MUMBAI, July 14: Ten Sports, the world's number one sports channel for south Asians, will telecast live the John Deere Classic, which features the world number two women’s player, Michelle Wie, and Indian stars Arjun Atwal and Daniel Chopra.
The John Deere Classic assumes added significance for the players on the PGA Tour as it is the last event and the last chance for players to find their form before the British Open, the third major of the year which starts at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake from July 20.
The tournament will be played at the TPC of Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, from Thursday, July 13. However, live coverage of the tournament on Ten Sports will only be during the weekend. It will start at 11:30 pm (IST) on Saturday, July 15, and the final round at 12:30 am on Monday, July 17.
With two famous golfing sons of India in the field – Atwal of Kolkata and the Swedish Chopra, who honed his skills at the Delhi Golf Club – the Indian interest will be high in the tournament. And to add to the excitement, both the players have been paired together on the opening two days.
Wie, who made the cut the last time she played with men – at the SK Telecom Open on the Asian PGA Tour – will be aiming for her first weekend round on the PGA Tour. Last year, playing the same tournament, she was well within the cut line before a late double bogey ruined her chances.
The live telecast of the John Deere Classic follows Ten Sports’ recent signing of an exclusive deal with the US PGA Tour, which makes it the home for the world’s biggest golf tour in the sub-continent. With Ten Sports also having the exclusive rights for the European PGA Tour, the world’s second biggest Tour after the US PGA, and the Indian PGA Tour, the channel has the most complete bouquet of golf for the growing number of fans in the sub-continent.
Apart from the various Tours, Ten Sports also has exclusive rights to the PGA Championship, the fourth and final major of the year.
ABOUT TEN SPORTS: Only launched in April 2002, Taj TV’s Ten Sports is watched by more viewers than any other sports channel in the sub-continent and is available in nearly 50 million cable/ satellite households worldwide. In just a short span of three years, Ten Sports has also become the world’s biggest producers of cricket. The Channel broadcasts cricket from Sharjah, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco throughout the Indian sub-continent and Asia, as well as in Europe and the Middle East. Other cricket properties broadcast by Ten Sports in certain territories include internationals from India, the World Cup 2003 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2004.
