Sunday, October 28, 2018

Golf Channel to Showcase 30 Hours of News, Tournament Coverage from 2018 East Lake Cup

Men’s Field: Alabama, Auburn, Duke, Oklahoma State;
Women’s Field: Alabama, Arizona, Stanford, USC

(ORLANDO, Fla.) – Golf Channel will dedicate 30 hours of news and tournament coverage to one of the final collegiate events of the 2018 fall season, the East Lake Cup collegiate match play championship, Monday-Wednesday, Oct. 29-31. Now entering its fourth year, the East Lake Cup features the eight semifinalists from the 2018 NCAA Division I men’s and women’s golf championships, taking place historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta and benefitting the East Lake Foundation.

REIGNING NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS HEADLINE ELITE FIELD: The men’s division of the East Lake Cup will include the reigning NCAA national champions and current top-ranked Oklahoma State University; 2018 NCAA runner-up and 2013-14 national champions University of Alabama; 2018 SEC conference champions Auburn University and the current No. 2 ranked team in the country, Duke University.

The women’s division will be headlined by reigning national champions University of Arizona, 2018 NCAA runner-up and current top-ranked University of Alabama, 2015 NCAA national champions Stanford University and two-time East Lake Cup champions University of Southern California.

The field also will feature several of the world’s top-ranked amateur golfers, including Oklahoma State’s Viktor Hovland (4) and Matthew Wolff (5), Alabama’s Davis Riley (10), Stanford’s Albane Valenzuela (5) and Andrea Lee (7), and Alabama’s Jiwon Jeon (8).

GOLF CHANNEL NEWS AND TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: Live tournament coverage of the East Lake Cup will air on Golf Channel from 3-6 p.m. ET Monday-Wednesday and will replay in primetime. In addition, Golf Central and Morning Drive will surround live tournament coverage with pre- and post-event news coverage.

BROADCAST TEAM: Golf Channel’s on-air team for the East Lake Cup will feature Bob Papa and Curt Byrum serving as play-by-play host and analyst from the 18th hole broadcast booth. Steve Burkowski will serve as a hole announcer, with Notah Begay, Billy Ray Brown and Kay Cockerill reporting from the course. Chantel McCabe will conduct interviews and report for Golf Central. Burkowski and Golf Channel Digital senior writer Ryan Lavner also will contribute to both Golf Central and Morning Drive throughout the week.

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE: Golf Channel’s on-site social media coverage will include dedicated Facebook Live activations, as well as Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter content via the network’s social media handles. Social media host Alexandra O’Laughlin will contribute to the network’s social media channels with live activations on-site with on-air personalities and players in the field. Golf Channel also will integrate social media into East Lake Cup live tournament coverage. Fans also can stay connected with the championship on social media using the hashtag #EastLakeCup.

News, instruction and tournament coverage of the East Lake Cup will be streamed live via Golf Channel Digital. Complete information on the East Lake Cup can be found on the tournament website here.

Golf Channel East Lake Cup News / Tournament Coverage (live, all times ET)
Oct. 29 Morning Drive 7-9 a.m.
Oct. 29 Golf Central Pre Game 2-3 p.m.
Oct. 29 Individual Stroke Play Championship 3-6 p.m. (live) / 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (replay)
Oct. 29 Golf Central 6-7 p.m.

Oct. 30 Morning Drive 7-9 a.m.
Oct. 30 Golf Central Pre Game 2-3 p.m.
Oct. 30 Semifinals, Match Play 3-6 p.m. (live) / 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (replay)
Oct. 30 Golf Central 6-7 p.m.

Oct. 31 Morning Drive 7-9 a.m.
Oct. 31 Golf Central Pre Game 2-3 p.m.
Oct. 31 Finals, Match Play 3-6 p.m. (live) / 10 p.m.-1 a.m. (replay)
Oct. 31 Golf Central 6-7 p.m.

FEATURES:
· Oklahoma State Sophomore Matthew Wolff – Ryan Lavner visits Stillwater, Okla., for a sit down with sophomore Matthew Wolff, who has finished 1st in each of his tournaments during the fall season. Wolfe discusses his unique swing and how he has overcome skeptics to become one of the top-ranked amateurs in the world.
· University of Arizona’s National Championship Run – Chantel McCabe revisits Arizona’s run at Karsten Creek in claiming their first team national championship since 2000, which featured a dramatic playoff to advance to match play and a playoff to win the national title.
· Southern California Sophomore Gabi Ruffels – Steve Burkowski examines the unlikely rise of Gabi Ruffels. A top-ranked junior tennis player who transitioned to golf in high school, Ruffels has blossomed from a 15-handicap four years ago to now a collegiate winner and an integral member of the Trojans.
· East Lake Foundation and History of East Lake Golf Club – East Lake Golf Club’s rich history and legacy was overshadowed by the deterioration of the community in the late 1980’s-1990’s. Golf Channel takes a look at the vision of Tom Cousins and the East Lake Foundation’s revitalization of the East Lake Community, which today is a benchmark for Purposed Built Communities currently in development nationwide.

TOM COUSINS AWARD PRESENTATION, MONDAY, OCT. 29: The East Lake Cup features the presentation of the Tom Cousins Award, an annual recognition of an outstanding collegiate golfer who exemplifies the values of the East Lake Foundation: excels in academics, is engaged in his or her community and demonstrates an ability to overcome adversity. The 2018 Tom Cousins Award presentation will take place at the East Lake Cup Celebration Monday night, Oct. 29 at East Lake. This award is named after Tom Cousins, founder of the East Lake Foundation, which transformed a community in despair into a thriving neighborhood, now a national model for community redevelopment through Purpose Built Communities.

FREE GENERAL ADMISSION FOR EAST LAKE CUP: General admission and parking for the East Lake Cup is free and open to the public. Complimentary tickets are available here and free parking is located at the Charles R Drew Charter School: 301 East Lake Blvd., Atlanta, Ga. Shuttle service will be provided to and from East Lake Golf Club.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: The East Lake Cup will be contested over three days, following the format from the NCAA men’s and women’s golf national championships. On Monday, Oct. 29, the eight teams will compete in individual stroke play competition to determine the individual champion and to seed for two days of match-play competition. Tuesday-Wednesday, Oct. 30-31, two match-play tournaments will be hosted simultaneously for the men’s and women’s divisions, with the semifinals taking place on Tuesday and the finals and consolation matches on Wednesday.

Teams for the East Lake Cup will compete on the championship golf course at East Lake Golf Club, home of the TOUR Championship, the season-ending event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs. The East Lake Cup benefits the East Lake Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to helping families build better lives and children reach their highest potential through its holistic approach to community revitalization incorporating mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education and community wellness. The East Lake Cup has raised nearly $1.5 million for the East Lake Foundation since its inception in 2015. Mercedes-Benz, CSX and Bridgestone Golf are sponsors for the East Lake Cup in 2018.

ABOUT THE EAST LAKE FOUNDATION
Founded in 1995 on the belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, the East Lake Foundation collaborates with public and private organizations to provide tools that enable Atlanta’s East Lake residents to build a better future through its model for community revitalization.
The East Lake model includes cradle-to-college education at Charles R. Drew Charter School and its early learning partners, mixed-income housing at The Villages of East Lake and community wellness through programs including The First Tee® of East Lake, the Resident and Community Support Program, and the Start:ME East Lake micro-entrepreneur program. This approach to building a strong community not only helps break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, but creates a place where people of all ages and incomes choose to live. East Lake has become a national model for holistic community revitalization programs through its sister organization, Purpose Built Communities. Additional information is available at www.eastlakefoundation.org.

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