Golf

Hero World Challenge 2017: Time, TV schedule for Tiger Woods’ Round 3

Dec 2, 2017, 2:00 PM UTC

If you buy something from a link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Saturday may be the strongest conference championship weekend in college football history. I’ve seen it hailed as such and there’s no disputing the full menu of incredible matchups between ranked teams with do-or-die College Football Playoff implications. You should definitely watch all those games deep into the night. They are the highlight of the sports day and will own it.

But just make room for golf. Yes, golf. Specifically, the dang Hero World Challenge.

Golf should be farthest off the radar in early December. It should be completely irrelevant and unnoticeable. But Tiger Woods is back after a 300-day layoff and that means it’s must-watch television. It also helps that he’s in the hunt, looks competitive, and is absolutely crushing the ball. His hot start on Friday afternoon ignited Twitter — golf in December should not be that way, especially the sleepy little Hero World Challenge.

Why this Tiger comeback has looked different, and much better

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

You always try to temper expectations, have some perspective, when Tiger returns. It’s gone bad so many times recently. But here’s why there is reason for well-founded optimism this time.

The good news is Tiger’s round won’t be completely buried under college football. He tees off at 12:53 p.m. ET and should really only go head-to-head against the Big 12 title game between TCU and Oklahoma. The pace of play at this event is brisk with only 18 players in the field and the stakes and pressure relatively low. So he should be done by 4:30 p.m. and only slightly overlap with that Georgia vs. Auburn SEC title game. So I’m not here to tell you to watch golf tomorrow. I’m just here to tell that you can, and it might be a good idea before all the footballing takes over for the rest of the night.

Golf Channel will now share the weekend duties with their network sister, NBC. It takes a lot for golf to get bumped up to NBC this time of year. The entire PGA Tour fall series stays on Golf Channel. But this little hit-and-giggle game is the one that gets to NBC. The early round coverage will start Noon on Golf Channel, with NBC taking over at 2:30 to bring it home. Here are your media options for Saturday at Albany in the Bahamas: