Courtesy: ESPN
Courtesy: ESPN
ESPN will broadcast all four rounds of the PGA’s annual Open Championship live next weekend, July 18th – 21st. ESPN and WatchESPN will have eleven hours of live coverage beginning with the first two rounds July 18th and 19th. The first two rounds will be broadcast from 4am – 3pm each day. Saturday’s round three coverage begins at 7am EST and runs through 2:30pm EST. Round Four cover begins at 6am EST and runs through 1:30 pm EST.
Those that can’t catch coverage when it airs live next weekend need not worry. All four rounds will be broadcast in an encore presentation. The live broadcast and encore presentation of The Open are just part of the sixty-five total hours that center on The Open. Also celebrating the 142nd renewal of one of golf’s biggest tournaments is The Best of The Open Championship. The encore presentation of this feature has been edited for time. It will be broadcast next Thursday – Sunday, July 18th – 21st. the program will be broadcast Thursday – Saturday from 7pm – 10pm EST on ESPN. Sunday’s broadcast will air on ESPN2 from 9pm – 12am EST. Fans can get highlights of each day’s best moments on The Open Championship Today from 3pm – 6pm EST July 18th and 19th on ESPN and at the same time on ABC July 20th and 21st. All broadcasts will be simulcast on ESPN Radio affiliates nationwide, online at ESPNRadio.com and on TheOpen.com. A full rundown of coverage times and networks is available below.
SportsCenter will have its own special Open Championship coverage live from Scotland’s Muirfield Golf Links. It will broadcast a one-hour special, SportsCenter at the Open Championship. The special will air Wednesday, July 17th at 2pm. There will also be a number of live in-depth reports beginning Monday, July 15th.
ESPN’s Mike Tirico will anchor coverage of the broadcasts for the 18th consecutive year. He will be joined by Scott Van Pelt of ESPN’s SVP and Rusillo. The pair will be joined by legendary BBC golf broadcaster Peter Alliss Thursday and Friday July 18th and 19th. Van Pelt will also serve as hole announcer along with reporters Curtis Strange, Dottie Pepper, and Sean McDonough. Paul Azinger, David Duvall and Peter Alliss will all serve as analysts for the four-day tournament at different times. Andy North, Judy Rankin, Dottie Pepper, and Bill Kratzert will be on-course reporters.
During coverage of the annual Open Championship, ESPN will use two technologies to help viewers follow every shot throughout the hole. The first of the technologies, “Virutal Aerial”, examines wind condition throughout the course and its impact on each hole. The tech debuted at the 2012 Open Championship. The second of the tech used to bring viewers into the Open is known as “Flight Tracker.” This real-time feature will be used on six of the match’s holes. It will create a virtual line allowing viewers to follow the ball from tee to hole on each of the six holes chosen to feature this tech.
Along with all of the in-depth coverage provided by ESPN, ESPN Radio, WatchESPN, and ABC, ESPN Classic will have fifty-five hours of special golf programming in a tribute to The Open in the days leading up to the famed tournament. It all begins next Monday, July 15th at 11am EST with a broadcast of highlights from the 1978 Open Championship. That year’s tournament was won by golf legend Jack Nicklaus. The programming will run straight through 4am on Thursday, July 18th, when ESPN’s coverage of The Open Championship begins. The new edition of ESPN The Magazine hits newsstands tomorrow, July 12th. It will have a preview of next week’s match. In the meantime, a complete broadcast schedule of next week’s Open Championship is available below.
The Open Championship – Muirfield Golf Links, Gullane, Scotland
(all times U.S. Eastern)
| Day/Date | Program | Start | Network |
| Wed., July 17 | SportsCenter at The Open Championship | 2 p.m. | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Thu., July 18 | First Round | 4 a.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Thu., July 18 | First Round | 7 a.m. | ESPN Radio |
| Thu., July 18 | The Open Championship Today | 3 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Thu., July 18 | Best of The Open Championship | 7 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Fri., July 19 | Second Round | 4 a.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Fri., July 19 | Second Round | 7 a.m. | ESPN Radio |
| Fri., July 19 | The Open Championship Today | 3 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Fri., July 19 | Best of The Open Championship | 7 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Sat., July 20 | Third Round | 7 a.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Sat., July 20 | Third Round | 9 a.m. | ESPN Radio |
| Sat., July 20 | The Open Championship Today | 3 p.m. | ABC |
| Sat., July 20 | Best of The Open Championship | 7 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Sun., July 21 | Final Round | 6 a.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN |
| Sun., July 21 | Final Round | 8 a.m. | ESPN Radio |
| Sun., July 21 | The Open Championship Today | 3 p.m. | ABC |
| Sun., July 21 | Best of The Open Championship | 9 p.m. | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
| Mon., July 22 | Best of The Open Championship | Noon | ESPN2, WatchESPN |
There is far more available on The Open On Demand and via other outlets. For all of that information and more, fans can go online to http://www.facebook.com/espn and “Like” it or the official ESPN website, http://www.espn.com.
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