Update: Where to watch the 2010 Ryder Cup golf tournament

By Ryan Berenz

There have been major changes to ESPN’s Ryder Cup coverage, thanks to a rain delay. From ESPN:

Due to a lengthy rain delay today, ESPN will be airing additional Ryder Cup coverage tomorrow 10/2  from 3:00-8:00am ET.

Here are the revised ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNEWS schedules:

ESPN 10/2
3-8am Ryder Cup
8-9am SportsCenter

ESPN2 10/2
4-8am SportsCenter

ESPNEWS
3-4am SportsCenter

Golf’s premier match-play tournament takes place at Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales as Corey Pavin captains the U.S. team against Colin Montgomerie’s Team Europe. Top players for the U.S. include Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Stewart Cink, while Team Europe includes Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell. The U.S has not won the Ryder Cup on foreign soil since 1993. ESPN and NBC share coverage of the tournament Oct. 1-3. Here are releases from ESPN, NBC and GOLF CHANNEL on their Ryder Cup coverage plans:

ESPN to Present Ryder Cup Day 1 Matches Live

Coverage Team Includes Two Former Ryder Cup Captains Azinger and Strange

Unprecedented live coverage from the United Kingdom Begins at 2:30 A.M. ET, Includes over 32 Hours Scheduled

For the first time from a European venue, ESPN will present Ryder Cup Day 1 matches live from 2:30 a.m.-1 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 1.  The 38th Ryder Cup, the biennial competition between teams from Europe and the United States, will take place from The Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales.

ESPN’s coverage of the Ryder Cup begins Thursday, Sept. 30, with exclusive coverage of the Opening Ceremonies within the 11 a.m. ET SportsCenter followed by the SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup preview show at 2 p.m.  ESPN networks will also re-air coverage from all three days beginning with a Friday encore of Day 1 matches from 1-10 p.m. on ESPN2.  Live coverage from Wales will conclude with SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup, including coverage of the Closing Ceremonies on Sunday, Oct. 3, from 1-2 p.m. on ESPN2.


ESPN’s coverage will be anchored by Mike Tirico and 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger. ESPN’s commentating team also includes two-time U.S. Open champions Curtis Strange, who was the Ryder Cup Captain in 2002 and played in the event five times, and Andy North, who also played in the Ryder Cup. In addition, Judy Rankin, Bill Kratzert and Peter Alliss, an eight-time Ryder Cup member, will serve as analysts. Scott Van Pelt will host SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup highlight shows, Tom Rinaldi will provide essays and interviews, and Rick Reilly will contribute commentaries and essays.

Corey Pavin captains the defending U.S. squad featuring three of the world’s top four players in Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker alongside major champions Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink.  Colin Montgomerie leads the European team which includes 2010 major champions Graeme McDowell (U.S. Open) and Martin Kaymer (PGA Championship). Former PGA and two-time Open Champion Padraig Harrington and top golfers Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter round out the team. The U.S. won the 2008 Ryder Cup 16½ – 11½ to end a streak of three consecutive victories for team Europe.
ESPN’s production will include features on Tiger Woods’ selection to the team; the 2008 Ryder Cup, won by the United States team that was captained by Azinger; and the pressure for Corey Pavin and first time players.

ESPN.com’s editorial coverage of the Ryder Cup will include Jason Sobel’s daily live blog, as well as insight and analysis from columnists Bob Harig and Gene Wojciechowski each day of the competition from Wales.

ESPN’s Ryder Cup TV schedule:
Date    Day    Time (ET)    Network    Program
9/30    Thu.    2:00 – 3:00 p.m.    ESPN    SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (Preview)
10/1    Fri.    2:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.    ESPN    Ryder Cup Day 1 Matches (Live)
10/1    Fri.    1:00 – 10:00 p.m.    ESPN    Ryder Cup Day 1 Matches (Reair)
10/2    Sat.    7:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m.    ESPN Classic    Ryder Cup Day 2 Matches (Reair)
10/3    Sun.    12:00 – 1:00 a.m.    ESPN2    SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (Day 2 Highlights)
10/3    Sun.    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.    ESPN2    SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (Closing Ceremonies & Day 3 Highlights)
10/4    Mon.    5:00- 10:00 p.m.    ESPN Classic    Ryder Cup Day 3 Matches (Reair)

Ryder Cup on NBC

NBC Sports will broadcast 16 hours of coverage of the 2010 Ryder Cup from The Twenty Ten Course at The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales on Saturday and Sunday, October 2-3.

Ryder Cup – Newport, South Wales
Saturday, October 2                    8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, October 3                    7 a.m. – 1 p.m.

[NBC conducted a conference call with golf broadcasters Johnny Miller, Roger Maltbie, Gary Koch and Mark Rolfing to preview the Ryder Cup. Their comments below]

ON THE RYDER CUP
Miller: “Ryder Cuppers are rare breeds…The Ryder Cup is pretty much about who can make pressure putts. If you look at the run by the Europeans, they’ve had such great success and they’re the guys who hole the putts. The U.S. guys didn’t and that includes Tiger and Phil and everybody else. The last Ryder Cup both sides played really good golf tee-to-green but it was the U.S. that made the putts and Europe that didn’t. Under pressure, it always goes to the putter.”
Koch: “It’s been 17 years since the United States team last won on foreign soil.”
Rolfing: “I don’t think we can overemphasize enough or overestimate too much just how big a home-crowd advantage the Europeans are going to have.”

ON TIGER WOODS AT THE RYDER CUP
Rolfing: “It’s going to work better for Tiger having this week off…He’d much rather be at East Lake, obviously, but…he’s never had to play his way through the swing changes like he has this time. It’s going to help him to have this week off to get ready for the Ryder Cup. There’s a good chance he wouldn’t play all five matches next week.”
Maltbie: “It will probably have everything to do with how he’s playing at the moment. Corey will probably monitor that and, if Tiger is getting the ball in play off the tee well, then you have to play him in the foursome match. If he’s struggling … I would think that would be determined as they go along.”
Miller: “Bottom line is if Tiger wins his first match and his second match, he’s playing every match. If he’s losing them, then we’ll talk about it.”

ON WOODS, MICKELSON & FURYK IN PAST RYDER CUPS
Miller: “They’ve just not played well…(Tiger) just hasn’t led the team and Phil really hasn’t either. Furyk, who you think would be a good Ryder Cupper, has played so-so or less than so-so.”
Koch: “I will disagree with Johnny a little bit there because if you look at their individual records, Furyk is 4-1-1 in singles and Tiger is 3-1-1. Sometimes when you get paired up with a guy that’s not playing that well or you don’t mesh as a team, then it brings your game down…These guys have proven that they can handle the pressure when they play in the singles.”

ON REMAINDER OF U.S. TEAM
Miller: “Ricky Fowler obviously is a little bit on the hot seat, a really controversial pick in some ways. He’s got a lot of vigor and youth and he’s a cool pick. He’s got to prove himself. I really like Dustin Johnson. He might be in two years the best player in the world. That guy he’s got a putter, power and pretty good accuracy. Kuchar, he could just wear the guys out…I don’t know what to think of Jeff Overton. He’s the first player to make the team unmerited without having won a tour event. He’s got three seconds and two thirds. He is sort of a question mark and he’s going to be nervous as can be. Bubba Watson is going to be nervous and it will be interesting to see how he does.”

Golf Channel has the Ryder Cup Covered

Nearly 20 Hours of News Coverage from Celtic Manor Resort

ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 27, 2010) – Beginning Tuesday, Golf Channel will take viewers inside the ropes at Celtic Manor Resort with nearly 20 hours of live news reports, inside analysis and features to deliver wrap-around news coverage of the 2010 Ryder Cup.

Originating from a set overlooking the 18th hole at Celtic Manor in Wales and from the network’s Orlando studios, coverage will begin Tuesday at noon ET with pre-tournament news conferences followed by the latest news on Golf Central at 6 p.m. ET.  News conferences will continue Wednesday at noon ET, followed by two-hour preview shows Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET and Thursday at 6 p.m. ET.  Once tournament play begins, Live From the Ryder Cup will deliver player interviews, highlights and analysis from Golf Channel’s panel of reporters and expert analysts after tournament coverage Friday-Sunday.

The Live From the Ryder Cup team reporting from Celtic Manor will include Kelly Tilghman, Frank Nobilo, Rich Lerner, Steve Sands, Alex Miceli, Tim Rosaforte, Ken Schofield, Mark Rolfing and Randall Mell.  Lerner will cover the European Team throughout the week, with Sands reporting on the activities of the U.S. Team.  Joining the broadcast team from the network’s studios in Orlando will be Kraig Kann, Todd Lewis, Whit Watson, Tom Abbott, Brandel Chamblee and Charlie Rymer.  PGA TOUR Professional Notah Begay, who made his on-air debut as a member of the network’s Live From the Masters broadcast team in April, returns as a studio analyst beginning Wednesday.

GolfChannel.com’s team of writers, as well as the on-air team, will contribute to the network’s popular blogs – Shag Bag and Punch Shots – with entries and posts throughout the week, along with daily columns, features and breaking news. Lerner, Tilghman, Rex Hoggard and Jay Coffin also will post twitter updates throughout the week, which will be re-posted on Golf Channel’s twitter feed.

Scheduled Live From the Ryder Cup features include:
·        Shot re-creations at Celtic Manor: Following each round of play Friday-Sunday, Frank Nobilo will break down the key moments at Celtic Manor.  Charlie Rymer and Brandel Chamblee also will examine the key shots using the network’s virtual simulator in-studio.
·        Corey Pavin One-on-One: U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Corey Pavin sits down with Steve Sands for a one-on-one interview to discuss his experience as captain leading into the Ryder Cup.
·        Colin Montgomerie One-on-One:  Rich Lerner sits down with European Ryder Cup team captain Colin Montgomerie to discuss the state of his game, his Ryder Cup experiences as a player and what the captaincy means to him.
·        U.S. Ryder Cup rookie Jeff Overton:  Tim Rosaforte sits down with U.S. Ryder Cup rookie Jeff Overton to discuss his Indiana roots and his excitement in competing in his first Ryder Cup.
·        2008 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger’s Winning Formula: Rich Lerner takes an in-depth look at 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Paul Azinger’s leadership in guiding Team U.S.A. to victory.
·        Tony Jacklin’s Lasting Ryder Cup Influence: Rich Lerner takes a look at how Tony Jacklin transformed the image and confidence of the once beleaguered European Ryder Cup team – both as a player and a captain – ultimately leading the Europeans to their first victory in 28 years as a captain in 1985.
·        1999 Ryder Cup Comeback:  Golf Channel will take a look back to the historic U.S. team comeback in Brookline to win the 1999 Ryder Cup.

Live From the Ryder Cup TV Times (all times ET)
Tuesday, Sept. 28: 12-3 p.m. (News Conferences); 6-6:30 p.m. (Golf Central)
Wednesday, Sept. 29: 12-3 p.m. (News Conferences); 7-9 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 30: 6-8 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 1: 1-2 p.m.; 6-8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 2: 6-8 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 3: 1-2 p.m.; 6-8 p.m.

About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.