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Golf on USA is the umbrella title forUSA Network's coverage of thePGA Tour and othergolf events.[1] in theUnited States.
USA covered the early rounds ofThe Masters Tournament from 1982 until 2007. The network also regularly broadcasts theRyder Cup Matches, regularly from 1989 until 2006, as well as overflow coverage in 2010, returning to regular coverage in 2023.
USA Network covered regular-season PGA Tour events from 1996 through 2006.[2]
From 2022 to 2025, USA returned to golf coverage, airingNBC's early round coverage ofThe Open Championship,U.S. Open, and their women's counterparts, replacingGolf Channel.
The USA Network began first and second round Masters coverage in1982,[3][4] which was also produced by theCBS production team. This was the first ever cable coverage for one of the golf majors. Initially, the USA Network provided Thursday and Friday coverage for 2 hours live each day along with aprime time replay.
The Shark Shootout, which began in1989 as the RMCC Invitational, was originally broadcast in theUnited States by theUSA Network andCBS, with USA broadcasting the first round on a tape-delayed basis, and CBS handling the second round live. Not all the country saw the final round live, as CBS' commitment to theNFL only allowed part of the country to see the round as it takes place, with the rest of the U.S. seeing the event beginning at 4 p.m.Eastern Time. In2007, the event was moved to December, and was broadcast live by bothGolf Channel andNBC.
In1995, USA expanded the Masters Thursday/Friday coverage to 2.5 hours each day.
In early 2006, it was announced that USA was outbid by Golf Channel for its early-round PGA Tour rights, with USA's final season being 2006. After 2006, NBC/Universal (parent company of USA Network) traded away the network's Friday Ryder Cup coverage through 2014 to ESPN for the rights to signAl Michaels. However, USA did renew its Masters contract for an additional year. USA would televise the 2007 Masters before being outbid by ESPN for future coverage. The 2007 Masters was also the final event for USA Sports, which was dissolved into parentNBC Sports after the tournament. All future sports telecasts on USA would use NBC's graphics and personalities.
In2003 and2004, both CBS and USA televised the Masters commercial-free. In2005, USA increased the Thursday/Friday coverage to 3 hours.
The Ryder Cup contract, which stipulated cable coverage air on USA, was still controlled by NBC even after it granted ESPN the rights to Friday cable coverage (normally the only day of the event covered on cable). However, in 2010, rain on Friday pushed the singles matches to Monday, necessitating that they air on cable. With NBC having granted only Friday rights to ESPN, the singles matches aired on USA. Four months later, NBC merged withGolf Channel, making Golf Channel NBC's primary cable outlet for golf.
In November 2021, it was announced that early-round coverage of the Open Championship, U.S. Open, and their women's counterparts, would move to USA Network beginning in 2022.[5] In 2023, theRyder Cup was also added to USA’s schedule.
On November 20, 2024, Comcast announced that it will spin off most of its cable networks and selected digital properties into a new publicly traded company,Versant. The spin off will separate NBC Sports and USA Network, but Golf Channel and USA will remain part of the same company.[6]
On August 12, 2025, Versant announced a broadcasting agreement withUnited States Golf Association, a first for the company, through 2032. Through the agreement, USA Network will hold the rights to 35 hours of coverage from theU.S. Open andU.S. Women's Open.[7]
In December 2025, USA Network will simulcast Golf Channel's coverage of the Golf Channel Games, a spiritual successor toTNT Sports' former sports entertainment contestThe Match. The games will feature two teams captained byScottie Scheffler andRory McIlroy.[8]
| Preceded by First | Masters Tournament cable television broadcaster 1982-2007 | Succeeded by |