SiriusXM has announced coverage plans for the 123rd U.S. Open Championship set to be played on Thursday, June 15 to Sunday, June 18 from the Los Angeles Country Club. The broadcast entity will keep listeners informed of each shot during the four rounds of play with a broadcast team consisting of lead host Taylor Zarzour and analysts Colt Knost, Brian Katrek, Dennis Paulson and John Maginnes among others.
SiriusXM will begin its coverage at the first tee time of the day on Thursday and Friday. On-course coverage will commence at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST on the weekends until completion. In the event a playoff occurs, SiriusXM will continue to provide comprehensive coverage of all the action until a champion is declared.
“The Los Angeles Country Club is an extraordinary and iconic venue, and golf fans are eager for so many of the world’s best players to take the stage there as it hosts its first major championship event this week,” Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM president and chief content officer, said in a statement. “SiriusXM will be there to deliver more than 40 hours of live shot-by-shot coverage across all four rounds, and we’ll provide our listeners with an unparalleled lineup of original programming as well.”
The national broadcast of the U.S. Open will include momentary analysis, leaderboard updates and live interviews with players before and after rounds. Early coverage of the tournament will feature Andres Gonzalez, Chantel McCabe, Jason Sobel and Drew Stoltz, and a daily, three-hour wrap-up show is set to be hosted by Gary Williams.
Additionally, exclusive programming will be hosted by some of the tournament’s greatest players, including Fred Couples, Rocco Mediate, Smylie Kaufman and Annika Sorenstam. Former U.S. Open and major championship winners such as Juli Inkster, Hale Irwin and Dave Stockton will also appear on various SiriusXM programs throughout the week.
U.S. Open Week on SiriusXM is available for subscribers to consume on SXM Channel 92, along with on the SiriusXM app. The tournament is the first major championship to be played since the announcement of the controversial merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf.
While SiriusXM is in a contract with the United States Golf Association (USGA) and NBCUniversal for the national audio broadcast rights to the tournament, it is unknown how the monumental transaction will play out in terms of media rights in the future. Some critics viewed the move as a way to settle ongoing litigation between the entities, while others think it is a win for LIV Golf and a loss for the Tour itself.
Golfers expected to compete for the U.S. Open golf championship include headliners Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, along with other hopefuls aiming to capture one of the sport’s elusive prizes. There will be golfers associated with various entities on the green, and the merger will likely be a dominant point of discussion throughout the week.
