This year’s edition of the Ryder Cup is just about to tee off. This time around, the American and European teams take their talents across the pond to play on the Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. This is a course that golf legend Jack Nicklaus designed himself.
To help you follow the action, we’ve put together this simple viewing guide on how to watch the 2014 Ryder Cup online. NBC and the Golf Channel are geared up to broadcast every moment of the tournament. However, since it takes place in Scotland, U.S. fans have no choice but to catch the tournament in the wee hours of the morning. If you refuse to sacrifice sleep to watch golf, you should know that both networks plan to re-air the action during normal hours each day (repeat broadcast times are listed below).
2014 Ryder Cup schedule of events
Friday – Day One: Four four-ball (best ball) tournaments in the morning, followed by four foursome matches in the afternoon
2:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET – Golf Channel (Live Day One coverage)
3 p.m. – 9 p.m. local time – Golf Channel (Day One Re-air)
Saturday – Day Two: Four four-ball (best ball) tournaments in the morning followed by four foursome matches in the afternoon
3 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET – NBC (Live Day Two coverage)
3 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET – Golf Channel (alternate shot coverage)
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. local time – NBC (Day Two Re-air)
1 p.m. – 4 p.m. ET – Golf Channel (Live From the Ryder Cup)
5 p.m. – 10 p.m. local time – Golf Channel (Day Two Re-air)
Sunday – Day Three: 12 singles matches
5 a.m. – 7 a.m. ET – Golf Channel (Live From the Ryder Cup)
7 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET – NBC (Day Three coverage)
7 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ET – Golf Channel (alternate shot coverage)
1 p.m. – 4 p.m. ET – Golf Channel (Live From the Ryder Cup and the closing ceremonies)
4 p.m. – 10 p.m. local time – Golf Channel (Day Three re-air)
How to watch the 2014 Ryder Cup online
Network sites
NBC and the Golf Channel, both of which are owned by Comcast, control 100 percent of the broadcasting rights to the 2014 Ryder Cup. The Golf Channel takes the reins during Friday’s coverage, while NBC handles the bulk of the coverage during Day Two and Day Three on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
On both Day Two and Day Three, the Golf Channel plans to air its own accompanying broadcast for NBC called “Alternate Shot.” This broadcast differs slightly from the traditional coverage on NBC, and will have golf legend David Feherty, and Golf Channel host Gary Williams serve as the commentators.
Questionable streaming sites
There are a wide variety of online streaming sites which grant access to many live sporting events. These sites provide multiple streams, but most of them come packed with spam, malware, and pop-ups. We don’t recommend these sites.
Sites like First Row Sports or VIPBox Sports are some of the most popular picks when it comes to watching streams of sporting events online. While these might be of use, the hassle of having to avoid spam and deal with low quality streams makes these services more of an inconvenience than a help.
As a rule of thumb, never click on any link which asks you to download any HD Players, update your streaming software, or install any “required” media players. These are often just spam links which could infect your computer with malware.
Other resources
An incredible resource for information about almost anything, Reddit has more than enough Ryder Cup and golf information to satisfy any fan of the sport. Reddit’s loyal user base generates the site’s wealth of content, which is both a blessing, and a curse. You’ll find a slew of Ryder Cup pictures, videos, and even alternative streaming sites.
While Reddit is an excellent resource for anything and everything about golf, you can easily waste many hours poking around the rest of the site as well. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
[Header image courtesy of: Cornfield / Shutterstock.com]
