LPGA TOUR RETURNS TO GOLF CHANNEL THIS WEEK WITH NEW ‘LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP’

First of 18 Events on GOLF Channel in Resumption of 2020 LPGA Tour Season 

NBC Sports Group to Televise All Four Women’s Golf Major Championships in 2020 

ORLANDO, Fla.,  – Following a hiatus of more than five months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the LPGA Tour returns to competition this week with the inaugural ‘LPGA Drive On Championship’ taking place at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

The LPGA Drive On Championship will be the first of 18 scheduled LPGA Tour events televised on GOLF Channel through the end of the year, including four major championships. Nearly 20 live hours of women’s professional golf also will be televised on NBC across four events – three majors and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

NEW ‘LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIP’ KICKS OFF RESUMPTION OF 2020 LPGA SEASON: The LPGA Drive On Championship will be the first of two consecutive weeks in Ohio on the LPGA Tour, with the Marathon LPGA Classic taking place next week. GOLF Channel will televise live coverage of the LPGA Drive On Championship Friday-Sunday, July 31-Aug. 2, with expanded streaming coverage during all three days on GOLF Channel Digital. World No. 2 Nelly Korda and No. 4 Danielle Kang headline the field that includes eight of the 12 players from the winning 2019 European Solheim Cup team and all 12 members from the U.S. team.

LPGA Drive On Championship Programming Schedule on GOLF Channel (all times EST)

Friday            9-11:30 a.m. (GOLF Channel) / 9 a.m.-Noon (GOLF Channel Digital)

Saturday        4:30-7 p.m. (GOLF Channel) / 4-7 p.m. (GOLF Channel Digital)

Sunday           5-7 p.m. (GOLF Channel) / 4-7 p.m. (GOLF Channel Digital)

Major champion Karen Stupples will serve as lead analyst for the LPGA Drive On Championship, joined by play-by-play host Grant Boone in the broadcast booth. Tom Abbott will serve as a hole announcer, with Jerry Foltz and Kay Cockerill reporting from the course. GOLF Channel is scheduled to mic up a featured group during Saturday’s second round of play, giving viewers an inside-the-ropes audio viewpoint during the round.

The LPGA Drive On Championship – taking place at the same venue as the 2021 Solheim Cup – is the first LPGA Tour event to be contested since the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in February, and the first LPGA Tour event in the U.S. since the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in January.

NBC SPORTS GROUP TO TELEVISE ALL FOUR WOMEN’S MAJORS IN 2020:

For the first time, GOLF Channel and NBC will be the television home for all five women’s golf major championships with the addition of the U.S. Women’s Open as a result of the USGA transferring its U.S. media rights to NBC Sports. In 2020, television coverage will include four rescheduled major championships: AIG Women’s Open (Aug. 20-23, GOLF Channel and NBC); ANA Inspiration (Sept. 10-13, GOLF Channel); KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (Oct. 8-11, GOLF Channel and NBC) and U.S. Women’s Open (Dec. 10-13, GOLF Channel and NBC).

For the second consecutive year, the LPGA Tour season will conclude on NBC, with live, final round coverage of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship following live coverage of the first three rounds on GOLF Channel.

HALL-OF-FAMER JUDY RANKIN TO CONTINUE 36^TH YEAR IN TELEVISION

Hall-of-Famer and 26-time LPGA Tour winner Judy Rankin will resume her 10^th season as GOLF Channel’s lead LPGA Tour analyst – and 36^th season overall in television – at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (Aug. 28-30). She will rotate with Paige Mackenzie and Stupples as lead LPGA Tour analysts for the remainder of the 2020 season.

NBC Sports Group 2020 LPGA Tour Resumed Schedule

-NBC Sports Group-

Media Contacts:
Jeremy Friedman
GOLF Channel Communications
407-721-9752
Jeremy.Friedman@golfchannel.com

Jeff Szklinski
GOLF Channel Communications
814-880-6933
Jeff.Szklinski@golfchannel.com