How to watch the LPGA Drive On Championship in Fort Myers since you can’t be on-site and no TV

How to watch this week’s LPGA Drive On Championship at Crown Colony Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers has been one of the event’s important issues.

No fans will be allowed on-site to watch the event live and it’s not on Golf Channel or “TV” per se.

“There’s two parts of it — one’s easier than the other,” said Brian Carroll, senior vice president of global media distribution for the LPGA.

The tournament will be streamed on LPGA.com from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Thursday’s first round and Friday’s second round, and from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for Saturday’s final round. Fans can go to the website and click on a link to watch it for free. But it will be coverage of just one hole.

The fuller tournament coverage is streaming on Peacock on Thursday and Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. There is free content on Peacock, but the tournament is part of a subscription component that is $4.99 a month. Peacock can be watched on smart TVs like other streaming apps such as Netflix or Amazon or Apple+, and also on laptops or smartphones.

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With the tournament coming together late, and with no fans and not a great deal of room on the property for a typical TV compound and all that goes with it, the LPGA is looking at this as a chance to try something with its tournament coverage.

“The reality is we funded this tournament ourselves,” Carroll said. “We’re trying a different production model, scaled down.”

Everything is produced in a studio in Palm Beach.

“The different production allows us to experiment a little bit,” Carroll said. “We’re doing the production ourselves this week, so just thought let’s try to have fun with it.”

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The talent being used will be familiar to golf viewers. Chantel McCabe will host the streaming on LPGA.com, and the hosts of the Peacock coverage are Grant Boone and Paige Mackenzie, and Jerry Foltz, Amy Rogers and Tripp Isenhour will be on-site for both.

“The afternoon coverage, the intention is for it to look very much like a normal week,” Carroll said. “Golf Channel graphics. Golf Channel announcers. Golf Channel personnel behind the scenes. They know the players really well so I think it’ll come off really well.

“I know it’s a hard thing. You can’t just turn on Golf Channel.”

Carroll said with the Winter Olympics in China starting and some of that coverage streaming on Peacock, that’s another opportunity to see what the viewership will be.

“We want to see what that audience ends up looking like,” he said. “With the Olympics on, there’s a ton of people, in theory, using Peacock this week.

“Let’s see how it does. It’s part of an experiment.”

CME Group Tour Championship highlighted

On Monday, the LPGA announced the premiere of “LPGA All Access: CME Group Tour Championship,” a behind-the-scenes documentary detailing the excitement, competition and glamour of the Tour’s 2021 crowning event, which was played at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in November.

The series will air on YouTube and LPGA.com, with three 15-minute episodes, the last on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Others aired on Monday and Tuesday, also at 8 p.m., and are still available.

The documentary shares exclusive moments with players, caddies, sponsors and staff, both on and off the course.

Featured moments include:

• An in-depth look into the season-long competitive battle between Jin Young Ko and Nelly Korda, who fought all week for the titles of Rolex Player of the Year and Race to the CME Globe Champion

• 2021 Chevron Championship winner Patty Tavatanakit’s preparations for the red carpet for the Rolex Awards, where she received the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award and the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award

• Workout sessions and pickleball matches with Gaby Lopez and Amy Olson, who also shared a house for the week and made a relaxing meal of Mexican food from Lopez’s recipe book

• Early-morning golf-course scouting with LPGA Tour Rules Official Annie Giangrosso and caddie Will Davidson, who looped for past CME winner Lexi Thompson

• Interviews with LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan and CME Group Chairman/CEO Terry Duffy

“This documentary helps show the accessibility and personality of our players, along with the drama and intrigue of the CME Group Tour Championship,” said Brian Carroll, senior vice president of global media distribution for the LPGA. “Hopefully this is just the beginning of our storytelling in this format.”

Field update

No players who already were not in the Drive On Championship field finished in the top 10 of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio on Sunday, so Jennifer Chang of Cary, North Carolina, and Agathe Laisne of France made the 120-player field.

Danielle Kang, who finished second on Sunday, was one of two to withdraw. Elizabeth Szokol was the other. That put American Alana Uriell and Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland into the field.

American Andrea Lee won the qualifier on Monday with a 5-under 67, and Frida Kinhult of Sweden won a playoff for the second qualifying spot at 4 under with Daniela Darquea of Ecuador.

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at [email protected]. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/

LPGA Drive On Championship first-round pairings

at Crown Colony Golf & Country Club, Fort Myers

Thursday

No. 1 Tee

7:15 a.m. — Giulia Molinaro, Italy; Lauren Kim, Los Altos, Calif.; Ashleigh Buhai, South Africa

7:26 a.m. — Hee Young Park, South Korea; Jenny Coleman, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.; Ana Belac, Slovenia;

7:37 a.m. — Dana Finkelstein, Chandler, Ariz.; Muni He, China; Jennifer Song, Orlando

7:48 a.m. — Pajaree Anannarukarn, Thailand; Lauren Stephenson, Lexington, S.C.; Na Yeon Choi, South Korea

7:59 a.m. — A Lim Kim, South Korea; Ally Ewing, Fulton, Miss.; Celine Boutier, France

8:10 a.m. — Jeongeun Lee6, South Korea; Caroline Masson, Germany; Angela Stanford, Saginaw, Texas

8:21 a.m. — Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Mass.; Jenny Shin, South Korea; Brittany Lincicome, Seminole

8:32 a.m. — Marina Alex, Wayne, N.J.; Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C.; Pernilla Lindberg, Sweden

8:43 a.m. — Na Rin An, South Korea; Sophia Schubert, Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Agathe Laisne, France

8:54 a.m. — Amanda Doherty, Atlanta; Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wisc.; Morgane Meraux, Switzerland

11:40 a.m. — Ruixin Liu, China; Annie Park, Levittown, N.Y.; Lindsey Weaver-Wright, Celina, Texas

11:51 a.m. — Carlota Ciganda, Spain; Wichanee Meechai, Thailand; Mel Reid, England

12:02 p.m. — Jennifer Chang, Cary, N.C.; Marissa Steen, West Chester, Ohio; Yu Liu, China

12:13 p.m. — Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Boca Raton; Ryann O’Toole, San Clemente, Calif.; Angel Yin, Arcadia, Calif.

12:24 p.m. — Ayaka Furue, Japan; Yealimi Noh, Concord, Calif.; Madelene Sagstrom, Sweden

12:35 p.m. — Nelly Korda, Bradenton; Inbee Park, South Korea; Brooke Henderson, Canada/Miromar Lakes

12:46 p.m. — Jessica Korda, Jupiter; Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand; Patty Tavatanakit, Thailand

12:57 p.m. — Bronte Law, England; Maria Fassi, Mexico; Aditi Ashok, India

1:08 p.m. — Frida Kinhult, Sweden; Katherine Perry-Hamski, Cary, N.C.; Dewi Weber, Netherlands

1:19 p.m. — Peiyun Chien, Chinese Taipei; Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Canada; Rachel Rohanna, Marianna, Pa.

No. 10 Tee

7:15 a.m. — Alison Lee, Los Angeles; Kelly Tan, Malaysia; Cheyenne Knight, Aledo, Texas

7:26 a.m. — Pornanong Phatlum, Thailand; Mirim Lee, South Korea; Alana Uriell, Carlsbad, Calif.

7:37 a.m. — Stephanie Meadow, Northern Ireland; Albane Valenzuela, Switzerland; Lauren Coughlin, Charlottesville, Va.

7:48 a.m. — Jennifer Kupcho, Westminster, Colo.; Atthaya Thitikul, Thailand; Esther Henseleit, Germany

7:59 a.m. — Nasa Hataoka, Japan; Xiyu Janet Lin, China; Amy Yang, South Korea

8:10 a.m. — Leona Maguire, Ireland; Lexi Thompson, Delray Beach; Anna Nordqvist, Sweden

8:21 a.m. — Gaby Lopez, Mexico, Sophia Popov, Germany/Naples; Yuka Saso, Japan

8:32 a.m. — Jaye Marie Green, Jupiter; Jodi Ewart Shadoff, England; Sarah Schmelzel, Phoenix, Ariz.

8:43 a.m. — Linnea Johansson, Sweden; Lilia Vu, Fountain Valley, Calif.; Fatima Fernandez Cano, Spain

8:54 a.m. — Pauline Rossin-Bouchard, France; Allison Emrey, Charlotte, N.C.; Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif.

11:40 a.m. — Christina Kim, San Jose, Calif.; Perrine Delacour, France; Gemma Dryburgh, Scotland

11:51 a.m. — Bianca Pagdanganan, Philippines; Sarah Kemp, Australia; Brittany Lang, McKinney, Texas

12:02 p.m. — Jeongeun Lee, South Korea; Jasmine Suwannapura, Thailand; Haeji Kang, South Korea

12:13 p.m. — Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass.; Georgia Hall, England; Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif.

12:24 p.m. — Amy Olson, Fargo, N.D.; Cristie Kerr, Scottsdale, Ariz.; In Gee Chun, South Korea

12:35 p.m. — Stacy Lewis, The Woodlands, Texas; Su Oh, Australia; Moriya Jutanugarn, Thailand

12:46 p.m. — Austin Ernst, Seneca, S.C.; Charley Hull, England; Laura Davies, England

12:57 p.m. — Paula Reto, South Africa; Katherine Kirk, Australia; Gerina Mendoza, Roswell, N.M.

1:08 p.m. — Yaeeun Hong, South Korea; Hye-Jin Choi, South Korea; Allisen Corpuz, Kapolei, Hawaii

1:19 p.m. — Emily Pedersen, Denmark; Isi Gabsa, Germany; Janie Jackson, Huntsville, Ala.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: How to watch the LPGA Drive On Championship in Fort Myers