DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., March 10, 2016 - The final round of the 2016 Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I will air live on CBS Sports from 4-6 p.m. ET on July 17, 2016, the LPGA announced Thursday. This announcement ensures that for four consecutive weeks in July, starting with the U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA and concluding with the RICOH Women’s British Open, women’s golf will be telecast live on network television.
“Our team has been focused on expanding our network TV coverage, which gives us a chance to showcase the LPGA to a much broader audience to attract more casual fans,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “Adding CBS to the Tour’s schedule is an incredible addition, and we realize that this would not have been possible without the tremendous support of Marathon Petroleum. They continue to raise the bar in Toledo, and to help make women’s golf a priority on the sports landscape.”
Longtime CBS Sports play-by-play voice Bill Macatee will call the final-round action with Dottie Pepper joining him in the booth as the lead analyst. The first three rounds will be broadcast on Golf Channel, with Golf Channel producing all four days of coverage.
“We are committed to furthering the popularity of the LPGA and this broadcast is one of the many ways we can do so,” said Tom Kelley, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Marathon Petroleum Corporation. “This enhanced exposure to the Marathon Classic and northwest Ohio will bring nationwide attention to the LPGA and its players.”
The Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I becomes the seventh event in 2016 that will be on network television for at least the final round, up from just two events in 2011. Women’s golf will now be featured on all four major networks for the first time in the Tour’s history. NBC will cover the weekend of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Sunday of the UL International Crown, the weekend of the RICOH Women’s British Open and Sunday of the Evian Championship. ABC will again broadcast the final round of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, and the U.S. Women’s Open, a USGA championship, will be broadcast on Fox for the second consecutive year. In addition to the surge in network opportunities, the LPGA Tour’s television hours have nearly doubled over the last four years with a record of more than 400 hours of the world’s best female golfers performing in front of a global audience in 2016.
“I’m excited that we’ve gone from two events in 2011 to now having seven on network television in 2016. For four straight weeks this summer, in the weeks leading up to golf’s return to the Olympics in August, we’ll showcase the best females in the game on network television,” Whan added. “We’re excited to have the game’s biggest moments on the biggest stages shown to an even bigger and broader audience.”
Since its inception in 1984, the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I has become a staple on LPGA Tour players schedules and is set to take place July 14-17 at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio. Last year, Chella Choi outlasted Ha Na Jang in a one-hole playoff for her first career LPGA Tour victory. The event annually features 144 of the LPGA Tour’s best and will come this year on the heels of the U.S. Women’s Open, which the USGA will bring to CordeValle for the first time.
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