PGA TOUR ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD HEADLINES GOLF COVERAGE THIS WEEK ACROSS NBC, GOLF CHANNEL, AND PEACOCK
NBC Sports' Presentation of Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard Will Feature Enhanced Focus on Player-Caddie Interactions as Part of PGA TOUR's Fan Forward Initiative
Golf Central Studio Coverage On-Site from Arnold Palmer Invitational
PGA TOUR Puerto Rico Open – Thursday-Sunday on GOLF Channel
This Week's Coverage Includes LPGA Tour Blue Bay LPGA Beginning Today at 11 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel & PGA TOUR Champions Cologuard Classic Friday-Sunday on GOLF Channel
College Golf – Darius Rucker Intercollegiate – Final Round Today at 2:30 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 5, 2025 – NBC Sports presents more than 50 hours of live tournament golf coverage this week across NBC, GOLF Channel and Peacock, headlined by the PGA TOUR's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
PGA TOUR: ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD
The Arnold Palmer Invitational marks the fourth Signature Event of the 2025 PGA TOUR season, offering 700 FedExCup points to the winner and boasting a field that includes World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Thomas, and Xander Schauffele. Scheffler's five-stroke win in 2024 was the largest margin of victory in this event since Tiger Woods also won by five in 2012.
Live tournament coverage begins Thursday-Friday at 2 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel. Weekend coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel, shifting to NBC and Peacock at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Comprehensive coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational will include GOLF Channel's Golf Central studio show on-site at Bay Hill throughout the week. Additionally, NBC Sports' tournament coverage will feature an enhanced focus surrounding player-caddie conversations as part of the PGA TOUR's Fan Forward initiative. Sam Saunders – grandson of Arnold Palmer and former PGA TOUR player – will join Steve Sands in the broadcast booth for Saturday and Sunday lead-in coverage on GOLF Channel.
Friday afternoon's coverage on GOLF Channel also features the critically-acclaimed 'Happy Hour with Smylie presented by Michelob Ultra,' which will air each Friday through the Florida Swing on GOLF Channel, as Smylie Kaufman spends time with PGA TOUR stars following their rounds to get their thoughts on the game and showcase their personalities. Joel Dahmen and Keith Mitchell were the featured guests on last week's Happy Hour with Smylie.
NBC/GOLF Channel/Peacock Broadcast Team
Play by Play: Dan Hicks / Terry Gannon / Steve Sands
Analyst: Kevin Kisner / Brad Faxon / Curt Byrum / Sam Saunders
On-Course: John Wood / Smylie Kaufman / Jim 'Bones' Mackay / Curt Byrum
Reporter: Cara Banks
How To Watch – Thursday, March 6 – Sunday, March 9 (all times ET)
· TV – GOLF Channel, NBC
· Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
Notable Players This Week
· Scottie Scheffler
· Rory McIlroy
· Ludvig Aberg
· Justin Thomas
· Xander Schauffele
· Patrick Cantlay
· Jason Day
· Hideki Matsuyama
· Viktor Hovland
PGA TOUR: PUERTO RICO OPEN
The Puerto Rico Open is an Additional Event being played opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the fourth consecutive year. Notable past champions include Tony Finau (2016) and Viktor Hovland (2020).
GOLF Channel will present coverage Thursday-Friday beginning at 10 a.m. ET and Saturday-Sunday beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.
GOLF Channel Broadcast Team
Play by Play: George Savaricas
Analyst: Graham DeLaet
On-Course: Billy Ray Brown / Tripp Isenhour
How To Watch – Thursday, March 6 – Sunday, March 9 (all times ET)
· TV – GOLF Channel
· Streaming – NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
Notable Players This Week
· Danny Willett
· Camilo Villegas
· Blades Brown
· Nick Hardy
· Aaron Baddeley
· Michael Thorbjornsen
LPGA TOUR: BLUE BAY LPGA
The LPGA Tour concludes its swing through Asia with the Blue Bay LPGA held at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club in the People's Republic of China, marking the second time the event is being held since 2018. Last year, Bailey Tardy got her first LPGA victory at the Blue Bay LPGA, making five birdies in her final eight holes to beat Sarah Schmelzel by four strokes.
Live overnight coverage begins today at 11 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel.
How To Watch – Wednesday, March 5 – Saturday, March 8 (all times ET)
· TV – GOLF Channel
· Streaming – NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
Notable Players This Week
· Minjee Lee
· Celine Boutier
· Anna Nordqvist
· Ruoning Yin
· Ayaka Furue
· Gaby Lopez
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS: COLOGUARD CLASSIC
The Cologuard Classic will be held at La Paloma Country Club in Tucson, Ariz., featuring a field that includes Steve Stricker, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington and Steven Alker. The event will utilize the resort's Ridge Course for the front nine and the Canyon and Hill courses for the back nine.
How To Watch – Friday, March 7 – Sunday, March 9 (all times ET)
· TV – GOLF Channel
· Streaming – NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
*Tape Delay
Notable Players This Week
· Steve Stricker
· Ernie Els
· Padraig Harrington
· Stewart Cink
· Steven Alker
DP WORLD TOUR: JOBURG OPEN
A co-sponsored event by the Sunshine Tour, the Joburg Open will be held at Houghton Golf Club in Johannesburg, South Africa. The last playing of this event was in November 2023, when it was the first event of the 2024 season on the DP World Tour.
Notable Players This Week
· Dylan Frittelli
· Rafa Cabrera Bello
· Ryggs Johnston
· Ross Fisher
· Joost Luiten
DARIUS RUCKER INTERCOLLEGIATE PRESENTED BY PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL
GOLF Channel will air the final round of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Presented by Principal Financial today at 2:30 p.m. ET. The event is the first of the Spring season and only all-women's regular season all-women's collegiate golf tournament and features some of the best teams in the country. The annual event, hosted by multi-platinum country artist Darius Rucker, is held at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, S.C., and features a 54-hole stroke play competition for individual and team honors. Past individual champions of the tournament include Maria Fassi (2018, Arkansas), Emilia Doran (2020, Wake Forest), and Cheyenne Knight (2016-2017, Alabama).
Steve Burkowski (play-by-play), Karen Stupples (analyst), Emilia Doran (on-course) and Jim Gallagher Jr. (on-course) will call the action.
5 CLUBS ON GOLF CHANNEL PRESENTED BY SENTRY AND THE GOLF CHANNEL PODCAST WITH REX AND LAV KICK OFF NETWORK'S MORNING BLOCK ON MONDAYS AT 8 A.M. ET
GOLF Channel's new morning programming block begins live on Mondays at 8 a.m. ET with long-time GOLF Channel personality Gary Williams hosting 5 Clubs on GOLF Channel Presented by Sentry, followed by the popular GOLF Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav – hosted by GOLFChannel.com senior writers Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner – airing Mondays at 9 a.m. ET.
BROADCAST NOTES
Golf Central: Golf Central will provide pre- and post-tournament coverage on GOLF Channel on-site from the Arnold Palmer Invitational this Wednesday-Sunday. This week's Golf Central coverage features Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee, Mark Rolfing, Todd Lewis, and Steve Burkowski.
*Same Day Delay
Note: all times ET, post-round coverage begins following conclusion of play
All GOLF Channel coverage also streams on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app via authentication, giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
--NBC SPORTS--
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6 hours ago
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