World No. 1 Ko to Make 2017 Debut at ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, Airing Live and in Primetime on Golf Channel, Wednesday-Saturday
(ORLANDO, Fla.) – The PGA TOUR will stage the final event of its West Coast swing with the Genesis Open near Los Angeles before heading east for next week’s Honda Classic in South Florida. Eight of the top-10 players in the world are in the field, including Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama and Sergio Garcia; each of whom enter the event coming off a victory in the previous start.
World No. 1 Lydia Ko is set to make her 2017 debut at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, airing Wednesday-Saturday in primetime on Golf Channel.
PGA TOUR
Genesis Open
Dates: Feb. 16-19
Venue: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 2-6 p.m. (Live) / 7-11 p.m. (Replay)
Friday 2-6 p.m. (Live) / 7-11 p.m. (Replay)
Saturday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 7-9 p.m. (Replay)
Sunday 1-2:30 p.m. (Live) / 7:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. (Replay)
Golf Central Pre and Post Round Coverage on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Thursday 1:30-2 p.m. (Live) / 6-7 p.m. (Live)
Friday 1:30-2 p.m. (Live) / 6-7 p.m. (Live)
Saturday Noon-1 p.m. (Live) / 6-7 p.m. (Live)
Sunday Noon-1 p.m. (Live) / 6:30-7:30 p.m. (Live)
Broadcast Notes:
Elite field to showcase eight of top-10 in the world: The Genesis Open will feature eight of the top-10 players in the world, led by No. 1 Jason Day and No. 3 Dustin Johnson. Hideki Matsuyama (No. 5), Jordan Spieth (No. 6) and Sergio Garcia (No. 9) are in the field as well, each coming off a victory in their previous start. Both Johnson and Matsuyama have a mathematical chance of ascending to No. 1 in the world with a win this week, depending on where Day finishes.
Watson defends: Bubba Watson finished one stroke ahead of Adam Scott and Jason Kokrak to claim his ninth career PGA TOUR win.
Headlining the field: Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott, Justin Thomas, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose and Bubba Watson.
Golf Channel Broadcast Team:
- Play by Play: Terry Gannon
- Analyst: David Duval
- Tower: Matt Gogel
- On-Course: Jim Gallagher Jr. / Arron Oberholser
- Interviews: Todd Lewis
LPGA TOUR
ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open
Dates: Feb. 16-19
Venue: Royal Adelaide Golf Club, Adelaide, Australia
Tournament Airtimes on Golf Channel (Eastern):
Wednesday 9 p.m.-2 a.m. (Live) / 2-6 a.m. (Thursday replay)
Thursday 11 p.m.-2 a.m. (Live)
Friday 11 p.m.-2 a.m. (Live)
Saturday 9 p.m.-2 a.m. (Live) / 5-6:30 p.m. (Sunday replay)
Broadcast Notes:
Ko making 2017 debut: World No. 1 Lydia Ko will make her first competitive start of 2017, and her first start since changing her caddie (Gary Matthews), coach (Gary Gilchrist) and golf clubs (Parsons Xtreme Golf).
Headlining the field: Lydia Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull, Ha Na Jang, Minjee Lee, Karrie Webb, Aditi Ashok, Haru Nomura and Cheyenne Woods.
Other Tours
Three-time winner of the event – Bernhard Langer – headlines a strong field at the Chubb Classic, the second of two Florida events in as many weeks on the PGA TOUR Champions.
And the European Tour will stage the inaugural ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth in Australia, combining both stroke and match play into one event which will culminate with a bracket style series of six-hole matches on the final day of competition to determine a champion.