Golf

How to watch the Northern Trust Open live online, TV schedule, radio and more

Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, a loaded field, The Riv, Los Angeles -- it does not get any better than this on the PGA Tour. Here’s why and how to watch this week’s Northern Trust Open.

by Brendan Porath

Updated Feb 19, 2016, 1:00 PM UTC

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

This, this is going to be pure.

This is about as good as it gets on the PGA Tour. Let’s start with the venue: Riviera. It is the best non-major course on schedule. It has history, unique and quirky features (the world-famous 10th, a bunker in the middle of a green) but within the confines of a most classic layout. It’s lined with sycamores, eucalyptus and palm trees in a cavern surrounded by famous people’s mansions that are always fun to ogle. It’s the only professional event in the Los Angeles area, and there’s really nothing like it. The tournament may get buried on the early season schedule, but the Riv will always be a star and is a favorite course for those who watch this tour every week. If you have bad things to say about this course, get out.

The course is reason enough for watching this annual event, currently known as the Northern Trust Open (the cool kids simply refer to the event on the whole as “Riviera”). This year, however, there’s a powerhouse field in Los Angeles. While Tiger bailed on playing his hometown event many years ago, the current players seem to cherish the classic course that’s such a departure from all the monotonous TPC tracks we’ll be stuck with all summer.

So, this week we have Rory McIlroy, who has flown across continents to make his PGA Tour season debut and first ever start at Riv this week. And there’s world No. 1 Jordan Spieth, who made a late run at winning this event last year before he blew up and went on to bigger things, including Rory’s top spot in the world rankings. Any event both of those guys play will be must-watch this year. At least through the first six or seven months of the year, that will be the running debate and theme in golf. Will Rory, who many believe to be the most naturally talented player in the world, take back his place from Spieth? Or is this now Spieth’s game? McIlroy had an extremely successful 2015, a career year for a majority of pro golfers, but he still considered it a lost season. He lost his No. 1 ranking, an opportunity to defend his Open Championship thanks to an ankle injury, and went major-less. He never really got back into the fight after that ankle injury on July 4, while Spieth rolled to two majors, a FedExCup and Player of the Year.

Unless it’s match play, which happens just twice all year (WGC-Match Play, Ryder Cup), golfers never really face off against each other. They’re playing against the course and themselves. But, at least in the first half of the year, every event with both Spieth and McIlroy in it will have this side head-to-head game we’re watching. Unlike the European Tour, which put both players in the same group at the Abu Dhabi Championship a few weeks ago, the PGA Tour has decided to split them up and send them off on opposite ends of the draw in L.A.

Fortunately, you’ll be able to watch both players throughout the first two rounds. PGA Tour Live will have each in their featured groups stream on one of the first two days, and the other will be out later during the TV coverage window. The featured groups streams this week are the best so far this season, and probably as good as it will get all year. I’ve lamented the fact that the tour went to a pay subscription service at the end of last summer, charging for streams that were once free. However, the quality of the subscription stream (using MLB Advanced Media) is much better than what they had before, and the production is vastly improved. It’s a quality show.

But they don’t always get much to work with in terms of star power that would make you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth on that Thursday and Friday morning. Last week, we watched Chris Berman and David Duval hack it around in that celebrity Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That’s not the case at the Northern Trust Open and I would strongly recommend burning that free seven-day free trial they offer this week. Use it.

Here are all your coverage options for the week (all times ET):