PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Sports cable giant ESPN will broadcast live Friday coverage of the Ryder Cup in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014, under an agreement with NBC Sports announced today. ESPN also receives the right to re-air NBC coverage and extended highlights of golf’s most compelling event. NBC, which has broadcast the Ryder Cup since 1991, will continue to broadcast the final two days of competition.
"We are delighted to acquire first-day coverage of the Ryder Cup beginning in 2008," said John Wildhack, ESPN senior vice president, programming acquisitions and strategy. "The Ryder Cup is among the most prestigious events in all of sports, providing some of the most memorable moments in sports history. We look forward to working with The PGA of America and NBC to continue to build on the legacy and international appeal that is the Ryder Cup."
"The Ryder Cup, with the world’s premier golfers putting it all on the line for national pride, is essentially the Olympics of golf," said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports and Olympics. "In our 15 years of broadcasting the event, we have been blessed with some extremely exciting competitions that have led to such dramatic broadcasts. The pride and genuine nationalism displayed by the players at the Ryder Cup makes it unique and sports fans identify it as something very special."
ESPN will begin its first-day Ryder Cup coverage in September 2008, when the 37th Ryder Cup makes its first appearance at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Successive Ryder Cups will be contested at the Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales, Sept. 2010; the 39th Ryder Cup is at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Ill., Sept. 2012, and the 40th Ryder Cup will be played at Gleneagles, Scotland, Sept. 2014.
The Ryder Cup, among the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money, spans 35 competitions over 79 years, pitting 12 of America’s best golfers against Europe’s in a three-day, match play competition. In 2004, Europe defeated the United States 18½ to 9½ in record-setting fashion at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich.
This year’s 36th edition of the Ryder Cup will be contested Sept. 22-24, when Europe hosts the United States at The K Club’s Palmer Course in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland.
Celebrating its 90th anniversary, The PGA of America was founded in 1916, and is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.
Contact:
Julius Mason
PGA of America
561/624-8444
Brian Walker
NBC
212/664-5533
Nate Smeltz
ESPN
860/766-4550
