Live Major golf back on the BBC

It has been announced by the BBC that they will broadcast live coverage of the final Major of the season, the US PGA Championship in August across TV, radio and online. The event, which takes place from 10-13 August at the Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, will be the first time the organisation have shown all four days live at a Major since the 2015 Open at St Andrews

Live coverage will begin on iPlayer, online and the red button, with the conclusion of each day’s play shown on BBC Two.

“We are delighted to be able to offer golf fans free-to-air TV coverage of the US PGA Championship, said BBC Sport director Barbara Slater. “It brings together the best players in the world over four exciting days of action.”

Sky were due to show the event but when it became clear that their deal with the USPGA had broken down the BBC stepped forward. Sky recently announced a dedicated golf channel on their sports network but according to reports in The Telegraph the broadcaster could face a battle to keep all the action it is interested in, with BT Sport interested in getting the rights to the Master’s and Sky’s US Open deal having expired and not yet been renewed.

Sky have been praised for their coverage of golf, but the lack of free to air national exposure has been a concern for many in the game. For example, At last year’s Open, the Guardian claim that Sky’s first-day audience high-point was 347,000. BBC’s equivalent figure at St Andrews the year before was 1.5 million.