our employees, therefore as we began this process we informed teams today that some of our media operations will be transitioning to new locations over the next year or more. Geographic consolidation is a growing and sensible trend across the media industry, and as our business continues to evolve, we’ll continue to look for ways to operate as effectively as possible to deliver world-class coverage to our loyal audiences,” a Golf Channel spokesperson said.

Golf Channel broke the news to its staff in an all-hands-on-deck meeting in its newsroom at 10 a.m., Friday. It was first reported in a tweet by No Laying Up and first confirmed by The Big Lead.

Staffers were told to expect an update in late April. It is unclear how much of the staff will be asked to move to Stamford.

Golf Channel has become part of the fabric of the game, with more live tournament coverage than all other U.S. networks combined. Golf Channel airs in more than 70 countries and nine languages.

Beginning in 2013, nearly all of the operations for NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network began to be based out of a Stamford facility. The move was made mainly to take advantage of tax credits given by the state of Connecticut. Golf Channel has been based in Orlando since its launch in 1995, and just celebrated its 25th anniversary after pioneering the all-sport channel.

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