22 Hours of Live ANA Inspiration Coverage Featured on GOLF Channel
ANA Inspiration Charity Match for ANNIKA Foundation Coverage Begins Tonight at 7 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel
Judy Rankin Narrates Opening Tease for 50th Anniversary Edition of the ANA Inspiration
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 31, 2021 – GOLF Channel presents the ANA Inspiration, golf’s first major of 2021, from Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., this Thursday-Sunday. This year’s tournament marks the 50th anniversary of the historic LPGA Tour event.
This year’s field features the top-15 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and 11 past ANA Inspiration champions, including Nelly Korda, Jessica Korda, 2014 champion Lexi Thompson, 2019 champion Jin Young Ko, and more. Mirim Lee defends the 2020 title, which marked her first major championship and fourth career LPGA Tour victory.
Coverage of the ANA Inspiration gets underway with a special charity match for the ANNIKA Foundation at 7 p.m. ET tonight on GOLF Channel, featuring 10-time major champion and three-time ANA Inspiration winner Annika Sorenstam partnering with major champion Danielle Kang against 2018 ANA Inspiration champion Pernilla Lindberg and major champion Sophia Popov. The skins match will raise awareness and money for Sorenstam’s ANNIKA Foundation, which supports junior golf and women’s professional golf.
GOLF Channel LPGA Tour analyst and 1976 ANA Inspiration (then the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle) winner Judy Rankin narrates the opening tease for this week’s 50th anniversary edition of the major championship.
GOLF Channel will air 22 hours of live tournament coverage of the ANA Inspiration. Coverage includes 12 combined hours of early-round coverage on Thursday and Friday -- featuring two windows each day to show the morning and afternoon groupings -- and a combined eight hours of live tournament coverage in primetime Saturday and Sunday. Coverage begins tonight with two hours of the ANNIKA Foundation special charity match at 7 p.m. ET.
The ANA Inspiration tees off coverage of LPGA Tour majors in 2021 across NBC Sports, which features live coverage of all five majors and the most hours and events ever dedicated to the women’s game in a single year.
ANA INSPIRATION
GOLF Channel Broadcast Team
- Play by Play: Terry Gannon / Grant Boone
- Analyst: Judy Rankin / Karen Stupples
- Tower: Tom Abbott
- On-Course: Jerry Foltz / Jim Gallagher, Jr.
How To Watch – Thursday, April 1 – Sunday, April 4 (all times ET)
- TV – GOLF Channel
- Streaming – NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app
| Date | GOLF Channel |
| Thursday | Noon-4 p.m. / 7-9 p.m. |
| Friday | Noon-4 p.m. / 7-9 p.m. |
| Saturday | 5-9 p.m. |
| Sunday | 5-9 p.m. |
Notable Players This Week
- Nelly Korda
- Jessica Korda
- Lexi Thompson
- Jin Young Ko
- Mirim Lee
BROADCAST NOTES
- Golf Today and Golf Central: Golf Today and Golf Central will provide pre-and post-tournament coverage on GOLF Channel Thursday-Sunday. Shane Bacon and Damon Hack anchor the Thursday edition of Golf Today alongside Kira K. Dixon, Amy Rogers and Steve Burkowski. Whit Watson, Billy Kratzert, Amanda Blumenherst, Jaime Diaz, Dixon, Rogers and Burkowski contribute to Golf Central pre- and post-round coverage this week.
| Date | Golf Today | Golf Central |
| Thursday | 9-11 a.m. | 11 a.m.-Noon/9-10 p.m. |
| Friday | 11:30 a.m.-Noon/9-10 p.m. | |
| Saturday | Noon-1 p.m./9-10 p.m. | |
| Sunday | 9-10 p.m. |
--NBC SPORTS--