Golf on ESPN
| Golf on ESPN | |
|---|---|
| Created by | ESPN |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | N/A |
| Production | |
| Running time | 180 minutes or until tournament ends |
| Release | |
| Original network |
ESPN ESPN2 ESPN on ABC ESPNews |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV) |
| Original release | 1979 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Golf coverage on ESPN has been a regular feature of the cable sports channels' programming since soon after ESPN's launch in the United States 1979.
Although ESPN no longer owns any share of the rights to the week-to-week events on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, or Champions Tour, since 2008 it has televised the first and second rounds of the Masters Tournament (although, barring the involvement of selected ESPN personalities as host, the coverage is produced by CBS Sports using its on-air personalities).[1]
Outside the United States, the ESPN International network family has broadcast golf events in several countries, including the men's, women's and senior majors, World Golf Championships, The Players Championship, PGA Tour FedEx Cup and OneAsia Tour.
Beginning in 2016, ESPN no longer produces any live coverage of any PGA Tour events, after having aired at least one of the tour's events or majors in every season since 1979 (with corporate sibling ABC having done at least one event dating to 1966).
Coverage history since 2010
Continued from PGA Tour on ABC
Prior to 2007, ESPN and ABC shared some announcers, but the main ABC coverage team did not generally work on ESPN except for events that ABC had weekend rights to, in which case the full ABC team would work on ESPN's weekday telecasts. After losing PGA Tour rights following the 2006 season, what remained of ESPN and ABC's coverage team's merged, as did the production, with all ABC broadcasts being branded as ESPN broadcasts as part of ESPN on ABC. History of the ESPN golf team during the period when some telecasts were still shown on ABC (2007-2009) can be found at the PGA Tour on ABC article.
2010–present
In 2010, all coverage was moved to ESPN, with highlight presentations being shown on ABC during the afternoons on Open Championship weekend. This meant that in 2010, for regular men's golf, ESPN showed The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship, and the Ryder Cup.
ESPN revamped its coverage team in 2010 as well. Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger remained the lead booth announcers. Curtis Strange returned as a hole announcer, while Scott Van Pelt moved from the studio host position to become a hole announcer as well. Sean McDonough joined the coverage team as another hole announcer. Andy North, Judy Rankin and Bill Kratzert all returned as on-course reporters. Terry Gannon moved from a hole announcer role to the role of studio host during live coverage, for highlight updates. Tom Weiskopf, who had been a hole announcer, became an analyst for holes Van Pelt was assigned to, and was joined by Peter Alliss in this role for one hour per day at the Open Championship. At the Ryder Cup, Alliss took Van Pelt's place as a hole announcer, while Van Pelt and Weiskopf worked on the studio set. Tom Rinaldi remained the lead interviewer and essayist.
In 2011, Olin Browne joined as an additional on-course reporter. Alliss began to only appear as a guest at the Open Championship, still for one hour per day, and still working as Van Pelt's analyst. In 2012, Gannon's role was eliminated and he joined NBC Sports and the Golf Channel.
2012 would also be ESPN's final Ryder Cup. The network traded its Friday rights to the 2014 event back to NBC for additional Premier League highlights. NBC then signed a rights deal covering the 2016–2030 editions of the event, ending ESPN's chances of a comeback.
Several changes occurred in 2013. Dottie Pepper replaced Browne as an on-course reporter. Weiskopf was moved to a position in which he would appear once during the telecast to discuss the architecture of the course and how it would affect play, as he is a noted course designer. Alliss also had his guest role cut to only Thursday and Friday coverage of the Open Championship. However, his role as an analyst for holes Van Pelt is assigned to is unchanged for those days.
In 2015, Weiskopf left to be a studio analyst for Fox Sports' new golf coverage.
From 2008–2014, guest analysts were used during the Open Championship, in various roles, usually for a few hours each day scheduled around their own play in the event. Tom Watson fulfilled this role from 2008 to 2010 and David Duval performed this duty from 2011 through 2014.
The 2015 Open Championship was the final event covered by the full ESPN/ABC team, nine years after first losing rights to the PGA Tour. Several members of the team did cover one more event, the LPGA's CME Group Tour Championship in December 2015.
Since 2008, ESPN has carried early-round coverage of the Masters Tournament, which is the only major professional golf event still carried by ESPN. However, this coverage is produced by CBS Sports as part of its presentation of the event, and largely features its personalities, joined by an ESPN studio host (initially Mike Tirico, and later Scott Van Pelt).[1][2][1][3]
In October 2018, it was announced that early-round and weekend morning coverage of the PGA Championship would move from TNT to ESPN beginning 2020. ESPN+ will also hold rights to stream additional coverage during CBS's afternoon windows.[4]
Tournaments
Current
Men's events
- The Masters,[6] first two rounds (2008–present)
Women's events
- CME Group Tour Championship, final round (2015–present)[7][8]
Amateur events
- Latin America Amateur Championship, all four rounds (2015–present)
Former
- The Open Championship,[9] first two rounds (1982–2002), all four rounds (2010–2015)
- Women's British Open, first two rounds (1982–2002), all four rounds (2010–2015)
- Senior British Open, first two rounds (1982–2002), all four rounds (2010–2015)
- PGA Tour (1982–2006)
- LPGA Tour (1979–2009)
- Champions Tour (1982–2000)
- U.S. Open,[10] first two rounds (1982–2014)
- U.S. Senior Open, first two rounds (1986–2014)
- U.S. Women's Open, first two rounds (1982–2014)
- PGA Championship (1982–1990)[11]
- The Ryder Cup,[12] Day 1 matches (2008–2012)
- Kraft Nabisco Championship, first two rounds (1983–2005), first three rounds (2006–2010)
Announcers
Mike Tirico and Paul Azinger served as the lead broadcasters from 2005 through 2015.
References
- 1 2 3 "ESPN Replaces USA as Early-Round Home of the Masters". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ↑ "ESPN will show first two rounds of 2008 Masters tournament". ESPN. October 10, 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
- ↑ "2018 Masters broadcast will use shot tracer technology". Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
- ↑ Ourand, John; Lombardo, John (October 10, 2018). "PGA Championship Leaving TNT For ESPN In '20, Re-Ups With CBS". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ↑ http://espnmediazone.com/us/golf-on-espn-fact-sheet/
- ↑ "History of the Masters golf tournament on TV (1956-present)". Classic Sports TV and Media. April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.lpga.com/news/2015-final-day-on-abc-cme-group-tour-champ-release
- ↑ CMEGroup Tour Champ. [@CMEGroupLPGA] (20 November 2016). "Tune in now on @ABCNetwork to watch the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship! #RaceToCMEGlobe #CMEGroupLPGA" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "History of British Open on US TV (1962-present)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ↑ "History of US Open golf TV coverage (1954-present)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ↑ "History of PGA Championship TV coverage (1958-present)". Classic Sports TV and Media. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ↑ "Chronology of Ryder Cup coverage on American television". Classic Sports TV and Media. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.