2011 British Open golf tournament July 14-17 on ESPN

Click here for the 2012 British Open TV schedule.

Golf’s best head to the southern coast of England for the year’s third major, the British Open — or, yes, we know, “The Open Championship” as it is now officially known — held at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich. (Mmm … sandwich.) Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson and Graeme McDowell are among the contenders to capture the famed Claret Jug (Tiger Woods withdrew due to injury.) For more on this year’s contenders, check out our British Open preview. Last year, Lodewicus “Louis” Theodorus Oosthuizen (great name!) of South Africa won his first career major with a convincing 7-stroke victory.

ESPN airs all four rounds July 14-17. Of course, you’ll have to rise and shine to catch the tournament, as live coverage begins at 4am ET for Rounds 1 and 2, 7am ET for Round 3 and 6am ET for the Final Round.

GOLF CHANNEL also has plenty of complementary coverage surrounding the Open. Press releases and schedules from ESPN and GOLF CHANNEL below.

All Rounds of The Open Championship Live on ESPN Platforms

All-Star Analyst Team Includes 14 Major Golf Championships

ESPN will present complete live four-round coverage from golf’s oldest major tournament, The Open Championship, at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England, with 37 hours of live television on July 14-17. ESPN’s all-star lineup of analysts and commentators, who hold a combined 14 major golf championships, will anchor 68 total hours of TV and extensive multiplatform coverage.

Serving sports fans with live programming despite the time zone differences, ESPN, ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV will have 11 scheduled hours of live coverage of each of the first two rounds of the 151st anniversary tournament on Thursday and Friday, July 14-15, from 4 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET. Saturday’s third round will have live coverage from 7 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and Sunday’s final round will air live from 6 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Golf fans unable to watch the live coverage will be able to see The Best of The Open Championship, an edited encore presentation, on ESPN in prime time each night from 7-10 p.m. (on ESPN2 on Sunday). Highlights of each day’s play also will air in The Open Championship Today from 3-6 p.m. Thursday and Friday on ESPN and Saturday and Sunday on ABC. The Open Championship has appeared on ABC every year since 1966.

ESPN’s flagship news and information program, SportsCenter, will originate from the tournament site with a one-hour special SportsCenter at The Open Championship program on Wednesday, July 13, at 2 p.m. as well as extensive reports throughout each day.

For the 15th consecutive year, Mike Tirico will host ESPN’s live telecasts from The Open Championship. ESPN’s team will include five-time Open Championship winner Tom Watson (eight major titles), two-time U.S. Open champions Curtis Strange and Andy North, 1993 PGA champion Paul Azinger and 1973 Open Champion Tom Weiskopf. The BBC’s legendary golf announcer Peter Alliss also will contribute to ESPN’s coverage.

Scott Van Pelt and Terry Gannon also will serve as hosts, with Van Pelt, Strange and Sean McDonough working as hole announcers. On-course reporters will be North, Bill Kratzert and Olin Browne, while reporter Tom Rinaldi will conduct interviews and ESPN The Magazine’s Rick Reilly will present essays.

ESPN’s technology for The Open Championship will include “Perfect Path,” which tracks drives on five holes from behind and in front of the drive, and “Putt Zone,” which shows the path the player needs to hole a putt. Putt Zone will be used on the 4th, 9th and 13th holes. ESPN will have 42 dedicated cameras to complement the world feed and will utilize announcer touch screens for scoring information, course maps, and weather as well as ORAD, an enhanced telestrator for analysis.

Actor Ian McShane, one of the stars of the Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, again lends his voice to ESPN’s opening teases.

Among features that will be presented during ESPN’s coverage of The Open Championship is an ESPN Sport Science piece on playing golf in the wind, a factor that all competitors in the event have to deal with. Other features will focus on U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy as well as the engraver of the Open Championship’s famous Claret Jug trophy. In addition, ESPN will air a tribute to three-time champion Seve Ballesteros, who died earlier this year.

The Open Championship on ESPN Online

In addition to television coverage, there will be extensive Open Championship offerings for fans online and via mobile platforms across ESPN.com, ESPN3.com, espnW.com and ESPNnetworks.com.

ESPN.com

• Columns/articles by national columnist Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com golf writer Bob Harig and ESPN The Magazine’s Rick Reilly.
• In-depth feature by Wojciechowski on U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy, written after spending time with McIlroy in London and with family/friends in McIlroy’s native Northern Ireland.
• Harig feature on Ben Curtis, the unlikely winner of the last Open Championship held at Royal St George’s
• “Digital Drive,” an exclusive ESPN.com program hosted by Rick Reilly, produced each day Tuesday-Sunday of the tournament.
• Extensive video content, including highlights, analysis, clips from SportsCenter and press conferences each day during tournament week.
• ESPN.com GolfCast application featuring live scoring, social media integration and CoverItLive analysis daily with ESPN’s golf team.
• A golf-themed fantasy game – the third installment of the ESPN Best Ball Challenge
  ESPN3.com

In addition to the simulcast of ESPN’s live coverage of all four rounds of The Open Championship, ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband sports network, will offer several unique views for golf fans. Viewers can watch action on the 1st and 18th holes at Royal St George’s Golf Club on ESPN3.com as well as action on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes. ESPN3.com also will offer a Spanish-language telecast and an international view of the championship via BBC telecast.

espnW.com

ESPN’s first dedicated content and digital business designed to serve, inform and inspire female athletes and fans, espnW.com will preview The Open Championship with writings by golf contributors Lewine Mair and Mick Elliott. In addition to daily reports, planned items include:

• A signature of espnW – the Top 5 storylines to watch at The Open Championship
• Players to watch, and who could surprise
• A comparison of fans at the Open Championship with galleries in America
• The extreme weather possibilities and how conditions have affected the Open through the years.

ESPNnetworks.com

All Open Championship programming on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com will also be available on computers, smartphones and tablets through ESPNnetworks.com and the free WatchESPN app, which are accessible to fans who receive their video service from an affiliated provider.

Additional coverage of The Open Championship on ESPN platforms:

ESPN International

Coverage of The Open Championship on ESPN platforms will reach some 70 countries and more than 112 million international households, with coverage in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin and Cantonese. Latin America will also offer HD coverage and streaming via ESPN Play (broadband) simulcasting live TV and ESPN3.com exclusive feeds and ESPN Extra will offer The Open Championship Mix interactive TV experience for all four rounds available on DirecTV. ESPN in the UK will air four 1-hour highlight programs Thursday-Sunday in HD.

ESPNEWS

ESPNEWS will offer all the latest Open Championship news beginning Wednesday, July 13, with interviews, pre- and post-round news conferences and analysis.

ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic will feature 35 consecutive hours of classic Open Championship golf films leading into live coverage of the first round of the event on ESPN. The Open Championship Golf Marathon begins Tuesday, July 12, at 4 p.m. and runs through Thursday, July 14, at 4 a.m. Included will be a three-hour tribute to the late Seve Ballesteros, three-time champion, starting at 9 p.m. on July 12.

ESPN on Demand

Available to approximately 38 million television households, and on approximately 10 million mobile handsets, ESPN On Demand will offer exclusive Open Championship content, including official films from past Championships at St Andrews in 2005 (Tiger Woods), 2000 (Woods) and 1995 (John Daly). Also available will be official film of Woods’ victory in 2006 at Royal Liverpool. Viewers will also be able to watch a 2011 Open Championship highlight film beginning July 19.

ESPN Mobile TV

ESPN Mobile TV will offer live simulcasts of ESPN’s live telecasts and encore presentations along with news and highlights on the ESPN mobile website with a leaderboard, Open Championship Insider content, news, and columns.

Interactive Television

The four-screen Open Championship Experience will air on DirecTV (channels 701-705) for all four days of the championship. One channel will carry the live ESPN television coverage, while another will offer a different view with the BBC/World coverage. The other two channels will offer alternating coverage from the opening and closing holes and alternating coverage of holes 14, 15 and 16.

The Open Championship – Royal St George’s Golf Club, Sandwich, England

(All times ET)
Wed., July 13    SportsCenter at The Open Championship    2 p.m.       ESPN2
Thu., July 14    First Round    4 a.m.        ESPN. ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile TV
Thu., July 14    The Open Championship Today    3 p.m.        ESPN
Thu., July 14    Best of The Open Championship    7 p.m.        ESPN
Fri., July 15    Second Round    4 a.m.       ESPN, ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile TV
Fri., July 15    The Open Championship Today    3 p.m.       ESPN
Fri., July 15    Best of The Open Championship    7 p.m.       ESPN
Sat., July 16    Best of The Open Championship    4 a.m.       ESPN2
Sat., July 16    Third Round    7 a.m.        ESPN, ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile TV
Sat., July 16    The Open Championship Today    3 p.m.       ABC
Sat., July 16    Best of The Open Championship    7 p.m.      ESPN
Sun., July 17    Final Round    6 a.m.       ESPN, ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile TV
Sun., July 17    The Open Championship Today    3 p.m.       ABC
Sun., July 17    Best of The Open Championship    7 p.m.       ESPN2
Mon., July 18    Best of The Open Championship    1 p.m.        ESPN2

More than 25 Hours of Live News Coverage From Orlando and Royal St. George’s

Morning Drive Expands Coverage Wednesday-Friday

David Feherty Returns as Contributing Analyst

Wall-to-Wall Coverage on GolfChannel.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 12, 2011) – Golf Channel will deliver more than 25 hours of comprehensive news coverage of this week’s Open Championship from Royal St. George’s, featuring live news reports, inside analysis, player interviews, special guest appearances and compelling features of the men’s third major championship of 2011.

More than 25 Hours of News Coverage: Golf Channel’s news coverage of the Open Championship will be headlined by Live From Royal St. George’s, the network’s signature news program from golf’s major championships. Wednesday, Live From Royal St. George’s will air a two-hour pre-tournament news conference show at 2 p.m. ET, followed by a two-hour prime-time show at 6 p.m. ET. Thursday-Sunday, Live From will provide two-hour shows in prime time after tournament play. Morning Drive, the network’s live, weekday morning show, will expand to four hours Wednesday-Friday (7-11 a.m. ET), featuring pre-event news conferences, phone interviews and leader board updates from Royal St. George’s. The Grey Goose 19th Hole also will air at a special time on Wednesday (8:30-9:30 p.m. ET) featuring Golf Channel analyst David Feherty and LPGA Tour Professional Christina Kim as guest panelists.

Live From Royal St. George’s: Live From Royal St. George’s will originate both on-site from Sandwich, England, and from the network’s Orlando Studios, featuring player interviews and analysis, leader board updates and daily features from Golf Channel’s team of anchors, reporters and contributors. (Complete airtimes appear at the end of the release)

Live From Royal St. George’s Broadcast Team: David Feherty will return as a contributing analyst for Golf Channel’s Live From coverage throughout the week from the network’s Orlando studios. Joining Feherty on the broadcast team from Orlando will include Kelly Tilghman, Rich Lerner, Kraig Kann, Todd Lewis, Brandel Chamblee, Charlie Rymer and John Hawkins.

Reporting from Royal St. George’s will include Steve Sands, Frank Nobilo, Tom Abbott, Tim Rosaforte, Alex Miceli, Rex Hoggard, Jay Coffin, Jason Sobel, Randall Mell and Ken Schofield.

Live From Royal St. George’s Scheduled Features:

• Don Cheadle Voices Open Championship Moments – Academy-award nominee Don Cheadle will voice a number of “Open Championship Moments” that will air throughout the week.
• Mark Roe 2003 Open Championship Heartbreak – Tom Abbott visits with former European Tour Professional Mark Roe to reflect on his 2003 Open Championship disqualification at Royal St. George’s.
• Charl Schwartzel Feature – Tim Rosaforte will sit down with 2011 Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel in a personality profile feature.
• Peter Alliss, Reflects on the Open Championship – Abbott will visit with longtime BBC golf commentator Peter Alliss.
• Rory McIlroy – Kelly Tilghman takes a closer look at the sudden rise of Rory McIlroy.

Morning Drive Expands Coverage Wed-Fri: Wednesday-Friday, Morning Drive will expand to four hours (7-11 a.m. ET) featuring leader board updates and phone interviews from on-site at Royal St. George’s. Steve Sands, Tim Rosaforte, Rex Hoggard, Jason Sobel and Ken Schofield will contribute from Royal St. George’s throughout the week for Morning Drive. (Complete airtimes appear at the end of the release)
Wall-to-Wall Coverage on GolfChannel.com: GolfChannel.com will feature expanded editorial content and interactive capabilities with fans timed to the Open Championship, including:

Blogs & Live Chats

• Jason Sobel will blog each day of the competition to keep fans up to date as the action unfolds.
• John Hawkins will chat with fans live following the conclusion of play each afternoon.

Editorial Coverage

• Jason Sobel, Rex Hoggard, Randall Mell, Jay Coffin and Ryan Ballengee will contribute to the newly formed GolfTalkCentral blog, along with daily columns, news articles, features and breaking news on GolfChannel.com.
• Hoggard and Coffin traveled to Northern Ireland in advance of the Open Championship, where they filed a runninig blog for three days on their travels, including preview stories from their time at Holywood Golf Club, where Rory McIlroy grew up and learned the game.

Exclusive Online Video Content

• Updates from Golf Channel’s Live From team will be available each day at GolfChannel.com.

Open Championship Week Programming (all times ET)

Wednesday, July 13
Morning Drive 7-11 a.m.
Grey Goose 19th Hole 8:30-9:30 p.m.
Live From Royal St. George’s 2-4 p.m. (news conferences)
Live From Royal St. George’s 6-8 p.m.

Thursday-Friday, July 14-15
Morning Drive 7-11 a.m.
Live From Royal St. George’s 7-9 p.m.

Saturday, July 16
Live From the Royal St. George’s 7-9 p.m.

Sunday, July 17
Live From Royal St. George’s 1:30-2 p.m.
Live From Royal St. George’s 7-9 p.m.