Major Champions and Stars Highlight Full Day of Featured Groups Coverage on ESPN+
As the 103rd PGA Championship tees off on Thursday on The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina, ESPN and ESPN+ will bring golf fans an unprecedented array of live viewing options and hours across television and streaming platforms, the most ever for the historic golf major championship.
Beginning at 7 a.m. ET, viewers will be able to watch a full day of traditional coverage starting with the opening tee shots of the first round and continuing through the final putt of the day. ESPN+ will air from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m., with traditional coverage moving to ESPN from 1-7 p.m. (or until play concludes).
And highlighting some of golf’s most successful and popular players, ESPN+ will offer fans 12 continuous hours of exclusive Featured Group coverage from the first round with eight different groups during the day (four in the morning and four in the afternoon). Featured Group coverage on ESPN+, which is not available anywhere else, has been doubled on the two weekdays for this year.
The Featured Groups on ESPN+ will include the 8:33 a.m. grouping of Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka, all former PGA Championship winners, and the 8:44 a.m. grouping of the three most recent winners of golf majors – Collin Morikawa (2020 PGA Championship), Bryson DeChambeau (2020 U.S. Open) and Hideki Matsuyama (2021 Masters).
In the morning hours on Thursday, ESPN+ Featured Group coverage will be:
- 7:38 a.m. Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Tyrrell Hatton
- 8:22 a.m. Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Lee Westwood
- 8:33 a.m. Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
- 8:44 a.m. Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama
Later in the day on Thursday, Featured Group coverage will have:
- 1:14 p.m. Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Padraig Harrington
- 1:25 p.m. Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed
- 1:58 p.m. Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson, Will Zalatoris
- 2:09 p.m. Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Sergio Garcia
Also on Thursday, ESPN+ will offer Featured Holes coverage of Holes 16-17-18 beginning at 8:15 a.m.
During the traditional coverage on ESPN+ Thursday morning, ESPN on-course reporters will be walking with three of the top groups. Two-time U.S. Open winner Andy North will be following the McIlroy/Thomas/Kopeka group, while Colt Knost will be with the Morikawa/DeChambeau/Matsuyama group during its round. John Maginnes will report from the Schauffele/Hovland/Westwood group.
Thursday on ESPN, before live coverage begins at 1 p.m., SportsCenter at the PGA Championship will air from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with live updates, analysis and in-progress highlights. Matt Barrie and Sage Steele host, joined for analysis by former PGA of America President Suzy Whaley.
On Wednesday, ESPN+ will air Wednesday at the PGA Championship, a three-hour, live practice round/preview program. Michael Eaves will host the program with analyst Curtis Strange as well as ESPN’s reporters, all on location at Kiawah. The program will include coverage of select player news conferences as well as player interviews, live shots of player practice rounds and scenes from the driving range.
ESPN’s full coverage plans for the PGA Championship are available HERE.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 13.8 million subscribers.
Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu for $13.99/month (Hulu w/ads) or $19.99/month (Hulu w/o ads).
Thursday at the PGA Championship on ESPN Platforms
| Thursday, May 20 | First Round | 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. | ESPN+ |
| Featured Group 1 (one morning, one afternoon) | 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Featured Group 2 (one morning, one afternoon) | 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Featured Group 3 (one morning, one afternoon) | 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Featured Group 4 (one morning, one afternoon) | 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| PGA Coaching Live | 7-9 a.m. | ESPN+ | |
| Featured Holes – 16, 17, 18 | 8:15 a.m. – 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| SportsCenter at the PGA Championship | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. | ESPN | |
| PGA Coaching Live | Noon – 2 p.m. | ESPN+ | |
| ESPN Social Media PGA Championship Preview Show | 12:30-1 p.m. | ESPN Twitter, YouTube and Facebook | |
| First Round | 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. | ESPN | |
| First Round (encore) | 10 p.m. – 4 a.m. | ESPN2 |
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