With a history-making schedule showcasing women’s golf in one of the sport’s iconic venues, ESPN2 and WatchESPN will air four hours of live play in both of the first two rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open from North Carolina’s Pinehurst No. 2 on Thursday and Friday, June 19-20. Coverage will air from 3-7 p.m. ET each day.
Pinehurst No. 2 hosted the U.S. Open last week and history is being made as for the first time, the national championship events of both men’s and women’s golf are being held on back-to-back weeks at the same course.
Sean McDonough will anchor ESPN’s telecasts, joined for analysis by World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Rankin and two-time women’s major winner Dottie Pepper. ESPN’s U.S. Women’s Open team for the Thursday and Friday telecasts also will include two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North, who will report from the course.
The U.S. Women’s Open on ESPN Digital Platforms
WatchESPN
All Women’s U.S. Open programming on ESPN2 is also available via WatchESPN on computers, smartphones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast (via the WatchESPN app), Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is currently accessible in more than 67.5 million households nationwide to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from AT&T U-verse® TV, Bright House Networks, Cablevision’s Optimum TV, Charter, Comcast Xfinity TV, Cox, DISH, Google Fiber, Midcontinent Communications, NRTC, Time Warner Cable or Verizon FiOS TV.
espnW.com
espnW.com will provide extensive coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open, with preview content having begun Sunday, June 15. Reporter Mechelle Voepel is writing daily features from the site and ESPN.com senior golf analyst Michael Collins is producing daily video packages. ESPN golf analyst Dottie Pepper also is contributing to the preview content and will lend her voice and analysis in the wrap-up. espnW.com will also have a live scoreboard with hole-by-hole updates.
This year’s event is unique in that it will be played on the same course as the men’s U.S. Open in consecutive weeks. That raises many questions about course preparation for the women. Collins explores the topic in a video package and espnW will follow up at the end of the tournament to determine if the experiment was a success.
The centerpiece feature leading up to the event, “American Champions in the U.S. Women’s Open,’’ highlights the efforts of five great American champions through video and written content. This package kicked off Sunday, June 15, and runs through Thursday, the first day of play. Pepper provides analysis and perspective for the videos and Voepel and Melissa Isaacson capture the players’ impressions of their championships. Champions are Hollis Stacy, Patty Sheehan, Meg Mallon, Juli Inkster and Paula Creamer.
Following this theme, espnW.com will explore if this will be the Year of the Americans. An American has not won the U.S. Women’s Open since Creamer in 2010, but they’re winning with regularity on the tour this year, with eight titles in 14 events.
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Media Contact: Andy Hall, 386-492-2246 or [email protected]
