NBC SPORTS TO SHOWCASE TOP PLAYERS IN WOMEN’S GOLF WITH COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE KPMG WOMEN’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

GOLF Channel to Air First Two Rounds Live in Primetime; NBC Sports Carrying Live Weekend Coverage

NBC Sports Group to Combine for Nearly 40 Hours of Tournament and News Coverage On-Site from Hazeltine National Golf Club

Condoleezza Rice and Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Mia Hamm to Headline KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit Wednesday, June 19

TODAY Show and CNBC On-Site at Hazeltine National

ORLANDO, Fla.,  – GOLF Channel and NBC will dedicate nearly 40 hours of comprehensive on-site news and tournament coverage of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third women’s major of the season, Tuesday-Sunday, June 18-23. Featuring one of the strongest fields of the year and taking place at Hazeltine National Golf Club near Minneapolis, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be headlined by each of the top-20 in the Rolex Women’s Golf Rankings, including World No. 1 Jin-Young Ko, Minjee Lee (No. 2), defending champion and No. 3 Sung Hyun Park, and top-ranked Americans Lexi Thompson (No. 4), Nelly Korda (No. 12) and Jessica Korda (No. 14).

“Through the partnership with KPMG, the PGA of America and the LPGA Tour, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has become one of the most impactful weeks of the year in women’s golf,” said Molly Solomon, executive vice president of content and executive producer, GOLF Channel. “As the broadcast partner for the championship, we strive to elevate our coverage each year to celebrate not only the best players in women’s golf, but also female leaders in the workplace.”

TOURNAMENT BROADCAST TEAM:

Live tournament coverage of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be anchored by Dan Hicks, who will be joined by Karen Stupples and Gary Koch in the broadcast booth. Tom Abbott will report from an on-course tower, with Kay Cockerill, Jerry Foltz and Mark Rolfing walking the course. Steve Sands will conduct player interviews.

GOLF CHANNEL / NBC LIVE TOURNAMENT AIRTIMES (all times Eastern):

Thursday, June 20	Round 1	6-9 p.m.	GOLF Channel
Friday, June 21	Round 2	6-9 p.m.	GOLF Channel
Saturday, July 22	Round 3	3-6 p.m.	NBC
Sunday, July 23	Final Round	3-6 p.m.	NBC

KPMG WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP SUMMIT:

On Wednesday, June 19, KPMG will host the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit on-site at Hazeltine National, featuring an assembly of accomplished leaders in sports, business, politics and media to inspire the next generation of women leaders. GOLF Channel will air live the Summit’s “Inspire Greatness Fireside Chat” within Golf Central’s 4 p.m. ET news conferences show (Fireside Chat starting at approximately 5 p.m. ET). NBC Sports’ play-by-play host Dan Hicks will host and moderate the chat with two-time Olympic gold medalist Mia Hamm.

NBC Sports’ Emmy Award-winning Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya will emcee the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit, headlined by Hamm and the 66th Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The Summit will be streamed live and in its entirety starting at 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday on GOLF Digital, as well as on the NBC Sports and GOLF Channel Apps. In addition, portions of the summit will be streamed via GOLF Channel’s Facebook Live.

TODAY AND CNBC ON-SITE AT KPMG WOMEN’S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP:

NBC’s TODAY and CNBC’s Squawk Box will provide complementary coverage of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit on Wednesday, June 19 with featured interviews. Sheinelle Jones will report on-site for TODAY, with Becky Quick reporting on-site for Squawk Box.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S POPULAR “PLAYING THROUGH” ENCHANCED COMMERCIAL BREAKS RETURNS TO HAZELTINE NATIONAL: Making its debut on NBC at the Ryder Cup in 2016 at Hazeltine National, NBC Sports will implement its popular “Playing Through” commercial break enhancement for fans tuning in to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, employing a split-screen model for a select number of national commercial breaks.

COMPREHENSIVE ON-SITE NEWS COVERAGE:

GOLF Channel’s signature news programs, Golf Central and Morning Drive is scheduled to provide comprehensive, wraparound news coverage throughout the week, produced on-location at Hazeltine National Golf Club. In addition to daily shows, Golf Central will present special player news conference shows Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET and Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.

Lisa Cornwell will anchor Golf Central’s live coverage alongside Amanda Blumenherst and Arron Oberholser beginning Tuesday, June 18, with Tim Rosaforte reporting and conducting player interviews. Lauren Thompson will set the stage each day on Morning Drive with on-site interviews.

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE:

GOLF Digital will feature expanded editorial content during KPMG Women’s PGA Championship week. GOLF Channel senior writer Randall Mell will report from Hazeltine National with columns and daily blogs, and GOLF Channel social media correspondent Nikki Bondura (‘Nikki B.’) will contribute to the network’s social media platforms with exclusive behind-the-scenes content throughout the week. GOLF Channel and NBC also will integrate social media throughout the telecasts, incorporating posts using the hashtag #KPMGWomensPGA.

News and tournament action surrounding the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be streamed via GOLF Digital, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports and GOLF Channel Apps – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming products for mobile devices, tablets and connected TVs.

The PGA of America and KPMG joined forces with the LPGA Tour in 2015 to create a world-class major championship that not only sustains the 60-year legacy of the former LPGA Championship, but also aims to elevate women on and off the golf course. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship provides a platform to inspire the next generation of women leaders through the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit and the KPMG Future Leaders Program.

-NBC Sports Group-