TOUR reaches deal with INHD to broadcast Live@7

[Gregg Lengling]

NEW YORK -- INHD -- the 24-hour linear all high-definition network -- and the PGA TOUR have reached an agreement that allows INHD to present live high-definition coverage of Pebble Beach Golf Links' famous seventh hole during the 2004 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Tournament. The announcement was made by David Asch, vice president of strategic planning & product management, iN DEMAND Networks, and Donna Orender, senior vice president of strategic development for the PGA TOUR.

   
 
The Live@7 broadcast on iN DEMAND's broadcast channel will feature live tournament play from the Pebble Beach Golf Links' par-3 seventh hole on Thursday, Feb. 5 and Friday, Feb. 6 from 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m. ET. Additionally, INHD will also broadcast five hours of taped coverage of tournament play on the seventh hole on Feb. 5 and 6 beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

Golf fans can watch all the shots on PGATOUR.COM's Live@7 from 1:30 p.m. ET through until 7:30 p.m. ET, and see many of the world's finest TOUR players, and top celebrities, battle the swirling ocean winds.

The 106-yard seventh hole is among the most famous and picturesque holes in all of golf, and coincidentally, those same attributes also make it the perfect setting for HDTV's superb picture quality and resolution. The shortest hole in major championship golf, the green is protected by six bunkers and partially surrounded by rocks leading into the Pacific Ocean. With a significant tee-to-green drop and full exposure to the Pacific Ocean, the wind becomes the major factor on the hole. Players have used a sand wedge on one day of the tournament and a 6-iron on another day.

Jay Randolph and Mitch Voges will be stationed at No. 7 and provide commentary throughout the telecast. Coverage from 1:30 p.m. ET to 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday and Friday of the seventh hole will be simulcast live on the Internet, similar to PGATOUR.COM's innovative Live@17 during THE PLAYERS Championship. Check PGATOUR.COM for details.


"This is a terrific opportunity for INHD to team up with the PGA TOUR, and for golf fans with HDTV sets tuned to INHD to experience the action on the seventh hole with the added picture clarity and resolution that is only possible with HD," Asch said. "This partnership reflects INHD's continuing commitment to bringing cable's HD audience the best marquee sporting events cable has to offer."

"The PGA TOUR is always enthused about marrying new technologies that can enhance our unique and compelling content," Orender said. "Golf is the perfect sport to take advantage of high definition's ability to bring the vibrancy of the game to life. We're pleased to partner with INHD to present this emerging format to our fans during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, at one of the most scenic and exciting holes in golf."

Played at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Poppy Hills Golf Course, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am has become one of the most famous golf tournaments in the world. Featuring the top PGA TOUR stars playing with major celebrities from the entertainment and sports worlds such as Kevin Costner, Oscar de la Hoya, Joe Pesci and Ray Romano, among others, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is among the oldest stops on the PGA TOUR, dating back to 1937.

Net proceeds from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am go to support a wide variety of charitable organizations. To date, the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, which stages the tournament, has made charitable donations totaling $46 million.