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ESPN is expanding its coverage of next week’s PGA Championship, the company announced on Thursday. 

This comes in the second year of ESPN’s 11-year-deal with the Championship. 

“With more than 229 hours of live play across ESPN and ESPN+ during the four days of the championship (up from 134 hours last year), fans will get traditional coverage as well as exclusive Featured Groups and Featured Hole presentations. In addition, ESPN’s signature news and information program SportsCenter will have reports from Kiawah for the entire week of the event,” writes ESPN in a press release distributed Thursday morning. 

This year’s coverage is a 70% increase from last year, as far as, live hours. 

ESPN’s Coverage 

(The following is from ESPN’s press release) 

Thursday and Friday

ESPN and ESPN+ will have 12 hours of live play each day from the first and second rounds of the championship on Thursday and Friday, May 20-21. As was the case last year, ESPN+ will open the coverage with the first tee shot both days at 7 a.m. ET, which had never been done for the event until last year, and continue to follow play with traditional coverage from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. each day. Live play then shifts to ESPN from 1-7 p.m. both days.

Featured Group coverage on ESPN+, which is not available anywhere else, has been doubled on the two weekdays for this year with eight groups per day on Thursday and Friday (four in the morning and four in the afternoon). Featured Holes coverage has also been expanded to include all four days of the event as well as multiple holes. On Thursday and Friday, Holes 16-17-18 will be featured from 8:15 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday

ESPN and ESPN+ will offer golf fans five hours of live coverage from morning and early afternoon play on both Saturday and Sunday, May 22-23, as well as exclusive Featured Group and Featured Hole coverage all day both days.

On both days of the weekend, traditional coverage will stream live on ESPN+ from 8-10 a.m., with ESPN continuing the coverage from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Both Saturday and Sunday, ESPN+ will again offer exclusive Featured Group coverage throughout the day (four morning groups, two afternoon groups). Additionally, ESPN+ will bring live, exclusive Featured Holes coverage of Holes 15-16-17 on both weekend days. Start times for Featured Group and Featured Hole coverage will be dependent upon tee times and the cut size and will continue on ESPN+ until the end of play.

The 103rd PGA Championship has live, first tee to final putt coverage for only the second time in its history, with CBS airing afternoon play Saturday and Sunday, while exclusive Featured Group and Featured Holes coverage continues streaming on ESPN+. ESPN returned to the PGA Championship last year for the first time in 30 years, having last aired the event in 1990.

Commentators and Analysts

Scott Van Pelt will anchor live play coverage on ESPN and ESPN+, joined in the 18th tower for analysis by former world No. 1 David Duval. Hole announcers will be Sean McDonough, Curtis Strange, Bob Wischusen and Dave Flemming while Michael Eaves, Gene Wojciechowski and Marty Smith will conduct player interviews. On-course reporters will be Andy North, Billy Kratzert, Colt Knost, Suzy Whaley and John Maginnes. The CBS announce crew will call play for three hours each day on Thursday and Friday.

Featured Group feeds will be hosted by George Savaricas, Luke Elvy, Will Haskett, Dave Feldman and Peter Burns with analysts Scott Verplank, Mark Wilson, Mark Brooks and Stuart Appleby. On-course reporters for Featured Groups will be Ned Michaels, Gary Christian, Jane Crafter, Chantel McCabe, Chris Como and Michael Collins.

Announcers for the Featured Holes stream on ESPN+ will include Michael Eaves, Matt Barrie, Wischusen, Flemming, Kratzert, Maginnes and Wojciechowski.

ESPN+ Practice Round/Preview Programs Tuesday-Wednesday

ESPN+ will air Tuesday at the PGA Championship and Wednesday at the PGA Championship, a pair of three-hour live practice round/preview programs that will begin at noon ET each day. Michael Eaves will host the programs with analyst Curtis Strange as well as ESPN’s reporters, all on location at Kiawah. The programs will include coverage of select player news conferences as well as player interviews, live shots of player practice rounds and scenes from the driving range.

Player groupings for the PGA Championship will be revealed on Tuesday and will be announced during that day’s preview show on ESPN+ as well as on SportsCenter.