First Tee Shot Through Last Putt – Nearly 50 Hours of Live Open Championship Coverage Thursday-Sunday; 200-Plus Hours Including Featured Groups and Golf Central Live From The Open
Former World No. 1 and Current European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald Serves as Analyst Alongside Dan Hicks
Peacock’s Coverage Includes Four Featured Groups Each Day and Featured Hole Coverage of Iconic Par-3 “Postage Stamp” 8th Hole
Golf Central Live From The Open Provides Pre- and Post-Championship Coverage on GOLF Channel and Peacock; Johnson Wagner Reprises On-Course Role
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 11, 2014 – NBC Sports surrounds the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, with comprehensive live coverage July 18-21 across NBC, Peacock and USA Network.
In total, NBC Sports will present nearly 50 hours of live championship coverage Thursday-Sunday – and more than 200 hours of live coverage from Royal Troon including featured groups, featured hole and Golf Central Live from The Open studio coverage.
First and Second-round coverage begins before each day’s first tee shot on Peacock and will conclude after the final putt drops, giving fans comprehensive coverage of this year’s championship.
Former World No. 1 and current European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald serves an analyst for NBC Sports’ coverage of the Open Championship alongside Dan Hicks. Donald made his debut as an analyst with NBC Sports at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year. This year’s event marks the 26th career Open Championship broadcast for Mike Tirico and his fourth at Royal Troon, the site of his first Open Championship broadcast in 1997 where Justin Leonard captured the Claret Jug.
Yesterday, Hicks and Donald joined analyst Brad Faxon and on-course reporter Jim “Bones” Mackay on a media conference call to preview next week’s Open Championship. Click here for a full transcript.
Play-by-Play/Analyst Pairings
· Dan Hicks/Luke Donald
· Mike Tirico/Brad Faxon
· Terry Gannon/Paul McGinley
· Steve Sands/Notah Begay III
On-Course Reporters
· John Wood / Smylie Kaufman / Jim “Bones” Mackay / Curt Byrum
Interviews
· Cara Banks
How To Watch – Thursday, July 18 – Sunday, July 21 (all times ET)
· TV – NBC, USA Network
· Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app
| Date | Peacock | USA Network | NBC/Peacock |
| Thursday, July 18 | *1:30-4 a.m./3-4:15 p.m. | 4 a.m. – 3 p.m. | |
| Friday, July 19 | *1:30-4 a.m./3-4:15 p.m. | 4 a.m. – 3 p.m. | |
| Saturday, July 20 | 5-7 a.m. | 7 a.m. – 3 p.m. | |
| Sunday, July 21 | 4-7 a.m. | 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. |
*coverage will begin shortly before the first scheduled tee time at 1:30 a.m. ET
NBC Sports will also complement its comprehensive Open Championship coverage with live featured groups Thursday-Sunday on Peacock, showcasing two morning groups and two afternoon groups each day of the Championship. Peacock will also showcase a featured hole feed highlighting the iconic par-3 ‘Postage Stamp’ 8th hole during the week.
NBC Sports will utilize a number of its commentators throughout featured groups and featured holes coverage, supplemented by Sky Sports and world feed commentators, including:
· Play-by-play: Damon Hack / Tom Abbott / Todd Lewis
· Analyst/on-course reporters: Johnson Wagner / John Cook / Arron Oberholser / Karen Stupples / John Wood / Richard Boxall
GOLF CENTRAL LIVE FROM THE OPEN
NBC Sports surrounds the championship with on-site studio coverage on Golf Central Live From The Open on GOLF Channel and Peacock. Rich Lerner anchors post-round and primetime editions of Live From alongside Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley, with Johnson Wagner reprising his on-course role throughout the week with live interviews and shot re-enactments. In addition, Live at the Range will air Monday-Wednesday at 4 a.m. ET and Tuesday-Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.
Broadcast Team
· Hosts: Rich Lerner / Damon Hack
· Analysts: Brandel Chamblee / Paul McGinley / Arron Oberholser / Notah Begay III
· Reporters/Contributors: Todd Lewis / Eamon Lynch / Rex Hoggard / Ryan Lavner
· On-course: Johnson Wagner
| Date | Golf Central – Live From The Open* |
| Monday, July 15 | 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (encores beginning 7 p.m.) |
| Tuesday, July 16 | 6–11 a.m. (encores beginning 1 p.m.) |
| Wednesday, July 17 | 6-11 a.m. (encores beginning 1 p.m.) |
| Thursday, July 18 | 3-5 p.m. (encores beginning 8 p.m.) |
| Friday, July 19 | 3-5 p.m. (encores beginning 10 p.m.) |
| Saturday, July 20 | 3-5 p.m. |
| Sunday, July 21 | 2-4 p.m. |
*all times ET, post-round coverage begins following conclusion of play |
-NBC SPORTS-