Domestic TV coverage improves for CP Women’s Open, but issues remain

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This article was published 25/08/2019 (2467 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AURORA, Ont. – Domestic television coverage of the CP Women’s Open improved significantly from last year but Canadian golf fans eager to watch Brooke Henderson’s every move were left only partially satisfied.

TSN picked up Golf Channel’s three-hour feed each day of the four-round tournament at Magna Golf Club. Jin Young Ko of South Korea pulled away Sunday to win by five shots, with Henderson seven strokes off the lead in a tie for third.

The coverage was a big step up from the 2018 competition in Regina, which was the first time in recent memory that a Canadian sports network did not plan to broadcast the tournament.

When Henderson led after three rounds last year, Bell Media and Golf Channel reached an agreement for part of the final round to be shown live on television in Canada.

In what was one of the biggest national sport stories of 2018, Henderson went on to become the first Canadian to win the tournament in 45 years.

Golf Channel, which is the rightsholder for several golf tours, again had exclusive television rights for the 2019 event.

Despite being able to watch part of the action daily, many golf fans still took to social media to voice their displeasure at the limited coverage. TSN golf analyst Bob Weeks explained the broadcast setup in a Twitter post early Sunday.

“For everyone wondering why we aren’t showing Brooke right now: Golf Channel has the rights to the LPGA,” Weeks tweeted. “We would love to show you every one of Brooke’s shots but we aren’t allowed. We have a special arrangement in place this year to pick up GC’s feed. That starts at 1:30 ET.”

Golf Channel coverage began Sunday as Henderson was finishing the front nine.

The three-hour window covered most of Henderson’s first round on Thursday, but missed her last few holes. With an early afternoon tee time Friday, she wasn’t shown on TV at all in the second round.

Henderson had plenty of facetime over the weekend as she was near the top of the leaderboard.

However, some key live shots were missed since the Canadian star is not necessarily the primary focus for a non-domestic rightsholder.

A glaring example came on the 13th hole when Henderson’s missed par putt — essentially snuffing her chances of a repeat victory — was not broadcast live.

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Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.