Golf coverage on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
has been a regular feature of the cable sports channels' programming since soon after ESPN's launch in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1979.
Although ESPN no longer owns any share of the rights to the week-to-week events on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
,
LPGA Tour
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
, or
Champions Tour
PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour.
History and format
The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...
, it is the cable rightsholder for two of the
men's majors as of 2020 — the
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
(since 2008) and the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
(since 2020). In both cases, the telecasts are produced in association with
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...
(which serves as the U.S. broadcast television rightsholder for both tournaments) and have incorporated talent from the network's
own golf telecasts.
Coverage history since 2010
''Continued from
PGA Tour on ABC
''PGA Tour on ABC'' was the ''de facto'' branding used for telecasts of the main professional golf tournaments of the PGA Tour on ABC Sports in the United States until 2006. ABC broadcast at least one PGA Tour event from 1962 to 2009, focusing b ...
''
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
ESPN on ABC (formerly known as ABC Sports from 1961 to 2006) is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming televised by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains ...
. 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
''PGA Tour on ABC'' was the ''de facto'' branding used for telecasts of the main professional golf tournaments of the PGA Tour on ABC Sports in the United States until 2006. ABC broadcast at least one PGA Tour event from 1962 to 2009, focusing b ...
'' article.
2010–present
In 2010, all coverage was moved to ESPN, with highlight presentations being shown on ABC during the afternoons on
Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
weekend. This meant that in 2010, for regular men's golf, ESPN showed
The Masters
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
, the
U.S. Open, the
Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
, and the
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
.
ESPN revamped its coverage team in 2010 as well.
Mike Tirico
Mike Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's '' Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play an ...
and
Paul Azinger
Paul William Azinger (born January 6, 1960) is an American professional golfer and TV golf He won twelve times on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 1993 PGA Championship. He spent almost 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official ...
remained the lead booth announcers.
Curtis Strange
Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is the winner of consecutive U.S. Open titles and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He spent ...
returned as a hole announcer, while
Scott Van Pelt
Scott Van Pelt (born ) is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN, served as the co-host of '' SVP & Russillo'' alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various ...
moved from the studio host position to become a hole announcer as well.
Sean McDonough
Sean McDonough (born May 13, 1962) is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN and WEEI Red Sox Radio Network.
Early life
The son of ''Boston Globe'' sportswriter Will McDonough, McDonough graduated from the S. I. Newhouse School ...
joined the coverage team as another hole announcer.
Andy North
Andrew Stewart North (born March 9, 1950) is an American professional golfer who had three wins on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open twice. Since 1992, he has served as a golf analyst for ESPN.
Early years
North was born in Thorp, Wisconsin ...
,
Judy Rankin
Judy Rankin ( Torluemke; born February 18, 1945) is an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, she joined the LPGA Tour in 1962 at age 17 and won 26 tour events.
Since 2010, Rankin has served a ...
and
Billy Kratzert
William August Kratzert III (born June 29, 1952) is an American professional golfer and sportscaster, who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.
Early life
Kratzert was born in Quantico, Virginia when his father was in the serv ...
all returned as on-course reporters.
Terry Gannon
Terrance Patrick Gannon (born November 1, 1963, in Joliet, Illinois) is a sportscaster for NBC Sports and the Golf Channel, currently announcing golf, gymnastics, and figure skating.
Gannon played basketball for North Carolina State University ...
moved from a hole announcer role to the role of studio host during live coverage, for highlight updates.
Tom Weiskopf
Thomas Daniel Weiskopf (November 9, 1942 – August 20, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His most successful decade was the 1970s. He won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, inclu ...
, who had been a hole announcer, became an analyst for holes Van Pelt was assigned to, and was joined by
Peter Alliss
Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice of g ...
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
Tom Rinaldi is a reporter for Fox Sports. He previously contributed to ESPN's tennis coverage at Wimbledon and the US Open, ESPN's golf coverage, ''SportsCenter'', ''Outside the Lines'', '' College GameDay'' and '' Sunday NFL Countdown''. H ...
remained the lead interviewer and essayist.
In 2011,
Olin Browne
Olin Douglas Browne (born May 22, 1959) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and now plays on the PGA Tour Champions.
Browne was born in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H. in 1977. H ...
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
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
and the
Golf Channel
Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television television network, network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ...
.
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
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
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
Dottie Pepper (born August 17, 1965) is an American professional golfer and television golf broadcaster. From 1988 to 1995 she competed as Dottie Mochrie, which was her married name before a divorce. She won two major championships and 17 LPGA T ...
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' coverage of USGA tournaments.
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
David Robert Duval (born November 9, 1971) is an American professional golfer and former World No. 1 Golfer who competed on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Duval won 13 PGA Tour tournaments between 1997 and 2001; incl ...
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
The CME Group Tour Championship is a women's professional golf tournament, the season-ending event of the LPGA Tour. It succeeded the LPGA Tour Championship, which was played for two seasons in 2009 and 2010. From 2011 to 2013 the tournament wa ...
in December 2015.
Since 2008, ESPN has carried early-round coverage of the
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
, which remained the only major professional golf event still carried by ESPN until 2020. This coverage is co-produced by
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...
as part of its
presentation
A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...
of the event, and largely features its personalities, joined by an ESPN studio host (initially Mike Tirico before his departure for NBC, and later
Scott Van Pelt
Scott Van Pelt (born ) is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN, served as the co-host of '' SVP & Russillo'' alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various ...
).
In October 2018, it was announced that early-round and weekend morning coverage of the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
would move from TNT to ESPN beginning
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, with
ESPN+
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
holding rights to stream supplemental coverage prior to ESPN's broadcast window, and during CBS weekend windows. As with the Masters, the coverage is co-produced by CBS Sports with the involvement of personalities from both networks.
For the
2022 PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
, ESPN announced that it would air a secondary broadcast modeled after its ''
Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli'' broadcasts for ''
Monday Night Football
''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...
'', which will feature ESPN's new lead NFL commentator
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster.
The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's Nation ...
(in his first on-air appearance at ESPN after leaving Fox—where he had also briefly served as a golf commentator), ESPN golf analyst Michael Collins, and various celebrity guests (such as Buck's NFL partner
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After transferring from Oklahoma, he played college football at UCLA, ...
,
Fred Couples
Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament ...
,
Ken Griffey Jr.,
J. J. Watt, and
Peyton and
Eli Manning
Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...
—who will produce the broadcast, among others). It will serve as the opening hour of ESPN's coverage for each round of the tournament, after which it will air on
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
(first and second rounds) or ESPN+ (third and final rounds).
Tournaments
Current
*
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
**
The Masters
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
, first two rounds (2008–present)
**
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
, first two rounds and early weekend coverage (1982–1990, 2020–present)
*Amateur events
**
Latin America Amateur Championship
The Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) is an annual amateur golf tournament, organized in conjunction with the Augusta National Golf Club, organizer of the Masters Tournament; The R&A, organizers of The Open Championship; and the United St ...
, all four rounds (2015–present)
**
Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament. It is played at various locations throughout Asia-Pacific. It is organized by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) and was first played in 2009. It was organized in ...
, all four rounds (2013–present)
Former
*
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
**Regular season events from 1984–2006
**
U.S. Open, first two rounds (1982–2014)
**
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
, first two rounds (1982–2002), all four rounds (2010–2015)
**
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...
(1999–2006)
**
Tour Championship
The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
(1991–2006)
*
LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
**Regular season events from 1979–2009
**
Kraft Nabisco Championship
The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Fou ...
, first two rounds (1983–2005), first three rounds (2006–2010)
**
U.S. Women's Open
The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...
, first two rounds (1982–2014)
**
Women's British Open
The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...
, first two rounds (1982–2002), all four rounds (2010–2015)
**
CME Group Tour Championship
The CME Group Tour Championship is a women's professional golf tournament, the season-ending event of the LPGA Tour. It succeeded the LPGA Tour Championship, which was played for two seasons in 2009 and 2010. From 2011 to 2013 the tournament wa ...
, final round (aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, see
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC (formerly known as ABC Sports from 1961 to 2006) is the branding used for sports event and documentary programming televised by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains ...
) (2015–2018)
*
Champions Tour
PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour.
History and format
The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...
**Regular season events from 1982–2000
**
The Tradition
The Tradition (known as the Regions Tradition for sponsorship reasons) is an event on the PGA Tour Champions. First staged in 1989, the PGA Tour recognizes the event as one of the five senior major golf championships. Unlike the U.S. Senior Op ...
, first two rounds (1998–2002)
**
Senior PGA Championship
The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...
, first two rounds (1997–2005)
**
U.S. Senior Open
The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...
, first two rounds (1986–2014)
**
Senior Players Championship
The Senior Players Championship, stylised by the PGA Tour as The SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, is one of the five major championships on golf's PGA Tour Champions. The inaugural event was played in 1983 and the age minimum is 50, the standard fo ...
, first two rounds (1999–2002)
**
Senior Open Championship
The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open) is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Pr ...
, first two rounds (1982–2002), all four rounds (2010–2015)
**
Senior Tour Championship (1997-2000)
*
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
(
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
)
*
Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...
(
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
,
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
and
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
)
Announcers
Scott Van Pelt
Scott Van Pelt (born ) is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN, served as the co-host of '' SVP & Russillo'' alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various ...
is currently the lead golf host for ESPN.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golf On ESPN
1970s American television series
1980s American television series
1990s American television series
2000s American television series
2010s American television series
2020s American television series
Sports telecast series
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
1979 American television series debuts
ESPN original programming
ESPN2 original programming