The Presidents Cup has been held biennially since 1994. [1] Initially, it was held in even numbered years, with the Ryder Cup being held in odd numbered years. However, the cancellation of the 2001 Ryder Cup due to the September 11 attacks pushed both tournaments back a year, and the Presidents Cup began being held in odd numbered years. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup is returning to being held in even numbered years as a consequence.
CBS covered the first three Presidents Cups (1994, [2] 1996 and 1998). Beginning in 2000, the American broadcast television rights moved over to NBC, which has held it ever since.
On the weekday cable side, ESPN [3] like CBS covered the first three Presidents Cups. TNT then carried the Presidents Cup from 2000 to 2007; Golf Channel assumed those rights beginning with the 2009 event as part of its overall deal for PGA Tour cable rights.
Announcer | Years | Network |
---|---|---|
Terry Gannon | 2011–present | Golf Channel |
Brian Hammons | 2009 | Golf Channel |
Dan Hicks | 2000–present | NBC Golf Channel |
Ernie Johnson, Jr. | 2000–2007 | TNT |
Jim Kelly | 1994 | ESPN |
Verne Lundquist | 1994 | CBS |
Bill Macatee | 1998 | CBS |
Jim Nantz | 1994–1996 | CBS |
Mike Tirico | 2019–present | NBC |
Announcer | Years | Network |
---|---|---|
Paul Azinger | 2009; 2019–present | Golf Channel NBC |
Nick Faldo | 2009 | Golf Channel |
David Feherty | 2011 | Golf Channel |
Peter Kostis | 1994 | CBS |
Gary McCord | 1994 | CBS |
Johnny Miller | 2000–2017 | NBC |
Jim Nelford | 1994 | CBS |
Frank Nobilo | 2013–present | Golf Channel |
Ken Venturi | 1994–1998 | CBS |
Ben Wright | 1994 | CBS |
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 after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy. The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, the latter a joint venture of the PGA European Tour (60%), the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (20%), and the PGAs of Europe (20%).
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major golf championships.
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 older event, the Ryder Cup.
TNT Sports is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's streaming service Max and on their various cable channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, and TruTV. It also operates the online digital media outlets for the NCAA, NBA, PGA Tour, and PGA of America. TNT Sports also operates the sports news website Bleacher Report, as well as NBA TV on behalf of the NBA. It also owns a minority share in the MLB Network.
Golf telecasts have aired on NBC since 1954, with some of its earliest telecasts having included the 1954 U.S. Open, and the first televised coverage of the Ryder Cup in 1959.
PGA Tour on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of the PGA Tour that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States.
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 before 1995 on the majors, with the network serving as the primary television partner of the PGA Tour from 1999 until 2006.
The PGA Tour 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 known as the PGA Tour, as well as the PGA Tour Champions and the Korn Ferry Tour, as well as the PGA Tour Canada, PGA Tour Latinoamérica, and formerly the PGA Tour China. The PGA Tour is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb southeast of Jacksonville.
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 in 1979.
TNT's golf coverage was produced by Turner Sports and consisted of television broadcasts of some of the key professional golf events in the United States. Most recently, TNT had the cable rights to the PGA Championship under a contract with the PGA of America.
Golf on USA is the umbrella title for USA Network's coverage of the PGA Tour and other golf events. in the United States. USA Network's own coverage of the PGA Tour ended after the 2006 season. USA also covered the early rounds of The Masters Tournament from 1982 until 2007. The network also carried the Ryder Cup Matches regularly from 1989 until 2006, as well as overflow coverage in 2010.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to golf:
Golf in the United States is played by about 25 million people, or 8% of the population.
Until 2001, race tracks struck individual agreements with networks to broadcast races, but NASCAR wanted to capitalize on the growing popularity of the sport and announced in 1999 that television contracts would now be centralized; that is, instead of making agreements with individual tracks, networks would now negotiate directly with NASCAR for the rights to air a package of races.
The PGA Tour's broadcast television rights are held by CBS Sports and NBC Sports, under contracts most recently renewed in 2021 to last through 2030. While it considered invoking an option to opt out of its broadcast television contracts in 2017, the PGA Tour ultimately decided against doing so. Golf Channel has served as the pay television rightsholder of the PGA Tour since 2007, and its current contract will also expire in 2021. Under the contracts, CBS broadcasts weekend coverage for an average of 20 events per-season, and NBC broadcasts weekend coverage for an average of 10 events per-season. Golf Channel broadcasts early-round and weekend morning coverage of all events, as well as weekend coverage of events not broadcast on terrestrial television, and primetime encores of all events. Tournaments typically featured in NBC's package include marquee events such as The Players Championship, the final three tournaments of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and the biennial Presidents Cup event. The 2011 contract granted more extensive digital rights, as well as the ability for NBC to broadcast supplemental coverage of events on Golf Channel during its broadcast windows.