Golf Channel Joins NBC Sports in Celebration of Super Bowl XLIX Week

With the PGA TOUR in Phoenix, Golf Central Will Report from Custom Set Built Inside the Famous 16th Hole ‘Coliseum’ at TPC Scottsdale

(ORLANDO, Fla.) – As NBC prepares for its exclusive presentation of the biggest sporting event of the year – Super Bowl XLIX – NBC Sports Group’s Golf Channel also will present marquee events and themed programming from Phoenix, Ariz., to celebrate the week, Jan. 26-Feb. 1.

* Golf Central Live from the Famous 16th Hole at TPC Scottsdale:
Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 27, Golf Channel will take its Golf Central news show on the road to the site of the PGA TOUR’s best-attended event of the year, the Waste Management Phoenix Open, which regularly attracts upwards of 500,000 spectators. Golf Central will broadcasting from a custom-designed set inside what has become popularly known as “The Coliseum,” the famous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale and loudest hole in golf, where more than 25,000 rowdy spectators surrounding the hole will serve as the show’s backdrop.

On Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. ET, an extended version of Golf Central will showcase the Phoenix Suns Shot at Glory, an entertaining closest-to-the-pin contest for charity featuring celebrities, business leaders and Wounded Warriors. Taking place on the famous 16th hole, participants not only have the pressure of the shot, but they also have to perform in front of thousands of people on golf’s loudest hole. Past winners include rock star Alice Cooper (2010), country star Dierks Bentley (2013) and Phoenix Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman (2014). Expected to participate is Old Tom Morris, the character spokesperson seen in popular commercials for GolfNow, Golf Channel’s industry-leading online tee time booking platform.

Golf Channel will carry live, early round coverage of the Waste Management Phoenix Open from TPC Scottsdale, on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 29-30, from 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET; as well as live, lead-in coverage on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, from 1-2:30 p.m. ET. Headlining the field of players are three-time champion Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar.

* NBC Sports’ Al Michaels Kicks Off Season Five of Feherty:
On Monday, Jan. 26 at 9 p.m. ET, season five of Feherty will begin with a visit with Al Michaels, legendary sportscaster and play-by-play commentator for Sunday Night Football on NBC, as well as NBC’s coverage of Super Bowl XLIX. David Feherty and Michaels discuss a career in sports that spans nearly 50 years highlighted by Super Bowls, World Series, Stanley Cup Finals and great Olympic moments, including his call at the historic “Miracle on Ice” game between the United States and the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. Michaels’ book, “You Can’t Make This Up,” currently is a New York Times best seller.

* Feherty Live Returns to the Super Bowl:
Emmy-nominated David Feherty is ready to unleash the wit, wackiness and an unconventional interview style during Super Bowl week that has earned his show critical acclaim, with two Feherty Live stage shows originating from Phoenix, Ariz. Featuring guests from the worlds of golf, the NFL and entertainment, both shows also will air live on Golf Channel, Wednesday, Jan. 28, and Thursday, Jan. 29 at 10 p.m. ET.

Feherty has been described as one of the “funniest men in the game” by Yahoo! Sports and these two shows will mark his sixth and seventh live performances on Golf Channel, and the second time from a Super Bowl host city. In 2012 in Indianapolis, Feherty brought down the house with football greats Joe Theismann, Steve Mariucci and Tim Tebow at the height of Tebow-mania.

This year, an expected live audience of 1,000 fans will rock the historic Orpheum Theater in downtown Phoenix for each Feherty Live show. MCA recording artist and country singer-songwriter Josh Kelley will return as musical entertainment.

* #FindingFeherty Scavenger Hunt:
Phoenix-area residents will have the opportunity to win tickets to a Feherty Live show, as well as meet David Feherty, through a social media scavenger hunt titled #FindingFeherty. Starting Jan. 21 and leading up to the first performance of Feherty Live on Jan. 28, Golf Channel will give away 49 pairs of tickets, which will be hidden in high-trafficked, public places in the Phoenix area. Clues to finding the tickets will be sent out via Golf Channel’s Twitter and Instagram feeds. One pair of tickets will be “golden tickets,” which will include – in addition to complimentary admission to a Feherty Live show – a chance to meet David Feherty in person, a free foursome round of golf courtesy of GolfNow, and tickets to the Golf Central set at the 16th hole “Coliseum” at the PGA TOUR’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.

* Time for GolfNow:
The industry’s leading online, tee time service, GolfNow – part of Golf Channel’s suite of digital businesses utilizing technology to encourage more golfers to play more golf – will have a major presence in Phoenix, a top-10 market in the United States for total number of golfers. Partner course operators, as well as GolfNow’s most engaged golf bookers in the region will be invited to enjoy the Waste Management Phoenix Open for the company’s Customer Appreciate Day. Activities include invitations to go inside Golf Central’s “Super Suite” from the 16th hole “Coliseum,” attend a Feherty Live performance, and cheer on GolfNow’s beloved Old Tom Morris character during the tournament’s Shot at Glory charity contest. GolfNow also will host an expo booth on the grounds of TPC Scottsdale where it will showcase a selection of mobile apps, including GolfNow, Golf Channel Academy – and GolfAdvisor.com, Golf Channel’s new golf course recommendation site for golfers, by golfers.