As the PGA TOUR’s best look to unseat FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland, fans will have unparalleled access to the sights and sounds of the FedExCup Playoffs through new on-site and virtual activations and programming.
Setting up the excitement for this year’s postseason – the 18th edition of the FedExCup Playoffs – the TOUR is showcasing the expressive style of illustrator and designer Dan Leydon, whose dynamic illustrations of the final 70 players who qualify for the Playoffs will be utilized across all TOUR platforms and in broadcast graphics. Additionally, the postseason TV campaign will continue to be voiced by actor Jeremy Renner, most notably known for his work in The Hurt Locker, The Town, The Avengers and Mayor of Kingstown.
Enhanced coverage and insight
To kick off the postseason, PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will feature YouTube golf personalities Grant Horvat and ‘the Bryan Bros,’ George and Wesley Bryan, hosting a special alternate stream during Thursday and Friday coverage of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, August 15-16, from 12-2 p.m. ET. The Bryan Bros will be in the PGA TOUR LIVE Studios in St. Augustine, Florida, while Horvat will serve as an on-course reporter in Memphis.
On the eve of the TOUR Championship comes the first Creator Classic presented by Blackstone, a nine-hole golf competition featuring prominent content creators, set to take place on the newly restored back nine of East Lake Golf Club. The individual stroke play event, set for August 28 at 4 p.m. ET, will feature 16 of the biggest names in golf social media, including Tyler Toney from Dude Perfect, the Bryan Bros, Fat Perez from Bob Does Sports, and Good Good creators Garrett Clark, Brad Dalke and Sean Walsh. The event will be livestreamed via the PGA TOUR’s YouTube channel, Peacock, ESPN+, as well as the PGA TOUR channel on FAST platforms like PlutoTV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi and XUMO. The event is open to anyone with a Wednesday ticket to the TOUR Championship.
Following the successful launch of live moving drone tracing at the Travelers Championship, similar technology will continue throughout all three FedExCup Playoffs events on Golf Channel and NBC Sports. Starting at the BMW Championship, the TOUR and NBC Sports, alongside Bolt6 and Virtual Eye, will debut Augmented Reality (AR) graphics from the live moving drone. This enhancement will also be deployed at the TOUR Championship presented by Accenture, Coca-Cola and Southern Company as well as at the Presidents Cup, to be contested September 23-29 at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Domestically, the three FedExCup Playoffs will include more than 400 hours of live coverage on NBC, Golf Channel, Peacock and PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+, in addition to PGA TOUR Radio coverage on SiriusXM. Internationally, the Playoffs will broadcast in 30 languages to more than 200 countries and territories, with exposure for the Playoffs highlighted by on-site localized coverage for fans in the U.K., Japan, Canada and pan-regionally in Europe. For the first time, the final round of the TOUR Championship will also be available via free-to-air channels across all Scandinavian markets (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland). Additionally, all four PGA TOUR LIVE feeds will be made available for every Playoffs event for fans in the U.K. on the Sky Sports+ digital product. Sky’s coverage will include studio production with AR elements and commentary from talent on-course, with the Sky Cart used for analysis and interviews at the TOUR Championship.
Support programming includes the popular golf podcast The Smylie Show, hosted by PGA TOUR winner and NBC/Golf Channel commentator Smylie Kaufman, which will offer multiple episodes from each Playoffs site. Alongside co-host Charlie Hulme, The Smylie Show will feature tournament previews, recaps and player interviews from all three tournament sites, with all episodes airing on YouTube and the SportsGrid Network.
Also, for the first time, Golf Channel Live will broadcast on-site from all three FedExCup Playoffs events, while On The Range presented by Maestro Dobel—which offers a sneak peek at what players are working on prior to competition—will air on Golf Channel each Wednesday during the Playoffs.
New gaming options
As the FedExCup Playoffs begin with the FedEx St. Jude Championship, fans can take their best shot at predicting the final top 30 athletes in the FedExCup Standings through Perfect 30, golf’s version of achieving a perfect bracket during March Madness. The game, which opens when play concludes at the Wyndham Championship, sees users select which players they believe will comprise the final 30 spots at the season-ending TOUR Championship, in order. Picks will lock once play starts at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, with points awarded for correct players picked inside the top 30 and bonus points awarded for correct rankings and long-shot selections. In addition to ultimate bragging rights for perfection – or something close to it – the top 10 finishers will earn prizes in partnership with PGA TOUR Superstores.
New to this year’s FedExCup Playoffs for fans is Crown the Champ Challenge presented by FedEx, a three-week series on the DraftKings platform where contestants predict the outcomes of several prop-like questions about that week’s event. The winners of the pool will split a $5,000 cash prize per contest.
For fans looking to take their gaming to the next level, qualification is now underway on the GOLF+ platform for the VR FedExCup Playoffs, where 1.5 million virtual reality golfers will have a chance to compete in their own version of the FedExCup Playoffs. This year, GOLF+ is adding Colorado’s Castle Pines Golf Club—site of the 2024 BMW Championship—to the rotation. GOLF+ sets itself apart from console or mobile gaming platforms by fully immersing players in the same conditions as the pros, offering a fresh perspective on the challenges faced by TOUR professionals. Golfers looking to take part in the action can download GOLF+ through the Meta Quest VR Platform.
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