Stellar Field at The Honda Classic Kicks Off Six Consecutive Tournament Weeks on Golf Channel and NBC

ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 22, 2016) – Coming off a dramatic victory by Bubba Watson on Sunday, the PGA TOUR moves east this week for the Florida Swing, with NBC Sports Group providing exclusive coverage of the next six weeks on the PGA TOUR beginning with The Honda Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 25-28.

Golf Channel and NBC will present nearly 20 live hours of The Honda Classic this week, beginning with a special Pro-Am show on Wednesday. Golf Channel will air four hours of live coverage on Thursday and Friday, followed by a combined five hours on Golf Channel and NBC on Saturday and Sunday.

The field will be headlined by 2012 Honda Classic champion Rory McIlroy and reigning PLAYERS champion Rickie Fowler, No. 3 and No. 5 in the current world golf rankings. Eleven of the top-20 players in the world are in the field, including No. 9 Patrick Reed, No. 10 Branden Grace, reigning Open Champion Zach Johnson and five-time Major Champion Phil Mickelson.

DAVID FEHERTY TO MAKE FLORIDA SWING BROADCAST DEBUT: David Feherty joined the NBC broadcast team exclusively in 2016 and will be a course reporter for Golf Channel and NBC’s weekend coverage of The Honda Classic. He will work a stretch of five consecutive weeks on Golf Channel and NBC rotating as a tower analyst and course reporter, including each of the Florida Swing events as well the WGC-Dell Match Play (March 23-27) in Austin, Texas.

HONDA CLASSIC BROADCAST TEAM: Leading weekend coverage will be Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller, who are in their 17th year as play-by-play announcer and lead analyst, the longest-tenured 18th-hole broadcasting tandem for any network. Joining Hicks and Miller will be Notah Begay, Feherty, Peter Jacobsen, Gary Koch, Roger Maltbie and Steve Sands.  Calling the action for Golf Channel’s early round coverage will be Rich Lerner and Koch, supported by the NBC crew, as well as Steve Burkowski reporting for Golf Central.

Mark Rolfing and Jimmy Roberts will join the broadcast team at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Terry Gannon (WGC-Cadillac, WGC-Dell Match Play), Bob Papa (Valspar Championship) and Whit Watson (Shell Houston Open) will rotate with Lerner in calling Golf Channel play-by-play duties.

MORNING DRIVE ON-LOCATION DURING FLORIDA SWING: Morning Drive, Golf Channel’s daily news and lifestyle show, will broadcast on-location for each of the Florida Swing events in addition to Studio AP in Golf Channel’s worldwide headquarters in Orlando, Fla.

The Honda Classic – Tournament Airtimes

  • Wednesday 5-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel Pro-Am coverage)
  • Thursday 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
  • Friday 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC)
  • Sunday 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
  • Sunday 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC)

A look ahead to the upcoming 2024 Masters Tournament!