Get set for an historic Women's British Open
Over the last month viewers, listeners and readers have witnessed the best golfers in the world strut their stuff over the finest golf courses anywhere, all of them in Scotland. From the to and last week’s - all produced memorable action and mighty champions.
Time to step aside chaps, this week all the attention turns to the (WBO), and for a number of very good reasons. It’s not just the quality of play nor the characters involved that make this year’s championship a must watch, it’s the historic element of being the first championship for women professionals to be played at the "±«Óătv of Golf"…. - scene of 26 Open championships, and numerous other professional men’s tournaments.
Many of you will have been with us over recent years and seen what great champions this event has thrown up - Karrie Webb, Sherri Steinhauer and Annika Sorenstam to name a few. The event has always been played at outstanding courses, such as Royal Lytham, , Turnberry and Sunningdale. But playing over the famous at St Andrews, which embodies so much of the long history of golf, will be both extra special and fitting for the only women’s major to be played outside the United States.
When covering golf, there are three essential elements that go in to making a successful televised event. In St Andrews and a world-class field you already have two, add the 100,000 expected spectators and the ingredients are set for what should be a memorable occasion….who knows, we might even get some sunshine!
Like at The Open, the ±«Óătv acts as the host broadcaster, transmitting all four days' coverage to millions around the world and we work very closely with our American (ABC) and Japanese (TV Asahi) colleagues on site.
Many of you asked during The Open just how much influence we have over the “pairings”. Like at Carnoustie the three major broadcasters mentioned above make their requests known but ultimately it will be the organisers who have the final say.
This year’s WBO boasts the most international field of any women’s golf event and you will be sure to be watching the likes of , Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Se Ri Pak and Ai Miyazato, as well as home favourites such as Catriona Matthew, Becky Morgan, Rebecca Hudson and former champions Laura Davies and Karen Stupples - who turned out to be a very accomplished commentator for Radio Five Live at The Open.
Covering a women’s event really is no different from a men’s but it would be naïve to think that we could swan in with our usual commentary team in its normal configuration. Our lead commentators, Peter Alliss and Ken Brown, simply do not work on the women’s tour week in, week out but I know both are extremely impressed and engaged when they work on the WBO.
In Maureen Madill and Beverly Lewis we have two of the most experienced commentators in the game, and their in-depth knowledge for women’s golf will perfectly compliment the team, along with Andrew Cotter. And everything is held together by the incomparable Hazel Irvine….no mean player herself, you know!
The Old Course has a unique layout and originally consisted of 22 holes, 11 out and 11 back. In 1764 it was decided that some holes were too short and it was reduced to 18, creating what was to become the standard round of golf throughout the world. With 14 of the greens being shared, i.e, two holes cut on seven of the large greens, this visually throws up both challenges and benefits.
It is often very difficult to put our camera rostrums directly behind a green as players coming the other way would be hitting over the tower. This means that we are often not on the ideal line to track a ball in from 200 yards away and it’s testament to our skilled camera operators that they rarely miss a ball. The benefits are that with it being such a narrow course we can often double up on rostrums which reduces the amount of infrastructure on the course. With the weather set fair, we are hoping for some stunning pictures.
It would be absolutely wrong to focus to heavily on the glamour side of the women’s game but at the same time it’s an element that the sport and its players are keen to promote. So get familiar with the names of Morgan Pressel (she won her first major this year), (nicknamed “The Anna Kournikova of golf”), Paula Creamer (nicknamed “Pink Panther” because everything she owns is pink) and the , who is clearly such a wonderful talent but only last week broke par for the first time in 24 attempts.
So with record-breaking prize money of over £1m on offer, get set for an historic BWO. Our coverage gets underway on Thursday, and we’ll be broadcasting over 15 hours of golf. Enjoy!
TV TIMES
Thurs 2 Aug
1300-1715 (±«Óătv TWO)
Fri 3 Aug
1330-1715 (±«Óătv TWO)
Sat 4 Aug
1330-1715 (±«Óătv ONE)
Sun 5 Aug
1420-1740 (±«Óătv TWO)
